Everyone has to grow up sometime

The ladies will be with us three months next week.  They are an endless source of joy for the entire family - even the cat and dogs! Now that the berries are on, Little D and I walk the fence row behind our house and pick them blackberries every morning. What a treat for the hens and a treat for us to watch! "They're gonna be screamin' when they see these big juicy ones," says Little D.  As we toss in the berries, the ladies cluck and squeal with delight as they chase them around the chicken yard.

Two of the Buffs

They also get fist fulls of hand-picked clover every day.  I try to get the bunches with the small tender leaves and little yellow flowers. (I know, I know) Luckily, the acres and acres of soybeans behind us also happens to be full of clover too. I seem to also have developed the strange habit of weeding people's flower beds when I'm out and about. Thanks again Heather & Heidi, the ladies appreciated it!

A curious Wyandotte

As far as their dietary tastes go, they still love yogurt - plain or with strawberries. They also are crazy about cottage cheese! (Thanks Greg) They like tomato seeds and zucchini.  They are still eating the same chick starter I've fed them since day one.  Today we added a container of grit to the yard after I noticed they were eating some of the sand we gave them to dust with.

They confined themselves to their sandbox after we limed the yard.

With the recent hot and steamy weather, the chicken yard really started to smell bad! So, I asked at the local farm store and they gave me three options, the cheapest being lime.  So, today we also limed the chicken yard. We put the hens in the coop while we did it and when we let them back out, they all flocked to their sandbox to avoid walking in the white stuff.  It may have freaked them out, but the smell was almost instantly better.

I still say God made meat chickens ugly so we don't mind killing them!

These birds are not only ugly, they do not have the charming personality that the ladies have.  We've had them a little over a month and in about two or three more weeks, they will be in the freezer. "I don't think they're gonna like it in there," said Little D.  I told him I really didn't think they would care since they would be chicken dinners by then. "Well that's just horrible!" declared the boy who is sustained by a diet of cereal and chicken nuggets!

A face only a butcher could love!

The Dog or Cat Days of Summer

Meep can always be found in a shady spot. She usually is hiding out under a big hosta.