Cookie's a Dude!

When I was picking out my new chicks this past April my two biggest concerns were ending up with a rooster & scissors beak. Well looks like I got both.  

Scissors beak is when the top & bottom parts if the beak do not line up. Cocoa seems to have a very mild case of scissors beak, in fact I did not notice it until just recently. She seems to be able to eat and drink just fine. I'll just have to keep an eye on it. She is a little smaller then Cookie but guess what...Cookie's a Dude! (I mean rooster) so I am assuming that's why Cocoa is smaller than Cookie

I follow a couple of blogs and asked one of them if they would post Cookie's picture, hay ya never know maybe someone wanted a rooster for something other than eating. Well it turned out good for Cookie, there are a few people that just fell in love with him and it looks like he is going to live on a farm in Wisconsin....for real. He is quite the handsome little roo

Eggciting News

I was in a rush to get home from work today because the power has been out for a little over a day now. So my poor chickas didn't have their fan or mister too help keep them cool. Oh, by the way it's like 100°  and the big tree that shades the yard came down in the storm. So I was worried about them all day at work thinking they'd be half dead from heat exhaustion. I bought some ice and water (we're on well & septic so no water either) to put in their waters.

The first thing I did was open the coop door to let the little ones out and there it was, a tiny little brown egg right in the nesting box.

I just assumed it came from Rose because she's the biggest, but there's a black feather in there. Rose is reddish in color. So my next guess would be Margarita, she's the one with the huge comb & wattles.

Citrus Cleaner

I found a recipe at the Fresh Eggs Daily Blog for Homemade Orange Peel White Vinegar Coop Cleaner and thought I would give it a try.

I got a little nutty and made a few different varieties.  All varieties have the basic reciepe of orange peels & vinegar.

I made two batches for a chicken coop cleaner with cinnamon sticks to repel mosquitoes & vanilla beans to repel flies.  I made one for my Mom (to clean the parrot cage) with lemon peels & one with lemon peels and cinnamon sticks to use around the house.  After it cures for a month I will strain it and put into spray bottles. I can't wait to try it.

It is supposed to work great on the coops, you can just spray and leave it or let it set and wipe it off.  I think I know what I'll be giving my chicken loving friends for Christmas :-)

Wayne Flag Day Parade

Rock Hunting

Took the tractor out in the fields looking for rocks to build a pond.
We got a ton of rocks...OK, maybe not a ton but 2 tractor buckets  full.  It was in the 90's that day. Way too hot to be digging up rocks. It's just about finished, just need some small rocks to put around the waterfall to hide the black form. I put up a little fence to keep the chickens out so the new plants can grow. The chickens just jump over it.

Just a typical day on the farm.

The horses see a visitor riding up from the forest preserve, Tylia is the only interested one.

My Bodyguard. nuff said.

Tom is the only one eating hay, he lathered himself up in a limestone mud bath to protect himself from the flies.

Brant and Rosie and Cinnamon, I think.

Killer Kitty on mouse patrol.  Kudos to you Frankie, you have done a wonderful job!!

Weed wackers at work.

Tylia found her new love in Dynamite, I keep trying to break the news to her that he's gay but she so loves him.  HMMMM

Okay not cool!! these are ornamental grasses.

More weed wackin

Get a clue Tylia!

Now this one was funny, not sure if Tylia ever wore a fly mask.  She flipped out when she looked at Tom and Dynamite . Had no clue who they were with masks on.

Really guys!!

Hailey the goat wrangler

Hailey the goat wrangler

the "helicopters" from the Maple trees were to enticing so we had to send in "Hailey the Goat Wrangler"