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The days are finally cooling off a bit and it is back to being pleasurable working in the garden. It is so pleasing to see that the girls are finally getting back to business after 3 floods and a molt.
Todays Haul
It had gotten to where I was lucky to get 2 or 3 eggs a day and now I’m back up to averaging 7 or 8. Last week on craigslist I found a 10′x10′ chain link dog kennel for a very good price that only got better when I picked it up and found that it was brand new! Maybe tomorrow I will start on separating my Chicken Run into three sections. The plan is to have a central area with the Coop, Duck Pond, Feeders, and Waterers with a large foraging section on either side. What I am envisioning is the flock only having access to one flanking section at a time while the unoccupied section has some type of pasture recovering/growing in it.
Pumpkin Patch?
Will they eat it?
Today I started cleaning up the tangled mess of Pumpkin vines between the Orchard rows. In the Upper picture you can see that I found quite a few pumpkins that the girls are sure to like come winter. The Comfrey that I planted earlier in the year is doing quite well and I even found a Swiss Chard plant that I had forgotten still plugging along.
I tried feeding my chickens pumpkin leaves last year and they hated them. I think the tiny hairs on the leaves put them off. Are you going to give them the leaves or only the meat of the pumpkin?
Mine didn’t go for the leaves and didn’t go berserk for the pumpkins like they do squash or watermelons. I read on another blog that they like them best if you let them ferment a couple months. I’m gonna hit the local produce managers after halloween and see if I can get some cheap to pile up in the barn for the winter.
Your eggs are beautiful! What a great range of colors. My hens are still molting, and I’m at the dismal 2-3 eggs per day stage myself. You have given me hope that it may be over soon!