28 week Wyandottes and more saffron

First off, let's try this again...

 

The grandpa feeder has been sitting quietly in the coop for a while now, the crew have to walk past it to get out in the morning and yet now on the lawn it is new and terrifying again! it took a good while for anyone to become brave enough to even place two little clawed feet onto the green platform.
They all seemed so surprised to see me pick handfuls of food out of the feeder, like it was mysteriously appearing from nowhere.
 Lacey crept up beside me, the only chicken who will let you pick her up easily without too much fuss. After a few seconds of freaking out she ate from the feeder and others followed. I made the mistake of picking up Whitney and trying to convince her to stand on the platform to eat, she thanked me by laying two soft shelled eggs in the pool.
'Why doesn't my grandpa feeder look as awesome as yours?' I hear you say, well Chuck seemed quite confused to see his reflection in the shiny metal feeder so we wrapped it in vinyl.
The ducks also have this awesome habit of stretching over the treadle to eat, this really won't work on the off chance we ever get to the stage where the lid can close and hit them in the head, so there is a bit of cardboard on the platform, the idea being they *have* to stand on it. Even though it is wrapped in the same green burlap material as the ramp to the duck pool the ducks weren't impressed.
It does help a bit if I use the water container to block off entry to the sides.

 

The saffron is still going strong, my new record is 11 flowers picked Friday evening. Some of the corms are still only just starting to break through the soil and I may need to replant them next summer so they have more room, they seem to spend quite a bit of time making baby corms.
The red stamen have been laid out to dry while the rest of the flowers have been thrown about the coop bedding to pretty up the place.

 

 

Today marks 28 weeks of bird ownership, Whitney and Bonnie had a good week of laying with 1 or 2 eggs a day (although there were 3 in the pool today), I'm still not sure if they will slow down in winter.
The 'dottes aren't squatting yet, but combs and wattles are growing and reddening. Sunny (above) checks out the peg collection used to contain the bird netting *meant* to keep them away from the cherry tree over summer. Sunny is almost as big as Blue but at the bottom of the pecking order

, she's a sweetie and Lizzy's best friend.

 

 

 

Blue has large waddles but her comb isn't as.. lumpy? as the golden girls, hers is nice and flat. And still quite small. She has also started carrying her tail quite high which I love. She's such a pretty shape! Blue can be a bit bossy but is generally a pretty good girl.

 

 

Lacey here is in the middle of a dustbath. I love watching them roll around in the dirt or puff out in the sun! Lacey is one of the smaller girls, I'm not sure if it is due to her run in with coccidiosis or just genetics but she's doing well now. Our friendliest girl and Miss A's favourite, Lacey is the only one to let you pick her up (usually complaining while you do, but settles down once you have her) her comb and waddles are as big and dark pink as Sunny's.
Second from the bottom of the pecking order, Lacey likes to let Sunny know she's higher up when she gets the chance. She's also super *super* bitey at night when roosting which means long sleeves are good if you go in to give everyone good night pats.
Chuck really likes Lacey, he dances for her all the time but still makes sure he eats first.

 

Lizzy (at the front here) seems to be our smallest girl with the palest comb, shortest legs and biggest attitude! nicknamed T-Rex for her angry squawking during treats time (she wants CORN dammit!)
She isn't shy, if you sit down she will happily climb on your legs and nip at your pants or shoes.

 

 

And Chuck, the pretty, puffy cockerel ball. Still obsessed with the ducks. While the pullets dust bathe he is usually following the ducks, waiting for an opportunity to dance for Bonnie or catch Stevie off guard. His spurs are growing in very slowly and he is filling out nicely.

 

 

 

In spring last year I cleared some of the garden for potatoes, it had previously been covered in thick weed mat (shakes fist!) and had become rock hard, awful desolate clay. After packing it full of compost, clay breaker and chook poop filled wood shavings the area is nicer and much more fertile.
I've started working on more rock hard dirt, the carrots I had hoped would help break up some of the area had to be dug out, the blanket of weeds has been removed and the bird hoard descended to 'help'. At most points I could do nothing but watch them scratch for bugs so I didn't step on them or impale them with a shovel.

 

 

Stevie watches Bonnie dig for treats. Or he's just keeping an eye on me.

 

The chicken crew have also discovered a new noise, I thought this was exclusively 'the egg song' sung by chickies laying their eggs but Chuck is letting the squad know there is a cat in the yard. He leads his ladies on top of the water tank, Lizzy lets loose a cloud of dirt from the dust bath he interrupted

 

4 year key lime pie part one and the mid autumn garden

 

I have a bit of an obsession with key lime pie, the proper type with condensed milk and no food colouring. Pie crust or pastry crust? meringue top or cream? all are good...
Good luck finding key limes in N.Z though (unless you know a place.. let me knooooowww)

Around here you are lucky to pay a butt load for big Tahitian or bearss limes. I searched and searched, we don't really have a great climate for heat loving limes and the areas that could manage it, grow other things. Guess we don't have a huge market for limes here

For about a year I tried to find a tree to add to my garden, almost buying Rangpur limes from a bunch of places trying to convince me they were Key limes. They aren't dangit, Rangpurs are pretty much just sour mandarins! The tree I wanted grows true to seed, Great! if you have a seed...
I did finally manage to locate a plant in 2013 from Kings Plant barn, It isn't a fan of frosty winters or aphids but this year it's covered in blossoms and fruit that aren't just dropping to the floor. One of the few plants the chickens can get to that they don't seem at all interested in.
My recipe calls for 2/3rds of a cup of lime juice, or 24-30 limes, Surely the 15 small globe shaped fruits I picked would be enough? No?
Oh well, into the freezer until more have ripened. I'll have to put off the excitement of making a duck egg meringue to go on top for now!

Even though my usual summer garden efforts were neglected this year in favour of baby birds, the perennial plants are still doing their thing. As property renters of many years, one of my favourite ways to garden is in containers. You can grow almost anything in a big enough container.

Saffron is great this way, during summer while the plant is dormant the container is moved to where it can't get any water. When it starts to shoot up again, the containers are moved to get sun and rain.
My saffron corms didn't flower their first year, but now they go nuts!

 

 

I know, you are supposed to pick them before they open completely... It's still too early this season to get enough flowers to start up the dehydrator, although leaving the red stamen out on a paper towel seems to dry it out enough for now.



 

This Plumeria was nothing more than a tiny cutting 2 and a half years ago, every year it needs to be re potted. Apparently, once you start getting towards 40 litre pots, if you know you will need to go bigger again it's probably better to start planting in planter bags. Getting a massive heavy plant out of a plastic pot while you are desperately trying to not break off branches is awful... at least you could just cut the bag off! The plant didn't appreciate it either, and took longer than usual to sort itself out, it is trying to flower but I think it's too late this year to see any more of these

 

 

 

The pineapples are oh so very slowly.. existing? at least the banana is trying

 

 

It's huge now! what will it think of winter frost since (like the plumeria) it's too big to come inside?

hopefully they'll be okay. There are other trees and herbs herbing along

 

 

 

And lastly, remember to give your chickens and ducks a nice mulching with plenty of grass clippings!

 

How to get a pretty hen to notice you, by Chuck the cockerel

 

Oh! apparently the 'quick side step, head grab' doesn't have all the ladies swooning yet..

The 'I have found you food treats!' clucking is adorable though, don't worry Chuck, the girls are still a bit young yet. They'll come running for your charms soon I'm sure!

Lizzy and Bonnie have a bath

 

You know, I've found that over the last 25 weeks I've found myself talking about bird butts, bird poop and the.. erm, love life of birds a lot, lot more than I ever thought I would..

We've given a few chickens baths before, and to be honest I quite like it, it's not a normal way for a chicken to clean itself but once in the water they usual settle nicely.
Chickies usually dust bathe to clean their skin and repel bugs, and watching them writhe around flicking dirt in all directions is quite entertaining! but every now and then an extra dirty butt will present itself, it can be a sign of issues like lice or mites, egg laying problems or maybe just a particularly fluffy bottom.
A neighbours' hen had a bad case of poopy butt, but she had egg peritonitis. Towards the end Roo had a few baths as he was loosing strength to poop so it would get on his feathers, and Whitney duck had a bath after laying half an egg on her second day of laying.
In the case of the first two, a lot of poop can attract flies which can lead to fly strike, plus urates can burn a birds skin, if they aren't cleaning it off themselves it can be a good idea to help them get clean.
In Whitneys case I was unsure whether all the egg shell had come out and nice warm water can help a hen relax if they are having issues laying. Her egg had a soft shell but she was fine and it was all out.

Sitting in the yard watching the crew run around searching for treats I noticed Lizzy had a bit of a dirty butt, nothing serious, her enormous fluffy bloomers just had a tiny bit of poop. her sisters all have very clean bottoms. Blue, Lacey and Lizzy are all very interested in the jeans I wear lately and come over to peck at them or perch on my legs, but Lizzy is not the type of girl who just lets you pick her up. When they settled in to roost for the night Miss A helped collect her, a quick rummage through her fluff uncovered no signs of bugs but we brought her inside for a bath to clean off the cecal poop she was hiding (yay! the stinkiest of all poop!)

Lizzy puffed out in her tub of Epsom salted warm water and with gloved hands we carefully rubbed her feathers clean, rinsed her and with a hair dryer fluffed her up. She handled the bath well, and gobbled up meal worm treats but it was well past bed time and she was so unimpressed!
Thankfully she's managed to keep clean, but the next day (Thursday) Miss A texted before I was due to leave work to say Bonnie Duck was sitting alone in her pond, uncomfortable and straining a bit.
Bonnie has only been laying a few days so we were worried she was having trouble passing an egg, by the time I had raced home Miss A already had her floating in a warm bath. No egg with her, but she had pooped and perked up a lot! after treats she rushed off to her friends and all seemed well.

Normally the duck ponds are cleaned every second day but knowing they wouldn't get to swim Friday night anyway, I put it off until Saturday morning when this little friend was discovered

 

A big rubbery ducky egg with a.. tail? we are unsure whether a few days in the duck pond made the shell dissolve or if she just laid a squidgy egg. Either way it solved the mystery of poor lonesome quiet Bonnie duck. The egg had a single yolk and weighed 75 grams, which is about 30 more than the usual for them. It also sprayed the bench with water when I poked it to pry the shell open and check the insides.

The flock are enjoying foraging in the early morning frosty grass, emerging from the paddocks with wet undercarriages and in the case of the ducks, wet grass covered faces. I've been watching the hens for reddening combs and waddles

Lizzy has the palest comb at this stage

Sunny has the brightest pink comb of all the pullets and her waddles are the biggest. She's also the only girl who doesn't enjoy attacking my pants

 

Miss Blue is the biggest girl with the flattest comb, her size is probably thanks to her being the only blue laced lady.

 

 

Lacey here stepped up to the duck pond to check it out, (don't worry they never go in) she has a pale comb similar to Lizzy.
None of the pullets are squatting or interested in nesting and are still confused with Chuck's cockerel dance so there probably won't be eggs coming from them anytime soon

Mid autumn evenings

As I road rage my way home after work the golden late evening sun dips low in the sky
spilling long dark shadows creeping across the landscape.

It's only slightly over a week since the clock went back for daylight savings and the bird squad puts themselves to bed earlier and earlier every night. If they aren't on the driveway waiting when I get home, I just have to open the garage door and look in my side mirrors to see 3 ducks and a cockerel running as fast as their little legs will carry them to remind me they want treats
and NOW dammit! It's almost bed time! where were you?!!
The pullets follow

I've started making up a bowl of their favourites in the evening so I'm ready the next day, dog roll, peas, grapes, scraps.. Stevie watches his girlfriends charging around like angry tanks inhaling dog roll, Chuck stalks the ducks (we've come to the conclusion that when they eat, the girls look like they are squatting, and Stevie just happens to be slow enough that he is an easy target) as far as he is concerned they are going to have the most beautiful babies

 

 

the pullets scuttle around getting what they can.

 

While they are distracted I start moving their food containers and water into the coop for the night, they prefer to walk in and settle on the roost when I'm not already in there, although they will just head in to get their favourite spots anyway. The ducks rush in last, when I shut the coop door they chatter away and settle down.

The queue for the coop

 

 

(The ducks don't sleep in the same way chickens do, it doesn't matter what time of night you go in, the second you reach the coop door you hear raspy drake noise warning everyone something is coming. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if a predator managed to make it into the coop the ducks would warn the chickens but I'm a bit jealous of people who can go in at night to pick up completely asleep chickens to check them over. Plus Lacey gets super bitey in the dark)

Cleaning the duck pools is getting interesting.. by the end it is so dark I have trouble telling whether the pools are full and my hands are covered in mosquito bites because I just can't seem to remember the repellent beforehand.

 

 

The mornings are cooling down. The flock doesn't mind the early frost and race out to find breakfast bugs.

We are quite lucky here. Temperatures drop below 0 Celsius in winter and a couple of mountains close by are known to get snow coverings occasionally but the peepers will never have to worry about trudging through snow. (as exciting as it would be to have snow in the yard or catch their reactions!) My biggest worry over the coming months will be the rain and dampness
although the thing that has been bothering me the most for a while, pretty soon it will be dark *while* I'm drivig home! my buddies will already be in bed by then.

 

But anyway! Miss A woke me up yesterday morning after finishing night shift.
'There were 2 eggs in the nest this morning! one was a bit soft and smooshed'
I didn't take a photo figuring Whitney misfired after laying a normal egg.

'How do you know none of the eggs already collected aren't Bonnies?' T asked.
I told him I had considered it, but it seemed odd that if we had 2 laying ducks, that over a whole month we hadn't had a single day where 2 nicely shelled eggs were found.
He pointed out she could be laying anywhere. Yep and if she was we'd need psychic powers or dumb luck to find them!

Well, this morning there were 2 proper ducky eggs hiding in the nest! another 97 gram double yolk monster and a more normal sized one so it would appear Bonnie has *finally* joined the ranks of laying hen. Go Bonnie!
(the picture above shows the slightly tinted duck eggs and the bright white plastic egg)

Whitney's huge duck egg

Todays egg on the right 

 

Whitney has outdone herself!

 

 

 

97 grams! (just over 3.4 ounces!)

Poor girl.
It's always exciting digging around in the nest in the morning to see what it waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A shared Coop for the ducks and 'dottes

The front door to the coop as it was on April 2015

 

The old aviary is a fantastic building.
(from memory) 8 metres long by just over 3 metres wide, constructed of brick and wood with a concrete floor, good quality hardware cloth covered windows (and part of the roof) let in plenty of light to two big separate rooms.
But there was still a lot of work to do to make this place more than just a home for spiders.

A massive grape vine, piles and piles of dirt and wasp nests plus once clear plastic polythene were removed from the roof and replaced with corrugated clear roofing where needed (thanks for helping T!) The wire netting obviously did nothing to keep out the rain so thick clear polycarbonate panels were put into each gap.
Onwards, to the inside!

Interior small room early April 2015

 

This room I designated the storage/ possible hospital/ time out room, or if really needed maybe a separate duck room. You can still see a tiny nesting box (spider house) and the little white thing on the ceiling was a tiny feeder. Front and centre you have (most of) a work bench.

It masterfully hides a pretty degraded wall, unfortunately time and the weather haven't been kind to some of the wood inside, as you can see inside the bigger room

 

Interior Big back room

 

Yep that's pretty green!

There is an old roost hanging from the roof and one of two huge old nesting boxes (spider houses) to your right. That dark corner in the back looks pretty good for a chicken roosting area, but there's a wall that comes out at an odd angle, the riddle of how to attach roosting bars would plague me pretty much until the babies were ready to move in.

Once the plastic windows were in, roosts and spider houses removed (hey, the chickens might like the roosts, but I have no idea what kind of bugs still may lurk within) we swapped the rotten walls with signboards, not reeeeally designed for construction, but miles better than mushy wood.

 

 

The smaller room 2.0, 1 month B.C (before chickens)

 

My old greenhouse didn't make the move with us to the country, but its solar lights live on in the coop!

No, I don't plan to supplement light in winter, the birds can all do with some down time. It's just nice to have the option of lighting if I want it, it meant the aviary became my gardening workshop during the anxious time of waiting for the babies to arrive.

Also during dark very early spring nights I could plot my next move.



Bigger room 2.0, Late November
(omg look at that pile of clean shavings!)

 

The coop on the day our buddies moved in!

The nesting box I made late one night and dragged out. The ladder is made from decking timber and held up with metal brackets for easy removal. The roosting bars are held in place with smaller brackets but not attached so they can be removed for cleaning and replacement.
At first they were both level as I had heard it would stop the birds fighting over the highest spot.
After discussion with a workmate I decided on deep litter for the floor (we'll see how that goes with ducks! all good so far) wood shavings are kept in place with more brackets and decking timber.
I've managed to create a space by the entrance where water dishes can be kept on bare concrete to keep the shavings from becoming saturated during a crazed duck water fight.
What is the cardboard box for? well Frankie duck liked to sit in it with Nigella, I figured they would still enjoy it in their new home. (Nope)

28th of November, first night in the coop

 

They all loved their new house! There was so much room!

The ducks celebrated by claiming their sleeping spot right under the roost, the chickens celebrated by kicking shavings everywhere.



The place is still a work in progress,

Late March 2016

 

The Roost now has 3 levels so the chickies can get up and down easier, they all sleep on the top bar with Chuck spread out right in the middle. The ducks usually sleep in the wood shavings along the wall to the right. I'm just glad they don't usually sleep under the roosts as the chicks poop a lot at night!

The tarps to the left create a nice dark, private corner where Whitney duck digs a crater to lay her eggs, you can sort of see her plastic training egg hiding away.
I've added more decking timber to hold a higher level of wood shavings, the ducks can clamber up the brick stairs but usually choose to throw themselves over the wood ledge anywhere they please

 

 

 

I know... curtains on the nesting box? it helps make them darker, apparently laying chickies prefer a bit of privacy! hopefully the chickens will appreciate the effort and lay in the boxes.

The red plastic container is used to hold a water dish overnight. It helps keep the shavings dryer during an early morning duck water fight.

 

I was convinced that the ducks were hogging the doorway between the two interior rooms in the morning so T helped create an extra door by carving out part of the wall (which became a ramp). The birds as usual are wary of the ramp, but I have seen a few chickens brave enough to venture down. Horizontal foot holds have been screwed to the ramp, but the birds don't spend long enough inside to really worry that they aren't super excited about the new addition.

(they still aren't really using the feeder, more on that another day...)

 

 

 Sunny checks out the doorway

 

I have plans to screw hinges to more plastic windows so we can open them. It will be interesting to see how the birds handle things in their home over the coming winter months!





Stevie's Pedicure

Years ago mum bought dog nail clippers, the dog got enough exercise that her nails were in pretty good shape, but every now and then she might need a trim.
Problem was even big dogs can get nervous and Maia would cry and shiver when she even saw those clippers. The idea of trying to calmly clip that bullmastiffs dark nails while avoiding the quick was so stressful for all involved that to the best of my knowledge, the clippers were never used.
Oh well, a few more walks on the pavement will help!

Needless to say, until yesterday I didn't have much experience with trimming animal nails and when Miss A pointed out Stevie ducks curly back nails

we realised it was time to pick up our own clippers. Scratching in the dirt and running around all day, none of the other birds have nail issues, the chickens peck at things all the time and clean their beaks so those are all in good shape too.

'So you are going to be clipping some nails this afternoon?' asked the polite and perky lady behind the pet store counter.
'Yeah, it's going to be interesting'
'You'll be fine! just tire them out first, and then offer lots of treats'
entertained by the idea of running around the back yard trying to wear out Stevie I laughed
'It's actually for a duck....'
I expected confusion, but she smiled, 'just wrap him in a towel, cover his wings and head. he'll calm down and it'll be fine'
She went on to explain that she used to work for a place where they would look after and weigh chickens. Apparently they used to weigh them by placing them in a pillowcase and hanging it from one of those scales with a hook on it. (T asked later 'like a luggage scale?' huh, that's a great idea! might have to look into one)

Memories of a young Whitney duck kicking, screaming and scratching her way out of vet wrap made us all very glad it was Stevie duck we wanted. He was easily collected and lay complaint and calm, his face covered by a towel and his big duck feet out in the open. His nails are a light colour which makes avoiding the blood supply in them much easier and it was only the rear one that was a problem. He jerked his foot once which made me nervous, but he was a good boy. Miss A trimmed his other nail and we uncovered him,


 

it's not good for chickens to be on their back too long so I guess it's not good for ducks either. We rolled him over for a treat of meal worms before he quacked away to catch up with his girlfriends who were busy searching for him outside.

Second first duck eggs

I've thought I had discovered a Bonnie egg a few times now...

and every time I've been wrong.
Last Saturday while cleaning the coop I was excited to notice 2 soft shelled eggs by the duck pool, one barely had a shell at all. Whitney had layed earlier so they couldn't be hers right? hmm, well if they are Bonnies, we had better check her to make sure she's okay and all the egg is out of her. Miss A helped scoop her up and lay her on her back while I searched through a forest of downy butt feathers, all clean and fine. Bonnie scuttled off to her friends.
The next day ad no eggs in the duck nest? seems Whitney is something of an overachiever and Bonnie suffered the indignity of a butt check for nothing...

Whitney started laying 3 weeks ago today and while she doesn't lay every day, there has been more than one egg for every day since she started.
Let's check her nest this morning

 



Yep, in the corner of the coop under the tarps is where she digs her crater

 

Oh look a precious Whitney egg! along with the plastic training egg, neither are buried today. Generally if she lays this will be where it is.

Yesterday only a lonely plastic egg hid in the nest so I thought she had taken a day off and that's perfectly fine with me! I did search the yard though, those pesky rats aint getting them if I can help it.

But wait, what's this?

 

 

Another egg hiding in the gap behind the brick stairs? huh, I don't think that was there yesterday, but to be fair I found it while dealing with the aftermath of a duck/water tsunami (cover with wood shavings and wait, hope that it absorbs most of the damage...)
is it a Bonnie egg? no, probably not and I really don't mind if she takes her time. To be honest I think she is probably quite a bit younger than Whitney and there is no set time for a bird to lay their first egg, I just don't fancy the idea of finding a bunch of half eaten ones some day, so I search most days.
Not expecting to find anything but wondering if I may be pleasantly surprised anyway.



 

Above is a recent picture of our ducks butts (what?)
Whitney on the left has a parting of white downy fluff which is quite noticeable, Bonnie (far right) does not. I wonder if it's an indication of a laying duck... or whether I just spend too much time looking at the wrong end my buddies

 

What?

 

 

 



The fluffy butts have all been with us 24 weeks today, the days grow shorter as we chug slowly towards winter and the colder months.
My saffron corms are starting to sprout so their garden pots have been moved away from curious beaks and only time will tell whether the frangipani will flower again this year after it's traumatic (for me) repotting... It and the banana plant are now officially too big to come indoors so all I can do is hope they will survive the Waikato frost and fog.
The feathered ones put themselves to bed earlier and earlier, Sunnies comb and waddles are an ever darkening shade of dark pink. As Wyandottes I expect they will take a while to start laying but I wonder if Sunny will be first.

 

 

Things I can't manage to catch on camera no matter how hard I try:
The perfect white bulls eye disk of a fertile duck egg (Yep! the eggs are FERTILE. Stevie has figured it out! not that you'd be able to tell from his shenanigans.. climb on sideways, sit on her like she's a pool float until she gets annoyed...) 

 

or Chuck's kicky leg, hang down a wing rooster dance to impress the ladies
It doesn't go on long enough, usually because Bonnie doesn't appreciate it.. and the pullets are still not quite ready for it. Over the last few days it also ends with Chuck stretching up tall and pecking them on the head, yeah cause that'll definitely help

 

 

He's lucky he's so pretty. Today, he also offered a treat to Lizzy
Offered her a treat (not pictured I was too surprised!).
This is pretty big for Mr steals food from his girlfriends mouth and pecks her head to remind her whose boss. Our little boy is becoming a man!