Tucker and Moose have the day off from blogging, but they will return soon. They are currently getting treats from their Man, and couldn’t be bothered with blogging anyway!
These days, for most of the world, are all about self-quarantine and social distancing. For some of us, this is just daily life.
My current status is working from home, though I do hope we get to return to the office in the not-too-distant future. My off-work routine has always been that of the “home-body” – only socializing for birthdays and holidays, and the occasional outing with just a few other friends.
I have my dogs, and my chickens, not to mention home renovation projects, and my husband also has his cars, so we don’t really feel the burden of this forced isolation. (The Man has an essential job so he has to still work everyday like he normally would).
As you can see from the photo above, my hens are giving me quite the beautiful bounty these days. I am down to twenty-one hens, one of whom hasn’t laid an egg in years, and likely never will again (“Lil’ Half-Blind Girl”, Polly), so I only count twenty hens that could be laying on a given day.
I still have two Araucanas/Easter Eggers from my original flock – Dawn and Anya. One or both of them are still laying and they are now six years old! They contribute to the blue and green eggs. I bought six Americana/Easter Eggers last spring; some days I get seven blue/green eggs. I haven’t yet gotten eight in one day, so one of the old gals might not be laying anymore. That’s okay. They’re not going anywhere because of that!
Polly was of my second flock, one of the two Barred Rocks I have left. I also have three Buff Orpingtons left from that flock, all are five years old now. Other than Polly, some or all of those girls are still laying, too. I had bought a total of eight new chicks last spring that are all brown egg layers, plus I still had three Rhode Island Reds from the neighbor, and one Amber Link (Nugget), so there was the potential for sixteen brown eggs on a given day (not including Polly). (Plus the eight EEs….possible twenty-four eggs/day).
Sadly, I have lost four hens since November, three to a predator (likely a raccoon) and one, Nugget, to stress. So, I now have twenty possible layers left, total. – plus Polly. On average, I’m getting a full dozen eggs per day. I used to sell some at work, but that’s not possible now. I’ve given some to family, sent some with my sister-in-law to give to her local food bank, and sold a few to a former co-worker – met in a parking lot for a quick hand-off, like a couple of criminals!!
When it comes to my relationship with my chickens, what tickles me is that, from fairly early on, my remaining Dominique, Kira, squats for me when I come to the coop. She has tolerated me picking her up, too.
Even one of the old Buff Orpingtons will occasionally squat for me to pet her. Up till now, it was pretty much only Lil’ Red who squatted for me to pet her. (Polly, of course, being half-blind, never had a choice in me picking her up and moving her from place to place!).
So, my secret to not being the least bit put out by the current lack of social engagements to attend is simply to have lots of tasks, chores, and projects to keep me busy.
I may, at some point add pages about our home renovations to the blog, if not this one, then on the sister-blog, woofwoofvroomvroom, here on wordpress.
Thanks for checking in. Hope you’re all staying safe – and sane! – out there!
PreppinWolf 