Is broodiness really contagious? Coraline’s ducklings are now seven weeks old, and another Muscovy duck has gone broody. This time, it’s Coraline’s pal Phoebe. Phoebe looks a lot like Coraline, minus the white neck band, and has a gentle, low-key personality.
All three of the other ducks have shown some signs of broodiness, but Phoebe has been committed to her (daily) egg. She made a deep nest in the adults’ coop and has been returning there every day after she has breakfast and some water, looking yearningly at the coop. Continue reading “Phoebe’s Gone Broody”
One of the pure stock Brown Leghorns hatched in Batch 1 is a friendly girl we call Tatiana (“Tati” for short). She has beautiful wild coloring and a funny floppy comb – just like her mom did – that hangs over her eye and looks like 80’s bangs.
We’re in the midst of a heat wave here, and that means sunny days, perfect for making sun tea. Why not harness the sun’s energy (if only a tiny bit) to make what will become refreshing iced tea? Plus, sun tea jars look cool.
Coraline’s babies will be six weeks old tomorrow, and they sure look different from the yellow and brown puffballs they were not so long ago. Their color has changed significantly: now, they’re predominantly brown, and a few have white chests. They’re about half Coraline’s size (a couple are larger), and very curious about the world outside their run.
We’ve been watching our chickens jump up and pull berries off a tree near the coop. The berries look like blackberries, but, again, are growing from a tree. Some berries even grow right off branches. What could this mystery berry be?
Our chickens and ducks free range, so they’re always looking for tasty snacks. We finally created our compost heap a couple of weeks ago, and they love it. They pick stuff out of there we wouldn’t have guessed they’d seek out (like sweet pepper seeds and scraps), and when the gate is open, they scratch in it like there’s no tomorrow.