Worshipping the sun god

Because, you know, sun can melt this evil white stuff that's been keeping everyone inside the coop the past two days..! Ah, drama... how you make us smile!

A few brave souls ventured out today, picking their way through the snow to find safe green spots - in the process they discovered it was maybe cold on their feetsies but it certainly wasn't deadly!

Diva, leading the way

(she's just about my favorite girl):

Diva, with Nessa in tow:

Maddy, posing like only a proper lady can!

Proof they really are tiny little dinosaurs...

Raven: "You gonna eat all of that in one mouthful?"

Nutmeg: "Get your own clump of whatever it is that I have stuck in my mouth!"

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we roll here at the technofarm ;-)

*waves wing hello*

The flocks are all doing well, laying lots of gorgeous eggs and making momma smile with their antics!

They've not been out the past two days due to snow on the ground (their choice) but it should melt this week so they'll be out free-ranging again before being transferred into the stables for the long cold winter...

Not sure they'll be impressed but it's for their own good.

And mine too :)

I wish I could catch a photo of them perched on the edge of their coops, staring at the white stuff on the ground with a look of horror in their eyes - LOL!

No snow chickens in my group, unfortunately.

Bakaw!

Can you say "awwwe cuuute"!

Hurrah!

I'm finally done! Winter coops are ready for the chooks, they'll be moved to their new quarters as soon as the temps are steady cold and the snow hits the ground, should be within the next two weeks.

Talk about months of work, geez!

The barn was sanitized, all the windows changed, walls stripped to the studs to make way for new insulation, horse stalls converted to deluxe quarters with sleeping pallets, perches, nesting boxes, lots of scrubbing and paint to brighten things up... whew. I'm officially sick and tired of the renos now, LOL!

But oh, so worth it to keep the flocks happy, healthy and warm for the winter.

The girls are laying quite well these days despite a few of them still molting or coming out of a molt, and a few girls whose hormones seem to have dried up - so weird.

I'll post pics once the flocks are in as the bedding and sand boxes aren't being set up until the last minute to keep things fresh.

-Technodoll aka Worn Out Mama Hen

Hen fruit rainbow

One of my Easter Egger girls started laying turquoise-blue eggs a few days ago and I have no clue which one it is! I wonder if it's only a temporary glitch in the paint factory of if I really could be this lucky and have a blue-laying girl? OoooOOooooO!

Sunlight washed out the colors so you can't really see,

but in real life the colors are stunning, trust me.

Also, most of my girls have started laying again after months of molts and self-appropriated vacations - woohooo! I had also switched their feed to something I thought was better but after a steady decline in eggs I switched them back to their old pellets and bam! One week later we are back to lots of nice fat eggs. I don't really understand how this works, but it does and I'm leaving it at that :-)

-Technodoll aka Happy Egg-Collecting Mama Hen

Weekend cluckles

Winter coop, phase 1 - completed!

Hurrah, hurrah!

So exciting - I finally moved the first flock into the barn yesterday after many long weeks of renos and it went super well!

The banties are settling in nicely, everyone's calm and adapting beautifully to their new surroundings - mind you, the weather's been so cold and wet lately that their summer coop was getting miserably cold, damp and way too small so this is a big upgrade for them.

They're afraid of the sandbox that's under the pallet, how funny is that?

"Dude, what the hell is this stuff?"

"Dunno, it's probably poisonous - don't touch it!"

And then they go and dust bathe in the woodchip bedding...

What do you think of their new winter digs?

I also moved the babies into their temp quarters, they're in the lower condo with the red light - this is my corner for breaking broodies, storing food and bedding, special needs or sick birds, etc:

Now I just have to finish painting and setting up the space for my two other flocks (sleeping quarters, sandbox, nesting boxes, perches, food, water, etc) and then everyone will be in one cozy place for the long cold winter!

I hope they won't miss the acres of green grass and warm sunshine too much... :-/

Are you guys all ready for winter?