Wow, I have neglected this blog, my last post here was in October!
Just a little update with mostly the chickens and a bit of the garden. (cell phones shots so not the best quality)
Brad added the nesting box just before they started laying, using wood from an old barn door. It has chew marks on it from years of some animal, possibly a horse, nibbling or rubbing against it, adds character! 
The box is on a slight slant and when you open the front latched door to collect eggs, they have rolled to the edge. That way the chickens don't get tempted to continue to sit on them, not that is has stopped them from going broody and sitting any way.
This morning when I went to collect eggs, I found that Violet, who has gone a bit broody in the last few days, with her head underneath the divider and resting it on her egg. I stroked her head and she fell asleep! 
Rosie the Rhode Island Red was first to start laying in December and the only brown egg layer. Her first 7 eggs were all broken because she refused to go into the nest box, she was laying from the roost about a foot high so, plop, they all broke. We provided a cardboard box for a few days that she did use, edging it closer to the nest box each day and eventually she used the nest box & we got intact eggs. She still reverts sometimes, they are not too bright!
We are now getting 5 eggs a day, our favorite is the green ones we started getting about 5 weeks ago from Poppy the Ameraucana. Just got this egg holder (on the right) for the kitchen counter so we can keep track of which eggs are the oldest.
They had been free-ranging for a while and we loved watching them but anyone that has chickens knows what happens to the garden with them on the loose. They made dust bowls everywhere, got into the veggie beds and kicked up dirt and bark in all directions. They also loved coming up on the patio and hanging out together at the slider door and looking inside, checking us out! They left nasty messes all over the patio of course. I was hosing the patio and deck down every day.
So a few weeks ago Brad built a larger extended run. We let them out into the garden maybe two-three times a week for a couple of hours in the late afternoon but this run size seems to work well.
My grandson brings them weed greens so they follow him when he walks by.
And now just a few garden shots.
Daughter of Stars
The cute iris confusa 'Chengdu'.
Osteospermum ecklonis Zion™ Copper Amethyst, just an awesome color. It's in a pot on my deck.
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| Lovely Photos by vic | Mar 31, 2016 5:44 PM | 8 |
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