The chicken coop, renovated and populated this past spring, is now settled into high productivity. We have fourteen hens in the 'big house' and they have all finally come into their own as proper layers. They had started out as three factions: five chicks raised in our garage, five chicks raised in our friends Keith and Ruth's garage, and four layers given to us by someone who just had too many chickens running around. Those cliques were impenetrable as the chicks grew up into teenagers, the separate groups would band together, eyeing one another suspiciously - a poultry version of Westside Story.
But these days the old animosities have been left behind. There is reconciliation in the big house, and the hens get along very well. We haven't had any incidents of them picking on one another, pulling feathers, or that kind of stuff, though we have heard stories of such things becoming a real problem. With fourteen layers in there we are now getting up to 1 dozen eggs a day. Usually it's somewhere around 8-9, but occasionally they get fired up and crank out a full dozen. They are also spending a great deal of time free-ranging these days. We often leave the coop door open 24 hours a day, and the girls find their way in and out and all around the farm property. They especially like the peach orchard across the road, and I've had to fetch them out of there on occasion.
Putting all these eggs to use is a challenge, but egg-rich recipes like brioche and lemon curd help make a notch in our supplies. We give some away, the girls may start selling them by the dozen, and of course the pigs look forward to a score of hard-boiled treats now and then.
Meanwhile - a new flock is being developed on the other side of the farm! Eleven birds of mysterious parentage, dropped off at a tender age. Keith and I repurposed one of the horse stalls into a new walk-in coop, opened a door to the outside world and stopped feeding them after several weeks. These are our wild birds, who free range because they have to! We make plenty of water available, provide roosting poles and nesting boxes (which they don't make use of quite yet, still being of a tender age....mmmm....tender chicken). I catch sight of these feral chickens on occasion as they dart in and out of the weed patches around the property. They like to patrol the pastures where the larger animals graze, so the pigs and the horse each get their company during the day. They seem to be doing very well, and this experiment in pastured, free-range poultry looks to be a success. When they get to laying age, we will restrict their movement some in order to get them established in their laying routines, and then they can pursue their vagabond lifestyle once again.
showlive影音視訊聊天網-色情美女視頻聊天網站
ReplyDeleteshowlive-美女裸體免費聊天網站
live173影音live秀-免費視訊-免費女主播聊天室
live173影音視訊live秀-Q臺妹-真人摳逼裸聊
live173影音live秀 每日限量特-國外免費開放裸聊室
live173 視訊美女-免費進入裸聊室
live173視訊影音live秀-免費夫妻視頻真人秀
live173影音視訊live秀-免費進入主播裸聊室
live173影音live秀-免費視訊-裸聊直播間免費
live173影音live秀-免費同城交友裸聊室