I'm Not Complaining, But...

So after a what seemed an interminably cold, wet / wet, cold, spring we now have a heat wave. From Monday morning low temp in the 60s we have swung to highs in the 90s for the next few days. It feels great, but I worry that the sudden heat may be a little hard on the plants.

I gave everything a good soak yesterday morning, and I'll be monitoring soil moisture closely for the next few days. Today we may hit 100 degrees and break a record.

The hens don't seem to mind the heat at all. 2 eggs yesterday, and 2 more today. I made sure they have full food and water feeders, and I set up another big dish of water outside of the coop, in the shade so they have plenty to drink. And for a treat today I gave them some frozen corn.

Poor Pearl , my black cat, is not enjoying the heat as much. She's doing a lot of laying around on the cool kitchen floor and looking at me as if to say, "turn off the heater, why doncha".

Hot again tomorrow, they say, then cooling as we head into the weekend.

Crowing Abatement Measures A Success

well mostly..
Queenie, the culprit.
Since the crowing was triggered by sunrise I finally figured out that if I could just keep the sun below the horizon until I was ready to get out of bed the problem would be mitigated.

So while I schemed how to delay daybreak I decided to try locking the birds in the dark coop at night. And letting them out when I got up.

It seems to work. They wake up later and once I let them out into the run there doesn't seem to be a need to crow.

I still hear muffled squawking some days if I wake up too late. And I will admit there has been the occasional cock a doodle screech. But overall the very aggressive, noisy crowing has stopped.

And outsmarting a chicken is a thrill beyond compare.

Still No Eggs...

Keeping hope alive, but the girls have not begun to pay me back. I even let them out in the backyard, which they are methodically destroying. I shoo them from one bedraggled plant to the next as they do their dastardly work. I can't help it though, it's so much fun to have them out and they are so much happier out of the coop pen. I especially love it when my Little Red Hen chases the cat. Wouldn't you run if this was charging you? I try not to laugh out loud.
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les poulets sont arrivés!

I got my chicks! Here they are inspecting the wall of their new home for the next 6 weeks.






Left to right they are:
Rhode Island Red
Black Australorp
Barred Rock

They spend most of their time, eating, sleeping and chirping contentedly.

More chix pics soon.