November 21st

Guinea Hens

Guinea Hens

We got six free guinea hens yesterday. they are about a month old.

I've been thinking about getting guineas for awhile now, but hadn't taken the plunge as they tend to be quite expensive and have a few traits I'm not fond of. however, for free, I figured they were worth a try! If they don't work out, no big deal, I can simply sell them.

Guinea hens are related to turkeys and pheasants. Full grown they are about the size of a standard chicken. 

Good things about guineas;

- They eat tons and tons and tons of ticks, and I have tons and tons and tons of ticks here!

- They eat yellowjackets and ground bees, which I have tons of and get sting by several times a summer.

- They kill and eat rodents, including rats. I have a rat problem here.

- They are amazing watch dogs. 

- They are hilarious

Bad things about guineas:

- They are extremely noisy. From what I understand they'll make me geese look quiet.

- They are bad for roaming far from home.

- They are really stupid

- They are really bad moms

- They can be big bullies that hurt the other birds

- They are naturally very wild and are very hard to tame.

So, hoping for the best! We really have a lot of ticks around here, so if they can impact the tick population they will be worthwhile. They'd also be profitable to breed, as their babes, guinea keets, sell for $20-$40 each! Guineas are in high demand here in Nova Scotia due to the tick problem here. They are by far the best natural predator of ticks around!

Hopefully they'll work out! I'm super happy to have the opportunity to try them without having to purchase them!

More Attacks

So, the fox attacks, not a fox, it was a bobcat :(

This handsome fella is Elvis. He was the beautiful orpington rooster I got after my head rooster was killed by what I thought was a fox. Poor Elvis lasted about 48 hours until he was killed.  It wasn't a fox at all.

My son was away from home, mailing some Etsy orders. I was sitting on the couch doing some online work when I heard the geese start making noise. I looked out the window and saw all the birds moving as a group down the driveway. I got into my wheelchair and moved right in front of the window so I could see what was going on. All the birds were looking into the forest. All of a sudden, a friggin' bobcat came trotting out of the forest with my beautiful new rooster in it's mouth!

The bobcat stopped in the middle of the driveway. I was yelling out the window and the damn thing turned and looked right at the house, and then it casually trotted off into the forest on the other side of the driveway, carrying my sweet Elvis away.

I wheeled into the kitchen as fast as I could, grabbed my crutches and hopped down the hall out onto the porch. I was terrified for my birds. There is a small hill from the porch to the driveway, I tried to hop up it with my crutches, but started to slip back down as it was very muddy. I dropped to my knees and crawled up the hill, throwing the crutches in front of me. I got to the driveway, grabbed the crutches, got back on my feet and hopped down the driveway as fast as I could.

The bobcat was of course long gone, but all my Saxony ducks were at the pond and I was terrified for their safety. Using the crutches I hopped down the driveway to the pond. I couldn't see the ducks from the driveway so again dropped my crutches and crawled to the edge of the pond so I could see. Thankfully everyone was ok!

The whole time I was yelling for help, praying my son would return home and hear me. I had just gotten back on my feet at the pond, when he heard my yells. I was so thankful to have him home!

The whole things was incredibly upsetting. I felt so bad that poor Elvis got killed. I wish I could of done something to help him. I called DNR and am still waiting for them to come out (It's been a week so I guess I won't hold my breath!)

So, sadly eight dead from the bobcat. Just to make the whole thing worse, we got hit again this week and lost another hen, this time to a damn hawk! So frustrating and upsetting!

I locked down the birds for several days and thankfully have seen no sign of the bobcat again. Hopefully he gone! I'm on high alert, watching for him to come back. I'm a nervous wreck!

I'm getting two new roosters today, so hopefully they'll help keep an eye on things!

I'll try to keep you all updated! Hugs and love!

Fox Attack

We were attacked by a fox on the weekend. It killed my head rooster Stalin, his two favorite girls Polgara and Jinxie, my Indian runner drake Yacko, and two of the new hens I got this summer from my friend Melanie. I am so sad. I adored Stalin, he was such a great rooster, and Jinxie was the first chicken hatched here on the farm.

Autumn is the killing season, always lots of predators, had the same thing happen last year. I have been upping security, doing more predator walks, but then my livestock guardian dog Toffee broke her toe (So could only go on short leashed walks) and I broke my ankle, and security went down the drain. Sadly in the Fall you need constant vigilance to keep the predators away.

This is my handsome rooster Stalin. I'm sure he died a hero, fighting to save his girls. He was an amazing rooster, took good care of his girls, wasn't a bully and never showed aggression to us humans. We were blessed to have him.

This is Stalin and one his ladies with chicks last summer. He was a great dad. The little barred rock chick in the photo is Polgara who also died on the weekend. Polgara almost died as a chick when a hawk grabbed her, thankfully my Muscovy drake Rocky saved her. She was a little over a year old when she died/

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This is Jinxie. she was the daughter of Stalin and one of our Australorp hens, Heckle. She was the very first chicken hatched on the farm. She was about a year and a half old when she was killed. 

And a last photo of my sweet Polgara. She's the beautiful barred rock. She gave us a handsome rooster this summer, which sadly I rehomed a day before her death. I wish I had kept the rooster as I have to get a new one now to replace Stalin. Isn't that the way it always is?

The black duck at the front is Yacko. He is an Indian Runner. He had been here two years, so was only about 3 years old when he died. He was a good drake and his love Wacko misses him very much. So sad :(

Also remembered is Fancy, a lovely 5-6 month old Columbia Rock hen and a sweet co-op white layer hen which I had yet to name. It makes me feel sad that she died without a name :(

Being a farmer can be really hard on the heart, especially one like mine, but it won't stop me! If anyone happens to have a live trap I can borrow please let me know.Thanks!

I'm hoping to get a new rooster today, I will update with his pic when I do! hugs and love!

Dental Help

I am having some serious dental issues that I really need some help with (I was saving up to get the problem fixed, but am now dwindling my savings due to this damn broken ankle.). I'm about $600 short of what I need to get the work done.

 If anyone is feeling generous and would like to help out, I'd appreciate it more than I can say. I've started a Go-Fund-Me page. I really need to get to the dentist asap.

https://www.gofundme.com/p9qqz6-dental-bill-help

If anyone donates, I'd be very happy to do some graphic design work for you or send you some special photos etc.

Thank you! hugs and love!

A Cast

Saw the Orthopedic specialist at the hospital this morning. Got a cast now :( giant bummer. 

I only broke a small bones in the side of my ankle, but sadly because I went over so far my ankle was it was leaning to one side, so had to have the cast to straighten it back out.

I have to go back in three weeks to get xrays again and maybe a new cast.

It sucks, but such is life. 

Hugs and love!