Our First Farm Fresh Egg!

It finally happened! I went out to the coop last night to put the chickens up for the night. As I have been doing every morning and night for the last week-and-a-half, I took a look around with the flashlight. There it was on the floor under the roost - a small brown egg! I think I actually screamed with delight - We have an Egg!!! I was so excited that I actually ran back to the house (with curious dogs in tow) yelling like a school girl. Keith was not that happy to have to head outside into the cold with the camera to take a picture. Upon picking it up, I realized that the shell was very soft - so not an egg we could actually eat and keep. The books say that sometimes their first eggs are soft. It can also mean they need more Vitamin D and calcium. It didn't matter to me - I was soooo proud of that egg. They did it! My chickens actually laid an egg.

No Eggs Yet

The girls are 25 weeks old today - but we haven't seen any eggs yet. I placed some fake eggs in the nest boxes hoping to entice them to their laying spot. I know that they have been in there - moving the eggs around - but that is about it. Yesterday I decided to take out the fake eggs as I was worried that they were trying to hatch those instead of laying their own. I hope finding a new home for Stevie hasn't thrown them off their game. This is all new to me...so I would appreciate any input as to whether we should be worried or not.

Nest Boxes and a new home for Stevie

Much has been happening at Windy Acres. As usual, there is plenty of outside work to do even when the temperatures start to drop. Last week we were able to get the chicken coop insulated for winter. I can definitely feel the difference inside - nice and toasty. The chickens have been spending much more time up on the roost - working their way up the ladder. The night before last five rather large chickens (including Stevie) were all squished together on the top roost. I guess they help keep each other warm. The sixth chicken has been making herself a little nest on the floor and we were worried that she is getting ready to lay.

So Keith got the next boxes built this weekend and they look great. So far it doesn't look like anyone has used them, so I'm going to see about getting a couple fake eggs. The book says that can help get them into the box. The girls are 22 weeks old and should start laying anytime.

We are also happy to report that we have found a new home for Stevie. This has been a very hard decision as Stevie is one of the two survivors of the great chicken massacre of 2009. We only wanted pullets so we would get unfertilized eggs and Stevie ended up being a boy. He is a beautiful bird and we hate to see him go. We have been in a quandary as to how to find him a new home. Everyone just kept telling us to kill him and roast him. We could never do that to Stevie!

Last Saturday we took a drive to Tractor Supply as we knew that Nancy from P.A.W.S. was going to be there. She runs a local animal rescue and figured she would be the one person that would know how to put us in contact with someone either in need of a rooster or willing to take him as a pet. We were right! She knew a woman in the northern part of our county who also has Buff Orpingtons and needs a new rooster as hers is crippled. We were so happy. So tonight, we are going to meet at Tractor Supply for the great Rooster hand-off.

Stevie - we will miss you and your crowing but we know that you will be happy.

My Favorite Time of Year

I love fall...Love it! I love everything about it - smell in the air, fall foods, fall festivals, the colors, the feeling of going back-to-school (and the need to buy school supplies), and the holidays. It is absolutely my favorite time of year. I don't even mind that it means Winter is right around the corner. I especially love Halloween. Halloween is my Mother's birthday and so it has always been 2nd only to Christmas in my family. My husband and I even got married the day before Halloween. I am trying my best to hold my enthusiasm in check and NOT get the Halloween decorations out until at least October 1st. I did started burning some fall scented candles - just to get a little "fall fix". My plan is to get some cleaning and organizing done this weekend (no excuses) so that we will be ready for all that fall has to offer. A trip to Tuttle Orchards for some apples might be in order.

Windy Acres Up Close

Our oldest dog, Bogey - 14.5 year-old Lab/Shepherd mix; Stevie and the Girls.

Dogs days of summer

The dogs days of summer tend to make everything run a little slower - including my blog updates. We picked the rest of the veggies yesterday (peppers, some carrots, the last cucumber and head of cabbage) along with a pile of parsley and basil. Then we mowed down the entire thing. This was not my best garden year. The weeds grew beyond my control. In addition, the tomatoes were hit hard by blight - never ripening just rotting on the vine.

The girls (and Stevie) are 17 weeks old now - quickly approaching laying age. Buff Orpingtons are supposed to start laying sometime around 24 weeks. Developed in the UK, they are a hardy bird that should continue to lay during the winter months. We still have many items to complete on the coop's "to-do" list in the next few weeks: insulate the walls, build the nest boxes, finish painting the west side, put board around the base (keep little critters out), and do something with Stevie. I wonder if the local pet adoption agency takes chickens.

And then there were two...

I think we mentioned that when Harry showed up wet under a car...he had a sibling in tow. Well, said sibling (gender unknown as it never lifts its tale) has become quite the noisy little kitty - hanging around the house and meowing non-stop. Needless to say, the dogs are in quite the tizzy. We've been feeding him/her at night and each day it seems to trust us just a tiny bit more. Keith has named it "Gizmo" after the movie "Gremlins". I still call it "Scaredy Cat". As I filled its bowl the other night, he/she almost let me touch him/her. At the rate we're going, he/she might let us actually pet him/her by New Year's.

Foggy Morning at Windy Acres

This is why we moved out to the country - the beauty, the serenity and
sometimes creepy country fog. But this morning, it was lovely.

It's official...Stevie's a boy

We had been waiting for it..maybe even dreading it a little. We didn't want it to be true...but this morning all doubt was erased. As we do every morning, we let the dogs out and then let the chickens out of the coop, saying "Good Morning Girls (and Stevie)". As I walked back toward the house..there was a sound that stopped me in my tracks. Stevie started crowing. Just short bursts at first and he sounded as if he were horse. The almost childlike crowing even made the dogs stop in their tracks and stare at the chickens. I guess that's it...we really need to find him a home. I just can't bear the thought of killing him after all that he had been through. I want him to live a happy, quiet chicken life.

Meet the newest member of Windy Acres

Looks like we have adopted a kitten. Last Thursday night, Keith (and the dogs) heard a crying outside. We headed outside with a flashlight, and followed the sound - which turned out to be a small kitten sitting under our '61 Ford Falcon. He was all wet and crying non-stop. He came right up to us and let us pet him. We brought out some dog food and boy was he hungry! We don't think he is more than 8-9 weeks old. Well, we fed him the next morning too and decided to try and bring him inside the house Friday night. We also found out he has a sibling which is currently living under our deck (what is it with our deck and critters?). This one is a true scaredy-cat and flees at the slightest movement or sound. He will come up to feed but then he is gone again as soon as we move. We haven't fully decided on a name yet, though we are leaning toward Dirty Harry (Harry for short). We started with the Cat with No Name (after the Clint Eastwood character "the man with no name" in some of his westerns), then Clint which didn't seem right for a kitten. Dirty Harry seemed a better name - plus he sort of squints like Clint. We need to get him fixed and over to the vet for tests. For now, he is enjoying the lush life in our spare bedroom.