Snowflakes Flying And Somebody Looks Really Cold

EffieGrace giving her best stink eye.  It is starting to snow and I am sure she must be cold.

 Maybe if I puff up as much as I can and close my eyes it will go away.

Going to the freezer to get her a little extra corn and maybe her own bowl of scratch.

Bulking Up For Winter

We try to feed The Girls some veggies everyday.  I'm hoping with all the corn and scratch they will put on an extra layer of fat to keep them warm this winter.

Ella Bella sure doesn't need any beefing up.   She could go to Alaska and be just fine.  Poor old girl.  But when you are almost 10, I guess I can cut her some slack.  But I have news for her, her lazy days are numbered.  I am going to need a walking buddy come Jan 1 !

Most of the girls are getting their new feathers in just in time for winter, thank heavens.

Looks like someone got caught scratching and  pecking in the garden.  They love the raised beds.

Meet the new boss in town.  The pecking order has switched since Susie crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.  Boy and is Inez a feisty one.

And then there is poor EffieGrace.  Her molt seems to be in slow motion.  I did check her today and she is finally getting new feathers.  Last night when I went to tell them all good night and lock them in...her sisters were all in the nesting boxes leaving her out on the perch all by herself.  She needs extra body heat to keep her warm.  So tonight I am closing off the nesting boxes so they will be forced to share the perch with her.  Two can play at their game.

I feel so bad for her.  But I have noticed that she is starting to join the group again and come and 'fight' for treats.  I guess it is desperate measures for desperate times.

Thinking about one of those knitted sweaters for her!

Getting The Girls Ready For Winter

If Chickie Pa and I don't kill each other first the Big Girls will have a nice warm and dry run for the winter.

 On second thought after  the rain today we might go ahead and cover everything but the door with the plastic panels.

 No now the problem is what to do about the feeder?  The waterer needs to stay where it is because in the winter we have a heater that it sits on so it won't freeze.

The Little Girls have a nice feeder with a top and all I have to do is open it and poor the food in.  It is lovely.

Now The Big Girls have one too!

And it is super close to the feed shed..steps away...yea!

I am afraid that this winter the Little Girls will end up with lots of frostbite on their combs because the roost right up next to the metal roof.  And those are coming down tomorrow so they will actually roost in the place that was built for them to roost in...right inside that little door.  Chickie Pa made a make shift ladder.  The girls weren't catching on at all.  Finally Sunny figured it out.  So I opened the bottom under the little barn where I clean out all the poop.  Two options for getting in and out..  The Girls aren't picking up what I am laying down.  With a little practice when it is not raining will work I think.  Mark says let nature take it's course.

Can't you just imagine the chatter around the 'water cooler' today!

Remember Way Back When...

my friend Betsy found they chandelier at Good Will and called to ask if I wanted it! Well, the project is just about complete.

Today I had Mark get them a little treat of scratch...gotta give then that extra fat layer to keep warm this winter.

They loved it!  enough room that everyone can use their manners with no shoving and pushing.

Now all we need to do it hang it somewhere in the yard and maybe make a little cover for it when it rains...a food umbrella.  Don't think Mark is going to go for that.

Swedish Egg Coffee

A good friend of mine got me a chicken magazine, Chickens, for my birthday.  In the November/December edition right on the front, top right these words appear...Swedish Egg Coffee.  Hmmm.

I'm thinking that I a not so sure about this one.  But what the hay...think I might give it a try.

Article info by Roger and Nicole Sipe:  'Swedish egg coffee is a unique Scandinavian-American tradition.  It is a coffee concoction beloved by many ladies in church basements throughout the Midwest:  a mixture of coffee grounds, a beaten egg, shell and all.  It is said that the egg and shell clarify the coffee and make it less biter (I think I like that).  The website Talk About Coffee explains that the proteins in the egg bind with the acid in the coffee to neutralize it.  It doesn't change the taste of the coffee, but it makes it super smooth and wonderful'.   

Eric Dregni wrote a blog post for the University if Minnesota Press 

...'every morning my grandmother made her Swedish egg coffee: a quarter cup of Folgers mixed with an egg white and the shell thrown in for a little calcium  The egg clings to the grounds, so when her concoction was poured  through a simple strainer, the result was a perfectly clear cup of coffee.  Swedes like here diluted it with thick cream, whereas Norwegians always wanted it black.

Swedish Egg Coffee

1 egg with shell (give the eggshell a good washing before using it to be safe.)

1 cup of coffee grounds (medium to large grind)

1/3 cup of water

8 cups cool water

In a medium bowl, crack the egg and crush the shell:  add coffee grounds and 1/3 cup of water.  Mix into a paste.  

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. 

Carefully ass paster to the boiling water. (It will foam a little but that is normal).  When the boil returns, turn off the heat and remove from the stove.

As the hot water cooks the egg, the coffee grounds will clump and float.  Let it sit for 6 to 7 minutes-longer for stronger coffee.

In a large beverage receptacle, pour through a fine mesh strainer.  Discard the solution and enjoy your Swedish Egg Coffee.

I will let you know.

Colorful Umbrellas

Mark's Japanese maples make a perfect umbrella for the girls on a rainy day.

One day these leaves we light green the very next day it exploded to orange.

If you can't go out because of the rain and you just can't stand it..you can always try to escape through the torn screen.  And Ella Bella will be the lookout.

Remember The Story About The Red Fern....

This is all the proof that I need that Keithetta and Susie were best friends.  And I know for a fact a red fern will be growing between them next spring!

Keithetta is the beautiful yellow chicken on top of the seed block and Susie is the zebra looking chicken to her right.

Thank you again Moey for painting such a wonderful watercolor of my girls.  It gets more special everyday!

Chicken Feeder Update

She's been painted and cups glues over the sockets.  Now I can't decide whether to hang it or jut sit it in the yard.

Any suggestions?

Latest Molting Story

She's the worst of the bunch

 Today she showed up with no tail feathers.

RayJeana is slowly losing her feathers.

Ms Sassy Pants, Crispy, shows no signs of molting.

Judy is starting to look better.

RayJeans doesn't seem to mind being a little light in the feathers.

Esthelle lost her tail feathers yesterday.

Dixie just runs away so no one can see her.

 oh no, I see some really light spots.  Guess she is next.

 Pecking some of that new food that will add lots more protein to her diet.  Good girl!

And then there is poor, poor, poor EffieGrae.

 It looks bad but this is actually good.  The bare skin is where she has lost her feathers.  And you see those little straw looking things...those are the new feathers.  It is really a neat thing to see.

I

One day soon she will pretty again.  Hope it is before the middle of the month.  According to the Farmer's Almanac we are going to get some snow showers around the middle of the month.

Let The Games Begin

I decided to leave the obstacle course up so The Girls can get used to all the new colors and shapes.  I even enticed them with chunks of tomatoes today.  EffieGrace seemed interested.  We were just getting started with some unexpected company (a cutie-pa-tootie little Gracie) came and I had to go play with her.

Another Marker In The Chicken Cemetary

Plaaced another marker today.

Emmy comes home tonight with this story...she told her 'Nanny kids' that Susie had died.  They were sad and made sure to tell PJ all about it.  He was sad too.  He was just glad that it wasn't Sunny the one that he picked up and held.  They were having a conversation and they wondered if Susie had a best friend.  So they asked Emmy and she said sure.  They wanted to know who it was.  Wammy she said.  No Emmy, a chicken friend.  Emmy really didn't have an answer for them.  Instead they figured out that it was really probably Keithetta.  Now they are just sure that in the spring there will be a red fern growing between their markers. (If you haven't ever read 'Where The Red Fern Grows' you won't understand the meaning of the red fern...go read it...it is a great book...one of our favorites!)

So we are going to be on the lookout for a red fern to plant this spring.

Losing Old Feathers and Growing New Ones

Mark went to pick up food for the girls yesterday.  He talked to the staff and they suggested since the girls were in the middle of a molt they should have this feather fixer.  Great idea.  One problem.  It is pellets and they don't eat pellets.

So being the good Chickie Ma that I am I crushed up the pellets and aded them to the chicken treat that I feed them to get them a little heavier for the winter (so they will stay warmer with an extra layer of fat).

So we will see tomorrow morning what the verdict is.  If they haven't eaten much, I probably going to send Mark back to the feed store to get the regular food and I'll have to figure something else out.  They need more protein now that they are growing new heathers.  Maybe some mealworms.  I'll need to do a little research.

Chicken Trick Or Treats

"You are trickin' me right?  Get that camera out of my face!"

Gave the girls a little treat today.  I pulled the tomato vines out of the Tower Garden.  Might as well give it to them...they ate all the leaves up as far as the could reach.