Chickens and Gardening

I have to write fast as today is a clean the chicken coop morning. My chicks have officially made it to chicken status. Would you like to see my bantams?You would? Good. They are lovely but the relationship is changing. They have become not sweet little roosters, but abusive and my arms have bruises now where they peck.

Blue Old English Bantam

First, this is who I started out calling Buddy. Now his name is Freddy aka Kruger. He is having a very hard time being nice and the evil nature just plain wins out. At night, when I go to the coop to lock the chickens in, I have to brush away the sawdust so I can shut the door. As soon as he hears the latch on the outside door and my feet come in the coop, I hear his tiny Ninja yell. I walk very carefully, hoping against hope he won't attack.
So far its Freddy 10 Me-0. He gets me every time. Sometimes he waits, while I am bending down, utters this scream and attacks, pecking the fire out of my hands and arms. Other times he just pecks once and coos this sweet sound he made in the beginning of his chick years. He is tiny but he has the heart of a lion.

BirchenCochin Bantam

This is my favorite rooster, though he is turning into a grumpy kind of guy. His name from the beginning has been Hercule Poirot. When he was a chick he was just black and white. Now he looks like this. I think he is so pretty and classy.

Light Brahma Bantam

That little white hen in front, I call The Princess. She is very aloof and just a bit different from the other hens.
I think she is so pretty. I love her feather covered feet.

Barred Cochin

I couldn't get a very good picture of this guy. I was really hoping he would be a hen, but with bantams because you only get straight run I ended up with three roosters. He is adorable. He has a really deep, bok-bok voice. He is also feather footed. When I thought he was a hen, I named him Dot. As in Polka-Dot.
I am sticking with Dot. It just fits him. I think he will end up being the dominant rooster just because watching him maneuver through hen house, he would be a good politician. He is friends with all the hens old and new and he shares all of his food already with everyone. My little hens of course are sweetie pies and I am thrilled with them all. They still think I am their Momma hen which feels nice. Pecks and all.

Since chicken stories kind of took up most of my blog and the title of the post has gardening in it I thought I would show you my herbs. I have peppermint, spearmint and lemon balm and rosemary. I am going to make tea out of these.

Echinacea

Scented Geranium

Comfrey

The new chicks really liked my comfrey. It will come back. Most amazing herb for cuts and bruises. At my other house I had so many different scented Geraniums. Its been slower for me to find the kind I had there.
This one is lemon. This is my second year of Echinacea. I still plan on planting some Camomile as it is my favorite tea of all. I did plant dill yesterday out in the garden. When I make dill pickles I always have the hardest time finding as much dill as I need.

This was my morning picking. There is just something about early on a June morning picking apricots. I feel like each one is distilled sunshine.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday. I am turning these apricots into jam as my next project. Then of course some might have to be a cobbler.

Thank you so much for stopping by today,

~Kim~

“Self-pity is the hens' besetting sin," remarked Mr. Payton. "Foolish fowl. How they came to achieve anything as perfect as the egg I do not know! I cannot fathom.”
― Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake