I don’t understand chickens any better than I understand how women select jewelry. So I can’t explain why the big barred rock went broody in late summer instead of in May. Spring is the best time for baby chicks. The days are getting warmer & dryer in spring, now they are getting cooler & wetter.
Well, no chicks appeared after several weeks, & she finally gave up on Saturday, joining the rest of the flock for the daily scattering of sunflower seeds, quail food & scratch. We should be getting more brown eggs now.
Her skewed breeding cycle might be a regular occurrence, I may not have noticed before as I don’t brood about our hens broody behavior. Maybe it’s due to the lack of men in her life. We don’t have any roosters. We men do have an important role to play, even if we shouldn’t be buying the jewelry.
The chicks had a grand time at the OCF* this weekend. We keep an eye on them when they’re out & about, to forestall the plans of any cats who pass randomly through our yard, but mostly because they can rarely figure out how to get back into the chicken run after they find a way out of it. This is when a veteran chicken herder’s decade of experience comes in handy, but more on that in a later installment.
The chicks are very active, dare I say, even athletic. They’re not as quick as the brown leghorns were at the same age, but they run around, climb trees & chase insects with just as much energy.
(* Oregon Country Farm)
Coo, coo, ca choo.
Why are our eggs more yellow than commercial eggs? I’m pretty sure it’s the varied diet of our hens. Every morning they receive their ration of multi-grain scratch, quail feed & sunflower seeds. Now that we’re working in the yard & garden again, there’s a steady supply of cuttings, kale is their favorite. And for dessert, “mushroom” compost. The compost heap in the chicken yard has developed a distinctive profile as the hens peck their way in from the perimeter.
I don’t understand chickens any better than I understand how women select jewelry. So I can’t explain why the big barred rock went broody in late summer instead of in May. Spring is the best time for baby chicks. The days are getting warmer & dryer in spring, now they are getting cooler & wetter.
