The Chicken Chiefs

01/12/2025

Daughter, Penny, holding Hollis Tree. Look at those
eyes. 👀
Anyway, my chickens are doing good. Just wish they would start laying a few more eggs. But I’m not gonna sweat over it. That does nothing.
I have a couple projects I’m working on. First, I’m reading a book. Second, I have a puzzle I’m working on. It’s a wooden 3-D puzzle. It was given to me as a gift. It looked very daunting when I first opened the box and looked at it. But it seems to have very good instructions. That was encouraging. I have started on it. But when my hands get trembly, I know it’s time for a rest. It will be beautiful when I get it together. It’s a piano. More about it in the coming days.
Flint spent the night with Aunt Penny last night. Our house was the meeting place. A little Flint story as told by Penny. “Last night Flint said he had to go to the restroom, and he walked past this mirror that’s in the living room and then stopped and said ‘oh look how handsome I am’ and started admiring himself. When his mother, Abi heard she said, “Big Head.” He can sure come up with some words and things. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyway, I’m going to sign off for now. May work on my puzzle for a few minutes.

Continue on with your wonderful Sunday. •If you’re sick, may you feel better soon. •If you’re depressed, hold your head up high. You can do this. And I don’t consider depression something you can snap out of. Please see a Dr if you must. •If you’re sad, happier days will come. •If you’re discouraged, let me tell you, “don’t be.” I care for you. •If somebody wronged you, forget it. Everything will be fine. •If someone owes you money, well, try to forget it. (I’m working on this one myself. It’s not easy to forget. But I’m trying.) •If someone doesn’t like you, “try” to go on with your life. You don’t need that negativity. •Don’t carry a chip on your shoulder. The older you get the heavier it gets. Knock it off yourself now. Life’s too short. •Stop in front of the mirror. Tell yourself you’re pretty or handsome, because you sure are.

~Eva~

01/11/2025

This is an old picture of Annie, my Russian Orloff. She’s so pretty. I just had to find something to post. She’s still this pretty.

Can I just say, I am so tired tonight? I’m bone weary. We had very little Winter Precipitation. A little freezing rain. A little sleet. But our electricity went off this morning about 9 or 9:30. I’m not sure what happened. I believe it was one tree that fell and put about 400 residents out of power. We have an all electric house. Chief and I busied ourselves moving the living room furniture around and putting the last little bit of my Christmas decor away. We did not get cold. We layered up and stayed warm which moving around helped. But about the time the sun started down, I was getting very nervous. Anxious. We went to a local diner to eat lunch. We had food in the house, but we weren’t thinking about if we lost power. Everything we had was something to warm up. But we were without power, not snowed in. We went and hung out at DQ to charge our phones this evening. After dark, I was a basket case. So going to charge our phones helped some. I had a candle lit in every room, but it simply wasn’t enough for me. Our rechargeable flashlight went out. So Chief went to buy flashlights about 8 pm. Just as we had gotten the batteries in the new flashlights, our lights came on. (8:30 pm). I was so happy. But I’m still tired. On my way to bed in a warm, light house. I don’t have to brush my teeth in the dark.
We are considering a small wood stove. Any suggestions about what to get are welcome.

Goodnight.

~Eva~

01/09/2025

Just checking in real quick. Everything is fine here in NE Texas. We’ve had a little rain but temperatures have hovered around 34° so no snow nor sleet. I tossed peanuts out to the chickens this morning. They all came running for their favorite snack. I’ve picked up reading again this year. In the year 2023, I read 45 books. But in 2024, I maybe read 2 books. We’ll see what I do this year. I would like to read more than I did last year. However, if I get into a book, it really cuts into my social media time. So if you don’t see me on, I’m probably reading a book. If you won a lip balm from me, my plan is to get them in the mail tomorrow. I have not forgotten about you. I’ll talk to you later. Hope everyone is doing fine on this chilly Thursday.

01/06/2025

Rosa loves Flint so much. They have such a chemistry between them. This morning she sat and let him sit on top of her. Really he wasn’t sitting on her. He was just squatting over her. Rosa is a very energetic dog. I’ve worried about these 2 playing together. But Flint knows how to handle her. He’s very capable of giving her commands, and she minds him.
So as you can see Papa and I were busy on this bitter cold morning. We watched the great grand boys. Chief had to thaw the chickens’ waterers and Big D’s water bowl. Other than that we’ve lazed around keeping warm and watching Flint play and playing with Hollis. What a great Monday morning.
Pictures of Hollis in the comment section. I’ll talk to you later.

~Eva~

01/06/2025

I think this picture shows all my chickens. I did not take this picture today. I took it on Friday.
So this morning when we left for church, it was a balmy 65°.
The temp had dropped at noon, but it was still in the 50s. Right now at 7:15 pm, it is 34° and very windy. The chickens will be fine. Chief and I really aren’t crazy about cold weather. We’ll be alright. And I know some of you who are reading this like Winter temps. However, I’m one of those Texans that ask “what’s the temperature?” If the answer is 60°, I ask, “is that a cold 60° or a warm 60°?” Because 60 can go either way depending on the wind. 🤭
At least most of my girls are now fully feathered. Some may still be working on their molts. But they have most of their new Winter coats. Chickens have an amazing HVAC system. There’s no need to put sweaters on them. There’s no need to give them extra snacks at bedtime. They can build a little fire within their little bodies all by themselves. The best way to help them is to make their coop draft free. No need for heating at all. Maybe if you’re in areas of sub zero temps, you might need something for heat, but please, please, please no light bulbs. No need to take a chance of them getting knocked down and catching litter on fire. I use sand in our coop. But if a light bulb got knocked down, it wouldn’t take much for it to land on a roost and catch that wood on fire. Just don’t chance it.
Keeping chickens is very easy. No need to make it difficult.
TIL next post, Eva, signing off saying “keep it easy.”

01/05/2025

Sarah Jane, a White California, is such a beauty. She has a good personality as well. She lays a white egg. We got an egg from her a couple days ago. But none of the hens are laying very often. We did get 2 eggs today. I have 19 hens and 1 rooster. It’s a good number for me. But as they get older they lay less. I’ve touched on this already. I want some Spring chicks. But Chief says if I get some, he wants to give away the ones that aren’t laying. That is not up for discussion. I guess stay tuned, and see if I get some Spring chicks. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Goodnight!

~Eva~

P. S. I think Chief will be surprised at how many of my hens are still laying. They are just waiting on the longer days. It happens every single Winter.

01/04/2025

I have a few more chicken pictures from yesterday. But Big D came in and gave me a good pose, so I decided to use this for this post.
Everything is fine here in NE Texas. We got 2 eggs today. It seems like it has clouded up outside. But I’m just looking from my easy chair. And after I put the eyedrops in my eyes.
Just a little background on the eyedrops. 2 years ago I had cataract surgery. I see halos around lights at night which is very annoying to me and also dangerous if I have to drive. The eye surgeon dismissed me and let me know he didn’t want to see me anymore. I went to a regular optometrist. He put me in glasses which did not help at all. That optometrist, tho I liked him, left the area. So I went to an eye specialist. He has been working with me for a couple months. Right now I am still doing the eye drops. They do help. But I have had to experiment with the time of day so they will help me to their full extent and time that I need them. I’ve found that using the drops late afternoon will get me through the evening and night. I mentioned that in the very beginning they gave me the worst headaches ever. Now if I get a headache, it is mild and goes away within 30 minutes to an hour. Another side effect is- the lighting dims drastically. That too lasts for about an hour. It’s a hindrance but not totally incapacitating. You may wonder why I keep doing the dreaded drops…well, as of now, I feel like the side effects are minor to having blurry, fuzzy eyesight. Let me add one more thing- this Dr tells me I have 20/20 vision for far off and 20/25 for closeup. So this is not something that can be corrected with eyeglasses. It’s very sad in my opinion. This could have been prevented, if the surgeon would have explained to me that he was planning on doing the mono vision and give me a choice as to whether it was something I was interested in. I am told that I should have been put in contacts that would make my vision similar to what my eyes would be like post surgery. I had no idea. This eye specialist has posters all over his offices explaining the different artificial lenses that the patient has to choose from for cataract surgery. I am probably only one patient in 1 million that has this trouble. Who knows? But I’m doing fine. I just plan on an hour that I may have to deal with the side effects of the drops. But some days the side effects are less. That’s my post for now. I’m going to hit next without looking for typos or grammar errors. I’ll talk to you later.

~Eva~

01/04/2025

It’s Amaroollo, my lil Red Cochin Bantam. He’s pretty chill. My hens are really too big for him. And that’s a good thing. He’s my only rooster. It’s almost as good as having no roosters. No roosters = prettier hens.
I’ll probably talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night.

~Eva~

01/04/2025

Picture #2 that I took today. This is Albany. She’s a bantam size hen. She had a rough molt. But she has come through it and looks beautiful. This is perfection, in my opinion.
Happy Friday Evening!

~Eva~

01/03/2025

Can you believe I actually took some pictures of my chickens today? No, I did not hurt my arm patting myself on the back just in case you were wondering. 🤭
All of them are looking pretty good. There were some I didn’t know if they’d ever get through their molts. But they are looking so much better.
Here’s the first picture I’ll share. These girls were cleaning up a few peanuts I had tossed out. The Gold S*x Link on the far, far right (the one with the arrow pointing to her) has had a completely bare back since way back in the Summer. Maybe as far back as May. I had too many roosters. I rehomed 2 of them. I think her back was bare due to those rascally dudes. But within the past week, it happened. There is not one little bare spot on her back. She’s still not quite as pretty as the gal next to her. But she looks like a million dollars compared to what she has been looking. I honestly didn’t know if there was any hope for her. I think she had to go through her annual molt to start looking better.
My first chicken picture of 2025. 🥰🥰
Hope you’ve had a fine Friday. All is well here.

Have a wonderful Friday evening.

~Eva~

01/03/2025

Flint pulling Hollis in the wagon. “Hollis is saying, what in the world?” 😂 . ~Eva~

01/02/2025

Look at Hollis y’all. 🥰
If you’re new, this is Flint’s baby brother. Flint and Hollis are our Great Grandsons. He’s so sweet! Abi got this picture today, and I just had to share it with you.
Hope the first day of this new year has been good to you.
All is well here.
Talk later.

~Eva~

01/01/2025

01/01/2025

Happy New Year! Big D and Rosa have finally settled down. I don’t usually let them in at the same time. Tho Rosa is now 4, she still has tons of energy. It just works out they don’t usually have to come in at the same time. It’s too complicated to explain how it works. But it works. Anyway they have been like 2 boys wrestling in the floor for the past hour. And I do have all my furniture pushed back, and the coffee table gone so I’d have more room for Christmas. They’ve had plenty of wrestling room.
If you live on the East Coast you’re about 25 minutes from 2025. I think the Chief and I are going to get the dogs settled in and head to bed.
Again. Happy New Year!

~Eva~

01/01/2025

The big shaggy dog made his way into the house. They are shooting fireworks somewhere nearby and they are loud. He doesn’t particularly like fireworks. Big ol’ baby. It rained on Saturday. Of course he has a big roomy dog house, but he chooses to lay out in the rain. His fur is stiff, and he needs brushed at least. But a bath would be nice. I don’t see a grooming session in his near future. It’s supposed to be pretty chilly next week and the groomer won’t give him a bath when it’s cold. Can you blame her?
Sorry about my piano. I had started putting Christmas decor away and haven’t moved things in right order on the piano. I think I’ll do that right now. It won’t take long. What am I waiting on. Social Media is so addictive.
I’ll talk to you later. If I’m not back on this evening please have a safe and Happy New Year’s Eve.

~Eva~

Pictured is Dakota aka Big D. He’s a Great Pyrenees.

12/31/2024

I woke up feeling a bit anxious. But I just did what I do and I’m….. still feeling anxious. Bahahaha. I doodled and I’m just fine.
I think I’d feel better if my Christmas stuff was put away. As much as I love it there comes a time that I want it taken down. And I think that time has come.
But here I sit at the table drawing silly pictures.

Flint FaceTimed me yesterday and he has lost his pocket knife he got for Christmas. It’s a little wooden knife. He thinks he left it here but I have not found it, in spite of every place he told me to look. Since he thinks he left it here, I somehow feel responsible. So I told him if we can’t find it maybe I can get him another. He said “it had to be put together and it was hard to do.” I asked him who put it together. He answered “my daddy.” I said “well, if daddy put that one together, then I guess he can put another one together.” To which he said, “you know you can paint them. If you get me another one, you can put it together and paint it blue for me.” Bossy little thing. He was at his other G.Grandmas place when he FaceTimed me. If he’d been home or within his mother’s earshot, she would have said, “Flint, hang that phone up and quit bossing your Nana around. Just put the iPad up.” And, then she would have taken the iPad from him and made him go play outside. 🤭
But Great Grandmas get by with things. 😂
I’m off to search for that lost pocket knife.

Happy Tuesday!

~Eva~

12/30/2024

-Useless information. Nothing to do with chickens-

I have found a new favorite lip balm. It came from HTeaO the place I love to go for a Sweet Georgia Peach iced tea. In the past my favorite was a tie between “Chicken Poop” from Tractor Supply (that’s just the name of it. No p**p in the product) and grape from Lemongrass Spa. No, I am not getting paid for this. I just like it that much.

If you would like to try some from HTeaO, I will send one to the first 5 commenters that say, “I’d like to try it.” Then PM me your address. You can’t be from Texas. And it will be the flavor of my choice.

Happy Monday!

~Eva~

12/29/2024

Not much going on here in NE Texas. We get one or two eggs per day. Pictured is the 2 that were laid today. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the one on the left. That’s just a white bloom left on it. I get one of these occasionally, but this one seemed over the top today.

I’m still contemplating getting baby chicks this Spring. I don’t have a breed in mind. I will get the breeds that are available (probably at Tractor Supply). Tho, I have been looking at Cackle Hatchery. I actually like to get breeds that I’ve never had before. I do like a colorful flock as well as a colorful egg basket. Do you have a favorite breed? I’ve never really had a breed I did not like- except for Rhode Island Reds. I don’t want any of them. Yes, I know they lay good. But I’ve found them to be bullies. That’s about all I have. But really - if you have a favorite breed, leave it as a comment below.

Happy Sunday Evening.

~Eva~