Friday the 13th--Bad Luck? Nah!

Because after a full day of Ellie walking around, scooting her butt on every floor, bleeding all over the place, and having to be "locked" in a closet, she finally queened!!!

Ellie's messy towel.

I know, it sounds harsh.  She had seemed to pick a spot in my closet.  It was dark, and she was pretty satisfied with it, it seemed.  However, she would not stay there.  Not. At. All.  She sat in the closet until I walked away and then she would follow me.  She bled on the couch, she bled on the floor.  I called every vet under the sun, because I was worried.  It was a long day.  Finally, I went and put her back in the closet and sat with her.  When I went to bed, I was hoping she would stay, because I was in the same room and it was dark.  HA!  She got up and went to lay (and bleed) on my daughter's bed.  I found her at 2:00 in the morning, purring away happily, fluids leaking everywhere, and not a kitten to be seen.  This was why I put her in the closet and "locked" the door--I was hoping to contain the mess and get her to concentrate!

You just can't appreciate how tiny they are until you hold one in your hand!

This morning, around 6 o'clock, I got up and let Ellie out.  She flew out of the closet with a bulge in her rear which could only be a head.  I got her to stop in the doorway of our room.  I think if I didn't, I would have been chasing her down the hall.  I got a towel under her, and then Ellie gave birth to the first of five kittens.  Unfortunately, it was huge and spent too long in the canal.  It was stillborn, which wasn't surprising because she had been leaking all the little one's fluids all over the house all day long.  It was a shame.  However, after the big one was out the rest came easily.  The next two were born almost at the same time.  The next came a little after that, and then the last a little after that.

So five in total, but only four live.  She is an attentive mama, and is going out of her way to make them comfortable, even if she's uncomfortable.  I am so proud of her.

Finally in the box we'd prepared for her to queen in.  She never used it, but it works now!

Ellie's birth is the first birth we've had on the farm that didn't involve an egg hatching.  Happily, my kids got to see almost all of it.  What did they think?  In the words of my son, "It doesn't smell very good".  Oh well.  At least they got the experience, right?  Congratulations, Ellie!

It Felt Good

The Meatballs are four weeks old today.  Up until now, they have been spending their days outside as much as possible, first in the chicken tractor, which quickly became too small, then in the chickens' run, which was great except all the OTHER chickens couldn't use it (they would steal the Meatballs' food).  No matter where they were during the day, they still spent their nights in the brooder, albeit with the light off.  They haven't needed the extra heat, and I've been trying to "toughen" them up for their move outside.  The weather has not been the most cooperative, so it's been difficult to judge.  However, I think today I bite the bullet and they move outside to their final home.

After I put them out (carrying them a few at a time in a laundry basket, mind you-not the lightest job in the world), I sat and spent a few minutes with them to watch them and see if they would settle in nicely.



Of course, quite a few went right for the all-you-can eat buffet...

Some went for the open bar...

And a couple chose to sunbathe.

But you know what I saw when I watched them?  That most of everything I've ever heard about these birds is untrue.  I've heard they're stupid, and I've heard they're lazy.  I've heard that their "chickeness" has been bred right out of them, and they do nothing  but lay around all day long.  None of that is true.  First of all, they're not stupid, not by any means.  They know exactly who I am.  Now that they are on 12 hours on/12 hours off with food (trying to prevent heart attacks here), they know that when when I walk in the door, it's time to eat, so they come rundling*.   They don't do that for anyone else here.  And they seem to trust me, and that's not stupid.  Stupid is flying into an insane crazy frenzy when you're approached by anyone and everyone.  They don't do that. 

This guy let me pet him a little

And then he was quickly joined by a friend

And then some more friends.

I don't know if they're close enough

So no, not stupid.  Lazy?  Let's look at that for a second.  These chickens have been bred by man to put on as much weight as possible in a very short time.  Their frames are heavy.  It's not easy for them to move.  I have noticed that when they are in the brooder, which is pretty crowded and there isn't anything to do but eat, all they do is eat.  But put them outside, it's a whole other story.  They do the same things other chickens do, only in short bursts.  They do scratch, they do sunbathe, they take dirt baths, and they do rundle* around with tasty morsels in their beaks.  The big difference that I can see is that they sit down quite a bit more.  But you put on a lot of weight and tell me that you're just as active as a skinny person.  Ain't gonna happen. 

Curious about the tape measure

Do I know if they're going to be smart and curious and "chickeny" when they get older?  Nope.  But I can say that maybe we all need to watch a little more closely.  Maybe we can all learn something in the meantime.

The biggest observation I made today?  They looked very happy.  And you know what?  That made me happy.   The nicest thing about farming, I think, has been how many opportunities it has afforded me to feel just really happy.  Deep-down-right-in-my-soul happy.  It's quite a feeling.

I'd like to think I'll do right by them before it's their time to go.  I think that would be quite an achievement.

*
*Rundling/to rundle--a cross between running and waddling.  Didn't know that?  That's because I made it up!

Ellie's Belly

Poor Ellie.  She's almost there now, and boy, has this pregnancy been something.  Last week, she was a mushy mushpot, purring constantly, wanting affection, sitting in laps (which she NEVER does).  But in the last few days, she's exhausted, sitting down a lot, sleeping more and being really touchy.  Pregnancy hormones.  You just can't win.

I don't think she's found a spot she likes.  I don't know if she will.  The last few days saw her going outside, coming inside, trying this place, that place, but nothing seemed to work for her.  It probably didn't help at all that the kids are noisy, and they want to pet her all the time.  She was looking for a little privacy, and couldn't seem to find it.  She was annoyed when someone tried to touch her, and slept wherever she could.  Today, she's laying down every few minutes and sleeping.  She still wants to eat, but when she gets the food, she doesn't really want any. 

So I think we're about there, and there's just a little time left to wait.  Because I want to savor these moments, I took a couple of pictures of Ellie.  Her belly is SO big, and she'll never do this again, so it seemed the time to take pictures.  You know, because maybe she'd like a scrapbook someday.  :)

This seems to be her preferred position today--down.

The babies look like saddlebags when she walks.  This isn't the best picture, because she was turning, but I think you get the idea.  Sometimes it looks like they're standing up in there!

If you've ever been pregnant, you can sympathize with Ellie.  I remember feeling the way she felt, and I only had one at a time.  As is the rule, when mama relaxes, the babies wake up.  This was certainly true last night, and the babies (however many there are) were doing acrobatics in her belly as she tried to sleep.  I caught a little bit on film.  They are active!

Poor Ellie.  In the words of Tom Petty, "The waaayyyyyting is the harrrrrrdeeeesssst parrrrrt".

Lipstick on a Pig

According to my brother and his girlfriend, I start my building posts by telling everyone I hate building.  Ok, I might.  But that's because I do.  Truly the only time I like building is with other people, and all I have to do is follow someone else's plan and cut things to a certain length (that they tell me) or hold things in a certain place (that they tell me).  And I like power tools, but that's it. 

My mother is an amazing builder.  My brother is awesome as well.  Me?  I suck.  And yet, I build all. the. time.  Or it seems that way.  So no, I don't like it, but I do it because it has to be done.  Anyway, in an effort to not be so negative, and because I love my brother and his girlfriend, I'm going to try spinning this latest building project I have completed into a happy, happy event.  Join me, will you?

**********************

Hey!!!

Guess what??

I'm building something again! 

Oh joy!  Oh happy day!

I love building!  Love love love it! 

Guess what I'm building?

A meat bird coop!

For the meat birds!

Bgawk!! 
They are much bigger than this already-and nowhere near as cute.

Because they will need a house!  And I don't have one already!

Yeay!

Since they're all short-timers, I decided to build a box! 

It's on its side

A short box with a flat roof!

Still on its side.

And put it up on stilts!!

That's the bottom

So no one can eat them (other than us)!

Yeay!!!

And I did it all by myself, so none of it is square!  And none of it is level!  And the siding is cut all crooked!  But hey, trim will hide most of that, so ...

Woo hoo! 

It's nuevo!  It's eclectic!  Funky and fun!

And I painted it blue so it will really stand out!

It says "Look at me world, I'm a box!  On stilts!  Which contains chickens!"

Oh yeah!

Best part?  It's done! 

Yeay!!!

***********************

Oink, oink.

Friday the 13th

Nope, it's not here yet, but next week there is one.  And guess what happens that day??

The girls!  The girls are coming home!!!

Oh boy.  Things are gonna change around here, alright.

MamaPalooza, or Spring is Busting Out All Over!

Ok, so you already know about the three different brooders full of 4 different ages of chicks.  But I didn't tell you that on top of that, there are ducklings shortly arriving.  I had ordered them back in January, and they ship on April 9th.  I may need that box built after all?  In addition to that, how about this for why my hands are full? 

I have not one,

Ginger, who looks like she's resting but was actually yelling at me from underneath her wing

but two, TWO broody geese setting on clutches,

Maybelle, who doesn't yell, but hisses and then hides her face

One broody hen who cannot be convinced to give it up,

Broody Black Copper Maran hen who desperately wants a family

and a pregnant cat, who is about ready to pop!

Way more pregnant than this Ellie, who is due next week

Holy moly!  It's spring, all right.  And we are just multiplying like crazy here. 

Ginger:  As you might remember, she sat down on the 16th.  She had 7 goose eggs under her (all hers), which would not be fertile, as she's never mated anymore, due to her injury.  I removed all of her eggs and put 4 duck eggs under her.  They've since been candled and 3 out of the 4 were coming along well.  She continues to set.  She's currently on week two of her broody period.  She has since laid one more egg that is under her, which I will remove for the same reason as above, but I have to get near the nest to do so.  She hasn't been easy to cope with this time around.  She's been VERY protective, and I have the beak marks to prove it.

Maybelle:  I have no idea when she sat down in earnest.  I noticed she wasn't out as much last week, but I don't know what day.  When I went to look for her finally, I found her crammed on a hole she had dug in the goose house (smart).  Her nest was formed and FULL of down, which means she was serious.  As she didn't give me a hard time like Ginger, I was able to reach under her and see what she had.  She was setting on 9 goose eggs-a combination of hers and Arthur's girls'.

Doing their best ladle impressions

I candled the eggs, and almost all of them were fertile, or some were too new for anything to be seen.  Oh hell, I don't need 9 more geese, so I disposed of them.  I put a few duck eggs under her too, but didn't write down when.  Did I feel guilty throwing the eggs out?  Yep, but I'd feel worse with 15 geese running around, that's for damn sure.  Maybelle has hardly gotten up, which is why the food and water bowls are next to her.  I don't want her starving to death to be a mama.  I have no idea how long she has to go. 

Broody Hen:  Last week, this hen was setting in a box at beak-check time at night.  When I stooped down to see if she was ok, she growled at me.  I laughed, reached under her, and took whatever it was she was sitting on.  None of the eggs were hers.  I figured if she wasn't serious, this ought to break her of it.  Next night, same thing.  Next night, well, you know.  Same thing for a good week, each time she was setting in the nest at beak-check, each time on whatever egg was laid there, and sometimes on no egg at all.  Each time she growled and fluffed.  I finally noticed (duh) that she'd pulled her feathers out of her breast, so she meant business.   Being tired of having her warm up any egg that happened to appear there in her quest to be a mama, I put an egg under her.  She's setting on Hoppy's last egg.  Let's see what she makes of it. 

Ellie:  Ah, Ellie.  Ellie has been a complete mush lately, more so than normal.  Ellie has been tired, and I can't blame her.  Ellie is almost more horizontal than she is vertical.  Ellie's babies kick when you put your hand on her tummy.  Last night as she sat next to me it looked like they were running relay races, for goodness sake.  Ellie has been (to my mind) looking for a nice place to, as my son says, lay her babies.  Ellie (I think) is due next week.  Ellie could be due tomorrow, for all I know.  I am definitely keeping an eye on Ellie.

We are busting at the seams right now, so I've had to create a place to keep track of this stuff.  Behold, the baby tracking center!

Thank goodness for old plywood and chalkboard paint, printable calendars and old Sprite bottles, or this would never have happened.  The calendar keeps track of the week everyone is on.  The chalkboard is for the at-a-glance stuff and reminders, because I'm lazy.  The board's not even full yet, because I haven't written down Ginger or Maybelle's info.  Or Ellie's, though she tends to stay more forward in my mind.  And somehow, in the midst of all of this excitement, I've got to get the seedlings ready and the garden started. 

All I can say is, if I've gone insane before this is over, now you know why.  The paperwork ALONE is enough to keel me over!  Jiminy!

The Meatballs Take Over and the Class Chicks Come Home

The Meatballs are nearing three weeks of age--three weeks only--and they are already GIGANTIC.  Mutant chickens?  I think so.  They each weigh over a pound already.  They were previously sharing brooder space with the three egg layers--the two Welsummer chicks and Persnickety.  The brooder is 4 foot on a side, so I had divided it down the middle with some extra lumber, giving them a roughly 2x4 foot section apiece.  It was fine for a while, but no more.  The Meatballs have taken over the whole space.

Nom nom nom!

Now they seem a little happier.  Before they just layed around and ate and drank.  Now they lay around, eat and drink and pretend to fight with one another.  I take that as a good sign.  It's chickeny behavior, at least.

Their takeover meant I only had the 2x2 brooder left, which was reserved for the classroom chicks.  Where to put Persnickety and the girls?  I had to make-do.

In case you can't tell, that's a child's sandbox that wasn't being used, being turned into a makeshift brooder--complete with lazy cat.  I was going to build another box, and I may still have to, but for now, this works.   They have lots of room, can perch on the edges, which they love, and they still stay warm.  Luckily, they are pretty well-feathered at this point, so they don't need as much direct heat as they used to.  They can stand under the light to warm up, if need be.  So that worked out well.

And the classroom chicks?  Well, the five of them came home today and were put in the 2x2 brooder.  They seemed slightly surprised, but they're just fine.

What the.....?

The kids were very disappointed I had to take them home, but they need to be cared for where I can watch them, and school is just no place for them--though they may have enjoyed learning fractions, I don't know.  However, they did name the chicks before I took them--Fuji, Bingo, Midnight Ninja, Underchick and Van Leuven (that's after their teacher)--and I did get to explain what would happen to them next.  I promised the teacher I would send a picture in once a month so they could see how they grow.  They have a fine life ahead of them.

This was a nice experience all around.  I think the kids got a lot out of it, I loved sharing my love and knowledge of animals with them, and the teacher was very thankful.  In fact, I got some of the nicest thank you's from this project, and I'll cherish them.  The teacher wrote in a card for me :
"Thank you for helping to bring a love and respect for life and learning into our classroom this spring".

Isn't that nice?  I thought so.  And yesterday a TA stopped by the classroom I was in and told me how excited she was to tell her family about the chicks--it was just like being a little kid, she said, explaining to them how she saw the chick hatch (she caught one just as it popped out of the shell on Tuesday) and then how soft and warm they are.  She thanked me for showing her that and said my knowledge and time is what made it all possible.  I was beyond touched.  It made it feel like it was all truly worthwhile.

Ah, it's all good.  Anyway, back here at Chicken Scratch, I've got my hands full.  Want to know why?  Here's the rest of the story!