New Peeps for Spring of 2012 and Other Goin' Ons

Last Sunday we picked up our peeps at the post office.  This is not the first set of peeps that we've raised (we've had plenty of peeps on the farm), but they ARE the first ones that we ordered and picked up ourselves.  We ordered from McMurry Hatchery based on their excellent reputation, as so far, couldn't be more pleased.  We got the message that they were shipped on Saturday, I was beside myself.  Glad we got that brooder done!  First thing Sunday morning I checked their tracking to see how far they had traveled.  They at one of the main post office hubs  in Pittsburgh!!  We live about 35 miles outside of the city, but I was willing to drive in if I could pick them up.  My first thought was, "It's a Sunday!  No one will be available!"  But we called all the same, and a return phone call gave us the answer we'd been waiting for, "Come and get 'em!"  And that we did.

Newly hatched chicks can survive for about 72 hours without needing food or water.  For mama hens, hatching her own chicks this is important.  She must patiently sit on her chicks until they have all hatched.  And this can take 48-72 hours.  So these little guys and gals absorb their yolk sac just before hatching to provide them with the nourishment to survive those hours before mama hen can take them out looking for food.  Pretty darn creative, don't you think.  This allows chicks to be shipped in the mail. However, warmth is another consideration, therefore typically they are shipped in no less that groups of 25 so that they can keep each other warm.  Larger birds, like ducks or geese, can be shipped in few numbers.  I'm happy to say that every last one of our birds arrived safely, and all seem to be happy, healthy, and thriving.

On another note, the weather here has been crazy.  Definitely an uncharacteristically warm winter.  I'm not really complaining.  I checked the weather this morning when I woke up (as I always do - I'm a weather junky) to find that it should be nice and sunny and warm all morning and into the first part of the afternoon, where then it will turn into rain....and then more rain....and then thunderstorms....followed by a wind advisory!  I had to laugh!  Folks, on any given day we have a wind advisory up here on the farm!  Don't believe me?  Stop by for a visit; I guarantee it will blow your socks off.  Guess I better get my outside chores done soon then.

This semester has seemed to leave a lot less time to blog.  So bear with me folks!  I'm trying to return to a bit of normalcy.

Spring Chicken Activity

Spring is upon us (finally), and there's been lots of chicken activity on the farm the past few weeks.  Three weeks ago we bought our first ever Cornish-Rock crosses for meat.  They are four weeks old now and huge.  I would never have imagined how big these birds get so quickly.  So big in fact that we had to move them outside into the cage attached to the chicken coop.  They seem to be adjusting to their new living arrangements quite well and are enjoying a little more room to stretch their wings and legs.   They've even been moving around a bit more than their typical 'step-step-plop'.  Perhaps in another few days I will see if they would like out to free range with the rest of the chickens.  They sure do like to eat - and poop - and eat  - and poop some more.  It makes me wonder what those large-scale meat poultry houses must be like.  On second thought, I don't want to wonder about that.  It must be a horrible mess.

We also picked up 16 Americauna (Easter Egger) peeps this weekend.  Straight run only.  I guess this means we are going to have a few more chickens in our freezer come winter.  The first 10 peeps were found on Craigslist.  We placed them under Pearl, my white silkie hen who has been sitting on phantom eggs for about a month now.  They were already 4 days old but she too to them like they hatched beneath her fluffy little self.  She's not quite the mother that Delilah was, but she's doing her part.  The other 6 were found during a trip to Tractor Supply a few days later.  Since we aren't 100% convinced that Pearl's peeps really are all Americauna, we grabbed this half dozen just in case.  They are in the basement.  By this time next year my egg customers should happily be receiving some more greenies.  Everyone loves to see a green egg.  Including me.

Silkie Babies!

(so cute!)

(my favorite so far)

(peeking out from under mamma hen)

(just hatched)

(7 hatched, 5 more to go)

The Eggplant and the Orphaned Chicks

'Creature' No. 1: The Eggplant. Actually it's not an eggplant, it's an Aubergine. But it looks more like an eggplant to me; short, plump, and purple. Either way, it is almost complete and with fairly little trouble. I'm happy about that. I learned some new techniques along the way, which I suspect are going to make the tomato (creature no. 2) quick and simple. Before long I'll be out of the garden and into the deep blue sea.

Here are our poor orphaned chicks. Their Bantam 'mom', Ginger decided last week that she would rather rejoin the rest of the flock and start laying eggs again. She wants nothing to do with them and pecks at them if they come near. I was worried at first. They're only about a month old. But they seem to be getting along well for themselves. We keep an eye on them throughout the day and put them in the bucket nest at night. So far, so good. Cute little buggers. Everyone else seems to be doing well too. Our Silkie hen, Delilah, by far wins the 'best brooder award' for this hatching season. Her chicks are now about as big as she is. She still tends to them when they need to be mothered, but they are starting to venture off on their own now. You should see them when we come out with bread. They are starting to be the first ones to feast. Ah, chicken life. What could be better?!

Let's Talk About Chicks

Well the farm has doubled itself in the past month; doubled in chickens that is. I suppose God heard me cry for my three dead hens and gave me 16 chicks. We now have 2 roosters, 7 mature laying hens (three of those with chicks, which means they're not actually laying at the moment), 6 immature hens, and 10 peeps (growing like weeds). Grand total: 25! How would have thunk it? The chicks above are from the first clutch that hatched almost four weeks ago from my black silkie hen, Delilah. They grow fast and are much larger that this picture now. She actually hatched 8, but we lost two. Sad, but such is the circle of life.

And speaking of losses, Mrs. Buns had her litter and didn't know what to do with them. We lost them all; all five beautiful little babies. It was a very sad day and felt like such a loss. I realize that these things happen, but it's still hard. I'm pretty sure that this was her first litter. Though it doesn't make the loss any easier to know that. We'll try again here in a few weeks. I think she'll get it next time. The poor girl spent days sitting in her nest box after the birth; like she knew she was supposed to be there but just plain figured it out too late. She will be a little smarter next time, and I will too. I know now to check her frequently around her due date. We'll get another litter.

For now, we are content to watch the little chicks frolic in the barnyard. They are more entertaining than any TV show could ever be! I'm of the firm belief that everyone should own chickens. It should be like any of those other 'decessities' that we own: refrigerator, stove, computer, dishwasher (wait, we don't own a dishwasher!) They are quite the conversation piece as well. I called my sister back yesterday and all we could talk about was (you guessed it) our chickens. She and her family are also new chicken owner. They didn't even have their chicks a month before they upgraded their coop! That's what I'm talking about! It's addicting, folks. After awhile you're not just raising chickens for eggs or meat, you're a "collector". Those few chicks you raised just aren't enough, and you find yourself devising ways to add to your flock. It's an addiction! But don't worry, there are much worse addictions you could have.

A Very Eventful Week(end)!

So much has happened or been accomplished over the past week and weekend it's hard to know where to start! I'll try the 'beginning' with all my little captions:

A NEW BAG

I absolutely love to sew! And I love the fact that I always have so many projects going at once. Sure, sure, it can get hectic, especially when it seems like I never get one project accomplished before I am starting the next. But on those occasions when I do actually finish what I set out to do...well it's just pure bliss! Above is one of my creations from this past week. I found this Debbie Mumm fabric on sale a few weeks ago and couldn't pass it up. The pattern was actually for a simple bag (which would consist of only the outside layer that can be seen. I thought it was far to beautiful for that so I added the inside fabric and quilted them together with bamboo/cotton batting. I threw this together pretty much in one evening. Other than a few minor problems (one of the straps got sewn on twisted...you'd never know) it turned out fabulous! I have some more of the same panels to make a couple more. Simple, fun, and very colorful! I have collected a bunch more of her fabric since I first bought this and I'm hoping to make an Earth Day themed dress before the event next month!

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

Some friends of my husband's (I've yet to meet them) sent me some amazing huacaya alpaca fiber (the brown fiber) to spin! I love how God puts such thoughtful people into our paths. I was blown away to think that someone I've never met would send me a gift. You better believe I had that spun as soon as I could get my paws on it. What a dream it was to spin! I'm going to ply it with some Suri alpaca fiber a bought a couple months ago. Oh, and that wasn't the only fiber I received! Another alpaca owner sent me (via my husband) some her her alpaca fiber to card and spin (the white fiber)! Talk about fiber overload! Guess its time to be looking for an affordable drum carder. I still have a whole Lincoln sheep fleece and some llama fiber to wash and card (these were also given to me). My most sincerest thanks go out to all of those people who help make my dreams a reality. What more can I say, I'm blessed!

COW IN THE BACKYARD

We got home late on Friday night. It was dark by the time we pulled up to the house. It had been another gorgeous day! I went about the nightly chores of covering up the buns and closing the coop when low and behold I came face to face with a cow in my backyard! If I haven't already told you, we live on a diary farm; not our cows, our landlord's. I suppose this isn't the strangest thing I've encountered before, but she sure did make my heart jump. We chased her through the fields and back through the yard before we finally got her corralled back into the pasture with the rest of her lot. Oh the adventures of farm life! I absolutely love it!!

CHICKS

This week I will be chick-sitting for a friend. I'm really excited because some of those chicks will find a new home on my farm! And these aren't just any old chicks...two are supposed to lay chocolate-colored eggs and two are supposed to lay green eggs (called Easter Eggers)! I got to see them only a couple days out of the egg and already they were peeping up a storm and waddling all over their cage. Amazing! And the funniest thing is they all seem to have these narcoleptic moments where they just lay down and fall asleep. It's a hard knock life being a chick, I guess. They'll be coming to stay on Tuesday, so stay tuned: more to come!

G'night!