Leg problems

Scroungey is having some leg problems. She has always had bent, twisted toes, but, she has always gotten along fine. She was okay this morning, but when I got home she was limping but, would run like with her toes bunched up on the left leg. I've got her inside for the night. I massaged her leg with ointment to reduce swelling. She doesn't have bumblefoot. She's eating. I wonder if she's got arthritis? I've also been bringing Cluckster in at night as her bumblefoot has come back again. No matter what I do, she heals then she gets it again. I put her on the roost and I take her off. I just wonder if when they were chicks if they had an A, D OR E deficiency? The girls are all 3 years old now.

This is the hen Girl I blogged about earlier, who I nursed back to health after her egg broke inside her and she prolapsed. Doesn't she look 150% better? The only lasting thing from her health problem seems to be an egg with a little lump on it.

On another note, I'm sorry I haven't been blogging regularly. So many things are going on around here. The USPS management has saw fit to make me work a full time shift on Friday's (I get home at 5-5:30PM) and then work from 2AM-Noon on Saturday. Needless to say by the time I get home on Saturday all I want to do is sleep. Sunday's are not much better. I just cannot sleep on Friday nights. Anyway, I am grateful to God that I have a job, as many have lost their jobs.

Signing out for tonight.

Chicken Super Models

As I am watching America's Next Top Model reruns today, I started to think about which supermodels looked like my chickens! Yes, the brain does wonder at the strangest things while at rest! It gave me a chuckle. My Olde Bitty (seen above) reminds me a bit of Cheryl Tiegs. She's serious, eye catching and gets the job done!

Old Meanie (above) reminds me of Janice Dickinson. Bold, fearless, adventurous, independent and a little crazy. Can't you just see Janice Dickinson in that facial expression? LOL

Scroungey is the Lauren Hutton of chicken super modeling. A bit different, awkward, and she had a bend toe, yet her poses are somehow endearing and charming.

Last but, truly not least is Cluckster. She's the Tyra Banks in Chicken modeldom. She never takes a bad photo, she has a full array of different looks and facial expressions!

Perhaps Tyra Banks will read this and arrange for my chickens to have makeovers and a new coop built hahaha!

Finally a quiet minute

This is my old cat Tony. He's around 17-19 years old, we're not exactly sure, but, he's at least 17 now. I had a Senior Feline test battery done a few weeks ago and it did show that he's in the beginning stages of Renal failure. Tony is my best friend, my shadow and he's been with me for 12 years now. I will be crushed when he passes. It's one of the reasons, I've not felt like blogging. Tony is actually doing well considering. I've switched his diet to a Renal prescription diet and he's also on a medicine called co-calcitriol to help him absorb calcium. Here he's shown in Girl's hospital pen that she was using while in the house. I had let her outside one day when it was nice and Tony didn't waste any time taking up residence here. I love my old Tony cat.

Finally, I've got a quiet minute to type a bit on my blog. The hens are all healthy and doing well. Girl my one Golden laced Wyandotte who had an egg break inside of her and had a prolapse is finally back in the flock after over 2 months of being inside being nursed back to health. She's back to laying too. Her eggs are a bit lumpy still, but, as long as I give her a calcium pill once a week she seems to be doing well. I just really have to keep an eye on her. The Dominique pictured above is Sylvia. She really is a great show Dominique. Her comb is nearly perfect according to the standard. I haven't shown her, as I don't have time to take off work and stay at the fairgrounds with her. I read that many people lately have had their show chickens stolen right out of the fair cages. This of course happens when the owners are out for the day or night.

The weather here just will not warm up. The wind is blowing very hard today and it is actually very cool. The girls spent most of the day under a shrub, picking around in the tall lilies on the bank in our backyard.

This chicken above is Bevin. She's probably my best layer. She's a grouchy ole' gal, just like her mommie! It's funny I have nearly 15 nest boxes available for them and they all want in the exact same boxes. Bevin loves to wait until one of the other girls gets inside and then push them out.

On another non-chicken note, I want to thank my friends for supporting me through this last month which was rather hard for me. I love all you girls and guys! I will try to keep up with my posting this coming month with more photos.

Chicken days

What a nice, quiet little day today was. I call days like these Chicken days. I have 2 days off of work so the chickens got to spend most of the day outside. It started out a little below freezing with a very cool wind. It warmed up about 1:00 PM. Above is a photo of Cluckster and Big Momma. They are new partners in crime.

Above is a photo of (l to r) Weezy, Phoebe, Scroungey and Tina Weena on the East side of our house under my Honeysuckle & Trumpet vine. It's their new favorite dust batheing spot. There's a large window right above them (that you can't see in the photo) so I can chicken watch if I like.

Now this photo above is of my Ole'Bitty. She's a genuine laying machine. Her eggs are always so smooth and pretty. She's a Buff Orpington. Ole'Bitty is very opinionated, loud, a great broody hen and very friendly. She's always on the move, so I was lucky to get this photo of her stationary for a few seconds.

Not much of anything else going on today, just another Chicken day.

My chickens photo in a new book!!!

The other day I received an email from Elane Belanger from Backyard Poultry magazine. She asked permission on behalf of her father-in-law JD Belanger the editor of Countryside magazine if he could use a photo I had sent into Backyard Poultry in his upcoming new book. Of course, I said yes!!! It's a photo that I'm not able to post on my blog, but it was of Sweet Pea (deceased) one of my Dominiques, Old Meanie and Phoebe was in the background! I'll get a free book and my name credited for the photo. The book, I'm not sure when it will actually be out but, it's going to be titled, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Sufficiency". Anyway, I thought that was the coolest thing. My Sweet Pea will live on in the book!

Speaking of books I just bought "The Joy of Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit" by Jennifer Megyasi (photo above, sorry every time I post a photo it goes to the top). It's a wonderful and beautiful book. The photo's are by Geoff Hansen. He did the exquisite photography for "Living with Sheep". I've been cleaning out the books that I'll never read and swapping them on paperbackswap.com

Paperbackswap.com is so great! You list 10 books and you get a credit and you can request other members books. The only thing you have to pay for is the postage when mailing out your books to other members who request them. When the other members receive the book they mark it received and you get a credit you can use to request a book. If you think that sounds fun it is! If you sign up let them know that I sent you as a referral and I'll get one free credit! My user name there is LynniePennie and my email is ereiley@twcny.rr.com let them know I sent ya!

Chicken drawings

Above is one of my pencil drawings of Big Momma. The very top pencil drawing is one I did of Old Meanie (if she were a Lakenvelder). The face is really like Ole' Meanie. I love to draw the profiles of my chickens. Big Momma is really quite a loner. They really do have such character. The photo below is Big Momma outside last Sunday. She's looking awful pretty isn't she? Now that she's been back out in the coop, she has gone back to being a snob. Except when she wants food!

Busy, busy, bee

I'm sorry that I won't be uploading any photos to my blog right now, I've had some problems finding my USB cord...UGHhhh! Anyway, I've been busy & more busy without accomplishing much of anything.?! Has that happened to you? Today I have to do a lot of baking as we've been invited to a big ole' Fellowship dinner at the church my mother is attending. I've decided to make my grandma's famous cheesy broccoli casserole (one of my favorites). It's really an easy one skillet recipe which I always whip up in my favorite cast iron skillet. Then I'm making a huge pan of brownies without nuts, as I'm allergic. I'd like to make some nice yeast rolls, but, I cannot find my recipe. Does anyone have a nice roll recipe for potato bread rolls or a recipe for the Brown and Serve type rolls?

Okay, now on to the chicken coop... well since I've last wrote in my blog I've added yet another chicken to our indoor chicken haus! Tina Weena started to molt in our -44F to -15F weather. It wasn't a little molt either, she lost all her tail feathers and the feathers around her tummy. I cannot understand why her and Weezy started a huge molt then. They didn't molt in October/November like the other girls. Weezy and Tina Weena are two of my best layers and they were so busy laying during that time last year, I guess they just forgot to molt. Perhaps they just wanted to eat scrambled eggs and cheese with an occaisional treat of dry cat food all winter.?! Chickens stupid? I say NOT! The rest of the gals out in the outside coops are going to get a treat today. It's warm enough that they can get out in the backyard. There's still a ton of ice and snow, but there's a few places dry enough for them to scratch around.

Big Momma who was once indoors (if you remember her from my earlier blogs) has started laying again. Her old rosecomb is so plump and blood red and her feathers are gorgeous. Big Momma is nearly show worthy. She has the golden lacing on her thighs and there's barely a break. Truly if I had a Golden Laced Wyandotte rooster who had the show worthy lacing, I'd let Ole' Bitty raise some of Big Momma's babies. Ole' Bitty was clucking the other day while on the nest softly. I bet she's about to go broody again. She wants to be a momma so badly.

Well, I'm off to cook and to try to find my USB cord so I can show everyone my chicken drawings hehehe.