Well, we just got done doing some chicken maintenance. With the 24" plus of snow that has accumulated in the last few weeks, we have quite a bit of shoveling to do around here. The ladies in the hen house were not particularly happy with me. Egg production is down to about 3-6 eggs on any given day. Today we got 4 so far, and I am OK with that. We just have 14 hens right now, and ol' Zebulin, the Cornish rooster, seems to be eating his weight in feed right now.
Nathaniel and I got the metal shovels out and started chipping away the ice and snow, getting back down to bare dirt to encourage the ladies to come out and play. This did not work at all. They have completely shunned the frozen wasteland that is the winter chicken pen. They did peck around at the new hay, hoping for a frozen buggy treat, I suppose. The rabbit(who inhabits the loft over the chickens) is a bit more happy. He just buries himself in the hay in the cage and seems to enjoy burrowing tunnels through, blissfully unaware that the chicks are in such an uproar.
After a half hour of steady shoveling, we are done. The hens are happier, and Zebulin nods in approval that we have fixed up the place to our tenants satisfaction.
Soon, I will be outlining my yearly meat bird production regimen and talk more about why we raise our own meat. Hope you have a great day.
Mark
