HOW CARMEN SPENDS HER DAY....

Carmen may not have any special breed or variety name....she's just a Commercial Egg Layer Breed known as Black Star, but she certainly makes up for that in personality. She is very vocal, has hatched some chicks, lays a lot of eggs for us and just generally entertains...She is large,shiny black and has a bright red cone on top of her head. Her bright yellow eyes rarely miss anything. We love her large brown eggs with the darkest golden yolks. Every morning when we open the chicken coop, she is the first one out and hops right into a garbage can full of feed. She lays one large brown egg each day and better not be disturbed while she's in there. Then she hops out and begins her day. One morning when I wasn't paying attention to her routine, I stuck my hand in the garbage can to throw some feed around and I thought that I had received an electrical shock. She pecked me and reminded me that this was her time and to just be patient, she'd be done in a moment. I now check every time I stick my hand in anywhere, enough with the shocks. She then joins the group on the ground and gets her share of oats, corn and layer mix. She then heads out to the heated bucket of water and drinks for a good long time, lifting her head each time,letting the water quench her thoroughly. After making everyone else wait for a drink she looks around to decide what to do next. They may all head back into the barn and look for a spot in the sun (we have clear siding in various areas to allow the sun and light to warm up and lighten up the coop and barn)and just generally try to stay out of the wind in the winter time. They all interact,follow and chase each other around (pecking order you know). They duck under the gates and go into the llama/sheep pens and into the donkey pens. They scratch and clean the floors of the barns and pens. In the summer they really keep the bugs and mice count down by doing what they do naturally, scratching and snacking on the bugs and larva they find most tasty. Carmen's beau is Juan, he's a fancy bantam rooster. Their arrangement is kind of odd but it seems to work. He is about half her size and yet they have had chicks together. Our other rooster, Big Red pretty much stays away from Juan when he's with Carmen because generally two roosters in one coop or barn is one too many roosters. Carmen might just be Juan's body guard. Anyway, any chance Big Red gets to go after Juan, he does. But, Juan is smaller and much faster. So, for years he has escaped the testosterone and ego of Big Red. In the spring, summer and fall, the hens, with Carmen usually leading the group, move into my flower beds. It is a special day when we are out there working in the beds, turning over soil and planting new bulbs or plants. There is no fear when it comes to a worm. Carmen will stand on my foot and wait for a worm to appear. Needless to say it's hard to get anything done when there's a chicken standing on your foot and several more within inches. I cannot even use a big shovel for fear of hurting one of them. So, I have to use a small hand scooper and it takes twice as long to do any planting job in the flower beds. But, the show is well worth the wait. I've seen a worm suspended between two beaks and squabbles over a big juicy one. When we are not working in the beds, Juan is instructed by Carmen, I'm sure, to jump up onto a platform bird feeder, and kick down some seed. Then, all of the chickens would gather around the base and eat dried meal worms, sunflower seeds, much to the dismay of the local birds. As the day winds down and all of the scratching and just generally messing around is done, everyone heads back to the coop to pick out their place to roost for the night. As I secure the coop door, I love to just hang out for awhile and listen to their sounds. After having a few arguments during the day, they all sound like they are speaking very nicely to each other, that's what I like to think anyway. Maybe apologizing, maybe wishing a good nights rest, maybe talking around the next day's adventures. Goodnight Carmen, goodnight Juan, goodnight Big Red and all of his girls...sleep well and we'll hear you (Juan & Big Red) and see you first thing in the morning for another day in the life of barnyard chickens

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HONKEY DONKEYS...Mini Donkeys are the cutest.....and smartest....

 

 My very patient and understanding husband and I have had a number of miniature horses and donkeys. We really love our mini donkeys...Frankie and Annie. A bit about mini donkeys: they are very protective, but gentle in nature. They are highly recommended for so many things...companion animals for sheep, goats, chickens and calves. They are very intelligent, they continue to learn throughout their lives and have the capability to remember and think for themselves (which is why they are accused of being stubborn)....unlike humans, it only takes one time for them to learn to not do that again. They are wonderful therapy animals because of their gentleness and they sense how to act around older or smaller people (kids). When I go into the barn, they know I'm the one that messes with them and the one with the water bottle...which they promptly steal as soon as I put it down somewhere and then run way out into the field with it. They can pull a cart or sleigh carrying one adult. They can hold 100 pounds on their back and so are recommended for new riders (kids). They live for a long time....into their 20's. They have a natural dislike for wolves, coyotes and aggressive unfamiliar dogs. A lot of farmers will use donkeys to protect their livestock. They will kick and believe me when they kick and have an intended target, they do not miss. They will play around and buck and semi kick, but when it's serious...it's dead on. They also are great weed control - stinging nettles are one of their favorites....yikes - like eating a porcupine. Mostly they are funny and good for the soul. Glad that your home is with us Frankie and Annie....when you bray.....I always think it sounds more like long, incredibly loud honking, like a giant semi is going to come plowing right through our barn....you are very special you honkey donkeys....!

EMBER THE LLAMA...AND HIS AMAZING WILL TO LIVE.....

We purchased Ember when he was one year old...he was the most playful llama we had ever had. One day he became overly interested in our females and so we needed to separate him from our herd of females and our gelded guard llama. He was annoying the females and starting to fight with the older male guard llama named Fitz. We built a semi wall between Ember and the rest so that he couldn't get at them but could reach through and take part in the herd. He also got his own field which I think he enjoyed...separated by a wire fence from the rest of the herd. When a female llama is in the mood, she will walk over to the male and start flagging (waving her tail) and he will start making guttural noises when breeding is to take place. When I heard and saw this, I opened the fence between the herd and Ember and,our female Abbie ran in and they bred. When she is ready she cushes and he mounts. The act is actually kind of lovely...he rubs her neck with his during the act. Abbie got pregnant...llamas are auto ovulators....the female determines after the act of breeding when she becomes pregnant...very cool....probably for protection of the young in the wild...weather, water availability, etc. Annabelle was born to Ember and Abbie and is such a sweet baby. She stayed with her mom, played with the herd and then will eventually separate from mom and becomes her own llama.

 Months later, when I was out in the barn, I didn't see Ember, so I went looking for him. I would suppose that every mom (of children and animals) has the same instinct that I have. When I walk into the barn, I just know when something is not right, I can feel it without even having seen anything. He was lying down in the field in kind of an awkward position. Long and short of it....he couldn't stand. After determining that he didn't have a broken leg, I erected a makeshift tent to protect him from the sun and brought him food and water. When my husband came home, we rolled him onto a tarp and dragged him into the barn. Over the next month, we rigged up a hoist with a horse girth strap and stood him up each day to change his bedding, etc. We cleaned him, hand fed him and encouraged him to stand again. I would go out in the evening and syringe apple juice and vitamins into his mouth and tell him how big and strong he was and that he was going to live and run his fields again. During this time frame, we had to inject him with quite a bit of wormer. A parasite had invaded his body...a Meningeal Worm from white tail deer that travel through our fields. When the llamas graze they pick it up and very quickly the parasite goes straight to the brain and spinal cord. Ember became paralyzed in one leg. We would hoist him everyday, turn and clean him, feed him and love him. One day when I was pulling into our farm I saw his face looking out above the barn 1/2 wall. I couldn't believe it, he was standing. I ran out and he was cushing by the time I got out there. We continued to lift him each day and do our daily routine. One morning he was standing out in his field and has not stopped running and playing since then. We love him...he has not fathered any crias since then, but we are so glad just to have him healthy and alive. He loves to cush in 'his' swimming pool. We fill it with cold hose water in the summer and he stands in it and can't wait for us to finish so that he can lower himself and cool his underside. He's a sweetheart and we are very lucky to have been involved in his recovery.

A WINTER DAY ON THE FARM,

Winter is definitely a beautiful inconvenience....I have found it (being from Chicago and now living in the country) especially hard on a farm....But, the good part is that you have to go out into it....no choice...all your animals are waiting for food, water and a pat on the head. I can't go to bed at night until I've made sure that everyone's tummy is full, they've had a drink and they are able to lie down out of the wind and snow in some clean hay....so, you get dressed really warm and go out into the cold night.  Once you're out there...you're really glad that you ventured out....the animals are all so happy to see you. I wonder if they recognize me sometimes with just my eyes showing, but apparently they do...or they just love anyone that is going to give them corn and oats and fluff up their hay. Anyway, I find myself spending more time out there than I had originally planned, and I always feel so good when I turn out the lights and say goodnight...sleep tight... to them all. We check very often at this time of year because sometimes lambs are born early and we don't want them to freeze so we either move mom and baby into a special stall with heat lights or we actually bring the babies in if mom is not wanting to feed - our moms are all great, but we do go and get babies from another farm that don't pay as much attention as we do...so, I bottle feed the lambs and they live in my bathroom and then in a whelping pen in our indoor kennel for our dogs. Some days it's really tough...equipment breakdowns, frozen water, etc. but, most of the time my husband gets it all to work and we go out and work in the barn together and laugh a lot.....and then we come into the house frozen and tired and snuggle up in front of a fire and fall asleep having more sweet stories to tell about our life on the farm....

DISLIKE WINTER? ME TOO....sort of...

I've never really liked winter (maybe when I was a child I enjoyed it) but, not in recent years. I decided I needed to do something to help me manage winters better, to enjoy every season. I bought a camera and started shooting. A strong cold wind might keep me in the house, but, otherwise, I go out everyday with my camera over my shoulder. I placed a basket of seed on the deck right outside the window where I sit at my computer and was amazed at how beautiful the ever changing scenery was at that seed basket. I've always been a bird watcher but never really had a feeder near enough to me to really see the birds up close. When the Blue Jays fly in everyone else disappears...except one day, a female Cardinal, that basically gave him the "I'm not leaving" look and after starring at each other for awhile, he went on to eat seed together. At about 4:00 each day it becomes Cardinal hour...so many of them fly in and feed on the sunflower seeds....so beautiful. You really don't notice them as much in the summer, but with their brilliant red and softened tones (of the female)against the white snow....they just brighten the whole landscape. You don't see the variety that you see in the summer months when the vacationing birds come back, but you get to know the ones that come each day. The squirrel pictured is a Fox Squirrel and he has a boo boo above his eye....I watched the boo boo heal each day as he would come for his daily treat....winter....it's not so bad...in the summer I would be outside seeing some of this but not from my warm comfy chair with a front row view....I've started taking my camera with me on my drives to and from work and have gotten an amazing variety of beautiful pictures of winter in all of it's finery....find a way to enjoy this beautiful season.