Chicken News

2010-11-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Obviously my blog is a bit of a failure recently because I haven't had the time and there isn't really anything chicken related to blog about. I have a lot to say, just not about chickens. So I am considering making a new blog... Well, if I do make one I will post it on here.

Paris and Vienna up to some trouble

2010-08-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today, Paris and Vienna decided it would be fun to bother Shadow in her favorite sunny spot. They had seen the cat walking around outside their pen, but had never really met.

Naturally the chickens were pretty curious about this mysterious ball of fur.
Luckily Shadow is very patient and let them walk around her a few times.

I know this face well. Its called the "I was once a happy cat."

Hopefully, I will post pictures of other chickens in the new flock tomorrow.

It's been awhile.

2010-08-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

I do apologize for my extended leave of absence, but much has happened since March and it gets harder and harder to get motivated to write a blog post. Well, enough of that. The chickens are doing very well, and we actually have eight new chickens. We named them after world cities, however there are a few strange exceptions. These are some pictures of Paris and Vienna, our Sicillian Buttercups.

It took me ten minutes to catch her after this picture. Not easy, I'm still covered in dirt.
Chickens are fascinated by polka dots. They are pretty cool :)
Poking around Mom's garden.
In March we purchased two Sicilian buttercups, two Rhode Island Reds, two Australorps, and two Americanas. I wanted to get Sicilian buttercups because they lay white eggs(all of our chickens lay blue, green or brown) and also for their plumage. Something I didn't foresee was how fast and flighty they are(hence trying to catch them...)

On the air!

2010-03-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

I bet some of you heard already, but my sister and I were interviewed a few weeks ago about our chicken business and on Friday it was on our local radio! You can listen to it here:

http://sz0090.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/031210Chickens.mp3?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=73940&part=2

It was an new and interesting experience.

Enjoy!

Signs of Spring

2010-03-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful, there were many hopeful signs that spring is on its way! Here are three of the thirteen eggs laid today, its the most we've gotten in awhile. I also took some pictures of some of our trees that started blooming this week.

Our cat, Shadow. She always likes to be wherever I'm taking pictures.

Not a cloud in the sky...
The full collection of eggs-

I almost forgot, my sister and I got interviewed last week for the radio on the ins and outs of raising chickens. It was a very interesting experience, and I think she is going to give out this blog address so we will have a lot more readers! I will have to update more...

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Amazing Video.. must watch:)

2010-01-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hi bloggers, yes it has been awhile:) I recently discovered windows movie maker and I made a video with music and chickens. Its only 2 minutes so please watch it :) Make sure to have the sound on!

The cute little girl in it is my friend kate's sister and the cat is mine- Shadow. I really hope you enjoyed the video!

Chicken Update~

2009-11-21T00:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my lack of posts, but life is quite busy at the moment. The last three months we have been geting lots of eggs from the younger chickens-at least six a day. Sad news came in October when Jed died. Here is a picture of him:

We are not sure how old he was because we got him from another family, but we will miss the little guy. This is Hillary, I think I might have already posted them..

About time for another post!

2009-09-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been a bad blogger lately, but I have been really busy with homework, softball and all those other things. Well, here are some pictures from the summer, I got to go to the fair with my friend Anna and I took some pictures of the chickens there.

This one was huge! It was actually the same breed as Richie(Orpington) A bantam in motion.
Hopefully, I will have more time to blog in the coming weeks!

More Mixing Pics

2009-08-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

As you know from the last post, we mixed our younger chickens with our older ones. I was very surprised at whow smoothly the whole thing went. Usually, when you mix chickens there is a huge battle to establish the pecking order. In our case, there were only a few curious pecks and glances.

Here is Hillary checking if the coast is clear.Aretha was the first chicken to venture out into the aviary.
Aretha with big, bad Richie. He looks pretty small in this picture which would not make him happy, I am sure.

Uh oh, big, bad Richie gets into the coop and inspects the younger chickens.

Aretha standing proudly because she figured out the roosting system.

Mixing the Chicks~

2009-08-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

The younger chickens have been growing a lot lately, and we decided it was time to move them in with the older chickens. My sister and I stayed in the aviary for awhile with them in case there was any trouble.

Pictured above is Eleanor, a Barred Rock.
Jackie and Rosalynn are behind Eleanor..

Looking out of the coop door to the aviary outside.Rosalynn

Checking out the new feed.

I'll try and post more pictures tomorrow.

Camping

2009-07-23T14:09:00.001-07:00

Today my family and our neighbors are going camping. This is a picture I took last year from our favorite spot.

We will be gone until Tuesday, so see you then!

Jungle Gym

2009-07-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

The younger chickens really enjoy playing on the wood pile, and there are some loose boards so it is fun to watch them jump around them. This is a shorter video(a bit boring) of the chickens playing around it.

Future videos will be more interesting!

What to expect for this week~

2009-07-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

This week I am going to try something a little different. Each day I will post a thirty second video of life in the coop. Actually all the videos take place in our yard somewhere. All of them are quite entertaining. I will leave you with a pic of Rosalynn

Belated Fireworks~

2009-07-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

I took quite a few pictures of the fireworks in Michigan, but I was unable to post them at the time. What was really amazing was that I got to light off four! I have never done that before so it was pretty cool. Here are a few pictures of fireworks from the official show.

^I love this picture^

Some kitten pals~

2009-07-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

One of our friends in Michigan got three kittens and we saw them while we were there. My cousins and I got to name a few of them too. The kitten pictured below is Gracie. She was hiding under a propane tank when I got this picture. Kind of random, but she was.

This is Macho Taco. I named it Salad first, but then they changed it to Macho Taco. They are both really weird names, but I still like salad better.

Here is Gracie again..My sister wanted to name this one Millie, but it got changed to Twiggy. Here is my beloved Salad again...

The kittens were very entertaining for us while we were in Michigan. When we go back next year they will be all grown up.

Earl picniked~

2009-07-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

My cousin's chickens are free range, so they have a wide range of areas to strut. I wish our chickens could be free range, but we have to many raccoons and other predaters in our area.

Back from vacation...

2009-07-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

I have been in Michigan for the last two weeks which was a lot of fun. My cousins have chickens now and I took a few pictures of them while I was there.

This rooster's name is Earl. He is surprisingly good natured(unlike Richie) and is a Black Australorp. He does get mad if you throw scraps at him which I didn't... It was a great vacation that even involved some chickens. And a side note, I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my friend yesterday and it was amazing! I would highly recommend it!

Swingin' with the wyandottes

2009-06-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today was a really beautiful day, and we took advantage of it by gardening and letting all of the chickens out. The Wyandottes flew up onto the swing and couldn't figure out how to get down. Jackie and Rosalynn

Last week wonders~

2009-06-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a collection of pictures from last week I forgot to post. This is when we let the older chickens out with the younger ones. It was quite a sight; the chickens, the chicks and Shadow all enjoying the afternoon. That is Doc with the wee ones. Doc and little Dolly.

Creativity at work!

2009-06-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister and I were busy with a big art project. We had to make a background for our church's Vacation Bible School program. The whole mural is five feet by ten feet and took us nearly six hours to paint! It was worth it, though!

Our supplies.... What a mess to clean up afterwards...
Hopefully once the church is done with it we can hang it somewhere in the house... I don't think mom would agree, however...

Summer at last..

2009-06-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to summer for awhile, but it was still pretty sad to say goodbye to everyone at school. An extra bonus was that I got to see my fifth grade teacher for the first time since, well, fifth grade! Anyway, I woke up early this morning and let all the chickens out.

All the little chicks were blurs half the time because they were flying around being weirdos.

Yay, an award!!

2009-06-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

I got an award from Cori! Thanks! Now I have to give it to 15 deserving bloggers. The bloggers are listed below the award.

AG at The most dumbest blog ever

Me at More Yarn Please

Mark at Lone Wolf Photography

Tia at 5256oo minutes

Vonna at Vonna's Ventures

Dottie Angel at Dottie Angel

Dave at His take on the matter

Tamie at any of her blogs

Liz at Liz can Fizz

Olivia Grace at Olivia Grace

So once you have the award, give it to 15 of your favorite blogs and bloggers!

Oh, and I have a special award for Agent Pizza's masterpiece Blog of the Pizzas.

I made it myself! Alright, Agent, now give this award to a very three deserving bloggers. This blog award is awesomer so less people can have the priveledge of getting it.

Excellent blogs everyone!

our new coop setup...

2009-06-15T15:45:00.000-07:00

My dad just made some major changes on the coop. We have moved the younger chicks in with the old chicks. Dad has designed a place where the new and old chickens can meet each other without tearing eachother to shreds, which is what happens when you mix flocks.

I will go back to posting daily now, because finals are over and only a couple more days left of school!

Wow, busy times

2009-06-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed I haven't posted for more than I week(wow), sorry about that. I have been really busy lately, as the year is drawing to a close there is so much school work to get done. Well, much has changed in the chicken world, but I will post about that when I have some pictures.~ Eleanor~

Chicks and followers...

2009-05-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

This past week I have noticed I have lost a few followers. If you are not going to follow my blog anymore, that is fine, just let me know in a comment. I have no idea who stopped following and I am kind of curious :). Anyway here are some new pictures! Sweet little Aretha. I think she will be a photographer when she grows up-she kept pecking the camera!
Here is Hillary with some chick fluff still left...

And Rosalynn investigating my skirt. Dad is working on an addition to our coop so we can move the little chicks in to it. We can't mix the older chickens with the young chicks. That would be a lot of pain on the younger chicks part :). Thank you for following my blog and commenting! This new following fiasco has made me realize how much I like getting comments from you! So thanks again!

old time chicks...

2009-05-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

I felt like using the monochrome filter today.

All hail miss stripey...

2009-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our Barred Rocks, whose stripes are coming in wonderfully!Here is Eleanor. A classic;

Creativity at work!

2009-05-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

On Friday my friends and I went crazy with the paints and made this awesome shirt! We went out to eat afterwards and the shirt was still wet and I got some on the seat belt. Anyway it is really amazing. To get more details go here. Little Ladybird got a little irritated during the photo shoot. For future notice, the next post will be about what I did with my creative energy today!

Yeah, we're hip!

2009-05-22T19:42:00.001-07:00

Here is a quotation from All Things Considered:

Chickens aren't just for farms anymore. That's right — urban hens are hip. Across the country, city dwellers — attracted by the idea of having fresh eggs, a new hobby or even unique pets — are keeping flocks.

Awesome, huh? Our neighbors just got them too!

Growin' up

2009-05-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pics of Eleanor from yesterday, I love her stripes, they are going to be beautiful when she is full grown.

All of the chick fluff is gone, although Hillary and Dolley still have a little. I think it will be gone by next week. Thank you for reading my blog! I really appreciate all of you!

Striped wonder

2009-05-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today was beautiful, or Il fait beau in french, and I spent the afternoon running around outside. I had an awesome tennis party and they had a karaoke machine! I sang three songs with Anna, Lilia and Kate! It was awesome, and I was glad when some JV people came up to join the fun. Anyway, here are some great pics of Eleanor!

Today is awesome and tomorrow will be even better(right, Anna)!

Oh no

2009-05-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

blog trouble. I can not bring up my blog on my computer. I might have to change the URL. Comment to see if you can see my blog on your computer. I hope this problem will be fixed soon. Please comment!

Feet for a thought

2009-05-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is random, but I didn't take any pictures today. Enjoy Lady Bird's feet! They are so clean at this age!

Knitting with Lady Bird

2009-05-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

Mom was knitting and someone thought she would join her...

Lady Bird looks good with blue. You can see the feathers starting to come out of the chick fluff. Have a great week everybody!

Summer Days...are almost here...

2009-05-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Yay, summer is on the way! Only five weeks of school left!

Floral Rosalynn

2009-05-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Friday with Lady Bird...

2009-05-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day, and I took advantage of it by hanging out with Lady Bird. She has grown up so much-look at all of her new feathers. The only chick fluff left is on her head. What is really cool, is Lady Bird has started taking dust baths(where chickens bathe in dirt to clean their feathers from parasites and other dirty things). Her first one was in my hands. If you have chickens you will know they start fluffing up their wings and moving all around. It was very cute watching her get the hang of it.

Oh no, it's a dude!

2009-05-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

As my friend Kate always says, well she just says the word "dude" a lot. Anyway, I am getting worried that Aretha isn't as feminine as we thought her to be. We might have another rooster in the making. Darn.

I guess I might just be a bit paranoid after Richie, but as the guy at the Grange told us "You've got to have a rooster". Hmm, I may be counting my roosters before they crow.

Which breed?

2009-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Lady Bird is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. On her chick cage it said "silver wyandotte", and there are two varieties of Wyandottes. Chicken enthusiasts will know the Silver Penciled Wyandotte and the Silver Laced Wyandotte. Today I was comparing Lady Bird's plumage with that of what she will grow into. I am relying on chicken enthusiasts(Cori?) that it looks like Lady Bird will be a silver laced Wyandotte. I am not sure, which is why I need some help!
This is a picture of a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

Confirmed!

2009-05-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I was confirmed into my church. It was a great day and one I will always remember. Here is my outfit that is also what my friend Lilia gave me for my birthday!

Lady Bird among plant life

2009-05-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

I know this is a strange title, but at this time I can't think of anything cleverer. Here are some pics of Lady Bird out by our herb patch.

You can see many of her feathers growing in, although her chick fluff is still present on her head.

I love this

2009-05-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

This has to be my favorite picture of a chick. You will notice I posted it on my birthday a few days back. Here is the same picture with an added touch courtesy of picnik. I love Rosalynn, I wish she was still this size, but they are getting so big...

A day for mom...

2009-05-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there! This is what I made my mom:

Birthday Surprises

2009-05-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

My birthday was a great success! Some friends came over after the dance and slept over, Kate, Lilia and Anna. We had a lot of fun and here are some of the gifts I recieved from them

Anna put in a lot of work ironing on some of my favorite things onto this awesome pillow! One of the best presents I would say.Here are all of the cards, and you will see what Lilia got me in the next post!

Its your favorite bird...

2009-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe yesterday wasn't the last of Rosalynn. I think we are almost out of pictures of her. almost.

There were some beautiful forget me nots in the backyard. Actually, I think they were the weed variety, but they were pretty all the same.

More Rosalynn....

2009-05-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed most of the posts this week have been about Rosalynn. Well, I took a lot of pictures of her on Sunday and I can't fit them all into one post. You have to admit, they are all pretty cute.This one is my fav.^

Birthday Cherries

2009-05-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yay, today is my birthday! I'm excited! Here are a few really cute pictures of Rosalynn and some cherries in our yard. I really like these pictures and I am having a great birthday so far!

Wisdom from Eleanor

2009-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics I took today of Eleanor. All of them are growing quite a lot. You can't see her wings in this picture, but they are growing fast.
Barred Plymouth Rocks are famous for their stripes. You can see them starting to develop on her wings in the picture above.

A reflection~

2009-05-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

Rosalynn had some time to reflect on Sunday.
When I put her on the ground she kept pecking herself in the glass. It was quite interesting.

The climb

2009-05-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today Rosalynn attempted to climb a stump. She didn't get too far. Not from lack of trying!

Lady Bird; Beautification of America

2009-05-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Lady Bird Johnson(the human one) had a project called "The beautification of America". This was dedicated "To bring natural beauty to America's public places". It involved clearing highways of too many billboards. She was a great First Lady dedicated to beautifying America. And with that, here is the chick Lady Bird! I love the combination of chicks and flowers!

So far Lady Bird is one person's favorite chick(Anna). Perhaps she can get some more fans through this post!

They grow up so fast tear

2009-05-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, do you see those wings growing in? They are coming fast.

Super-cute Aretha!

2009-04-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

Pictures tell a thousand words.... Here goes...

Jackie; Up close and personal

2009-04-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here is little Jackie-well, I don't know about little. They are growing so fast! Aretha already has her full set of primary feathers and is growing in her secondaries! However, here is Jackie who is not growing quite so fast(thankfully!).

Sweet little Hillary

2009-04-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hillary came out into the garden with me today. She had a few cute little poses.You can tell Hillary from Eleanor because Hillary has yellow marks by her eyes.

Eagle Hawk-eye....

2009-04-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

In all the new life we have experienced this week with the chicks, today we had to experience some death. Eagle Hawk-eye died today. I am not sure how, but I think she had the same sickness as Amelia.

She is buried with Charles and Amelia.

Egg Carton Time...

2009-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

We sell a lot of the eggs we get from the chickens to our neighbors and other friends. My sister and I design the egg cartons so they have a picture of a chicken on them, and some information regarding the nutritional content on the inside. We haven't made new ones for a few years so here are some pictures I am thinking of putting on the cartons.

Meet Dolley~

2009-04-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Dolley Madison is a golden sex link chicken, one of the two yellow chicks.

Lady Bird: Chick Extraordinaire

2009-04-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today my friends Lilia and Kate came over to meet the chicks. The chicks turned on their charm and it was a great success. Lilia's fav chick is Aretha and Kate's is Hillary. I would have to side with Kate on this-I love Hillary, however Aretha is an excellent chick.

Here is a few pics of Lady Bird, who, contrary to my expectations, was on her best behavior! Go Lady Bird! Usually, she runs all over the place and doesn't like to sit still for too long, but today the impossible ocurred! Yay!

The chicks and I missed you, Anna! I hope you are feeling better tomorrow! I can't endure second period alone!

More pics!

2009-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Ooooohhh, I love these chicks! They are much friskier than the older one(when they were chicks), but I love them all the same. Plus, they are all extremely photogenic. Especially Aretha, here...
Shadow kept stealing people's chairs....The weirdo...

Here is Lady Bird-The first to drink out of the new watering system.

Shadow saying hello again.

Photos! Photos!

2009-04-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here are the promised photos! First, I would actually like to explain their names. The theme is First Ladies. The names are:

Jackie Kennedy
Dolley Madison
Eleanor Roosevelt
Hillary Clinton
Lady Bird Johnson
Rosalynn Carter
Aretha Franklin

You might have noticed that Aretha Franklin is not a First Lady. Good for you. Well, when we were driving home, one of the chicks kept singing all the way home. Mom christened her 'Aretha'. Here are the pictures! Group shot here... The two lighter colored ones are Aretha and Dolley. Nice pic of Lady Bird, the Wyandotte Aretha looking quizzical. There are about 25 pictures with her in various poses. Jackie, who we have nicknamed 'Jacque'. I really have no idea why.

Hillary the barred Plymouth rock. You can tell Hillary from Eleanor, because Hillary has these yellow stripes near her eyes. The stripes actually resemble eyeliner.

We are having so much fun with these guys! They are already growing up. It goes too fast! (Well, admittedly it has only been two days, but you know)

EEeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Yay! I am so excited!!!! We just got little chicks! So we were only going to The Grange to get a heat lamp and chick feed, because we had planned to get the chicks this Wednesday. However, we got there and the lady said they wouldn't be stocking any on Monday, and we were very sad. But, THEN, we went to the little chick area and there were a lot of chicks. We ended up getting three silver Wyandottes, two Golden Sex Links, and two Barred Plymouth Rocks. They are sooooo cute! All the pictures come tomorrow, but here is a hint of what to expect.

This is Rosalynn(Carter).

P.S. They are sooooo cute! and awesome!

Portraits of a cat~

2009-04-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

I have not taken any pictures of Shadow recently, because it is very hard for her to stay still. Today, however, she was very competent and just sat and licked her tail. Here are the resulting pictures;

Proud (and grumpy) Richie

2009-04-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist dropping by the chicken coop. And dear Richie, who was patrolling the outer edges of the aviary, came to greet me. He almost got a chunk out of the camera when I came a bit too close.

Richie is two feet tall(it doesn't sound tall, but it really is for a chicken), and comes up to just above my knee.
Here is where he nearly ate the camera...
Though a handsome chicken, Richie is not the nicest chicken in the flock, and it is always wise to give him a wide berth.

It is revealed!

2009-04-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wait to tell you just to make sure, but now it is for sure! Yay! Well, most of you probably know already but, we are getting more chicks!!!! YAY! I know, it is going to be so awesome. We have been thinking about it since February, but at last it is for sure because I have done all the research! Yay! I had to read this 344 page chicken health guide, before we could get them, and admittedly I am not done, but pretty close! I wanted to learn more about what happened to Charles and Amelia. I've got Charles figured out-she had a type of Bluecomb disease. It has to do with infected water. I learned we have to change the water more often than we have before.

Back to the chicks! We are getting them next Wednesday!(Hey Anna can you come over after school that day? Please!). We are getting them at 7 am right when the feed store gets them. For chicken enthusiasts, we are getting Sicilian buttercups, Barred Rocks, one Americana and one speckled Sussex. Here are some pis of the breeds. Of course we are getting them as chicks so they won't look like that for a while yet! :)

We have already thought of names for them, but those will come later!

Just a Meez moment...

2009-04-13T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few pictures I took of Meez this Sunday. And for those who don't know her as Meez, Julia. She goes by a few names around here...

Tree climbing thrill

2009-04-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Climbing trees is one of my most favorite things to do. Today was another beautiful day, and I spent part of it up in the top of my favorite cedar tree on our property. There is me, having fun, although I got so many scratches up my arms, you have no idea... Oh well, just part of the thrill!

Whew, I don't have a fear of heights, but this was quite high. About seventy feet I would estimate.
I found a nest in the top of the tree! Nothing in it, however.

I was going to take a picture of a certain inscription on the tree(Anna), but then I decided against it. Anyway, I hope tomorrow is as nice as today! Happy Easter everyone!

Spring at home

2009-04-10T06:59:00.000-07:00

It was defiently Spring in Washington DC, and now it is at home too! We have this one large tree in our yard that blooms every year for around two weeks. We always wish it lasted longer. Here are a few pictures of the tree and its blossoms. You can see the chicken coop in the background and to the right.

I took these yesterday, and today it looks like it is going to rain. Darn. Well, that is just another part of Spring, I guess. Not one I particularly like, though.

Yay! Eggs!

2009-04-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Today we got ten eggs! I didn't collect the last two from yesterday, so we really only got eight. It is a sign that Spring is on its way, or perhaps already here!

Other attractions~

2009-04-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

I am so glad we got to everything we wanted to do in DC. Here is some other attractions we went to see and the description of some of their history. This is in the supreme court room, we went to a twenty minute lecture and it was actually quite interesting. Did you know that there is only one higher court in the nation? Above the courtroom, the clerks laid a hardwood floor and they play basketball there during breaks. Isn't that weird, a basketball court above the Supreme? I definitely did not know that before!
Here is me at the library of congress. The architecture was amazing.
We saw an actual chunk of the Berlin Wall. I touched it even though the sign said 'do not touch', but now I can say I touched the Berlin Wall. So one side of it is covered in protest Graffiti and the other side is painted all white so the guards could clearly see anyone escaping over it. They would be shot. This exhibit was in the Newseum, a really cool museum that I wished we could have spent more time in.

Cherry Blossom festival; Wow

2009-04-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

We came to Washington DC during the cherry blossom festival, and all of the trees were in bloom. Maybe you already knew this, but I learned that the cherry trees were a gift from the Japanese in 1912. They gave us 3,000 cherry trees, including twelve different types. The names are all really complicated, like the Mikurumagayeshi(yes I copied and pasted that). For more history on the cherry blossoms and the festival go here.

Plane sunset

2009-04-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

While on our way to Washington DC, we witnessed this beautiful sunset. I can't do it justice in these photos, but it was amazing. I always think sunsets are much prettier on a plane. We could actually detect the sun moving, and after five minutes it was gone. Of course, it was the Earth moving just in case any of you science teachers are reading this. This one is pretty blurry, but I wanted to capture the fieriness. Wow, that is actually a word.

We're there...

2009-04-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yay, keep reading!

picture copyrighted at http://arlenestarr.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/post-200.gif

Spring break shades

2009-04-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, I had an amazing break! I won't give many details here because I want to tell most of you in person. It will be more exciting that way! We went to Washington DC and were able to visit just about everywhere we had planned to go. It was not what I had expected, but better!I got these awesome sunglasses, which I wore the whole time. Mom said I looked like John Lennon. I don't know what to say about that but she said it was a good thing.

We visited the FDR memorial. It was very well done even though we went through it backwards.
You might be able to tell that I kind of liked these glasses.
Oh my gosh, I am not wearing my glasses! Oh well. Wait, that was before we got them. We were there at the best time, during the cherry blossom festival. The trees were blooming everywhere and the scent of blossoms was everywhere. You can be assured that most of the posts this week will be recounting the trip! I kept a journal during the trip, but the first day took up 5 and a half pages. Then I got a little lazy about keeping up with it.

Random' Scramble'

2009-04-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a bunch of pictures I took on Friday of chickens all over the coop and aviary. Do you see that piece of feed that is just in midair?

Guardian of the eggs

2009-04-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

The chickens sleep well at night because they know their eggs are in good hands.....er, paws. Shadow takes her job very seriously... As you can see.... Actually that is a myth, Shadow is not in charge of the eggs. She doesn't even like eggs! We tried to feed her one that broke, but she didn't eat it. I liked taking these pictures with the cat suspiciously in the background!

Just a gem...

2009-04-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

The post title is kind of a play on words because this post is about Pearl, but on second thought I don't think Pearl is a gem. Maybe its a mineral... Oh well, I don't know, anyway here are some pictures of Pearl!

You can see she has been pecked by other chickens on her chest. Poor Pearl :(

Little miss spotty~

2009-04-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

Lemony came up for some feed and posed for a few pictures. She kept moving so some of these are a bit blurry.

And if you didn't already know, I am scheduling all of the posts this week so as I am typing this it is actually Friday the 27th!

Proud little Doc

2009-03-31T23:22:00.000-07:00

Doc has always been very sweet, and is now very happy that there are more Orpingtons on the block than just her and Richie. Of course, I don't think she knows about Tif's chickens, but if she did I am sure she would be pleased!

It's ok Jasper...

2009-03-30T23:17:00.000-07:00

Jasper has been very chatty (or singy if you've seen the previous post!) lately, and greeting me a lot more than she used too. I think she might be missing her sister Charles. Well, it used to be Charles who would always come and greet me whenever I went into the coop. She looks kind of sad in this picture, don't you think?

American Idol of the coop

2009-03-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

One thing you might not know about Jasper is that she loves to sing. Admittedly, I do not enjoy it too much, because whenever I go in the coop for something she comes in and just follows my around singing. This may sound cute too you, but it does get a little annoying. Oh, what a voice!

Friendly Feet

2009-03-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

Clickens walk all over you when they have to go somewhere, but today(Friday, since this is a scheduled post) J.K. just stopped on my foot. I took some pictures:

Yay Spring Break!

2009-03-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am so psyched for vacation! As you may know we are going to Washington DC, and tomorrow I have to wake up at 4:10 am! Yes, it probably is not wise of me to be blogging this late, but I think I can sleep on the six hour plane ride to New Jersey right? That is my excuse, anyway. Well, while I am on the plane I am going to be reading this:Yes, it is one of the best books around for learning about chicken illnesses and other problems that might come up. I am hoping to come across something that will explain what happened to Charles and Amelia. If you are thinking of getting chickens, or already have them, this is the book for you! By the way, I have scheduled a bunch of posts for this next week, so Chicken News will still be going while I'm gone. I am so excited!

Mother of photography

2009-03-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

My mom and I went down to the coop the other day and she tried out her new camera. She and I took a few pictures of Lemony(mine were in Sunday's post). Lemony enjoyed the attention and especially the fresh grass and dirt. Here are a few pictures my mom took:

You can visit my mom at her blog, but fair warning to you: You might get a bit overwhelmed with all the yarn(I know I do!)

Dancing chickens

2009-03-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

This video is quite old, but I just found it. It is from September of 2007! I really want to put music to it, but I am not sure how.

I was originally trying to get a video of Julia flying up, but when I watched it I realized what was going on in the background. I think there is a name for that dance....I don't know what it is... (and don't say "the chicken dance")...

Musique

2009-03-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from about a month ago. You can tell because they have Charles in them. I was listening to my ipod and then Charles wanted to listen too.

More Lemony... and Shadow

2009-03-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from Saturday.

Lemony marches on...

2009-03-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

In my title "marches" means March Madness, which we are watching right now. Go Michigan State! Well, I don't feel to strongly, but I like watching the games. Anyway, here is some pictures of Lemony in honor of my friend's birthday that is tomorrow. She likes Lemony best.

Happy Birthday Lilia!

A weird note~

2009-03-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

My sister gave my dad this note when he needed to carry the chicken feed into the coop. They come in fifty pound sacks, so Emma and I have some difficulty carrying them that far. Emma got a bit carried away with her note.... Isn't it cute?

Oh, golden headed bird~

2009-03-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

A few posts back I told you about how Eagle Hawk-eye was very shy. Survivor is the same way and it is very hard to get a picture of her. Today I was successful! She is a very handsome bird. The feathers around her head are a beautiful, golden color. All of the Auracauna chickens look very different. Eagle has a black head, Survivor has a golden head, J.K. and Pearl have brown heads and Rosa has a reddish head. Their plumage is very similar though.

Lemony in the lead

2009-03-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Lemony at scrap time. Lemony is like every other chicken and loves scraps. You can tell who the chickens that are at the top of the pecking order by there feathers. Lemony has nearly perfect plumage and hardly any missing. That is a sure sign that the other chickens respect her. The only way you get to the top of the pecking order is by bulling oother chickens normally, and it is very hard to catch Lemony at it.
A nice shot of her perfect plumage.

Lemony is many people's favorite chicken for this reason. I can think of three people off the top of my head that like Lemony best(Lauren, Lilia, and Vonna)

Second in Command

2009-03-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

Jed considers himself head of the coop. Richie on the other hand believes Jed to be second in command. Even with these differing opinions, they don't confront each other too much. Wow, I like this picture of him! He looks so authoritative.
He looks a bit mean here.
Look at those tail feathers. That is something Richie doesn't have!

You'll always be my favorite...

2009-03-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Charles died today. This morning at six I went down to check on him and he was all stiff. Emma raked a nice spot out for him by the chicken coop. I wrapped him in a shirt of mine so that he wouldn't get covered in dirt. It is a nice green with three little chicks on it. It reminded me of when Charles was a chick. We weren't originally going to get Delawares(his breed), but they were all cute and yellow in the Grange so we couldn't resist. Anyway, Dad dug the hole and I walked around the coop and aviary with him. Jed gave him a tribute(aka crowing), and Dad, Mom, Emma and I said a few words. Then, we had to leave because it was starting to rain. We will always remember Charles as a great chicken, and thank you guys for being so supportive(Anna and others).

Scrap Time!

2009-03-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today we had a nice Sunday dinner, so naturally we had a lot of scraps to give out the chickens. They love scraps and were running all around trying to get the best ones.

Charles and Shadow

2009-03-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Charles is laying down now, she made it through the night.

Shadow was very sweet. Last night the two touched noses and Charles preened Shadow's ear.

Also, Shadow likes moving around Charles's box. Charles doesn't seem to mind.

Charles report

2009-03-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Charles is still alive, and she is a little perky. She still hasn't moved, except to lie down in her box. Shadow has been really cute. There are two boxes in our garage, one with Charles and the hay in it. Shadow jumped in the other one and whenever we go out there she jumps out and sits next to us. We gave Charles some Gatorade in a cup, and she has drank quite a bit of it. The Gatorade has lots of electrolytes in it, which is supposed to help. I hope she makes it through the night.

A tribute to Charles.

2009-03-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

This is really sad and unexpected. Today we went into the coop and Charles was standing there, with his head and bum down. He wasn't moving at all, and Charles is usually the most active of all of them- trying to escape and running around. We took him into the house and set him near the fire on some newspapers, but he still wouldn't move. That was on Thursday.

Today his comb was purple and he kept his eyes closed for long periods of time. We took him up to the house and put him in a straw-filled box. We sat with him for two hours, and tried to feed him water and Gatorade, but his eyes were closed. He can't seem to sit down, so we think he is egg-bound, which means he can not release an egg. I have checked all my books, but I can not find anything remotely similar to what Charles has. You all know of course that Charles is my favorite chicken, and I am pretty sad about this. He will die either today or tomorrow. You may think"Oh he is just a chicken, you have 11 more". But it is like losing a dog or cat to any of you.

Click here to see all the posts with Charles in them.

I didn't want to post a picture of Charles in his current condition, I just don't want to remember him that way. I want to remember his curious, crazy manner that I liked best about him. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him:

Header Pics

2009-03-13T22:47:00.000-07:00

Many people who have seen my new header don' t like it that they can not see the pictures very clearly. I meant it to be black and white because it matches my header. These are the pictures that are currently on my header. Jed
Richie

J.K.

Me, wow my eyes look weird!

Doc

Spring break is almost here!

2009-03-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

As the days toward our trip to Washington DC become fewer, I have been doing some researching on the different places we will visit, to make sure we won't miss out on anything. We will be visiting the Washington monument as shown in the photo above, as well as these attractions:

Vietnam Memorial
White House
Supreme court building
meeting with our state senators with other citizens of our state(!!!!!)
Some of the Smithsonian's(as many as we can fit in!)
The Holocaust museum
and many other points of interest!

I am very excited for spring break and counting down the days left till that fateful week! Yay!

A Doc Wednesday

2009-03-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Doc. We got eight eggs today! That is a lot for the winter season, as they do not lay as many at this time of the year. Lets hope they keep up the good work.

Chicken News

Paris and Vienna up to some trouble

It's been awhile.

On the air!

Signs of Spring

Amazing Video.. must watch:)

Chicken Update~

About time for another post!

More Mixing Pics

Mixing the Chicks~

Camping

Jungle Gym

What to expect for this week~

Belated Fireworks~

Some kitten pals~

Earl picniked~

Back from vacation...

Swingin' with the wyandottes

Last week wonders~

Creativity at work!

Summer at last..

Yay, an award!!

our new coop setup...

Wow, busy times

Chicks and followers...

old time chicks...

All hail miss stripey...

Creativity at work!

Yeah, we're hip!

Growin' up

Striped wonder

Oh no

Feet for a thought

Knitting with Lady Bird

Summer Days...are almost here...

Floral Rosalynn

Friday with Lady Bird...

Oh no, it's a dude!

Which breed?

Confirmed!

Lady Bird among plant life

I love this

A day for mom...

Birthday Surprises

Its your favorite bird...

More Rosalynn....

Birthday Cherries

Wisdom from Eleanor

A reflection~

The climb

Lady Bird; Beautification of America

They grow up so fast *tear*

Super-cute Aretha!

Jackie; Up close and personal

Sweet little Hillary

Eagle Hawk-eye....

Egg Carton Time...

Meet Dolley~

Lady Bird: Chick Extraordinaire

More pics!

Photos! Photos!

EEeeeekkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portraits of a cat~

Proud (and grumpy) Richie

It is revealed!

Just a Meez moment...

Tree climbing thrill

Spring at home

Yay! Eggs!

Other attractions~

Cherry Blossom festival; Wow

Plane sunset

We're there...

Spring break shades

Random' Scramble'

Guardian of the eggs

Just a gem...

Little miss spotty~

Proud little Doc

It's ok Jasper...

They grow up so fast tear