Scaredy Cat

An interesting event occurred that we have not seen before. Chicken and cat met for the first time in battle. Okay, it wasn't a battle because they didn't touch each other, but it was something. This picture pretty much sums up the skirmish.

Out and About

Today was a great day for the chickens. They were out and about for an hour pecking, chewing and all the other strange things chickens do. We let 7 chickens out, so basically all the older chickens except Richie. If Richie got out side he would go nuts. He did once actually and Dad had to chase him around the yard a few times to catch him. Here are a few pictures of them enjoying the sunshine today.

Lemony looking proud by our driveway.

Charles and Julia chowing down of the grass.

Lemony and Pearl

J.K. looking strange.

Cats daily activities

First, she gets up and stretches.

Then, she cleans herself. Sleeping can make you dirty, I guess.

Next, she relaxes in a sunny spot.
Finally, she relaxes some more.
Shadow's life is very busy!

Chickens and cat interactions

For the most part the chickens and the cat don't interact too much. When they were chicks, Shadow would try to hunt them, but now they have grown a bit too much for her liking. Here are a few pictures of chickens and cat doing odd things.

Julia and Shadow walked passed each other seemingly oblivious to the other's appearance. This picture was taken just after the veggie napper incident.

Doc is inside the penn while Shadow is patrolling the outer edges.

It looks like Shadow is getting ready to pounce, but actually she is just eating grass.


Without a trace, Shadow slips out of the picture.

I missed one picture of Shadow and the chickens that I will probably include on my next post. Thanks for reading(and commenting!)!

It's only Shadow

Shadow caught me by surprise yesterday when, as I snapped a picture of him eating grass, his mouth was wide open. Now it doesn't look as if he is eating grass, more like chasing down an animal for dinner. It is a funny picture!

Cats can be very strange sometimes!

The Early days

It was requested that I put some photo's of the chickens when they were younger on this blog. I have looked back in the archives of history and found several that fit the need. Here are a few of the young pullets and cockerel.

That is Pearl as a chick. They used to practice flying up to the cage door, and then jump on your lap. In this picture you can see a heat lamp. Chicks always need one in the vicinity so they can keep warm, until they grow their big feathers. this is when they were little more than fluff.

The good ole days!

Jasper is the white,Doc is the light brown next to her.
Lemony growing some feathers.
Julia on the feed, and Charles, the white, behind her. This is the stage where they resemble young turkeys(half feathers, half fluff)

Young Richard Peck. Back in the days he was nice, and very cute too!

Fair chickens

We went to the fair last Thursday and came across many cool chickens. There were at least a hundred in the barn. As we walked along the aisles I took some photos of them in their weirder poses. Here are a few of the pictures:

This rooster weighed more than 15 pounds!

This one seemed very interested in the camera.

I am not sure this one could see the camera!

Anyway, you run into many strange chickens at the fair!

Jed: King of the coop

Today I went into the chicken coop to find a surprise. Jed was in the coop. He usually tries to escape when I go in there, but today he stayed in (maybe because the door was closed). I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of him. He is very photogenic.

Veggie napper

Lately some of our vegetables have gone missing. We have not caught the culprit yet, but we have a pretty good idea who has been stealing them...

She did not go without a lecture!

Kind of random, but you must know what goes on in our chicken coop!

Champion Charles

Charles Dickens is my favorite chicken, for many reasons. She is cute, has nice plumage, and has a kind nature. She can also do tricks. I taught her how to fly from the roost onto my arm. She has a curious personality which allows her to learn tricks fast. Here is a picture of her after she jumped on my arm.

New feathers

I went down to the coop today, and found a surprise; feathers lying everywhere in the coop and aviary(outdoor penn). It is time for the chickens to molt. Molting is when the chickens lose all their feathers, and then grow new feathers in their place. In the picture below, Pearl is an example of this happening. You can see her feather shafts growing new feathers, that resemble spikes.

In a few weeks, Pearl will have a new coat of soft feathers.

Walk in the rain

The chickens were slightly on edge today because of the thunderstorms. I let four of them out of the coop, so they could explore and eat some grass. The chickens pictured are Charles(white), Julia(red), Lemony(black speckled), and Jasper(also white). They enjoyed their time outside, and hopefully will convert there new energy into laying some eggs!

Charles checking things out.
Julia getting some veggie vitamins.
Charles inspecting grass.

More Shadow

I will have to expand this blog to include information and news about our cat, Shadow. She is a big part of our lives, just like the chickens, and should deserve a spot on this blog. Speaking of Shadow, here is a picture of her posing with one of my mom's knitting creations. She looks good in red, doesn't she?

Camping and roosters

We are going away camping for a few days, but the chickens are in good hands. Meanwhile, here is a picture of our camping spot:

Here is a picture of Richie and Jed, the two roosters. At least this isn't a totally random post!