Good afternoon. It's going on 3pm.. I'm getting moving now- it was a rough morning and into afternoon struggle. We both are under the influence of orthopedic distress. Why? Not sure.. perhaps the weather. Wendell had a particularly bad day yesterday and struggled with his knees aching. It took him a long time just to stand up beside the bed this morning. He thinks he may need his knees injected again.. could well be.
It's cold out there.. but could be a lot worse. No new snow, but just brown grass and trees, wind, and cold.
Yesterday I thought I was smart and washed out some shirts and pants by hand since neither of us is up to the laundromat at this point. I let them drip for a while in the tub, and then, since it was a breezy sunny day, I hung them all on hangers and took them outside to 'blow dry'. I love the scent of clothes hung outside.. so clean and fresh.. and full of pollens that make me sneeze, cough, and cause my eyes to burn. Oh, well... I still did it. Later in the day I wanted to see if they were dry yet and as I picked up the pantleg of my slacks, I was shocked to find that they were frozen stiff as was everything I'd taken out!!!! We had a good laugh over this and I brought them all inside where they dried overnight in the bathroom.
Charlie and Jane have returned from their travels and I am now relieved of my 'harem' duties. I think raising chickens is supposed to be relaxing, but I found myself (in the 4 days I was in charge of the little beasts) trying to outmaneuver them over the cat feed... let me explain...
Wednesday morning the chickens were already outside the coop when I got up. They 'free range' so that they shouldn't require a lot of extra feed. At 4pm, I checked the 3 egg boxes in the coop and was delighted to find 16 fresh eggs. I took them into Charlie's place, scrubbed them and placed them in egg cartons and into the refrigerator. Then I tried to feed the cats.. Charlie has 4 full grown 'Heinz 57' cats, and they are all very pretty. I had put out some scratch feed behind the house and the chickens were preoccupied scarfing it up.. so I figured the cats should be fed next. I didn't notice the one hen standing guard at the corner of the trailer watching my every move. She was the appointed sentry. At the moment I poured the cat food into their pan, the 'sentry' let out a cackle, and the whole flock of birds from behind the house suddenly came running as if they had a fox on their tail. They pushed the poor cats aside and I believe they actually inhaled the cat food. It was gone in seconds. Standing there watching this horrific scene, I decided to feed the cats after the chickens went to roost for the night.
Thursday morning , bright and early, I let the chickens out. I filled the feeder trough in the chicken run, and then tossed out a bucket of scratch for them to peck at. I'd put cat feed out before I let the chickens out to avoid the sentry. I figured they wouldn't see me put it out, so they wouldn't bother the cats. But they have been at this for a long time, and I am such a novice. They had me all figured out and though the chicken feed trough was full and the scratch was there waiting for them, they made a true Bee line for the cat pan, and once again, chased the cats and inhaled what was remaining of their food. That afternoon I got 35 eggs and wondered how many chickens there actually were. I'd find out on Friday morning. Later in the evening, the chickens went in to roost, I locked the doors and fed the cats..again. At least they could eat in peace even if it was dark outside.
Friday morning.. I did a census of the hens as they came out of the coop.. I had to stop at 40, as they were coming out so fast, they were falling over each other and I lost count. No matter whether I had their feed out or not, they headed straight for the cat's pan.. it was mostly empty.
Friday evening we planned to go to the church for a meeting, so I collected the eggs early- 16 more in the 3 boxes. I had to scoot a couple of hens off the boxes and dig around under another one to get all the eggs. I took them into Charlies place and scrubbed them and placed them carefully into the egg cartons and into the refrigerator. I took 5 dozen eggs with me to church and gave them to anyone who wanted them.
It was dark out when we got home and I didn't get over to close the coop door. I wondered if the chickens would do okay or if some preditor would scoop up one or two of them at night...
Saturday morning all the chickens seemed to be there.. who could tell if one was missing anyway? I fed them and made sure they had water, and then checked out the cats.. all was well. In the later afternoon I decided I'd collect the eggs before Charlie arrived at home.. I got 20 or so.. filled a bucket. I had a plan for the chickens. I put the mash out, then the scratch, and then I slowly backed up to the side of the house, then when they couldn't see me, I dashed over, grabbed the tub of cat feed and put it carefully in the cat dish just in time to look up to see the sentry chicken and hear her cackle just once. The birds came in a flock.. flying around the corner of the house. I was ready.. I waved my arms , shouted and stomped my feet to turn their direction. I was determined that the cats would get to eat. I really did do a good job of keeping them back, but , you know, those hens are so smart. They made a wide circle around me and the cats, and then kept coming closer and closer , closing in on us on all sides.. and finally, they just pounced and ate what was left of the cat feed.
I'm glad Charlie had a good time.. but I'm also glad he's home again. I'm afraid war was about to be declared. I'm not much of a chicken farmer.