Turmoil on the Chicken Front

Tired of hearing about MORE chicken troubles?

Me, too.

This is a picture of Crystal with both of her chicks.  The second chick kind of blends into the first one, but it's more grey and the lump to the left.  The second baby hatched out 3 days after the first one.

I can't get a better picture for you because:

The baby chick is gone.

I could guess several things like predators or cold.  But I think her mother did her in.  And perhaps the reason I can't FIND her is that her mother ate her.  I hope not.  But it could be true.  This second chick spent it's day and half doing well, growing quickly and acting just like a baby chick should.  But Lucas and I found Crystal pecking her pretty good, and it worried us.  So the fact that she's now missing may mean Crystal is a one-chick Mama.

Also, another egg began to hatch, and I found it with a cute little hole pecked and the baby birds face right there... with it's face pecked, dead.  Again,  I suspect Crystal of doing in another baby.  Lucas postulates that perhaps Crystal was "putting her out of her misery".  I'm not sure what misery hatching involves, but it clearly involved misery for that baby.

Sigh.  I'm not done, yet.  There's more.

This morning I woke up and checked on our two Rhode Island Red babies in the house.  One was stiff and dead.

I think I'm done with chicks for now.  The joy is gone, the grotesque side of nature has sapped my enthusiasm.  Crystal can have her one baby.  The kids can have their one baby.  And we've arranged for our Cannibal to head to the meat market.  No, we don't want to eat her.

I think I shall turn my attention to Lucas and his birthday.  It feels much cheerier to dwell on!

A Sweet Surprise ~ A Baby Chick!

I thought we had several days left to go...

Today I was out taking care of my flock of hens, when I saw Crystal, the mother hen.  She was clucking around her yard and I could not figure out what the problem was.  I supposed that after sitting on eggs for over a month, maybe she got tired of it.  She sat for a couple weeks on unfertilized eggs before I did a swap and gave her some eggs with promise.  I rushed in to check her nest, saw only FIVE little eggs in it (missing one) and then spotted the teeny chick following her around.  Mama made sure I stayed a safe distance away, but this little chick is SO CUTE!!!

I checked the eggs left on the nest and they were pretty cool.  Not cold, but not warm either.  So I don't have much hope for them although I'll see what she does for another day or two.  I rushed off to the feed store with the kids to get chick starter for this little girl (we hope) that we've decided to call Fluff.  I encouraged the kids to think of something short, and easy to use.  No more of this "Brynna Cora Oliva Stafford" jazz.  Let's go with Big Mama, Cannibal, Rooster and Unsightly Mess.  Okay, so the name can be long if it fits, but I digress.  

Wouldn't you know it, there were baby chicks at the feed store.  And we had to buy two.  They had no Australorps, so we settled on two Rhode Island Reds.  Gotta go for the variety!  Our Mama Australorp hatched out an Ameracauna, anyway. =)  She doesn't seem to mind at all.  

We tried to introduce the baby chicks to Crystal, and after an initial feather fluffing and a loud scream, she deigned to look one over.  If the chick had in any way responded to her, I think she'd have adopted it.  But it sat there, having never seen an adult chicken in it's life, and when Crystal prompted it to hide under her, it gave no response.  So she nudged it with her beak.  No response.  Pecked it gently on the head.  No response.  Pecked it harder on the head and got a response from me.  So to my sorrow and the kids delight, we get to raise these two chicks in a box in the house.  Yay.  Whoop. De. Do.  I have to say feels nice to have a mother hen taking care of the chick instead of me.  Too bad I went and got more...

Lucky chicks.

But they grow quickly.  And they'll be tame in no time, while Crystal and her chick might take a while to win over.  I really don't care, I'm not feeling the need to snuggle with my chickens.  But it is nice when they seem to like you a little.  =)  These chicks are certainly loved by my kids!

Now to pursue the more difficult task of ridding myself of one or two chickens.  Cannibal must go.  And what is your opinion about Unsightly Mess?

I was eager for the spring molting, but I should have kept her away from Big Mama.  Big Mama promptly plucked the feathers from the top of her head, back of her neck and the sides of each wing.  She looks horrendous and won't look any better til after the fall molt.  She lays her green egg so faithfully, I hate to just get rid of her.  Big Mama is glossy, large, slightly shy and lays almost an egg per day.  She's chicken deluxe and I can't get rid of her just because she's at the top of the pecking order!  What to do?

The Chicken Saga: Fear Deflated

Hello, out there!

I cannot access my photos right now, so I'm going to have boring posts til I get that remedied.  Sorry!  But I have a story to tell, and it can't wait any longer. **Remedied!

As you know, our chickens were having WORM ISSUES.  Blech.  My evidence of worms was what I assumed were worm eggs on the outside of my girls shells.  No other searches turned up results, but I felt pretty sure about the worm egg stuff.  However, after two dewormings, I was still seeing worm eggs on the outside of the shells.  My chicken world was caving in, and capsizing on me.

But.

One day I collected an egg with "worm eggs" but this time the eggs weren't all uniform in size.   I began to wonder if they really WERE worm eggs after all.  Shane and I did an internet search, and discovered that:

MY CHICKENS NEVER HAD WORMS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

All said and done, I'm glad.  It was a big hassle and pain, and here I've thrown away many good eggs and put my chickens through meds without needing to, but there is something SO comforting about them not having anything gross connected to my breakfast.  And on the bright side, I was able to donate the eggs that were laid while the chickens were medicated to Wildlife West, as the management said there would be no issues since their animals are regularly dewormed, anyway.  =)

I have a fun piece of news; we have a Mother among our biddies.  It's Lucas's hen named Crystal.  She's been trying to hatch out unfertilized eggs, but I acquired some fertilized ones and she's sitting on them.  We'll see by the weekend if the eggs will really hatch and if she'll be a mommy.  If the eggs don't hatch or the babies all die, then I'll get some new baby chicks from the feed store and tuck a couple under her and see what she does with that.  I need a couple new girls and maybe one or two to replace my egg-eating, free-loading girl.  

Oh yeah, and I built another coop.  It's an amazing study in function and size.  Teeny.  3x4 feet and a foot off the ground and the top has hinges that I lift up to check for eggs.  All I need it for is a sleeping roost and a spot to lay eggs in while I keep the other chickens separate from the new Mommy and her potential babies.  My egg-eating girl already ate one of the fertilized eggs, so I had to separate them.  Rascal!

And that is the continuation of the saga!

Mother's Day Thoughts

I am very, very glad to be a mommy to these children with bubble beards!

I woke up on Mother's Day, and began to think about how lucky I am to be exactly where I am in life.  I thought about the Virtuous Woman who's reward was the work of her own hands.  I thought about how Mother's Day feels like a day I should thank my children and my husband for making Mommyhood so worthwhile and rewarding.  So I did.

In everything my kids did that day, I felt glad that my job is mothering them.  And they needed mothering on Sunday,  just like they do every other day of the year.  And I also felt grateful to my husband for making sure my day was lovely, even though I am not his mother.  You know, being a mommy is a thousand times better when I have him on the job with me as a parent.

Before Mother's Day, I had been trying to decide what to get Shane for Father's Day and as I stressed about how to make it unique, special, etc, it occurred to me that he might be doing the same.  So we talked it over and decided that what we need are TRADITIONS, not more presents.  We'd like to pack a picnic and take a hike on Mother's and Father's day.  Just choose another day to celebrate being together, and take the heat off.  The kids can make little cards or projects and that's enough!  No big gifts, no fancy restaurant, just the things that kids do that are just the right size for them.

Maybe my husband and I have similar love languages, and quality time is it.  =)  Whatever it is, it works for us and...

LIFE IS GOOD!

Vegetarian Cooking and a Salmon Soapbox

Happy May! We got snow on May Day, how's that for a temperamental spring?  It's been so lovely, that I planted my garden weeks ago. =)  But my garden is so small, that it will be a simple thing to replant.  Life does, indeed, go on!

So I'm on the prowl, and I need some guidance and most of all, IDEAS!!!  The latest bee in my bonnet is looking into some vegetarian cooking.  Maybe someday we'll move entirely to vegetarian, but for now, my goal is to make vegetables the centerpiece at meals.  We have June's lovely Red Beans and Rice recipe that we can leave the meat out of and enjoy as vegetarian, and that's a start.  I'm looking at chickpeas, maybe in salads for protein and maybe even dabbling in tofu.  I haven't had much experience with either, but I hear tofu needs to be paired with something flavor-rich, or marinated since it's so bland on it's own.

From what I can see, the top plant protein performers are:
beans and rice
chickpeas
quinoa
tofu

Anyone know of more powerhouse veggies in the protein department?

We don't really have to stress, since we will only be eating a vegetarian meal once a week.  However, I'd really like to get to know my "stuff" on vegetarian eating and do it right.  A Mom must always remember about those little ones learning by example! =)

I am not interested in going Vegan, just to be clear.  I embrace eggs and dairy. =)  I embrace meat, too, but I'd like to learn to be less dependent on it, and go for a heartier portion of veggies as life goes on.

I think fish, salmon especially, is a meat we do want on the table with some regularity.  But we only buy the salmon from the heavily regulated fisheries, not farm raised, or wild-caught that are overfished.  And we found out that there's going to be oil drilling right smack dab in the middle of where our fish are responsibly fished in Alaska.  So as soon as dependable old human error comes into play, and another leak or spill occurs in that location, we won't be able to get salmon anymore.  Because we won't support farms or fisheries that overfish wild salmon.  It is frustrating that it would even be allowed when the fish situation is already precarious, but I only have one option.  Do the little I can do, then take deep breaths and try not scream.  And one "little" I can do is spend my money supporting things that are right.  As you all know, wild alaskan salmon is not cheap.  $30 for a 3lb bag.  Farm raised is much cheaper.  But I'm letting my money talk, even though I'm just one person.  Can I afford to support safe fishing or can I afford not to?  May I always do right or do without!

Shane said that if a person wants to be right, then it would be a good idea to get used to being wrong a LOT!  I love it.  He was talking about himself, in case that would ever be unclear.  But it's so true.  Right isn't getting people to believe my opinion, which could easily be wrong.  Right is that constant search for truth, coming a little at a time and only as I'm honest and willing to be wrong.