I can't care about everything

Or can I. It sounds like such a drastic statement. Can you hear me ugly-crying it, "I can't (sob sob) care about everything" (sob sob). Seems this is an appropriate theme for 2020, and unfortunately could roll into 2021. Just the fact that we have a theme, or make up themes for a year like 2020, speaks volumes. I can't remember ever theming a year. Weird. It's like a man in short-shorts. Weird. And kinda sad.

Sign of the times

Switcheroo

Let's talk all things ducks. It wasn't all that long ago that we decided a duck island was needed. The thinking behind this idea was to give the ducks a safe place to relax, in the middle of the pond, and maybe even put their food out there so the sheep will quit trying to eat it. After spending some time with Google, we decided on an easy peasy low-budget hand-spun option. 

A crane and a turtle like it

The construction consisted of netting, with plastic tubing filled with empty Sprite Zero plastic bottles and zip ties to bring it all together. There are likely a few other ingredients, but you get the idea. We used a plastic chain locked to a cinder block to anchor it in the middle of the pond. David delivered the new island using his kayak. Surprisingly, the kayak did well with both him - and the cinder block- in it. Nice work, Honey! 

No thanks, said all the ducks

Duck That

The placement was primo, the size was perfect, and the anticipation of the ducks having 'a place of their own" was comforting. The ducks answered back with a resounding:  not working for me. 

Come on, please. Just hop up on it and try it? No. Okay, now we placed some duck food up there. How about now? No. This went on for days. Surely, they will change their mind and see all their friends getting up there.....the turtles, egrets, even random little fishies accidentally flipping up onto it. It's about this time you're so glad that you did not spend 40 hours and $400.00 making the fancy floating duck house/island. Let's just say that the wildlife is loving this new island attraction. It's a great fishing dock for the egrets and sunning station for the turtles. You're welcome. 

Plenty of other potential island visitors around here

Fowl Play

I'd like to tell you this duck story has a happy ending, but that's simply just not the case. Imagine a dream sequence where I previously blogged about a "duck incident" and a duck was irreparably hurt. At the time, we did not know why or how that happened, but only that a storm had come through, and a result was a duck attack. Fast forward to Wednesday evening and another duck attack. There was no storm - and no question about what happened this time. The answer? Marley. Straight up, it was a Marley attack to the most vulnerable creature down there, an innocent duck. Shock and dismay for us and the duck, and anger and discipline for Marley. What prompted her to do this? We all know the sad news: Once a dog taste fowl, they will do it again, and again, and again. 

Now what. You've bought those light up tweezers where the light is powerful enough to illuminate every single unwanted hair......and then learn that the tweezers are too blunt to grasp a single one. What now. Marley guards the sheep like Spiderman climbs buildings. It's what she does. And this is all after we have the dog's underground fence placed there, where the sheep are happily stationed and sheltered, where the pond is for the ducks, and where changes are going to have to take place. Just unfortunate. 

I will deal with you later 

No simple time-out, no easy answer, and no way to leave things as they once were. Somethings gotta give. I could go through all the usual over-explaining of the scenarios but your probably tired of that. I'm tired of that. The ducks may have to be moved and that's the saddest thing of all. The pond is their spot, therefore moving them makes no sense at all. 

Back this train up. The sheep and guard pups need to be in that pasture because it serves them best. It just so happens to be in the same area of the pond - with ducks. Yet, what if I moved the sheep and guard pups to a neighboring pasture and re-did the underground fence? Lots of What If's. I'll investigate each avenue, and keep you posted on how it all shakes out. Keep your webbed feet crossed for now, while we get it all settled and minimize the WTF's that may fly out of our mouths. The ducks are a part of the farm and I really do not want to have to sell them. I promised them a good life, and Marley is not apart of that for them. Change is brewing.....

Chickenaholic

As a chickenaholic on the road to recovery, my wild heart has to be tamed at times when it comes to chickens. I want all the chickens in the world. All of them, please. They make me so happy. Luckily, I married a man who says things like '40 chickens is ok' and 'yes, you can have more chickens'. He's eggstraordinary and plays along with my chicken mischief. Let's do some recapping........

The 4 Ideal 236's are stunning!

 

These 4 teenagers are growing up
and finding their place in the flock.

So these 4 girls have recently transitioned to the barn for roosting at night. That means we only have 3 teenagers left to get into the barn (at night) to roost with the rest of the flock. For now, we have their temporary coop this close to the barn, moving it inch by inch closer. Ultimately, they will be in there with the rest of the flock. They need a little more time. 

Weird things chicken people do

I would say one of the weirdest things this Chicken Lady does is move around my silkie chickens. I cannot for the life of me get them settled. I set up a secured fenced area for them here, then move it over there. Why? Because the sun is too hot. Now the north wind is blowing, and I need to get them in a better spot. Wait, they are sitting on a clutch of eggs and I need to get them settled in a better place for having their babies. Uh oh, their babies have hatched and I need a new setup for them. Welcome to my brain. It's crowded and busy in there. I feel like no one understands me the way that Tractor Supply does. They have everything I need to keep this chaotic chicken craze of mine under control. 

Frankie and Dorothy with some of their chicks

Broody Butt

Chopchi is the most broodiest of all. That girl can sit on eggs til forever. She has 5 or 6 chicks of her own that have hatched, and still have a few more eggs under her forthcoming. I meant to take a picture of her to show you, but something terrible happened to my phone this weekend, and let's just say a visit to AT&T is warranted today. 

All Dark Dorothy and Light Dorothy's eggs have all hatched, as have Frankie's. We have silkie chicks of all colors. These 3 mamas do not have any more eggs to lay on, and are now raising their chicks very well. With around 22 silkie chicks around here needing new homes, my next post will document how I was able to decrease them by 16 chicks in a matter of hours. 

The Flock

The flock as a whole is doing very well. I have several old girls, some mid-aged, many eggs layers, a number of teenagers coming of age and then the silkies. All in all, we are doing well. We lost a hand full of silkie chicks as they all started hatching and discombobulation ensues. Some chicks just are not destined to survive. The fact that that little tiny chick can get out of that egg is beyond me. And on top of that, those silkie eggs are super tiny and those little chicks are super super tiny. Their survival rate is never 100%, but my heart hurts every time one of them doesn't make it. It's like they chip away at my heart piece by piece each time there's a loss. Chicken loss = Piece of my heart 💔 It's truly my kryptonite. Farm animal loss is my kryptonite. It's the reason that if there's ever a day I have no animals, would be my only solace. No more loss. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too fragile for all this. Then, I perk up, find my can of SuckIt Up and along with my Big Girl Panties......I move forward. With just a little less of my heart. And that's okay, it's a fair trade for all the joy I derive from my farm peeps.

They greet me at my front door

Laying together, even when other 
laying spots are open.

What I find most interesting is seeing Instagram pages of so many chicken lady's. They are everywhere. They are my people. I love looking at their chickens, and seeing how much they love them. 

My chickens make me smile.
Ginger, RIP

I met a wonderful new chicken lady this weekend, and her name is Colleen. She lives in Van Alstyne and raises chickens of all sorts (buys/sells them). I had the pleasure of finding her off CraigsList, and love meeting new and interesting people that way. Let's just say the old adage of bartering is still live and well in the country. 

Nincompoop, word of the day (yesterday)

I'll close this blog a little early and pick up on it after I purchase a new phone that has the rest of my photos somewhere in a cloud in the sky. Another pond incident happened and when I went in the pond......so did my phone. Yes, David reminded me of the 5 foot long snake he saw on the bank AFTER I got out of the pond. Envision big bug eyes when he told me that. 

I have so much more to write, but unfortunelty, those words will remain in this crazy brain of mine until next time. 

Over all, all's well. Life = hiccups. The bumpy ride makes it more exciting. 

Cyndi