Incubated eggs: batch #3 hatching is complete, with just one late hatcher left in the incubator. The chick in the photo was an unassisted hatch, but we noticed that one leg splayed out a bit, so we taped his/her legs together with a piece of bandage to help the leg straighten out. The late hatcher clearly needed some assistance, but we wanted to provide every opportunity for the chick to emerge on his or her own. When we did intervene, we began by partly opening the egg (last night) to see if s/he could kick out; when we checked this morning, s/he was still in the same position in the partial shell. Continue reading “Updates On The Farm Denizens”
Author: Carrie
Unlucky 13?
Batch #2 of our incubated chicks has been terribly unlucky. We started with thirteen, and to our surprise, only three turned out to be roosters (it’s usually a 50/50 split). All seemed to be going well, but then seven (including six hens) died two weeks ago. After surviving that, the remaining six should be charmed…but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Yesterday, we had high winds here, which happen from time to time. What we didn’t expect was for the winds to be so strong, they would actually lift the chicken tractor and blow it down the hill. With six 7 week old chicks in it.
The tractor is built from PVC pipe, wood, and hardware cloth, with a tarp over the top to provide shade and rain protection. It’s heavy enough that it requires two reasonably strong adults to move it. Continue reading “Unlucky 13?”
Batch 3 Chicks Are Hatching!
The eggs in the incubator apparently decided to play an April Fools’ Day prank on us and hatch a day late (day 22). Ok, the joke’s on us…but they did finally begin hatching this morning. One little guy (or gal) went from zipped to hatched in about 15 minutes, then laid, exhausted, in the shell afterward, like a pearl resting in a pried-open oyster shell.
10 AM: it’s about an hour later, and another chick is out. Both have the chipmunk stripes from the Leghorn influence. Several other eggs have externally pipped or progressed to zipping now. Continue reading “Batch 3 Chicks Are Hatching!”
A Broody Duck Turns Mean
Our newly broody Muscovy, Coraline, has always been a friendly, sweet-tempered duck. She’s the first to eat from your hand, and will just come by and hang around, even when she knows there are no treats to be had. We’ve never seen her pick on another of duck (unlike Pru), and she just seems to get along with everyone.
That is, until last night. After we got all the chickens into the coop – the teens seem to be getting the hang of it, but two roos were breaking curfew and had to be encouraged to go inside – we herded the ducks into their enclosure, per the standard procedure. We were not expecting a ruffled-up, hissing Coraline to rush out of the coop in attack mode. She chased the other ducks around, grabbing and pulling feathers. Panicked honking by her victims and general mayhem ensued. Even Ty ran away from her. Mother duck on the warpath! Continue reading “A Broody Duck Turns Mean”
Another Probiotic Beverage Worth Exploring: Jun Tea
Most of us have probably heard of Kombucha Tea, made from fermented sweet tea. We make and drink it regularly (and it makes awesome cocktails). We also make milk and water kefir, two other probiotic and delicious beverages. After allowing it to languish in a cupboard for a year (really!), we pulled the Jun scoby out and re-started it.
Jun tea, while similar to kombucha in some ways, is a distinctly different beverage. While kombucha is made with black or green tea (or a combination of these), sweetened with sugar, and fermented using finished kombucha tea from a previous batch plus the kombucha scoby, jun is made from green tea only, sweetened only with raw honey. A “mother” (scoby) is also floated in the brew. Continue reading “Another Probiotic Beverage Worth Exploring: Jun Tea”
Earthworms For Everyone!
After a storm passed through last night – thunder, lightning, and pouring rain – everything was wet this morning. What’s significant about those conditions? The earthworms come to the surface.
Flipping over pavers, old logs and pieces of wood, and other items that were sitting on the ground before the storm revealed lots of healthy, plump worms. The adult hens were following us around, and they pounced on the morsels. Chickens are pretty adept at pulling the worms out of the ground or other crevices in one piece, but the ducks are really experts at it. Continue reading “Earthworms For Everyone!”