Turkeys, Chickens and Morning Glories

Before building the final chicken coop, I hired my neighbor Dennis to install a gutter. Instead of a downspout I wanted a chain, finding a beautiful copper chain with small catch basins at the local grange co-op. The morning glories have climbed up them, almost obscuring them from sight. Next year I'll plant many more varieties along the 4 x 4 posts to make some shade and add color. I'm loving the activity that the hens and toms create, and the fresh eggs are simply delicious, relatively free, and homegrown!


The chicken on the left is a New Hampshire Red, and I'm not sure what kind the one on the right is, but her name is Henny. She's my favorite hen, mostly because she's friendly and pretty. She went through a few weeks of not walking on her feet, acting like they were sore. I packed her from feed to water until the biggest tom began holding her down and picking on her head. I grabbed some wire and made a kind of creep feeder to keep the two turkeys out of the coop area and Henny made a full recovery.
I've had four turkeys this spring and summer, with three of them failing because of a rapid weight gain and underdeveloped leg joints.
So I'm happy to say that one fine fellow is growing quite quickly with strong legs, however, next weekend I'll have to do the deed, to render and freeze another turkey. Up close the turkeys look pre-historic, with their bright red wattles, blue heads and slithering snood. The snood is quite active, retracting quickly for who knows what reason. I think they are pretty happy in their huge home, with clean food and water and shade from the summer heat. I've been getting 3 eggs every other day from my 5 hens. After the morning hours have passed I let the hens forage around the back yard, eating bugs and stray grass. They are happy to come back into their own yard about an hour before dusk, to get a last drink and nibble before settling in for the night.