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.