They continue to grow, and peep, and get little flight feathers on their teensy wings, and try to fly, and fail but are cute all the same. They are turning into little eating/pooping machines. A few have little feathers on their tails, and woe betide any bug that ventures into their spot. Mosquitoes are chased and often get away, but one beetle last night looked like a football as one chick chased it pounced on it, then tried to get past the others that wanted it too. The beetle was dropped, picked up immediately by another, and the whole thing repeated. I have no idea which chick finally got the prize.
The laying hens have settled in and are laying well, still small eggs (D told me yesterday that he'd made himself a 6-egg omelet). Biddy, while still something of a bully, has calmed down and seems to realize that these coop mates aren't going away.
Tuesday we celebrated Canada Day, with D being off and me finding a dead rat in the coop. It looked smaller than the one I had seen, but perhaps it had just grown in my memory ... "I once saw a rat this big!" Since then I've seen no evidence of rat activity. To have gotten away with only one seems too good to be true. We'll wait a while before the chicks go over, just to be sure.
The weekend saw lots of work getting done on the farm, more jams and jellies being made for the market, and on Tuesday night D's fireworks show for us and the 12 million mosquitoes that also came out. That night R and I camped out in the yard. We'd hoped to go across the creek but the recent rains have brought it up to spring levels. Typically at this time of year the rocks are peeking through at the ford and the kids go catching frogs, but when I crossed in the afternoon it was well above my knees. Fordable, but I didn't really want to do it after dark in the strong current. We had a good time in the tent anyway, good talking time.
Today and tomorrow R is at her babysitting course, then it's another weekend. Farmer's market is going well; R is enjoying it and learning a lot. It's a summer-long economics class, basically. IN a couple of weeks A will be helping out while R is away with World Changers. More on that another time.
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Friday, 27 June 2008
peep peep
First off, since I didn't blog yesterday, I must note that R is now a twelve-year-old. My little girl is in her last preteen year. The day was spent pretty quietly as she will celebrate tonight with D home for birthday supper (R's choice: crab cakes, corn on the cob, and salad) and next week with friends. She's reached the point of legally babysitting (YESSSSS! D and I can go out without so much sitter arranging!!!) and is growing up to be quite a young lady. Easygoing, thoughtful, and funny. Love her.
The chicks (aka chicken nuggets) seem to be happy in their little brooding area, which is decidedly low-tech but does the job well. We put plywood on the floor, covered it with shavings and then paper towel for the first few days, and made four walls using hay bales. This serves to keep the chicks in, keep the heat in, and give them some entertainment as they pick at the strands of hay. The heat is courtesy the heat lamp that we use to keep the layers warm through the winter, the feed in a little trough with a guard on the top so they don't sit in their food, and the water in a waterer that uses a little mason jar.
They also listen to CBC radio, since we read that classical music helps them stay calmer and grow better (that, and the noise discourages predators from coming in). Either that, or it's to expand their culture. They've gotten classical, Gregorian chant, and some nice jazz so far.
They're pretty funny little babies. They tottered around for the first day but now are more sure of their footing and will suddenly run across the space flapping their little wings. Others will sit quietly on the floor and just put their heads down and fall asleep, looking the picture of peace and quiet until another one runs right over top and wakes them up. Their little peeping seems happy and calm and they all seem to be alert and healthy.
The pullets (laying hens), meanwhile, are also settling in and have figured out that they can in fact sleep on the roost and go outside, though Biddy continues to be quite a bully. I've given her to the end of the weekend to play nicely and get along with the others, or there will be dire consequences.
Some of the new girls have been named, including Miss Havisham 2 (named after the first Havvie, lost to predators last summer, who was named after a Charles Dickens character), Pickie (she was picking at some of the other hens), Lickie (she has this strange habit of sticking her tongue out as if she's licking the air), and the one I've called Other Chicken (wonder if that name will stick?).
Today is caring for the birdies, visiting with a friend, baking biscuits and a couple more batches of jelly for the farmer's market tomorrow, making R's dinner. Quite domestic, really. Maybe I'll do something rebellious.
The chicks (aka chicken nuggets) seem to be happy in their little brooding area, which is decidedly low-tech but does the job well. We put plywood on the floor, covered it with shavings and then paper towel for the first few days, and made four walls using hay bales. This serves to keep the chicks in, keep the heat in, and give them some entertainment as they pick at the strands of hay. The heat is courtesy the heat lamp that we use to keep the layers warm through the winter, the feed in a little trough with a guard on the top so they don't sit in their food, and the water in a waterer that uses a little mason jar.
They also listen to CBC radio, since we read that classical music helps them stay calmer and grow better (that, and the noise discourages predators from coming in). Either that, or it's to expand their culture. They've gotten classical, Gregorian chant, and some nice jazz so far.
They're pretty funny little babies. They tottered around for the first day but now are more sure of their footing and will suddenly run across the space flapping their little wings. Others will sit quietly on the floor and just put their heads down and fall asleep, looking the picture of peace and quiet until another one runs right over top and wakes them up. Their little peeping seems happy and calm and they all seem to be alert and healthy.
The pullets (laying hens), meanwhile, are also settling in and have figured out that they can in fact sleep on the roost and go outside, though Biddy continues to be quite a bully. I've given her to the end of the weekend to play nicely and get along with the others, or there will be dire consequences.
Some of the new girls have been named, including Miss Havisham 2 (named after the first Havvie, lost to predators last summer, who was named after a Charles Dickens character), Pickie (she was picking at some of the other hens), Lickie (she has this strange habit of sticking her tongue out as if she's licking the air), and the one I've called Other Chicken (wonder if that name will stick?).
Today is caring for the birdies, visiting with a friend, baking biscuits and a couple more batches of jelly for the farmer's market tomorrow, making R's dinner. Quite domestic, really. Maybe I'll do something rebellious.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
peep
We drove to CP today, to the Wool Growers' Co-operative, to pick up our new birds. We saw the ready-to-lay hens in their crates outside the door (picture yellow crates that cluck, and occasionally a head peeking out the top), then went inside to hear a chorus of peeping.
Half an hour later, we were headed home with a crate of a dozen hens and a little cardboard box that peeped as it rode in the car for us. They are adorable: yellow balls of fluff with little beaks, bright dark eyes, and cute little feet. When we got home we set up a brooding area with water (had to show them where it was, otherwise they won't find it), litter covered with paper towel (otherwise they'll eat the litter) and a heat lamp (otherwise they'll freeze to death) set not too low (otherwise they'll cook to death). But they are cute. Hard to picture eating them right now, but in 3 months they will be providing us with home-raised, range-fed chicken. Right now they are peeping as they move around, occasionally climbing into the feeder, and generally eliciting many "awww"s from the girls.
The hens, meanwhile, screamed bloody murder at me as I fished them out of the crate. Most just tried to squirm and flap away while shrieking, but a couple were more aggressive and took to pecking at my hands, but after some work they were all in the coop and now they seem to have settled down. Biddy is being quite the bully though, so I'm not sure she has much of a future there. I finally kicked her out of the coop to freerange so the new ones could settle in undisturbed. While I know that may eliminate any chance of her getting used to the newcomers, the good of the twelve hens comes before that of the one. I wonder if she was ticked at me, since she set of straight for the veggie garden and proceeded to dust bathe in my herb plot. Hmph.
But on a positive note: already we have four little bitty pullet eggs! I'd forgotten how small those first eggs are. After the recent drought of fresh eggs it's a welcome surprise.
Half an hour later, we were headed home with a crate of a dozen hens and a little cardboard box that peeped as it rode in the car for us. They are adorable: yellow balls of fluff with little beaks, bright dark eyes, and cute little feet. When we got home we set up a brooding area with water (had to show them where it was, otherwise they won't find it), litter covered with paper towel (otherwise they'll eat the litter) and a heat lamp (otherwise they'll freeze to death) set not too low (otherwise they'll cook to death). But they are cute. Hard to picture eating them right now, but in 3 months they will be providing us with home-raised, range-fed chicken. Right now they are peeping as they move around, occasionally climbing into the feeder, and generally eliciting many "awww"s from the girls.
The hens, meanwhile, screamed bloody murder at me as I fished them out of the crate. Most just tried to squirm and flap away while shrieking, but a couple were more aggressive and took to pecking at my hands, but after some work they were all in the coop and now they seem to have settled down. Biddy is being quite the bully though, so I'm not sure she has much of a future there. I finally kicked her out of the coop to freerange so the new ones could settle in undisturbed. While I know that may eliminate any chance of her getting used to the newcomers, the good of the twelve hens comes before that of the one. I wonder if she was ticked at me, since she set of straight for the veggie garden and proceeded to dust bathe in my herb plot. Hmph.
But on a positive note: already we have four little bitty pullet eggs! I'd forgotten how small those first eggs are. After the recent drought of fresh eggs it's a welcome surprise.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
it made me laugh
We've gone to the next level in the rat saga. Poison. While D wants to see a dead rat as sure proof, none of the more mechanical type traps are working. So, while at the co-op yesterday to buy new shavings and chick starter, I picked up some.
This is nasty stuff, Rattak. Don't eat it. Don't let kids near it. Wash your hands. The poison control info takes up the entire side panel. Don't look at it the wrong way. Big 'poison' symbol and warning on the front in both languages.
And then underneath: "contains the allergen wheat".
I immediately pictured an elegant dinner party, the hostess saying, "rat poison canapes?" and the guest replying "oh, darling, I'd love to, but I'm allergic to wheat, you see."
And I laughed.
This is nasty stuff, Rattak. Don't eat it. Don't let kids near it. Wash your hands. The poison control info takes up the entire side panel. Don't look at it the wrong way. Big 'poison' symbol and warning on the front in both languages.
And then underneath: "contains the allergen wheat".
I immediately pictured an elegant dinner party, the hostess saying, "rat poison canapes?" and the guest replying "oh, darling, I'd love to, but I'm allergic to wheat, you see."
And I laughed.
busy, busy
The weekend flew by with much activity and a fair bit of fun thrown into the mix. It was just me and the girls from Friday on, with D away paddling down the Petawawa River with the guys.
Friday, the tractor got fixed (hooray!) so I mowed the lawn. Problem was a slipping fan belt which, since it worked sometimes and wasn't broken, didn't catch D's attention. Our hayfield has once again morphed into a respectable lawn. I alternated that work with the beginning of the coop cleanup, sweeping shavings and dirt out of one stall area.
Having shifted A's birthday party plans indoors because of the rain, it was of course a lovely, sunny day. Oh well. The kids had fun with all the indoor stuff, and the highlight of the evening was running around in the dark catching fireflies before moms came to pick up the guests. A late night all around.
Up early Saturday for the Farmer's Market, the official opening and a very successful day for our jelly business. Repeat customers, first-timers, and even a chef from a local restaurant tasted and bought. R and M were quite the sales ladies, and A was the CFO, getting change for her sisters. We also noticed something very important: the strawberries are out.
After the market, it was off to Seren's house and a water park by the river with Seren, the gaffer, and another friend and her two daughters. The kids had a ball and I started realizing how tired I was. Home again to a quiet evening before church Sunday.
After church we took advantage of the lovely sunshine to go to the local field and pick berries for about an hour. Oh, that first taste of a sun-warmed berry! Divine. Of course the girls had second, and third, and fourth tastes. D got home that night quite late but having had a great time.
Monday saw much more coop cleanup. Much, much more. The stall that will house the meat birds was done first, then the big job of the coop itself. I lost count after 10 wheelbarrows of shavings and spilled feed and manure made its way out of the barn. My shoulders are sore, my hands blistered, but the coop is clean. Biddy wasn't quite sure what's going on. Wait 'til she gets 12 new friends. It may go very well or very not-well. We'll see.
The girls were a huge help by washing and hulling the berries while I did that, and last night R and I made one batch for the market, then they went to bed and I made a batch for us.
Chicks come tomorrow, more jam and jelly to make, R's party to figure out.
Oh, and there's laundry and ironing.
Friday, the tractor got fixed (hooray!) so I mowed the lawn. Problem was a slipping fan belt which, since it worked sometimes and wasn't broken, didn't catch D's attention. Our hayfield has once again morphed into a respectable lawn. I alternated that work with the beginning of the coop cleanup, sweeping shavings and dirt out of one stall area.
Having shifted A's birthday party plans indoors because of the rain, it was of course a lovely, sunny day. Oh well. The kids had fun with all the indoor stuff, and the highlight of the evening was running around in the dark catching fireflies before moms came to pick up the guests. A late night all around.
Up early Saturday for the Farmer's Market, the official opening and a very successful day for our jelly business. Repeat customers, first-timers, and even a chef from a local restaurant tasted and bought. R and M were quite the sales ladies, and A was the CFO, getting change for her sisters. We also noticed something very important: the strawberries are out.
After the market, it was off to Seren's house and a water park by the river with Seren, the gaffer, and another friend and her two daughters. The kids had a ball and I started realizing how tired I was. Home again to a quiet evening before church Sunday.
After church we took advantage of the lovely sunshine to go to the local field and pick berries for about an hour. Oh, that first taste of a sun-warmed berry! Divine. Of course the girls had second, and third, and fourth tastes. D got home that night quite late but having had a great time.
Monday saw much more coop cleanup. Much, much more. The stall that will house the meat birds was done first, then the big job of the coop itself. I lost count after 10 wheelbarrows of shavings and spilled feed and manure made its way out of the barn. My shoulders are sore, my hands blistered, but the coop is clean. Biddy wasn't quite sure what's going on. Wait 'til she gets 12 new friends. It may go very well or very not-well. We'll see.
The girls were a huge help by washing and hulling the berries while I did that, and last night R and I made one batch for the market, then they went to bed and I made a batch for us.
Chicks come tomorrow, more jam and jelly to make, R's party to figure out.
Oh, and there's laundry and ironing.
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