Chicken Secrets

January 5, 2011January 5, 2011Leave a comment

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The girls can often be found out on the yard, head to head, telling secrets. Perhaps they were discussing where to find the best morsels and treats to peck, or more likely, Henrietta was whispering the latest gossip into Little Red’s ear?

Henrietta: “Hey Lil’ Red have you heard that latest about Bertha over there? Don’t look, keep pecking, or she’ll know we’re talking about her again!”

Lil’ Red: “Do tell! I haven’t had a good cackle in a while!”

Well, I never caught the whole conversation, but it sounded like something about “wrinkled eggs.” Aww, poor Bertha.

By the way, for those wondering about the old crocks in the background, well, they’re Goose toys. Rain or shine, in or out of the pool, they are good goose and gander fun… and best of all? They’re indestructible and thus provide hours of *dibbling fun and enjoyment!

*Dibbling = chewing

Conversations over the fence

August 26, 2010August 26, 20105 Comments

Remember the cartoon in the Sunday paper by Don Keane called “Family Circus?” If you do, you will recall that often he would show Billy’s day by tracking it in dotted lines across the illustration.

Well, when I watch my geese and their antics each day I think of Family Circus. You see my acre of yard is divided across the back into three sections with gates to access each section. I move the geese from section to section on a three-day rotation, because no matter how much I love them, let’s face it, they are very messy creatures!

The third section is the chicken yard and it has a gate into the pasture behind us. Now this is the fun part of their week! They can chase the chickens, invade their run to raid the chicken food, go out into the pasture and run and honk to their heart’s content. Often when I look out my dining room window I will catch them lined up along the back fence looking in at me. If they notice me looking back they will begin to honk loudly and carry on to entice me to come say, “Hey!” and chat awhile.

But it is the early morning on chicken yard days that is the most fun! I let them out of the barn and lure them to the chicken yard with a scoop of grain for breakfast and a clean bucket of water to chase it down. Then, it’s off to the pasture to run and visit the neighbor on the other side.

They love my neighbor because she feeds them only her choicest weeds over the fence and she will stand there and talk to them for up to 15 minutes or more. I assume the conversations to be about the weather, weeds, and other topics of interest to a goose, but I can’t be sure…

Whatever it is they discuss I sense the geese are never ready for the conversation to end so soon, because they always begin to honk and chatter when she leaves them to go inside…

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* In researching the Family Circus I found out that the dotted lines are actually called a “Billy Path.” FUN!

For more information on Family Circus, or just to satisfy your curiosity if you aren’t familiar with Billy, you will find it here: http://www.familycircus.com/

Mid July on the Farmlet

July 20, 2010July 20, 20102 Comments

Standing at the dining room window I look out to see that all of my chickens (and the geese too) have decided to take advantage of the neighbors property. It’s OK, the neighbors don’t mind. In fact, they even encouraged us when we replaced the fence to put in a gate for the critters access and enjoyment. And enjoy it they do! Just try to keep them out!

I grab my camera and venture outside into the heat of the moist 93 degree weather.

By the time I get to the back fence the chickens have moved to the far side of the acre to forage under the oaks. I could watch them all day if I didn’t have other things to do, but I give myself a break and watch for a while.

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While I’m out I decide that the Keets and the Baby Roos are ready for the big turning out party. With trepidation I open the gate of their little nursery and let them go… and OH-BOY, can those keets FLY! They’re only the size of doves at the moment and one has landed on the roof of the house! Now what? Well, apparently it scared her too, so she came back down and started foraging the morning glories with the rest of the gang!

Maybe they’ll find all the little ‘invisibles’ that have been chewing the leaves to Swiss cheese.

I hear the geese honking behind me and turn to see that they have become bored with the field scene and are heading to the gate to come back into the poultry yard. They are honking at me the whole way…

MOM, hot-hot-hot, MOM! They seem to say.

I yell back, “OK, I can take a hint! ” And grabbing the hose I fill their pool for them.

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OK, here’s just a bit more from yesterday…

I cleaned out the corn field because it was done. It was a little disappointing again this year, yet better than last because what little there was, was delicious! That’s when I discovered all the Butternuts that were hiding underneath! A whole twenty pounds of them! Now what will you do with that much butternut and more on the way. I ask you? No really, I want your suggestions please!

I also watered the cukes and potatoes and that’s when I found these!