19 EGGS and Counting!

It's been a long while since I posted here but I will endeavour to bring you all up to date on the adventures of the Mayberry Girls.
Thelma Lou..the problem hen went missing in late July along with Skippy( she lived up to her characters name) I searched all the bushes and previous hiding places (under the outdoor bathtub, the bushes around the AC etc...) but to no avail. I was sure Mr Hawk had carried them both off.
A few weeks later our Boston Terrier Isabella began barking excitedly around some Hosta plants and I went to investigate. There was THELMA LOU! I knew she must be hungry and thirsty and so I ATTEMPTED to pick her up even thinking she was dead or injured. Well she let me know right away that she was having none of that! I aimed the hose at her pocked at her with a small stick and I could not budge her. Finally with gloves on I picked her up and carried her to the coop. Underneath her were 19 Hot stinky EGGS! She was convinced poor girl that she was going to hatch some chicks!
Needless to say that ALL those eggs got tossed.
Poor Skippy has never been found.

Foghorn Leghorn pays a visit!

First let me say that I did research this and Wikepedia does say that Foghorn Leghorn WAS A CHICKEN HAWK.
Ok...Now on with the story.
I had heard stories from other farmers that predators can strike at any time and can seriously diminish a flock. Skunks, stray dogs,and the ever dreaded "Chicken Hawk" we're always mentioned.
Not being up on my bird species I thought a Chicken Hawk was a lowly sneaky form of Hawk, when in actuality is just only a Hawk. This lapse in knowledge would prove to be bothersome in the days to come.
Several weeks ago during a wonderful sunny morning, Gib ran into the greenhouse shouting, "Get the gun, get the gun, there is a Chicken Hawk after Thelma Lou" Anyone who knows me well knows I am terrified of guns and tender hearted to a fault with animals.
The Hawk had swooped down and if not for some low bushes Thelma Lou would have made quite the Chicken Dinner.
Protective impulse kicked in and I put in a request to Bob to sit patiently on the deck and wait for Mr. Leghorn to appear..and shoot him...simple enough in my book.
HOWEVER, after a funny post on Facebook about the soon to be demise of Mr. Leghorn, I received several texts, calls and emails warning me that it was against the law the kill a hawk. Uh oh!
I told Bob the next thing he would tell me was that Buzzards were protected as well..and guess what....they are, along with Crows!
Well, not to be outwitted by a bird, Bob and I devised a covering over the coop consisting of ropes criss crossing the run and some Vietnam war era Camo netting ovEr the whole thing, thereby giving the girls shade and protection as well as saving the protected Hawk.
Mr. Leghorn...your chicken dinner will have to come from somewhere else...try Colonel Sanders!

The Unfortunate Incident

It has been an eventful month here at the Egg Farm with laying patterns altering just slightly with Winter well underway as well as being able to introduce our CSA members to fresh eggs. The first weekly pick up I offered only 3 half dozen cartons and they were soon purchased. Calls and emails were received and I was inundated with requests for eggs. I devised an alphabetical system of making sure all members are given the opportunity to purchase said eggs. This has worked rather well except when I forget to bring the eggs to the pick up site.
Also, the girls are now getting more attention and more regular coop clean outs  due to my new status as a stay at home Mom. I am no longer gainfully employed but I do slave away each day with 9000 plus heads of lettuce, 2 dogs, 5 cats and 8 chickens as co workers!
During the month of December, Thelma Lou, Helen and Daphne decided to fly the coop each day and putter around the yard. I would herd them back in only to have them fly out over and over. I had put in a request with my friend Marvin to come and clip all their wings but he had not been able to do this yet.
Yesterday we had a sweet young lady drop by the greenhouse to pick up her weekly share and she brought her energetic Lab, River along. As they were leaving, something caught Rivers eye and that something was Thelma Lou. She bolted as Labs are want to do and Thelma Lou being the experienced flyer that she is, flew up and over into the coop.NOT so with Daphne. She was caught unaware and was rescued by Bob after River gave her quite the rough handling.
It  appeared at first glance that she might be mortally wounded but not so. She is missing ALOT of feathers and one wing seems to be drooping a bit and she is walking with a limp today BUT she is alive and eating and drinking and that is a good sign. The funny thing is that she and Aunt Bea spent the better part of the day inside the old coop run just laying around together. It looked like a friend sitting with another friend when they are sick. The good thing about this is it looks as if River clipped Daphne's wing saving my friend Marvin the trouble! An unfortunate incident to be sure but one that had a happy ending!

The Great Thanksgiving Day Easter Egg Hunt with FANG the Egg Whisper!

Ok so I know its past Thanksgiving already but we have been very very busy here at the mini farm with our Market season winding down and with our CSA gearing up!

Of course we all know that Thelma Lou likes to escape and has been left alone to do this on a daily basis. She had a nice nest under the tub and seemed to be content to lay her eggs there. 

Right before Thanksgiving we noticed that we were not getting any heat from our furnace and began the long two week process of finding out the issue. I won't bore you with the details but in the midst of all the activity around the furnace one (of many) heater repair men alerted me to the fact that I had a cat sitting on a nest of eggs. WHAT? So, off I went to investigate thinking surely he must be mistaken. I found ANOTHER nest which of course was Thelma Lou's and hiding ever so stealthily(is this a word?) was FANG the newest of our "drop off" cats. Of course with Fang being all white he was not doing such a good job of being stealthy and so he was easy to spot. The repair man assured me that Fang was indeed sitting on the nest when he discovered him. Fang..the egg whisperer continues to sit on Thelma Lou's eggs in hopes of...hatching them maybe...who knows around here!

Its Me, Its Me, Its Ernest T!

To continue the saga of Thelma Lou we need to go back and revisit just why she decided to leave the peaceful confines of Mayberry and seek greener pastures. Now those that know Chickens told me that Thel had gone "broody" This means she wants to sit on her nest and hatch some little Thelma Lou's. Problem is there was no Barney or Andy or even a lowly Ernest T to facilitate the process. She would sit and sit and sit much like Horton sitting on Mazies egg in the Dr Seuss classic to no avail!

We would remove the eggs each day to discourage her but she still just loves to sit in her private nest and wait.

My chicken mentor Marvin keeps telling me over and over that I need a Rooster. He says a Rooster will take charge and keep things in order.I think he just wants to get rid of one of his problem boys. He even said he would bring one "Ernest T. Bass right to us.
I am not ready for any rooster much less one named after one of the most cantankerous characters in all of Mayberrydom!

Roosters would challenge ME, produce chicks that I have no place to hatch yet and the girls and I have done pretty good on our own.

So..Ernest T you will have to wait till next spring...maybe.

If I get an Ernest T will I have to have a Mrs. Wiley?

Up next! The GREAT Thanksgiving Easter Egg Hunt with Fang the Chicken Whisperer!

Prison Break

Today marked the first time since getting the girls that they all managed to escape. After cleaning their coop I failed to properly lock the gate. As I was returning from the Greenhouse I noticed all the girls were having quite the big time pecking and scratching at everything that moved....OUTSIDE the coop.
Since the dogs and cats are used to them, they posed no threat. Other than Thelma Lou the seasoned escapee, the other girls did not have a clue how to get back in. Thelma Lou on a daily basis escapes, we let her visit her slum crib, lay an egg and then whoever passes by will open the gate for her and in she waltzes.
So, I clucked, I clapped, I whistled...I even took out my earphones from my I Phone and played Pavoratti to them...Wait..These were not dogs and they paid no attention to me.
So,with daylight dwindling I left the gate door ajar, went inside made dinner and left them to their instincts.They will want to roost when the sun goes down.
A few hours later all eight are inside perched just as if nothing had happened. I know some prison wardens wish their prison breaks would end this simply

Up next...It's Me It's Me It's Ernest T!

Thelma Lou moves to the Slums

For some reason Thelma Lou does not like her digs at Mayberry and has chosen to move to the slums! 

We noticed a drop in egg production and also noticed that Thelma Lou was always OUTSIDE the coop. Upon further investigation we saw her squeeze underneath an old American Standard Bathtub circa 1930's and settle in. She nestled down and began choosing leaves and twigs around her to "feather her new nest". Bob's thoughts were, "she's happy, leave her alone." Of course this intrigued me and I kept an eye on her throughout the day. At dusk we discovered this nest had 5 eggs in it! So...since hens only lay one egg a day, it would appear that Thelma Lou has been slumming for quite some time!

 The eggs were gathered and the next day Thelma Lou AGAIN made her way to her new ramshackle nest. She seemed quite happy to be there and at the end of the day simply made her way to the gate and we ushered her inside with no fanfare whatsoever!

Not one to tamper with nature I figure I will just let her be and continue to gather eggs from the slums!