Chicken Pictures….

Posted on by April 23, 2012

Up early, getting ready for the sheep shearing today and just looking through my picture files.   I have several cool chicken pictures and thought I would update the world with the super important goings-on of the Windhaven chicken flocks.  You know, you want to know…

Well, Miss Buffy is finally starting to fit in with the free range flock.   She’s still not a member of the inner peep circle of cool chicks, but she’s no longer hiding and acting super weird.  She still loves Maggie and you can walk right up to her and pick her up for a snuggle.  She likes it.  I’m just glad that she’s fitting in and is one of the girls.

 

The meat chickens are doing fairly well…  we’ve had a few losses this time around.  We lost one for just no good reason about a week and a half ago, and then we lost two this weekend due to cannibalism.  Not fun.  it’s a fairly common problem, they start pecking on each other hard and it’s hard to stop.  We had to isolate a few of the birds and then added a bunch of stuff to the brooder, like leafy branches, little logs, a few rocks and then scattered grains throughout the litter to give them something more constructive to do.  And places to hide.  Hoping that helps.  We will be building a chicken tractor end of this week and moving some outside…  hope that helps too.  They say cannibalism in meat chickens can result from a whole litany of issues…  too many, not enough water, not enough food, one gets injured and they all attack, lack of things to do, lack of minerals, wrong food, not enough calcium, not enough grit, mis-matched ages in chicks, and my favorite, just mean chickens.  So we tried to resolve as many as we could and then medicated and used this staining med called BlueKote on the attackees rumps to cover any redness or blood.  It’s always something!

Our three larger barred rock pullets made the graduation to the lil’ coop and they are so adorable in there.  This is a picture of when they were still in the brooder…  love the little meat chicks puzzling over the BIG chick in the place.  They are calm and sweet birds with a lovely disposition.  When I go in there to visit them, the little guys swarm over you and will jump up in your lap if you sit down!    Since they are BARred rocks…. and we already have some with rock names, we went with mixed bar drink names….   Margarita, Daiquiri and Martini!  We will be adding another batch of feathered out pullets to the lil’coop sometime this week.  Just waiting for the weather to get a WEEE bit better in the early morning hours.   We are still getting hard frosts!!!  You would think that it would start to get a little bit better since it’s almost APRIL!!!!

Kathryn….  posing by the water tank.

Argent and Flipper are such good rooster brothers.  Here is Argent out strolling in the wind with a few of his ladies.  Everyone is doing great in the new coop and are starting to lay about a dozen eggs a day.  That’s lovely for Maggie’s empire.  They are so funny to see walking across the chicken tube and out their little ladder to the yard.  They are doing a pretty good job of eating most of the grass and the lilies that are in their yard.  I think we will try and dig up some of the lilies, but we have SO many all over, it might not get done.  But it’s nice for them to get some sunshine and dig holes and scratch.  We put scratch grains out there for them to discover and they love that for sure.

All of Maggie’s new hens on their roost for the night.   The new coop in the poultry barn is doing well.  They are finally starting to settle in.  For awhile, we were doing a lot of changes and construction and that was a little stressful on them.  We tried to do it in a mild and easy way, but still, hens like quiet routine.  But we’re pretty much done now, just a few little things we’d like to do but nothing that has to be done.  Maggie wants to paint their doors, that sort of thing.  We built the second little chick brooder last week and that has come in very handy.  In a couple weeks we are going to build a big turkey chick brooder for the far end of the barn, and hopefully, get Maggie’s poults soon.  We kind of want to have most of the meat chickens and other chicks transitioned out to their big girl pens before we bring in the poults.  Just so Maggie only has one set of babies to deal with.  Little chicks need a lot more care and watching over then feathered teenagers.  Plus, it’s her birthday this weekend coming up, the big 18 and they are going with their father on a big trip to Chicago!!!   So she’s going to be busy for a wee bit.

Turkey Girl is doing really well.   We’re so happy to have her, she is our training turkey.  She thinks she is a chicken, however, and every so often one of the rooster boys will try and have his way with her, but it always ends up in disaster.  She is EASILY double the size of our largest roo!  She gets along nicely in there, and the hens don’t seem to mind their huge sister.  One day I’d like to see us get a beautiful blue slate tom to be her husband!  Perhaps they will set a nest of eggs… that would be awesome.  She is really a beautiful hen, all silver blue and just a nice bird.  We’ll have to save out a nice tom from our production flock of turkeys this year for her.  I believe she would like that.

All the birds in the lil’ coop are doing nicely.  We dumped a whole big wheelbarrow of barn litter in there for them and they have been scratching and digging in that like little kids at the beach!  They are so funny.  We made a secondary run for them, almost double the size of their first yard and just as soon as we get the little door finished and just a wee bit more fencing in the back, we will open that up for them to graze and hunt bugs in.  Our idea is to use it like rotational pasture for them…  let them in for a few days, and then let it rest for a few days.  And then open it again.  Since they have their first yard, they can still get out and scratch, do chicken things.   But then, they can also have access to the wild section as well, here and there.  I believe that will cause them to be very excited!  Chickens do like to graze!

We would let them all free range, but with over 100 chickens, that is just asking for trouble.  We have about 30 that free range and that is just enough to avoid the whole place being a chicken litter box.  Actually 3 are going to live with a good friend and I think a few are going to start living in the new coop because we would like that number down to about 25 or so.  Too many roaming chickens seems to attract predators as well, and we sure don’t want that.

Of course, when I write the blog and mention chicken deaths, part of me thinks, oh my gosh, it seems like a lot.  But then I remind myself that we have only had 6 deaths since the new year.   One chick died shortly after birth.  One nugget died at about 3 weeks, unknown reason.  Little Marie the pullet was attacted in the lil coop by peers and perished.  One older hen was murdered by Domino, the mean roo.   And now two nuggets have died from attack from their peers.  Considering that we had at one point 130 chickens, that is really a low rate of death.  Aside from the turkeys last year, we haven’t lost a single bird to predation or disease.  We’ve lost a few to old age, and one or two from suspected croup impaction.  Sometimes day old chicks just don’t thrive.  Livestock and farming is a bit numbers game.  The more you get, the higher the chances for illness and death.  And of course, there are just natural causes… chickens don’t live forever and if you buy older hens, you are going to have a few cross the rainbow bridge.  I’m just really thankful that our losses are really very light.  I just dread some of these blogs I read, when they have to say, “Lost half my flock last night to a ____________  (fill in the blank…. dog, hawk, coon, mink, fox, coyote….)  Oh thank goodness we don’t seem to have that trouble.  Maggie would be very upset if something tried to hurt her birds!  Me too!   I love the chickens….

This is Carolyn, one of our original hens, a nice big blue cochin hen.  I love her feathering, in fact, I love all the blue birds…  some might call them silver or gray but in the animal world those are all considered blues.  She is so lovely.  All big and fluffy.  She’s a heavy breed and much more fluffy then the thinner trim hens.  She and her sister Susan are some of our first ladies and are still going strong.  Nice birds.

Well, the shearers are due today and I’ve got some chores to work on and a few cards to get done today…. should be a nice calm and crazy day!!!  Pictures and video to follow later tonight, perhaps tomorrow!  We’ll see how it all goes!!!!   Can’t wait, should be fun!!!

 

 

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A few big changes…

Posted on by April 23, 2012

I’m pretty good at admitting when I’m in over my head.  And I found myself there with this little pony, Domingo.

On Thursday evening, it hit me.  I’d had 3 or 4 days of working with him and we were making teeny teeny little advances, but then would have a very rough day.  I know it sounds like it wasn’t very much time, but I was getting very stressed working with him.  He was such a handful.  Just everything about him was a handful.  I have learned my limitations with horses at this point, and that is, I’m just not equipped to handle such a rough diamond. It was a decision based on a TON of thought, prayer, wisdom and emotion.

It was Thursday night that I thought…  I wonder if there is anyone out there that would be a better match for him.  Could provide him with the proper training and structure to make his revolving door of homes stop and give him the skills to be a good pony.   A great pony.  Like Cody.  Like so many other horses and ponies I know.

So, I wrote up an ad, with nice pictures and I was super super honest and truthful about him.  Put it on Craigslist.

Well, I was floored.  I got over 8 responses in just a few hours.  It was the sign I was looking for.

I talked to them all, I listened to their voices, I heard about their experience.  I wasn’t just going to let him go to the first person with a rope and a trailer.  I wanted to make sure they understood his issues and the things I had observed and learned.  I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to see him at auction next weekend and I wanted to make sure they didn’t just want a pasture pet for grandkids. (Because he needs training, real training and is not safe with little people)

I finally narrowed it down to a fellow that has been working with horses and ponies for over 30 years and his Dad, had been working with them just as long.  They raised horses, ponies and minis.  Had trained for both saddle and standerdbred trotters.  Had a nice 45 acre farm.   Looked them up online, all legit.  And I could hear in his voice that he loved horses.  We talked for a gooooood long time.  He was very aware that he was going to have to start from the ground up and all.  I felt good talking with him.

I was mostly worried about Cody.  I knew the two were pals, no doubt.  I was ready with tissues and cookies for my man Cody, and expected him to be frantic, but the thing was, he wasn’t.  In fact, when I had to put Domingo in the barn for a bit, since we had some folks over to do a few things in the yard, Cody was a little hard to catch.  He didn’t really want to go back in the barn since I’d just let them out an hour or so ago.  So I thought, heck, Domingo can hang out alone.  It was one of the things we’ve been working on.  But once there, Domingo was squealing and kicking and mad as a hornet for being stabled.  Cody gave him one long look of consideration and then went out to the back pasture with the sheep.  That told me oodles.  A couple weeks ago?  Cody would have been frantic.  But now?  I think it was his sign that he was a little weary of the youngster.  In fact, as they were loading Domingo to leave, and he gave out a few cries to his buddy, Cody just looked up and walked off to the back pasture.  I didn’t need any tissues for him, just me.  Felt a little like giving up, a very hard lesson to learn.

In the evening, things were so much calmer.   I called Cody and he came with a whiney and  a trot.  Gave him a good rubbing all over, and he used me as his scratching post for his head.  He just gave me a good sniff over and bumped his head on my arm and just seemed happy to see me.  Something he hadn’t been doing as much the last week or so.

I moved his feed bucket into his barn, and gave him a big cup of sweet feed for bedtime.  He calmly walked over and started munching.  I didn’t have to worry about him rearing up or pushing me around.  He waited paiently for me to give him his treat.   I fluffed up his hay in his manger and he watched me with his big lovely eyes, crunching away.  Gave him a big hug and some pats and told him goodnight and just walked out, not worrying about looking over my shoulder for a wild pony to try and bust past me.  He got to eat in peace and quiet, without Domingo hogging his snack and then pushing Cody out of the way.  It was a quiet and calm end to our crazy weekend.  I liked it.  I loved it.

The girls are good with it, and a little sad, sure.  It’s a hard part of pets and livestock.  You need a certain harmony in your mix.  One or two wildcards and all the sudden, everything just seems harder.  We also found a home for Domino… the Dominque rooster that was so mean and we had gotten by accident at auction.  He went with a few other roosters from our neighbor’s farm to a fellow that loves chickens and wants to raise his own.   So, it was kinda cool that he was not going straight to butcher, but would have his own flock of ladies.  Perhaps he will do better there.  I hope so.

And we got the big barn properly outfitted for sheep just yesterday afternoon.  Gideon, our ram, was giving us a little run for our money as well, just needed a good safe enclosure.  He’s a strong boy, no doubt, and he needed a safe strong enclosure to stay safe.  He is getting very comfortable in his surroundings and perhaps a bit too comfortable.  He managed to corner Maggie and was head butting her a little too roughly one afternoon.  Jessy had to come to her aid and that was part of my final decision that naughty animals need better management.  Letting everyone roam in Dr. Dolittle style has to end.  We need some distinct places for folks and routines that work a little better.   Thank goodness I can now let Cody out with the sheep. We spent all week playing pasture swap games because we could no longer leave Domingo with the sheep.  He was just too rough on them.  So we had to move livestock around several times a day and it was tough on us.  It was almost impossible to do with just one person.

Just one of those weeks, let me tell you.  We had several of our meat chickens get all weird and started pecking on each other very violently.  We lost two and two others were pecked badly.  Had to separate them, medicate and apply BlueKote to their rumps and made some changes that the poultry book suggested.  Chicken aggression is something that is very unsavory about chickens.  They can get along just fine but then one little thing and they just can become very mean.  And it’s hard to narrow down the cause.  We keep them clean, lots of water, feed, etc.  And it could have just been one of them getting scratched as they are pretty rough on each other at the feeder and such, and they see blood and they attack.  It’s scary.  We added a bunch of branches and things in the brooders for them to play on and use as safe spots and such.  Cleaned the brooders, added scratch throughout the litter for them to seek and find.  I just loved how the book had like oooooodles of reasons for attacks…  and I was thankful that Maggie listened to me that it was so many possible reasons.  She was in tears when she found the two dead in the morning when she did chores, thinking she had done something wrong.  She loves her birds.  More hard lessons.

And if it wasn’t enough…  we have one of the bunnies just not doing so great.  She’s the little runt of the litter, and after much consultation and such with other breeders we know and all our books, we have learned there is something called  “failure to thrive”.  When they start to wean off and get on real food, sometimes one or two in a litter will just not really make the transition well.  The other four are bruisers…  all big and fat, eating well, doing great.  But little Sylveena, she’s just sort of not thriving.   She’s eating, she’s drinking, but she’s just frail.  Momma spends a lot of time with her, cuddled up and licking her, just sort of watching over her.   We have been giving her a special electrolyte powder in her water, and lots of fresh greens and grass from the yard.  Jessy has been keeping a very diligent watch over her, making sure she eats and pees and keeping her warm and snuggly.  I spent about two hours with Sylveena, nestled in my blanket and just talking and petting her Sunday morning.  She is so sweet, you just want her to get the hang of big bunny living.  We’re doing all we can to just keep her strong.  She really likes the special water and this evening we found her in the food dish with her siblings, eating away.  Hopefully, she can get a little more meat on her bones and get the hang of it all.  We are going to start seperating her with her mom for a few hours each evening to see if she can get a little more nursing time alone, without competition.  That was an excellent suggestion from one of the breeders.  Being the runt, she does get pushed aside a lot.  Perhaps a few days of one on one evening feed will help as well.

Well, rough little week for sure.  But we’re getting through it and I think we will all be fine in a few days.  Looks like we even have homes for the last two kittens!  Yeah!   The Windhaven Ark will be smooth sailing soon, with just the right mix of critters and all.  Tomorrow is shearing day for the sheepies and I can’t wait to see what they look like nekked!!!   We are taking video and camera pics of the event… it’s sure to be a fun day!

And if you can, say a little prayer for Domingo.  He needs a good forever home and I so truly hope that he has found it.

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Barn Sale Time!

Posted on by April 22, 2012

I always have mixed feelings about garage sales.  Or barn sales or yard sales….  you get the picture.

They are a lot of work.  Finding stuff, preparing it, toting it out, pricing and then sitting around for days on end.

If you’re super lucky, you’ll sell a lot of stuff and make a nice little stash of cash.

But usually, you end up swapping a bunch of stuff with the other attendees…  making a couple hundred bucks if you’re REAL lucky and wasting a good part of 3 or 4 days for a fairly little payoff.  Certainly not much profit because of the initial cost of acquiring the stuff you don’t want anymore.

Yard sales are good times to reflect on why in the heck you bought that fancy, expensive kitchen gadget that doesn’t perform as advertised or that purse that your friends found questionable and yet you HAD to buy…  or perhaps the stuff you bought double and triple of because you couldn’t find the original!  I always vow to be a better shopper after a sale.  Of course, I rarely pay attention to those vows… but still, I consider them for at least the length of the yard sale!

So, as you can imagine, one yard sale every 5 or 6 years is pretty much good for me.  In fact, the last time we had one, Jessy was about 10 years old!   So that means it’s been about oh 12 years since the last one!  I guess we were getting pretty ripe for one.

You might think I don’t like them, then…  but in reality, I do.  I enjoy the other aspects considerably!

It’s super great to get rid of a lot of clutter from your home.  I can’t believe how many carloads we brought over and I haven’t missed a single thing yet, over the weekend.  Imagine that.   And we just moved a year ago, so we had really cleaned up before we did, taking several boxes to Goodwill and some to the trash bin!  So the fact that we have cluttered up again so fast gives me reason to pause…  good and long!

I like that where you might be reluctant to GIVE your clutter away, there is something so much more desirable to SELL it for 25 cents and so you really pull out the stops on contributing to the sale box!  Yeah, that $7.50 you’ll make on the HUGE box of stuff really makes it all the different, don’t you think?  Ahem.  We are silly, aren’t we?

Naw, the things I like best are the time to sit around and visit with your friends and kids while you’re selling…

Swapping stories and laughing, being silly and teasing youngin’s, visiting with the neighbors that stop by and meeting old friends and relations as they scope out your piles of cast offs.  That is the real fun of a yard sale.

Eating hot dogs off the grill and donuts in the chilly morning as you wait for the rush of people at opening bell.

Mad dashes to move the “good stuff” inside when it threatens to rain.

Haggling and dealing with the visitors and the thrill of making a sweet deal on something you thought would be a good thing…

Seeing a kid get close to making the money they want for some NEW special item that might end up in the next garage sale cycle!

That’s what I like.

 

And I can’t complain.   So far my earnings have helped to pay the electric bill, bought three bales of hay, bought us a chicken net (really nice fishing net with rubber net instead of thin string!) and a neat little hand hoe for the garden…  two big balls of yard for knitting, and will pay for sheep shearing on Monday!  Not too shabby.  The girls are super excited, they have pocket money and bought some fancy game system off the neighbor boy as well as a few little goodies of their own they had to snap up.  And we’re going to give it a try next weekend as well, since it’s all set up nice in the barn and well, we’re gluttons for punishment, I suppose.

 

That gives us another week to walk around the house and barns and think… hmmm…. do I need that?  Can I sell it and make a buck?  I’m sure we’ll come up with another box or three of stuff to spice up the offerings.

Around here, it takes a little longer for folks to get the news that you’re starting up a sale barn that is going to run for 3 months.  Haha… trust me, there are people that have weekly barn sales.  I’ve fallen for those signs a few times and you get there and it’s been running since 1973.  They just can’t stop.  And then… they start buying up stuff from other sales and adding to their stuff.  It’s a sickness, I tell ya, a sickness!

But hopefully, we’ll be strong enough to stop after two weekends.  After all, in August there is a big huge miles long yard sale extravaganza that takes place on Highway 127, which we are like a mile off.  So, we have to start saving up stuff for that, you know.

 

 

Maggie sure has a knack for making nice big signs.  She’s getting better and better at it.  She wants to start a sign making business.  I do believe she would do a good job at it.  It’s her calling.  I think.

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