As I strolled through the garden for my morning ritual, coffee cup in hand, I notice the little things.The lush bed of lettuce. The spinach that is starting to grow seed. The many weeds that have popped up from those darn maple tree "airplanes". A constant fight at that. The multiple weeds along the walk path which I have yet to get to. 
The meat birds who have done great as weed patrol along the fence line. They get moved along the garden fence to mow down the tall grass and pests.
The Captain came up with the idea when we were discussing how we wish we could do the chicken moat plan at this place.
Speaking of chickens, This is my morning stroll companion. This is Pumpkin. She is an americauna which has the (most of the time) fatal disfigurement of a cross beak.
She is 3/4 the size of her buddies but that has not stopped her from being a great scrounger. I let her free range all day and she goes back in the pen at night. She does let herself in and out. She meets me by the garden each morning waiting for our stroll. I pull weeds here and there. I find grubs, bugs, and worms to feed her as she walks by my feet. She peeps at me all the time. Greets me with a sweet shrill peep as she runs to meet me. She waits for me to hold the gate open for her, despite her size which could easily slip through the slats. I try to clean out her beak every day and make sure she has her own bowl of grain. It is hard for her to pick at it, but even harder when she has competition. I hope by giving her the extra bits of attention, she will thrive just as well as the others and live a long healthy life.
My morning strolls have become even sweeter with her as my companion, chirping her good morning calls.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie
The meat birds who have done great as weed patrol along the fence line. They get moved along the garden fence to mow down the tall grass and pests.
The Captain came up with the idea when we were discussing how we wish we could do the chicken moat plan at this place.Speaking of chickens, This is my morning stroll companion. This is Pumpkin. She is an americauna which has the (most of the time) fatal disfigurement of a cross beak.
She is 3/4 the size of her buddies but that has not stopped her from being a great scrounger. I let her free range all day and she goes back in the pen at night. She does let herself in and out. She meets me by the garden each morning waiting for our stroll. I pull weeds here and there. I find grubs, bugs, and worms to feed her as she walks by my feet. She peeps at me all the time. Greets me with a sweet shrill peep as she runs to meet me. She waits for me to hold the gate open for her, despite her size which could easily slip through the slats. I try to clean out her beak every day and make sure she has her own bowl of grain. It is hard for her to pick at it, but even harder when she has competition. I hope by giving her the extra bits of attention, she will thrive just as well as the others and live a long healthy life.My morning strolls have become even sweeter with her as my companion, chirping her good morning calls.
Sweet dreams,
~Tammie
6 comments:
My best friend Crazy Eddie and your Pumpkin should get together and hang. He also has a bit of a crossbeak ... and is the sweetest, most social chicken I've ever met. A people-chicken, if you will.
not the best picture and the crossbeak is more pronounced than shown but here he is ..
http://diapersdogsdpns.blogspot.com/2008/04/confession.html
We've had a few "house chickens" which we have nursed along and made into our little babies. Of course, they are all our babies but the ones that really need us -- well, they are just special, aren't they?
I love the chicken moat plan! We want to do that too but won't in this house. Our next place will be better suited for it, I'm sure.
Blessings!
Lacy
www.razorfamilyfarms.com
i love the moat plan. what a great idea.
I love it when you post about your chickens, as I'm heading into my second summer with laying hens.
What do you do for northern fowl mites? I'm having a heck of a time!
Great blog!
What a cutie pie she is! It seems like the ones who need us a bit are also the ones that give the most back, doesn't it.
Moat plan looks awesome and I'm betting it does really well for you. Others report some really amazing results on bug pops.
::sigh:: I can't wait till I finish moving to the 'stead in 2 years so I can finally have some chickens too...
I love that little chicken! I have a group that follows me around and does that little peeping sound. I think they think I'm their mom. I even show them how to scratch in the grass and find yummies. I realized the other day (I am a bit slow on the uptake) that they have never been around an adult chicken, so I have to be that for them.
I like the moat idea too. sounds like a lot of fence!
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