Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Chicken Run

Carrying 100+ chickens from the barn to the hen wagon, at night, in the rain, about an eighth of a mile each way, is not fun. Well, it was a little fun in an exhausting, rescuing kind of way. After about an hour of walking back and forth, as it was getting too dark to hardly see, and our legs didn't want to take another step, Paul had the bright idea of putting them in the back of the pickup truck and driving them. That worked great! Once it gets dark the hens seem to go comatose...they become easy to catch and move around. We'll wait until it's dark before we attempt the chicken run tonight. They are having such a hard time leaving their winter home. The barn has been sealed to keep them out, but they're like rats, they can find the smallest opening and squeeze their way back in. The roosters are locked in cat crates in the hen wagon so they'll stop leading the hens to the barn...but now the hens are leaving the roosters and the wagon. The men are stuck at home, crying like babies, whilst the women are out looking for adventure.
Yesterday was a bad day for the barn calves. The vet came out to de-horn and de-nut. What a horrible process. I hope they aren't scared of us now. Paul said to give them a couple of days to recover.
We had a good rain today. I'm anxious to check the garden to see what progress has been made. The potato plants are starting to pop up.
I got my new garden shoes from LLBean today. Very cute. Red with white polka dots.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend


What a beautiful weekend! The weather was perfect for working in the garden...sunny and breezy. I made a good start on the planting and weeding. Saturday morning my mom and I went to the Meridian Farmer's Market (in Okemos). I bought 2 flats of organic seedlings - 1 flat of tomatoes, and 1 flat mixed with peppers, basil, and musk melon. I've never heard of any of the tomato or pepper varieties, they will all be a surprise. I also planted some seeds: mesclun salad mix, radish, fennel, parsley, and zucchini. My hands are evidence of weeding the raspberries...ouch! The new patch of strawberries are almost weeded...the older patch is a nightmare. It is so full of grass and prickers...it will be 'pick-at-your-own-risk'. I'm going to wait for a good rain in hope of being able to pull the weeds without too much effort. There are berries on the plants so it shouldn't be too much longer before we have red-stained fingers.

Paul got our first hay cutting baled, the field corn planted, and the first batch of sweet corn planted. If he wasn't working on our crops he was working on Larry's. I always feel like a widow this time of year.

The hen wagon is outside now. Most of the hens are staying with the wagon, but there are a couple dozen who head for the barn first thing in the morning. At night Paul and I have to wait for them to roost so we can catch and carry each one back to the wagon. Hopefully when we move the wagon to the back pasture they'll stop thinking the barn is home.

We moved the baby calf into the barn on Sunday. We thought he was weaned but he might need a few more days of milk. Being the smallest calf in the herd he doesn't get first dibs at the grain. Paul is getting a new calf from Fogle's today.

It's raining...yeah!!

Friday, May 22, 2009


You take the good with the bad, right? Yesterday was a bad day. Due to my stupidity of wearing shorts and sandals to do chores, I was stepped on by a calf while carrying their grain bucket to the feeder and then attacked by the rooster on the back of my thigh while filling the hen's water. Damn rooster. If he wasn't so handsome and able to cock-a-doodle so idyllically, he'd be toast. Speaking of toast, my twisted neck chicken is no longer of this world. Poor thing. Every death breaks my heart.

One of our mom cats is getting fixed today. 1 down, 2 to go (assuming we are able to give away the 14 female kittens).

This picture makes me smile. This is Maude, a hen we no longer have. She looks like a good listener...like she really cares.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Lovin' the Egg Man


Paul isn't the most romantic guy, but every now and then, when I least expect it, he surprises me. On one of his feed/supply trips last week, he bought me several pots of gerber daisies...my favorite. Not only did he buy them, but he planted them along the sidewalk up to the house and waited for me to notice. How sweet is that! Thank you honey bunny.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I did it! Welcome to my first blog entry. I've decided to create a blog rather than monthly newsletters. It will be easier for me to share stories and photo's on a daily basis.

We are busy with chickens. The first group of 200 moved outside on Monday...they seem to be enjoying the grass, the sun and the wind that just won't stop! We have two portable outdoor pens, though we need at least 2 more. Right now, since the birds are so little (they are about 4 weeks old), it's okay to have 100 in each pen...but they will quickly outgrow their space and need more room.

Tuesday we welcomed 100 new baby chicks. They are in the garage under heat lamps. It has been warm enough that they are venturing outside their 'heat zone'.

We have one 4-week old chicken that I have taken under my wing. Something happened to his neck...he has no control of his head, it's twisted so the top of his head is on the ground. He can eat and drink with my help. If I hold his body and let him put his right foot on my finger, he can flip his head around to peck at food or get a drink of water. It's a slow process. We probably should put him out of his misery but I get so attached to any animal that "needs" me. We'll take it one day at a time.

The hen wagon will be moving outside soon. We are getting them used to laying their eggs in nesting boxes rather than straw piles in the barn. The nesting boxes will be attached to their wagon.

We have 15 kittens!! 4 of them are eating solid food and using a litter box. 6 are close behind. 5 are still sleeping and eating 24 hours a day. They are so darn cute! I will be posting pictures of them all soon with the following caption: FREE!!! I meant to get our 3 females fixed over the winter, but it just never happened. The kitten experience has been wonderful for the girls...they witnessed all the births and are having a blast loving on all of them.

The cattle are all doing well. I've learned that it is foolish to go in the pasture with the Scottish Highlands without some sort of protection. A few of them are so friendly they want to run and play and rub their heads on me. Their horns are about a foot long now so that is a bit scary. The Holstiens in the barn are even more friendly, but they are much smaller without horns. They'll be stronger and bigger than me soon though.

We hope to get a bunch of seeds planted in the garden this weekend. The strawberries are looking good, full of flowers, and we've been enjoying our first year of asparagus this spring. Paul will be planting the sweet corn as well. Lots to do!!

Until next time...