Eggs, Eggs, Eggs, and a Turkey

I find nests of eggs all over the place.  Some of the hens like to lay in my barn, or in the hay piles. Some like to lay their eggs on top of Wendigo's dog house.  One hen even lays her eggs in the goats hay basket, despite the goats sticking their noses all around her as they eat.   

Most of them are laying eggs in the nest box, like good chickens.  One of my hens is broody, and she sits on her eggs in an old dog crate on the floor of the chicken coop.  I like to have a broody hen and the possibility of new chicks, even though I don't really need more chickens.  

I don't need any more eggs either!  You should see inside my freezer - I have stacks of eggs frozen in quart size freezer bags.  I'm hoping to stock up enough eggs to make it through the winter even when the chickens don't lay as many as they do now. 

Don't feel sorry for Wendigo, she can take a nap anywhere, even right in the middle of all those chickens!

I'm glad Wendigo is on the scene, because I'm letting my baby birds out during the day now.  They are eight weeks old, and seem to be interested in getting out to explore and eat.  Yesterday after work I opened their door and watched as the bravest made their way down the ramp and onto the grass.  

Turkey took the lead, and bravely faced the the big birds and the dog in order to reach the fresh greens.  It makes a soft hissing cluck noise when it's excited, and it's head flushes pink.  As the sun was setting, I checked to make sure the baby birds where putting themselves back to bed, and found Turkey standing in a bucket of water near the coop door.  It seemed calm and a little confused by it's situation, but allowed me to pick it up and place it on the ramp to the coop, where it slowly made it's way inside.  It' such as big bird it's easy to forget that it's a baby with no experiences outside the coop walls.  I made sure to turn the bucket over so it can't get trapped again.  The slow way it moves and it's careful examination of everything it encounters reminds me of Big Bird from Sesame Street.  I never realized that Big Bird was a turkey!