Over the last two days we have hatched eight olive egger chicks. I am thrilled with that because they were shipped eggs, coming all the way across the country via the US Postal system. One was broken in transit so I set 11 eggs. Of those 11 eggs, 8 ...
Hatch Update
My project chicks, discussed in this post, are almost done hatching. Six chicks have hatched and four more are in the process. None of the eggs shipped from Florida made it to hatch. Shipping is very hard on hatching eggs. I am happy to have a 90% ...
Am I being punk’d?
I have been working on a top secret chicken project for almost a year. My F1's, or first generation chickens were looking good. Three weeks ago the pullets started laying and I was thrilled with the egg color! I took the ...
Tripled my Brooder Space!
Spring hatching is in full swing here at the Buck 'n Run Ranch. I have 20 eggs on lockdown, due to hatch on Friday and 3 more to hatch on Monday. The first hatch is Crested Cream Legbars and a project I am working on. I also have a dozen ...
Yep, turkeys are dumb.
Yesterday morning when I was feeding the animals, I noticed three wild tom turkeys fighting in our donkey pasture. One of them had the good sense to leave, but the other two kept on fighting. I thought about running in for my camera but I figured ...
Mardi Gras King Cake
Never having visited New Orleans did not stop me from longing for a King Cake. In case you are not familiar with the history of the King Cake, I borrowed this explanation from King Cakes. The Tradition of Mardi Gras King Cakes The King Cake is ...
What is it and how did it get in my incubator?
Granddaughter Ember loves chickens. We recently gave her family their first chicken coop. It looked like this when we bought it. It looked like this when delivered. Her mama said she wanted to get Ember a silkie or two so I ordered some sizzle ...
The Big Chicken Migration, Part 1
Last night, under the cover of darkness, we crept into the coop at the old house and yanked the Cream Legbars and Isbars off their roosts and put them in cages and boxes. The Cream Legbars were docile and easy to handle. The Isbars were hell demons, ...
Lukka’s Babies Runnin’ Amok! (Video)
Yesterday I heard one of Lukka's little babies try to crow. It was a sick, sad attempt but cute as a button. I studied the whole bunch with my video camera and found that all the boys are crowing and the girls are still fussing for their momma, who ...
Is my egg fertile?
People often wonder if an egg is fertile or not. The only way to tell without cracking it open is to begin incubating the egg and check for veining by candling in the first week. You can tell if an egg is fertile by cracking it into a bowl and ...
Lemon Lime Bars
Michael and I just returned from Beach Hut Deli where we shared a sandwich for dinner. No sooner had we come into the house than Michael started looking for dessert. There was nothing to be found. I scoured the pantry and fridge for ideas and found ...
Hatch Update
The mother of all staggered hatches is finally over. The last two cream legbars hatched a couple of days ago. The incubators are empty for the first time in ages. My goal was to hatch a few roosters to find a replacement for Reggie as well as an ...
I know you’re out there.
I see you. I see your IP address and what pages you read. I see what search terms brought you here. I obsess over whether you are a spy bot and nobody really reads my blog except me. My stat page tells me that you are real and some of you come back ...
All is right again.
If you are new here, you need to know that Lukka, our original Icelandic hen, is always broody. We are counting on her offspring for re-building our Icelandic flock. She had gone stir crazy caged up with her last babies, so I let her out and re-homed ...
Hope for the future!
A genetic defect causing feathering issues in our Icelandic population had become problematic. Drastic measures were taken in a effort to eliminate the gene from our breeding stock. In May we re-homed all of our Icelandic chickens with the exception ...
Naughty Baby (VIDEO!)
My Welsummer pullet Chatty Cathy went broody several weeks ago. She has been a horrible sitter but just wouldn't give up. I finally gave her eggs from the incubator that were on hatch day and she squished one of them and the other didn't hatch. Still ...
Isi needs a flock. (VIDEO)
Isi (pronounced Icy) has been my head rooster for nearly three years. He not only takes care of his hens, but mages the junior roosters as well. Since I re-homed all the Icelandics with the exception of him and Lukka he has been lonely and confused. ...
End of the Beginning
Three years ago my passion for Icelandic chickens began when Icelandic mix Stella hopped the fence and joined our flock. Today brought almost all of the last three year's work to an end. A decision to add chicks from a different line of Icelandics to ...
Hens need Prozac.
You could build a coop for six hen and outfit it with fifty six nest boxes and it still would not be enough. One morning they are going to get up and decide that the only suitable nest box for the day is on the top row, forth from the right. The ...
GIVE-A-WAY Over! Winner Announced!
For no reason other than I found this and love it, I am giving away one of these adorable egg beds to a reader. It is a pet bed called the pEi Pod bed and can be used for for cats and small dogs but why would you want to? Remove the sissy little ...