May 27-28 Hot and dry

A hot, dry wind yesterday erased all the rain from the day before. We carried on with planting the garden and managed to finish. The tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, and pumpkins are all in. The corn is up. All the rows are on drip irrigation. It delivers water efficiently and can be used even when it’s windy, which cannot be said for the overhead sprinklers that Terry planned to use. It seems to be a good deal windier here than at our previous location.

Hilda discovered that the chickens are easier to pick up if approached with the hand palm up and scooped from underneath. It makes perfect sense when one considers that chickens have a long history of wanting to avoid attacks from above by hawks and eagles. They run like crazy if you try to pick them up by putting your hand over their backs. I found that the chicks will calm down immediately if rubbed under the chin. I can’t explain that evolutionarily. I’m not sure what prompted me to do it for the first time except that the same thing often works with cats. We’re still trying to pick them up at least once a day. Some cotton to it better than others. Ina remains the feistiest and most difficult to catch. Most of the chicks have noticeable comb development, which is most pronounced on the Dominques. The chicks’ feet are getting enormous and dinosaur-like. I made a perch of 2 x 4s yesterday. The dowel rods are getting much too small for both their feet and their weight. I read that in cold climates the 2 x 4 perch is preferred because the chickens will sleep with their bodies resting on their feet, preventing frostbite.

Sara's comb is getting larger. Check out those giant feet!

Clarissa and Ellie chat on the new perch; Giada looks on from the feeder.

Here’s another random observation about chickens: I suspect they may be able to control when they poop even though I have always heard that birds cannot be housebroken because they are physically unable to restrain their bowel functions. Chickens poop a lot. Really a lot. Seconds after we change the bedding, it looks almost as dirty as it was before. And yet, I have been picking up 10 chickens once or twice a day for nearly 4 weeks and been pooped on only twice—once the first day and again a few days later.  I would think that if poop happens (as the saying goes) on a random schedule, I would be pooped on much more than I am. This should not in any way be construed as a complaint.

Terry has the siding and the roof on the chicken coop. We have to leave Wednesday for his niece’s wedding, so we will have to finish the inside and the shingling when we get back. We’ll be under the gun to get it done before the girls have outgrown their box. I won’t recognize my babies after a week away! I hope they remember me, but as I have mentioned, it is not clear that they remember 5 minutes previous.

Look for the next post about June 6.

The coop with siding and holes for the chicken's window and the people's door

Terry secures the first board for the roof.

The roof is completely covered. Terry trims the edges.