No matter how much feed is in the feeder, topping it off leads to chickens rushing up to make sure no one gets something they didn't. Plus, they really want those sunflower seeds!
The geese really do have their own area. And they know it, too. They like their little area, but really only want it when they have little ones or when the bucks are out munching on the mesquite beans near their area. The remainder of the time, they like the back yard, the dog's pool (so she bounces through theirs from time to time) and to wander around giving a piece of their mind to all of the other animals. Mother Goose, Mr. Wiggly and little Miss Friendly are quite the fun little family. I keep thinking that I need to adjust their area, but don't really know what to make different since they like to wander and keep away the hawks.
There were, however, a number of changes we needed to make this Spring. Funny thing how it struck me the other day, these (along with the three in the house) are the only little ones we have left from the Spring hatch. Three light Brahmas, a Polish, a bantam Cochin pullet, and a standard Cochin. Those in the house are two Silkies and a bantam Cochin. All of the others were either sold, or we knew they were roosters so when they were large enough, we sent them tot he freezer. I believe one of the Light Brahmas remaining is a cockerel, so because we like his personality, we will be keeping him as a backup to see how he comes out. (You should hear him practice crowing! Sounds awful, but hey, that voice changing thing...)
That is a LOT of animals off to their new homes beginning new flocks around Tucson this year!
In the process, we did a lot of moving around. This is Bucky. He is a Buckeye rooster who has been living with the laying flock in the big pen. He has been the backup for the Buckeye hens, and while he is very sweet and a good strong Buckeye, the other rooster in that pen was too rough to live with. After the other rooster went after both Wyatt and me, he was a marked boy. Wyatt traded the two boys, just to see what would happen. The hens in the Buckeye pen MUCH prefer Bucky. And when the other rooster moved over to the big pen, Speckles (the roo that was in there) and the hens from the big pen set to teach him MANNERS.
So far, the manners thing seems to be working. I had wanted to not keep him, and hi son definitely didn't have a temperament I liked, but Wyatt wanted him to have a second chance. And I must admit, he is taking to that second chance. The jury is still out though, he and a couple of the Phoenix hens have had some seriously loud disagreements!
But when Bucky moved in the the ladies, things went randomly calm. The Light Brahma in the next pen over thinks he needs a regular talking to, but the hens are happy, and egg laying in that pen is up, too.
We even moved these two little Buckeye hens in too. We did it at the same time, and gave them their new hanging feeder, too. We weren't so sure how it would go, and Wyatt stayed out there for some time cleaning other waters and keeping an eye on them, but they have acclimated quite well. We should begin seeing eggs from them in the fall.
We are still working on the last touches of the grow out pen, but did get the majority of the primer on. Hopefully in the next week we will be able to finish that and share it!
What are your Summer home, farm and livestock projects? We would love to have you all share them with us and the other readers!
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