(almost) wordless.

Muscadines.

Hen-brained

Our chickens are flipping nuts. Pancake chicken went broody in February (January? Too tired to search through the archives here...) and started this whole mess. We have had broody chickens and baby chickens seemingly non-stop since. We hatched out QUITE a few - first because it was so new to us, second for the chicks, and the third batch was really just because we missed our window of opportunity to break her (Pancake chicken, again) of being broody. The eggs were already developing so we let them be born into full-blown chicks.

And then a few weeks ago Cindy (one of our original Rhode Island Reds from Tractor Supply) and Pancake chicken (jeesh lady!) and another Australorp went broody all at the same time.

In our more populated coop (we have several), there are three nesting boxes. All three were populated with a broody hen. This was NOT OK. We scooped all three of them out and plopped them on the ground unceremoniously and took their eggs away (like 21 or so?). The unknown Lorpy got the idea and never looked back.

I have been chucking Pancake chicken and Cindy out of the nesting boxes daily ever since.

Kerplunk.

Yes. There are ways of 'breaking' them of being broody. The most popular method seems to be putting them in a small cage (like a rabbit cage) with nothing under them and no nesting material so their belly and nether regions cool down and they snap out of it. Some people say that dunking their lower halves into cold(ish) water will do the trick; again bringing their temps down so they snap out of it. The latter doesn't work - ask me how I know - and we are so busy that I'm afraid if we put them in a wire cage we'll forget to let them out before something bad happens.

So every day I go down and pluck them out and set them on the ground all floofed and upset and bawk-bawking.

This warmed my heart, though:

Broody and offended. Together.

They are hell bent on hatching something. Or nothing.

Progress!

We've been working. The redneck has been busting his butt tryinging to get as much of the house done as possible - we're still reeeeeeeaaally hoping for it to be ready to move in to by Christmas. Ish. You know. Somewhere thereabouts.

This has nothing to do with the house. This is my son's newest favorite - plums!

Happy boy post-plum massacre

Mr Snarkles meets Henrietta

Siding and roof is done! Woohoo!

New septic tank. Baby is for size reference. You know. Works better in this context than a quarter...

Epiphany

Ummm... I just had a realization....This beaut of a (half-built) landing is RIGHT OUTSIDE the back door. Which is connected to the kitchen.

Back door. Siding is complete now, and it looks awesome!

Another angle

From inside...

Why is this significant? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

This means that my stand alone propane burner, kind of like this (but older and rustier) ... is right outside the kitchen door. Meaning that canning, brewing & chicken plucking can happen right outside the door, and not turn my kitchen (/whole house) into a raging humid(er) inferno. How often do you wish that the bounty of summer didn't coincide with summer weather?

Yaaaayy!!