May Farm Update

Wow, I can't believe it has been a month since I posted anything. Things have been so busy around here with finishing up the children's activities, the garden and the farm. Thank goodness we are seeing a slow down in activities that the children are participating in as the driving was really beginning to get to me. The garden is doing great this year and providing us along with others an abundance of food. I have been steadily putting up food for the past couple of weeks from the spring crops which are just about finished. I didn't think that I would replant those areas and take a break during the hottest part of the year, but I have decided to put up extra beans and peas so I will be replanting those things only. I have found one thing that I don't like about my biodynamic garden and that is that the lushness of the garden in full production can make it hard to see "visitors". I had one of those the other day and I must say that it gave me a bit of a scare. As I bent over to check underneath a squash plant I was looking at the belly of a snake! Needless to say I jumped back a bit to watch him move on his way underneath my kidney bean patch. I found him again underneath a different squash patch and then lost him under the tomatoes and carrots. I am pretty sure that it was just a southern water snake, but that other slight not sure had me worried since they are colored almost identically to a water moccasin. My husband has since combed every inch of that garden and we are mostly sure that he is gone. With all the activity he probably decided it wasn't as nice of a place as he thought, however I am very careful about moving things around with the machete now instead of just sticking my hands in. I will be making some more posts about the garden within the next week so I won't take up this whole post with gardening stuff. I also have pics taken by our resident photographer, Petunia. We have finished the new shelter in the pig pasture and looking at getting new pigs soon. Even though we still don't know the status of our farm situation it doesn't look like we are going anywhere soon and we need to get moving on our pigs if we want hogs to butcher this winter. This year looks like it is the tree cutting year. Too many tallow trees have grown up and they spread like wildfire. They will make good fence posts though so at least they won't go to waste. We cut down two huge pine trees that were dead right on the fence line, but we didn't get them down fast enough before they took out the corner of the fence with their dead branches. One of them was covered in poison ivy so the goats thought we were the greatest goat parents ever to have given them such a treat. They made short work of the poison ivy on the tree before we burned it. Speaking of goats...I still do not have one single baby and am still without milk. Sugar is due any day now and absolutely looks like she is going to explode. We have made the decision that anyone who didn't catch this year will be sold or eaten. I hate to do that with some of the girls but I can't afford to feed non-producers and I had several that didn't catch last year. We need to downsize anyway and really only need to keep those that are giving us something for their keep. We had a bit of a bad bout with the rabbits in that we lost two of our breeding does to bloat. That really had me upset for awhile as I blame myself. They were getting so much food from the garden weeds and extras that I greatly cut back on their hay. I knew better than to cut back that much and the end result is that I lost them. The good news is that I have plenty of replacements to choose from. The colony is taking a bit more work to keep clean and dry than I expected. I just didn't realize how bad the roof leaks in that barn and so when it rains of course the bedding gets damp and then starts smelling mildewy. It then has to be stripped out. The good news is that we will be hitting the dry season soon and I won't have to strip as much. Maybe we can work on those leaks before the winter rains set in. I am also looking at ways to get a couple more windows in so that there is more light in the colony. Now that the leaves on the trees have fully come in there is so much shade that the colony doesn't get much light in from the open wall. We didn't get as much of a hatch from our broody hens as we would have liked. They hatched out 8, but two didn't make it. So we have 6 little chickens. Here's hoping for all hens! We have a third that went broody under the old tool shed and when we checked to see how many eggs she had we found......3 golf balls! We took them away and then a few minutes later heard her take some more from the golf ball bucket! I hate to tell her but she isn't going to get anything from that. I am still cleaning up and clearing out, both in the house and out. Trying to get as much done before the full heat of summer gets here. The mornings are still pleasant, but the evenings are full of bugs! So not much gets done around here outside in the evening. I use that time to finish up the house chores for the day. We still haven't had to turn on the AC yet, so that is nice having a lower power bill for a little while anyway. However, I might have to turn it on soon as Petunia's allergies are beginning to get pretty bad which tells me that the house is too damp even with the ceiling fans going. I really hate to do that, but for her sake it looks like I will have to. Maybe I can get by with just turning it on for a couple hours a day to dry the house out for a bit. That is the one thing about living in the deep south is the humidity and this old house doesn't handle that very well even though it stays cool in temperature. Well, I suppose that is it for now. Like I said I will post more gardening stuff later this week. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Farm Update

Well, there is so much going on right now that I just haven't had the time to post much other than a couple of short snippets. We almost have the floor replaced in the den which has been a large work in progress and I will be glad to have done. It makes such a huge difference in the room, especially since we are removing carpet that is about 30 years old and way past worn out. Our goal is to get rid of all the carpet in the house, that is if we are still here in the future. We have some legal issues going on with the property and just simply don't know where we stand yet, in other words we might lose the farm. I don't know what we will do if that happens. I can only trust that if the Lord closes this door that he will open another one for us. But for right now I am not going to dwell on unpleasant subjects.

The garden is going well. I think it gets better every year now that we have switched completely over to bio-intensive gardening. The only problem I have is 2 particular chickens that are strongly attracted to the garden. They seem to know exactly what I plant, when I plant it and then they come behind me and dig it all up. I have had to replant so many times this year that I have pure run out of seeds and in many cases have had to buy more. I finally got the peanuts planted and they have them all dug up. So now I have to go and buy more peanuts and plant again. This is really getting old and the only thing that has saved them from the stew pot is that they are two of my best layers. They might have to go though.

Speaking of poultry, the ducks are laying again and as long as I get the eggs before Dakota we are good. Apparently, she has begun stealing eggs and she is much better at knowing where the hens are laying than I am. I wondered why I couldn't find any eggs and why she wasn't eating her dog food. Well, I found out one morning as I watched her go from spot to spot and then caught her with an egg in her mouth. She has been eating at least a dozen eggs a day if not more. So now, I have to check for eggs almost hourly if I want to get any.

The rabbits are doing really well in the colony and I believe that two of my does have shared a nest and caring for the little ones. I think this because there were so many babies in the litter and they all seem very well fed and are growing like weeds. I did lose a couple of bunnies but it looks like I have 18 healthy bunnies that will be ready to move to grow out cages in about a week or so. I will strip the colony down and add fresh bedding for the next round of bunnies. This is so exciting since my lack of baby bunnies for so long. I will also have 6 bunnies ready to butcher in a couple of weeks. Can't wait to have rabbit again, we have really missed it. Moving to the colony set-up was one of the best things we have done for the farm. I think our rabbit production numbers will greatly improve with the move.

All of the pastures are looking good and we have great grazing this year. The one pasture that I have always had trouble with was greatly improved from the pigs. It is amazing at how much better that pasture is this year than every before. Now if I can just divide the large pasture for better rotation.

Some projects have been put on hold until we find out what is going to happen with the farm situation, so our 12 months/12 goals has kind of come to a dead stand still.

Prayers would be appreciated and we will keep you updated. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Chickens are Driving me Nuts!

Yes that is exactly what I said, they are driving me nuts. It wasn't so bad when we had a dozen chickens or so, but the chickens have taken over and I am tired of it. About a year ago our rooster and a few hens decided that they did not want to go into the coop at night...they preferred the goat barn. Ok, that wasn't so terribly bad. They roosted on the gate and their droppings were easily swept up with the other droppings each morning. They were safe so I simply didn't worry too much after several times trying to convince them to go back to the coop. Then I got more hens and now have over 30 chickens. The new hens and some of the old ones have also decided that the chicken coop is no good at night. Only 5 of my chickens go back to the coop at night now, the rest are in the goat barn. This is a problem! They are roosting everywhere and leaving their droppings everywhere and on everything. My poor goats have even woken up with chicken poo on their backs. It is simply too much. Add into the fact that the 30 something flock of chickens has decided that prime free ranging territory is my house. My front porch, my side porch, my driveway, in between the house and garden gate....anywhere and everywhere close to us and where we are. I have even had chickens looking in the sliding glass door. They have 10 acres to roam and eat bugs, yet they choose to spend their days on my porches leaving chicken poo everywhere. I am sick and tired of it. Having lived with livestock all my life I understand that there is a level of "germs" that goes along with the territory, but I DO NOT have to live with chicken poo absolutely everywhere. I DO NOT have to live with chickens walking and pooing on my table on the porch or on the chairs that I would like to be able to use. My goats should not have to suffer the indignity of being pooed on at night! I should not have 30 odd chickens running around my feed room (small by the way) pecking my feet every time I go in there. That is it...I am done! The chickens are getting their own yard where they will be confined with the exception of a couple hours a day for bug patrol. If in those couple of hours in the afternoon they still continue to be a menace then they will never leave the confines of their yard again unless it is to enter my stew pot. I am beginning to understand why my dad use to say that he hated chickens. I can't imagine growing up with over 2000 of them (yes they had that many). If they can't be trusted to free range on their own then they will just have to be confined and I will bring the free range to them with all the grass trimmings and garden trimmings. Stinking chickens are making life around here miserable and boy are they in for a surprise. Just a bunch of juvenile delinquents...that is all they are. So guess what I am doing today. Yep you guessed it...building another fence. My arm is already killing me from cutting saplings yesterday for fence posts, but it absolutely must be done because I am covered up in chickens and their droppings everywhere. Hope you all have a great day! Think about me while I am in the heat building that fence. Blessings, Kat

Chicken and Dog Routine

Well, since we have had issues with Dakota and our young pullets we decided that it would be best to come up with a routine in which dog and pullets did not interact until they were bigger. The dog stays out all night on guard duty and of course the little pullets and their adoptive mama are in the chicken coop. In the mornings we have the milking and feeding chores, then the goats head out to the big pasture. Dakota stays close by where she can keep and eye on them and on the house. So about noon, everybody gets their lunch and the goats come into their pasture closer to the house. Dakota comes inside the house and the little pullets and Mama get to go outside. So far this routine is working quite well. Evening chores work out well and Dakota comes along even to put the little ones back in the coop. As long as I am right there with her then she won't bother the little pullets, but let me turn my back or be somewhere else on the farm and she is mischievous. I think all will be well once they get bigger since she doesn't mess with the rest of the flock and they are out all day long together. I have even seen her laying in the yard with big chickens pecking and scratching all around her. Don't know what it is about the little pullets, but I sure will be glad when they have reached maturity in a few months. Until that time we will just have to play musical critters. Other than this one issue she is still showing to be a great dog with great instincts. Blessings, Kat

Dakota and the Chicken

Well, life with a LGD in training is certainly difficult and interesting. As I have said before this dog is going to be a great dog in the future. Right now she is a good dog that is still learning and trying to stifle her puppiness. She has this thing about my smaller pullets. The big chickens she ignores, but the little ones seem to cause her great distress or excitement (not really sure which at this point). It has been suggested to me by those in the know that she is actually using her tremendous Pyrenees "mothering" instincts. I am not sure if she feels like she needs to put these little birds in a "safe" place or what but they are a great temptation to her to do something with. As I was in the goat barn yesterday morning, I hear my 3 year old "Kota leave that chicken alone!" So, I come running out to find a very soggy little pullet and Dakota running in the other direction. I swoop up the little chicken, tackle Dakota grab her throat and growl to the best of my growling ability "Mine". Dakota was then placed in the goat pasture. The little chicken was very wet and minus a few feathers (methinks the puppy found a new game...plucking chickens). I placed the little bird back in the coop to recover. It took Mama Bird all day to circle up her scattered younguns. She had them all together and ready to go back to the coop except one. I saw the little one but couldn't get it to come down off the roof of the chicken coop. Later, while making my last rounds of the evening Dakota found the little chicken. It had come off the roof and was down on the ground trying to figure out how to get back in the coop. Dakota chased in into the old chicken coop and I followed right after her. As soon as I said her name she sat down...not touching the bird. I scooped up the little chicken and placed her in safety with the rest of the flock. Maybe Dakota is finally understanding that the little chickens are mine. Maybe she is taking her mothering instincts too far. I am hoping that once these little pullets get some size on them that she will leave them alone like she does the big chickens, which she completely ignores even when they are running all around her. I don't know, I am still trying to figure out this LGD thing. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Incubating eggs

Well, I have decided since I have a surplus of eggs at the moment that I am going to save the eggs for the next few days and then incubate them. My husband and I built our own incubator and it cost us nothing. So I thought I would describe our very simple incubator for anyone who would like to build their own. We took a large cardboard box that we had laying around waiting for a use or the compost pile. We cut the flaps off on the top and taped the bottom completely closed. All edges and gaps were sealed with duct tape (my favorite farm tool). Then we had some styrofoam insulation board hanging around left over from a project which we used to line the entire inside of the box. We then took another piece of cardboard that just a little larger than the opening of the boxing and taped some insulation board on that so that if it was set on top of the box the insulation board would fit snug inside the lip of the box. We then took an old lamp and took off the light bulb part and the elecric wiring. This is where my hubby came in, because I don't do electricity. He rewired a new cord (since the old one had been cut off) so that it could be plugged in. We then cut a hole in the side of the box, duct taped the light fixture in place and put in a 60 watt light bulb. You have to use a regular light bulb as the fluorescents don't give off any heat, and heat is what you are looking for. Our only purchase was the 2 dollar outdoor thermometer that we purchased at the dollar store. We placed the thermometer in the box down at the bottom where the eggs would be. Then I got a small shallow dish of water and placed that under the light bulb. The light bulb was located near the top of the box, so there was a good bit of space between the two. I then took an egg carton and cut the top off. I took a dozen eggs that had not been refrigerated and marked an x on one side of them with a crayon. Then I placed the eggs sideways on the egg carton pieces so that each egg had a little space around it. I turned the eggs several times a day until I think about day 25 or so. I would have to look that up to make sure that is the right day that you are supposed to stop turning. On day 30 we started hearing little chirping and pipping noises. For our first time we didnt have a great hatch rate, 7 of the 12 hatched. Two were stuck to the shells (to dry in the incubator) and died while trying to get clear of their shell. One more died within the first 24 hours, it was pretty week after hatching and we figured it wouldn't make it. So we had 4 that stayed in the house for several weeks. They were doing quite well and we finally moved them out to the chicken house. At night we kept them locked up in a large dog cage to protect them from the big chickens. Unfortunately, the cage did not protect them from whatever got into the chicken house during the day and killed all 4 of them. We think it was a stray cat, but weren't sure. Well, the chicken house has since been resecured and so far so good. Now we have an abundance of eggs and until someone starts buying these things, we have to do something. So, I thought we would try the incubation thing again....so that we can have more eggs we can't eat fast enough or give away to enough people (makes sense huh?). Maybe we will have lots of little roosters that can go in the freezer. That is my hope anyway. I have some black australorps and they are supposed to be pretty good at going broody. Ours are young and have just been laying for a couple months now so maybe broodiness hasn't kicked in. Watch with my luck I will start incubating eggs and a hen will go broody, then we will have more baby chicks than you can shake a stick at running around here. Ah, well....life on the farm is never dull. Anyway, back to the incubator. You can use a styrofoam cooler, but I didn't have one and the 10 dollars that they cost was more than I was willing to pay for my little experiment. Some people even put computer fans in theirs to move the air around a bit and get more even temps. I might do that on my next one. I have a couple of computer towers sitting around waiting to be destroyed so that is definitely an option. It is a good science project for the children anyway and loads of fun to see those babies hatching! Blessings from the farm, Kat

Broody Chickens

Nobody should ever tell a chicken that they are not supposed to do something. I have one hen that was a freebie, she is a production red. Production reds are not supposed to go broody, but guess what? She has gone broody and is diligently sitting on a nest of currently 6 eggs. All day yesterday, she sat on the nest in the little box in the feed room. She gathered the eggs left by the other hens and tucked them up under her then settled back down to keep them warm. She never left that nest once yesterday and so I finally decided she has gone broody and put a container of water close by for easy convenience. I did stick my hand under her to check to see how many eggs she had and to see if I needed to go looking for eggs from the other hens because I was not finding any. She had all six eggs for the day under her and she got very perturbed at my intrusion. Last year this hen never once showed any signs of broodiness. It makes me wonder if hens have a biological clock like women do. She is getting on in age and she has slowed down in her laying. She still lays the biggest eggs of the whole flock, but less of them. I wonder if she thinks this might be her last chance to have babies of her very own. Nature and God never cease to amaze me. This little red hen is absolute proof that God is in complete control. While man may have bred "broodines" out of some of the chickens, he gave that instinct right back to this little hen. Just goes to show that the power of God and the power of His grace should never be underestimated. So, I am hoping that all goes well and my little red hen stays safe and gets those babies her little chicken heart desires so badly. Blessings from the farm!

Fox!!

No, not the network. A real live bushy tailed varmint seeking to steal and kill my livestock. War is officially declared! I know I have spoken of our funny little guinea, Martin. Martin was a really asset to the farm. He was a great bug hunter in the garden while being oh so gentle with the plants. Martin, was an awesome guard dog (guinea?) in training. Martin also helped to round up chickens in the evening and do the daily feed chores. My dogs never suffered a tick long as long as Martin was allowed to groom them while they napped. Martin, slept on the side porch and guarded the side door all night. Unfortunately, that is where the fox found him early one morning and the dogs were too late to save him. I know it was a fox because it was back at 5 am this morning. It was back on the porch, looking for another meal. This is one brave fox. But sometimes being so brave can actually be pretty stupid. It will be back and I will be waiting. We really miss Martin, the farm just isn't the same without him.

Cheap Bedding for the Critters

Ok, folks, you know I am cheap and always looking for ways in which to provide our own needs rather than purchase what I need from someone else. Well, I have in the past used wood shavings (gotten free for the hauling from a local carpenter) and straw purchased from a local farm. Well, our truck is broken down and so hauling the wood shavings is out since they have to be dumped into my truck from an overhead bin. If my station wagon had a sunroof, it is possible that I would attempt that but it is probably a good thing that it doesn't. I can't imagine what it would be like to drive home sitting in a huge pile of wood shavings. As to the straw, well I wanted something a little on the cheaper end and again don't really want to haul that much straw in my station wagon. So.....The chickens are bedded with a combination of pine straw and oak leaves. The seem very happy and I imagine by the end of winter I will have a nice compost from the combination to go in the garden, pasture or wherever I decide to use it. I through some grain out daily (not much as they still graze and get kitchen scraps)so that they will scratch around in their leaves. The goats now have winter bedding as well in the form of....you guessed it pine straw and leaves. This will be tossed around in their one stall that they all sleep in and then changed once monthly where it will all go in the compost pile next to the barn. I add more leaves and straw after I toss it, so that older stuff is tossed to the bottom. This will give them some warmth during the winter and will speed the composting process although not on the same level as the chickens. The horses come in and out of the barns at will and so we don't really need bedding for them as they simply don't stay in the barn much. We do have some wheat straw on hand if the nights get so very cold that we must put them inside. However, even the old man of the herd doesn't like to be cooped up in the barn and hollers to be let out. So get out there and check out what you could possibly use to bed down your critters for the winter. It is easier than you think, just make sure that it isn't something that will make them sick if they eat it. Oak leaves and pine straw are perfectly safe in the even that my goats decide to taste some of it. I don't think I have to worry about the chickens, but that combination is not something I would use for the rabbits. So they simply get hay that was cut from my mother's pasture/yard this summer and we dried it, raked it and saved it. Hope this helps you keep your critters warm and toasty this winter.

Beware......Hawks!

Well, just want to send a warning to everyone.....the hawks are migrating and are particularly dangerous this time of year. And yes, I write this warning because....Egghead has disappeared. I haven't seen the hawk yet, but I am pretty sure that Egghead met his demise while giving the girls a chance to get to cover. Yesterday afternoon, the hens were all in there coop and Egghead was gone. It is very unusual for the girls to go back to their house on their own as they savor every moment of freedom that they can. However, there they were on the farthest roost from the door all huddled together. Egghead has never left his girls alone, ever. He is an awesome rooster. I am pretty sure a hawk got him and all of nature seems nervous this morning. I have been out looking and will continue looking for the rest of the day for signs of a hawk. Even the rabbits are quiet and pensive. My husband thinks that it happened right behind the goat barn (where the rabbits are located)because he saw chickens running out of there like mad yesterday afternoon and didn't think anything about it. So keep an eye on your chickens and pay attention to the song birds.

Chickens-the Catch 22 of the Garden

I love my chickens and I love free ranging my chickens. However, chickens are a catch 22 in the garden. They are great little bug hunters and are really good at helping to till in compost. They also help my compost pile to process more quickly while adding their own deposits to the compost piles. The "catch" comes when the chickens overstep their "free ranging" by eating my green tomatoes. A chicken can completely clean out the inside of a tomato leaving absolutely nothing but the skin on the ground. I wish I could peel tomatoes with that level of effeciency! Chickens can also get very enthusiastic with their scratching methods and scratch so much among the corn stalks that the stalks fall over. Fences do not always keep chickens out because despite the fact that they are a little clumsy they can fly well enough to get over the fence. I let my chickens out in the morning and they make a beeline for the garden, making a brief stop at the compost pile. For the most part they have not done much damage and yes they have only taken a few of my tomatoes, but I really wish they would leave the corn alone for a few days. Everyday I go out patches of my corn are layed down flat. Within a couple of days that patch will stand back up, only for another patch to be laying down. I have had very few bug problems this year with the exception of a squash vine borer situation which with the help of my chickens is now under control. The chickens and I saved all of the squash plants and they are now producing quite well. I am also beginning to see a few baby zuchinni which will be ready to start harvesting soon. Without my chickens, I might have lost all those plants (20). I say might because the only thing that I am sure of is that during the period of attack on my plants the chickens spent a large amount of time among the squash plants. I also have not seemed to have much of a problem with Japanese beetle. I have seen a few, but they have been a very few compared to the thousands that we normally get. I get aggravated with my chickens, but overall I think I am pretty happy to have their help in the garden. We'll see how many of my tomatoes they steal and how I feel by the end of the season. My guinea is much more particular and careful of the plants. However, he is all alone and bug patrol would simply be too much for one lonely little guinea.

Carnage on the Farm

Yesterday was a sad morning for us here at Whisper Wind. We had a bit of carnage happen sometime in the night or early morning hours before the chickens were let out of the chicken house. We have 4 adult hens and an adult rooster, along with 8 pullets. The pullets were just beginning to be identifiable as to whether they were roosters or hens. While most people are not usually excited to see roosters, we were excited to see a couple of them as they were destined for the freezer. We knew that it was getting close to time of separating these little guys from the general population because our adult rooster was beginning to show some signs of aggression towards them. However, we did think that we still had some time since they were still little guys and just beginning to be recognizable as "guys". Our rooster didn't agree and sometime during the night dispatched all the little roosters but one. The one little rooster that survived the carnage does not seem to draw aggression from our big boy. I wonder if he is ok with him being a subordinate "roo in training". All the girls were very upset over the whole matter and would not go back to the chicken house to lay. In fact, only one hen laid yesterday. My chickens, being free range, only get fed in the evening when they return to the henhouse. Last night they did not want to go back. So I feel very sorry for them, it must have been an awful sight to witness. I am hoping the girls have settled down today and are willing to return to their normal routine today. Yesterday evening was exhausting trying to catch (yes physically catch) every single hen but one to put them in the henhouse for the night. They absolutely must be shut up at night because of the wild dog pack that lives across the road. The pack hunts at night and no ones property is safe from their hunt. The guineas are smart enough to roost on top of the house at night, so I don't worry about them. However, my hens will find any spot within easy chomping distance of the wild pack. They also are not very afraid of dogs since our dogs tuck tail and run at the first sign of a hen flapping her wings at them. Unfortunately, this is all part of farming and homesteading as sometimes animals die and there really isn't much one can do about it. Even though they aren't pets, they still have a special place with us. Even though we had every intention of eating the little roosters eventually, I enjoyed watching them grow. They were quite funny as they took on their little rooster roles. Well, unfortunately that is all part of life on the farm.

Guinea Update

Well folks, as you all know the guineas have been a new experience for us. We lost one hen who just disappeared when we could not get the guineas in the coop for the night, then one of our dogs killed one of the roosters. So we are down to two guineas a rooster and a hen. They have settled in nicely and they now have me well trained. They will not go in the coop at night and we think that they are roosting in the big barn, which is fine. Each morning they hear me come out to feed as I start talking to all the critters that sleep around the feed room in the little barn. So they meet me at the feed room door with sweet little funny noises, almost as if they are saying good morning what's for breakfast! So the guineas get their breakfast first and then everyone else follows suit. Now in the evening they meet me at the chicken coop and as the chickens are entering their house for the night the guineas once again want to know what their supper is, so they get their treat again. They range most of our property now and you can usually see them voraciously hunting bugs and other such goodies throughout the day. Our guineas are pretty quiet and in fact we have found that if they are raising a ruckus then we need to go see what is going on. I have found that I really enjoy my guineas, they are funny little birds. I have also decided that they are not quite as dumb as I had originally thought and been told, I know these two have trained me pretty quickly!

The Great Guinea Hunt

We bought some guineas last weekend at the poultry sale. Now, I have never had guineas and about the only thing I knew about these birds is that they were loud and good to eat. We got two mating pairs in the hopes that we will one day be able to put some of their offspring in the freezer. Well, I did get on the internet and find out as much as I could about these homely little birds and what I found was not promising. From what I read they are more prone to be wild and very skittish. They tend to be hard to teach to go back into the coop according to the writers unless trained from very young keets. Well, the writers were right everything they said has so far proven to be true. You see yesterday being the first beautiful day after 3 days of solid rain we let the guineas and the chickens out of the henhouse. Everybody was doing just fine and voraciously seeking the bugs in the yard. Because of all the rain our earthworms are very close to the surface of the ground making them easy targets for the chickens who were going wild over a particular spot. The dogs came around the corner of the house and the guineas went nuts, so our rhodesian ridgeback (being a sight hound) thought they wanted to play chase. After a couple of seconds and a severe reprimand the dog stopped his chase and with a very sheepish look on his face layed down to behave himself. As we looked around we saw no guineas! The chickens were still happily hunting earthworms and basically in a chicken frenzy over their new found gold mine. The guineas were nowhere to be seen. After a little hunting we did find the guineas in the woods behind our property. So the first guinea round-up of the day began. After half and hour of shooing guineas through the underbrush and around the trees we finally got them back into the yard where they spent the rest of the afternoon quietly hunting bugs. As the day started to close to an end it was time to put everyone back inside for the night so that they stayed safe and sound. Well, this time the chickens had moved to a new gold mine and the guineas were once again nowhere in sight. This time the dog was not at fault. I opened the door to the henhouse ans started to rattle the feed bag which always brings the rooster home and the hens dutifully followed. Now to find the guineas. We found them in the big barn that sits a good ways off from the henhouse. As we started to try to round them up and back home for the night well the roundup began and guess where they headed? you guessed it back into the woods! An hour later we had 3 of the guineas in the henhouse and one guinea was not to be found. So hopefully that guinea lived through the night and we will find him today. It was dark by the time we finally closed the henhouse door for the night. The rooster and hens had already found their perches and were hunkering down. We were tired and hungry, supper still had to be fixed. So guinea #4 was on his own for the night. I am not sure about these guineas. They are funny little birds and do have their benefits, but I am not sure I want to spend my days chasing guineas through the woods back home every evening. I know some people just leave them be and let them stay out. We have a pack of wild dogs that has taken over the property across the road from us, though and with those things hunting at night the guineas wouldn't last long. Our neighbor also has a dog that I have had to shoot with a pellet gun several times for chasing the horses so the guineas would provide great fun especially if the dog caught it. So guineas must for their own safety go into the henhouse at night. Now, how to I explain alll of this to the guineas?!

The Great Chicken Adventure Part 2

Well, this weekend we went back to the auction where we bought chickens and then had them stolen before we could load them up. The auction owner had been busy over the past week. The back loading dock was now fenced in and there was only one gate in to get to the livestock. There were two people posted throughout the entire auction watching the livestock and checking paid tickets before livestock was loaded. We bought some chickens and some guineas and came home with all of them. I was pleased. my new hens are already laying and very happy in their new home. This past weekend was the auction for guineas, there were more guineas than chickens. So guess what, I bought some guineas. I have always wanted some guineas because they are voracious bug eaters. However, they are tricky little birds and so very unlike chickens. Guineas have retained much of their wild nature and while there are many guinea owners whose guineas are well trained to go back into the coop at night this is easier said than done. So we are keeping the birds locked up for a few days so that they learn where the food is (in the coop). Hopefully this will work and the guineas will stick around. Just another experiment around Whisper Wind.

The Great Chicken Adventure

Well, let me tell you about the great chicken adventure. Saturday we went to the local poultry and rabbit auction. We were looking for some Rhode Island Reds and some duck or Turkey pairs along with some rabbits. We had not been to this particular auction before, but since it was closer to home we decided to give it a try. We got there and started checking out stock as they were unloaded. Whenever, I go to an auction I like to watch the stock being unloaded. This not only gives me a chance to really take a good look at what is there, but gives me a chance to talk to the owner. You can learn a lot about what quality of stock you might be getting by chewing the fat with the owner. One thing that many people should realize about livestock auctions is that there is quite a bit of stock that will show up that is diseased or old. Now, by having a chance to talk to the owner about anything and everything not necessarily even about the livestock you can get an idea about the quality of the stock that they have brought. I was excited to find several RIR hens and a couple of roosters. There were several other things there that I was interested in also, but this was the main thing I came for. The hens and roos were young, healthy and just starting to lay. Well, the auction was long. Apparently this little country auction will allow pretty much anything to be brought in for auction. So we had to wait while the donkeys were auctioned outside. Then we had to wait while 10 million (ok a little exaggeration) roosters were auctioned one by one. In the process we did get a large bred doe, missed out on a couple of rabbit bucks, and missed out on a mating pair of geese. Two hours later the chickens I had been waiting for came up and I won them. I was excited. My husband went to stand in line and pay and I went to put the children in the car and wait for the ticket so I could go pick up my stock in the back of the auction house. Little did I know that this was like no other auction I have ever been to. I have been to a lot of livestock auctions and I have never been able to pick up my livestock without showing that I had actually paid for them. I have always had to show someone my ticket before loading livestock. This auction was a free for all, no tickets checked and everybody loading livestock. By the time I got to the back of the building to load up my stock,it was pretty thinned out back there. I started looking through the cages and crates and found my rabbit, but no chickens in sight. I loaded my rabbit and returned the cage to the previous owner. Then I took another look around, absolutely no chickens. My chickens were gone. I found the auction owner who apparently had already been called to the back of the house by another customer missing chickens. Somebody had stolen my chickens and the cages that belonged to the seller. Not only had my chickens been stolen, but several other people's chickens also. Then one of the seller's stock that didn't sell came up missing. Several sellers were missing their cages. Now when you go to a poultry auction you are supposed to bring your own cages to transport them back home. The seller does not sell the cage that they bring them in. However, these folks took the cages too. It was the darndest thing I have ever seen and a sad testimony to the state of character in our country. Now, at this auction there was nothing but country folk. The one thing that you have always been able to count on with country folk is their honesty and integrity. When country folk can no longer be counted on for this then the world is in pitiful shape. Well, the auction owner gave us our money back and even gave us the little hens that he bought for himself. They were not RIRs. In fact when we got them home they are kinda pitiful. he did ask us to please come back this weekend and he would make sure to have some reds there and that things would be better run. I felt pretty bad for him because he was out a lot of money. He may have given me my money back but those chickens were gone and the seller still had to be paid. Not to mention all those sellers that lost stock and cages won't be back. It was a frustrating day. We are going to go back this weekend and give the man another chance, at least he was honest unlike others there. Honor goes a long way with me. So now you know the story behind the great chicken adventure. I thought I bought 6 beautiful hens and two roosters, I came home with an old blind dominecker, a golden comet hen, and a RIR rooster. What a day!

Chickens arriving this week

I am really excited. The finishing touches will be done on the chicken house today and then we will pick up our chickens later this week. We are getting 20 Rhode Island Reds. With the protection at night of the new very well built and secure hen house this flock should stay safe and secure against all predators. Within the next month we will also be getting turkeys and ducks to add to the poultry collection. Next on the list will be rabbits. A few repairs and such to the rabbit house are in order and then we will be picking up our breeders. The chicken garden will be planted soon, still a little cold. We will be growing chicken feed in the old garden spot to supplement our feed needs. Our goal is to provide most of the feed for our chickens. We feel that if you depend on your feed dealer to feed your livestock then you are truly not self reliant, you are still relying on someone else for basic needs. The goats are coming soon also. The two months around here will be very busy and hectic. With garden planting (after we finish the fence on Wednesday). So if I don't blog too much over the next couple of months please forgive me. I will use my early mornings to update and post, but dinnertime and evening posts will probably be in short supply. I will do what I can to keep the information flowing. Spring is a busy time of the year and because we are making so many additions all at once especially busy for us. I also didn't help that we decided to move the garden, which even though I was not fond of doing wound up being a good idea. The garden surrounds the pond which will house tilapia. So there will always be water convenient to water the garden. It is a spring fed pond and never has yet gone dry even in our worst drought year. So we actually made a good decision. Also because it is much larger than it was we will have room for livestock feed as well. I am looking for information about building a corn crib so that our feed corn can be stored. Anyone out there who knows how please leave a comment. We would love to know. Well I will get on with the business of the day and quit with my rambling. God bless you all.