Chicks & Peafowl & Frogs & Bats

It’s been another hot day on the farm, and high time to get the bigger chicks out of their brooder box and into a "big chicken" pen.

They weren’t too sure what to make of such a big wilderness to explore, and didn’t want to come out of the cage at first. The Farmer walked up behind them and shook the cage a little to encourage them to go out.

Once The Farmer moved out of the way, a couple of the peahens decided to come up on the other side of the fence and check out the small fowl. That gave the little ones the needed incentive to move. I'm sure those peahens looked gigantic to them!

Besides, they were thirsty, and I had put out a fresh jug of water for them.

This evening when I went out and checked on them, they were running around in the tall weeds at one end of the pen, playing hide and seek. I stayed a while to watch them flitting about, then walked down into the bottom pasture to enjoy the fireflies fairy twinkles for a while.

From there I wandered on over to the pond and listened to the frog chorus. I got a surprise bonus, and watched a fancy aerial display from several bats.

They were munching up some of the bugs flying above the pond. It was too dark for the camera to focus on them zipping around down close to the pond, so I had to catch them up in the sky. Listen close and you can hear the frog chorus, with a short solo from our peacock.
Summer nights may be hot, but they're still pretty cool.

Peachick Surprise

A couple hours ago I looked in an incubator to see one chick almost out of an egg, and another just pipping. But a while ago I decided there sure was a lot of peeping going on, so I peeped too... peeped right in the incubator that is!

Here's what I saw: It's the 3 Stooges! Or maybe it's 3 little T-Rexes!

What a nice surprise! I've got 2 peachicks in a brooder box already, and 3 more hatched out now in the incubator.

This is more like it!

A Whole Lot of Peeping Going On

I have 3 incubators full of eggs. Most of the eggs are from the peafowl. I'm using automatic turners in two of the incubators, and they're so big I can only fit one in every other space.

Since my hen population is getting a little elderly, I decided I'd put a few chicken eggs in-between some of the peafowl eggs. I started back on May 16th. This past Wednesday, just 19 days later, the first chick hatched.

When I don't have very many chicks, I give them a washable stuffed animal to cuddle up to and help them stay warm.

Yesterday another one hatched, and sometime during the night yet another.

Looks like the latest has some Silver Crested Polish in there.

Later this afternoon I looked in one incubator and there were TWO more new ones. They both look like Buff Orpingtons, so the count is 4 yellow and 1 party-colored.

I wish the peafowl eggs would hatch so easily. I haven't had any luck the last two years, and haven't heard a peep out of any eggs this year either.

I'm hoping a whole lot more peeping goes on before we're done!

Primal Scream Therapy

This morning when I went out to do chores the peacock was strutting his stuff and screaming.

I joined in.

Hey, I’m not the only person around here that does it. Sometimes neighbors walking down the road scream back, and last week I even heard one of the garbage guys screaming at the peacock while hanging on the back of the garbage truck as it went rolling by.

I figure it’s great therapy, doesn’t cost a cent, and that peacock and I can scream at each other for a good ten minutes before we get tired. And this week I need any stress relief I can get, so Primal Scream Therapy it is.

The problem is that bathroom we’re remodeling. Getting the wallpaper off was frustrating, but that hasn’t been the only problem. (Naturally!) After that, the Farmer had to disconnect the plumbing from the sink, and he and Geek carted the vanity out. No problem there.

However, the commode refused to leave in one piece, as the bolts were rusted in place. The Farmer ended up having to bust the bottom apart to get the commode loose. We now have a dead, slightly fragmented gold commode setting on our front porch awaiting final disposal.

Worse, once the water was disconnected, even though the valve was turned completely off, it wouldn’t quit leaking. We put a bucket under it, but it filled up so fast we had to empty it every hour. The Farmer went to work that afternoon, but thankfully stopped and got a new valve on his way home, and made the repairs that evening so I didn’t have to get up once an hour all night to keep water from overflowing.

Yesterday Geek and I painted all day. We trimmed out and painted the ceiling twice, both coats of “Cool Gray” (white with the barest hint of gray). I couldn’t believe how dingy the ceiling was once you could see the difference the fresh paint made.

Next we worked on the walls. That mess required trimming out three times, a coat of primer, and two coats of our base color of gray. We finished about 5pm, and decided to wait until today to do the faux “Old World Fresco” finish.

That took most of the morning as it’s tedious work. Brushing on lime wash, then color glaze, then brushing them together… the lime wash dried quickly, so you can only do a little section at a time. When we first started I wasn’t so sure I was going to like it, but now that it’s done – Wow! I can’t wait to see how all this looks together.

Of course, we aren’t done with problems yet. We ripped the old linoleum off the floor this afternoon, only to discover there were TWO layers glued together, AND glued to the floor. Part of it came right up off the floor, but part of it stayed firmly attached. We’ve tried various methods of removal, and none have been too successful. Since it’s only a thinner layer of paper and glue left, and we’re putting finish board on top, we may leave it. I’ll have to see what The Farmer thinks of it.

Last but not least, what do you suppose was under the linoleum? Remember, this is a bathroom. You know, lots of MOISTURE!!! So let’s use particle board, right? ARGH! The floor has gotten wet from leaks on more than one occasion, and one end was particularly nasty with black mildew. There are a couple of cracks in the board, but there is a layer of solid plywood underneath, so… once again, we’ll see what the Farmer thinks needs done.

For now, I’m just taking a rest until it’s time to go out and do evening chores and get in a little more Primal Scream Therapy.

More Dancing with a Peacock Prancing

It's Saturday Night Live around here every day. We have chickens tap dancing across the lawn, roosters who think they're Irish, goat kids who try Russian folk dances around the fields, and occasionally I do a little break dance (aka falling on my... behind).

Today we feature the Romeo of the Roost, our handsome Prince of Peafowl, Sir Peacock of Prance, waltzing around the aviary.

During the day he periodically prances about, trying to entice one of his harem with his lovely fan of feathers. He sashays around the aviary, looking for love. Finally, he tires and has to let his feathers fall.

This frenetic activity will continue for some time yet, as he dances his courtship during the day, and gives raucous cries at night, telling the world he's looking for love.

It's Desperate Housewives meets Dancing With the Stars.

Snow!

It's snowing here for only the second time this year. Now everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line, don't be laughing about how excited people in the south get over such a little dab of snow!

When I went out to do chores this morning, the first thing I saw was Toby cavorting around with snow dusting his back.

A couple of the peahens were out and had even more snow on their backs.

After I finished taking care of the critters, I walked down into the woods. There was snow dusting all the leaves on the ground, and some sticking to the trees. I took a picture of the slue on one side on our property.

I didn't see any owls or deer today. They probably had the good sense to stay tucked inside some sort of shelter.

My quince bush has frozen blossoms. Right now the iced blossoms look rather pretty, but I'm sure when it warms up they'll all turn brown and die.
Back up near the house, the birds were busy at the feeders and birdbath. We always have several cardinals and woodpeckers dining at our buffet.

They take turns at the feeders, and sit on the fence posts patiently waiting their turn.

You can see what blustery weather we're having by the way the feathers of this lady Cardinal are all ruffled up. She even tucked one of her feet up in her feathers to stay warm.
We won't get any accumulation worth mentioning from this morning's snowfall, but it was still fun to see some snow for a change!

Colder weather is here again!

Tuesday it rained all day, and yesterday was overcast. Today it’s bright and sunny, but a cold front has moved in, and temperatures dropped drastically. It doesn’t seem to bother the animals. Wish I could say the same for myself!

I notice the peacock has pretty well re-feathered, and has nice new plumage in time for courting.

He hasn’t starting displaying his lovely fan of feathers yet. The incessant honking that signals breeding season usually starts in February sometime, along with Mr. Peacock dancing and prancing to get the girls attention.

Then it'll be Saturday Night Fever 24/7!

The Criminal Element

There are criminals on our farm. Yes, they are professionals at Breaking & Entering, always looking for a weakness in the fencing or gates. They are called GOATS. (And a lot of other things I'd best not repeat here....)

Yesterday evening after their warden, otherwise known as The Farmer, went off to choir practice, I grabbed my camera to go outside and look for some good photo opportunities. Little did I know I was going into investigative reporting, and would catch the criminal element at work. The dogs are on the left watching the goats. The llama is in the back watching. The guineas are on top of their pen looking. Everyone sees the criminals at work!
Yes, right before my eyes, I saw the brazen little beasts had gained entry into the aviary AGAIN, and let the peafowl loose AGAIN.

They’re lucky it was only a camera I used to shoot them. Rotten little brats!

It would seem that yesterday morning I must have only slid the latch over on the door, and neglected to flip it downward to let it catch in the notch to lock it. Mind you, this bolt does NOT slide easily, so it never occurred to me it would be any problem if I didn’t latch it down.

Well, I was wrong. Apparently the goats bounced against the door enough that the latch worked loose, and they must also have bounced enough that the door bounced open, and they took advantage to get it WIDE OPEN. Then they went in, and all but two of the peafowl went out.
Here we go again! Fortunately, Young Son was home, so I went in and enlisted his help. We’ve done this so many times, we figure we can call ourselves Professional Peafowl Herders, or maybe Professional Peafowl Wranglers. We’ve certainly got enough experience at rounding up the wandering peafowl, thanks to the baaaaaad goats who keep finding ways to let them loose.

Our first task was putting the goats back in a pen and out of the way. Then we started looking for our wandering fowl.

We found a couple of peahens just sauntering around the yard, and a couple more in the guineas night pen. The peacock was in the chicken’s roosting area.

After we got all the peafowl we saw running loose back in the aviary, we discovered we were still missing two peahens. We walked all around, looking up in the trees, and discovered nothing but squirrels. We were about to give up when Toby started barking. He had discovered a peahen in an enclosure made by wiring upright pallets together to make a fence around my lilac bush and trumpet vine. (And in case you’re wondering why we did that, it was to keep the same B&E experts from stripping those plants bare of bark.)

Anyway, we cut the wires between two of the pallets and opened them up. Experience has taught us it is better to gently, slowly, ease the peahens along in the direction you want them to go. Trying to net them or hurry them along usually results in peahens HIGH UP in a tree where no man (or woman) has gone before.

About the time we got that peahen in the aviary, we heard that loud whoosh of wings that heralds a large bird overhead. There came the last peahen from somewhere across the road, and landed in a walnut tree close to the aviary.
By this time it was almost dark, and she showed no inclination to come down. The guineas were a bit disgruntled because that strange fowl had taken up residence in their roosting tree, but eventually decided to join her.

She spent the entire night in the tree, and it was the middle of the morning before we looked out and noticed her communing with her sister through the netting next to the aviary door. Once again the Professional Peafowl Herders swung into action, and got the last stray fowl into the pen. Yes!

If there's something strange in your neighborhood (like peafowl), who ya gonna call!??
Not the Ghostbusters!

You need the Professional Peafowl Wranglers, at 1-IRO-UND-EMUP!

Busy as a Bee!

Bang, bang, bang! I can’t decide if I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of a shooting gallery, or it sounds like someone shooting off fireworks. Dove hunting season began at 12 noon here, and there are obviously LOTS of hunters busy taking advantage of it.

According to Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, the mourning dove is the most hunted migratory game bird in North America. I believe it, and I think every possible hunter is out there for the start of the season. The dove may be the symbol of peace, but they’ll be in pieces if they show a feather today.

While hunters are busy terminating doves, here on the farm we’re hoping for new life. One of the peahens is sitting on 4 eggs. It sure would be nice to see some little peachicks running around in the aviary. It just hasn’t been our year for peachicks. So far, zilch, nada, none.

While the hunters were after doves and the peahen sitting on her eggs, The Farmer was busy mowing the back yard today. This is news because it’s the first time he’s done it in years. We sold off the majority of our sheep and goats, and don’t have enough left to keep the grass eaten down like we used to.

He also tried out the new chainsaw he bought today. His previous chainsaw expired from old age. He sent it to the shop to be fixed and the bolts fell apart. Yeah, you could say it was extremely old.

While The Farmer was busy checking out his new chainsaw, some old trouble showed up to see what was happening. And what’s the biggest source of trouble on the farm? Why, the ornery little goats of course.

The one busy chewing Farmer’s pants is his special pet, a cashmere goat named Tom Thumb. He is the rare goat that would rather be petted than eat cracked corn.

And while the hunters hunted, the peafowl sat, and The Farmer sawed, there were bees and bugs busy gathering nectar from the newly blooming Sedum ‘Matrona’.

All around the area today, people and critters were busy as bees!

Fowl Update

We’ve had several little chicks and keets born the last couple of months. It doesn’t take long to go from newly hatched to pretty well grown. Our little chicks are coming close to adult sized, but it’s difficult to know how big they should get exactly, since they are a mixture of breeds.

The 3 chicks pecking at some cracked corn I threw out.
The hen on the right is a Sicilian Buttercup, fully grown.

The picture on the left is a close-up of one the 3 chicks in the first picture. You can see her funny little "top knot." The chick on the right is Peepers. Her mom abandoned her and we raised her in a cage on the front porch until she was big enough to safely let out with the rest of the chickens.

Here’s the oldest bunch of keets, more than half the size as the parents now.

The middle group has grown a lot, but still has quite a ways to go before they are adult-sized.

And the little ones are still running around, so short the only way you can tell they’re in the grass is to see it moving.

We didn’t have any luck with hatching any peachicks this year, not in the incubators nor under the peahens. Breeding season is over and the peacock has moulted. (Why carry around all those heavy tail feathers when the girls are ignoring you?) Maybe we’ll have better luck next year.

And that’s the latest fowl news from the farm…

A Final Fix & New Beginnings

Over the weekend The Farmer worked on the aviary some more. The joints on the back hoop keep popping out of place when we have high winds or little goats that sneak inside and jump against it.

The hoop holding the netting is made of PVC plastic pipe, so he put new glue on the joints.

To help secure the top hoop, there is a rope from the top of the hoop to a tree. It was anchored in a downward slant. The Farmer decided it would work better at an upward slant.

To accomplish that, he needed a tall ladder and a trip in the treetop. I caught up with him just as he was ready to get back down...


It’s all fixed up and looks good now.

When I went out to take a picture of the finished work, I discovered there was also something new…
A whole bunch of new guinea keets!

Southern Heat

I don’t know about global warming, but I know it’s plenty warm here in the south. I’m not too thrilled when you pass a bank thermometer and it has THREE digits!

Even though it’s in the shade, our thermometer has been reading 98 degrees F. for the last three days. (For those of you using the Celsius scale, that would be almost 37C.) That’s just TOO hot.

Everything here on the farm is trying to cope with the hot weather, from “A” to “Z”. (Okay, so the closest I have to the front of the alphabet is cat, with sheep at the tail end.) All the critters look for shade, but have different habitats and various ways of beating the heat.

Spot, the Cat, likes to lounge around in the shade under our truck, and keep his thirst quenched with Birdie Broth, otherwise known as water out of the bird bath – just a “faint flavor of birdie essence”. I'm not sure if I put fresh water in there for the birds or the cat.


A dust bath is the method of choice for a quick cool down for the Chickens... … while the Dogs like to hang out under the back porch or in the shade of the big walnut trees in the back yard.

Neffie takes a rest (above), while Toby enjoys chewing on a hunk of wood while lazing in the shade (below).

Even our Garden needs help with the heat, especially considering we are also under drought conditions. I’ve had to water the peppers and tomato plants almost every day. (Thank goodness for well water!)

Of course the Goats like to hang out under the shade trees in the back yard with Neffie.

Keira the Llama often joins them, but she also cools down by “burying” herself in a sea of green plants in the bog area of the bottom pasture, though it’s not much of a bog right now!

In the aviary, the Peafowl go for a combination of bathing in the dust or pool.


Last, but not least, the Sheep also opt for spots under the shade trees. Our flock matron has a special spot under a pile of lumber and gets double shade from that and the overhanging tree branches.
One way or another, everyone is looking for shade and the coolest spot possible. I’m thrilled to be able to enjoy the air conditioning inside the house. Yep, I admit it, when it comes to extreme heat, I’m a Wuss.

Beating the heat from "C" to "W" -
Just keep that air conditioning on for the "W" please!

Many Happy Returns

After a very busy Saturday, we were glad to be finished with chores and headed back to the house. We made it to back porch when we heard a loud “whoosh!”

Imagine our surprise when we discovered the peahen we thought lost for good had just made a landing in a nearby tree! We hoped she’d fly right down in the yard and go over to the aviary, but she remained stolidly in place.

While she was spending the night in the tree in the back yard, we had another night time visitor in the front yard. I’d left the old peafowl eggs in a bucket on the front sidewalk, hoping to entice the raccoon back so I could take a picture. Instead, there was an opossum helping himself to a free meal: Sunday morning when The Farmer got up and looked out, the peahen was still perched in the tree. However, by the time I went out to do chores, she was on the ground and walking up and down the outside of the aviary with her sister on the inside doing the same.

I think all that time on her own addled her brains, because she couldn’t seem to SEE the open doors and go back inside. I tried opening the back door and easing her in, but she got flustered and wouldn’t go near the door. I was afraid she'd take flight again, so I gave up on that. Then I tried the new front door, and she walked past in a couple of times without any inclinaton to go in. Finally her sister poked her head out the door and she got the idea she could get back in by going through that space.

Thus ends the “Peafowl on the Loose” saga with each and every one of them finally back at home. That’s many happy returns indeed!

Reconstruction

The Farmer got busy yesterday and set about making a new door for the aviary -- a stronger, sturdier and hopefully goat-proof door. Nothing is ever simple, so it took several hours of work.

First, he took an old screen door, and reinforced it with sturdy wire mesh on both sides, making it more than strong enough to keep the peafowl in, and tough enough to keep the goats from going through the door itself.

That was only half of the equation however. To keep them from pushing the door open or knocking it down, it needed a sturdy wood frame to keep the door solidly in place.

During the construction, a little kit (baby rabbit) hopped by to pay a visit. This little one must have just left the nest to still be so tiny.
When the goats came by to inspect the new door -

...they also checked out the teeny-tiny visitor.

Finally the door was completed and securely in place. I don’t think the goats will move it anytime soon!

The Prodigal Peahen

Our wandering peahen made it home at long last, finally leaving life on the high wires and in the treetops. When the Farmer went to let the critters out this morning, he found the peahen had moved to a walnut tree in the backyard.

Hoping for the best, when I went out to check water buckets later in the morning, I left Toby in the back yard so if she happened to have come down she wouldn't get spooked.

At first I didn’t see anything, but when I got to the back of the aviary and pens, sure enough, there was a peahen on the outside communing with the peahens on the inside.


It took a little finagling , but I finally got her inside with the rest.

Of course, there’s still one peahen MIA, or maybe I should say by now, Missing, Presumed Dead. But it’s nice to finally get the treetop peahen back home!

From bad to worse...

… Or the continuing saga of goats and peafowl.

All right, so on Tuesday the goats tore down the door to the aviary and all of the peafowl escaped. We rounded up all but two peahens and got them back in their smaller pen. At the last minute we discovered one of the last two peahens on the electric wires, but never saw the other.

Come Wednesday, and it’s status quo: one peahen missing, one on the electric wires. Later in the day I looked out the window and didn’t see her doing her high wire act. I thought, “All right! She’s down.” Wrong! I went outside and discovered all she did was move into the tree between the wires and the house.

The temps were up in the mid-90’s yesterday, so I needed to effect some kind of repair on the aviary gate so I could let the peafowl back in. They needed more space and access to their little wading pool to splash around in and stay cool.

The door was still intact, just knocked off the supports, so I used bungee cords to fasten it back in place. I knew that would suffice to keep the peafowl in their pen. The problem was keeping the goats OUT of the pen.

Taking a page out of The Farmer’s “Jury Rigging Manual”, I went looking for a wooden pallet. I found one wider than the door opening and tied it in place. To make sure the goats couldn’t climb up the slats, I turned it so they were vertically oriented.

It wasn’t long until the goats came to investigate my repairs.

Now here it is, 2 days since the Great Escape, and as it stands,
a) the goats haven’t found a way to get through the wooden pallet (good!),
b) one peahen is still missing (bad!), and
c) one peahen is still up in a tree (rats!).

The Farmer decided this evening it was time to matters into his own hands and find a way to get this peahen down out of the tree. She was too high up for any ladders we have, so he got the bright idea to use my BB gun, just pumped up enough so the BB would reach the peahen and maybe sting and annoy her, but not do any real damage.

The bright idea rather backfired. He did indeed get her out of the tree… you know, the one close to the house? Yep, she flew out of that tree…. and way back to the woods and roosted in a tree there. Bad to worse indeed.

He tried the same BB tactics to get her out of that tree, but she wasn’t falling for it again.

Failing with that tactic, he then threw a rope up in the tree to snag the branches she was on and shake them. She hung on and rode it out. Finally he had to admit defeat. But stay tuned! It ain't over until the fat lady sings, or the peafowl comes down out of the tree.

The score is peahens 1, Farmer 0.

A Fowl Predicament

I walked by the picture window in our dining area this morning and thought I saw a couple of peahens sitting on the fence. Classic double take, look again… yep, sure enough, there were peahens on the fence. OUTside of the aviary.

I hollered for help from the Computer Wizard downstairs, and we went out our respective closest doors to investigate. There was a totally empty aviary, and several peahens walking around in the back yard.

From past experience, I’ve discovered you can herd them if you walk behind them, gently, gently, and slowly head them n the direction you want them to go. We got four peahens back in place as we walked toward the aviary to check out the problem.

The problem was the door was wide open, having been taken off the hinges on one side, and slammed back against the inside of the aviary by bungee cord whiplash on the other.

It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce how this happened. I didn’t see it with my own two eyes, but I feel 100% positive a certain couple of goat bucklings wanted back in the aviary, and being forestalled by the three bungee cords, tried a new tactic. They obviously pushed or bounced hard enough against the door to dismantle it.

I am NOT amused.

The door is going to need some extensive repair, so we scooted the peahens we’d captured back into their original pen, and closed off the passage to the aviary. Then we went looking for the rest.

In the meantime, the nosy goats came to investigate what we were doing. I wasn’t in the mood to work around goats running in and out of the aviary, so shut them up in their night pen.

We discovered the peacock and another peahen behind the aviary area, and slowly guided them around the aviary and through the door, opened the passage and let them in with the others in the little pen. Once we shut the passage back up, we went scouting for the last two peahens.

We looked high (up in the trees), and we looked low (down in the bottom pasture), but we couldn’t see hide nor feather of any peahens. Granted the trees are in full leaf, so if they’re in the woods, we’d have trouble spotting them, even though they’re a large bird.

After much searching, I decided it was time to call a halt. Even if we did find them, there’s no way we can get them down if they’re up in a tree. We headed back to the house when I happened to glance up to some power lines and saw this:

Yes, there was one of the missing peahens. I would guess Toby spooked her and she flew up out of his reach. I moved him into a pen where she couldn’t see him, but hours later she is still right there in the same place.

I even tried spraying her with water to get her down, but in this 90+ degree heat, I think she just decided it felt good, and stayed where she was, dripping wet. There’s no telling when she’ll come down, and if she’ll head towards the aviary when she does.

As for the last lost peahen, we still have no idea where she went. I can only hope at dusk she decides to come home to roost.

Those blasted goats have sure created a fowl predicament.

Fowl Update

It’s dark out, and almost 9pm, but I can hear the guineas outside making a racket about something. They’re not called the “barnyard watchdogs” for nothing! We have two sets of babies (keets) left. The first batch we so carefully penned up was a disaster. None of those survived. The others that hatched out close to the same time was a smaller group, and there are still two keets running around. I have hope they'll survive, as they are already half grown.

Then last week we noticed a new group of 5 babies. They are still pretty small, and already down to 3 keets. One way or another, something seems to get to the little ones, and the survival rate is pretty low. I think we have too many hawks, owls and 4-legged predators.

Of course, it’s better than the peafowl, which have zip babies right now. I still haven’t had any luck with any eggs hatching in the incubators. My only hope now is one peahen who is sitting on an unknown number of eggs. This is the first year any have tried to nest. I hope she does better hatching eggs than the incubator.

The peahens will probably stop laying soon. The peacock is molting, losing feathers at a rapid rate. That usually signals the end of mating season. It looks like another not-so-successful year with the peafowl. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but the last couple of years have been a bust.

The 3 little chicks of assorted flavors are growing rapidly. In fact, I mistook one the other day for one of the little Golden Sebright hens. They wander further away from Mama Hen these days, and don’t always stick together either. I think they may all be hens, which would be a miracle, but they don’t have much of a comb even yet, and a rooster should be showing a pretty good sized comb by now.

Our last little outside fowl, Peepers, just got moved into a bigger cage on the front porch. After she was abandoned by her mother, and I couldn’t get the other hen to adopt her, I put her in a birdcage on the back porch. She’s about outgrown it, so we put her in a bigger cage. I’m not ready to turn her loose yet, since she’s only half grown. I'm not sure how's she going to do on her own.

She doesn’t look like the other three, so we have 4 chicks that are all different. Nothing like fowl diversity!

Peepers on top of her bird cage.

What Egg-xactly is it?

Some of our chickens like to lay eggs in a feed trough in the sheep shed. When I went out to gather eggs, here is what I saw:

Okay, true confession time. The top egg I placed in there for comparison. It's a peafowl egg. Our peafowl are in a large aviary, so lay their eggs in there. Once in a while we find a chicken egg in the aviary, as our Golden Sebright's can slip through the openings in the wire at the bottom, but generally speaking, the chicken eggs and peafowl eggs aren't together.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what peafowl are - I know some people get confused at the term peafowl! Think peacocks. Only peafowl is the real name for those type of birds, peahens are the girls, peachicks are the young birds, and peacocks are the boys, and the boys only.

Anyway, back to the nest of eggs! In the middle are two chicken eggs. The white one on the left comes from a Sicilian Buttercup hen. The one on the right comes from a Buff Orpington hen.

Now the bottom egg, I'm not sure egg-xactly what it is. With that odd shape, I believe it may have been a Polish Crescent Sliver Moon chicken.

Well, okay, maybe not. I do believe it came from our Polish Crested Silver Laced chicken however. I really don't know what happened that she laid this egg with such a strange shape. They usually look just like the other chicken eggs.

I guess she just wanted this one to be egg-stra special!