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.

Monday, June 2, 2008

My Weekend

Saturday was hot. Lets face it. When it hits the nineties and the humidity is also in the nineties, its oppressive.

So what happened to Spring? We went from having 40s and 50s at night, to seventies at night. We went from having 60s during the day to the 90s. Where is the in between time?

I am not complaining, merely making an observation. I still don't like winter, so I will take this soppy soaked humid weather. Hey, there is always the pool to get in and cool off. It is finally warmed up.

Saturday I took a lot of breaks in between drilling holes and putting boards together. It was hot in the sun. I broke a sweat just stepping outside. I dont want to get overheated as that gives me a headache and then I am of no use at all. I am only half finished, but I did manage this much of the gate and fence to keep the cochins off the step and Derby from eating the steps...yes I know, I have a mess there on that cart. I was just too tired to put it all away. Besides I will be using it again to finish up.

 

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Have you ever had a horse tease you? Want to play? Derby grabbed one of those flip flops in between those teeth of his and took off with it, trotting around like, HA HA, come and get me! What a silly head! He makes me laugh more often these days. Everytime I would get close he would scoot just out of my reach with that flip flop in his mouth. :)

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Well here they are..the last eggs to hatch of the season. I have quit putting eggs in the incubator. My time and hands are full. These last five are all Silver Laced Polish babies. All seem to be growing and doing fine.

 

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I get side tracked so easily these days. Remember when I was looking for a solution to keep the chickens and guineas off of the deck railings..well here is a picture of what I used. Its not a very good picture, but you get the idea. I stapled these decorative metal flowerbed type fencing pieces all the way around. The guineas still try to perch. The other evening one of them knocked some of them down with all the perching on the top and wiggling and wobbling back and forth to try to stay on them. I went right out there and put them back on.

 

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PS..those are not our dead cars back there..thats the neighbors..we have our own dead cars thankyou. ;) Ours are NEWER...LOL!

We have a pair of swallows nesting. They couldnt use the nest on the front porch we leave every year for them to return to. Some finches decided to use it with a little upgrading to their taste with soft nesting and they have babies up there, so the swallows had to build a new one. They have at least two babies in there. Ian is mildly annoyed with the parents. Everytime we come out the door they are swooping at our heads. It doesnt bother me. He says eventually one of them is going to get too close and hit him in the head. Lets hope that doesnt happen! I know some dont like these messy birds making nests on the corners of their house, but we like to see the babies and watch the parents, so we let them. They make mud nests, so it is a little messy. If you do knock one down you have to get up there and scrub the dried mud off.

 

 

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I am about to try something new. For those that have fly problems, I think this may be the solution. Have a look at this site. It is a natural way to get rid of so many flies when you have livestock. We naturally already have this critter, but they cannot keep up with the breeding cycle of the fly, so imagine what it would be like with NONEof these little guys. Yes, it says for horses, dairy and dogs, BUT if you read on, it is for all livestock. With chickens you just have to hang the bag of good buggies up high so the chickens dont eat them before they can go out and do their duty.

I filled out their order form. They ask what kind of animals you have and how many. Thats how they base how many of them to send to you. They are in a pupae stage when you get them and hatch out in three to ten days. Then they get to work. They target the pupae of flies. Read all about it here...http://spalding-labs.com/

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Last but certainly not least...I want to talk about poor Tim. Tim is my first Silver Phoenix Rooster. He is the daddy of all the silver phoenix you see today. Blue is his full blooded son. Here is Tim this morning..

 

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Yesterday he was walking around...but his tail seemed droopy. Last night, he went in to roost like always. This morning, I found him on the floor of the pen. He seemed alert, he just didnt..or couldnt get up. I reached in and picked him up. His legs seemed dangly. When I went to feel of them, he did react mildly by pulling back some. Still fully alert, just seeming confused as to why his legs had failed him, I took him up onto the porch. First thing I did was get him some water with the vitamins and electrolytes in it. You can see the syringe in the picture. I gave him a couple of syringes full to start him off. I will continue to do that every hour or so. I also gave him a bowl of the chick starter since it has a higher protein content.

I have been pouring over information on the internet about this paralysis. It can be one of three things. Aflotoxin is one. Most have heard of this now because of the recall on all the dog foods that had it, or could have possible had it. This can kill any animal. I dont think that is it though. Their food is not kept where it can get moldy. Then there is Mereks Disease. This is usually seen in young chickens. Tim was vaccinated for this, so I dont think it is that. Then there is botulism. Botulism thrives on hot, humid, muggy areas.

Saturday evening I pulled a bunch of wire off of an old pen that was broken. It had a feeder in there that had been sitting here for a few months. It had muck in it. I turned it over to get the muck out. Intending to come back with the hose and spray it out and spray the ground, once again my mind failed me and I got sidetracked and never did it. I believe he may have gotten into the muck. It smelled spoiled when I dumped it. It wasnt very much, but if he had stepped in it and then tried to clean his foot off, he could have gotten it. I dont think any of them would be stupid enough to try and eat it on purpose.

In looking up the consequences of getting botulism...He has the classic symptoms. Alert, but not able to walk. The wings will be the next thing to slump, then, in bad cases, the neck will go limp. Sometimes they can recover from this. I am doing what I can for him and hopefully he will make it through. Botulism is not contagious, most know that, but just thought I would mention it. None of the other chickens are showing any signs of paralysis. I have cleaned up the area and hopefully he will pull through.

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So, what is on tap for today. I didnt have to do a school planner yesterday...so that was nice. That usually takes about three hours of my Sunday. I think I will mow today. I have taken my Zyrtec so I should be able to mow without sneezing my head off.

I hope everyone has a great day today. Thanks for stopping by to read up on my ramblings. :)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's always interesting to be able to come and visit with you at the farm (winks)...sorry to hear about Tim hon. I hope he's able to recuperate and get back to his old self soon. (Hugs) Indigo

Anonymous said...

Derby sounds like great fun to be with ~ could just imagine him running off with your flip~flop :o)~ I love to watch the birds nesting and watch the babies grow and take their first flight ~ we havn't had any swallows nesting here but would welcome them if they did ~ I do hope Tim will be OK and I also know you will do your very best to get him back to good health ~ Ally x

Anonymous said...

I once saw a big horse throwing a five gallon bucket up in the air and slinging it sideways playing. It was funny to watch. Your decorative trim looks good so does your fencing. You are a resourceful person. I am sorry that Tim is having such a hard time. I hope all you are doing will get him well. It wouldn't hurt to throw in a prayer also. I have never seen any of those fly control things. It wouldn't be what we used to call tumble bugs would it? I love watching those swallows build a nest. They are pretty birds if messy. Your pictures are great of everything. Hugs, Helen

Anonymous said...

I agree with you about going from spring to summer in a week or so!  I prefer spring!  Derby's a funny boy!  I hope your rooster pulls through!
Traci

Anonymous said...

Well lets hope its not Mereks since it's so contagious.  I hope the big guy gets better FAST!  Poor thing. How old is he?  

Anonymous said...

We have had the same kind of weather. I hear thunder outside now! Ugh! Lot of storms this year. Why is it we always make a bigger mess just getting something done?? lol When my husband was working on the fence years ago, our horse Sam picked up the hammer and then a sack of nails. He would lay his head on my husbands shoulder and watch him work. lol He was a big horse and nosey!! That looks really neat on your fence. lol too funny about the birds. Sure hope your rooster gets better. Janie

Anonymous said...

I am happy to hear Tim is coming around, awww, he looks so sad in the picture.  We use predator wasps all over the farm and they DO work and work good too!!
We simply put them in the manure and the little buggers do their job - one thing people always notice when visiting the farm....hardly any flies!  Try it, I think you will be happy with them.  HAHA, Flash pulls my belt loops and picks me up off the floor sometimes when I am picking his feet....and always takes my hat....if I am wearing one and makes me chase him around too.  Derby is such a cutie!!
xxx
Lisa

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