Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

 

[Kris5902]

Evening Bob!

Totally missed any notification for your morning greeting... but I guess we can’t complain that such an awesome site has a few glitches...

Let see... nothing much is new. I’m saving eggs, and we’re going to see if Chickie Hawk has some decent Daughters for next year (hopefully they don’t pick up the attitude!) I’m also looking to hatch out some of Mrs Marans eggs, and maybe the Sapphire girls for potential Olive Eggers.

The separation/reintegration last night seems to have settled the cockerels down. I spent my afternoon chasing and being chased by the cows and fixing fences. Oh yes... I got my cardio in for the month I think! We’ve finally almost filled our water tank again. And i think I finally managed to block the gap in our slide out that the huge yellow Jackets kept coming in through (I put 10 back outside in the space of 1 1/2 hrs yesterday!).

Lots of little things done, but I still haven’t gotten to those nest boxes yet! By the time I finally finish them I’ll bet the girls will have figured out a great hiding place for them. I don’t know how, but last summer someone laid one on top of the outside coop... there’s about 4-5” clearance between the roof and the chain link of the dog pen, but she still managed it, if it’s still there I’ll see if I can get a pic of it!

 

[BY Bob]

I can't imagine keeping up with cows. The chickens challenge me sometimes!! That must have been some serious exercise today!

 

[drumstick diva]

always coming in later from too much napping

 

[Ribh]

always coming in later from too much napping

Napping is good. That is how you *survive the drive.*

 

[drumstick diva]

thank you - the older I get, the more I nap.

 

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

 

[Kris5902]

Morning Kris

Morning Bob!

 

[rjohns39]

How are you today?

 

[Kris5902]

Now that I’m a little less wiped after a good nap and solid sleep I’ll clarify a bit. Behold... my lovely map skills, not exactly to scale (lonetree and wallow are about 15 acres, gravel pit is only about 5) but it gives a good idea of the fenceline. The western half of Taylor Point (which is a huge section extending out to the beach and thus not fenced on the outside) is heavily forested with a large meadow and an old orchard before the beach, the farm is on a plateau with a bluff to the North, a forested border along a ridge to the south, which drops of mostly straight down to the water. The first 30m of trees in that direction are on our property, the rest between that and the water we sold to the Federal Parks. From our trailer to the beach is about 1/3 the farm, maybe 200 acres or so of it.

Thanks to the fences I’m not having to actually out run the cows (yeah, that’s not going to happen!) usually they are quite laid back, but the ones that calved got let into some “nice” grass in the Veldt, and the others were across a section from them, but also adjoining as that fence line runs in a giant U shape. Our bull decided he want to check the girls with the babes and found a questionable section of fence to walk over so he was in there as well.

We drove through the middle section and when the herd spotted me they got a little hysterical... mooing and chasing the car along the fence. This got the bull a little riled and he wanted to get to them, so when we went through the gate into the Veldt, he went out it trying to get to them. We were fixing the fence (Star in SE corner) and let the main herd -5 slow cows into the Veldt as well through something that is not IMO a gate in the very corner.

Now Gus realizes he is alone and not with his girls and this is very upsetting to him, so I had to let him in through the east gate. This is the only point I really had to run (to him!) to let him in as he was getting frantic which is really not good. He’s still young/small enough to jump the fence if he really decides he needs to, and if he wants to go through it, it isn’t going to stop him, but he might trip or hurt himself. Of course once he realized I was opening the gate for him, he ran straight at it/me. Terrifying, not in an aggressive way, but because of the speed and size of him! I then had to get the slow cows that stopped in a random corner in there as well.

2 Things I have learned since coming here, there’s too much to really list, but 2 of the most important things... country life is not nearly as “peaceful” as you would think it is, and the bull is an entirely different animal when he is alone!