New Chicken Run

I got to meet James Carville and Mary Matlin at Open World.

 

Making NATO friends

NATO Friends in Cape Verde

Visit to the Coast Guard in Cape Verde

We paid a visit to a Coast Guard frigate that came to the port of Mindelo, Cape Verde.

Me and my VQ-2 Gulf War Crew

Here is a picture of
me and my friends from the Gulf War crew.

Way back when - pictures for Abby's report

Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Never was more true.

VQ -2 was based in Rota, Spain way back then.

Humorus EP-3

This is a picture of the EP-3 that went around after the incident with the Chinese Mig. The
caution sign has been added.

EP-3E Front View

Picture of the EP-3 fro Abby's report.

Denby wanted to get on the blog.

Denby wanted to get on the blog so I took this picture of him with me and Ethan. He and Ethan looked good even if I don't. 

Biggest Egg Ever

This egg on the left is the biggest one we have ever had. It came from a Barred Rock. The Barred Rock have been giving us smaller eggs but now they are getting as big as the Red Star's eggs. 

We love the Izatt's

We love the Izatt's and their kids love to come over and visit the chickens. 

I love going in the backyard, they always run to greet me.

They still love to eat grass from our hands too. 

Ethan found a snake in the road down the street.

Ethan found a snake in the road down the street. We are getting away from the chicken theme of the blog but it reminds me of a story I heard from a man from Africa. At lunch one day, someone introduced me to a colleague from Africa and said that he had been a chicken farmer. He told me that he raised thousands of chickens for the eggs and meat and that is how he was able to go on a mission. He told me he once had a problem with Boa Constrictor snakes eating his eggs. He said he observed that the would gobble up as many eggs as they could hold then they would stretch themselves between two trees to break the eggs inside. He had the clever inspiration to set out boiled eggs for the snakes and when he did he soon found dead snakes, their bellys full of unbroken eggs. They were unable to break the eggs and digest them. He was featured in the national agriculture magazine. That is the connection between snakes and chickens. 

Who is sillier?

Nice smiles.

First Large Egg Double Yoke!

The first large egg had a double yoke. It made nice scrambled eggs.

Nice Close Up

A nice closeup of Martha.

First Egg!

This is the first egg. Hatched 14 June 2006.

Garret's first incubator chick

Garret has a nice flock. Here he is showing the first successful chick hatched from the incubator.

Grandpa's Chicken Farm

Here is the setup Grandpa made for his chickens and now two goats.

Hey, that is a rooster!

How did that rooster get in there? It was lucky that the rooster went down to Grandpa and Grandma's house. Out of the 27 chicks there was one rooster that managed to sneak in. It will be fun to see them have some chicks of their own.

Araucana

Araucana

Rhode Island Red

Rhode Island Red 

Golden

Golden 

Leghorn

Leghorn 

Here are some shots of the new class

New group of chicks day two.

 

We just went to IFA for feed!

We just went to IFA to get a bag of pullet mash. Well, we saw they had a fresh batch of chicks and one thing led to another. I think we are going to give Grandpa and Grandma one each of the Barred Rock and Red Stars. Then we will pick a couple of these new friends to keep with the flock. It will be interesting to bring them together as one flock. The new chicks are: Leghorn the white hen that lays the big white eggs, two Aruacana the green egg laying friends from my youth, a Black Sex Link, a Golden Sex Link and a Rhode Island Red. Ethan is keeping them in his room for now. Mom just shook her head.

Barred Rock Friend

Will I ever get enough pictures of these beauties?

Red Star

Red Star close up, is it Ruby or Ruth?

Inside looking out

Here is one from inside the henhouse looking out to the run with a Barred Rock halfway in the door.

All four friends

They enjoy being together.

Enjoying a little time outside the run.

We gave them a chance to walk around outside the run. They enjoyed themselves.

Move in day - 1 April

It was cold, rainy and there was even some hail but late in the afternoon it stopped long enough for me to move them out to their new home. They seem to be enjoying the outside. I was nervous that it was only 40 degrees inside the henhouse but they are fully feathered out. I checked on them at about 10:30 PM and they were huddled together. In the morning they were running around inside having breakfast. I opened the door to the run but they didn't immediately go outside. Notice that I still need to stain the sides of the henhouse, when it warms up. I may put a roof on the run as well, to protect them from bird flu. As I am posting this one of the Redstars is looking outside.

Inside their new home

They have 20 sq ft. of space. The roost is to the left, barely visibile in the top left corner. There are only two nest boxes. If they can't share I may buy the fancy ones from McMurray. 

Enjoying the new run

They like being outside in the new run.