Dried Strawberries and Scruffy Hens

As I talked about yesterday, I set the dehydrator to dry some strawberries.  It was going well until almost hour five, and then all of the sudden, the dehydrator shut down.  Uh oh.  I went over, unplugged it, and checked the strawberries. Luckily, they were done!  I decided to leave the lid on and let them cool and do any last drying overnight.

This is how they looked this morning.  Everything I'd read said they needed to be treated in order to not get all dark.  I didn't treat these, and they look fine to me!

I put them in a bowl - I found a few that weren't quite dry, so I ate them.  Not a huge yield, but they have been being snacked on all day as people wander though the kitchen.

The other notable thing of the day is my two scruffy girls - the ones who have been molting AND being picked on by the bullies in the group - are starting to regrow their feathers. 

Here's the scruffy pair - Bird Flu in the back, Poppy in the front. They are very much NOT sure why I'm trying to take pictures of them, especially when it was go outside time. Ever been eyeballed by a chicken? Now you have - they're doing it.

Here's a close up of Bird Flu's backside near her tail - when feathers come in, they come in as hollow tubes at first.  It gives them an odd look, and makes them look a bit like a cross between a chicken and a porcupine.

Yep, this is how it's supposed to look!

They're not too fond of being picked up when they're growing new feathers, either.

Another not good day - I worked from my chair for the most part.  I'll explain another day why - chalk it up to the invisible illness.

Egg count for the day - three.