The First Molt

This is what the backyard looks like!  You would think something got in and attacked the girls.  But no they are just molting.  It is an ugly picture!

It is not a good look for any of the girls.  Some have lost all the fluff on their behinds.  Some are losing the feathers around their necks.  And then there is poor Judy (no picture will ever be taken of her), she has missing feathers in splotches all over her body.  Looks like someone that was asleep went after her with hair trimmers.  She hides under the bushes so no one can see...so embarrassing.

EffieGrace looks the most presentable of the bunch.

Guess I am going to have to look up how long this phase will last.  Research is a good thing.  Another thing, while they are molting there is no egg production...or very few eggs.  In the last two days I have gotten 6 eggs.

Open For Business

The girls love it!  The Cluck-Thru is a huge success.

They come running like crazy birds from underneath the hosta and the burning bushes.

All I had to do this morning was open the window and they came running.  

Yesterday I threw together some makeshift steps for them.  Hoping to find someone giving away pallets so we can build a little box for them to stand on.  The box will also cover the window well so leaves can't accumulate there.  Along with snakes.

She Wants Us To Do WHAT?

This lady ready is crazy.  No wonder some call her the crazy chicken lady!  You'll never guess what she is teaching us to do now.

She knows that we love frozen corn.  So now for an early morning treat while all those little yahoos are eating breakfast she opens the kitchen window and calls us.  We all know her voice.  And we know when she says 'here chick chick'...there will be a snack that we love involved.

She has made us a little log ladder to climb us on because we were all scared of that plastic see through thing under the window sill.

I hear that one of her friends from high school (something about her twin) called it the Cluck-Thru.  I'll see if I can't talk her into getting it on a video for you to see.  I think we are learning very fast.  You know we are pretty smart chickens.  And she loves us so.  We decided that it was up to us to make her smile everyday because you know that she is getting up there in years...and besides that she takes really good care of us.  Just the other day we weren't laying very well (some of us are molting and when we do that we don't lay eggs during that time)  She got out all of her chicken books and read up on what herbs to put in the nesting boxes and run.  It smells so good in there who wouldn't want to sit for a while and maybe plop out an egg or two.