October 2, 2008

Fall Colors

Leaves in the rain.
Maple tree.
Looking out over the chicken coops.
Valley view in the morning.
Curious turkey hen.

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September 10, 2008

More Turkeys!

Posted by roosterh at 4:55 PM | Comments (0)

August 19, 2008

Random Bits

We've been working hard at the new place to dismantle the trailer so it can be moved. Now we wait for the farmer down the road to come hay our fields, and use his large tractor to move the trailer. In the meantime we have a nice sun porch :)
Although the last thing I need is another rooster, when I saw that someone on FreeCycle was giving away a Mille Fleur rooster, I jumpted at the chance of getting a mate for my Mille Fleur hen. His name is Elvis.
I have a tom turkey who will sneak up behind me and BREATHE. Loudly. Louder than most people. So I call him Darth Turkey (as in Darth Vader).
All the turkeys are molting so it looks like a turkey exploded in the yard - it's filled with feathers. The geese molted last month and the chickens will molt after the frost.

Posted by roosterh at 9:04 PM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2008

Joel Salatin I am not

The first round of chickens have been processed. I could not get an earlier date with the butcher so the Freedom Rangers went in this batch as well as some of the larger K22 broilers who reached market weight in 2 months. The dressed out at 3.5 pounds. Here are the chickens who are left.
It looks like they are fenced in, but here is a group roaming the goat pastures. They are completely free range from dawn til dusk.
Joel Salatin is a farmer famous for marketing organic small farm products who has also written several books about it and how to be successful at it. I have most of his books and enjoying reading them very much. Treating farming as a serious business, he teaches that the bottom line has no room for injured or sick animals. And this is why I will never be a successful farmer.
For example here is a Freedom Ranger hen. She was slashed on her side by an amorous rooster. She had maggots in the wound and instead of culling her, I treated the would with 7% iodine to clean the wound and evacuate the maggots. I knew the day I did that she would never make it to the freezer. She lived in solitary while she healed. And heal she did.
Here are more Freedom Ranger hens. Yup, they are staying too, not because they are injured but because I think they are sweet.

So while it is true I will never be able to view the farm as a business and be able to cut my losses when I have to, there is one caveat I have learned from Joel Salatin and have taken to heart. I enjoy bringing people closer to their food. I like to tell them how they were raised, little known facts about animal care and other little stories. I know we are giving the animals a great life and also giving the people a healthy product. I will never make a lot of money at it at this rate but I will have a good time doing it. And I think that is just as important.

Posted by roosterh at 6:57 AM | Comments (1)

July 14, 2008

Morning checkup

It's another beautiful morning. Gary has asked me to ride up and check on JW before I leave for work (he leaves when it is still dark).
And there's not much to see! She's taking it easy.
I am taking it easy too. It is a very peaceful morning.
Hank patiently waits for me.
So do the turkeys. Time to go to work!

Posted by roosterh at 6:30 AM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2008

Even more turkeys hatch!

More turkeys hatched today!
People are surprised that they like to eat eggs! I always give poults chopped hardboiled eggs as their first meal. It is soft to eat, the color attracts their interest, and it is very nutritious.
The birds are very efficient in evacuating their eggs. Look at the precise line they have cut across the egg to emerge.

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July 12, 2008

Chicks in the field

These days all of the meat chickens are completely free range. Here they are resting by a goat pasture.
Some of the poults run with them too.
But they are pretty clique-y.
The chickens lay around for most of the day between eating and drinking. It's good to be a chicken.
There are other baby chicks in the barn. I wear these bright garden clogs when I do chores. The chicks love to peck the ladybugs on the shoes.

Posted by roosterh at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

July 8, 2008

Follow the leader

I may have said once or twice that Murphy follows us everywhere.
I guess we start them young around here. A group of turkey poults followed us up the hill (as well as Murphy) on a recent visit to the pig pasture.
Down the hill we go - and the babies follow.
Even the big toms.
It's a hazy and muggy evening. And buggy! Those spots in the picture are bugs.

Posted by roosterh at 6:48 PM | Comments (0)

July 7, 2008

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Like father ....
Like son.

Posted by roosterh at 3:36 PM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2008

Baby Turkeys Go to Bed

Last year about this time, Gardener's Supply had a sale (last I checked they had one now, too). I also had a coupon for free shipping, and checked out using eBates (like DiscoverCard, they give you cash back by purchasing items from approved vendors through their site. Sign up here, it's free.) So this raised bed was mine for just around $100.00.

It took me a year to decide to set it up and where. It's been a little side project of mine. The soil is a mix of pro-mix, and composted goat and donkey manure. In I have planted dill and basil. While I am planning on enclosing it in some welded wire fencing, for the time being the soil and seeds are covered in a remay fabric to protect them from the birds.


Or so I thought.

It turns out, TURKEYS LOVE REMAY FABRIC. Who knew?

Although this picture shows just 2, it wasn't long until 5 turkey poults piled on and took a nap on my raised bed.

Murphy didn't even try to stop them. Guess I get working on that fence right away!

Posted by roosterh at 6:49 AM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2008

Turkey poults outside

The second batch of turkey poults, along with 2 oddball chicken chicks and 8 hatched New Hampshire chicks (who look like mostly roosters, by the way) were moved outside today. It took about 15 minutes for GooseGoose to find the new babies. They are very protective of everyone's babies.

How the babies see GooseGoose.

Here is one of the poults. The white feathers with black markings prove to me that he is one of Murphy's babies.
Here is another. There are 7 poults in this batch, 3 brown like this one, and 4 white.

Posted by roosterh at 8:05 AM | Comments (0)

June 20, 2008

Chicken Tractors

A chicken tractor is a movable pen for birds that is easily moved to allow them access to fresh ground. It was initially coined, or at least made popular, by Joel Salatin. He is a farmer well-known for his innovative pasturing and organic practices.

After spending about a week in the basement in rubbermaid totes and under heat lamps, the K22 broiler chicks from Moyers are ready to go outside. They love to sunbathe in what I call the "porch" of their chicken tractor.
Some of them are inside the sheltered area of the tractor. I have removed the roof so we can see them all.
This turkey poult wants to see them all too! He has been running around and around, looking at all of the chicks.
The Freedom Rangers have their own tractor too. At this point they are large enough that they are allowed to, well, Free Range all day. But you can see, construction of a tractor is very simple.
We have settled on a tractor that is about 10' long and 36" wide. This matches the size of one piece of galvanized roofing. Half a roll of 1" chicken wire will enclose the box and the top of the "sunroom," an open area at the end. The opposite end is enclosed with wood for their shelter. This is where they usually sleep.
The sleeping area is fronted with an entry way for additional shelter. The framing is made from rough cut lumber, and the other wood is whatever we have on hand whether it's more rough cut, OSB or plywood.
The older turkey poults use this tractor. You can see their roost. Birds have to be encouraged to roost at a young age, or they will never do it later on.
A small hole is drilled into the roofing at each corner and is matched with a protuding screw on the tractor. Small bungies are placed to hold the roof in place. Only the strongest storm will remove the roof from these restraints.
A Freedom Ranger wonders what I am doing, taking all these pictures.

Posted by roosterh at 9:49 PM | Comments (0)

June 6, 2008

Turkey timeline

May 13: turkey eggs in incubator begin to hatch.
May 13: napping after hatching. They don't look like much at this stage.
June 5: Same turkey poults spend their first night outside. The one who is yawning is the first one hatched (pictured above).
June 5: I have removed some eggs from a turkey hen. Sometimes they make good mamas, sometimes they don't. This one had been sitting on some chicken eggs as well, and lost all but one chick (pictured). I took 4 turkey eggs from her too. You don't need much for a brooder: here I have a light, a cardboard box (from canning jars!) and a sock. Baby birds like to snuggle, to get under things, and the sock is a good sustitute when you are dealing with only 3-4 babies.

June 5: Proud daddies wait outside the front door for news.
June 6: The older turkey poults explore the grass. They are too small to roam without supervision. Inside, 3 of the 4 turkey eggs have hatched. Each of them is completely white.
June 6: Murphy keeps a close eye on the babies. It's hard to believe he was once this size!

Posted by roosterh at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2008

A Day Early

I expected to see this box Friday morning, not Thursday night!

These are 51 K22 broiler chicks from Moyer's Hatchery in Pennsylvania. 100% survival arrival. Time to get these guys (and they are all guys!) watered and fed and set up in the brooder.Their home for the next few days will be large Rubbermaid totes and then they go outside.

The Freedom Rangers have been outside for a while.
They are gorwing pretty quickly. They are a solid bird and their feet are HUGE!

Posted by roosterh at 8:53 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2008

Ignored

Something tells me the guineas do not appreciate their new box for laying their eggs.

Posted by roosterh at 5:58 AM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2008

The Reel thing

For years and years, I have wanted a reel mower. You might call me obsessed.
When I saw one listed on FreeCycle I jumped.
Who knew it would be brand new? I am sure Scurfy turkey didn't know.
And it came with a blade sharpener and a bag to collect all those cuttings. I am not sure how well the bag will work though.
It does best on flat ground - we have a lot of bumps and pits. The wheels raise and lower to accomodate high and short grasses. I am beyond happy, but Gary thinks I am silly.
I asked Murphy to pose with it, but he was too busy helping Gary with the sawmill.

Posted by roosterh at 6:29 AM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2008

Ma petite chou

Gary's mom gave me a couple of heads of cabbage today. They had been in storage all winter, and have started to send out their seed heads. Does anyone know if I can plant these and get anything besides cabbage seed (ie cabbage)?
I had plenty of help when I was trying to get just the right picture. I am not sure if Murphy and slash were gobbling at the pictures they liked or disliked. They were interested in what I was doing, that's for sure!
Other little heads in the barn include this baby Old English bantam. He was hatched in the incubator, the only OEG to do so. :( Luckily it was within 2-3 days of a hen naturally hatching one of her eggs, so now she takes care of 2 babies. This poor guy will run around in tight circles like a top, peeping the whole time, when he loses his mama. I caught him in a slow moment.
He found his mama and scooted underneath. The other adult birds leave the babies alone. The mama is very protective, even though she is very small. The OEG rooster is also very protective and surprisingly fraternal to the babies too - you don't see that too often in roosters.
The Freedom Rangers went outside for the second day. I am finding they are not so range-y annd tend to sit in a mass a lot like Cornish X. They are getting the hang of the outside thing slowly and are starting to be adventuresome. Sorta.
Mostly to the (now empty) food bowl. :) Then it's back for naps. Life is rough for all my 'tite choux.

Posted by roosterh at 7:12 PM | Comments (1)

Eggs large and small - and many!

A hen lays an egg about every 28 hours. Judging by the number of eggs I have these days, I am thinking they are lyaing an egg ever 12 hours, but that's really impossible :) They do however, lay eggs every once in a while that are MONSTERS. These are usually double-yolkers - 2 yolks and the same amount of white more or less. These eggs are not good candidates for hatching. They are good for eating!
These eggs are pretty large. Here is the green egg from above next to a typical extra large egg.
The guinea hens began laying this week too. Their eggs are banty-sized and the shells feel very thick like a duck's. I can't imagine anything preventing us from eating them, but we haven't yet. Guineas don't seem to care where they lay their eggs - I find them scattered on the floor of their coop even though I have set up a quiet place for them to lay.
Here are some quinea eggs alongside that big green egg.
The green egg is just over 3" long. I can't sell these eggs - they are too big to fit in the cartons! They are too big to fit in my poaching pan (my favorite way to cook eggs). With the double yolks you have to have a lenient recipe to allow for the extra.
I decided to make custard. We get our milk from the dairy farm where we get our hay, so the recipe is those 3 large eggs, 4C fresh whole milk, some honey given to me by a co-worker and a dash of vanilla. Scald the milk and mix the rest while it cooks. Allow the milk to cool a bit then add it little by little to the egg mixture (do it slowly or the eggs will cook in the milk). Oil your pan and insert it in a larger pan. Fill inner pan with custard mix, fill outer pan with water, and carefully put it all in your oven. Mine's at 350 degrees. When the mix is solid, it's done! Make some homemade whipped cream, or cut up some fruit, or just sprinkle with cinnamon for a nice treat.
My egg customers don't demand the medium eggs as much as they do the large and extra large sizes, so the mediums are used at home. I think they make the perfect devilled egg. I like to mix some spicy ingredients in the mix like horseradish, hot mustard or rice vinegar. Gives them a little bit of an edge. I haven't even shown you the 5 gallon buckets of eggs Gary has stored in the root cellar for when the pigs arrive. It is certainly the season for eggs around here. What are your favorite ways of using eggs?

Posted by roosterh at 9:43 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2008

Freedom Rangers

These are Freedom Ranger chicks. They are a hybrid broiler known for great foraging abilities. I split an order with a woman I met on Craig's List (a wonderful resource - bookmark it now). Unfortunately half the chicks did not survive transit. Newly hatched chicks can survive 3 days without food and water because of the nutrients from the egg yolk they absorb before hatching. They do not survive cold very well. As it turns out, soon after this shipment arrived, the hatchery closed its doors. Many of its shipments this year had the same problems as this one.

If you have chicks this year - and based on conversations I have had with staff at Tractor Supply and Agway, a lot of you do - your biggest sign when you have a chilled chick is pasty butt. It is what it sounds like. The old poop has to be cleaned away from the chick's little vent, but be very gentle. If you use water, make sure you dry him off or he will remain chilled. A touch of vaseline around the area will help too but most importantly, get him warm.

These chicks are oblivious. They are too busy eating and peeping. They are voracious eaters. And cute. But what chick isn't?

Posted by roosterh at 6:16 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2008

Birds and Flowers (not always a good combination)

My forsythia has bloomed for the first time! The rabbits usually chew on it all winter so that by spring, it has no energy for flowers. This marans hen enjoys the blossoms too.
When quince bloom, the hummingbirds arrive. We haven't seen any here but folks in the next town have reported seeing some. Quince is one of my favorite bushes. The bright color is just amazing. The rabbits ate a lot of this bush too, and I had to prune many dead branches.
These double headed daffodils (the chicken head is extra) bloom later than the other daffodils.
Close-up of flower - no chicken!
The ducks left me one sad little tulip this year. The rest were chewed on as soon as they emerged from the ground. At least they spared one. Kind of.
The turkeys (Murphy is on your left) have been following me around this whole time, waiting patiently for their mug shot.

Posted by roosterh at 8:03 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2008

Git along little doggy

Today it was time to move the little calf up with the rest.
It was also time to give the cows new balage. Even though the grass is coming on strong, they need to have lots to eat. Three of them will calf in July. They follow Gary on the tractor as he brings the bale in.
Once unwrapped and untied, the bale is ready to go inside its feeder. Meanwhile the cows have been eating it the whole time!
This is how a cow says "Thank you" to Gary!
Hank loves the cows.
He likes cow pies too. Mmmmm. Yeah, we think that's digusting too. :)
Down off the hill, away from the cows, Liddy runs around with Annie's kids.
The kids are playful and it's hard to get them to stay still for a picture.
But Murphy is always ready for the camera.

Posted by roosterh at 5:32 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2008

Daffodils

The guineas have an outdoor run. Because of their travelling nature, they have to be contained for a while until they know that this is home. They scratch the grass for bugs and shoots, and take dust baths in the sun.
Nearby, the daffodils are blooming.
Murphy likes them too.

Posted by roosterh at 5:16 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2008

eggs. are. everywhere!!

This time of year, the chickens are highly productive and lay lots of eggs. In another couple of weeks some of them will feel the urge to sit on their eggs for babies, but now they lay em and forget em, running around eating all the new grass that is popping up. As a result, I have lots of eggs in the fridge.
I recently changed my egg packaging. I had been using styrofoam but recently the prices of recycled paper cartons have come down to be the same as the foam. So I opted for the paper cartons this time. We will see how they do. I get my cartons from eggcartons.com and afix a label with our farm logo, and record the date, the size and the price.

I also have an incubator full of turkey eggs and bantam eggs. The bantam eggs will take 21 days to hatch, and the turkey eggs will take 28 days. Both of them are kept at a constant temp of 99.5 degrees. Here's hoping we have a good hatch (but I am not counting them yet!). ;)

Posted by roosterh at 6:19 AM | Comments (1)

April 13, 2008

Gimme Guineas

Growing up, Gary was always surprised by animals his dad would bring home. At one point, his dad had quite a flock of guineas at the house. They would roost in a particular tree each night. For the past couple springs, Gary has suggested that we keep some guinea hens, and this week in Country Folks, he found an ad for some 10 month old birds. So we took the trip to that farm today and brought home 4 birds: one male and three females.
I clipped their wings before placing them in the coop, but Gary thinks I should have clipped more than I did. Sure enough, none of them had any issues flying the 3 feet up to their roost. I will have to rethink their outside run before letting them outside. They need to understand this is home before I let them out, or I will never see them again.
Even though the guineas were very quiet (if you know guineas, you know this is unusual!) and their door was closed, everyone else knew something was up and came up to their coop to investigate. They'll find out soon enough!

Posted by roosterh at 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2008

Signs of Spring

The turkeys can go where ever they want. This can be a good and a bad thing :) I love how they come running when I call. But when Gary works on his truck, he could probably do without the extra help.
You will have to click this picture to get the whole effect. Everyone came out to help Gary change his oil. Another downside of letting turkeys free range this time of year is that it is also breeding season. When I was taking these pictures, I heard a wild tom on the hill behind us. It wasn't too long until one of my hens answered his call and made the trip up the hill herself. I saw her tom, and he was large and very handsome, but afraid of me. He ran and I led the hen back down the hill. I might have to rethink this free range thing.
Some flowers have started to bloom which I hope will attract the bees away from the grain. They still swarm our grains every afternoon, hungry things. These crocus should stick around until we get some really warm days, or until my birds discover them.
These snowdrops, or Galanthus, are in my rock garden, hopefully protected from most curious beaks around here.

Posted by roosterh at 7:24 PM | Comments (2)

March 24, 2008

Annie's kids

Last Friday night, Annie had her kids. Two boys. After Liddy's adventure I was a little nervous. But everything was fine. Murphy was there for the whole birthing process, fanning his tail as he roosted on a stall wall. He has godfathered many many goat kids.
Annie. Is. Huge. After the first couple days, I will begin to milk her. When she was in labor I almost thought she was going to have triplets. The first kid was an effort to deliver, but kid #2 (the mostly white one) slid right out almost into my lap.
It took about a day for the boys to get a hang of it, but now they are old pros at this eating thing. They even nibble at grain at this young age!
Although it is a very nice day out, this is their first journey outside the barn, and they do not venture very far. Everyone, including this rooster, is very curious and wants to meet them.
Big Tom sticks around the barn too. That is where all the ladies have been hovering, playing in the hay and eating black oil sunflower seeds (their favorite treat).
Some muscovy ducks share a helping of black oil sunflower seeds with a turkey hen in the barn.
The turkeys started to lay their eggs this week. So far no one is showing signs of being broody.
Winter is receding here on the hill, and we are in the full stages of MUD SEASON. Some snow still remains up on the hill by the pig house, now boarded up.
The chickens are happy to have some grass to eat and scratch through.

Posted by roosterh at 5:41 AM | Comments (1)

March 16, 2008

Weekend activities

After a month of trying, Gary gets the trailer up the hill to the pig pen. We will deliver them to the butcher later today.
Time for Liddy's stitches to come out. Gary held her while I snipped.
When they were all out, I covered the incision with Zinc Oxide. Her coat is taking a longer time to grow back than it is taking for her incision to heal.
Murphy supervised from outside the stall.
Annie, who shares the stall with Liddy, watched from the corner. According to my notes, she is due to kid this week. At this point, her bag is much larger than her belly!
I spotted a duck checking out nest sites under a toolbench in the barn. I never found an egg, but this shows they will be laying soon.
Turkey hens play on our homemade critter carrier (it fits in the back of Gary's truck). They do stuff like this all day.
Hank sits on the hill and watches them all.

Posted by roosterh at 6:36 PM | Comments (0)

March 2, 2008

SnowSnowSnow

Time to trudge through the snow and feed the pigs. An extra bonus today: I found a stash of tiny banty eggs in the barn. There are 6 hens in the barn and each week they find a new place to lay their eggs. This week's hot spot was under the wood splitter.
The girls squeal and squeak when they realize what time it is.
They love those eggs!
And back scratches.
The purveyors of those fine eggs, part of my banty flock in the barn.
After the pigs are fed, we go across to feed the calf. He's about 7 months old now and his horns are starting to show.
My 3 spring toms follow us up. Murphy doesn't like the snow as much as they do.
Gary has plowed a wide avenue up the hill. The house and barns are below.
same picture, with turkey :)
Murphy has stayed down below to take advantage of some cleared patches of grass. Big Tom is with him.
It's a beautiful day. Tomorrow is supposed to be 50 degrees, and then we get more snow.

Liddy update: Liddy is doing great. She gets a dose of children's liquid ibuprofen every 8 hours or so. I wonder if kids eat that stuff up as eagerly and quickly as Liddy? She now checks my pockets and hands whenever I visit to see if I have brought more for her to eat.

Posted by roosterh at 6:08 PM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2008

New week new storm

Can't let a week go by without a new snowstorm! The same day I bring Liddy to the vet, we have a storm that is supposed to lay down 7-10 inches. And rain. And sleet. And fog.
Toby would rather stay outside and eat hay than go to his shed and eat hay there.
Mae and Matty stay outside too.
The turkeys are happy running around outside too! Am I the only one who wants to go inside and wrap my hands around a cup of tea?
A second later they all decide they have had enough and turn to run to the barn.
Murphy stops for one more pose. He is such a ham.
Hank does chores with me. Here he is letting me know I dropped a glove. Thanks Hank! I know how much you would rather run off and bury that glove for later!

Posted by roosterh at 6:30 PM | Comments (0)

January 31, 2008

It's a Fact

Small chickens lay small eggs. (Egg courtesy of an Old English bantam hen.)

Posted by roosterh at 6:23 AM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2008

Welcome to the barns

It's cold. So cold eggs freeze before I can pluck them from the coops.
The cows are in the barn and wait for some grain.
Liddy the pygmy goat is very very pregnant (due in about 2 weeks) and has been moved into the barn until it gets warmer outside.
She is very big. Huge. Here's another view.
The pond is frozen over so the muscovies stay in the barn by choice. In fact it is hard to move them outside.
There are 8 Old English bantams running around the barn too. Here some of them sneak a drink out of a goat waterer. They do not like the cold one bit.
In fact here is a hen all covered in hay in a manger. Can you see her? Pretty cozy!
The cold doesn't bother Hank too much. He's ready to wrestle anytime anyplace.

Posted by roosterh at 5:25 PM | Comments (1)

December 17, 2007

a *very* unwelcome visitor

On Friday, I sold my spring roosters and a lot of ducks to a buyer - about 50 birds total. I am trying to keep the bird numbers down, and most of them out of the barns. Meanwhile someone else has been helping to keep the numbers down. This morning, I lost a duck who had taken shelter in one of the barns to this guy, and I suspect several chicks over the summer. Luckily, Gary had some .22 birdshot and is a good marksman and took care of this guy quickly.
Here's hoping there's not another out there ready to take its place. Weasels can quickly devastate a poultry flock.

Posted by roosterh at 6:16 AM | Comments (2)

December 3, 2007

Moving Day

Today was moving day - moving 50 bales of hay or so into the barn so we can use the trailer as a trailer, and moving 30 or so chickens from their field coops to the regular coops. We might get snow tomorrow and we need to get these things done for winter anyway so ... everyone moves around.

Posted by roosterh at 7:37 AM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2007

Yet more pictures - do they all look the same?

I haven't taken a picture of GooseGoose in a while. It's not like they look different from the last time I took their picture, yet here they are. They constantly stroll around and graze on the grass and what they can find under the leaves. They do this all night too.
One of the young toms. Gary asks me why I take so many pictures of the turkeys, they all look the same. I can't help it!
Just like taking pix of the cows! They all look the same too. Well maybe bigger.
Most likely all the chicken pictures look the same too. But I still take em. You can tell how spoiled this group is - I near their coop and they all meet me halfway looking for treats.
Leghorn rooster. It's pronounced leggern but you can say Leg-Horn if you want. :) Leghorns are a flighty breed and the roosters are hard to tame down (imo). But rarely do other breeds have the sheen and shine to their feathers that leghorns do. They really are gorgeous.
Barred rocks, on the other hand, are quite personable and friendly.
Obligatory Murphy shot.

Posted by roosterh at 8:17 PM | Comments (1)

November 14, 2007

Stray cat strut

We had already heard from a neighbor that other neighbors had seen a bobcat carcass on the side of the road during their daily walk a few weeks ago. The local Pennysaver also reports that a bobcat was seen a couple towns down the road. Unfortunately the online edition does not include the photo.

So when Hank chased that cat up the tree last night I started to get nervous. The inner voice started. That cat was awfully big. Although he was white, there are albinos around. what if that was a bobcat!!??

When I drove down the driveway this morning I looked in the trees where I last saw that cat. And he was STILL THERE! And here is the lesson where we learn not to use the cellphone and drive: I put the truck into reverse, called Gary (200 yards up the hill in the house mind you) to see if he would check on this cat.... and promptly backed into a tree.

Took me a little bit to extricate myself. And Gary never did see that cat.

Posted by roosterh at 4:23 PM | Comments (1)

November 13, 2007

Good news and bad news

The bad news: there was a HUGE white cat stalking the chicken coops tonight.

The good news: Hank chased him way up a tree.

The bad news: Hank never did catch him so he is still out there.

The good news: all of the baby turkeys put themselves in the coop tonight. By themselves. I usually have to carry them in. Tonight I just followed them as they walked up the hill to bed.

It's the little things I guess. ;)

Posted by roosterh at 6:24 PM | Comments (0)

November 7, 2007

Pick up game, birdwatching and snow

When presented with a tasty treat, turkeys will go to great lengths to protect their finds. Turkeys love apples and will run to find a quiet spot where they can eat their snack alone.
A chase ensues. It's every turkey for himself when apples are involved.
Even the chickens enjoy apples, although they will eat them right then and there.
And because of this, alert turkeys are responsible for many turnovers, like this little hen will soon discover.
Fumble -oh boy! Again, the chicken is intercepted. The turkey runs down the field.
Others follow, looking for their opening. A rooster referees, watching for interference. The group rounded a corner and I lost sight of who ended up scoring.
Bird watching is another favorite pasttime of the turkeys. I just installed a little feeder this past weekend and filled it with black oil sunflower seeds, another crowd favorite. The turkeys will wait by the feeder and watch the birds go to the feeder -
- and fly away. And sometimes the turkeys to give chase to these birds too.

In other news we saw snow today. Not big flakes, but little floating dandruff in the air. Nothing stuck to the ground, but the cold air and the wind made for a great day of football and apple treats. And bird watching :)

Tomorrow I will try to focus on something other than turkeys!

Posted by roosterh at 3:30 PM | Comments (1)

November 5, 2007

More fun with turkeys

Young toms show off their strutting skills for each other.
Turkeys are some of the most curious animals I have ever met.
When I sit in the grass with my camera in hand, the young ones come running to investigate.
Murphy, of course, is an old pro.

Posted by roosterh at 6:01 AM | Comments (0)

November 2, 2007

Wood

Gary has been busy pulling logs out of the woods and cutting them on the sawmill.
These boards are from locust trees. We have a large stand of locust. They grow quickly and we use them in many ways: firewood, fence posts and lumber for building. The color of the wood is a little yellower than most trees.
The near-daily hard frost collects on the bark of the slab wood. We will cut these slabs and use them for firewood. Locust is a hard wood and makes a nice warm fire!
Murphy and Big Tom wait patiently for the camera to be pointed at them. They are always ready to have their picture taken.

Posted by roosterh at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2007

A Sharper Look

I finally broke down and got a new camera. I took some shots even before I knew how to use the thing, so I can't imagine what the photos will be like once I learn how!

Twilight sky.
Tucker, a boer goat buck in all his stinky glory. The young roosters roam freely in the pastures.
My goofy stinky dog Hank. Gary calls him "Dufus," and he does act like he has one or two brain cells a lot of the time, but every once in a while he shines. Tonight he oh-so-gently herded one of my jakes to the turkey shed and I was so proud of him. He usually has a very strong drive and gets the birds excited but tonight he was awesome!
Here is one of those jakes. He is the oldest - by 3 days - of my turkey poults. This is the bunch who stayed inside their first few weeks in a brooder under my computer desk.
Young turkey hen.
Gary puts the tractor away. He has been pulling logs out of the woods for the past week. He cuts the logs on the sawmill for boards for a barn, and the rest is used for firewood.
No photolog is complete without a picture of Murphy. Isn't he handsome? (I tell him that all the time, I think he likes it.)

Posted by roosterh at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2007

Auction Bound

There are just too many birds around here. Ducks are underfoot constantly and roosters crow dawn til dusk. Time to go to an auction.

The birds actually sold pretty well and we were ready to head back home.

Until we saw this guy. A tiny pygmy buck kid! Now we have a boyfriend for Liddy, our other pygmy. He moves too fast to get a good picture.
And then we saw this guy.
Two piglets also came home with us too. It's all a blur. I didn't get their pictures, so here's another pic of that calf. He's a real looker!

I also brought some more birds home. Fortunately they do not eat much.

Posted by roosterh at 7:04 AM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2007

Murphy's feathers

The geese, ducks and turkeys all molt, or lose their feathers, this time of year. The old feathers drop and cover our lawn as the birds' new feathers emerge.
Even proud Murphy loses his feathers. He is down to 2 tail feathers, but he is still trying to show off and strut for us. His new set of feathers should be in and grown in about a month. The chickens wait until the weather turns to fall (when it gets cold!) to molt their feathers.

Posted by roosterh at 6:50 AM | Comments (0)

August 9, 2007

The New Crew

Introducing the tiniest chicks. These are spangled Old English bantams. They just hatched today.
Mama has been sitting in the cosiest spot. (Really sometimes these birds pick the worst spot to sit on eggs, but that's just my opinion.) She is 7' in the air in this hinged box I picked up at an auction. Actually the hen who I posted about a couple of days ago with 11 chicks hatched her brood on the same shelf - she chose a washtub filled with bailing twine as her nest.
She and her babies are pretty comfy in their nest box, but today I will move them to a cage on the floor. I don't think the babies will be able to navigate the 7' drop to the floor too well.
Meanwhile the new painting crew had arrived :) gary set up this scaffolding to stain the side of the house. The turkey poults have decided it is a great place to roost after breakfast.

Posted by roosterh at 6:22 AM | Comments (0)

August 8, 2007

It's hot (or why weeds are good)

Outside the barn we have a large patch of weeds. It's unsightly but it does have a purpose.
The birds and their chicks all love to hang out in the cool depths on hot days.
Two chickens and chicks. They really get swallowed up in there!
These ducks were in there - they came out to see what I was doing.
This turkey hen and duck hen sat on the same clutch of eggs. During the incubation time, they would steal from each other's piles, back and forth, every day. They are heading towards the weeds too.
Goosegoose usually hangs out under the crab apple tree by the hostas. Those hostas provide a lot of shade.
To beat the heat, the turkeys pant. If no one is around, the toms will split up and each find their own spot of shade and take a nap. Periodically they will get back together and browse in the grasses under trees. One tom prefers to hang out in the barn in the middle of the day which I don't understand - even in the doorway it is much hotter inside the barn than out.

And Hank - well he just pants all the time. This is his favorite spot - from this hill he can overlook the goats and sheep and all the chicken coops to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Posted by roosterh at 5:10 AM | Comments (0)

August