All four chickens are laying again! That must mean the warm weather is on the way, finally! This North Texas 'spring' has been strange, to say the least. Its been in the mid-80s just long enough to convince everyone to plant their gardens and flower beds and then we'll have 3 nights of almost freezing temperatures. We actually lost half our first planting due to an unexpected frost. But now, hopefully, with my careful watching on our animals, I believe this last week's near freeze was the last.
See, one of my chickens, Minerva, stopped laying in late October, just as the nights were starting to have a slight chill and the day light dropped below 14-hours a day (fairly standard chicken habit. Its a general rule to expect your girls to go off lay when they are too cold, molting, broody, sick or simply think the days are too short). She has started laying again. For a while, we thought we were going to lose this poor bird. She caught a cold during one of the snow storms and has taken months to recover. (also typical chicken behavior. A chest cold can kill a chicken.) I tried everything! Homeopathic and conventional medicine alike. Nothing seemed to be working. But with the return of the warm weather and a daily dose of oregano, her coughing has ceased, her digestive system is functioning more normally and she has started laying again. Just in time for Fluffy (my smallest girl) to re-start laying after being broody for a bit.
So, I am back to 4 eggs a day. Now we can start trading for the neighbor's lawn mower again!
A few more Summer is Here clues: organic strawberries are on sale for $2.99! Strawberry shortcakes for dinner! And Pete just told me today he received a note from the neighbor lady shoved under the front door while he was taking me to work. As he was reading this note kindly informing him that one of our hens was in the her yard, said hen ran through our front yard.
With eggs boiling, strawberries syruping, restless chickens, and a child sleeping late, Summer must be on the way!
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And the lizards are out at night!
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