Mail Order Chicks

Let me first clarify that the phrase 'mail order chicks' should in no way be confused with 'mail order brides'.  I am referring to the feathered, cheeping chick.  Sorry, boys!  I only call attention to this as I have sons in their twenties, so can just hear the comments they might make!

Last winter I received a hatchery catalog in the mail.  While I have always been intrigued with the thought of cheeping boxes being delivered to my post office, I put the thought of ordering chicks aside.  For a while.  But as winter wore on and I found myself drawn back to the images of so many different breeds of chickens, most of which I had never seen outside the pages of a book or catalog.  By February I had decided that I would just order some of those exotic fowl.  I had lost most of my flock by then and I had a new plan.  To raise young chicks and fix up one of the barns below the house.  The barn the old hens preferred was impossible to make predator proof on my budget, but I figured I could make the smaller one work.
I made lists of the chickens I would order, then amended the lists.  I knew I wanted gentle hens as I love being able to walk amongst the hens as they cluck at my feet.  But these are just the kind of hens that foxes and coyotes love.  Easy pickings.  So then I added a few whose descriptions included phrases like "very alert" and "forages and avoids predators well".  Next the kids got in on the fun and spent time looking through the catalog, each one choosing their favorite.  Final decisions were made and the order was placed for delivery the week of June 27th.




Contents of the smaller box

 Today was the long-awaited day.  It started with a phone call from the post office at 5:51 AM.  I raced off to get the chicks, rush them back home and settled in as quickly as possible.  It is just amazing that those tiny fragile creatures could survive the trip from Iowa to Oregon.  Survive they did and arrived with every single one alive.  They were so happy to join the four little banties in the warm stock tank where they drank, ate, stretched their wings and ran from one end to the other.  They will soon outgrow this setup, but it will keep them safe and warm for several days while they build strength to enter a larger space.




Bearded Belgian d'Uccle Mille Fleur banties

 Unfortunately, I have lost one little Mille Fleur banty and believe it may have been my own fault.  I think I missed him when showing them the water and dipping their beaks to encourage drinking.  He seemed okay when I unpacked them and moved them to the stock tank.  Then again, maybe it was the little guy on the right side of the picture and he wasn't just dozing as I had thought.  In additon, I am having some trouble with all three White Cochins.  They arrived far weaker than the other chicks and I have been hand watering and feeding them throughout the day.  Time will tell if they make it or not.  I will keep doing whatever I can to help them along.


Partridge Cochin chick
These little guys were so lively I had a hard time getting a picture of them.  One immediately jumped out of the basket I was using to contain them for photographing.

Until next time, may all the chicks in your life be strong and healthy!

Chicken Nuggets

 Several days ago, mama hen brought her 10 little ones to visit in the yard, which I discovered when I heard a loud "PEEP, PEEP, PEEP" coming through the house.  One of the housecats was bringing me a treasure with the other cat close behind in case he dropped it.  When I went to take the chick from him, though, he changed his mind and no longer wished to share his little nugget with me or anyone else.  After a short chase, I managed to retrieve the poor terrified chick.  Out in the yard there was panic with hen and chicks scattered to all corners.  I managed to scoop up four more babies and found another little one had already been killed.  I penned up the five I had caught with the hope that mama would come back for them and I could then catch her and the remaining four.  She did come close, but was always watching out for me and I could not manage to get the gate to the the outer pen closed before she was back out.  Poor babies cried and cried for mama for two or three days and have just today stopped calling for her, but she thinks the yard is a dangerous place and refuses to come back in.  Yesterday I checked the babies in the morning and found my favorite chick had died overnight.  He appeared healthy and strong, so am not sure what happened, but was sad to lose him as he was a beautiful mahogany color with feathered feet, while the rest are black chicks with some light patches.  He did not happen to be the one the cat brought into the house, either.  That was a black chick and is doing just fine!

They look so tiny in the big tank all alone.

Minnie Mae would like a taste of chicken nuggets, please.

Sorry, Minnie Mae, you are going to have to stick to your cat food!

Chick Surprise!

One of my black banties had gone missing and I was sure she had become chicken dinner for some sharp-toothed critter.  I had found her abandoned nest some time back, which is usually an indication that the hen is unable to return.  But, lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find her alive and well as she clucked lovingly to 10 little ones out in the barn lot!

I am hopeful she can raise this batch of chicks as the Pyrenees cross pups are becoming more and more effective at keeping the predators at bay and protecting their family of chickens, sheep, etc.  On Tuesday, their dad, Chuck, was here to visit and together they killed a raccoon who had been hanging around for quite some time.  This morning the pups brought in the body of a young raccoon they had killed.  While I love watching raccoons and am fascinated by their actions, I lost about 40 chickens last winter, many to raccoons who would climb into the barn rafters and dine as the chickens slept.  The carnage of chicken body parts that had fallen from above was not a pretty sight in the morning.

I just had to include this picture of Snickers goat.  He is not happy with me at all.  Yesterday he got out and helped himself to the roses just beginning to open up their gorgeous blooms in the yard as he is a master gate opener.  He again got out several times today, and in fact, joined me inside the house at one point as I had a back door open.  I looked and looked, but could not figure out where he had gotten out.  While taking pictures of the chicks, I put him in again and set a pan of grain outside the pen.  He still refused to show me where he was getting out until he thought I'd gone back to the house.  From my hiding spot, I watched him slip though a gate that had not been fastened tightly enough when the guys were working cows yesterday.  I refastened the gate and gave him his pan of feed, but he knows a small pan of grain is not equal to the freedom he was tasting.
Until next time, may you savor the freedoms you are able to enjoy!

Goat Adventures

Here is the newest addition to the farm critters.  We had a family adventure to go pick him up outside Athena, Oregon, about an hour away from the house.  It was supposed to be a relatively quick trip, but after the keys being locked inside the pickup and waiting for a locksmith to rescue us, it ended up being a rather late night.  Gotta love these kinds of adventures!

This pretty goat was given to me as he was too small for the market shipment last fall and now needed to be removed from the doe pen before they begin having their new crop of babies.  I agreed to bring him home as my pet goat has been very lonely since his brother died serveral months ago.  I figured if this guy wasn't friendly and did not have the makings of a pet, he could always continue on toward his original fate as a meat goat. 

We brought him home last night, so figured on keeping him in the barn with the other goat for several days until he got his bearings and was comforatable in his new home.  He had been around people, but never really had much handling, so I expected to put in some time with him before he started liking people.  First thing this morning, Ethan and Eida ran over to the barn lot to see the new addition and he took right to them, even chasing Eida around the pen as if she were a playmate, bucking and kicking.  He loved her even more after several handfuls of grain.  After the kids left, every time I went outside, this new guy had his head through the gate rails, calling to me, begging me to come over.  He is not quite sure he wants to be scratched and petted, just wanted me close by, then was content.

Because he seemed to have bonded well both to myself and the other goat, I tried taking him out of the barn lot.  He stayed close to me, so we headed off on my regular evening walk.  He stuck right beside me the entire way, as if he had been taking walks with us forever.  The little brown goat, Snickers, is definately the boss, butting and biting if the new goat tried to get between myself and Snickers or jumped on a log to be king of the mountain, a major breach of goat conduct! 

So, it looks like this youngster may have the personality needed to save him from becoming barbeque.  He may even fit in well with some of the public events our animals attend in the community such as petting zoos and Living Nativity.  Lucky little guy!

Any good name ideas?  I was thinking of sticking with the sweet theme as the brown goat is Snickers and this guy is kind of a backward Oreo coloring.  He is a French Alpine breed, so maybe something French??  All suggestions will be appreciated!!

Until next time, may your attitude surround you with sweetness and keep you out of the stew pot!  

Meet Chuck!

Last spring, Chuck came to live with us at the age of 13 weeks.  He had just been taken away from his mama, put into a dog crate, and hauled in a car for a couple of hours to get to his new home.  He was not impressed with all of the changes, his new home, or us!  Jordan is telling him that we really are okay, but Chuck is not easily convinced and pouted for nearly a week.

Once Chuck recovered from the tauma of moving to a new home, he warmed up to all of us and found a best friend in Roxy.  She tried to teach him important things like barking at coyotes, swimming in the river, and hunting mice.  He understands about keeping coyotes and bad guys away, has learned to splash around in the river and tries to imitate hunting mice, but really wonders what all the fuss is about - those little mice don't even count as a snack . . .

We lost Roxy to an unfortunate accident and buried her on the hill behind the house on Thanksgiving morning.  Chuck was very bewildered and did not understand why his lively friend would not get up and play with him.  He became so upset when we wrapped her in her favorite blanket that he had to be held back as he was pawing and unwrapping her faster than we could get her covered, even after we had allowed him quite a lot of time with her body.  His grief was so great that he continued to dig on her grave for several weeks and has now taken to spending a lot of his day laying up on the hill near her gravesite. 

Chuck looks so regal laying in the golden leaves by the river, but in reality is eating a dead fish.  He has even been known to eat dead dried up snakes he has found in the road.

Chuck finds great delight in the snow, running, playing, chasing, and rolling in it.  He really is well suited to cold weather and stays so much cleaner with all the sparkly stuff on the ground!

So, from afar, we can pretend Chuck is a regal, dignified protector, but close up he is just a goof.  Whenever he is out with the livestock, or on a walk wandering the pastures and woods with any of his people, he is actually quite serious, but when he is around the house, he is always up for a bit of fun.  With lambing season yet to come, we will see if he can keep the coyotes and cougars away, but we have not had coyotes close in by the house and barns as we've had in the past and have lost no chickens to predators since Chuck has come to live with us.  His grandparents are proven cougar killers, so maybe his family's reputation has gotten around and the local thugs have moved on to safer neighborhoods.

Until next time, may you be blessed with a diligent and loyal protector . . .

Catching Up

My sisters, Stacey and Paula, are so diligent at keeping up their blogs, while I plod along slowly. My sisters, you inspire me and I can only hope to one day come somewhere close to your awesome accomplishments! I think I can, I think I can . . . .

If you have not seen their blogs, pop on over and visit Stacey and Paula and enjoy as they are both excellent writers.

So many things take place here on the farm when time passes between posts and it becomes difficult to decide where to start, but here is a quick run down of several changes we have had. I will follow up with more in-depth posts on several of these changes.

Of course, the weather has turned from early fall to midwinter and we are currently in mud season.

Last spring we had fairly heavy lamb losses due to predators, both coyotes and cougar, so Jordan got a Great Pyrenees pup whose parents are proven livestock guard dogs in hopes that he can help reduce any further losses.

We lost our beloved Roxy dog on Thanksgiving and still miss her every day. She was an invaluable part of our family and the farm, and we will never be able to truly replace her.

We took several of our most friendly critters to our church's Living Nativity and found out some interesting background on my miniature donkey, Elmer. Turns out Elmer and I share a birthday!

Another sad event took place a couple of weeks ago when one of Jordan's fair lambs, Jumper, died of pregancy complications.

After having his feet trimmed recently, Roland, KP's little mustang went down in the barn and may have died if Jordan had not gone out to check on the horses when he did. I beleive he pulled back and went down, tightening the rope further, flipped to his back, then was unable to right himself as the halter and rope held tight. He is such a good common-sense horse it surprises me he let himself get into such a predicament, but am so grateful the outcome was positive. While he was a bit shaky afterward, he seems to have no lasting ill effects and is back to his old self.

Amongst these highlights, both sad and glad, are the usual happenings of new kittens, baby calves and the never-ending hunt for the hen's newest hiding places for their precious eggs!

Until next time, hope your happenings are more glad and less sad!

Home at Last

The ewes and lambs came back home on Friday after spending the summer on pasture. They seemed to be happy to be back and Jim, the old ram, was nearly beside himself to see his harem again.



The younger ram is a purebred Romney who is now getting to know the ewe lambs. He has a much sweeter nature than old Jim. We are looking forward to seeing what his lambs will look like next spring.
We spent a good portion of today working on fences and tagging the ewe lambs. I love the weather this time of year, clear and crisp, but warm during the day. Nothing short of glorious!

Until next time, may all of your homecomings be cause for celebration!