Showing posts with label Pets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pets. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
We Have Eggs!
Thursday's surprise...our first chicken eggs! The chickens are just 6 months old, and it looks like the buffs are going to be great daily layers. Not sure about the silkies, yet...a few eggs are smaller and have faint speckles, but all of them are brown. Hurray, Hurray! Fresh eggs every day!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Fiber Fair Souvenir
Of course, every great day deserves a souvenir. The Marshfield Fiber Fair memento for me was......
Ollie! He's a one-year-old dwarf angora bunny - a Jersey Woolie. Very sweet, and super soft, I've already harvested a small bag of fur just brushing him daily! Now, if I can just work up the nerve to shear him!
Ollie! He's a one-year-old dwarf angora bunny - a Jersey Woolie. Very sweet, and super soft, I've already harvested a small bag of fur just brushing him daily! Now, if I can just work up the nerve to shear him!
Weighing the ORPtions
Part of keeping our Chicken Journal is weighing the hens periodically to chart their growth. Here, Kendra weighs a Buff Orpington, then a White Silkie (who barely clears one pound). The girls don't seem to mind visiting indoors, as long as we keep them away from the cooking pot!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Chickens Go To Kindergarten
The kindergarten class that I was substitute teaching had a tragic end to their incubated eggs. Fortunately, I just so happened to have some chicks at home for them to see! David brought in a buff and a few silkies, and all the kids loved petting them and marveling at their different features. (Chickens are NOT always yellow!)
Kendra sat with a buff and taught the little ones how to make pets out of poultry. They loved her and the hens!
Kendra sat with a buff and taught the little ones how to make pets out of poultry. They loved her and the hens!
Friday, April 9, 2010
"Deep In The Garden, Something Is Moving"
Inspired by the gorgeous Spring weather, I decided to put in a garden this year. David built some raised beds and filled them with dirt, but before we could plant a single seed, we had to evict the current tenants.
"The earth shivered and shook itself. SOMETHING was moving under there. An ancient creature working its way to the surface? A hideous monster seeking its next meal? No, it was much worse than any imagination could conjure."
Drew promptly named the mole "Bottles", placing it in his wheelbarrow and watching it bury itself again and again.
After a near miss with the strolling cat, we released our new friend in the field, where he wasted no time in disappearing, leaving us all to wonder, "Who was that blind mole?"
"The earth shivered and shook itself. SOMETHING was moving under there. An ancient creature working its way to the surface? A hideous monster seeking its next meal? No, it was much worse than any imagination could conjure."
Drew promptly named the mole "Bottles", placing it in his wheelbarrow and watching it bury itself again and again.
After a near miss with the strolling cat, we released our new friend in the field, where he wasted no time in disappearing, leaving us all to wonder, "Who was that blind mole?"
Kitten Update
At three weeks old, our litter of six kittens has hit their ultimate cute phase. Their eyes are open, their ears are perky, and they wobble about on uncertain legs, exploring their new world.
Kendra keeps them entertained with homemade toys. They haven't quite decided what that is all about just yet...
A few love to be held and cuddled.
Others, not so much.
Baby Boom
Well, the chicks have flown the laundry room and headed out to the coop. Our finished coop is adorable and roomy. David added some extra details and trim, and I painted the whole thing to match the house...gray with red accents. You can see the nesting box area on the left, the enclosed section is the henhouse with roosting poles (and 2 tiny windows!), and a ramp leads down to the ground for some quality scratching time during the day.
The chicks are still too small to negotiate the ramp themselves, so we help them out every morning, and tuck them in again at night.
The chicks loved the new coop right away, and it wasn't long before we had to add more feeders and waterers to accommodate their fast-growing appetites.
Ahhh, the unavoidable ugly phase. The buffs look the worst, with their scruffy feathers coming in at all angles. The silkies still manage to look cute no matter what they do!
These little darling Silkies look like they're wearing bloomers! I love it!
The kids are thrilled with all the activity, and love to go out and check on the chickens. (Just wait 'till the day they find a freshly-laid egg!) Of course, Kendra has a way with every animal...even pushy little pullets!
The chicks are still too small to negotiate the ramp themselves, so we help them out every morning, and tuck them in again at night.
The chicks loved the new coop right away, and it wasn't long before we had to add more feeders and waterers to accommodate their fast-growing appetites.
Ahhh, the unavoidable ugly phase. The buffs look the worst, with their scruffy feathers coming in at all angles. The silkies still manage to look cute no matter what they do!
These little darling Silkies look like they're wearing bloomers! I love it!
The kids are thrilled with all the activity, and love to go out and check on the chickens. (Just wait 'till the day they find a freshly-laid egg!) Of course, Kendra has a way with every animal...even pushy little pullets!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Chicks 'R Us
Work began on the chicken coop, with David building a frame.
It will have a henhouse enclosed in the coop, and be covered with wire mesh to keep out predators. Kendra helped each day, and then it was time to paint.
Here is a Buff Orpington pullet - a future egg-layer at 3 days old. They are alert and curious, very strong and stable on their feet, and the first to figure out how to eat and drink!
Only days after they hatch, the buffs have a few delicate adult feathers peeking through the down!
The Blue Silky Bantams will one day sport a topknot on their heads and feathers on their feet and legs. They will always be small, but are known for being excellent mothers and having agreeable little personalities. These little cuties are noticeably smaller than the buffs, and are quite wobbly on their feet. They often fall over if they run into a fellow hatch-mate, and get tired easily. The runt of the group drops off to sleep without notice - tipping slowly forward onto his beak and taking a little snooze!
The blue and white silkies get distressed unless they're in a group. Let's face it, everything is better when you can cuddle!
This is a White Silky Bantam - the kind my family had years ago, along with our Rhode Island Reds. They're like the French Poodles of the chicken world - all flash and fashion! Of course, their blue and green "peewee" eggs are practically useless, but with this kind of cuteness, who cares!
A little glimpse of the future! Blue skin and feathered feet!
It will have a henhouse enclosed in the coop, and be covered with wire mesh to keep out predators. Kendra helped each day, and then it was time to paint.
Here is a Buff Orpington pullet - a future egg-layer at 3 days old. They are alert and curious, very strong and stable on their feet, and the first to figure out how to eat and drink!
Only days after they hatch, the buffs have a few delicate adult feathers peeking through the down!
The Blue Silky Bantams will one day sport a topknot on their heads and feathers on their feet and legs. They will always be small, but are known for being excellent mothers and having agreeable little personalities. These little cuties are noticeably smaller than the buffs, and are quite wobbly on their feet. They often fall over if they run into a fellow hatch-mate, and get tired easily. The runt of the group drops off to sleep without notice - tipping slowly forward onto his beak and taking a little snooze!
The blue and white silkies get distressed unless they're in a group. Let's face it, everything is better when you can cuddle!
This is a White Silky Bantam - the kind my family had years ago, along with our Rhode Island Reds. They're like the French Poodles of the chicken world - all flash and fashion! Of course, their blue and green "peewee" eggs are practically useless, but with this kind of cuteness, who cares!
A little glimpse of the future! Blue skin and feathered feet!
Cheep and Cheerful
Every spring we have a new project for our homeschooling adventures. This year we decided to raise chickens! We found some plans online for a nifty little coop, David scrounged some supplies from the barn and leftover materials, and with a few baby chicks, we were on our way!
We chose Cackle Hatchery for our chicken resource. They are close enough to drive to (Lebanon, Mo.) and have every breed of chicken imaginable. It was important for us to get some silkies along with our egg-layers. We had them when I was a girl, and they are just so much fun!
March 4, 2010 - The hatchery storefront is packed with chicks of all kinds in lighted bins, along with turkeys, ducks, guineas, and other baby birds. We had only ordered 15 chicks (5 buff orpingtons for egg-layers, 5 white silky bantams, and 5 blue silky bantams), but the Amish were there picking up virtual pallets of pullets!
Drew couldn't resist a little peek on the way home!
We placed them in their indoor box, lined with pine shavings, and set up their feed and water dishes and a thermometer. They must be kept at 95 degrees their first week, 90 the second week, 85 the third, and so on, until they are ready to go outside. Peaches, our dog, thinks we bring home baby animals just for her. She's already trying to mother them!
A red heat lamp will do the trick for keeping these babies warm. How many people can say they have their own Red Light District full of chicks?
It's been a hard day - sleepytime for little ones!
We chose Cackle Hatchery for our chicken resource. They are close enough to drive to (Lebanon, Mo.) and have every breed of chicken imaginable. It was important for us to get some silkies along with our egg-layers. We had them when I was a girl, and they are just so much fun!
March 4, 2010 - The hatchery storefront is packed with chicks of all kinds in lighted bins, along with turkeys, ducks, guineas, and other baby birds. We had only ordered 15 chicks (5 buff orpingtons for egg-layers, 5 white silky bantams, and 5 blue silky bantams), but the Amish were there picking up virtual pallets of pullets!
Drew couldn't resist a little peek on the way home!
We placed them in their indoor box, lined with pine shavings, and set up their feed and water dishes and a thermometer. They must be kept at 95 degrees their first week, 90 the second week, 85 the third, and so on, until they are ready to go outside. Peaches, our dog, thinks we bring home baby animals just for her. She's already trying to mother them!
A red heat lamp will do the trick for keeping these babies warm. How many people can say they have their own Red Light District full of chicks?
It's been a hard day - sleepytime for little ones!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Pumpkin's First Snow
Our toy schnauzer, Pumpkin, is thrilled with her first snow! At five months, everything is a new experience for her. Each time she comes inside, her little chocolate beard is dusted with white. I'm not sure what she's looking for under the snow, but the tracks are too cute!
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