Instead of grading papers...

I'm adding a picture to my blog and trying to motivate myself...I don't think the personal pep talk is working, though.  I just want to nap.

I spent the day in Shreveport, helping Dr. DuBose with his talk, then went to a looooong lunch with two favorite frends.  And, of course, I had to go to World Market and spend some money...by the time I came home, I was tired and too relaxed to give serious thought to anything.

Except...the hens are digging in the new run, so I need to "plant" some wire around the bottom, and I need to do that tomorrow.  I also need to fence the new garden box to try to keep the cats out.  They decimated two eggplants.

I received my "Farmgirl Sisterhood" badge from MaryJane's Farm.  MJF is one of my most favorite magazines, so joining wasn't a hard decision.  It's a great way to connect with other women who are interested in self-sufficiency; I learn a great deal from reading their stories.

Here's the badge, sewn on my bluejean jacket:

And, for fun, here's a picture of a cat in a cube:

That's Ginger Baker enjoying her new toy!

Hope you're having a great week.  I think I'm going to bed early.

Addition to the Chicken Coop

Yes, I should be reading drafts and otherwise grading assignments for my students.  Instead, I added a run to the chicken coop.

I ordered this one instead of building it myself, and, while I'm pleased with it, I think I'll just stick to making my own.  The hardware cloth really is much bigger than I like, so I need to add some with a tighter weave to the bottom--and, of course, dig a trench to bury said wire.

For the time being, though, it will work.  When the ground dries out a bit, I'll finish it off.

The girls like it, and that's what counts!

They didn't even wait for me to exit after I cut the wire that divided the bottom of the hen house from the new run. I was cutting wire while they were trying to eat the buttons on my jacket!

I need to make this more raccoon-proof, but I'll do that over the next couple of days.  I can still reach the nesting box to gather eggs, and I have a small door where I can reach in to close the hatch at night.

It gives them more space, and they need that.

The chicken yard looks a bit like an airport, with its various terminals!

Egg count to date...

about four dozen eggs.  I gathered four today.  Here is the egg basket--minus one brown egg I gave to my mother and a white egg I ate for breakfast!

These are the eggs (minus the two I've mentioned) that I have collected since Monday.

Rain sometimes affects the laying, but not today.  I covered part of the run with a vinyl tablecloth to help keep the rain off the girls.  The run was still muddy, but at least the rain wasn't falling on their heads.

I've been experimenting with treats.  So far, they like seedless grapes, cooked oatmeal (I'll cook it for them, but I hate cooked oatmeal!), all kinds of greens, apple bits, bananas, wild bird seed, hot dog buns, lasagna, cornbread, pinto beans, and lentils.  One of the great things about having chickens is that they will eat my leftovers.  But I don't feed them meat of any kind.  I do feed them eggshells, but I wash and dry them, then pulverize them with one of my food choppers.  I don't want them to start eating their eggs.

In addition to layer pellets and treats, they receive grit (for digestion) and oyster shells (for calcium).  I make sure they eat most of their pellets before I give treats, but I give treats two or three times a day.  It gives them something to do--they chase each other all over the run, trying to steal the treats from another hen!

I pulled up a few carrots, cut some collards and bok choy yesterday and threw it all in a pot for soup.  I love being able to walk into the garden and pick up what I need for dinner!

I cut the broccoli because it was beginning to flower.  The weather's been a bit too hot for broccoli.

I have tomato, pumpkin, and herb seeds germinating, so I should be able to get a head start on my spring garden.  Let's hope Punxatawny Phil was wrong about six more weeks of winter--though we really haven't had one yet!

Not About Chickens!

As a college professor, one thing I've learned is that I need clearly stated policies regarding every aspect of my classes.  This applies to grades, especially.  My policy, I think, is simple.  Any assignment past due by three days receives an automatic zero.  Students can contact me for permission to turn in late work, but that doesn't mean I have to grade it.  I also tell students in my syllabus that they need to remind me--before dead week--of any assignments they submitted that I agreed to grade. 

I have a freshman from last semester who contacted me after final exams about her grade.  I have been going back and forth with her--though, again, my syllabus says that I will not discuss grades when dead week begins.  I have reminded her of my policies, but she persists.  Perhaps she thinks that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"--that if she bugs me enough, I will relent. 

What generally happens is this--I go to the chair of my department and the dean of the college and explain what's going on.  My policies are clear. I remind students about them constantly, especially at the end of the semester. Students must submit all assignments to keep from making an automatic F in the class.  That still doesn't mean I'll grade the late assignment.

I have to jump through hoops to change a final grade in a class.  That's why it's important for students to read and understand my policies.  If I make one exception, then any student who didn't submit work and wants to do so now can use this one case as justification.  I like to be consistent.

I don't know how this will resolve, but it's something that won't go away until I hand it over to my bosses.  I hate dealing with this kind of stuff.  It detracts from the work I need to do now.

The Chicken Obsession...

At some point, I'm sure I'll write about something else. But, for now, my chickens absorb quite a bit of my time.

I picked up four eggs today.  Since Monday, I've collected 15 eggs, all white.  I've found one broken brown egg, but I think Mrs. Bennet and Lydia, the two non-white hens, are low on the pecking order and are feeling a bit stressed about it.  I hope they'll lay soon, but they are older hens and might be at the end of their laying time.  Still, I'm not willing to slaughter them yet, especially since they are new to me.  They might just need a bit more time, and I'm not in any hurry.  To me, this is a long-term investment.

And what an investment!  I bought a 50-lb bag of feed today, as well as some grit.  Together, these cost me about $20, which I don't consider expensive.  That's about what I spend on cat food, cat litter, and wild bird food. I've also purchased wood shavings for the coop, but a bag of that isn't expensive either.  A bale of wheat straw costs about $4-$5; that's not expensive either.  They eat practically any cooked leftovers, which reduces the waste that goes into my garbage.  I'll also get some great compost for my gardens. And they are fun to watch and to talk to.  They know when they see the "blue bucket" that I'm bringing them some treats.  All in all, it's a mutually beneficial relationship.  And I love the eggs.

I also enjoy watching my cats as they watch the chickens.  It's great "cat TV"!

The hens don't need much prompting going in to the hen house at night, and, as soon as they hear me in the morning, they start making soft clucking noises. I've seen the sunrise every morning since they arrived; I'm usually a late riser.  Plus, I've been going to bed earlier and sleeping better.  Maybe my circadian rhythms are finally resetting.

I'm excited mostly because this is one more step towards self-sufficiency.  Now, if I could just figure out how to get my gardens to grow in 115-degree summers, everything would be great!

Rain and More Rain!

My poor chickens!  They spent yesterday huddled under the hen house for most of the day.  The yard was a lake. Their food stayed mostly dry, but they didn't eat much.  I did get two eggs last night before I closed them up for the evening, and I had two eggs this morning.  I've filled their feeder up twice today; they are obviously hungry!  Plus, I've given them some treats to make them happy.  Since they moved in, I've gathered 11 eggs; they've broken three!  But that's not bad for five days!

The broccoli is finally producing.  I have four plants; this one was the largest, and it has a bunch of small florets growing up the side of the stalk.  The others are doing fine, but not producing any side growths yet, so I'll let those go a bit longer.

I have a bunch of paperwhites and daffodils growing in the side of my yard.  I love when they bloom--I can have fresh flowers for days!  I picked these this morning when I went out to retrieve the garbage can.  Plus, they smell divine!

I was up last night until nearly midnight, and I got up at 6:30 this morning to tend to the chickens.  I stayed up for a couple of hours, then went back to bed to take a nap.  I guess I need to start working now!

Eggs!

I came home this afternoon and found three eggs in the nest box! Someone laid an egg last night, but she dropped it from the roost.  It busted on the floor of the coop.  I went to clean it this afternoon, but I think they managed to push it out with some of the wood shavings.

Last night, one of the leghorns refused to go into the henhouse. I have a light on right now in hopes that they all will go in so I can shut the hatch to keep them safe.

A good second day of chicken owning!

My cat, Boudreaux, spent some time checking them out this afternoon.

I finally had to remove him from the top of the pen.  The chickens were as curious about him as he was about them!