Edith

 I have been upset with Edith but shouldn’t be since I have no control over nature. That hen knows what she is doing. I don’t have to know. I’ve been mad since she left her chicks. But, I think I was wrong to be mad at her. I sat back and watched her tonight. She didn’t leave her babies, she is teaching them. She is watching them closely from a distance. I watched as the chicks were in the backyard tonight. Edith was hidden in some tall grass watching them. I also noticed her watching them as they were in the goat pen. I saw them get to close and she didn’t want them to see her so she ran off. I think she is watching from a distance to make sure they are okay on their own. I don’t know if she would step in or not if there was a problem but after watching her tonight, I think she would. I take back being mad at her. 

Calming Place

 The little goats must have be calming to these other animals or they party like rockstars every night. I’m guessing they are calming to the other animals. Wheezy took refuge with them as a chick since they protected him. He still lives in there most of the time. Ethel when she got hurt, she decided to live in the goat pen. Ethel and Suzie Q both have been in there with their chicks. Jelly is even in there every night on top of their house. It looks like Edith has abandoned her babies and they live in the goat pen a lot of the time now. The goats don’t bother them and let them live in peace. It’s nice to know every hurting animal on the farm has somewhere to go to find peace. 

Apples

 A nurse I work has a huge apple tree and she brought me a bunch of apples for the animals. They are loving them. There are so many apples. The pigs, the donkeys, and the goats. They are enjoying eating the apples. It makes me happy to see people giving us stuff for the animals. She even brought me more later. The animals are still going through them. It makes me happy since they are happy. 

Chicks

 I came home several times this week and Edith’s baby chicks have not been with her. It looks like Edith has left her babies. She has left them on their own. I guess she thinks they are old enough. I think they are 5 weeks old now. They still seem so small to me to be on their own. They seem to be doing fine but they are so small. I gave them some food and water the other day as they were trying to hide in some tall grass. They are also in the goat pen often. I have seen them in the cow pen and with Suzie Q and her babies. It’s like they are teenagers and running wild. They will even be in the back yard with the dogs. I am not stepping in on this one. I am hoping Edith has taught them enough to survive and so far so good. 

Barn

 We got the barn up!! I am so excited about the barn!! I know it might sound silly to some, but I am so grateful for it. After what we went through here in February, we are going to be better prepared this year if it happens again. Yes, there is still work to be done like building stalls and putting up doors to the barn, but we have it. These animals are already starting to check it out so they won’t be afraid of it when winter comes. Noma isn’t sure but she took a nap in it half in and half out. Jeb walks through there often and Cracker Jack has been seen in it. I doubt we get more animals before winter but if we do, we have the barn. We have a barn in the other pasture that needs some work and we will be working on that as well for the 4 donkeys and 3 goats over there. All of our younger chickens roost in there also so it will be good to get it fixed up. I’m so happy they will have somewhere to go this winter. Last winter was brutal here with the ice storm. This barn makes me extremely happy. 

Update on Ethel

 Ethel does seem to be doing well in the chicken coop. She has been up moving around more in the coop. Sometimes she seems lonely and wants out but that could just be me. She is eating some and drinking. I hate leaving her in there but I know it’s for the best. She can’t be with the other chickens because they may pick on her for being the weak one. I had not seen them doing that to her but there is always a chance. I am grateful some of the chickens, goats, and donkeys go visit with her. Ethel won’t ever heal, she has permanent damage to her little body but she can live a good life for the rest of her life. I am going to continue to make sure she is happy and protected in the chicken coop. 

Sun Shades

 Where we lived in Arkansas, the pig pens were covered with shade. Here, not so much. I bought some sun shades for the pigs. I went out today to clean the pen and I really noticed how much the pigs were enjoying the sun shades. They like the sun at times and the mud hole at times and the sun shade at times. I think they are happy. We are going to build more areas for them so we can separate some of them to make them even happier. I know they are fine together but I think they will be better if we separate them like we had them back home. Gus, Treat, and Spam in one. Darla and Russ in another. Brutus, Patsy, pork Chop and Bacon Bit in the other. For now, they are living together just fine. 

Update on Ethel

 I know I have been talking a lot about Ethel. She is the one on my mind the most lately. All of the other animals are doing fine. This morning I went out to check on her and gave her some food and then walked away. I tried not to bother her much today to get settled in with less stress. I was watching here through the fence. I noticed her eating and drinking!! That’s a huge win. I figured out yesterday she didn’t like the grain but she does like the corn. She really drank the water today. It was pretty full this morning and almost gone this afternoon so I cleaned out the bowl and gave her fresh water. She was nervous when I went out there so she hopped into the dog house. I did not bother her but glad she feels safe in there. I’m happy she is eating and drinking now. And I’m glad she is settling in and okay being alone. I know she gets lots of visitors outside the coop. I hope this continues. 

Branching Out

 Oh Jelly, he has decided to branch out of the shop more. It’s not like he is stuck in there, any of them can leave at any time. Peanut Butter is always trying to go out the front doors but then something, not sure if it’s the dog inside the fence away from the front doors or the chickens that hang out around the shop, but he always runs back in. I was out back yesterday and I saw Jelly just hanging out. He was out by the tractor and then he decided he would go back into the shop but he was going to go through the window and then stopped… he saw the dogs, again they are in a fence away from where the cats are. He walked away from there and went back the other way quickly. He went back into the goat pen and slid in the shop under the back of the shop. It was pretty funny to watch. Earl roams the property just fine and comes in and out when he wants to. I’m just glad they are all doing fine and happy. 

Ethel’s Next Morning

 I go out this morning to check on Ethel. She seemed to be doing fine. She was still hanging out in the straw. I didn’t mess with her except to throw some grain in there for her to eat, which she didn’t eat. I went to check on her later and realized the babies would have been a bad idea. Edith’s babies went in the coop and Edith couldn’t get in there, Ethel was trying to hide in the dog house so she wouldn’t get hurt. It was a sad thing to see. She looked scared. She would hop through the coop to try to get away from them. I guess it’s good we didn’t get any. A little while later, she was still sitting on the straw and had not eaten. I brought out some corn and that girl got up and hopped over to eat. She did not eat much, but again, anything is better than nothing. She does not look good and I am not sure she will make it, but for now, she is in a secure place and is alone and seems to be okay with it. The other chickens she can see from the coop. She can see the donkeys and goats also so she isn’t really alone. They all sleep across the wall from her. As long as she is fighting to live, I am going to help her. I hate this part of having all of these animals, but that’s part of it. I’m hoping this will help her for now. 

Ethel’s New Place

 Let’s talk about Ethel again. Yesterday Ethel was still in the goat pen that morning and evening. Ronnie and I ran to the feed store to get some feed and some hay. When we came back, she was still there. I thought about leaving her there, but I knew it wouldn’t last and there was a storm coming. I did not want her caught out in it with no where to go. Yes, I over think, but I also know these animals pretty well. So, I went to pick her up and she tried to run from me. Poor girl. I caught her after a couple of minutes and yet again, she then just put her head on my shoulder. I had bought some chopped straw and had found one of our dog houses and put all of that together for her in the chicken coop so I could lock her in for her protection. It had been suggested to get some babies so she wouldn’t get lonely but they only had one kind at the store and decided against it. I put her on the straw next to the dog house, filled up the water and I had bought her a treat for her to eat. She wasn’t real sure about what was going on but once she was on the straw, she relaxed. That relaxation sis not last long because she could see the goats, donkeys, and other chickens that all live in the barn. She was tense. But, I think she figured out they could not get in and relaxed a bit. I was happy she was getting some peace. She needed it. She has not been eating much, she did eat a few bites of her little treat from the feed store but didn’t eat much. It’s something though and that’s a little progress. 

Hercules’ Horn

 Oh Hercules. I am not sure what happened when he was younger, if someone tried to dehorn him or if his horns just grow different. He has one that grown rounded and it goes back into his head. Last year, my cousin was able to trim it up. Ronnie and I decided to do it ourselves this year. It was looking to start growing back into his head again. I bought a wire saw and Ronnie and I got to work. I sawed for awhile on the horn while Ronnie held Hercules which is not an easy task and then we switched. Hercules does not make things easy, ever. He fought the entire time. But, we finally got it done. Luckily the horn had not caused any wounds and he felt better right after. It was close though, if we had waited much longer, we probably would have had a nasty wound on his head. The goat’s name before we got him was Rascal if that tells you anything. He is a mess. Since he has been fixed, he is much easier to het along with, but he is still a mess. But, I love him and that’s what matters. 

Feisty Cows

 These cows are getting a bit feisty. They are breaking out of their pen almost daily. We pen them up at night to protect them but they are penned during the day to kept the horse from them. We should have our barn soon and be able to fence in another area for them so they don’t have to be penned up. I hate them being in a pen. They do have fresh hay daily, they are fed 2 times daily, have fresh water and 3 fans on them. To say they are spoiled is an understatement. Their horns are starting to grow a bit also, I had some bruises on my legs but couldn’t figure out where they can from. I was out in shorts in hot weather and Ronnie said looks like one of the cow horns got me. About that time, Jasper came over and was trying to scratch his horns on me. I had to laugh. These guys are becoming a little feisty these days but I wouldn’t trade them. 

Separation Anxiety

 When we got Jasper, his mother had been sick and so he had to be bottle fed. He was kept by himself since he didn’t get any of his mother’s milk and so his immune system was low. He has grown and he won’t be a year old for another couple of months. When he came here, he was alone except for the donkeys coming to visit and the horse, Jeb. He chicken did live in there with him but were usually only there at night. We brought another cow here for him. Alex was not as friendly as Jasper but he was tame enough to be a companion. As I saw last weekend, when they are not together, they have some separation anxiety. They moo to find each other and sounds desperate. I knew Jasper needed a friend and I’m so glad Alex is here with him. Now, even when they break out of their pen, they go together. When Jeb chases one of them, they run together. When they are hot, they stand in front of the fan together. It’s so sweet.