About Me

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I am a 42 year old woman that is about as happy and content as one person can be. My husband of 21 years and our 15 year old daughter live on five and a half acres out in the country. We moved from the city four years ago and never looked back. I homeschool our daughter. We also love our animals. Our daughter has a miniature horse and two rabbits. We also have a border collie, two cats (again), two pot belly pigs, four peafowl, three emus, 2 llamas and an undetermined number of chickens, lets just say ohhh about 200. I have many breeds, from layers to fancy chickens. I love poultry shows, I love fowl in general as I have come to find out through having more than just chickens. Chickens will always be my first love though. I do show some of my birds occasionally.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Plums, New Chickens, and No Death

Yesterday I felt the need to just get out for a bit. I needed to go to the post office anyway. I went meandering down the road the way the egg customer folks had said the plums were. Well, I found them. I should have known better...these folks are city folks, and they don't know a bush from a tree I guess. Maybe I am being to critical, but they WERE trees, just small and thin. They also said they were growing wild...lol...and they were not, not really. The grass and weeds were all grown up along the delapidated barb wire fence...but it was obvious that at some time someone had planted these in a row down the fence line. They were spaced out evenly and in a line. But, I had still never seem small plums like these. So, I pulled over and picked a few. I mainly wanted the pits as I want to try and grow my own...but they are tasty little bites...would be great for a hot afternoon snack. So here is a picture of them. I don't have anything next to them for reference, but they are about as big around as a quarter, some a little bigger. They taste as good as they look too!

 

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Now, I didn't load the pics I took of the Phoenix roos onto Flickr yet that I took the day I boxed them up to be sold to a man coming to pick them up that afternoon. But I will, and I will add them onto this entry, in a little while. It takes a bit to load them and I forgot that pic was going to be part of this entry, so I will add it later.

Anyway, he came and bought seven of the roos. I really needed to get them gone because as long as I had too many roosters out there the layers both old and new would be harrassed too much and stressed from it. I have not let the new layers out of the holding pen just yet because of the predator. But when I do there will be enough stress with them fitting into the flock without young men harrassing them.

 

When he came to pick them up, he brought a pair of bantams with him. Ohhhh not just any bantams. He has mentioned the them to me the other day when he came just to look at the roosters...and I had made mention I would love to see the pair. So he brought them...and ohhhh my.

Class A Serama Pair...and Blues to boot. Never seen blues in Serama. Must be rare, rarer than Seramas themselves. Oh my oh my. I looked longingly at them, and asked him if I could take a few pics of them. I came back outside to the tailgate of his truck where they sat in their little cage and took a few pics.

Now came the question I had been waiting for. Oh yes, he asked me if I wanted them. Well you know I did. I told him he knew I wanted them! So he says..."I tell you what, I will sell them to you for thirty dollars." (This being the exact same amount he paid for the roos) I went back in and got that thirty dollars he had just crossed my palm with and took my new pair of Serama in the house in a pet carrier I had pulled out for them.

Ohhhh I was so happy! They are still young, and so she is not laying yet...but soon. He has not fully developed his tail, the sickle feathers need to come on out, and his saddles, but they both weigh about 225 grams each, which is a VERY GOOD Class A!!!! Oh yeah...got me some show birds now, I hope. I have consulted through an email to someone that keeps and shows them and sent them pics for them to judge and tell me if they are show worthy. I believe they are, and will be by next February.

So, as usual, Shelby was quick to name them...she is so good at this. She came up with Bonnie and Clyde...and it was perfect! Now these pics don't show a reference as to how small they are...but you can see, from the steps of the stairs...they are really small. I will take more pics of them later and have Shelby let them stand in the palm of her hand while I take the pictures and you will see, they truly are tiny! Well, here they are, Bonnie and Clyde.

 

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Yes yes! I was just emailed back from asking the person about my birds and he says they are very pretty and he encourages me to show them! So, I guess the expert has spoken! ALRIGHT!

I know these are going to be traded or sold. The man does a lot of trading and buying and selling for a hobby...of all different fowl. I just hope they won't be eaten. :( I know there is no guarantee where they will end up, but I couldn't keep them. Their antics were very funny to watch at times, so I will miss them. I do have three left here...so I didnt get rid of all of them.

 

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Poor thing, the last one here ran and ran from me and tried to fly across the pool and didnt quite make it, so he got somewhat soggy. He just didn't want to go...can't really blame him...any chicken here has it made.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad that you had no predator last night but better keep a close watch out today. Your new chicks are very pretty and the roo is really showing off LOL. Looks like he meant for you to take that picture. I hope little Phoenix will be ok when he wakes up. Those looks like the wild plumbs we have around here. You know that birds eat things and sit on a fence and drop their dropping and at times it does look lie a person planted seeds for things. I have seen cedar trees look like that along a fence line. I am not saying this happened to those plumbs but you never know hee hee. Hope your day goes well today. Hugs, Helen

Anonymous said...

ok IMO.....you know how if you let a peach tree go and dont care for it, they grow small peaches? maybe the same thing happened with the plums. They do look real good!!!!

Anonymous said...

Well congratulations on Bonnie & Clyde ~ they are beautiful.  I love the 2nd picture.   I was happy to read Phoenix is doing even better today than yesteday.  The plums look tasty - it is funny about the city people not knowing a bush from a tree, I got a good chuckle out of that!!
Keep us updated on Phoenix, he is still in my Prayers for a full recovery.
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Bonnie and Clyde is a fitting name I think. Glad there was no deaths last night. Hope that thief moved on. Paula

Anonymous said...

They're lovely!

Anonymous said...

A much happier entry. Those plums look good. I bet they would make a great pie, served with piping hot custard.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/acoward15/andy-the-bastard

Anonymous said...

HI KELLY. I AM SOOO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T READ LATELY, I AM GOING THROUGH SO MUCH RIGHT  NOW WITH THE HUBBY AND MY DAUGHTER AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT WANTS TO BE PUT UPON THESE SHOULDERS. I JUST LOVE YOUR PICS, IT MADE ME SMILE AFTER A TRYING DAY. BIG HUGS HUN..LORI

Anonymous said...

Those new chickens are pretty!  Linda

Anonymous said...

What impresses me most about the way you write about the birds is the way you are able to impart knowledge on to me of a subject I knew very little about and yet feel I should.

I have no birds of my own but because I love to be out in the countryside and enjoy anything to do with nature, I really apreciate the information I receive from your blog.

My late father used to keep hens and if it ever comes round again, where we have to be self suficient, knowledge that you willingly to impart will be of great value.  

I also grew up with people who used to have their own allotments and I too had one for a time.  (Allotments were areas set aside where famileis could grow their own food.)  Many allotment holders still have their own hens and, where I live, it is not uncommon to be awaken by a cock crowing and I love it.

By for now,

John.  

Anonymous said...

Those look like persimmon  to me see what you think. http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/image?query=persimmon&invocationType=imageTab

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon

racoons killed all be 3 of my chickens one time. Kept coming back till they cleaned the house out! A friend of ours set a live trap and coaught 4 of them things! Thats one reason we got Jake.
Terrie

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