Coco
My little Coco is at it again. That black, frizzle bantam has more personality then most people I know. Crap, I'm sure that comment will irritate someone, I'm always in trouble. Well its true, that little hen has quite the attitude. As you know Coco has been spending the cold winter evenings on the sun porch for the over nights. When the days are to cold for her to tolerate it outside, she will then spend the day inside. Coco's feathers are Frizzled, which is very beautiful to look at but not practical to keep a girl warm. All her black luxurious feathers curl backwards giving her the appearance of a walking fluff ball chick with a feather boa. She is bred to perfection and knows it. After all Coco is a show girl, or she seems to think she is.

Lately Coco has decided that she too can live inside our house. Spending days sunbathing on the porch, beating up the other chicks with colds; but this has become mundane to her. It all started about two weeks ago. I arrived home from work and go to check on the sick chicks on the porch. Everyone is happy to see me, I'm the treat lady. I'm doing my check of every one, suddenly I notice Coco is missing. This puts me into a panic. Did a cat decide that tiny bantam would be tasty? Did Pumpkin get to playful and suck all the feathers off poor Coco? Frantically I start searching the porch, then my work kitchen, that’s when I notice a mini chicken poop and a black curly feather in my living room floor. OMG, I figured Pump took her out for a spin and lick in the yard. Calling for Coco, watching Pumpkins for signs of guilt, I'm frantically keep searching the room.

That’s when I hear this little burble answering me. I call out for Coco; again there is a tiny burble, bah bah br. There behind an antique wooden box sat Coco. The little bundle of feathers looks up at me, burbles, stands up, hopped onto the box, down the other side, marching back out to the sun porch, leaving behind two tiny eggs. That little stinker has been sneaking through the porch doorway and laying eggs in my living room! For two days!

That black crazy fuzz ball has been watching the dogs and cats squeezing through the doorway and decided try it. I'm just amazed no one chased her, ate her or her two tiny eggs. This is her second time over wintering in the porch but jeeze? Laying eggs in my living room? Doesn't every one have a chicken running around their living room?

Now when I arrive home from work, I just look for the tiny Coco poo poo trail to see if I need to pick eggs in the house along with the outdoor eggs. Coco has picked her spot and it's behind a box, in my living room, sigh. Even on the days she goes outside, who wants to lay an egg in a cold coop? Not Coco, after all, Chester uses the Chick Chalet as his play house. Everyone knows show girls do not like to share.

Eggs, eggs, eggs! We have lots of eggs available, chicken eggs (in many colors), Duck eggs (3 varieties, Cayuga, Khaki, Muscovy) and quail eggs, as usual, lots and lots of quail eggs. Also this weekend we will be harvesting chickens, again. If any one is interested in a fresh chicken give a call or stop over. I also have freshly frozen chicken, duckling, and quail.

Spring is in the air, it is almost time to collect eggs for hatching. Starting on February 28th, I will have fertilized duck eggs available for sale, weather permitting. Keep your fingers crossed that it isn't to cold to collect viable eggs. If any one is interested in hatching their own, give me a call. We will be setting up our own nesting boxes for the girls plus an incubator. Eggs keep popping up every where; in the yard on the snow or hay, the goose pen, duck pen, middle of the barn floor. The best is the one frozen so hard into the snow, we can't pick it! Hopefully in a week or two they will catch on and lay the eggs in their nesting boxes.

Hansel and Gretel seem very impatient to start their nesting season also. We have noticed goose foot prints on Gretel's wings; it will be time to collect her eggs for hatching soon. Meanwhile Gretel has learned to peek into the house through our plexi-glass dog door, begging for treats. If I do not notice her she then taps on the door, opening it until she has my attention. Gretel loves her greens and knows I'm a sucker for those blue goosy eyes. Any day now we expect to come home and find her in the kitchen, fridge open, noshing on greens.

Our turkeys have not a thought in their head about spring. This has me a little worried but I know it is still early in the year. Cecil and Dinner have been bickering so I know the boys are getting "frisky" but the girls are acting very calm. Clover, Whisky and Clarice rule the roost with those stupid boys following them everywhere, fluffing their feathers, thumping their chests; until I hold out a handful of sunflower seeds. Then its every turkey for them selves, last one to the hand is a rotten egg! I do try to wear gloves when hand feeding them, and then they just try to eat my fingers. So bare hands it is, you get used to the pain. They are gentle giants with very large, pointy beaks.

Clarice my youngest turkey hen was in the house for a few weeks this winter with a cold. If you have seen our house you know we have that sun porch just off my work kitchen. The sun porch is where our bird infirmary/spa is located. Clarice had a blast, eating treats, spoiled rotten, kept nice and warm. Now she is in top condition and back out with her flock. Clarice did have to share the infirmary/spa with a few other girls, one of which was Coco. That is as usual another Coco story all by itself. Anyway a few customers had a chance to see a very tame turkey, close up (understatement). Look into those big beautiful brown eyes, they are amazing creatures.

Coco, has been inside during the over nights for some time now. Most days if it is to cold outside, she will not even go out the door! Then the reign of terror begins. There are four other hens with colds, resting at the spa. Coco beats every one of them up on daily basis to the point where I have to lock her up some days. Luckily today it was warm enough for her fluffiness to go outside. I'm sure there is one heck of a hen party going on in the sun porch today.

All the other farm creatures are doing very well this winter. We have a bunch of new egg layers laying, the dogs are still stealing eggs and Chester has decided the barn is the best place ever to play/hunt.