{Farm} Flock Update

Hello Friends.

Today I wanted to share a coop update with you. The flock has been through quite a bit of change in the past few months and I wanted to share them with you.   

First Clutch to Hatch

 In August, I was fortunate enough to have one of my Rhode Island Red hens go broody. I wouldn’t have jumped at the opportunity if I didn’t have a rooster in my flock (more on him later.) Sweet Pea had a successful 100% hatch rate with the 6 eggs in her clutch. Sadly, it was her last hurrah as we lost her a week after hatching her babies. Then, about a month or so ago, I lost one of the teens to the dogs. The fault was entirely mine because it was accidentally left in the dog’s pen during an emergency situation with my grandmother’s cat. Mistakes happen though and we learn from them.  The other 5 chicks are doing well which is good news- that is except for the fact that they might all be roosters… As of right now, I only have two confirmed roos. My grandmother wants to put them in the freezer, but I don’t know if I can do it because they are my first group hatched out by myself. We will see what happens. 

2nd Clutch to Hatch

Two months after the first batch hatched out, I had one of my Black Sex Links go broody. I tried to put her off, but she wasn’t having it. I finally gave in and allowed her to set a few eggs. She hatched out 3 chicks. Unfortunately we lost one early on that wasn’t quite finished. The other two survived and are thriving with mom. It is so much fun to watch momma bird interact with her kids. She shows them food, keeps them warm and wards off any threat to her chicks – the wrath of a mother hen is a sight to behold when her chicks are in danger. We have several hawks and a falcon that reside in our neighborhood. The falcon seems to have taken an interest in the chicks. It has made several attempts to capture the chicks. The first time was thwarted by my grandmother seeing it and knocking on the window, scaring it off. Its second attempt was near the fence. It came down out a tree in the neighbor’s yard after them. She pushed them into the chicken wire around a plant and set herself between them and the falcon. She puffed herself up and let out this horrible screech! Needless to say, the falcon changed his mind and both chicks are still with mom. All this work on momma hen’s part, I hope at least one of her chicks is a hen. 
 

 

Bertram

Our other defender in the flock is our addition of a rooster back in February of this year. Bertram has certainly earned his keep as man of the coop. He has provided us with fertile eggs (as is evident by the success of the two clutches that have hatched out) and kept the girls safe from the hawks in the neighborhood by getting them to a safe hideout until the hawks are gone.  
 I have come to understand the different calls he has. When he lets out this growl of sorts, I automatically turn my eyes to the sky to see where the hawks are. It never fails. Aside from that, I enjoy hearing him crow. It is just a bit of the country life in the city. 

 Winter Wonderland

As winter settles in here in the Sierra Nevada range of Western Nevada, I have begun the task of winterizing the coop. The girls have slowed their egg production and are packing on a little fat store for the winter. Winterizing the farm isn’t too complicated with only chickens and bunnies. Getting the coop ready consists mainly of adding more hay to the floor to add a bit of extra insulation. I also load up the nesting boxes with Timothy Hay. The hens like munching on it while they are laying. This year I have decided to give the girls a proper rest. I won’t be adding any artificial light in regards to putting a lamp in the coop. Some will say they need it to stay warm, but I don’t subscribe to that theory anymore. If you are worried about your hens, put your cold hands under a hen in the winter to warm them up and you’ll see just how warm they stay on their own. If the weather gets down below 0, then I will consider adding hot water bottles to the coop for them to snuggle… But with a mild winter forecasted, I don’t think I will have to worry about that.

I hope you enjoy this little update.

Love Always,

Miss B

{Farm} First Experience with a Broody Hen

Be careful what you wish for. 

Mainly because you might actually get it. 

Look at the sass in that eye!

I had been hoping that after adding Bertram to the flock, I would eventually be able to hatch our my own chicks. I was ok with the idea of using an incubator if called for at some point. But in the depths of my heart I was wishing to have the experience of the event occurring naturally. Well, my little Rhode Island Red , Sweet Pea, delivered. Sweets and I have been pals since the whole chicken journey began. She is my morning chatty Kathy in the coop and my "what's up mom" friend. For her to be my first experience is something special.

Its been my experience this far that the Rhode Island Reds are territorial when laying their eggs. All of them get funny when you open the lid to the nesting boxes in the middle of their business. One night, I had gone out to gather eggs and Sweets was in the "popular" nesting box on all the eggs.  She sleeps in the boxes usually, so I wasn't surprised to see her. She got a little testy when I opened the lid and went after my hand when I reached for the eggs. That's when the light bulb went on. So I let her keep the eggs that night. The next morning, she had gotten off the nest to get a drink first thing. An hour later she was back and still on them when I put the flock to bed that night.

The next morning, I carefully transferred her to our brooder up on the porch. That way, she would be left alone and could easily access food and water. I gave her a bunch of Timothy Hay in one end of the brooder which she used to make a nest and transferred the eggs. She has her water bowl and food on the other end of the brooder. So far so good!

I've candled the eggs, which look promising. A couple are kind of dark and that makes it hard to tell what is happening inside. There are 2 Ameraucana eggs  and 4 others that are either Gold Stars or Rhode Island Reds!

I'll keep you updated as things go forward!
Thanks for sharing life on the farm!

-Rebecca


 *Update*

Thursday July 28, 2016
Two Weeks down, one to go. Should this be successful, August 2 is our estimated hatch date. We shall see. I am excited to see what happens.

Sunday July 31, 2016
Got home from church to find a little head popped out of Sweets feathers. I wasn't expecting it, but she hatched out her first 4 chicks today. So far they are all healthy.  A trip to the feed store is definitely in store for tomorrow.

Monday August 1.2016
Went out to check on momma bird this morning. I gave her some meal worms as a treat and to get her off the nest so I can see what is going on underneath. She's hatched out 5 of the 6 eggs in her clutch so far. I am not sure if she will hatch out the last one. We will have to wait and see.

{Create} May Photo Hunt

Mom and I spent Memorial Day at our favorite spot taking a few pictures of the beautiful spring time bounty at Rancho San Rafael state park in Reno. My challenge to myself was to play with light and composition.  Here are a few pictures I wanted to share.

The covered bridge near the entrance to the arboretum is one of my favorite places to photograph.

These Oriental Poppies were just gorgeous. I loved how the light went through the delicate leaves.

I love taking pictures of roses when the light is shining in through the top like it was here. The shadow play is amazing.

Same rose from a different angle and a bit closer up. I took this one to practice drawing or painting at some point.

Mom and I kept hearing turkeys... I remembered that the park had been raising them in the barn that was a part of the original ranch. Isn't he handsome?

His lady was out in one of the paddocks taking a sun bath... when we walked up she dropped to the ground, stretched out and started chirping.

I couldn't resist getting a few pictures of the ducks...

I hope you enjoyed these pictures.
Love always,
Miss B