Conundrums

I've decided this word describes everything farm-related: Conundrum. You've heard me speak of the "I wonder what I'm going to come home to today" syndrome. Sheep escapes, random gates open, chicken tragedy's or maybe a horse injury.....all while I'm simply away at work for the day. It's more common thats something is amiss rather than calm upon any return back home and seemingly a roll of the dice. I used to think it was just me experiencing this, but turns out, its some kind of continual farm phenomenon that no one tells you about. So, Sunshines, let's start with a few recent examples.

Bees Please

I used to have a sign in my garden that said "Bees Please" because having bees in your garden provides an environment of cross-pollination all while the bees get the nutrients they need and your garden may flourish with more plants and flowers. It's a bee-ewe-tiful thing to watch the bees work in the garden and do their busy work bees do.

Can you see the bees?

Yet, my conundrum is that these same bees have recently decided that they enjoy the chicken feed. There's bees and I mean a lot of bees all in and around the chicken food. When I asked my best friend, Google, she said that bees are not actually eating the chicken food but instead are collecting the pollen, minerals, dust and yeast. Chicken feed dust is high in protein and serves as a winter substitute to winter pollen. Who knew. Why is it 6 years later this is just happening? I have an idea. 

I started noticing these bees about 3-4 weeks ago. They just showed up coincidentally after our pasture neighbors (they don't live there, just their cows do) said they had placed some new bees on their property for honey. Then, they told us the bees went missing. I'm thinking the bees now live near us somewhere and enjoy hanging out at our place. I've not yet been stung by them, but I am careful not to irritate them, as they way outnumber me. That's all good and fine, but just like humans, chickens can be stung by bees and actually die. 

So the problem is the chickens won't go near their chicken food while the bees are there. Which means the chickens will only eat in the early mornings and late evening when the bees go home. What to do. And where is their home?

After further research I've learned that 1) it's illegal to intentionally kill bees, 2) these bees are called foraging bees, 3) I'm supposed to contact the beekeeper and let them know their bees are eating for our chicken food, and 4) changing the chicken feed won't discourage the bees. The bees are hungry. 

In summary on this conundrum, I've read some suggestions to offer sugar water, honey or sliced fruit to the bees to distract them from the chicken food. I'll give that a go and let you know how it shakes out. I thought the article I was reading was funny when it said, "It's not polite to feed the neighbors bees, after all, if your free ranging chickens went to the neighbors, would you want them to feed your chickens?" Huh? I'm missing something here. Like I can call up their beekeeper (the bees have not even told me who that is for sure, I'm just guessing) and ask them to come get their bees. This is quite the conundrum. 

Hope me out here

An ongoing conundrum I'm faced with is a skin issue with Hope.

I see some hair growing back in there 🤔

It all started with a single owie. Then it went to several, and then a patch of owies. I thought it was an infected fly strike situation and placed antibiotic ointment on it for awhile. Nope. Fast forward to the farrier coming to do the girls nails, and she suggested it might be ring worm. Okay, no problem. I can fix that. So for a few weeks, I put clotrimazole (antifungal) cream on the area and it only somewhat improved. 

Now, the hair has fallen out in a circular area and I'm at a loss about what to do. I called the Vet and scheduled a farm visit. Dr Bing comes out and looks at it crossways and acts like he's never seen this before and is unsure what it is himself. "Keep putting the salve on it and come by the office for a pill you can give her that should take care of this". The salve? Who says that anymore. 

But I did. I kept putting the clotrimazole salve on it and stopped by the Vet office to pick up 2 horse pills. Now I know what a horse pill really looks like. It's like pills we take, but truly gigantic. Like for a horse. The conundrum of the conundrum was getting Hope to 1) take the pill, or 2) trick her into take the medication inside it inside a treat. Let's just say that David and I tried our best and a partial dose got inside Hope. 

Turns out, the skin condition improved somewhat, but here I am today with a mild version still going on with Hope. Next up? I'll call the Vet back out and ask them to come do a culture and see what it really is so that we can treat it properly. The farrier did give me another option she uses "for these kinds of things' of mixing timothy pellets, a cooper supplement and use only filtered water to help decrease her iron levels. And supposably this, in turn, will help with her coat and skin issues. And just like the bee situation, this saga continues.

Then there's this

In the last blog post, I spoke of the barn cats and that they live in either the garage, laundry room and the barn. Each kitty cat decides who they are friends with, where they prefer to stay, and sometimes fight for alpha position (I'm talking to you, Smokey and July). Nonetheless, I did not show you where in the garage or barn that the cats sleep or rest. So let's take a look:

Kitty BnB Suites on top shelf in garage

This set of two plastic containers turned upside down with a hole cut out serves as a safe and warm place for cats in the garage to sleep. These reside on the tippity top shelf for optimal privacy. In the cozy cat container on the right, you'll notice an electrical cord hanging out of it. That's because I have a warming pad (actually made for chicken coops) and it allows the cats to have a tad of warmth underneath them during the cold winter months with a little blanket on top of it. What's the conundrum, you ask? It's that a couple of the chickens make their way to the garage and lay eggs in there. Every day. It's warm and cozy and just right for egg laying. 

Collecting eggs around here is just like it being Easter every damn day and the egg hunt ensues. Did I mention every day? Can't the chickens lay in their nesting boxes please?

Just some of the nesting egg box options

The barn is full of egg laying place opportunities. But no, the chickens seek out fun, new and different places all the time to keep us guessing - and looking.

Speaking of barn, in the Tack Room in the barn is another cozy cat corner up on a shelf for Blackie (stray turned resident).

Penthouse Suite for 1

Let's take a look around this picture. There's his cozy container also with a warmer and blanket in it. Then, his own cat food bowl and water up there. AND a litter box. Yep, you heard that right. There's an actual litter box on "his" shelf in the barn. Why is that? Because when it's cold and there are new guard pups around to scare you, you tend to stay on your shelf (if your Blackie) and need a place to potty. 

It's crazy, I know. But it's also a conundrum because if I don't provide the litter box, he ends up going potty in his cozy warm bed. 

But wait, there's more......

Chicken a-laying while kitty a-waiting

Here's the next conundrum. The chickens kick him out of his cozy container several times a day so a few of the chickens can take turns laying eggs in there, too. 

Then, once the chickens have all laid their eggs, Blackie can then go back in his cozy container and proceeds to lay on the eggs and keeps them warm. He does not crack them nor eat them. He simply lays on them. And I have to remember to climb up the step ladder to gather these eggs each day. Luckily, Blackie willingly allows me to reach in underneath him to gather the eggs. 

The cozy, warm containers placed for the cats double as a chicken nesting area as well for egg laying. And to add to that, if I leave the laundry room door open (on nice days to let the sunshine in) the chickens will come in there and lay an egg on the cat beds scattered around in there, too.

Yep, they lay eggs in the laundry room
when they can sneak in there.

So apparently the chickens and cats are the boss of me. 

Piggie problems

Pigs are smart. Very smart. They know how to get to the food, and are strong and have no problem knocking everything over to get food. Now that Prissy and Maggie are free ranging with the chickens, I have a conundrum of keeping them out of the chicken food. 

David helped solve this dilemma by placing cattle panels and fencing around the chicken feeders.

Fenced chicken feed area that the chickens
can get to and through

This is not only to keep the pigs out, but also for Dutch and Penny who enjoy a little chicken food and any random eggs laid on the ground in those areas.

Messy, but it works.
The chickens are just the right size to 
get through these squares to the food.

Recently, Prissy has become highly food aggressive. Even to the point of randomly chasing the guard pups around and biting at their back legs. I'm not sure why she started doing this, but Penny and Dutch were very confused about Prissy's behavior. I considered finding Prissy a new home (because Maggie is easy going and not aggressive at all) and thought it would be best for everyone. I even went to the length of posting Prissy on CraigsList - for a day. And then took the post down. I then decided to create a new holding and sleeping place for Prissy and Maggie instead. 

This space works to keep Prissy
(and Maggie) in check.

And since those two piggies fight for the best sleeping spot at night, I included 2 sleeping quarters for them to pick from. 

The conundrum of feeding pigs and chickens is mostly resolved with the piggies having a new area of their own, with the option to free range in the mornings/afternoons (to graze). 

As you can see, this conundrum is multilayered. Pigs eat chicken food. Pups will eat random chicken eggs. Prissy can be food aggressive. Pups like chicken food. And around and around we go. I'm just a girl trying to not spend her entire fortune on chicken food. Luckily, the demand for eggs (up front at the road side stand) is still at a higher demand than my girlz can meet. With the warmer weather, I'm getting more eggs now. That helps. Income from their eggs goes straight to their feed. And treats. Lots of treats for the chickens to try and bribe them to lay more eggs. Spring will bring more sunshine and warmth, which in turn brings more eggs to the yard. Oh, and I imagine some chicks are in my future as I saw some at the feed store I need. My pick this Spring? More Ameraucana's please, as I love their blue/green eggs.

Penny and the 7 ducks

It sounds like a storybook title, but my conundrum here is that Penny is a duck chaser. And since they are up at the pond, it's hard to continually correct Penny each time she does this. I'm happy to report that Penny and Dutch are leaving the chickens alone. This is wonderful news! Yet, Penny thinks chasing the ducks is a fun game. I don't think she wants to eat one, but chasing them is too hard to resist.

Our hodgepodge crew of 7 ducks on the pond

Guilty girl, I saw you.

It's little things like this that linger and can fester into not-so-good situations. Like all my other conundrums, this is a work in progress.

Eye sore

I've given up and decided that I'm going to be "that person" with random fencing everywhere. Don't get me wrong. I've been that person for awhile, it's just that I've grown to accept it now.

It's just works.

This eye sore is a necessity if I want to keep peace around here. Starting from left to right, let's review why.

Again, the chicken food has to 
be protected from non-chickens.

I've already ranted about the need to protect the chicken's food. This cattle corral with cattle fencing is perfect to allow chickens through the holes all while keeping piggies, pups, sheep and horses out of it. And eye sore? Yes. Functional? Absolutely. Except for the bees. We already talked about that.

Paul's bachelor pad 💟

Paul is still penned due to the uncertainty in his mating choices. He's banned from getting to the girlz, and instead, lives in his own bachelor pad complete with 2 mirrors, horsesaw roost, crate with straw for when it gets cold - and food and water all his own. I think it's kind of nice. Paul seems to think so too.

Little girlz area

Did you see the new silkie/frizzle chicken coop I got? David painted it to match everything else and it turned out great. I've penned my bantum chicken population (off and on) since I've lived here because they cannot fly and get away from things like new guard pups that find them attractive. 

Super excited about their new coop

Plenty of roosts for the 7 little girlz

3 nesting boxes and a camera to
keep an eye on them

In an effort to not "tempt" Penny and Dutch with small chickens who can't run fast or fly much, I've chosen to pen them and keep everyone safe. The silkie and frizzle population are doing well and love their new little coop. I even put a barn cam in the coop so I can keep an eye on them, should I so desire. 

You saw this pic above already

And you saw the new piggie area just a little earlier, and together, all this fencing is functional and needed, but an eye sore to some. What I've discovered is: this is me. This is what I want and how I want to live. I want the animals to be safe, and I want it to not be difficult to feed everyone all at the same time. I'm forever moving this portable fencing. It's one of the best purchases I've made, so that I can accommodate various animals in various capacities when needed. Sometimes, you just gotta make life easier. 

Here lamby lamby

Sometimes the conundrums around here are fun - and cute - all at the same time. 

One day, I noticed my sheep were mingling with the sheep in the pasture next door, which they do often. After all, they are all friends. 

They mingle, then the neighbor sheep 
head back home for the night.

But then later that day, something happened. Do you ever hear a baby lamb crying outside the house? Well, I did and looked out the window to find this nugget left behind from the flock of sheep in the neighboring pasture. 

Sweet little boy lamb

It was so cold and windy that day, and the baby lamb was crying and crying for its mama. I ran out the door and jumped the fence to pick it up. I then climbed back over the fence with it in my arms, and took it in the house to warm it up. It was a baby boy lamb with its umbilical cord still attached although dried (not yet fallen off). 

Sugar was intrigued. The lamb made himself
at home.

I knew this little one needed to get back to it's mama pretty quick. That, or stay with me forever and bottle feed him. No, no, no, it's not my lamb. I have to take him back home. So I load up the sweet baby lamb in the back seat of the truck and drove him over where the sheep's owners live (down the way and around the corner). I returned the little guy back home, so that he can go be with his mama, who I'm sure was missing him. These are the conundrums that are my favorite. 

Changing gears 

For our 31st anniversary and Valentine's Day, and also (approx) 1 year after David's cancer treatment, David found something that he wanted. And it's not a farm animal.

Sometimes you just gotta buy it

Long ago, David and I had a white Saturn Sky. We loved it, but it was not useful at the time as we had small children and a family. Fast forward to now, and David was ready for that Saturn Sky again. After much research, he found the exact one he wanted. In Pennsylvania of all places. 

After negotiating, he made the car purchase, flew out to Pennsylvania and drove that sweet little shiny red convertible all the way back to Texas. It was an adventure of his own. I was so happy for him!

And only a day after he has it back home, he's adding stripes to it:

Before

After

And he's adding a backup camera, bluetooth and other things that make him happy. Which makes me happy. 

David and I both have gone from cancer diagnosis, treatments, facing our own mortality, performing death cleaning and ridding the house of many unneeded items in case we step off the curb sooner than later. And then it hit us. Let's have the things we love. 

David is getting some things he loves (a red, shiny Saturn Sky) and I'm happy with my farm animals. David loves to fish, golf and many other things. I love to farm, run, bike and be outside. We both cherish family and friends. Most importantly, we turned a corner in life. When it was hard to remember that all the stars in the sky are out there all the time and we were blinded by the sun and could not see clearly, we have learned the stars are still shining brightly. It's been a journey and will continue to be. David and I have changed our trajectory to enjoy all the shiny things - and all the conundrums that arise.  We embrace it all. We constantly move fencing and we take cross country trips - and we are loving life. 

Thanks for always being here with us through it all,

Cyndi

As promised:

Mag Pie

The End