Vacations

With the weather getting warm, we are making plans for 3 trips this summer. 

The one I am most excited about, is in August when we are renting a house (on 4 acres) in the San Juan Islands.  The San Juans are an island group accessible via ferry, almost in Canada.  There is an Orca Pod (the J pod) who reside there.  The islands are very quiet and undeveloped. The house we are renting is reasonably priced, 10 minutes from town (access to grocery stores, shopping, restaurants) and has a Jacuzzi. And we can bring the dogs.

The soonest trip, is in April when we visit the Northern part of the Olympic Peninsula. It happens to be during their wine & cheese festival (yum!).  The trip was a "groupon" type deal, includes 2 nights, and 2 activities (kayaking, biking, etc). 

The trip mid-summer is to La Push, which is on the central part of the Olympic Peninsula, right on the Pacific Ocean. We got a cabin right on the beach!  La Push also happens to be mentioned in the "Twilight" series, and is very close to Forks (the main setting of the books).  The biggest attraction to this location is the ocean, and of course Olympic National Park. 

For the 2 trips to the Olympic Peninsula, we are unable to bring the dogs.  Which means hiring a pet sitter for them, for the cats, and for the chickens. I get a little panicky thinking about leaving everyone.  What if something happens? Most pet sitters won't know how to dispatch a chicken if needed.  Oi. Thankfully, I farm sat for a friend in the co-op a few months back, so she owes me a few days of pet sitting, that will cover one of the trips.  I have to keep telling myself  "they are just chickens", which a chicken mentor told me when I first started. Really, they will be fine.

Egg Rainbow & Integration

The girls are in full production, we are getting plenty of eggs! Since adding the 2 new girls to the flock, we've been getting 4 or 5 eggs a day.  One day last week, we got 6! The color range is beautiful, ranging from dark brown (Star's), cream (Wyandotte), light brown (RIR's), and green (Easter Egger's).

The Easter Egger (who my husband has named Chicken Little) has been getting along better, the pecking is much much less, and she doesn't get picked on nearly as much anymore. It still bothers us when it does happen, because she is such a sweet little girl, but it is much less (and I guess at a 'normal' level).

The 2 new girls haven't quite gotten used to roosting on the perches in the coop at night. I don't know if the other girls block their way, or what. But each night, after they've roosted for the night, I have to go out, pick those 2 up off the floor, and put them on the perch in proper roosting position. I was hoping that night after night of doing this, they'd get the idea and get up there on their own, but so far it hasn't happened.

Recommended Reading & Integration Update

Recommended Reading
About 2 years ago was when we decided we wanted chickens. We lived in Suburbia at the time and couldn't have them.  It was then we decided to move so we could live they way we wanted to. I started my chicken education by reading MANY MANY books. I wanted to be full prepared.  By far, the best book that I cannot recommend enough, is Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (3rd edition).

I started by borrowing and reading all the books my local library had, and eventually found Storey's to be the best. When it came time to purchase, it is the one book I purchased.  I refer to it all the time for guidance.  Recently, I refer to it almost daily.  While introducing the new girls, I read up on that section.  When I got the new girls, I re-read the section on wing clipping before doing it.  Today, I found two random eggs in the yard and re-read the section about candling and float testing (to see if they are too old to eat).  When my girls started laying, I referred to the size chart as I was curious if my eggs were Large, X-Large (by weight).

If you are thinking of getting chickens, or haven't had them in a long time, it is a recommended read.  It is available on Amazon for $12. I've also read the Storey's Guide to goats, and some of their other titles.

Integration Update
Each day, the little Easter Egger seems to be more and more a part of the flock. Her first few days she underwent some pretty intense pecking from the Rhode Island Reds.  Yesterday and today they free ranged all day together unsupervised, and the pecking has greatly diminished in intensity and frequency.  Sometimes they tolerate her very close to them while foraging, as a part of their flock, with no pecking. Other times, they'll give her a quick peck, or start towards her, and she'll run off. The Silver Laced Wyandotte will try to protect her as best as she can. The Silver Laced Wyandotte is fully part of the flock, and puts the other girls under her in the pecking order, so they don't ever attempt to bully her.

Last night, after everyone had roosted, I took the 2 new girls from their dog crate(serving as a temporary coop) and put them on the perch's w/the other girls in the main coop.  I plan on doing this for the next night or two. I'm curious to see where the new girls will go to roost on their own.

2 new girls

Yesterday I picked up the 2 new girls; a Silver Laced Wyandotte (pictured at right) and an Easter Egger (pictures, left).  Very sweet, and beautiful girls.  The Wyandotte is now my prettiest girl.  

Introductions didn't go as well as I'd hope. I set up a dog crate in the yard for the new girls, so they could all see each other w/o the ability to hurt each other. Eventually, I let them all free range together. The Wyandotte bosses all  my girls around, and has no issues because she asserts herself well. The Easter Egger is much smaller, and the 1st day was picked on a lot by the Rhode Island.  It was to the point that I had to break it up, and put them back in their crate. Because of this, I decided to keep the new girls in the dog crate for the night - so had to insulate it, make it rain proof, and give them a nest box (old cat crate).   

Today they foraged one group at a time in the yard, then together (under supervision). There were a few minor spats, and the Easter Egger started standing up to the other girls.The spats they had today weren't nearly as intense as yesterdays.  I feel like I'll continue this arrangement for the next few days, then eventually put the new girls in the coop w/the others at night.  My biggest concern now is if the Easter Egger is in a confined space with the others (i.e. the coop or enclosed run), she'll have a harder time getting away from the others when they start pecking her. 


In other news, I applied for a beekeeping apprenticeship for 2012, and feel pretty confident I'll get it.

Eggs, Escapes, and Additions

Escapes:  Last night while walking the dogs, we encountered the neighbor who lives behind us. He said he and his wife found one of our chickens wandering the alley between our houses, they attempted to catch it/corral it back, but could not.  Which is strange, because none of our girls have been missing.  I guess she found her way back in.  But last night I went around and plugged up all the holes under the fence large enough for a hen to fit through. They like to forage/dig under the fence line for treats, and in some places the gap they opened up was 6/7 inches. 

Eggs:  Today was the first day we got 4 eggs! Also, one of the hens is laying in the middle of the night, which is not normal at all. Last night I went out at 9pm to let the dogs out and check the girls. I found one laying on the coop floor, nesting in the bedding. I thought it was weird, put her back up on the perch, and didn't think anything more of it.  Then, this morning at 6am (again, out w/the dogs), I checked on them to find her AGAIN on the floor of the coop. This time when I moved her, she was sitting on an egg.  It's not really normal for them to lay in pitch black of night.  Consultation w/chicken experts (egg-sperts) seem to think she'll straighten her cycle out since she's a new layer.  The problem is since she lays in the middle of the night, it's too dark to find her way to the nest boxes.

Additions:  I think I have settled on 2 girls from someone nearby, who has an Easter Egger (XL green eggs @ 4/week), and a Silver Laced Wyandette (L brown eggs, @4/week).  I think I'll get these girls, unless someone emails me w/something I like better (i.e. a Leghorn or Austraorp would be my top choice). But these two girls are VERY pretty, so think they'll add some variety to my flock.

Egg count and sales

Now that all the girls are laying, I started keeping track of how many we get each day.  This week we got 18, which is way more than we can eat. So we sold our first dozen to hubby's coworker. There was a good reaction, and many people wanted to purchase the eggs!  Which has me thinking of adding to our little flock.

I really would like Australorps, due to their high egg production (5/week). However, I seem to have a hard time finding them online, at a good price, within a reasonable drive.  I did find someone selling 2 Barred Rocks close by for a good price, however the only lay 4/week.  But they are pretty birds, and I did want to try having that breed. Also, they are almost exactly the age of my girls. 

I'd also be interested in some Easter Eggers, they lay 4/week, but are Extra-Large Blue green eggs, but I haven't seen any for sale at a reasonable price nearby.