I am proud of my hens this spring, and happy that I think I discovered what has improved their condition so much. This is my first try at poultry, and though I did my best to educate myself, I made some mistakes. We built a nice coop, 3 years ago, but I did not realize that hens can get bored and when they do, they get into trouble: they started picking at each other and pulling feathers.
I thought of nutritional deficiencies, had the vet come out, who thought it might be parasites and when she was stumped, she asked a colleague who was a poultry expert. His recommendation was to let the hens have the run of the ranch. This came to a halt when a coyote made off with a Rhode Island Red right in front of my desk window.
But I took the hint and we enlarged the chicken yard by fencing in a piece more than double their original yard. It's not that we don't have room around the house ... Still, some of the hens were still getting terrorized by others (another lesson learned: do not mix a flock of smaller and larger hens, as big ones beat up on smaller ones).
I did notice last summer that when given a choice, the hens would pick out the whole oats from the scratch that they get as a snack, and I read that oats were a good protein in the summer as it would help to keep them cooler. No problem increasing the oat ration as the horses get a cup a day as a snack as well. I made oats about 1/4 of the scratch mixture, and so increased their regular protein intake.
Last fall when time came to molt, the hens who had suffered the most (black Astralorps) were starting to feather out nicely, and they learned from each other that if they spent the night in the nesting boxes, rather than on the roost with the other hens, they were less likely to get picked at. Apparently new, blood-filled, quills are irresistible delicacies to the other hens.
Between the larger yard, the extra protein from the oats, and the temporary, private, roosting cubbies, I now have beautiful hens that are laying as if there is no tomorrow. Getting scratch is still a highlight of their day. Here are Goldie and Mathilda (Auracanas) getting some first dibs, while Isabella (Barred Plymouth Rock) is about to nail Dan to tell him not give preferential treatment, and "let go of that grain!".
A week or so ago I went to a plant sale at Tohono Chul in Tucson and bought a number of penstemons of different colors and some other small blooming herbage that needed to be planted in the back yard. In Oregon I just dug a hole, maybe added a little organic matter, and popped in the plants. Not that easy here. The soil around the house, ie the yard, was razed and compacted to ensure a stable foundation, which is not conducive to easy growing. Thankfully, due to the wet winter, the soil is not bone-dry, but Dan still has to dig the planting hole with the aid of a digging bar, and the soil is heavily amended with composted horse manure. All in all, it is surprising that the plants grow as well as they do.
I raked out the garden beds this morning, in preparation of the planting of some lettuce, arugula, carrots, beets, and peas, and reinstalled some of the irrigation. One of the blogger followers, Webb, asked for an explanation of the irrigation scheme, so here goes. Each bed is individually drip irrigated with drip lines that are laser-drilled at 12" intervals. There are 4 lines per bed (4' wide), and as luck would have it, that is just one roll of the drip line (purchased at Home Depot). The distribution head connecting to each faucet is also an HD purchase (DIG brand). 
The awesome hardware cloth covers to protect seeds and young seedlings from birds and other above-ground animals are gifts from my friends Phil and Marsha, who donated them when they recently moved to New Mexico. I have yet to plant the seeds, but thought to wait until after the predicted storm due to hit here around Friday. They are talking snow ... Then again, we always do seem to have one snow storm in April.
Cindy will be disappointed because she has been riding Bueno lately, and is really getting to like him. And no Bueno pics ... Sorry, Cin. The only reason Buggsy appears here is that he happened to be running by at the right time, all four feet off the ground Way to go Buggs!.
We have also seen swallows, which I was always told was a harbinger of summer no less, leave alone spring, and Cindy and I watched a number of turkey vultures circle over us during a ride. For me, they are the true birds of summer in the desert.
All the beds have added compost as of today, and all have been fertilized and tilled. I just have to rake them out and reinstall the irrigation lines. When we took them down for rototilling, it was obvious that a lot of sediment had kept the laser-drilled lines from working properly last season: there was sludge in the faucets and all the filters were clogged. Dan also installed additional new metal valves as the plastic ones get brittle here in our abundant sunshine. 
The fruit trees are blooming, except the fig, and I am glad they survived their first winter. In spite of our still cool nights, I did see bees doing their job on the blossoms. Before I participated in the Great Sunflower Project, I was clueless as to the many varieties of bees. Frankly, I never looked close enough. Today there were at least 3 varieties, a green sweat bee among them. Will I be able to taste a WD peach this year?
Meanwhile, it was warm in the shop, so Dan bought some wood and built me this great saddle tree for the new saddle. I am so grateful he is a handy guy, and enjoys these little projects. Lucky me. 
From this vantage point it is hard to believe what's on the other side of that hill, and it is spectacular. 
We drank some water and had a bite of homemade energy bar before we headed back down. There were stalls to clean, and I want to give Buggsy a good grooming this afternoon. He is shedding winter hair, and besides, I want to give him some loving. Too soon to ride yet, but I am healing well.
We left the car about 9:30 and headed up the gulch, with water already gurgling along the trail. It is reminiscent of our Stronghold hike, just a bit longer and with a little more elevation gain. We crossed the stream a number of times and it was spectacular. Emma went in belly deep several times, and we had to jump from rock to rock. 
The trail ends at a dilapidated mine chute where in the past they mined for copper, silver and lead, and we had our lunch there. It is an up-and-back trail but, this being our first time, the return trip was just as interesting. 
It is a hike we will certainly do again, but only in the winter or spring. It is too sun-exposed for the summer, with a good potential for flash flooding. We walked 6.9 miles and gained, and lost, 1299 feet of elevation. It was a splendid day. We are all tired.
