Happy Thursday! SO glad to report that my feed is working again, after troubleshooting it for 8 days! Today Blogger Help forum told us to remove our location tags which I had cleverly started adding 2 weeks ago, hoping to help my geo-targeting.(cough), like I really know what that means! Today a quickie post about FREE RANGE chickens, how good they are! Meanwhile, little Lucy is holding her own, just loving all the attention we are giving to her, the lone pullet. Don't know Lucy? Meet her here!
Meet Real Free-Range Eggs: "
So, I bid you adieu, fair reader!
Today I am busy with untold amounts of errands and getting Casey ready for summer youth camp, and fixing my vacuum cleaner cord, and all those fun mommy things! More later, promise!
XO!
Kelly
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Planetary Disambiguation - Oooh Baby it's a Wild World
Hello, Lovelies! Monday finds us in a state of planetary and ecosystem confusion. Collusion, confusion, contribution, coalition, tradition, extradition, wild ambition, chicken chicken chicken.....oh my...do I need a vacation? Playcation, placation, derivation, deviation.....playstation. Yep, I've gone crackers...;) Certifiably.
We are babysitting "Bella", our GrandPuppy, and she is a dear, although she singlehandedly
So you're aware of the recent blood shed on our property, right? If not, check here.... So since the bloodshed and the ensuing one by one decimation of our pullet population, and our grief, and woes, we have been keeping our one remaininng Rhode Island Red pullet in our kitty kat carrier on top of my laundry center in the breakfast room. In the morning, I let the dogs out to use the outdoor facilities, and roam, and sniff and be dogs, and then I corral them, bring them inside, and let our little Lucy out to scratch, peck, eat her breakfast, and remember that she is a baby chicken, not a prisoner of war. Meanwhile the dogs inside salivate, and lick their chops and generally try to terrify her while she eats her breakfast in my garden.... Here's a picture of her, and I think she is modeling after Casey as her mother, and hops up to "talk" to us each morning! We love her.
So this morning, Bella, Annie and Lincoln were barking wildly; (actually through the night, I have this dull remembrance of them barking on and off while trying to sleep). And this morning, as usual, I let them out.....
and they proceed to bark wildly, and then run under the porch...... We as a RULE NEVER go UNDER the PORCH.....because all manner and multitudes of reptiles live in it's dark underbelly confines. I have chased a few snakes quite recently there myself. So the three dogs are howling and hollering and barking, and I see this little furry creature leave and scurry up the tree, and not just a tiny tree but about 35 feet up high! And the dogs are WILDLY salivatingly and hysterically barking and pawing at the tree like they could climb it or something.
So this morning I go to the chiropractor, and come home, and my daughter has put dog food out and a tiny bowl full of milk and posted it under the tree to feed the poor beasty........
So now, we have a chicken in a kitty cat carrier on top of my washing machine, and a baby raccoon clinging for dear life camped out on a tree branch, and three Mini Schnauzers who want to kill the chicken, AND the racoon, who is not budging, by the way, and probably will not until the sun goes down. And meanwhile, if the racoon sees the pullet who will eventually need to go outside to use the facilities and to stretch her poor legs, but will surely meet her demise if we leave her unattended at alll.........
Do you see the predicament we are in? Yep. It's a stalemate all right!
But then again, that's life in the wild.
Oh! Baby! I'ts a Wild World! Oh well, call me a hippy! It just reminded me of the song, the chorus!
So in the end, I fear our FOX may in reality be a racoon, or a family of racoons who has killed all of our chickens. My husband reminds me that that is nature, and that is "what they do", but still I try to protect all life here, except poisonous snakes.
Just a quickie post, dear friends! What kinds of funny things have happened in YOUR backyard recently?
Go ahead, share!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Fox Conundrum
My brother's name is Todd which is of English origin meaning "Fox". I found this cute little red fox for his birthday on Etsy from a lovely studio that creates block prints, etc.
As you may know, we have chickens. Adorable. Cute, perky, fluffy little chickens. First we had 6, and my dog killed three. Then we bought 6 more darling Rhode Island Reds which were thriving. We even fortified their coop and yard; extending chicken wire up 7' and their little fortress seemed insurmountable.
The little pullets liked to go inside their box to hide from the big bossy older hens......
Then Monday this week, we had 7 chickens, and a trail of black and white feathers across the street into the woods. Then the next day we had 6 then 5 and then we had one chicken with a maimed foot and a wound in her side and a pecked out eye. We took her into our house, and for the last 5 days I have been caring for her in a box....poor thing.
We threw sheets up over the coop to try to secure it for a couple of days until Joe could get out there and build an extended roof over the entire area. But every morning we had 1 or 2 less chickens. I was sick in my heart.
Wednesday morning I saw our neighborhood hawk that we have affectionately named "Watchman" circling above my backyard; landing on neighboring trees and watching. So I told him in an elevated voice to never touch my chickens again. He flew away.
But we really feel like it is a fox or a raccoon.
Wikipedia says this:
Foxes are omnivores.[8][9] The diet of foxes is largely made up of invertebrates. However, it also includes rodents, rabbits and other small mammals, reptiles, (such as snakes), amphibians,scorpions, grasses, berries, fruit, fish, birds, eggs, dung beetles, insects and all other kinds of small animals. Many species are generalist predators, but some (such as the crab-eating fox) are more specialist. Most species of fox generally consume around 1 kg of food every day. Foxes cache excess food, burying it for later consumption, usually under leaves, snow, or soil.Backyard Chickens says this:
Red Foxes are generally considered to be the most serious predator of free range poultry. The safest option known in poultry protection is to keep the flock and the fox physically separated, usually with fencing. A fence needs to be at least 2 m high to keep out most foxes, though on some rare occasions, a determined fox might succeed in climbing over.[40] Surplus killing will often occur in enclosed spaces such as huts, with discarded feathers and headless bodies usually being the main indicators of fox predation.Then there's good ol YouTube:
Yep, I would say Ol' Mr. Fox is quite agile, and quite able to scale the walls we thought would keep out the wildlife around....
So, tonight we have 1 lonely little Rhode Island Red Pullet in my tiny doggie kennel in the laundry room. Old Mr. Fox is not going to get her! And sitting beside her, in a large cardboard box, is the other hen, still recovering from her attack Tuesday night. They probably are enjoying the cool AC as it has been quite hot outside.
Ah, sometimes living in the wild is so very......wild, you know? I told my husband I would shoot the fox (which heretofor I proclaimed I loved) but now he is just getting a little too close to home....Joe informed me that the fox is an endangered species, and so it would be hard to kill it.
We really need an outside dog to again be the sentry that we once had when Champ was still alive.
That's what is happening at the Taylor Homestead. What is happening in your neck of the woods?
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Photo Journal: Flowering and Hopefully Fruiting!
Hi friends! Just taking a wee break from our workshop at Cassia's Garden with a brief photo journal update.
Things are really taking off in my garden!
Things are really taking off in my garden!
My little wire cage for the cucumbers and they appear strong and healthy.
Uh, I don't know who is watching these strawberries more;
Me or The Birds!
(After I shot this pic, later that day I found these partially eaten
and the stem munched off. Who WAS the culprit?
My Yellow Crookneck Squash is going Gang Busters and now flowering!
Did you know you can eat the blossoms?
Look at this DECADENT post from Emeril!
The cucumber vines are literally covered with bright yellow blossoms!
Lincoln just isn't learning his lesson with these poor little pullets.
He has killed 3 of them now
6 chickens + (1) Lincoln = 3 poor chickens
I have beat his little hiney until I am sure he's blue but he keeps stalking them
Personally, I think he believes that he is doing his patriotic duty by killing them.
I kept them in this puppy kennel at night and covered them with my
quilt to make them feel safe and secure. Joe thinks I 'm a little crazy
because he doesn't believe that chickens have feelings. I disagree wholeheartedly.
Just a little more cedar pickets to finish off the insulated coop
and some kind of netting or top to keep them from flying away.
I was delighted to see my Emperor's Ginger
finally has come up! Later it will produce a beautiful white flower or bract like in the link above.
Our little white Mini Schnauzer, "Annie" is pregnant again, although I tried to keep it
from happening (I really really tried, but once or twice she got out or Lincoln got out)
My my hormones are such powerful things! Annie should have her puppies on or around May 28th.
Her puppies always sell really well. Hopefully this summer will be no exception.
I was alarmed yesterday at the multitudes of yellow blossoms all over every plant
but no fruiting yet. Suddenly I realized the THE BEES are really nowhere to be found!
Did you ever see the Bee Movie where Jerry Seinfeld does the Bee's voice?
Yep, I've noticed alot of wasps but no bees. Without them we will not see any pollination.
So I started really praying for bees yesterday, and then I decided to do a Google search to see
what kinds of plants and flowers I could import into my garden to attract the little
darlings. Lo and behold!
The Lavender flower really attracts honey bees, and I was lucky to have one little plant potted with lavender
on my patio and it is blooming. So I moved it to my garden and will go to Lowe's
and buy several more of them to create an attractive border....
Have you ever marveled at Tendrils?
I mean, how do they know how to do that?
God is so awesome and so wise! He created each
and every living thing so beautifully! I am amazed at His wonderful creation!
Well that was a fun post!
Speaking of gardens, which I love, I made a new soap last week
and it smells so SO good! Don't know why I never thought of this
aromatherapy combo before, but let me tell you this: Rosemary and Lemon smells
absolutely DIVINE in this lovely combo!
It has pure lemon and rosemary essential oils in a creamy shea butter glycerin base, and I
embedded real dried rosemary leaves to make it a lightly exfoliation scrub as well.
I love to just sniff it!
I also have a new scrub as well!
Citrus is just a favorite of mine: always so uplifting and it makes me smile!
or, if you like Patchouli and Orange, try this:
Well, I have lots of other news.....but for now I have to Run!
The "girls" are out and running around and it's beginning to rain for the first time
in quite awhile and I have to go put the girls up!
Toodles for now!
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