Coffee's ready...

[Gargoyle]

Morning People,
Gargoyle: Donna sounds like some of our hens after they lay an egg. Did she just lay that egg? The other 2 look like abused hens from a rooster. Since you don't have a rooster.......... How many chickens have you had with Donna?

We had three hens and a rooster, the two hens and the rooster were all chewed up in the exact same way; Mossy, the littlest one, got the worst of it. Then the rooster either had a bad reaction to trying to get the rooster booster peck-no-more off his feathers, or just lost his balance twisting to get it off, fell off a stone perch and bonked his head, knocking himself out (could he have had a toxic shock to ingesting some of it?) and we put Donna in chicken prison. Two days later he fell off a perch or ran into the fence (his vision/balance could have been impaired from the previous accident, or he could have sustained a neck fracture the previous time) and he broke his neck and died. Quite a shock to all of us, the two hens are still in mourning.

Donna crows like that a couple times a day, on occasion after laying an egg, but other times just because she was lonely or annoyed and wanted attention. She is now back at the farm in a flock of 100, she looked very comfortable as soon as I set her down there.

Quite some drama here, eh?

BTW, we're waiting till May when the farm gets a new crop of chicks, then we'll pick up two or three to keep Mossy and Goldie company. We'll keep it to just one Roo, of course.

____________________

OES, right now friends will be supportive for your dad, but in a month or two they will sort of think things are back to normal, they will have moved on and won't pay as much attention- however, for him and for you it will remain painful. Watch him during that period, that is the time when the sadness kind of creeps up on people when they don't expect it, and it can be very hard.

 

[rrrmamma]

Oes, losing a parent is such a hard thing.I lost my Dad 8 years ago and am in California now because of a health crisis for my mom.My heart goes out to you. Prayers that the pain for you and your dad will ease soon. You are in my thoughts today.

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Gargoyle:

I'm not a chicken whisperer but I think you did as much as you could. I would have been cruel to leave Donna in there abusing the other 2. You did what you had to do and came up with an imaginative and loving solution which allows here to live out her life and not eat her for dinner. I'm sorry you will miss her on a daily basis but all are better for it. Smart move. I have never heard a hen crow before but that's exactly what I think it would sound like too. Too much testosterone for 1 hen to handle I guess. I hope the other 2 gals heal up soon. Introducing new chicks into the mix seems like the right way to increase your flock. Especially with the 2 gals experiencing what can only be describes as CPTSD (Chicken Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Oes:

What was said by Gargoyle is right and it is certain it will happen like that. After your Dad's ( and your) friends think "everything's OK" they will fall back and the emptiness will set in heavily. When this happened in my family, 10 years ago, I started a new thing. Nothing special. Just "Dinner". Father & I ALWAYS have dinner on Friday night. No exceptions allowed. EVER!!! Nothing special - we don't have to go out to a restaurant, could just be our "specialty of the house" which in our world translates to grilled cheese sandwiches. Others can join in at any time. Through the years we have had regulars fade in and out but the core is the same and that is very comforting for him. We discuss things or just eat together enjoying that we are not alone. I suggest you do the same. It's hard at first - such an ongoing commitment, life sometimes tried to get in the way, but keeping that commitment has meant the world to us and has helped us heal and kept us whole through other trying times too. I can say now that my Dad is my best friend and I am his.

My cousin, who is my idol, is dying of cancer. I am not close to her sister. She has a few days left. She and I were always being mistaken for each other. We have the same body, Hair style & length, eye color and we have the same voice over the phone we sound alike.....I will look to your strong example to give me strength too. I hope in sharing our solution to the loss of mother will help you and your Dad. Helping others gives strength back to the helper in inconceivable ways that can help pull the giever through many things, refocusing troubled thoughts into something productive whilst still grieving. Thank you for letting me into your life enough to be able to send suggestions to you. If any one has some for me I will appreciate it.

I realize this is part of being 50+ years old, but I don't have to like it.

Denise

 

[quercus21]

Good morning people,
Must be getting close to spring. I let the fire burn out a couple of days ago. It's been in the lower to mid 70's the last couple of days. A lot of tree buds are starting to swell and the early spring flowers are up and showing themselves.
I am getting all set for St. Patties Day, I picked and made some horseradish last night. Now it is just fermenting in the frig. I tried something new for myself this time, freezing the extra ground horseradish for later use. For some reason, they don't recommend canning it?
Off to splitting wood, then the shop. I have some nice maple burls that I am working with this week. I can't wait till next year, I have a collection of cherry burls.
Enjoy
Kaj

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Oes - How are you doing?

I've been quite depressed lately myself. My cousin has lost lucidity.

 

[karl E lutz]

Good morning chicken wranglers
Oesdog Glad you are back!Still sorry for your loss

.
I sold cows yesterday,sold five and now I'm down to 8.I want to sell 3 more soon.
My daughter bought ducks for the pond,we already have 5 and 2 geese.That's enough you do have to take care of them you know.
She was at the sale barn and just beg gin for a calf to bottle feed.No we are reducing the herd.I'm too busy to take care of them.
Kids always say I'll take care of them and it always gets back to me

.
Done ranting God Bless!

 

[Gargoyle]

Good evening everyone (unless you're in a different time zone

)

Oes, hope you're doing well.

Our chicks are happy and getting confident and relaxed. I started plans for an addition to the run, I'll add a 6 x 8' (or maybe7' x 8', if I don't hit too many tree roots) fenced area at the back. It will have a door to the main run that I can close, and a little coop. That way we'll have a separate place for the new chicks when we get them, and they can get used to Mossy and Goldie; once they move in together, it will give a larger overall space, and if I ever need a hospital or prison I can just close the door again and isolate some in there. The main run and coop are on an 8' x 20' concrete pad; this new part will be on dirt, but I'll dig down about 6", lay a couple layers of hardware cloth, maybe some vinyl coated or add some concrete because the hardware cloth could rust through in a few years. Then I'll fill it back, maybe throw down some grass seed, or just let the weeds take over. Of course, 50 sq. ft. of grass would probably last, what, about three days once the chicks get to it?

 

[rngrbill]

Happy St. Patty's day all! time to get my coffee!

 

[Gargoyle]

I figured my girls needed another water dish, something they won't tip over. I was looking for something else in the shop, found a rough unfinished leaf that I'd carved once in a scrap of limestone, I was doing a demo for someone. I spent a few minutes, deepened it around the leaf, maybe 3/4" deep so it could hold some water, and treated it with a food grade water sealer. Took them a few days to get used to it, but now they drink it all up.

 

[chics in the sun]

That's a very attractive water dish! And I bet it keeps the water nice and cool.

I hope everyone is doing okay. I had a big test for work on Friday, which I somehow managed to pass, even though it was all about being a great teacher. Now I am trying to get us ready to go to Colorado on Friday.
This morning I built a little pen for my quail, who just started laying tiny little spotted eggs. When I moved the slab of marble out of the way of where I was putting the pen (I set the food on it), a rat ran out (I think it was a rat, not a mouse, but I'm not sure. I left the aviary and when back to my tools, then heard a comotion in the aviary, including my Jersey Giant bawking her head off - she is so loud! I look in amd at first thought they had caught the rat and tore it up. But no, they found a nest. There was not a thing I could do but let nature take it's course. Yuck, yuck,yuck! Do you suppose we can still eat the eggs this week? I know rats carry disease, but these were still tiny. I couldn't watch, but boy were the chickens excited! At least that is half a dozen less rats to worry about. I think I'll start putting the food away at night. I don't think I could ever completely rodent proof an aviary that size.