Search results for query: *

  1. Callender Girl

    Gussie is all alone, but I'm not sure how to introduce goslings

    Gussie's sister vanished in January, and I know she misses Golly terribly. They spent their entire lives together, almost 8 years. I am planning to get goslings this spring (two or three, at least) so she has other geese as company. Chickens and ducks just aren't the same for her. I've been...
  2. Callender Girl

    First egg of 2026!

    There have been numerous challenges in the first weeks of this year; some days are pretty discouraging. But, late yesterday afternoon, as I was preparing for the predicted extremely frigid weather, I discovered my flocks' first egg of 2026! Sweet, skittish Lydia -- a rose-comb brown Leghorn...
  3. Callender Girl

    Might owe an apology to a coyote

    When Golly, one of my American Buffs, disappeared without a trace, based on known area predators and some partial pawprints in the snow, I blamed a coyote. They are plentiful here and a new litter was born last spring. However, a couple of things seemed off, right from the start. First, in 18...
  4. Callender Girl

    Golly vanished; her sister and I are devastated

    Golly disappeared without a trace yesterday. She and her sister Gussie were lying next to the house, soaking up some winter sun at 2:20 p.m. when I was out cleaning coops. At minutes after 3, I went back out to take fresh water, and she was gone. No signs of struggle, no feathers, no blood and...
  5. Callender Girl

    Horrified to find duck frozen to shelter floor

    Blair appears okay now, but I had a few heart-stopping moments. Temps are and have been in the double-digits below zero. When I released the runners this morning for breakfast (I don't feed them or give them water in the shelter), everyone ran out except Blair. She had been quiet until she saw...
  6. Callender Girl

    Lost chicken, happy ending!!

    When I was shooing everyone back into their coops last night, one of my Sapphire Splashes didn't come in. My poultry runs loose in a fenced area next to the house during the day, but only when I am home and can keep an eye on them. A pair of geese, who care nothing about the chickens' or ducks'...
  7. Callender Girl

    Roos, gone, hen is "crowing"

    Recently, I found a good home for my two roosters. Moses was sexed at the hatchery as a female. Billy, a Cochin Bantam who was bullied by another rooster as a chick, grew up to be a bully. He hated me, my sister and every pet sitter he ever met. Flogging, biting and side-eying me was part of his...
  8. Callender Girl

    Blood on roosts again; can't pinpoint a cause

    For the second day in a row, I've found a fair amount of blood on and under the roosts in one of my coops. None of the three hens appears to have any injury -- I've checked combs, wattles, feet, butts and bodies. The Columbian Wyandotte has blood on some of her wing and back feathers, but I...
  9. Callender Girl

    Ameraucana cockerel in Iowa

    Misidentified as a female chick at the hatchery on July 1, 2024, Moses is a beautiful boy. But I already have a rooster and didn't want or need a second one. Also, he has recently discovered that he is a virile male and is driving his pullets (and me!) crazy. His current home is near Fort...
  10. Callender Girl

    Golly, the brave (?), faces an intruder!

    When I went out last night to close coops, I heard Golly, one of my American Buff geese, hissing loudly and without stopping. The more assertive of the two girls, I've heard her hiss many times, but never like this. As I looked past one of the chicken coops, I could see Golly with her wings...
  11. Callender Girl

    RIP Celeste

    Six years ago last April, I came home with two chicks from the local farm store -- Salmon Faverolles that I named Celeste and Camille. I fell in love with their fluffy faces and feet -- and their awkward gait when they ran. They have been inseparable their entire lives. Two days ago, something...
  12. Callender Girl

    Unusual hawk experience, no fatalities

    I thought I heard a wild bird in distress this morning, and something moved underneath a weeping willow. By the time I got to the tree, whatever had been under it was gone. I heard the distress call again and scanned the landscape but couldn't see a bird anywhere. As I was heading back to the...
  13. Callender Girl

    So proud of my clever chicks!

    I had been brooding seven chicks in my upstairs bedroom and moving them to an outdoor coop/run daily, then returning them to the brooder at night. Last week, as they were seven weeks old and fully feathered, I decided it was time for them to stay outdoors full time. They liked hanging out in...
  14. Callender Girl

    Murray Fest

    Is anyone else planning to attend Murray Fest in Webster City, Iowa? From June 29-July 1, Murray McMurray Hatchery is holding "a weekend of learning and community; a "poultry and homesteading festival." If so, it would be great to meet some BYC folks in person!
  15. Callender Girl

    Cats raided a bunny nest; what to do?

    Came out to my driveway to see a cat tossing something in the air. Turns out it was a very young bunny, about the size of a chipmunk. When I got closer, I found one dead, one dying, one that was just bits left and one live bunny. I'm guessing it's at least two weeks old because its eyes are...
  16. Callender Girl

    Golly has laid her first egg of 2024

    Although the American Buff girls are usually quiet until it's light outside, I heard one of them chatting loudly when I took out the dogs. About two hours later, I took in Gussie and Golly's feed and opened their coop door. Golly, who is NEVER one to pass up a meal, hightailed it out of the run...
  17. Callender Girl

    Another great girl gone

    Marietta, my Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte, was dead in the coop yesterday morning. I am sad, but not surprised, because she was clearly slowing down recently. She was fully grown when she came to live with me almost six years ago. A family that was friends with friends of mine was selling off its...
  18. Callender Girl

    A tribute to my Honey

    Honey, a Buff Orpington and the last surviving member of my original flock, was dead in her coop this morning. She had been slowing down for some time, appeared okay Tuesday but was extremely lethargic Wednesday and refused any feed or treats. She didn't get out of the coop when I opened it...
  19. Callender Girl

    What is the likely killer?

    Came home to find a dead rooster pheasant in my yard. At first, I thought it was probably killed by a mink because I couldn't see the head. When I picked up the bird, I realized it was just lying on top of its head, with its neck bent. There was a big chunk out of the pheasant's side and a...
  20. Callender Girl

    Runner duck has priorities

    One of my runner hens, Drew, has been disappearing as soon as I release the ducks from their shelter in the morning. I was pretty sure she was sitting on eggs somewhere. But by the time I got everyone fed, she would be out of sight all day, and I couldn't find the nest until today. As I was...
Back
Top Bottom