I think this is a true thing. She's really nice in a grumpy sort of way & after digging up a couple of worms for her on Thursday she gave me side eye every time I went out today as though to say, well, when are you going to dig for me again?
Ruthie has my sympathies. I've been cranky since I got older and old age/hormone issues cause me to 'molt'. She's lucky hers will come back! Mine is long gone despite all the biotin I take. I just hope I'm not cranky for the rest of my life!
Replacing feathers takes a great deal of energyand is very uncomfortable. The newly emerging feathers are called pin feathers for a good reason. They look like a pin, with the fluffy part covered in wax. When it emerges, the chicken cleans off the waxy coating to allow the feather to open up. All of this makes their skin very sensitive. Also, they usually stop laying eggs for a period during the molt because so much of their nutritional needs are going to the new feathers. Our girls started at the end of August and are nearing the end.
Sorry, mbtpelican- my feed is a little delayed and I didn't see your post until after I posted mine saying much the same thing! I miss my chickens. I wonder how my dog (the beautiful 40# Beatrice) would feel is I adopted two or three? .... Maybe not.
I don’t really know—they lose one set of feathers and another set grows in, and they act like it is very uncomfortable to be touched. Hens that are normally quite cuddly don’t want to be held at all.
I grew up with chickens and had a good number of them myself when I was younger (would now, but yard is too small). I think molting feels like having ingrown hairs all over, only pokier. That would make me cranky too, having poky things all over just under my outer skin trying to get through. And there's all the energy it takes to grow a whole bunch of new feathers all at once. I'd want to just go take a nap until it's over.
We are lucky enough to be in Zion National Park and Bryce together with great friends. Tomorrow is an annular eclipse in the morning. Heart sick about the US Congress and the Middle East and Ukraine and feeling lucky to be here. Thank you Joyce for all of your hard work and helpful insights. You are a treasure. We are all in this together. Let’s stay strong and kind and listen to each other. Pam
Ellen - that is the first thing I thought when I read Joyce's comment. We are all channeling a bit of Ruthie right now - and deservedly so. Complete with side-eyes and unspoken thought bubbles.
I had a wonderful horse some years ago who would remind me with a side-eye how I was not treating him right. I made it a point to correct my behavior toward him!
I took pictures of dahlias today too. A big garden full of them in a beautiful place called Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore City. The flowers were glowing in the late afternoon light and it was nice to feel the peace of nature.
Tomorrow morning, with many family members and friends, I will celebrate my husband’s life of 86 years. He was an Episcopal priest for over 40 years. He died peacefully on October 1. We had been married for 64 years. I am so grateful for your insights, and I read your comments daily. Thank you for your competence and care in helping us understand how to make our way out of chaos. I love your updates on your chickens and family cats.
God bless you Judy, and peace be with you. 64 years of marriage! What a treasure trove of memories you must have. May the Lord walk with you through your grief.
I will think of you and your family this morning and hope you will find both joy and comfort in celebrating and remembering his life and your lives together.
Thank you for your beautiful note describing a life of so much love. I’m sure that will fill the service today even as it’s reflected back to you here.
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”
God bless you Judy. I’ve been an Episcopalian for 25 years and have sung in the Cathedral choir here in Portland Maine for all of those years!! Bet your husband was a wonderful priest!!😇
Thank you, the pictures were very helpful. This weekend I'll be baking a Boston Cream Pie (although it's really a cake) and some peanut butter cheesecake brownies to take to a brunch and birthday party for the mother of my sister-in-law. She'll be 93 on Sunday. I'm the baker for family gatherings. My niece, her husband, their two children as well as my nephew, his wife, their two children and my brother will all be there as well as my brother and sister-in-law's new puppy. It should be fun and noisy and very happy.
Hospice nurses are angels on earth. The night I sat with my mom as she was transitioning, they anticipated what both of us needed through those long hours without my having to ask. Thank you for what you do.
So important! LTC nurses become the patient's family, all too often. I honestly think, in many ways, it's the hardest work nurses do. Most of my patients are with us for days or weeks. Yours may be months or years.
Thank you for sharing. Tonight our senior high granddaughter joined us for dinner, tomorrow our 8yr old grandson for pumpkin carving. Thankful for these pleasures in our life. Thankful for your sharing. Sherron
It's fall festival season here in upstate South Carolina! Local Botanical Gardens has their sale, and tonight I narrated three ghost walk tours. We've all got to find our times away from the news -- the insane news.
We too are going to a fall fest tomorrow. We live in Tucson and will be driving about 60 miles south to Patagonia, AZ for the annual fall fest there. No TV for most of the day, though I'll prob check my phone for "breaking news".
I think Ruthie is all of our spirit animal right now.
I think this is a true thing. She's really nice in a grumpy sort of way & after digging up a couple of worms for her on Thursday she gave me side eye every time I went out today as though to say, well, when are you going to dig for me again?
You dug up a couple of worms for Ruthie; the Republicans dug up a couple of worms for Speaker.
You win!
I had chickens for years. I know how crabby they get when they are molting, and she really shows it in her expression!
Ruthie has my sympathies. I've been cranky since I got older and old age/hormone issues cause me to 'molt'. She's lucky hers will come back! Mine is long gone despite all the biotin I take. I just hope I'm not cranky for the rest of my life!
I’m with Ruthie! Life sucks at times
What happens to chickens, physically, when they molt? Aside from losing their feathers, of course.
Replacing feathers takes a great deal of energyand is very uncomfortable. The newly emerging feathers are called pin feathers for a good reason. They look like a pin, with the fluffy part covered in wax. When it emerges, the chicken cleans off the waxy coating to allow the feather to open up. All of this makes their skin very sensitive. Also, they usually stop laying eggs for a period during the molt because so much of their nutritional needs are going to the new feathers. Our girls started at the end of August and are nearing the end.
Sounds like chicken “shingles”
Sorry, mbtpelican- my feed is a little delayed and I didn't see your post until after I posted mine saying much the same thing! I miss my chickens. I wonder how my dog (the beautiful 40# Beatrice) would feel is I adopted two or three? .... Maybe not.
I don’t really know—they lose one set of feathers and another set grows in, and they act like it is very uncomfortable to be touched. Hens that are normally quite cuddly don’t want to be held at all.
Thanks for the info.
I grew up with chickens and had a good number of them myself when I was younger (would now, but yard is too small). I think molting feels like having ingrown hairs all over, only pokier. That would make me cranky too, having poky things all over just under my outer skin trying to get through. And there's all the energy it takes to grow a whole bunch of new feathers all at once. I'd want to just go take a nap until it's over.
Yes, I have wondered if it's a little like teething, only dozens of teeth at a time.
Every dang year.
That makes sense to me. Thanks.
Oh Joyce, I love that!
😅
We are lucky enough to be in Zion National Park and Bryce together with great friends. Tomorrow is an annular eclipse in the morning. Heart sick about the US Congress and the Middle East and Ukraine and feeling lucky to be here. Thank you Joyce for all of your hard work and helpful insights. You are a treasure. We are all in this together. Let’s stay strong and kind and listen to each other. Pam
Ellen - that is the first thing I thought when I read Joyce's comment. We are all channeling a bit of Ruthie right now - and deservedly so. Complete with side-eyes and unspoken thought bubbles.
I had a wonderful horse some years ago who would remind me with a side-eye how I was not treating him right. I made it a point to correct my behavior toward him!
The spirit animal line made my drink go up my nose.
Don’t waste it!
Absolutely!
YUP.
I love this so much! The beauty is always out there if we take the time to look. Thank you. 🥰
I took pictures of dahlias today too. A big garden full of them in a beautiful place called Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore City. The flowers were glowing in the late afternoon light and it was nice to feel the peace of nature.
I just adore them. This is the first year I've had success with them though. I've got purple ones too and they make me super happy.
My Dahlia’s have gone by with all the cool nights. But I have a granddaughter named Dahlia and she is always beautiful ❤️
On theme, I just got Dahlia Lithwick’s Lady Justice!
Good Dahlia transition!
Nice of you to write! Wish I could post a picture here of the dahlias whose beauty knocked my socks off today.
Your photos of your yard and your animals always make me smile, a very welcome reaction juxtaposed to world events.
I do agree and when I return to my NCarolina home, I will tend to my roses and other beautiful greens
🌹
I’m with Ruthie. I’ve been cranky all week and I’m not even molting! I hope an evening with friends smooths out the rough edges.
I wish Tofu was 10 times larger, the size of a panther. Then Tofu could hunt down Jim Jordan, and eat him for a snack.
Why do you want to give that nice kitten a tummy ache!? Stalk until he runs away into irrelevance and/the courts yes .
The poor thing would probably throw up!
I believe panthers prefer fresh not rotten meat.
I think he might look pretty good traipsing around the right kind of yard…..
Tomorrow morning, with many family members and friends, I will celebrate my husband’s life of 86 years. He was an Episcopal priest for over 40 years. He died peacefully on October 1. We had been married for 64 years. I am so grateful for your insights, and I read your comments daily. Thank you for your competence and care in helping us understand how to make our way out of chaos. I love your updates on your chickens and family cats.
I am so sorry for your loss. May his memory always be a blessing. Take care.
God bless you Judy, and peace be with you. 64 years of marriage! What a treasure trove of memories you must have. May the Lord walk with you through your grief.
I’m sorry for your loss Judy. I’m glad you had so many years with him. Blessings and love to you at his celebration of life🩵🙏🏼
❤️
So sorry for your loss.
I will think of you and your family this morning and hope you will find both joy and comfort in celebrating and remembering his life and your lives together.
Thank you for your beautiful note describing a life of so much love. I’m sure that will fill the service today even as it’s reflected back to you here.
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Thinking of others too with losses still fresh.
God bless you Judy. I’ve been an Episcopalian for 25 years and have sung in the Cathedral choir here in Portland Maine for all of those years!! Bet your husband was a wonderful priest!!😇
🥰 Lynn
Peace and comfort to you Judy.
Thank you, the pictures were very helpful. This weekend I'll be baking a Boston Cream Pie (although it's really a cake) and some peanut butter cheesecake brownies to take to a brunch and birthday party for the mother of my sister-in-law. She'll be 93 on Sunday. I'm the baker for family gatherings. My niece, her husband, their two children as well as my nephew, his wife, their two children and my brother will all be there as well as my brother and sister-in-law's new puppy. It should be fun and noisy and very happy.
May I please be invited? I promise to not to let any food go to waist err waste...😁
That sounds so lovely!
There is nothing like heart-warming family occasions for putting things in perspective.
Boston Cream Pie - Martha Stewart (on her website)
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies - Marissa Rothkopf Bakes: The Secret Life of Cookies Substack I highly recommend this Substack
I'm a nurse so I'm working
Thank you for what you do Debbie!
Same, Debbie! But I love my 7-on, 7-off schedule. What flavor of nursing do you do? I'm a hospice nurse.
Hospice nurses are angels on earth. The night I sat with my mom as she was transitioning, they anticipated what both of us needed through those long hours without my having to ask. Thank you for what you do.
You are so right Amy - hospice nurses are angels, for both those who are leaving this earth, and the family members who are by their loved one’s side.
Many thanks to Debbie and Deborah. We need your service.
I now do LTC. Held a hand or 100 my self. Opened many a window.
So important! LTC nurses become the patient's family, all too often. I honestly think, in many ways, it's the hardest work nurses do. Most of my patients are with us for days or weeks. Yours may be months or years.
Understood Debbie!
Thank you, Debbie.
Thank you. That’s what I need.
Yours is a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally. Thank you for all that you do!
Love your pictures. Love your thoughts. Love your chickens. And especially love your sense of humor
Ruthie’s got the cranky part just right 🤗
Thinking and feeling love and sadness for my Jewish family members and friends. ❤️
Thank you for sharing. Tonight our senior high granddaughter joined us for dinner, tomorrow our 8yr old grandson for pumpkin carving. Thankful for these pleasures in our life. Thankful for your sharing. Sherron
It's fall festival season here in upstate South Carolina! Local Botanical Gardens has their sale, and tonight I narrated three ghost walk tours. We've all got to find our times away from the news -- the insane news.
We too are going to a fall fest tomorrow. We live in Tucson and will be driving about 60 miles south to Patagonia, AZ for the annual fall fest there. No TV for most of the day, though I'll prob check my phone for "breaking news".