Been too long.

So it's been too long since my last post. I've got to get better about this! I owe photos when I get a chance. So, here's the news.

Lucy started laying, so all 4 girls are now keeping us in eggs. Lucy's are a dark reddish brown.

Phyllis and the chicks went to Denise's house at the end of March. I heard from her the other day that the chicks are now bigger than little Phyl.

Pru's leg mites got bad enough that I caved and took her to the vet. Guess I should have done that a while a go. One shot of Ivermectin a week ago and she's well on her way to healing. She'll never have pretty feet or legs, but at least they won't hurt anymore. While we were there she got a thorough exam and generally behaved herself. She officially weighs 3 lbs. I feel kind of silly for taking her to the vet, but here in the city it's hard to find the farm drugs that you might be able to easily get other places. I knew from a book I have and from research online that Ivermectin was what we needed to finally fix this, but I couldn't get my hands on a small amount locally. Oh well. At least know we have a go-to vet in case of other issues.

The Dr. also observed that she was rather thin and asked after the others. I said I wasn't sure as I don't often pick them up. I came home and checked and yep, everyone was thinner than they should be. So wormer it is. I had to have Mike stop at the Bothell Feed store as Everett didn't have any Piperazine (sp?). They sell it under the name "Pig Swig". It's bright pink and fruit flavored. As if the girls care? Hopefully everyone will be feeling better shortly.

I got a bee in my bonnet and decided that since Penny and Lucy are so big, that they needed more space. So I sunk 4 posts and expanded their run by another 16 square feet. This section is outdoors, covered with chicken wire. So far it has been a huge hit! It gives the girls a place to dig for worms (they dig in their covered run too but I don't think there are many worms in there), feel the rain, spread their wings and chase bugs. To celebrate I gave them a spaghetti squash to eat. After 2 days they still hadn't figured out how to get through the shell, silly girls!, so I cracked it open for them. Wow! That was pretty entertaining to watch. Over 3 days they ate it all, shell and everything.

But now, no big treats until everyone puts some weight on. I've been spoiling them with lots of greens and cracked corn. But no more, only very limited treats until they fatten up. Shocking how much more layer feed they've been going through since this policy was implemented over the weekend. Apparently I've been a bad chicken mamma without even realizing it.

In other news, I've been putting new plants in and doing a lot of pruning. My pick rock roses took a real beating from all the snow this winter. I'm pruning them all the way back to the bases (leaving about 12 inches) and hoping they grow back. They've got about 4-6 weeks to show an inclination to grow and then I'll have to dig them out and replace them.

We're gearing up to build a two-car garage. We found a firm in NY to design it for us. We got the preliminary plans today and once we approve them, they'll do the final drawings for us. They look great, but I forgot to show them to Mike before he fell asleep so we'll have to wait until tomorrow night to approve them.

I think that's it for tonight. I'll try to be better about posting at least twice a week. Look for photos of the improved coop/run and Pru's pretty legs plus Jake the Marmaduke puppy and the new plants this weekend.