The pens are open, and the "baby" chicks are out. These babies are the ones who arrived in August, so they are 23 weeks old or so. I've been letting everyone out of the hen pen, and then rounding them back up at night, but today I've decided to let 'em all RANGE the pasture at all times.
I'm hoping we won't get any predators. Yikes. They are VERY happy chickens!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Baby Chicks are doing well!
6 Americauna mixes, 2 French Black Copper Marans, and 3 Silkie Bantams are all doing GREAT!! They produce more poop than imaginable, and they are growing like CRAZY. I love how they chirp really loudly down in the basement until I get down there and feed them in the morning, and then they are quiet and contented the rest of the day. ;-)
Today, a soggy, long-dead tree fell on the goat fence and took it down. We saw Billy and Betty go racing by the front windows like a couple of happy little puppies, and we're all like, "What the HECK??" Then we found the fence broken and had to move Betty and Billy to the old duck fence. Unfortunately there is no warm, water-proofed, straw-lined shelter out there, and it's going to get really cold tonight. Let's hope for their safety.
Today, a soggy, long-dead tree fell on the goat fence and took it down. We saw Billy and Betty go racing by the front windows like a couple of happy little puppies, and we're all like, "What the HECK??" Then we found the fence broken and had to move Betty and Billy to the old duck fence. Unfortunately there is no warm, water-proofed, straw-lined shelter out there, and it's going to get really cold tonight. Let's hope for their safety.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Baby Chicks
I have 3 silkie babies, 2 white and 1 grey. I got 2 Marans to hatch, and all 6 of my Americauna eggs hatched - some look like reds and some look like Americaunas. It will be interesting to see if I get blue egg-layers out of them. They are SO cute, and they are just eating and pooping up a storm! CUTE! Here is a pic of what a baby silkie looks like.
They are EXTRA fuzzy! I'm enjoying this batch of chicks so much!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The watched egg . . .
Lots of action in the incubator!! 3 baby quail have hatched and dried and been moved to the brooder (a 10-gal aquarium lined with shop paper towels with a waterer and feed and a shop light to warm the babies). There are 2 more quail babies on their way out of the eggs - it takes them HOURS to peck their little perf pattern around the entire egg and push open the end to come out.
Several of the chicken eggs have little peck marks from the inside cracking the perfect shells. One of my Americauna blue eggs has two holes totally pecked out, and I can hear the baby chick PEEPING!
In this day and age, it is so wonderful to be awed by anything. I am amazed at the child-like excitement and wonder I feel when we have eggs in the incubator. I can only relate it to the feeling on Christmas Eve when you try to do all the right "time for bed" stuff, and you still can't possibly sleep with the anticipation of Santa's visit!! Then when you wake up, and you realize it's Christmas, and you know that when you walk into the living room you're going to have WONDERFUL surprises - you're just about to EXPLODE with excitement!
I think that I'll be so nervous and particular about these little babies tomorrow! It'll seem like forever before they've dried out enough to move to the brooder. It's going to be great! Any of these Americaunas that are female will be laying eggs in May! I'm so excited!
Several of the chicken eggs have little peck marks from the inside cracking the perfect shells. One of my Americauna blue eggs has two holes totally pecked out, and I can hear the baby chick PEEPING!
In this day and age, it is so wonderful to be awed by anything. I am amazed at the child-like excitement and wonder I feel when we have eggs in the incubator. I can only relate it to the feeling on Christmas Eve when you try to do all the right "time for bed" stuff, and you still can't possibly sleep with the anticipation of Santa's visit!! Then when you wake up, and you realize it's Christmas, and you know that when you walk into the living room you're going to have WONDERFUL surprises - you're just about to EXPLODE with excitement!
I think that I'll be so nervous and particular about these little babies tomorrow! It'll seem like forever before they've dried out enough to move to the brooder. It's going to be great! Any of these Americaunas that are female will be laying eggs in May! I'm so excited!
Anxiously watching the incubator . . . .
I ordered fertile hatching eggs from Ebay - YES - Ebay!
I have 6 French Black Copper Maran eggs,
6 Blue Cochin Bantam eggs,
6 Silkie Bantam eggs, and then I added
6 of my Americauna eggs that may be fertile.
They should begin to hatch tomorrow or Thursday, and we are SO excited about it!
I'll post pics of the babies when they hatch.
I have 6 French Black Copper Maran eggs,
6 Blue Cochin Bantam eggs,
6 Silkie Bantam eggs, and then I added
6 of my Americauna eggs that may be fertile.
They should begin to hatch tomorrow or Thursday, and we are SO excited about it!
I'll post pics of the babies when they hatch.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Getting the animals prepped for winter . . .
Yesterday, I went out with the children to feed the animals. I spent a good deal of time watching the bantams in the garden. During the hideous weather we had on Tuesday with strong wind and rain, the metal "roofs" had blown off two of the three cages. I felt so sorry for those tough little birds. I put the metal back on and replaced the brick to keep it in place. I gave them new ground to forage, and lots of feed to help them keep warm. I know they are doing well, though, because every morning I am awakened by the squeaky little crows of the roosters. I like when I can take some real time just to look at them. They are absolutely gorgeous, with many colors of feathers on each bird. The roosters have rich, firm, red combs, and all are curious about the people who feed them.
The laying hens are my most prized "pets" with their bountiful production of eggs. I have a wire basket full of beautiful, fresh, clean eggs - aqua and light brown - drying in the sink. I'm going to boil a batch for the girls to snack on after school, and I may bake a cake, too. Quiche - I need to make a quiche! I love watching how happily the hens scratch around when they are ranging in the shady woods of the large goat pen. The 3 roosters I traded for have made a wonderful addition to our flock. They have rich, deep crowing voices, and they are so majestic with their beautiful feathers and huge, bright red combs and waddles. I have a few (hopefully) fertile eggs in the incubator now just to see what little lovely babies I can get. I want a few more blue-green egg layers.
The goats are exactly what we wanted for our farm. We have Billy and Betty in one pen, and Nellie and Spencer in the other. All are pygmy goats; Billy and Nellie are cream-colored with a long, shaggy coat now that weather is getting cooler. Spencer and Betty are shorter-haired and black with some white markings. Betty has gorgeous ice-blue eyes! They all have very sweet, gentle dispositions, and I can let them out of the fence to forage, and they just come back in. These sweet, little, puppy-like babies are JUST right for our family.
Most surprising to me is my affection for the cats! Because of Mom's and my allergies, I never had a cat until this past summer. We got 2 kittens, 6-weeks old, tortoise-shell colored - both female, and sisters. They spent the first few weeks indoors to give them time to get big and fast enough to escape from predators. Then they went to the shed out front with high-stacked bales of hay. In the last 3 weeks, a new kitten showed up - another tortoise-shell female! She is smaller than our first cats - somewhat scrawny - and just as sweet as can be! The first two cats are starting to accept her into the group. They are all chasing chipmunks, and I've found a couple of dead rodents. That's why we got them - with all the animal feed in the garage, we knew we'd get mice. They are serving their purpose and much more! I spent about a half-hour yesterday just petting and scratching, and receiving nuzzles and purrs from Simba. Rosie is more of a hunter, and less of a snuggler. The new girl, Ginny, is very affectionate, but still too skiddish to be held for very long. She's coming along.
The garden is doing very well! I have arugula, buttercrunch lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts, and broccoli. I still have some rattlesnake beans coming in, and the superset squash have a surprising number of blossoms and baby squash. This is an experiment - if I can keep the frost off them, I may get some squash!
The laying hens are my most prized "pets" with their bountiful production of eggs. I have a wire basket full of beautiful, fresh, clean eggs - aqua and light brown - drying in the sink. I'm going to boil a batch for the girls to snack on after school, and I may bake a cake, too. Quiche - I need to make a quiche! I love watching how happily the hens scratch around when they are ranging in the shady woods of the large goat pen. The 3 roosters I traded for have made a wonderful addition to our flock. They have rich, deep crowing voices, and they are so majestic with their beautiful feathers and huge, bright red combs and waddles. I have a few (hopefully) fertile eggs in the incubator now just to see what little lovely babies I can get. I want a few more blue-green egg layers.
The goats are exactly what we wanted for our farm. We have Billy and Betty in one pen, and Nellie and Spencer in the other. All are pygmy goats; Billy and Nellie are cream-colored with a long, shaggy coat now that weather is getting cooler. Spencer and Betty are shorter-haired and black with some white markings. Betty has gorgeous ice-blue eyes! They all have very sweet, gentle dispositions, and I can let them out of the fence to forage, and they just come back in. These sweet, little, puppy-like babies are JUST right for our family.
Most surprising to me is my affection for the cats! Because of Mom's and my allergies, I never had a cat until this past summer. We got 2 kittens, 6-weeks old, tortoise-shell colored - both female, and sisters. They spent the first few weeks indoors to give them time to get big and fast enough to escape from predators. Then they went to the shed out front with high-stacked bales of hay. In the last 3 weeks, a new kitten showed up - another tortoise-shell female! She is smaller than our first cats - somewhat scrawny - and just as sweet as can be! The first two cats are starting to accept her into the group. They are all chasing chipmunks, and I've found a couple of dead rodents. That's why we got them - with all the animal feed in the garage, we knew we'd get mice. They are serving their purpose and much more! I spent about a half-hour yesterday just petting and scratching, and receiving nuzzles and purrs from Simba. Rosie is more of a hunter, and less of a snuggler. The new girl, Ginny, is very affectionate, but still too skiddish to be held for very long. She's coming along.
The garden is doing very well! I have arugula, buttercrunch lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts, and broccoli. I still have some rattlesnake beans coming in, and the superset squash have a surprising number of blossoms and baby squash. This is an experiment - if I can keep the frost off them, I may get some squash!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunshine!! It was WONDERFUL!!
Although it was outrageously chilly today, the sunshine was so gorgeous it was a great day!! I was out with the animals and enjoying the garden a bit today for the first time in a week or so.
The garden is fabulous with rattlesnake beans and yard long green beans still putting out good quantities, old purple hull peas dying off and new ones growing strong, broccoli and brussels sprouts plants doing well! I picked a nice 3 quarts of rattlesnake beans today, washed and snapped them, and fixed them for supper with potatoes and spicy Conecuh sausage, mmmmmmm!!!
A caller who'd seen our ad in the Bulletin Board came to buy chickens. He mentioned that he had 3 roosters (he was supposed to have all pullets) and I offered to trade him. He brought 3 GORGEOUS, humongous roosters, 2 Dominickers and 1 RIR - I traded him 3 yet-to-lay pullets for those, and he bought 5 golden buff orpingtons.
A new kitty showed up today! She's very scrawny, but SO sweet and lovey. She is a tortoise-shell colored cat like our other two, and the children named her Ginny (as in Weasley on Harry Potter). More later.
The garden is fabulous with rattlesnake beans and yard long green beans still putting out good quantities, old purple hull peas dying off and new ones growing strong, broccoli and brussels sprouts plants doing well! I picked a nice 3 quarts of rattlesnake beans today, washed and snapped them, and fixed them for supper with potatoes and spicy Conecuh sausage, mmmmmmm!!!
A caller who'd seen our ad in the Bulletin Board came to buy chickens. He mentioned that he had 3 roosters (he was supposed to have all pullets) and I offered to trade him. He brought 3 GORGEOUS, humongous roosters, 2 Dominickers and 1 RIR - I traded him 3 yet-to-lay pullets for those, and he bought 5 golden buff orpingtons.
A new kitty showed up today! She's very scrawny, but SO sweet and lovey. She is a tortoise-shell colored cat like our other two, and the children named her Ginny (as in Weasley on Harry Potter). More later.
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