Birds Enjoying the Weather

The birds have really been enjoying the warm weather.

The peacocks have been out until dark nearly every evening this week.  You can notice the tail is starting to grow.

My chickens have been out quite a bit too.

My Easter egg chicken

The hen behind Nugget is my free-range chicken.  She was actually out free-ranging this week.

Nugget in front; Free-range hen behind

The geese have been liking it the most though.  Even though I still have one naughty gander. (The other is all threat and no bite.)

With the record warm temperatures on Christmas Day with the long dry stretch, I finally managed to get them a clean pool.

Not that it stayed clean very long.

It looks like they’ll get to keep the pool going for a little while yet.

Trying to Be Nice

When I put the corn stalk bedding in the birds’ pen, I thought I’d be nice.

My old red hen is really quite old (5 or 7 years), and she spent all last winter huddled in the brooder pen.  That’s where she spent most of November too, so I thought I’d put some bedding in there for her.

old red hen

She didn’t like it.  She went back to roosting on a board, but everyone seems to think it’s the perfect spot to lay their eggs now. Oh well.  At least I know where they are laying them.

The nice weather is also perfect for my old phoenix hen to come out and take a dust bath.  She’s starting to show her age too, but she still goes up in the rafters to roost with her big Nugget.

I am also trying to be nice and give the geese a clean pool of water, but the pool was still frozen to the ground.

Do not think those chickens have to drink from that gross pool.

Nugget and hen

They have clean water inside.  Finally, the ground thawed enough that I could dump the pool.  The geese were happy to get to take a bath.

Although the clean water didn’t stay clean for very long.  And while we’re in the bird pen,

I will share that the peacocks are busy growing their tales out again.  This is the same peacock.  I can’t tell you if it is dad or son.  Maybe when their tales are grown out I’ll be able to tell them apart for one last year.

It amazes me that they can lose their tale and grow completely new ones in time for spring.

No Goslings

It had been long enough that I finally had to clear out the goose’s nest.  She didn’t need to keep sitting on eggs that were never going to hatch.

She’s been enjoying the pool.

The old gander seems happy to have her for company again.  I hope he makes it through the winter and she can hatch herself some company next year.

In other bird news, I can’t really tell the two peacocks apart anymore because they’ve lost their feathers.

I have been gathering some of them up because all of their feathers, not just the famous eye tail feathers are pretty.

Here’s a bonus of Nugget, just because I’m happy he’s a nice rooster.

And I might have more bird news soon…