It was such a nice afternoon, I decided it was time to let our chickens run free.
Three hens and two cats
Three hens came running out the door as soon as I swung it open. It took the other two a few more minutes before they joined their sisters.
There are no bugs to eat, but the girls had fun scratching around. They went near the wild bird feeders to peck at seeds that were dropped by the bluejays.
Near enough to the house now, but the next time I looked for them I couldn’t find them.
The hens probably went under a comfy bush that is in the backyard. They hid there last summer.
I expect they will head to roost as soon as the sun heads toward the horizon. At least, that’s their usual roosting schedule. I hope they stick to it.
It snowed today. Not more than two inches, but that made a spot in our yard slippery. As I threw a bit of garbage in the outside bin, my foot slipped. I was heading head over heels, knocking the bin over, but somehow saved myself from a complete fall. Thank goodness. Too many friends have had falls lately that left them bruised and hurting. I’m happy to have saved myself today.
After bringing in the mail, I went to check on my seven hens and give them some table scraps.
Since the hens have been docile, I left the outside door open. That was a mistake. One white hen raced passed me when I opened the coop door. She stopped suddenly when her feet hit the snow.
I figured this was my chance to recapture her, but she had other ideas.
Not liking the two inches of snow, the hen flapped into the air and flew about twenty feet away to an open space under a nearby pine tree.
Grumpily, I followed after her, hoping she wouldn’t go farther afield.
The hen did think about escaping under her favorite bush, but the snow made her rethink that exit.
Little by little I turned her toward the coop, my arms outstretched giving her directions.
She went left. She went right and then back again. The cold snow stopped her again.
“You’ll have to fly home,” I told her and to my surprise that’s what she did, flapping right to the open door.
At least she was home. I returned to the house, carefully stepping over the slippery ground.
This episode gives me more reason to rid myself of my little flock, but the question still remains. Where?
I was given two extra-large zucchini to give to our chickens, but I only gave the chickens the inside seeds and scraps. I took the rest and ground it up today with onion and salt. It will sit overnight and tomorrow I will continue with the recipe when I will drain and rinse and drain this mixture and continue making my relish.
Today was enough work with washing up my food processor after using it to grind up the zucchini and onion.
I don’t can much these days. I only do a few things I like that I can’t get anywhere else. Zucchini relish is one of these things.
Now doesn’t that look tasty?
Of course, there’s cleanup. I have to admit some dishes were from our lunch.
The scrap cleanup will be done by the chickens.
When I blog next, I’ll include the complete recipe. Today is just a tease.
Our chicks were hatched six weeks ago and have been growing fast ever since.
6 chicks among the rest of the flockFeathers are still coming in. They are no longer those cute balls of fluff.
These birds are on their own now. Mother isn’t needed. As ‘teenagers’ they think they know everything and are often the last to go in to roost. We just hope that doesn’t make them dinner for local preditors.
Copyright 2019 Susan Manzke — all rights reserved.
