Today is the first day of Spring, and there are signs of it all over our urban homestead. We are back in full egg production! Maude and Florence have been laying steadily for a couple months now. But even our old biddy Pearl decided to hop on the egg band wagon!
We estimate Pearl is about 4-5 years old and she stopped laying altogether last August when she went through her gender crisis. Her first eggs were a long and skinny, but fileld with giant yellow yokes. It’s nice to see her green eggs back in the egg bowl with the brown ones from the other girls.
I recently installed bird netting over the raised vegetable beds, which has been working quite well. I am kicking myself for not doing this three years ago. The leeks have taken off, the arugula has sprouted, and little dots of green are showing all around the garden. The chickens are feeling happy free-ranging all day and they look very healthy.
We have been trying to keep up on all the eggs, making large scrambles and hash. Still, we are giving away maybe a dozen a week. It’s time to dig up all those 12-egg pound cake recipes and out them to use!
Hope you enjoy the first day of Spring and all the excitement of a new gardening year!
Do you let them free-range when you are not home? We keep ours locked up if we aren’t around, but let them roam when here (and light outside). They would be much happier free-ranging all day, but I worry about them. Before I built a fence around our yard a dog came in and killed one. Now even though we have a fence, we are nervous.
Jay’s schedule allows him to be home off and on throughout the day, but we do let them free-range even when we are not home. We have a 6′ fence surrounding the property and have not had problems with loose dogs getting in.
If an incident occurred before building the fence, I would also be more cautious since the dog that killed them probably hasn’t forgotten they are in there.
We let our birds out only when we’re home. We’d love to let our urban chickens free range all day, but there are just too many other critters in our neighborhood. In the last week I’ve caught two different cats in my back yard, eyeing the birds (luckily, I hadn’t let them out of the run yet). Also, a hawk sat perched on a tree in the neighbor’s yard.
At night, I’ve shooed away raccoons and possums. Our suburbs are filled with predators…
Badge, do the cats mess with your birds? The ones in our neighborhood take naps in their nesting boxes sometimes, but haven’t bothered them otherwise. The raccoons and possums are a nightmare though! Always smart to close that coop door at night fall.
We let our birds out all day, even when we’re not home. There’s a couple of neighborhood cats that loiter around our yard, ‘hunting’ the ladies. It drives the poor cats crazy – they’ll stalk the girls so carefully, creeping across the yard with such dexterity and determination, scoot *right* up next to a hen ’till there’s not but a dandelion weed between them. Then the kitty will attempt a pounce, only to realize mid air that the bird is the same size as it was last week, and the week before, and we must attempt an airborne reversal or risk landing atop one very angry fowl.
This happens a few times a week, with various cats. It’s pretty hysterical.
The chickens couldn’t care less. =)
Oh, please, please share all your 12-egg recipes. With seven girls totally getting their spring laying on, we are going to die of quiche eating.
Happy Spring!
Heather