December 17, 2010: Indestructible Possums

December 17, 2010
Thursday, 1:55pm

Ran out the door last night to brave the rainy, sleety mess and to run some errands.  Much to my surprise, a small opossum ran off under my car.  He was right next to the steps when I came out.  I couldn't figure out what on earth he was doing there?  There was no food source.....  He looked very much like the one who was on top of the coop about a week or so ago, rather small with long dark hairs versus some that are usually more white/gray.

I also noticed strange tracks in the snow in the driveway, I'll have to look them up.  Some might be rabbit tracks, some probably the possum, some cat, some dog....  One set was in a triangle shape.

As for the first visit from the possum - I don't know why, but I had a strange feeling one night and thought something might be out at the coop.  I opened the door and heard "something" running off through the leaves, it sounded big enough to be a fox or larger.  There is a hole in the neighbors fence in the back which he has not patched and it allows several things to come in, like the border collie I found barking at my chickens one morning....

I shined my flashlight over towards the coop to make sure all was okay, when lo and behold, there was a possum on top of the coop.  Out I stomped toward the coop, cane in hand, shaking it at him and yelling.  All he did was climb the nearest small tree and the closer I got, the farther he climbed to the very tip of the smallest, most unstable branch in the tree.  I tried shaking him out, but he wrapped his tail around the branch and wasn't budging.  "Alright then" I yelled, "I'll fix you!"  I went and turned on the water hose full blast and began spraying him.  The chickens probably thought I had lost my mind.  I thought he'd never let go and was completely drenched in the frigid weather.  He finally figured out it was one heck of a rain storm and he let go, bounced off the metal roof of the coop and into the bushes and off he ran.  I have to admit, it was kind of comical and looked like it could have been in a cartoon.  I wondered if he would die of exposure, but apparently not, because he was at my front steps last night.

I dread the thought of taking more drastic steps, seems cruel, but if he ever gets into the coop and kills my chickens, that will be even worse.  He now knows where they are so he will probably be a frequent visitor, unless anyone has any good ideas on how to get rid of him????

Hawkeye had laid a nice light green egg this morning when I went out to give them some feed and  Farrah was sitting in the nest.  Around noon, I went back out and brought them some spinach greens and some old whole wheat bread.  Farrah laid, hopped out and devoured the spinach, along with the others.  Her egg today was huge and heavy and olive green.  I thought Ameracauna's didn't lay olive green eggs but tended more towards light green or blue????  She looks like your standard Ameracauna with the chubby face, etc.

Farrah's newest thing is to try and follow me out of the run.  She is probably seeing that the "grass is greener on the other side!"

December 16, 2010: Snow....AGAIN!

December 16, 2010

Thursday, 12:28pm

Woke up early to a light dusting of snow which had turned to sleet, which has now turned to rain and created a slushy mess.  Tree limbs are still frozen though.   Our second snow event of the season, when we normally have no snow.  Temperatures have been way below normal as well.  I suppose the plus out of this is that I now know the standards and bantams can survive temperatures that go into the teens and might have gone single digit with the wind chill factor. 

I went out this morning at 9 am to check on them and give them some food fuel in the form of leftover linguini noodles.  They tore them up, fighting over the long noodles and tearing them away from each other.  Farrah had laid an egg, probably very early this morning.  Farrah and Hawkeye are so dependable in this cold weather, it surprises me. 

I came back inside, shivering and proceeded to make a cup of coffee and something I rarely make....a bowl of steaming organic oatmeal to which I added honey from our neighbors hives, dates, walnuts, cranberries, raisins, a dash of coconut creamer, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Talk about sticking to your ribs!!!!  I suppose it’s better than a Big Mac which always seems to stick to the thighs or buttocks!!!

Around noon, I peeked out the back window just in time to see a hawk swoop from one side of the yard to the next.  I coated up and went to bring them a second meal of mixed grains.  I walked closer to the big oak he was in and stood looking up at him (not an easy task through the rain/sleet mix coming down).  I have found that birds of prey do NOT like you staring at them and usually will fly off.  I couldn’t get a very good look at him, but he is not very big at all.  Not sure what he is, peregrine falcon, some small breed of hawk???  He appears to be smaller than some of my chickens.  I think I may need to invest in a pair of binoculars so I can get a better look at him and try to identify him in my bird book.  He didn’t stay long and flew off two yards away into the pine trees.  The chickens had not seen him and were out pecking in the run.

I went in and gave them the grains and stood there for awhile watching them.  The heated water bowl I just got is working fine (hopefully the extension cord will not short out in this wet weather).  However, the birds did not seem interested in the water bowl and instead were drinking out of a puddle, that had been their dust bathing spot the day before.  In addition, I noticed an even more unusual behavior – they were eating the snow!  More like slush, but they were eating all of it that was sitting on one of the baseboards of the coop.  All their water bowls were full but they were still eating the slush.  Interesting.  I imagine this is what they would do in the wild if they could not find a running source of water, but they HAD an open source of water.  Maybe they liked the taste of it better?  Hard to say.

Chanel seemed in a sociable mood and crawled halfway up the ladder to the coop entrance and sat there looking at me as I talked to her.  I swear, if she could speak English, she would carry on a conversation with me.  She turns her head sideways and looks up at me thoughtfully with her big brown eyes, assessing the situation.  She is now the biggest and is beginning to realize it.  Since the sleeping quarters have shifted lately, she is pecking on Goldie Locks who in the past had mercilously pecked on her.  Really a site to see, a tiny little yellow bantam pecking at the biggest standard chicken in the flock!!!!  Well, not anymore.  All of the chickens have been sleeping on the top of the nesting boxes now since the cold weather – all except the two that are laying who are still sleeping in the coop.  Not sure why this change has occurred, cold weather or fear of some unknown predator, but they have rearranged their sleeping quarters and their pecking order yet once again.  The chicken click, therefore, is a dynamic organism....  :-)

Oh, one more note before ending this.....Chanel looks like she will lay soon.  Her comb and wattles are dark red and getting floppy.  I’ve also noticed dark red skin on her cheeks and near her eyes, sort of like red hooded eyelids....  I do wonder, will it BE this year that she lays or not???  Will she be a Winter layer like Farrah and Hawkeye?  I already know that Goldie, Raven and Ellie won’t be.  Perhaps the smaller they are, the more they have to conserve energy for the colder months.

2:22pm

Mr. Hawk must have returned, the local  birds were making a loud ruckus, led by the Blue Jays and the Mockingbirds.  I stepped out onto the back deck but could not see the hawk.  He must have flown off because after awhile the birds stopped squawking.  You've got to admire the bravery of birds who will swoop a hawk, knowing he can kill them instantly.  

I realized that today is the first day without health insurance, first time - ever....  It is an odd feeling.  I pray that nothing will happen to us and we will be okay.  I imagine I am far from alone in this, given the economy, but it is still a frightening place to be.  I continue to post for jobs, but the market is bleak and no one is getting interviews according to some other former coworkers who were laid off as well and now run a weekly networking luncheon.  We all see the jobs out there but no one is getting asked to interview, we are guessing either college grads are getting the openings or internal hires, but not older, experienced workers....  I refuse to give up though!!!!  There are amazing lessons to be learned from all of this.....

December 12, 2010: Cold Weather Patterns

December 12, 2010

Sunday, 11:17 am

The other day, I pulled a large clump of grass up by its roots to give to the chickens, in the clump was a worm.  I thought the chickens would be thrilled to have this nice bit of protein, however, the strangest thing happened when I tried to give it to them.  It’s as if they had forgotten what a worm was and had no interest in it.  A few pecked at it, then left it alone.  So odd!  In former times, they would have rushed it and fought over it.  Do chickens forget???

The weather has been unseasonably cold, breaking a one week cold record.  The news said the other day that we were the same temperature as Maine!!!  The weather has caused the egg laying to be off  kilter a bit as well.  Dependable Hawkeye stopped laying in her normal three days on, one day off pattern and changed to two days on, one day off.  Farrah is currently on a three day on, one day off pattern though. 

Much to my surprise - another unusual thing I noticed since the cold weather set in – now only Farrah and Hawkeye are sleeping in the coop!  Ellie and Goldie have moved up next to Chanel on top of the egg boxes and Raven is sleeping in Goldie’s nest box, sometimes both Goldie and Raven sleep in there together.  The first time I noticed it, Goldie was huddled up close to Chanel (I’m guessing for warmth since Chanel has tons of  bulk and feathers and Goldie barely any) – so here the two arch enemies were sleeping cuddled up together.  I suppose warmth and survival trumps all differences....  The next night, Goldie and Raven were cuddled up together in one of the boxes and Ellie and Chanel were on the very top.  It could also be that a predator is scaring them and so they are instinctively going to the highest place in the coop which is on top of the nesting boxes versus inside the coop which is a bit lower.  Hard to say for sure.

The more I watch them, the more I realize that the food Nature provided for them is their preferred food.  They will drop all other foods they are eating if I throw grass or weeds into the run.  I have been making a mixture of quinoa, oats, barley and millet for them.  They love the millet and quinoa especially. 

We are on a warming spell with a second day of rain, dreary.  The chickens take turns eating and sleeping and will often eat in the rain as long as it isn’t too heavy.  My router has been down all morning so I was reading Countryside & Small Stock Journal magazine and found a breeder who hatches out Dorking’s and Java’s.  Hmmm, sweet, sweet temptation!  However, they probably require a large minimum purchase.  I cannot find that out until the router comes back up.  I wonder if I will ever settle on just one breed as a favorite?  Somehow I doubt it because each one has things about it that are admirable. 

A friend from work took me to lunch yesterday and gave me a belated birthday present of  “Storey’s Basic Country Skills – A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance.”  It’s funny that my friends are now relating to me in that way!  It was a perfect gift.  I love the outdoors and feel most at home there, it has to be why my brother has the kind of job he does and my sister has a farm.  All of us are this way, we want the freedom to be out and about, to work with our hands, etc.  I feel a sense of calm and “rightness” when I am outside.  To me, there is wonder and fascination all around, Nature is always alive and teaching us, lessons that so many of us have now lost and need to learn again. 

My seed catalogs have arrived and it signals that time when I need to choose what to order and what to plant out of the seeds I have saved.  It signals that I must amend the garden soil THIS month because some form of planting can happen in January and February and will sneak up on me quickly.  It seems with a garden that there really is very little down time after all.  The wonder of seeing the plants thrive and of harvesting the first fruits easily makes up for any of the less glorious chores that must be done.  I can’t wait to see the first bee’s buzzing in the herbs.  I am thinking of starting beekeeping this year as well.

December 5, 2010: The Chickens First Snow

December 5, 2010

Sunday, 12:02 PM

We had a gorgeous “first snow” yesterday afternoon.  It’s a misnomer when I say; “first snow” because most of the time we never even get a first snow here in N.C.  So it was magical and very early in the season. 

The chickens’ first snow!!!!  LOL You’d think I was getting an ornament for them like a child’s first Christmas....  They were a bit perplexed and probably thinking, “What the H is this?”  They were supposed to be in their third day lay cycle, but I have a feeling they sense weather changes much better than we do, and so neither Hawkeye or Farrah laid.  Figures....I had just given the six eggs I had to the neighbor because she gave us her leftover pumpkins from Halloween to give to the chickens and I wanted to make some honey wheat bread which called for one egg and nary an egg was to be found.  No biggie, two pretty eggs this morning were waiting for me so I’ll make the bread today instead.

Farrah’s new eggs are more olive colored than Hawkeye’s.  I guess I was hoping for blue.  Hawkeye’s are a light green.  Farrah’s are large too, more round and substantial and um...messier.  I’m hoping Farrah will work on that!!!!  All the others rarely lay a messy egg.  She’s only on her third egg, I think I am becoming demanding!!!!

Sarah the Terror Coker Cat is laying on the top part of the couch next to me as I type this.  She is my constant companion, especially in Winter when we share that precious commodity - each other’s warmth.  Like reptiles, we both follow the sun and activities move to the front sitting room where the most sun can be had.  I open the blinds and sometimes the door, so sun and heat can stream through the glass. 

My husband has begun to tease about my antics that all involve comfort; comfort food, comfort clothes, comfort warmth, etc.  and has nicknamed me “Comfy Kitty Cat”.  So, the two Comfy Kitty Cat’s sit in the front room during the Winter to bask in the precious sun.

I went out to check for predator prints this morning near the hole in the fence but didn’t see anything amongst the now-melting snow.  I did see some near the deck which looked rather large for Pip Squeek (the neighbor’s cat who thinks he is OUR cat), but snow distorts things so I can’t be sure.

Right as it began to snow yesterday, I made a trip to Whole Foods to pick up a few things I can’t get anywhere else, wanted more seeds/nuts for the birds since the weather has dropped into the 20’s at night.  Read they help the birds stay warm.  It was a melee.  Tons of people were there acting as if we were having a blizzard.  I bought some barley and some millet and decided I was going to make a pot of chili, but there were so many people standing in line at the meat counter, I gave up on that.  Did however wrangle out some decent chili with what was already at home, so no great loss.

I’ve been experimenting feeding the birds quinoa (supposedly the only grain that is a complete protein), millet, oats and barley.  They seem to really like the millet.  Can’t tell yet on the quinoa, it has a bitter coating that has to be rinsed off for humans but I am not sure about the birds.  I worry about the grains swelling in their crops, but then again, don’t all seeds swell?  All in all, they still favor fresh picked weeds and grass over everything.  I read that Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie had a knack for getting production out of her hens during the harsh Winters so now I am on the hunt for her books.  (And I thought that it was just a t.v. show – didn’t know there was a real Laura Ingalls Wilder.)  Part of me is inclined to let Nature take it’s course though, there is a reason they need to rest from egg production during the colder months.  Still, I am interested in learning the wisdom out there that is waiting to be found.

Speaking of wisdom, I wonder how wise it is for the kid who just road his bike down the street to also be talking on his cell phone?  This sight struck me as so odd, I suppose because when I was a kid, the thought of riding one’s bike AND talking on the phone was the farthest thing from reality.  How things change....

Something else I thought of yesterday and posted on my FB page; “If we lose compassion for other’s, we lose ourselves.”  The thought popped into my head as I was driving to Whole Foods and here was this man out begging in the snow with no coat and no gloves and it was very cold.  So many are now in this position because of the economy and sometimes, it just takes a little from each person to make a difference, a coat that is no longer used or a pair of gloves, a fast food meal purchased and given, etc.  Compassion in the larger sense as well for each other – everyone is often in such a rush that they have formed a sort of invisible bubble around themselves that insulates them from other’s suffering.  Okay, there is my little soap box lecture....just an observation of late, made more keen by my own circumstances of being “discarded” (laid off) when my knee was injured at work and wondering for the first time in my life if I will be able to find a job again before it is too late.  We tried to plan and be cautious in what we did, but nothing lasts forever and I think of the phrase, “the best laid plans of mice and men....”  So often those best laid plans can be foiled by unexpected things.  Lately I have taken to reminding myself how lucky I am though – I still have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food in my belly.  A friend called the other day and took me to see a movie I had wanted to see but could not justify spending money on.  It was nice to get out and socialize and forget for awhile all of the other things.  This friend has more compassion than anyone else I know and I have often told her that when she dies, she is going straight to Heaven.  She always laughs it off and tells me she doubts that.  In the end, I think it is the little things that count, all those myriad little things you did that no one knew about except the person who is able to see it all and make the call!!!!  Okay, I’m getting a little hokey here, but you get the drift.

October 31, 2010: Trying to Prevent Hawkeye from Starving to Death

October 31, 2010

Sunday, 11:08 am

Each day Hawkeye seems to be eating better.  Her beak is barely hanging on.  Bob told me to cut it off, but I’m trying to see what it does, will it heal like that or will she eventually knock it off herself?  Meanwhile, I try to feed her by hand as much as possible and she is now used to the routine and will fly up to the highest place near me away from the others.

Goldie and Ellie are still at war.  This morning Ellie was in her box and Goldie was as puffed up as I had ever seen her.  Farrah was in Hawkeye’s box nosing around.  When Farrah jumped out, Ellie decided to go over to that box instead.  I took the opportunity to pick up Goldie and put her back in her box and it took her awhile to stop chattering at Ellie who was now across from her, but she eventually settled down.  I went to pick some grass and weeds for the birds and when I got back into the run, Ellie was now in the box with Goldie and Goldie was not budging!!!!  Ellie had spread her wings over Goldie and couldn’t sit down.  I realized Ellie wasn’t going to move because she was ready to lay her egg, with her tail almost hanging out of the box.  And sure enough, as soon as I realized it, out plopped Ellie’s egg, still glistening wet with it’s protective coating, right in front of Goldie’s eyes.  I was curious what was going through Goldie’s mind at that moment, because had Goldie been a few inches closer, the egg would have hit her on the head.  She seemed non-plussed by the event and didn’t budge.  I stroked Ellie and told her she was a good girl and then lifted her up from underneath.  She froze in that position and let me put her into Hawkeye’s box where she then jumped down and went about her business as if nothing had happened.  They do continue to amaze me.  Anyone who ever thought chickens don’t each have individual personalities, hasn’t spent enough time with them.  People may think they are “dumb” creatures and have a “chicken brain”, but all that aside, they have a life and a world all their own, full of interactions and reactions.

October 30, 2010: Broken Beaks

October 30, 2010

Saturday

The run-in with the hawk left Hawkeye with the tip of her beak broken almost completely off and Chanel’s beak cracked at the base.  I was so upset, poor Hawekeye wasn’t eating and the others were pecking at the blood specks on her.  Here, the dominant hen, was being pecked on.  I did not want her to die.  For all her ferociousness, I had come to really like Hawkeye and it seemd unfair to her, she had just started laying beautiful green eggs.  I sent a note to Bob to ask for advice. 

Later, I went out and she was hungry and was eating from my hand as much as she could, obviously having difficulty but I found if I tore off small pieces of dandelion greens, she would gobble those down.  She could no longer peck at hard foods and was having trouble picking anything up, like the food crumbles they always have to eat.  Still, to my surprise both she and Ellie laid an egg shortly after the Hawk attack and today as well. 

I did put sheets of leftover plywood I had all up against the back of the coop and about one third of the way on each side so that if the hawk comes again, atleast the birds will have two corners and the back to hide in that he cannot fly to and make them run again.  They seemed to be calmer because of it.  Right now I’ve got the boards propped up with cement path edgers but will eventually nail it in I suppose.  Should prevent drafts in the Winter too.

October 29, 2010: The Freddy Kruger of Chickenville Strikes.....

October 29, 2010

Friday, 9:07 am

Sheer terror broke out in the chicken coop this morning.  At 8 am, I awoke to the sound of screaming chickens.  The Freddy Kruger of Chickenville, with his razor-sharp talons, had decided to strike.  A hawk was continuously flying into the sides of the run and the poor chickens, completely terrified, would tear to the other side of the coop, piling into and on top of each other, only to have the hawk then fly to whatever side they were on. 

I started screaming at the hawk from my bedroom window and he paid me not one bit of mind.  I jumped out of bed, grabbed my cane and went out after him.  Insolent little booger wouldn’t even fly until I was within six feet of him and then only to fly to a nearby tree until I threw a dead branch at him.

The chickens, not knowing that he cannot get into the cage with them, had smashed themselves into each other like a stampede trying to escape a burning house, there were broken and missing feathers, bloody beaks and faces.

Afterward, the larger chickens all crept into the nesting boxes to hide, even the ones who had not begun laying yet.  I felt a little tickle on my ankles and looked down to find the two bantams, Goldie and Raven, hiding under the pants legs of my pajama’s.

So here it is, 50 degrees out and I’m standing in the chicken run in my pj’s, trying to comfort the terrified chickens.  No wonder they have been so skittish lately and Goldie and Raven stopped laying.  Yesterday I thought it was cute that they were both in their boxes near the end of the day, it was very picturesque.  Now I know they were probably hiding out from the damned hawk!

I have decided hawks and I no longer like each other.  This is war.