ldawntaylor - bits and pieces

[ldawntaylor]

Back again,

I got some weeding done and was pleased to see some blossoms on the strawberry plants. Just not as many as I've gotten used to I guess.

Now, about those chicks... yes, I've posted on BackYardChickens too...

Here is the first . This one is a bantam but beyond that I really don't know much. It is one I can pick up easily. Some of the others are a challenge. As well as being difficult to get pictures of.

Here is the second . Again, a bantam but I don't know anything about which breed. This one is a lot harder to get a hold of, but possible.

Here is another . The final bantam. This one is the least panicky of the lot and easily handled. As for breed? It is possibly an Old English Gamebird. I really don't know at this point though.

Here is one I am sure of, actually three that look a lot alike... . This one is called a Cherry Egger, at least in some circles. She is a cross that includes Rhode Island Red from what I understand. She also looks a lot like the second bantam pictured at least in some lights.

Now for a picture of the last one ... again three that look a lot alike... . The others were calm enough to get decent pictures without a cover on the case. Not these. I tried and one of them jumped out. So the picture is a little cloudy. But, still distinctive. From the pattern and the feathers growing on the legs I am inclined to think these are Barred Cochins. (yes, the "case" has ventelation and any bird is only in there long enough to have a picture or two taken).

I still have my "Tyson escapee" One of the hens from a Tyson chicken house that was given to me back in May. I was given 5 but only one has survived. One of the downsides of that type of bird is that they develope a lot of obesity related health issues early in life. This bird doesn't even try to come outside of my hen house. She will sometimes walk to the door to greet me but usually she just looks at me like "oh, you again".

If they are all hens as advertised then I will have as many eggs as I could possibly want by the end of summer.

I hope to get out into the garden again tomorrow. But for now, I need to take care of the animals and some cleaning inside.

 

[ldawntaylor]

As I listen to the mourning dove I find myself thinking summer really is on its way. Yesterday, I was hearing a bobwhite or two. Both types were quiet through the winter. Maybe they migrate.... then again, maybe...I just wasn't getting up early enough to hear them. I was hearing a poor will (chuckwill's widow) last night. I often enjoy hearing the birds in the nighthawk family. Whiporwill and Chuckwill's Widow are both in that family.

Today, I need to get my driver's license renewed. After that, more gardening and working on wiring the chicken coop. My big hen is quite safe and doesn't even try to get out even if there was an opening that is big enough. But, the little ones are going to need to be outside soon. I suspect the chain link won't hold the bantams right now. The song birds just go right through and my bantams aren't much bigger yet. I doubt the standard size chicks can fit through the chain link...but I fear they would get stuck if they tried. Anyway, I have a week or two before the wiring needs to be done.

One thing I do need to figure out is how to discourage the 2 year-old buck from scratching his back and side on their coop.

For now, I better finish breakfast so I can get busy.

 

[ldawntaylor]

Yes, I post a bit more or write emails and such a bit more often in the summer. Counter intuitive almost.

Until one hears the reason. In the winter I spend quite a bit of time inside and I get a bit bored with the computer. Or I will pick up a craft project or a book and be immersed for hours. At which point I don't want to check email and such. But during the summer I work outside for about an hour and then come inside to cool down or get a drink. It is easy to turn on the computer and check an email or two before I go back out. Then that cycle repeats itself for the entire day. I tend to lean towards the computer simply because I don't want to clean up enough to work on my craft projects. And I know me well enough to know that I will waste the day reading or working on a puzzle if I start one of those. I allow myself one day for stuff like that not both days off.

Anyway, I got my strawberry patch, such as it is, weeded. I actually have a couple of strawberries growing. And some flowers. I just hope with the flowering weeds gone maybe the bees and such will go for strawberry pollen/nectar instead of flying further afield. Since burning my legs so badly a couple of years ago my plants have been badly neglected. I'm just glad my strawberry plants survived. My asparagus doesn't seem to have done so.

Now, I have a choice to make. Try replanting asparagus or plant something else. I'm leaning towards replanting asparagus but not using the boxes out there. There are a couple of trees that have grown up enough so my dad isn't going to mow the plants over by mistake now. If I don't use the boxes I will move them inside my garden and make one or two of my other spots taller. Then maybe I can plant carrots or parsnips. I can see some definite advantages to doing that. Or move boxes and plants inside the garden... so many options. I kind of like leaving the aspargus plants where they are though.

One thing I really want to do is get some kind of lighting in my garden area. It seems like even the solar lights would be bright enough to weed the walkways after dark. I would have to use bug spray to discourage misquitoes. But, it would allow me a little more time to do what I need.

I've thought about walkway bricks but I would rather use them around the chicken coop to discourage diggers from getting in. Fence with blocks over top was a suggestion on backyardchickens. I like that idea. The only things I've had get in the chicken coop so far are small birds, mice and one (or was it two?) oppossum. My hen had already stopped laying for the season so eggs can't be why the creature was there. Maybe there was some feed out it wanted.

For now, back to the weeding. For me there is something theraputic about weeding by hand....even if it is more time consuming.

 

[ldawntaylor]

Break time again,

About 1 and a half of my 4 foot square boxes to weed. I have six all together. If I can get those weeded then I won't have to spend as long on upkeep. So maybe things won't get as overgrown this year. It looks better than last year to say the least.

I was reminded of another reason to keep the weeds to a minimum...spiders...this area does have black widow spiders as well as scorpions. These creatures like the shade of the weeds. I don't mind having them around I would just prefer not to have them in my garden.

One of my neighbors - about a quarter of a mile away - has a radio going really loud. When I can hear it from that far away.... Oh well, if one of my new babies is a rooster instead of a hen the neighbor may be complaining to others about "that loud rooster my neighbor has".

One thing about a rural setting most of my neighbors do have some kind of livestock/birds. When I am outside I can hear which neighbors are out and about just by the noises their animals make. The cows and goats and such sound different when their caregiver isn't outside too.

One of those neighbors does have a rooster. It crows loudly enough to wake me up if I have my windows open. If I do end up with a rooster too I wonder if the two birds will have impromptu crowing contest...? I guess I'll find out.

Well, back to my project so I can go on to another.

 

[ldawntaylor]

I took a sick day today...that time of month with a vengance. I find myself remembering. A few weeks ago a co-worker was asking if my chickens would lay eggs without a rooster. I told her that a chicken laying an egg is about like a woman's monthly cycle. They happen even when no male is around. At that point she told me that sometimes it feels like laying an egg. I don't know about that, but we had a good laugh anyway.

I hope Tuesday and Wednesday are nice days for weather. I really do have a lot I need to do outside. A goat shed to clean thoroughly, goats to deworm, flower beds to weed. Along with a chicken coop I still need to finish wiring and a hen house to finish painting. Even if the weather doesn't co-operate I have cleaning to do inside as well as some paperwork to do. There are other things on the list too. I wonder how much I will actually get finished.

My mom and step-dad get back to the states tomorrow provided all goes well. While my parents were away my dad developed a blood clot in his leg as well as a pulmonary embolisim. Please pardon the spelling. Anyway, from all I can find out surviving a blood clot in the lungs is not that common. He has to take things slowly at times but is doing well.

The tomato and pepper starts I transplanted are doing well. I really hope she has a place to put some of them when she gets back. I really don't need twenty of each just for myself.

Maybe, I'll go replant my window box....it would be nice to have lettuce. I also have an iris to plant outside. It is in my window box at the moment. There are other ways to have color all winter.

 

[Latestarter]

Sorry to hear about your dad. Hope he recovers with no lingering ill effects. I'm sure you'll be glad to have them back safely. Man do I hear ya on things to do... And I've become quite the procrastinator...

 

[ldawntaylor]

I remember a saying I came across a few years ago...if it weren't for the last minute I wouldn't get anything done. I often think how true that is for me. Something else I think about is someone telling me "Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today." I am afraid my response was somethng like if I do that I'll be really late getting to work.

For now, a night's rest is what interests me most.

 

[ldawntaylor]

Well, all that rain and wind yesterday added "walk the fence line" to my list of things I needed to do today. Mission accomplished and no damage. I know it doesn't hurt at any time. I just didn't want to walk that far so early in the day. At least I don't have any damage to correct. I take my dog with me, on a leash since she is rather stubborn about not listening. I have to watch though as she doesn't walk on a leash very well either at times.

My goats keep trying to scratch their sides and such on the chicken coop wire. It is pretty sturdy, but I would like to convince them there are some other back scratchers out there. This morning my horned doe got her horn caught in the fence. No harm done even though she did panic a bit.

I still have an array of things to acomplish but first on my list is finishing my laundry. If I don't my clothes will still be in the dryer when I get ready to go to work on Thursday. I have found that the only way I finish that chore on the same day I start it is if I start the washer when I get home from work on my "friday" and don't go to bed until the clothes and such are dried and put away. Otherwise there is a really good chance it will still be in the dryer a week later.

For now I need to see what I can get done.

 

[ldawntaylor]

I didn't accomplish much of what I thought I would but I did get some things done. Laundry is done, the bed still needs to be remade though. I did get my "recent stuff" filing done. I still have a lot of papers to sort through but I've had all I can take for now. Well, that's the way it goes....

We'll see what I get done tomorrow. For now I need to make my bed and get some sleep.

 

[ldawntaylor]

On days like today I find myself remembering something I heard several years ago now. "Only in predicting the weather and politics can a person be wrong 90 percent of the time and still keep their jobs."

My one adult hen is getting a lot more red in her comb and wattles. At least a few fresh eggs this spring? The chicks are really active right now. They have food and water so they are just playing I guess. I had a window open yesterday and ended up with a hawk or something circling my house for a while because of all the noise they were making.

My current brooder set up:



These boxes are setting on a piece of plastic with a cardboard box flat underneath them. In case there is a leak or something.

I start thinking "I need to add another box" and then I notice the birds are not even making use of the space they do have. They really seem to like the box that isn't open on top. Whenever something startles them they go into it. A place they feel secure maybe.

I tried the more traditional chick waterers and they just wasn't working so I bought that round bucket the other day. The weight of the water is helping to hold the screen down and the chicks are adjusting nicely. I've put a "roost" in the other with the open top. So far the birds are just as likely to bed down in the small white box instead. A couple of the Cherry Eggers like their tree branch though. When I am not trying to get one of the chicks out or taking pictures I have books weighing down the corners of my brooder. If by chance it is needed there is still a heat lamp up above that I can plug in.

It isn't actually raining right now so maybe I can still get some outside stuff done. I'll keep water on for some tea or hot chocolate though since 50 degrees does get a bit chilly for me.