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.

Household is going to the birds...

I tried to integrate Cluckster back into the flock, but of course, Ole’ Meanie wasn’t having it. None of the other girls except Ole’ Meanie and Sylvia bothered her. So, I kept her in a cage inside the run with them and let her out at roosting time. I did this for 3 days and Sylvia was okay with Cluckster after that. Ole’ Meanie however, was a different story. Ole’ Meanie would chase Cluckster and jump on her back and basically just torture her, until all Cluckster did was stay on the roost all day. Cluckster was pretty contended inside the house, so I just brought her back inside. My chicken diaper order goes out today and I will pay for rush delivery! She likes to preen on top of the cat burrow that my Tony cat never used. It’s right in front of one of our large windows overlooking the backyard. The sun shines right into it around noon and she just loves it. She’s such a pretty chicken.


I try to keep a keen eye on her, so she doesn’t leave any poopies around. What Eric doesn’t know won’t hurt him hehehe! When I cook anything when she’s out of the cage, her and Tony will be right under my feet begging for a piece of food. She has thought about pecking Tony, but, she wisely decided not too! He gets a little jealous if I pay too much attention to her, but all in all, they get along splendidly. Doesn’t she look rather contemplative here?

The other news from the coop is that one of my Dominique’s named Weezy (after Weezy Jefferson!) is now inside in the hospital cage. Every morning, I always watch them just to make sure that everyone is feeling 100%. Well, a few days ago I noticed that Weezy was looking a bit stressed out. I started bringing her scrambled eggs with cheese each morning with a little Baytril added in. After feeling around on her abdomen, I noticed she was molting! Molting in late January! Now her belly and under her wings are about naked with the start of new feathers barely showing. So, today, I have to make her a sweater some how. Every time I touch her a wad of feathers go flying everywhere. I don’t know why her molt is coming so very late. It seems all the hens had a bad molt this year.

Yesterday morning it wasn’t too bad outside, so I put Weezy and Cluckster in the chicken ark that you saw in the photo’s. I have it stored inside a shed and I put a heat lamp hanging up for them. Once I get her sweater made I can put her and Cluckster out inside the ark during the day and bring them inside the house to roost. I was surprised that Weezy and Cluckster didn’t seem to fight at all. The only chicken that I’ve saw Cluckster be mean to is Phoebe! This summer while they were outside Cluckster would wait until Phoebe was trying to take a dust bath and she would run after her and spitefully pull out one of Phoebe’s feathers! What a stinker Cluckster is toward Phoebe! So, I cannot put her into Phoebe, Scroungey and Big Momma’s pen. Aye…chicken politics! There’s a photo of my “darling” chicken sweater hehhehe….

Other than that there’s not too much going on in the coops. The girl’s are getting really bored with winter. I think once it warms up, I can again try to integrate Cluckster and Weezy back into their original flock.

Prayers please

I won't go into details, but, I want to ask for prayers for some peace in my life right now. I'm really trying to make my marriage work. It's very challenging to make a marriage work and to have any stability when you're married to a man who refuses to grow up and has no desire to grow spiritually in many ways. I was never raised in a household where people were given to strong drink. Anyway, please just pray for my sanity. I at times feel like I'm going crazy living with this man. Thank you.

Cabin Fever, Chickens & Gardening...

Well, our temperatures have been so very crazy. Lately, they have been anywhere from 32F to -44F! Last night it was -17F. I've had my kerosene heater burning out in the chicken coop. I start it at 4PM, then go out at 9PM to fill it back up. This keeps it running until I go out in the morning. BRR! It actually keeps the coops pretty warm, along with the 3 heat lamps (2 in the upper coop and one above the roost in my lower coop. With all the very cold temperatures I've been looking at all the chicken and gardening catalogs. I'd love to get some Dark Brahma hens this spring (photo above borrowed from BYC forum). At our local fair I saw one hen and I was so impressed with her beauty, carriage and size. I couldn't find a photo of a hen that really could express the beauty of these gentle giants. If we don't move this year I'm going to work on Eric to give me his other storage shed, so I can have more chickens. Here is my 2009 CHICKEN WISH LIST (all hens plz):

1. Dark Brahmas

2. Blue Laced Wyandottes

3. Columbian Wyandottes

4. Speckled Sussex

5. Salmon Faverolles

6. Barnevelders

7. Cuckoo Marans

8. Welsummers

9. Silver Gray Dorkings

10. Golden Lakenvelders

11. Delawares

12. Black Austalorps

13. More Buff Orpingtons

14. Buff Silkies

15. Anconas

16. Buff laced Brahmas

17. Red Caps

Among other's I'd like to get were Partridge Wyandottes, Red Chantecler, Buff & White Rocks, Black & White Jersey Giants and Red Leghorns. I wouldn't mind having some more Dominiques too. Oh, well... a girl can dream can't she? I went from 360 acres to less than an acre...so it's okay to have big dreams! Also I'd love a few Bourbon Red & White Palm turkeys, a few Pearl Guineas and some ducks!

My gardening wish list is too large to list all of it here. Though, I have ordered early from Sand Hill Preservation Center. The seed I ordered from Sand Hill is as follows: Lemon Basil, Roma tomatoes, Opalka tomatoes, Provenzano tomatoes, Spring Brooder Yard Greens seed mix (for my chickens enjoyment), Beurre de Rocquencourt bush beans. I'd love a huge veggie garden, but, my backyard is so very shady. I'd love to have a ton of tomato plants and I would love the "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden" book by Carolyn Male. Personally, I usually prefer the flavor of paste type tomatoes. Though, I do like the flavor of Anna Russian (a pink fleshed tomato), Brandywine's (also pink fleshed & red skinned varieties).

Also, I'd like to get some more miniature fruit trees from Stark Brother's Nursery. The last peach and nectarine trees I got from them had fruit the first year, 2 peaches and 2 nectarines! Yummy! Their mini fruit trees you can plant in a 10" pot and sit in a nice, sunny area and you can take them inside a garage or lighted basement during the winter. I really want a lemon tree, as I go thru lemons so quickly. I love to eat lemons, as well as put them in my tea, water and especially use for making desserts. Has anyone in this brutal Northeast tried having a mini lemon tree? Any successes?

Well, off to watch the Top Chef that I slept through! I'm so addicted to that show!

Awards for my blog..from Sharon at PrimThyme

Sharon at PrimThyme has given my blog the Lemonade Award & 2 other awards

Thank you so much, Sharon!
This award is passed to bloggers for showing great Attitude and/or Gratitude.The rules of this award:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.
And now I get to pass the award on to 10 blogs that I enjoy reading. I don't know each of the bloggers so if I don't know the names, I'm just going to mention their blogs here. I think these are great for finding new and interesting blogs to read.
1. Sara at Harvest Moon Homestead
http://harvestmoonhomestead.blogspot.com/
2. Nancy at http://chickenherderfromwestville.blogspot.com/
3. Susan at http://bearswampreflections.blogspot.com/
4. JoAnn at http://boonedockswilcox.blogspot.com/
5. Amy at http://twelveacres.blogspot.com/

6. a blog I have just came across http://kyfarmlife.blogspot.com/

7. Darlene at http://maidinmontana.blogspot.com/

8. http://wrensongfarm.blogspot.com/

9. http://achornfarm.blogspot.com/

10. Sharon at http://theoldoakswing.blogspot.com/

Chicken Whisperer?

Well, well, well.. where has the time gone? I hope all are doing well. This year has so far been full of surprises. Last Saturday, I go out to the chicken coop to get the girls taken care of, before I left for work. Lo and behold, I find Cluckster (pictured above) laying in the far darkest corner of the coop. She was trying to cluck to me as usual and it wasn't coming out, just her frail body was moving up and down in rhythm with her usual clucks. It was obvious she wasn't doing well. I rushed her into the house to warm her up, I gave her Baytril and Metacam. She was so very weak she didn't fight me at all when I had to open up her mouth to medicate her. I thought for sure that I was going to loose my sweet old Cluckster. By the way her leg felt, I thought perhaps she fell off the roost and broke her leg or twisted it, or perhaps the bumblefoot she has battled had moved up to the leg joint. I sweet talked her, while I held her next to me, finally, into eating some boiled egg spiked with ProBios and I mixed some Nutri-drench in her drinking water along with a bit of Terramycin. Though, I discontinued the Terramycin after one day. I've also been rubbing her leg and joint with Neo-sporin plus. Her comb is waxy and red now and she's back to her old cluckie self. Thank the good Lord that she is doing better. She is now fighting me every time I medicate and rub her leg with medication. I'm beginning to feel like a natural Chicken Whisperer. Cluckster loves it when I sing to her! Hahaha!

One of my wonderful pen pals sent me a "Chickens Rule" notebook for Christmas, to inspire my writing! I'm happy to say that I've finished my first rough draft of an article to submit to a poultry magazine. I've been talking to the editor via email and I'm fairly excited. There's no guarantee that I will get the article published, but, I'm going to try and try again.

Well, I'm off to bed... it is very cold, -22. I have a kerosene out in the coop to keep the girls warm. I do thank the Lord for his many blessings and provisions this year and in the last year. He truly has gave me more than I deserve. Why he loves me, I have no idea, but, I'm so very thankful.

Ps- I've been getting 5-8 eggs a day through this horrid cold weather. Not too bad for hens past the 2 year old mark!