Happy Harvest Blog
Little cuties
Baby barred rock. Two Silkie crosses, apparently They like to tightrope around on the coop. It's just challenging enough that they look tentative.This little leghorn has moved in with the Silkies (sitting on the swing). I don't know why they make the choices they do.
Rain day
The rain is coming DOWN. The birds are lucky to all be in the big dry chicken dome. The downpour is deafening in the greenhouse, and the guineas are up high next to the skin. It must be awful in their little skulls. Sometimes they yell back at the noise. They put their heads under their wings though.
The pigs are sausaged in their house, full of pumpkin. They have a good spot for the house right now – it’s dry – the water is draining away instead of filling up their sleeping divot, and they’ve got their hay “just right”. They’re funny. They sleep most of the day when it rains.
The word is out – the feeder is full. Once you start feeding the birds for the winter, you can’t stop. The grosbeaks are back. Their population seems to have done well. Boy do they make a racket yelling in the poplars. There are two big brown birds that are new to me also at the feeder. The chickadees sure don’t stop for rain.
Post-Halloween pigs
The pigs are enjoying jack-o-lantern guts, to put it mildly. I've got a few days worth of meal-enhancements from a carving party. I mix the pulp in with their pellets, and nothing budges them from their bowls when they've got pumpkin. I moved their fence around two trees, taking an entire half of it down, and there was not a flicker of interest. No investigating. Whatchu doin'? Nothing. (Good to know).
You Tarzan, me chicken
Now I know why the other chickens weren't impressed by Nosey. This is what they do when I'm not looking. The white one was up there too, before I got the camera. Just walking around up there on the tomato vines. She's going to practice swinging in a controlled environment.
Let them eat grass!
I've made the observation that guineas "like" to eat grass the way addicts "like" heroin. They seem desperate for it. They'll crowd up and rip grass so you can hear the grass getting mowed. Just a hunch. Guineas need grass in their diet more than the average bird. So post-bobcat, I've been letting the guineas outside for a half hour before bed, to get their grass fix. Really? Then I stand over them, supervising, but they're so into the grass they barely notice me
This hat sees a lot of action
I was quietly working, when there was a bird-window thump, on the north window. No one ever flies into the only, small, north window, and it's not shielded. Not a terrible, dire, sickening thump, but I thought I should check, anyways. There was a chickadee under the window, motionless, wings splayed awkwardly, beak and eyes open, feet clutching a chunk of the brown leaves that it fell on. It went straight into the hat. All birds in trouble around here get the hat treatment.
The killer has pointy ears
I came face to face with Inky's killer today. I saw the rounded brown form lope into the brush as I came by the greenhouse to check on the pigs. I thought it was a raccoon because it was slow and lazy getting out of sight. To be sure, I snuck up for a closer look. It moved. I moved. It wasn't in much of a hurry. I found it, camouflaged in the underbrush. A bobcat. Sitting front feet together like a cultured cat, head forward, round face a little sad looking, like wild cats' faces look.
Boil 'em mash 'em stick 'em in a stew
I looked at the forecast and figured it was the last minute for getting the potatoes out of the ground. It wasn't. They were plenty well tucked in and could have withstood much colder temps. But they're out now. First I take the blanket off. Dig the potatoes...Oh look, I got a heart potato! That wasn't staged. It really turned over the first forkful. I got two heart potatoes today. Somebody's been here first.
All in!
What a load off my mind! Everyone is in. I thought it might all be too crowded for the numbers I have now, but it's ok. It's sloppy and slapdash right now, but it will work out. There's plenty of room for the coops, and a pool, and more. The guineas are being very tolerant about this mass invasion. They very much like to sit up on top of Silkieland. Perhaps we'll poop on you. I think they're so cute. They treat the chickens more like pets they're fond of, than equals.
Two coops in
2.5 coops. Chris and Cream Puff are in too, in their personal size coop. It's a big mess, the coops are just barely in the door, but I'm going to reorganize a bit, and there are a lot of strings to come down. Oh, the birds are in heaven. The scritching, the tomatoes, the dust baths! They've been wanting into the greenhouse all summer. It's warm, and they were so happy all day bathing and lounging.No matter how big they are. HW deadpans "Yeah, that'll last until about lunchtime.
The walnut tree dropped all its leaves.
All in one day, the walnut trees dropped all their leaves. There must have been the exact right frost. You could stand there and watch them drip down. Now there's a big pile of leaves under the naked trees. One coop in. It sure looks crowded right now, but I think it's going to work well. Last year I had a corner cordoned off for the Silkie hens, so why not move in the whole run. Of course, right away everyone who was already living in the greenhouse has to jump up on top of it.
Greenhouse freedom
I have to move all the coops in to the greenhouse, and I'm at a bit of loss what to do with all the chicks and mamas that have been at large in the GH for weeks now. They're very much enjoying themselves. Somebody's got a windfall tomato. Interest is aroused. Now I got the tomato!I got the tomato back! It seems most or all of the non-Silkie chicks don't really need their moms any more, so they might be willing to go back in Silkieland.
Rascally roosters
Oh, we could definitely make a mess here. This looks much too tidy. Lots of potential.Let me figure out our angle.And, ten seconds later... crash! BOBWAWCK, BOBWAAWCK!
Predator pressure
The gang's all here. You put these here for us, right? We needed a grooming station. The gang's not really all there. A few of them are trapped in the greenhouse with the Silkie moms and their chicks today, because I was worried. Things are going to change. I have to get the birds under cover for their own safety, asap, and it's going to be hard. Yesterday I got out of my car to a bald eagle hovering overhead. We looked at each other, I told him to leave, and he tipped and banked towards the greenhouse.
Winter is knocking
The feeder's been loaded for two hours, and four chickadees are here, scrapping for primacy. It's another frozen day, so while it seems a little early, I'm starting to feed them. It's nice to see the chickadees again. They keep to themselves all summer, but clearly, they keep an eye on me. The Family has a new spot to lounge. I've been clearing buckthorn, and they love it. They want to hang out in this alder, fine.
First snow!
First snow in October! Real snow too, big swirling flakes that are sticking around for a little while. The Caped Crusader doesn't wait for me to distribute the food. These are the four middle chicks, having a snow day in the greenhouse. Snow is pretty much rain, only quiet. The co-mamas and the 7 Silkies. Adorable. They're so tiny. I'm in dread of stepping on one, since they're so small and brown and hard to see. Luckily Marshmallow is fierce.
Middle Chicks and greenhouse chicks
The four middle chicks are kinda loners. A little little chicken gang. On the left is a Silkie cross. She's experiencing the unfortunate phenomenon of her friends all growing up faster than she is. Her growth has stalled. Caped crusader on the right. The four of them are very attached to each other, and haven't become latched on to either flock of grown chickens. Their preference so far is to be in the greenhouse with all the babies, but I often put them outside, where they just pal around with each other.
Mass escape
We've had a lot of rain in a week and a bit. The ground is soft and muddy everywhere, and that makes the electric fence easy to knock over. The pigs escaped after their supper yesterday, an hour before dark. I thought I heard them snorting around in the woods by the house, and I assumed that they would be bedding down and we'd see them in the morning. Boy was I wrong.
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