Everyone Has A Job

All the animals at NottaLotta have jobs...

Some are just too darn cute and fun to play with.

The Girls all scratch and eat the weeds and bugs and provide eggs and a little fertilizer for the compost.

Weed and leaf eating

Or just plain fun...bringing smiles to everyone's faces.

Pappy's Girls Photo Shoot

It is a challenge for me to get an individual shot of each one of Pappy's Girls.  But I gave it a shot this evening. 

We have figured out if we want Pappy's Girls to come around when we sit in the 'chicken chairs', we need to pen My Girls up.  The two groups of chickens tolerate each other in the backyard...no mingling yet.

Gladys strutting around like she owns the backyard.

I think he was able to get two of them to actually come to him to eat out of his hand.

 Cornelia, a large Jersey Giant, is always standoffish.

Cornelia's feathers are beautiful.  I didn't think I would like a white chicken.  She amazes me that she never looks dirty...even after dusting.

Martha, the NH Red, loves to perch.  She doesn't care where.  She just has to be up.

Ruby, Amelia and Leona checking things out north, south, and west..

Agnes doing some high steppin'.

A little bit of teamwork going on.

I love those feathery legs.

Found the flower bandit!

 Mark did some weed eating and that means the bugs are easier to find.

Playing a little game of hide-and-seek.

 Pappy has some polite chickens...taking turns perching on the old wheelbarrow.  

I think we may continue the game of divide and conquer until Pappy's Girls get more comfortable with eating out of your hands.

Over The Past Week Or So

Can't wait until fall when the oak leaves start falling...seems they are top on Boogie's diet menu.!  Yea I hope that means less raking and mulching for me.

The Girls do a great job helping mix up the compost.

I see one of Pappy's Girls in a place that she shouldn't be.

I love hanging out laundry!

That silly Scoot on top of the alfalfa

Big buddies

Looking for some shade.

They are such good boys to share the bucket of grain.

These are about the only flowers that have survived the animals.

I know what is going to happen.  The bucket is going to be overturned!  But yet I leave it there.

Boogie found a little shade.

Broody hen...again!

Bertha is going to be a beauty.

A little play...

Boogie getting ready to come down full force.

They finally figured out the roost for the night.

Had A Little Scare Last Night

I am in the car getting ready to pull out of the driveway to take Micahel and Wyatt to TKD and Micahel says that Mr.  Bill (our right neighbor) is running down the sidewalk.  I think he needs to talk to you.  Yep, sure enough.  He breathlessly tells me that one of my chickens got over the fence!  Freak-a-Zoid!  We go running to his backyard but no chicken to be found.  He tells me the first thing he did was to put the cat in.  Thank goodness.  So both if us start calling the chicken.  I have no idea which one it is and he says it is a big chicken.  I think he was referring to my girls.  In my head I'm thinking I can't imagine them being abe to fly anywhere...they are a little, let's say, fuller figured!  I climb the fence to see if I see any chickens on my side so I can figure out which one escaped.  No luck.  We head to the back gate and here comes one of Mark's girls toward us.  I try to call her to come to me but we all know that isn't going to happen.  At least we have narrowed it down to two of Mark's Barred Rocks...Leona or Amelia.  Now that we have located the chicken we begin to corral her to the back gate.  Ha!  I am trudging through poison ivy up to my knees.  And folks, that is not a good thing.  No siree!  finally, after several hair-raising minutes, she waltzes back through the gate like she had just been for an evening stroll.

So today we clipped their wings.  Just Amelia and Leona.  II watched the YTube video twice and made Mark watch it once.  How hard could it be?  It took three of us and the dog, two chicken herding sticks, a blue net that the yahoos collect things in, Michael's swinging stick and the area between the goat fence and the outside fence.  I am so glad there was no one to film this fiasco.  Once we captured them it was easy sailing.

Once you calm them down and spread their wings the flight feathers are easy to find.

She never tried to break away.  Good girl!

Evening them up so they look nice.

I am going to say they we did Amelia first.  I can't for the life of me find any distinguishing marks between the two.  So I guess they will be like identical twins their whole like.  Playing jokes on me constantly.

Leona was easier to catch once we mastered the learning curve.

It doesn't hurt them at all.  No blood.  It is just like cutting hair.

Leona getting a little love and encouragement after it is all over.  I think she was looking more on the line of some treats.

So now all is well on NottaLotta until someone else does something...fun!

Little June Visitors

It amazes me the number of people that want to come and visit the animals...big and little people!

The chickens love it when someone comes.  That means they will be getting a little bit extra scratch in their diets.

Or maybe a lot more.

And there always seems to be lots of animal kissing to go around.

Oh, what to d next?

Maybe she just had to sit had have a little one on one time with one of the girls.

Mrs. Best, the art teacher at HPS is a good friend of Emmy's.  She brought her mom, a niece and her kids for a quick visit..

The entire Best crew is ready for the annual campout in the backyard.  Better get that on the calendar soon.