Devonviolet Acres

WooHoo!!! We got our first Khaki Campbell egg!!!

Brave girl laying in the cold weather!

animalmom said:

Brave girl laying in the cold weather!

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I'll say! Not too careful where she laid it though. In the dirt of their night time pen - out in the open. But then, the other ducks have been known to do the same thing.

I knew they should start laying anytime now. In fact, I was just saying to DH yesterday, that we needed to move them into the coop, so they could get used to being in there and would be in there when they started laying eggs.

So, this morning, after I finished milking, we herded them into the chicken run and closed the door. Next we tried herding them through the hole cut in the side of the coop, but they would have none of it! So, one by one we got them into a corner, where we could scoop them up and "helped" them through the hole in the coop wall. Once there, they stayed put until we could get the rest of them in. Now, they will spend the rest of the day there with water and hay, plus buckets padded with straw. Hopefully they will eventually figure out what they are supposed to do there.

Devonviolet said:

WooHoo!!! We got our first Khaki Campbell egg!!!
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That is great news! I know how much y'all love your duck eggs! Hooray!

That's great News!!....they will lay like clockwork...I promise....

CntryBoy777 said:

That's great News!!....they will lay like clockwork...I promise....

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And if they don't @CntryBoy777 will bring over some of the ones his lay ... every day.

Devonviolet said:

I'll say! Not too careful where she laid it though. In the dirt of their night time pen - out in the open. But then, the other ducks have been known to do the same thing.

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I think the first eggs are a big surprise for the hen. Gotta poop, I'm here so here is a good place.

We had a bit of excitement this evening. Earlier today, storms passed over the Dallas metroplex. Early on, it looked like it was going to bypass us. But then at 7:55, @Baymule texted me that a big angry blob (storm) was headed our way. So, DH and I looked at radar, on our phones and it did appear to be heading right for us.

Then the rain got really heavy. Within 15 minutes we got 1/2" of rain. There was lots of thunder and lightning. But the key thing that was missing, was green sky, with the lightening flashes.

Back in the late 1970's, I lived in Lake Worth, TX. In The Spring, we had massive storms go across North Texas. In the afternoon, I watched MASSIVE, puffy, white, clouds build thousands of feet in the air. That night, the thunder, lightening and high winds turned into a really bad storm. When the sky started flashing green, with each lightening flash, my EX husband and I got the kids up and we took them under the house, to ride out the rest of the storm. We sat with our backs to the 8' wide chimney and listened to the hail hit our garage doors and wind, that sounded like a freight train. When the storm was over in about 15 minutes, a tornado had touched down 1/2 mile from our house. So, ever since, I look for green lightening flashes, hail and high winds, before I get too worried about a storm.

Tonight that didn't happen. It turned out the storm went just to the East of us, so we were spared. We ended up with a little more than 1-1/2" of rain.

Before all the excitement started, DH and I were making dinner. I got a hankering for fried okra. So, we got a pound of the fresh okra, that we frozen last Summer.




There was left over milk and eggs, as well as cornmeal. I just couldn't let it go to waste, so I mixed it together and made some hush puppies.


It was all yummy!

There was some tornado damage in Winnsboro, but no injuries to anybody. Damage wasn't total wipeout, but things like trees falling on houses and a few roofs ripped off. Of course, if it's YOUR house that got "minimal" damage, it's still a BIG deal.

We were texting Devonviolet and @Latestarter with latest updates. Had to check on our BYH friends. All is well.

So, how is everything going there @Devonviolet ?....any more khakis laying eggs yet?....are they using the nests ya made? I understand ya not posting as much....but, sure do miss ya!!

We continue to get Khaki Campbell eggs every day, for the last several days we got 2 eggs. But today, we got 3 eggs. So, gradually new Khaki's are laying each day. AND . . . for the past four days we have gotten one GOOSE egg!!! WooHoo! Eventually, I want to put the geese in the back run behind the chicken coop, so the female goose can start setting on her eggs and hatching some goslings for us.

This afternoon, we went to Lowe's to buy some supplies for converting an IKEA wardrobe into a broom closet/storage closet, which we will put by the back door.

When I got out of the truck, I saw one of the production reds (our most aggressive chickens. ) run up to one of the Khaki's, not too far from the gate I was near. The red started beating up on the poor Khaki, and wouldn't stop, even when I yelled at her. So, I went in through the gate and chased the red off!

When I turned around, the Khaki was just laying in the grass. So, I picked her up, to examine her. When I turned her over, her left leg didn't seem injured, but it didn't give any resistance when I pushed on both legs. Then, I noticed that she had some dried blood on her beak, coming from her nostril. When I put her on the ground, she seemed to have trouble walking. So, I picked her up again and we took her to spend the night in a stall in the barn. It was so sweet! When I was holding her against me, she put her head down on my chest, like she was cuddling in, feeling safe.

We put down fresh straw, water and feed. When we checked on her later, she was huddled in the straw, like it was a nest, in the corner. We are hoping she will be better in the morning.

While I was holding the Khaki, waiting for DH to get the stall ready, I looked out in the side yard and saw a dead chicken next to the gate into the chicken yard. After looking her over, there were no apparent signs indicating why she died.