10.14.08

Now that I've gotten us on a later schedule I have to figure out how to have coffee and peace before chores. I need time in the mornings to quietly contemplate the universe before I can become a part of the squawking, quacking, meowing, barking world.

We had another glitch in the henhouse yesterday. The door I had decided to use won't do at all so we took the old door off the old henhouse and reset the top brace to fit it. Also, because the ground in unlevel there, and I'm sure warped wood has a little to do with it, the main front panel isn't fitting correctly. It will all work out tho and things always find a way to be what they're needed to be :)

I've been thinking about combining all 3 of my blogs into one. Adding my art and work from ozarkgypsyart.blogspot.com and my herbal stuff from healinghouse.blogspot.com to just this blog. I started out with just the art blog but never knew what to write on it and then ended up with 4 blogs (including the cat rescue blog which has to remain separate) and now I can't stop writing to this one.

A friend suggested that I keep all 3 but still add everything from the other two here. It just doesn't seem like the other two do much tho. Who knows.

It was supposed to storm today but doesn't look like it will rain at all. maybe it will later, we truly need it. If not tho it will be more of the same. We're so close to finishing the henhouse but at the hardest part too.

Yesterday we got 10 eggs :) I think that might be the most we've ever gotten in one day. It's been a while since we had several hens but I think that even when we had 12 or so hens we never got more then 10 eggs a day.

We're going to pick one day a week to put a sign out and sell eggs to more than just our regular customers. My hopes in getting so many this time (I had only planned on 20 but we have 31 plus 3 duck women) is that by the end of the first year they will have paid for all the food we had to buy before and after they started laying on top of all the little beauties they give us to eat. We may also take some to be turned into meat next fall. We'll see.

I now believe it's the Buff orpingtons who are laying the white eggs. The brown eggs are always in the nest boxes and the white eggs always on the ground. The Rocks and Reds are always in the nest boxes and we've never seen a Buff in any of the nest boxes. It's very odd.

Until this year we had always had Aracuanas or Aracuana mixes and that's what I wanted, they great layers, great mothers, good for meat and eggs and just good hearty, smart chickens. But all our chickens but one (((((((((old Hen)))))))))) were killed by neighbor dogs and then raccoons, so we had to start over completely this year. So, when we were ready to buy chicks when I called around but Aracuanas were all sold out so I did extensive research on what kind to get. I chose the Buffs because what I read said they're great for meat and eggs, hearty smart and lay brown eggs. I also chose Barred Rocks as a backup for the same reasons (They've turned out to be the most like Aracuanas in my opinion) and then a guy traded us 5 Reds for 5 buffs and told us they lay white eggs. But a friend told us Reds lay brown eggs. 1 Red turned out to be a rooster and now lives at a nice little homestead down the road. Then, about 5 months later, my sons father gave us several Aracuana chicks. 15 I think but horribly we had already taken down the chick pen and had trouble keeping these safe and warm. we lost 2 and then just about a week ago we let them all out to free range but I forgot to keep an eye on the chicks and the cats of all things, killed two.

Anyway ! By my calculations the Reds are the ones who should be laying white eggs but I think it's the Buffs *o* And, while it is true that I'm just so very thankful for the eggs, I have a need to know who is laying what. Maybe it's an asperger thing, I don't know nor care. I just want to know what hen lays which egg :)

I hope everyone has a most excellent day !