2013 Turkey Mama Hatch
Our turkey hen laid eggs under a fir tree. She was very well camouflaged & it took us awhile to find her.
2013 Hatch #4
Last week another batch of eggs hatched. This time we incubated Blue Marans & Easter Eggers like we have done in previous hatches. We also hatched a few Rhode Island Reds for the first time. This is our 5th hatch & it’s still exciting. I love watching the chicks peck their way into the world.
2013 Mama Hen Hatch #1
Last week some of the eggs our broody hen was setting on hatched! About a week after we noticed that she was sitting on eggs, I candled some of the eggs & realized they weren’t developing. So, I swapped five of her eggs for five eggs from our coops that I thought should hatch. Three …
2013 Hatch #3
We’ve successfully made it through our 4th round of incubating chicken eggs! It continues to be an exciting experience. I get very impatient by day 20. I anxiously wait to see who hatches, then get nervous after some hatch & wonder why others aren’t hatching. I’m then excited when another few hatch. The truth is, …
2013 Hatch #2
We had our first successful hatch of Blue Copper Marans! Our rooster is a Splash Marans & we have 3 Black Copper hens. With that combination comes Blue Copper chicks. I love them already!
Our Chicken Tractors
A number of years ago Farmer John told me about chicken tractors. I thought he was crazy. Cuckoo. It did not go with my vision of a cutesy coop surrounded by flowering perennials and a picket fence. I also couldn’t imagine why you would want to move your chickens throughout the yard. Let’s be realistic, …
2013 Hatch #1
January 31st was hatch day! This was our second time incubating eggs & it was just as exciting as the first time. Check out this post to read about our first hatch.
3rd Eyelid on Turkeys
Like many birds (including chickens), turkeys have a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane. This eyelid is used to moisten the eye & clear out debris.
Our Main Coop & Run
Before the Chicken Huts & before the Chicken Tractors was our main coop. Farmer John built it in the spring of 2009. The coop hasn’t had many changes, but the run has. We still consider this our main coop since it is where most of our egg layers call home.
Color Changing Caruncle
Before we raised turkeys, I didn’t know they had caruncles. I also didn’t know caruncle was even a word. I’ve since learned that the bumpy non-feathery skin on their face & neck is known as their caruncles. Technically the wattle is also a caruncle. The coolest thing about their caruncles is that they change color. …