A Fast Post Tonight

Made up of bits and pieces, this will be fast.  I am tuckered out... three weeks of dragging has taken it's toll.  I'm pooped out tonight... and so is Keith, hay fever has worked a number on him. 

When we moved here, there were several large walnut trees in the yard.  One is a century tree, we think well over a hundred years old.  This year, it looks like this:

Yes, our grand old tree is dying. 

In contrast, there is another 50 feet from it, right next to the big henhouse:

If you click on this, you will see that there are hundreds if not thousands of walnuts that I'll soon be paying Nathan to pick up for me.  It's still in good health.

These are black walnuts, and gone are the days when the lumber companies would come to your yard and buy the trees.  Now you have to fell them and haul the to the mill to sell.

Now, for friend Jill, HERE is the rat I have been telling you about, eating along with the chickens tonight.  I say it's a muskrat, it does not have pointy ears like ratus ratus. 

As you can see, it's very calm with me in the henhouse.

Here is another picture of it's short tail:

I don't blame the hens for not wanting to lay in that box you see.

Before you all start shaking your heads, yes, we have a bad feeding regimen.  I feed in one regular chicken feeder, and the others are open bowls or fortexes for the chicks.  We also feed outside.  When we move to the new henhouse, all of this is STOPPING and the chickens will be working harder for their food so there is not as much waste.  They will have a feeder hanging from the rafters, and will have to work at getting their food.  Since Butch and his girls will be moving, the big henhouse flock will be out on pasture regularly again, and finding a lot of their own feed.  I am about to declare war on the mice and rats, though, and One Bite is going to be heavily laid where the chickens can't get to it, including down the larger ratholes in the pen.

We're also going to just the heated waterers for winter, so we only have two to fill at any given time, since our plan is to close off the little henhouse for the winter.  If we leave it open, the hens will begin laying in it (from the big henhouse) and I'll be crawling in and out of there all winter.

Then again, it's better than losing the eggs in the pasture.

Here is my little doll, tonight, sitting on the porch for a few minutes with me:

And lastly, the Teeny Babies... outside for the very first time today!

Stickin' with mama, but mighty happy about it, too!

That's a bantam cochin, so you can see how small they are! All three pullets, too... yipppeeee.