The first Egg!

Last Monday the Chickens were 17 weeks old and I have been wondering when I might see their first Egg. Well, I found it as I was feeding them this morning! While they were eating the bread and feed I put out, I went around back to refill the water and when I opened the coop, THERE IT WAS!

It's the one on the right! Next to a store bough large Egg

It's kind of small, But I bet the Hen that laid it did not think so!

And here they are doing the Chicken thing.

The one under the coop is one of the "RIR" Could it be that this is a rooster? Only time will tell!

They seem to prefer the feed just dumped on the ground! Stupid Birds!

Not a Chicken! One of the Sunflowers with Wood Bees working hard to collect pollen.

When I go out to the coop I in the morning, I take Daisy with me and the first place she goes is the Chicken Coop. But this morning, She shot off the back deck like she was shot from a cannon! She saw two of the Birds outside  of the Chicken yard and she got "Up Close and Personal" with them!  I told her "NO" and she backed off and just watched them.
There are no holes in the fence and the gate was closed, So they had to have flew over the top to get out. But when I opened the gate and started to throw out the bread, They came right back in! I wonder if this is going to be an on going thing from now on? It's not really a problem, but they do not have anything close by to hide from winged predators out there! In the yard they can at least get under the coop or go inside until the danger passes.

Anyway, The first Egg is out and I hope that it is just a start of more Eggs in the future!
Tom

Meet Little Girl

So here is the Story:

On June 21ST, I arrived at work to continue training and and saw this Little Girl outside the main doors of the building.

Just look at that face!

She was covered in TICKS and Fleas. Was nothing but skin and bones and very Hot and thrusty! I stopped and talked to her. When I came out for the first break of the day, She was gone.
I found that she had moved to the parking lot and was laying next to a car in the shade. I gave her some crackers and water from my lunch. And she finished that in no time!

When I came back out at lunch time, She had moved back to the front of the building into the flower beds. She had dug a hole in the mulch to find a cool place out of the Sun. I made up my mine right there that if she was still around when I got off work, She was going home with me!

I have had her now for over a week and She has had several baths and the Ticks and Fleas are gone. She has been eating Chicken and Rice and always has fresh water near by. She is putting on some weight and looks a lot better. She lives on my front porch for right now, until I can get her to the Vets and get her checked out

If that all goes well, She will be come a part of the homestead! I do not plan on trying to find the person that had her! She is a DEER HOUND and they did not care enough to find her and get her home. This happens a lot here in N.C. and VA! The Dogs are kept in a pen until Deer season opens and then they are turned loose in the woods to run Deer.
I see a lot of them that have been killed by cars and left in the woods to fend for them slefs. I hate that the Deer hunters are allowed to do this! Some of them have packs of 10 or 20 dogs. And they they are not carded for properly!

But this Little Girl is my way of helping just one of them! And if the Vet can not find any thing major wrong with her, She will become part of the family!
We call her "Little Girl" for now. But after the visit to the Vet, I will have to find a proper name for her. Any ideas?



Here are some others pictures of her:

Isn't she sweet?

She is gaining weight and getting better each day!

Keep your fingers crossed and there will be more pictures of her in the future!

Tom