The Ladies Free Ranging Good Time

If you like pictures of chickens, then you are in for a treat!

Lot 'o chick pics!

This is what I usually see when I go to visit the girls - 2 chunky white girls (cwg) free ranging.

Really, really free ranging.

Chicks on the prairie!

Then the next thing I see - Zela! (pronounced SAY-la)

She always comes running when she sees me.

She follows me around until I sit down and then she jumps into my lap for a cuddle.

She'll stay in my lap until I leave, if I get up she waits until I sit down again and then she jumps back up to get a hug.

Zela is such a photo hog!

Can she help it if she is so beautiful?!?

There's busy (bossy) Butter!

More of the flock - Zela, some CWGs, Lavender (on the right), Butter (way in the back), Zoe, Hawky and some red girls too.

It's funny, but I can pick out Zela, Butter and Lavender's voices from the rest of the flock, even in the dark.

Really Zela? Every picture?

Hello!

I love the CWGs face whiskers.

Hey! One of these things is not like the other...........

Lavender!

A CWG and Butter.

Gossip 'round the watercooler.

This Lady is a real snuggler, but I can't remember her name!

She's sweet, but jealous. When I'm holding Zela and not petting her, she will pull feathers out of Zela's tail until I pay attention to her!

Butter says, "See 'ya again soon and bring raisins next time."

Chicken Adventures and Eggs!

More pictures of the Ladies from yesterday.

Butter checks on the nest box action.
Who's in there?

"Could I have a little privacy?"

Butter to Zela: "Do you have any eggs under there?"

Zela: "Buzz off! I'm busy."

"One, two, three, four..."

Isn't she pretty?

Nest boxes are a good place for a nap.

Lavender.

And

Remember the Purple Girl?

Her feathers have grown in.

Zeeba takes a stroll.

Hop.

Jump!

Lavender: "It's true. I layed them all."

Lots of beautiful eggs!

The terracotta one in the center is Zela's egg.

I watched her lay it.

Winter Chickens and A Purple Girl

Here are a few pictures of the Ladies.

You can tell Winter is in full swing: cabbage and warm mash for all!

Cheap chicken entertainment - a hanging cabbage.

There's Butter!
She's busy catching that cabbage.

Zela and Lavender

And a purple chicken!?!

I nicknamed her Turkey.

She started moulting and her sisters picked on her, so.....I Blukoted her.

It's a spray that covers up the bare red skin and doesn't taste very nice.

There are a couple other Girls developing bare spots, so I might give them a little dash of Blu kote too, if Carol doesn't mind.

Winter is hard on a chicken. :(

Isn't she cute?!?

Little cutie!

I noticed her attitude changed, when she realized she wasn't going to be picked on any more.

She's more assertive and was *sigh* picking on the Barred Rock girl, while she was taking a dust bath, yesterday.

A lot of Carol's Girls are getting friendly, as you can see from this video.

They like to be held and snuggled.

The only problem - I only have 2 arms!

Bloody Wattles or How To Make New Friends

Today, when I visited my girls, Mr. Cocky, the rooster, had taken his harem into the grove.

So, for once, I didn't have to worry about a covert flogging.

He loves to hide in with the hens, sneak up on me from behind, and then do a jump and scratch attack.

*@#$!% Rooster!

I closed the gate on the run, so he couldn't sneak in.

Have I mentioned that he is very sneaky?!?

The Ladies were so happy to see me!

Two days this week I have found Lavender free ranging with Carol's chickens out on the grass.

Who knows what Lavender gets up to with those wild Ladies.

She can be a pretty bad influence on well behaved chickens.

~

I closed the gate and opened the wire fencing, that separates my girl's run from Carol's chickens run.

I did this for two reasons:

1. So I could clean the run without having to clean around my Ladies.

2. So the girls could interact with a few of Carol's hens that were in the big run.

~

And the result?

Butter made friends with one of the chunky white girls.

They checked out the dust bath area together and talked chicken.

A skinny red head tried to jump Zela.

Zela and the red chicken fought.

Zela ultimately won and the red girl ran away, but Zela ended up with a bloody wattle.

My poor baby!

She got an extra bunch of cuddles from me and I kissed her boo boo.

Lavender decided she wanted to lay an egg, so she sat in the dog crate....wait! then she ran out...then she ran back in...then she ran into the run....back in to lay an egg...

Pixie ventured out into the big run, ate some food, decided she didn't like how one of the white girls was looking at her, so she jumped the white chicken!

A chicken 3x bigger than her!

Then the white chicken, Mrs. Dirtyback, pecked her and Pixie ran underneath Mrs. Dirtyback.

She got caught underneath her and for a few seconds was hilariously caught with her head sticking underneath Mrs. Dirtyback's rump and her tail wiggling in Mrs. Dirtyback's face.

Once Pixie freed herself, Mrs. Dirtyback pecked her in the comb and I intervened.

~

My Girls were scooped back up into the small run.

Home Sweet Home.

Sort of.

Two Egg Happy Dance

Yay! The Ladies gave me 2 eggs today.

One from Lavender, who has been laying very regularly, and one from Zela.

Zela hasn't layed an egg since Aug. 11th, the day they were taken.

I am so happy!

I think it means they are finally settling into their new home.

Lavender's green egg.


Zela's brown egg.

Silly Little Ray!
He looks so scary in this pic, but he's actually saying,
"Can I come in there? My tummy needs rubbing!"



Lavender

Pixie

Queen of all she surveys.