Chicken Worming 101

I was reading the other day and the article said that it is good to worm your chickens ever so often just in case there is a problem. I have not seen any evidence of said little creatures but thought we should start out 'fresh' in the new year.  I read that you can buy medication but then you have to get rid of the eggs for awhile until the medication runs through the chicken....how do you figure that one out.  I chose to go the a-la-natural organic route.  I read that pumpkin seeds were good.  Then I read they were not.  So I chose grits, Cayenne pepper and garlic.  I also put ACV (apple cider vinegar) with the mother in their water.

This is what it looked like.  Big girls get the medium size plate.  Little girls (because there are 6 of them and only 4 Big Girls) get the plate on the right and EffieGrace (the chicken having the worst molt in the history of molts) gets her own special dish all by herself in the run.  She shies away from doing anything with the other girls.  I was so excited.  It would be worm in their bellies on this freezing cold morning and good for them too.  The Little Girls dived right in.  The Big Girls turned their noses up at it and EffieGrace ran the other way. EPIC FAIL!

Then I spied some cooked rice in the fridge.  I know they love rice so I mixed up more pepper and garlic.  The gobbled it up like white on rice! (LOL)

EffieGrace even joined the party!  I sure was glad to see that!

Here's the info that I read....Cayenne pepper is a great spice to use because the chicken have no heat receptors,  They love it.  I can even mix it in with their regular food and they will gobble it right up.  Worms can't stand the heat and they run out the back door (if you get my drift).  I will need to do it again in 10 days.

My only problem...Ella.  I'm guessing that I should really watch her because if she eats any of this stuff it won't be good.  I don't have to worry about her getting in the Little Girls run because the door is too low to the ground and she can't crawl under things anymore.  I will need to make sure that the Big Girls run is locked tight so she can't wiggle her way in there.

I'll give you a progress report in a day or two.

So Surprised

I honestly have no idea how to read my girls some days.  Today a cold, dreary, snowflakes come hit or miss and they lay 5 eggs.  What!

Then I try juggling them in my hand so I can get a good pictures of the..dropped my phone right on the biggest one.  Guess I'm having a fried egg sandwich.

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?