Went for a walk in the woods with my nephew today. June, the dog, and two of his cats, Mr. Magoo and Thomas tagged along.
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Another visitor
Found this little guy in the inside water tub today. I have found frogs in the outside water tub before, but never inside the barn. He was very slippery! At one point when I was carrying him outside he managed to slip out of my hands. The hens came running to see what landed on the floor. I think they might have tried to eat him if I hadn’t scooped him right back up. I’m hoping he will stick around by the outside tub’s overflow. The more bugs he eats, the better!
More dinner?
I’ll admit, I was expecting to find a pile of feathers as the only evidence of Little Pigeon today. But apparently Tiggy wasn’t hungry. He was still wandering around the barn. Seemed to be OK… Until I fed the chickens. They don’t seem to mind him pecking and scratching around. When I filled their feeder there was a feeding frenzy, as usual. Then Little Pigeon got too close to their feeder and the hens all wigged out! Holy Crap! They were so violent! All six of them attacked him. They were pecking him so hard, picking him up in their beaks, throwing him around. I thought they would kill him. Keen to the rescue! Had no problem catching him today. I took him back in the haymow. But I don’t know if his parents will still take care of him. I’ll check on him again tomorrow.
Look who came to dinner
This little guy is a pigeon fledgling. He must have fallen down through the hay chute from the haymow. I could not get close enough to catch him and take him back upstairs to his parents. He did join the chickens in pecking and scratching food the lambs had dropped. He can’t quite fly, yet. Just short, little flapping hops. If Tiggy doesn’t get him I will see if I can catch him tomorrow and put him back where he belongs.
Thistles, anyone?
Levi decided to nip some of the thistles in the barnyard. After cutting several down, he got the brilliant idea to feed them to the sheep. He insisted I cut them up and add them to the sheep’s feed tubs. THAT was a lot of fun! My sister had heard or read somewhere that lambs can be trained to eat thistles and nettles, so I figured I might as well give it a try. What she doesn’t know is how the heck I’m supposed to cut them up without getting pricked or stung. So, thistles were included in the sheep’s supper tonight and the lambs got thistles and nettles. Yeah, these items were NOT a big hit. They sheep ate around them. But, I think I will continue to add small amounts of thistles and nettles to the lamb food. Might even try some wild parsnip on them. It would be so awesome if they really can be trained to eat these plants. Our pastures could be a lot nicer in future years if these weeds weren’t left to grow and go to seed.
Keeping them a little bit hungry
My sister has been on my case for a long time, telling me the sheep are too fat. They get very little grain, but we also give them bread and cull vegetables, apples, corn husks, whatever is available seasonally. They do like their treats. And they yell at me when they don’t think they have had enough treats. I don’t want them to be obese, but it is hard for me to say no to them. I don’t want them to feel deprived. Karen calls it “spoiling them”. OK, so I am guilty. And, until recently, unrepentant.
However, the past two years, approximately 1/3 of the flock did not breed. The same 10 sheep two years in a row. The vet cannot find anything wrong. These girls did not even come into heat, although they are all healthy. The only other possibility we can think of is their weight. And Karen is talking about culling them. A perfectly logical response when animals are unproductive. We aren’t making money at this, but the girls at least have to pay for themselves. Without lambs to sell we are losing money, buying food for them with no return. (At $.09 per pound for wool, it really isn’t worth shearing them except to make them more comfortable in the heat.)
Well, some of these 10 non-producers are my favorites. So, I have been on a major campaign to make them lose weight. I have put them on a strict diet these past few months. Less grain, less bread, less veggies, less treats, even less hay. They look to me like they are slimmer. I did it gradually so they wouldn’t feel deprived. To my eyes they are being fed very little. They have gotten used to it and don’t make too much of a fuss.
But, when they go out to graze they try to compensate for what they don’t get in the barn. They STUFF themselves. And they eat the tougher grasses and weeds they would have ignored in previous years. When they knew they would get plenty in the barn they were much more persnickety, only eating the young, tender grasses. That is what they would prefer, still, whenever it is available. However, they are doing a much better job of cleaning up their pastures. This is a good thing!
Much as I hate to admit it, Sissy was right. Feeding them less has been better all around. And they still love me. We won’t know for a while if this diet will bring them into heat when we introduce a ram, but I am hopeful. It won’t be long now.
Giving scratches
I had a hard time getting a good angle for this shot. I was scratching Bear’s neck and she leaned against me so hard my arm was pinned
Yay, Ruby!
I am so excited! Ruby laid an egg for the first time since she got sick back in May. She has recovered from “the bug” and been acting fine, just no eggs for a month and a half. I honestly didn’t care about the eggs, have just been glad she’s better. Advice from fellow chicken keepers has suggested that she probably wouldn’t lay for the rest of the season, maybe next spring.
This morning she was being more vocal than she has been in a long time. She kept strutting around in the feed room, eyeing what used to be her favorite nesting spot. I was thinking “maybe, maybe”. Finally she flapped up on top of the shelves and got into her pan. She got right down to business as if there had never been a problem.
It’s these little moments of joy that make it all worth it.
Here’s the history of here illness if you’re not familiar:
May 15 2017.
Poor Ruby is not feeling well. Snotty nose, crusty eyes, very lethargic. When I brought the chickens inside from the rain Saturday, she was standing in the splash zone from the gutter downspout. Didn’t want to come in. When I did chores yesterday she was like this. Full-blown chicken cold. She won’t scratch, she won’t peck, just stands there, hunched up and looking miserable. Called cousin Sandy, who has a lot of chickens, for advice. She said there’s not much I can do for her. Just keep her warm and dry. She will either fight it off or she won’t make it. I did wipe the crusty boogers out of her eyes and nostrils. She did not care for that much. Today I took a syringe and gave her some water so she won’t dehydrate. My poor girl. She did seem to enjoy sitting in the sun after that. Didn’t want to any part of the bed I made for her. But once it started getting dark she came to me. I put her back in her bed and she snuggled right down under the blanket. Any other chicken “moms” have any advice for me?
😢
May 17
I am cautiously optimistic about Ruby today. Gave her a dose of penicillin orally yesterday on the advice of one of Karen S Roberts co-workers. Obviously won’t help with the viral cold infection, but did seem to help with her secondary bacterial bronchial infection. I have been using a syringe to force water, broth, juice, etc. down her beak. Has not been fun for me or Ruby. But, as she has not been drinking or eating on her own, I wanted to make sure she did not become too weak or dehydrated. I have also been mixing a tiny dose of children’s Similason in with her liquids to help with her congestion. Yesterday she did drink water of her own volition. Stood in a patch of sunlight with her feet in the runoff from the water tub and kept dipping her beak in over and over for almost an hour. I took that as a good sign. I also saw her poop for the first time in days. But, when I went in the barn today, she had not gotten out of bed yet. She did have the blanket off, but had not eaten or tried to get up. Her eyes were less crusty and she was less snotty, but she had been getting herself out of bed until today. Well, since giving her antibiotics yesterday, I knew her little tummy bacteria were probably all out of whack. So, I mixed some applesauce with some yogurt and syringed that into her. The yogurt will help re-balance her digestive system. And it’s the most solid thing she’s had since this started. After getting a few mls into her I put her out in the sun. When Levi got home from school he was very insistent on helping me take care of her. He got a little dish of chicken food and every time she moved he put it right in front of her. And finally she did eat some. I am thinking that’s a good sign. I have also been giving her over-the-counter homeopathic pink-eye drops and I have noticed she was mostly keeping her eyes open tonight, instead of keeping her third eyelid closed. I gave her some more yogurt/apple sauce mixture as I was finishing up with chores. Put her down while I fed the rest of the hens. She actually joined them and helped herself to some scratch. She is definitely not herself, you can tell she does not feel good, still congested and lethargic, but she is acting better than she was. And if she is eating, that has to be good, right? Put her to bed, covered her with her blanket, and she did not snuggle right down and go to sleep. She actually pecked a little bit at her food dish before going to sleep. Fingers crossed that she has turned the corner!
May 18
Ruby is definitely on the mend. She was scratching and pecking, eating and drinking on her own today. Snot and eye crust are cleared up. She is still a bit weak and rests frequently, but seems much, much better! She even went to roost on her own, no hay-lined box and blanket tonight. Will still be keeping a close eye on her, make sure she does not relapse, but I really think she is going to be OK.
Soggy Sheep
Thank goodness it’s raining! For a minute there I was getting worried. We almost had three days in a row without any rain!
I’ve been checking the sheep everyday lately to make sure their wool isn’t getting moldy.
Mom says the old-timers used to say, “A cold, wet May means a barn full of hay.”
May I just add; A rainy, wet June makes the barnyard a lagoon. I think the old-timers would agree.
And tomorrow starts July. If this weather continues I will be compelled to say; a nasty, wet July means the hay can’t get dry.
This could really be a problem. I mean, I am assuming the sheep will be wanting to eat come winter time.
Happy Anniversary, Tiggy!
Post from 6/30/2016
My new buddy, Tiggy!
I’ve been wanting a barn cat for a while, to help keep a check on the rodent population. Over the past couple of years there have been a few transient cats who’ve stopped by the barn. They stay for a while, usually completely wild and unapprochable. If I see them more than twice I put food down for them in the haymow, hoping they will stick around. A couple got hit in the road. Some of them just move on. One was so sick I had Dad shoot it because it was suffering. Haven’t been able to touch any of them, except the sick one when it became too weak to run away.
But this guy has been hanging around for a couple of weeks. He has crouched and flinched away from any contact, although I did manage to pet him a little bit once or twice. He was nothing but skin and bones. Since I’ve been putting food down he has been gaining weight, strength, and confidence. Tonight when I took his supper up to the haymow I called to him and he answered me! He came to me of his own accord and eagerly leaned into my hand when I petted him. Looks like he has decided to be my friend. Such an awesome feeling to win the confidence of an animal! Now, if he will just stay away from the road…
These poor cats. People often “drop off” unwanted cats at farms. Happened all the time at the old farm when I was growing up. Most farmers don’t mind. But what about the poor cats? Being abandoned by their families. Thrown into a completely unfamiliar sutuation. Most are former housecats who have no skills to keep themselves safe outdoors, have never seen a farm animal. They are terrified of being outside, of sheep and cows, of the strange sounds and smells, of strange new people and activities. Most adapt after a while, but why put them through such trauma? Without exception they all show up cringing and flinching. What kind of “home” did they have before to be so terrified of humans? Some people have no business owning pets!
Here’s hoping Tiggy will come to enjoy his new life as much as I enjoy offering it to him!
Farmer Keen 