Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pi$$ed Off Chickens

It has been 9 days since we finished the hoop coop, fenced in a small portion of the garden area and moved 60 plus head of chickens.  The hens are still acting pi$$y and barely laying a dozen eggs a day. 

I've moved their nesting boxes to the new hoop coop.  I did not put it much off the ground because in their old coop some would lay under the boxes and it is just too nasty to get down on your hands and knees to collect the eggs.  So here it sets only 4 inches off the ground.  In two days there has only been 2 eggs in the boxes.  The rest were on the floor just anywhere or out in the chicken yard.


 I moved the automatic waterier into the hoop coop.


I did forget their pan of crushed oyster shells but they have those now.


A few are beginning to perch on the one roost I lowered during the day..... One would think they would remember to go inside during the night instead of sleeping on the damp ground but noooo not my chickens.
 
I told them again today that the only thing saving them from the pressure cooker and canning jars is that this area of the garden has gone from this......

 ...to this in only 9 days.
I think the old homestead way of clearing the garden while fertilizing is going to work quite nicely, don't you?

I did get enough eggs this past week to make 7 quarts of pickled eggs so I guess I can't complain too much.  A clean garden and food one way or the other.....  So Chickens........Keep Scratching!

 

6 comments:

  1. Chickens, like children, are not always appreciative of the things we do for them ...at the time. But eventually they figure out we really DO know what we're doing!

    Yeoldfurt talks about pickled eggs. I have never tried them, let alone canned them. Maybe I'll give it a whirl this fall when I start canning on the weekends.

    Have a great week, Mamma Bear!

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  2. Hey HB....My first taste of a pickled egg was the first ones I canned in July of this year. Pickled eggs was just not anything I ever thought about eating until Papa Bear mentioned that he loved them. Note...this was the first time I have heard this in 25 years of marriage.

    Anywho... I went in search of a recipe that did not have to be refrigerated when you made them. Took awhile but I found one. I'll post it in a day or two. Papa Bear says there is no comparison in the purchased eggs and the ones I made. I have to admit I like them as well. They taste like a spicy deviled egg without the mayo. I think they will be very good in tuna or chicken salad. I still haven't gotten around to trying that yet. When I open a jar and put them in the fridge, they don't hang around long enough.

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  3. When my chickens get a might pissy at me, I keep a light on in the coop and they start laying again. I'll be looking forward to your post where you share the pickled egg directions!

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  4. I will have to try the light. The hoop coop just happens to be wired with electricity. It may even encourage them to actually sleep in there at night. We had our first break in the weather this morning and dipped into the 40's here in NW Florida. I guess we just had our 15 minutes of fall.

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  5. I would love to see your pickled egg recipe. Hubby and I made pickled eggs for the refrigerator this spring and they are a bit strong for us. They're more like pub style and were made with malt vinegar. They're still in the fridge.

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  6. Rose...these pickled eggs are really good and you don't have to store them in the refrigerator until you open a jar. You can find the recipe under the recipe tab at the top of this page.

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