Chickens at 20ish weeks

The girls are just about ready to start laying starting to lay! I have a feeling it's going to be a daily egg hunt! Almost all the girls spend most of the day outside. As soon as their door is opened they all jump out often before their ramp is up. I've learned not to fill their feeder and water before I want them out. Lesson learned! So far only 1 egg has been found on the ground. I think found is the operative word.

They officially are everywhere. First thing in the morning and right before bed is when they are at their most rascally. They've been on the road (there's about 10 cars a day in our road, 8 of which are people going to and coming home from work), in the neighbors' front, back yard and have been stuck in the neighbors barn. They've wandered into the garden, up onto the decks and into the barn. They spend most of their time under the our front deck. That's fine by me until Nature Baby wants to visit and crawls under with them. 

Ragnar and Faux-Roo continue to get along. Faux-roo is starting to crow, he sounds like a dying crow. Ragnar crows, but no one listens. From what I can tell he's crowing to call the girls, not to alert them of danger. Maybe they'll learn to listen. Maybe not. Ragnar is... frisky. If you know what I mean. I think he has hopped on each of the girls by now. Some don't seem to mind, others not so much.

Peepers is getting to be a bit more adventurous. She was just staying around the coop, now she comes by the house and was even hanging out with Cuckoo Chanel. Barred Simpson on the other hand is a homebody. She doesn't stray far from the coop, maybe she'll be a bit braver as she gets older. cautious  adventurer. She is also by far the most friendly. She walks right up to me, lets me pet her unlike her skittish flock mates. I'm starting to think there is something wrong with her. She has one cloudy eye. I could be a lot of things, she has no other symptoms so I'm not terribly worried. Maybe cataracts or Marek's. Who knows. She's mostly fine and I'll add some vitamins to their water.

I think I'm going to need to build the girls a run, not because of predators but because of the poop! Good gravy, it's everywhere. I'm sick to dealing with it already. If we had rain it wouldn't bother me so much but with our drought it's been too much. We had rain for the first time in 2 months and it did wonders for the poop! Maybe we will get some more. 

They are doing a great job of eating the weeds in the flower beds and digging up the plants while dust bathing.

The flock as met the neighbors dogs and cat. They had no fear of their dogs, the dogs had no aggression toward the chickens. Then the cat came over, the whole flock went running at her. She was terrified! Thats the end of the cat visits.

Honey went barreling through the door after the chickens, she didn't get any and hopefully put the fear of dog in 'em. We've been slowly introducing Honey to the chickens, she usually just watches them. Needless to say she pouted after that one.