MacBeth brings new chickens and learnings on magnetic fields

Well hello out there,

We've had quite a day today.  It began as usual with Hoppy's milking.  We got a new record today of 1.1 pounds.  Which is still not very much, but for a first freshener (first time she's given birth) and how long it has been since then we're pretty happy with it.  Annie threw her arms up in a V of triumph, as she maintained her hold on the milking record (though I swear that is due to other factors, we are equally good milkers - honest).

Then after breakfast we journeyed into town for the first read through of MacBeth with the full cast.  It was pretty exciting, and I was glad to get to hear the story read through by different characters, it is much easier for me to get Shakespeare that way.  We have about a month and a half before opening night, so there is plenty of time still for line memorization.

After MacBeth we journeyed to Douglasville, to see a gazebo posted on Craigslist, and to visit a chicken farm that has several rare breeds.  It didn't take long to realize the Gazebo was not what we wanted, on the other hand at the chicken farm we spent several hours seeing all the different breeds, and then making our choices.  We ended up getting a fairly wide selection.  We got:  4 Blue-laced red chicks (some were actually "splash" which means something about their color), 2 young mottled javas one male and one female, 1 Copper Sport Maran chick (apparently sort of an "off" breed, but very pretty), and 1 White Silkie Rooster.  I like all of them, but I am definitely most partial to the White Silkie - he is just beautiful - Silkie's have very amazing plumage, and he is just completely white, fluffy, and wonderful.  I also liked the mottled javas alot.  In addition to these we also got some eggs - blue marans, mottled Javas, and Wellsummers.

We brought all of our new chickens home, and got them settled into rabbit cages to give the adults time to get used to their environment, and make sure they were healthy (though everything at this farm seemed happy and healthy).  The chicks are in a seperate rabbit cage till they get bigger - they are not yet ready for the brutality that is the establishment of the pecking order.

Then we put our new 18 eggs into the incubator - which meant we had to take some out.  We took out the eggs that we had in there from our own chickens, and took six of them to put under the hen who is currently setting (Mama Hen in the cast of characters).  Sadly we also had to let some of them go, for fear there wouldn't be enough room under Mama Hen.  If all went ideally we'll probably have 20-30 new chickens when the hatching is all said and done (that if is a big if).

Far and away the coolest thing we learned today was this interesting string trick.  At the chicken farm they had a novel way of determining the sex of the chickens.  They used a rock on a string, and held it above the chicken (we even tried it on eggs).  If the chicken is a male the rock will move in a straight line along the spine of the chicken.  If it is femaile it will move in a circle.  I'll be blunt, I'm skeptical - I tried to watch their hands to see if they were manipulating the string.  If they were it was very subtle, and they are excellent sleight of hand artists.  I mean their hands definitely moved some, but then who can hold their hand perfectly still - so I don't know.  In any case they did it on Annie and I, and thus it is confirmed that she is a she, and I am a he.  They claimed it had to do with magnetic fields, and seemed as surprised by its success as we were.  So give them props for acting too, if they were manipulating it.

Well I guess that is it for today from me.

Jeff