River Chickens

My neighbor at the river has gotten some roosters and chickens - Buff Orpington, Barred Rock and Red Star - they are just beautiful.
The Triplets are growing - I think they'd be considered teenagers about now.

The Triplets

Well, they're here already - that's right - the Triplets!  Three barred rock pullets.  I picked them up today in Youngsville and I must say the seller and I had quite a conversation - well, he had quite a conversation.  About talked my ears off but the Triplets are healthy, happy and settled in their new home.  And they traveled home in style in a dog/cat carrier - he brought them to me in a cardboard box.  Chickens are easy to move - you just have to remember they poop all the way home.

Right now I'm keeping the Triplets in a separate house till they get a little older and bigger.  They won't start laying till February but I'm excited - just the thought of having real eggs again!  Yippee!
I'm waiting to hear from a friend about the old girls moving to a Safehouse. 

Bee Inspector

Today our local state bee inspector, Will Hicks,  and Mr. Ellis came over to look at the "New Hive".  I've had dead bees in front of the hive and Mr. Ellis and I thought there was more to it than just a change in the weather.  Well, sure enough, Will said I have varroa mites in this hive.  I will treat with Api-Life VAR which is one of the latest products available for the control of varroa using organic chemicals. It is 95% effective while leaving the least residue of any product available to beekeepers (legal or illegal).The active ingredients are the well proven Thymol plus Eucalyptus Oil, Menthol and Camphor.  Treatment is always applied after the honey harvest.

Will and I checking "New Hive"

And since Will was here, he checked all the hives. Saw the queen in Hive #4 and Nuc #1 - all the hives have plenty of honey stored and lots of bees.  Still have drones too. 
Put a super on Nuc #1 -took 2 frames of honey from each hive and moved to this super - so they have 4 empty frames.  Gives everybody a little more breathing space.  I'm still feeding and will continue until freezing weather or they stop taking the sugar syrup.

The Queen - Hive #4

And Will never (well, very seldom) puts on his suit but I did for the "New Hive".  It was cloudy and very windy - these girls were not happy. He got stung a couple of times but the other hives were fine - no problem with them - very gentle bees.
Just a note - I treated my bees with chemicals the first year of beekeeping.  Someone said that was what you were supposed to do, so I did it.  I have not used chemicals in my hives since that first year.  I really, really hate to use any type of chemical but have no choice with this situation. 

Day 3 and a Finish

Well, I'm done and pretty darn glad to be done too!
The lattice that's on the left is the temporary door.  I've used it all summer and it works fine - just have to prop something against it to keep it from falling over.

I got a little carried away with the roof.  Put shingles over the landscape timbers and then put plywood on top and then put shingles over the plywood.  Of course it's a flat roof but this is not the "forever" chicken house.
The cost was "zero dollars".  Everything was from stuff I had in the barn, garage or just laying around.  Let me tell you - I have some stuff. 
So I'll be getting some new girls soon . . . . stay tuned.

Chicken House Day 2

 

Day 2 - finished the back of the hen house with pieces of siding.  Left the top open with wire for ventilation. 

Lily was helpful again today.
The lattice at the front of the hen house will have chicken wire attached.  When it gets cold, I'll put plastic on the outside.  Not sure about the door but have another piece of lattice that fits so it'll work for now and I just prop it shut.
It did take longer than I thought to get that plexiglass glued (Gorilla Glue) and I used foam strip insulation to make it work against the wood.

Now that's about all I did on Day 2.  It took awhile to cut all the pieces for the back and front and I'm not the greatest with a skill saw but I'm still in one piece so that says a lot!
More tomorrow . . . . 

Chicken House Remodel - Day 1

I want chickens that lay eggs and not just hang around the house being fat and sassy . . . . so I have no choice but to renovate/enlarge my hen house . . . can't eat those girls (they all have names).
 


I made the original hen house from landscape panels and it's sorta a tepee but not much extra room inside.

Lily was helping - she got in the way a lot looking for squirrels.  This is her favorite time of the year - those pesky squirrels are running around everywhere.

This was actually the hardest part - moving the panel over - it fell over once and that was not pleasant but got it back up again (you can bet I propped it up right this time).

So this is how it looked at the end of Day 1 - lots of space inside for the girls.  I did put up a temporary front before bedtime so the girls would be safe.
So during the night while I was supposed to be sleeping, I thought about what I had done and what I should have done - stay tuned for Day 2.

Crow Accents

Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu. A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.
However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.
MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause: when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger. They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "Truck."