Day 19 - Counting Chickens...

We bought our home in the Spring of 2011,

and it wasn't until later that summer that we got

our first chickens to put into the existing chicken coop...

A bantam rooster and two hens.

The rooster and one hen were promptly eaten by a bobcat.

I then started collecting more bantams

which we called the "mutant chickens."

We added some guinea fowl,

six of them...

two females and 4 males.

Two males went back to the breeder and

the two females

were killed by a bobcat.

I detailed most of this in a post

which was prompted by a massacre weekend

involving goats and a bear.

At that time I tallied up all the new chickens and fowl.

Somewhere in here we got two dogs,

and there have been no more bears or bobcats;

 that we've seen close to the property, at least.

Then this February we got turkeys...

six of them,

of which two made it to adulthood...

Unfortunately, both males.

Then we had the chick explosion a couple of weeks ago,

adding 22 new chicks to the group,

of which 1 mysteriously disappeared.

I hope another bobcat isn't around,

but maybe another hawk..?

So, we have a LOT of chickens...

but we thinned the herd down a bit 

voluntarily over the last couple of days.

Yesterday, 5 of the pullets and 3 of the younger chicks

went to a new home.

Today, a turkey and the remaining 4 "mutant" bantams

went to a new home.

The remaining turkey will be gone next week...

a friend has bought him.

So, as of today, we have

one remaining male guinea fowl

the "fluffy chicken" - one of the original "big chickens" we got

the "chicklets" - Hawkeye, Muffin Top and Madge (they're our best layers)

Roosters - big white Frederico & the "pocket rooster" Ollie

Hawkeye's Twins - two cockerels that just crowed for the first time this week

the pullets - of which 5 remain

the new chicks - of which 8 remain including

Sunshine (who will remain on the farm)

We'll have to see how many of the pullets and chicks

turn into hens and roosters...

If anything we'll get some more of these....

How Long Has It Been...?

 Wow, after a feverish month of blogging daily, I have gotten lazy, haven't I...?

Let's wrap up:

On the 30th we had, what's becoming, our annual Wine and Mushroom party.

It was wet, sloppy weather and the chanterelles were a bit waterlogged,

but I made a fantastic sangria, plus opened several other special bottles I had

laying around the house, and we had a lot more people show up than last year.

All in all, a LOT of fun, and it really highlighted my lack of seating

since everyone chose to sit around the kitchen table and eat appetizers

instead of milling around.

That weekend I started my decorating for the holidays.

Here's the trim for the fence at the end of the driveway.

I love those big ornaments, but somehow 2 have disappeared, 

and I can't account for how that happened.

I have a thing for silver reindeer, and I added a couple more to the collection.

The slender deer in the middle of the picture is one of the new ones.

He's looking very handsome and is a nice addition to the herd.

We have green eggs!  

This means that at least one of our latest 2 hens are starting to lay.

As you can see, there are 4 different colored eggs, so at least 4 of the 13

(well actually 10 since 3 are roosters) chickens are laying now.

This will be great and I won't have to buy as many eggs when I start

my massive holiday baking projects.

I tried my hand at Southern Fried Pie.  Here are two attempts next to my final

all American apple pie.  My husband performed the taste test.

Not quite like his aunt used to make, but still deemed yummy.

Having done this, now I know what I need to do for the next trial.

But, first we've got to dry some more apples...

Our county is one of the "pilot" counties in the state for the California Medical Foundation "Walk With a Doc" program.  I led last weekend's walk in my town, and despite the rain and 38 degree weather, almost a dozen people showed up to walk the almost 2 mile route I had planned.  I brought the dogs which helped keep us at a brisk pace.  All in all pretty successful, and if anything it got me out of the house to exercise.... and, so should you!

Speaking of the dogs, they really do travel well.  We went on a 12 hour car ride to pick up my mother for the holidays.  The dogs slept most of the time.  They behaved well during our pit stops.  And, they didn't get annoying during those "drive thru" meal stops.

 

Then twelve hours back on the road, which leads us to the present.  

Momma's here to spend the holidays with us, and Dillon just loves his Gramma.  

Cheers to you and hoping you're able to spend time with loved ones

during this holiday season!

Egg-tastic!

The bantams that I got in mid-September have started laying eggs!  They are Golden Seabrights, and I have a rooster (Waddles) and two hens (Mabel and Sheila).  I am not quite sure which of the hens is laying, but I am very excited about their being happy enough with their new surroundings to start.

In the spring I will probably let them have a clutch of chicks, but until then we will just enjoy the fruits of their labors...

Bantam eggs compared to a AA Large egg from the grocery store... how many of these will I need to make an omelet...?