Occasionally, when we find ourselves near the nest, we try to peek in and see if everything is ok. I was near the fenced-in nest area yesterday when I saw what looked like a dead baby bird in the nest. Just one. What had happened??
Tag: Eggs
Update: The Nest In The Grass
Despite our fears that the tiny nest we’d discovered earlier, hidden in tall grass, was abandoned, this morning we found babies!
Mama (and Papa, it seems) have been attending to their new littles, sounding the alarm and trying to lure us away if we get too close. We did have to get close for a few minutes to securely enclose the tiny nest in wire fencing to deter cats and other predators. Interestingly, the chicks were completely silent, just opening their beaks wide when they sensed our presence (their eyes are still closed).
Working quickly, we affixed fencing on top of the fencing that already encircled it. The holes are large enough for Mama to easily fit through, but small enough to keep out larger animals, including curious paws. Once complete, we waited – at a distance – for Mama to return. And she did.
We’ll be rooting for the littles and looking forward to the day when they fly from their nest!
Haiku: Bird’s Nest In The Grass
This morning, we found a small nest hidden in the tall grass near the fenceline. It was meticulously woven into a cup shape, and four speckled eggs lay in it. At first, we puzzled over why the nest would have been built so close to the ground, where predators could easily have found it; then, we realized that the parent birds may have thought it well-concealed because we had allowed the pasture to grow long in that area.
Unfortunately, recent mowing may have frightened the parents away. As much as we try to work in harmony with Nature, cutting the grass was necessary – one reason is tick control: keeping grass short can help manage ticks. We left the nest, undisturbed, in the hope that the parents might return.
Update: mama bird has been seen back on the nest, which now has 5 eggs! We put a barrier of wire fencing around the nest (a few feet out) to try to provide protection from predators like cats.
Do you know what kind of bird this nest belongs to? I think it may be a sparrow’s nest.
In The Incubator: Countdown To Chicks
The incubators have been quiet for many months now…but no longer. With a couple dozen barnyard mix chicken eggs sitting pretty in the Brinsea, we’ll have tiny fluffballs in the brooder soon.
Resilience: Coming Back From Losses
Having to buy eggs has served as a harsh reminder of why we got chickens in the first place. And buying pastured eggs from the store just felt wrong. We miss our own flock’s eggs, so it’s time to begin again. Call it v2.0.
No, We’re Not Vegetarians…
Should be obvious, right? We raise chickens, rabbits, and ducks. We’ve processed members of each of those groups (and Muscovy really does taste like beef!). People with whom we’re acquainted know this…and yet, countless times, they can’t – or don’t – seem to grasp why we won’t eat a chicken sandwich from some popular fast food place, or partake of catered BBQ. For the record: the aforementioned “people” doesn’t include our friends who “get it”.