Broody Hen

I have a broody hen and she is brutal about it. She is not leaving her spot even if you take her eggs. She gets this look like the dinosaur with the frills, Dilophosaurus. I feel so bad taking her eggs. I have left her one to sit on and I hope for her it hatches and does fine. This chicken has determination for sure. She is almost scary. 

Oh Mattie

 Mattie is such a little cutie. He is growing so fast. He isn’t sure what to do with those long legs. He was rolling around in the dirt today and he got too close to the water trough. He couldn’t figure out how to get up. I was laughing and so was Ronnie. He finally did get up. He was so funny trying to get up. He is definitely getting tall and lanky. Bless his sweet heart. 

Not Glamorous

Having a farm is not always glamorous. There are lots of dirty jobs that have to be done. Cleaning out pens was on the agenda today. We got quite a bit done, but we did not get it all done. Living on a farm with this many animals, I assure you we never get everything done. We get the things done we can during the weekend. Today we got stuff done. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so maybe we will get a bit of rest. 

Rough Ride

Oh Cracker Jack gave us a bit of a rough ride today. He was still limping so I needed to check his hoof again. It was caked with dirt and stuff. I managed to get a halter on him with him fighting me. Ronnie held him while I cleaned out the hoof. I was unable to get it all cleaned out because Cracker Jack was fighting so much. He really fought. He was kicking like crazy. Luckily I know not to stand behind him. He was walking better after I got most of it out. He is limping again, so I will have to try again. 

Friendly Reminder

This is heartbreaking to me. Red is beyond depressed without Pedro. Pedro is still having to be away from the others. He has still not healed enough to go back over with the others. Red is so depressed. The others are trying to keep him company but he continues to walk away from them. He is still hollering during the night over to Pedro and then Pedro does the same. I bet they do that because they cannot see each other in the dark. Guys, this is so miserable to them. When animals bond like this, it’s so hard on them to be separated. In this instance, it’s necessary since Pedro is injured. They will be back in the pasture together as soon as Pedro is healed enough. They are both so depressed. Now, as I’m saying this, I just wanted to give a friendly reminder that these animals do bond and it’s cruel to rehome and separate animals. This situation here now has shown me the depression they go through. It’s heartbreaking. Please don’t do this to your animals. At least these two can see each other and they know the other is still there. I cannot imagine what it would be like if they couldn’t. I’m hoping they can go back in the pasture together soon. 

The Adventures of The Wayward Farms

I may have the best story yet from Wayward Farms right here. Ronnie left this morning to go get our weekly feed for all the animals. I stayed home to finish cleaning the house. I was still cleaning when Ronnie got home. I got a text that said to come outside. I figured he needed help unloading. When I walked outside, he told me to look in the bed of the truck under his tool box. You will not believe what was in the back of the truck. It was one of our chickens!! Apparently this chicken decided she wanted to take a trip this morning. Ronnie said after he got to the store and purchased the feed and was loading the feed into the truck was when he noticed her. He said she got up and was looking around and he told her to get back in her hole until they got home and she did it. He said she looked confused when she got up out of where she was and he was more shocked when he told her to get back where she was and she did that. He said there was a lady in the parking lot watching and videoing the whole thing. That chicken was still in the bed of the truck when he got back. She got out of there quickly when she realized she was home. Have you ever heard of such a thing?? The chicken took a trip to town. There is never a dull moment here. 

Faithful Friends

There is nothing like having faithful friends. Pepper is still not back to her normal self. She still cannot get up well and she is limping pretty badly. I am keeping her separated for her protection. Pepper and Maggie have lived with me for 12 years. They have been friends for that long. You can tell these two have been struggling since they have been separated. I left them both in the house together today. They both seemed so relaxed and happy today. They have been beside each other all day. 

Not Again

I have noticed I’m missing a hen. My little Rena who had the injured foot is missing. I have been looking for her all week. Ronnie has even been looking for her. I have not seen her. I thought maybe she was taken by a hawk or something. She usually roosts in the cow pen though, so I’m not sure what could have happened. It then hit me, maybe she has a nest somewhere I have not found. I’m not sure where she is or if she is alive but she is missed. 

The One That Started It All

Good ole Cracker Jack. He has been limping lately and hanging out in one spot because his foot hurts. I got him to show me his hood and he had mud in it. I got it partially out and he was over it. I sat there and loved on him for a bit. Without Cracker Jack, Mattie’s Mountain might not have even been a thought. If you don’t know Cracker Jack’s story I will give you the short version. Donkeys do not do well alone. They need a companion. His companion donkey had passed away and the owner did not want him to go to auction. We took the donkey. The donkey needed friends so we got some goats and with the goats came a couple of pigs. That’s how it started. Cracker Jack is still here and he is loved so much. I continue to tell him that. Sometimes things just work out. Look at us now. 

Wanting Me to Hunt Eggs

These chickens are making me work hard to find their eggs. On this one particular day, they did not lay many in their regular spots. I ended up finding 3 in the cow barn, 3 in the goat house, 1 in the barn, 1 in a doghouse. The next day I found 1 in the cow hay bale and I saw the chicken walking off is the only reason I found that one, 2 in the laying boxes, 2 in the barn, 2 just out in the open in the cow pen. I mean this is crazy. There were other random spots such as buried in the hay bales, laying in the sheep house. They are spreading those wings a little. They are making me work for those eggs. 

Speculation

Poor Josephine has lost a lot of her chicks. She hatched 16 and she is down to 6. I had no idea what was happening to them. I still don’t know what happened to them. I did walk outside to go to work one morning and saw Josephine out in the pasture with her chicks. I then saw a big bird swoop down toward them. I did not get a chance to identify the bird and I did not see it grab a chick, but after that I started to speculate that might be what is happening. I just do not know. She is holding steady at 6 chicks for the last few days and she is keeping them under a building on the property at this time. She may have figured it out now. 

Have a Feeling…

I have this strange feeling that I have many broody hens and they are hiding their eggs. I do know the weather around here has changed and sometimes that slows them down, but I feel like I’m missing some and have no idea where to even look. I have been finding eggs in weird places that I don’t normally look. I’m trying to find them all. I have enough chickens, that I can promise you. I do love having them out here but I don’t really need anymore. I also read somewhere that a lot of the chicks hatched on a farm are roosters. I don’t know if that’s true or not but last year we had several eggs hatch and I believe we ended up with 9 chicks and 4 of them were roosters. I just have this feeling that I’m about to have more chicks. I guess we will see. 

Oh These Lambs

These lambs are the funniest little animals. They have such big personalities. I have never seen anything like them. They just want to play. They will jump and run and play. It’s so cute. They let their noises out loudly when they are waiting not so patiently for their food. They play with the dogs. They will fight for human attention and affection. They seriously are so cute. I’m so grateful they are here. They are a fantastic addition to this farm and they sure do fit in well. 

Poor Pepper

Pepper is breaking my heart. She is getting better daily but not fast enough for me. She still cannot get up on her own in the house but she can outside. She is walking better and she is starting to put more weight through that back leg. Poor dog, I know she is tired of all this. She is better though. She is also a 12 year old 90 pound dog, so this is hard on her all the way around. She is trying and I’m glad she is better. We will continue to try. As long as she is fighting to get better, we will help her. She is still separated from the others and she is getting tired of that also. We are taking this one day at a time. 

Peanut Butter, Again??

Peanut Butter is giving me more gray hair than I already had. When we got him from our trip, it was 2:30 in the morning. The cats were not there in the shop, but I did not expect them to be since they roam at night. Then it started storming around 4 in the morning. Peanut Butter was no where to be seen for a few days. I did not worry too much this time, I just knew he would come back. And he did. When I had just started to worry, there he was. I wish I knew where these cats went when they take off. 

It’s Official!!

Well, it’s official. I received the letter from the IRS saying we had nonprofit status. We have worked for 3 years on getting things set up. We still have some things to do before we can officially open but I’m so excited. I have so many plans and ideas. I cannot believe this is happening. I’m so ready. It just goes to show, determination pays off. 

Kicking??

Mattie is really getting into the fact that he is a donkey. He has started kicking when food is involved. Those little legs kicking up behind him, it’s cute now but won’t be in another few months. We are careful and don’t walk behind him. I mean, that’s smart anyway, you don’t ever walk behind an animal anyway. He had not kicked previously, but he is growing up quickly. He is a donkey after all. 

Cleaning Up Eggs

I found a pile of eggs that I was not sure how long they had been there. I know snakes like eggs so I thought I would clean them out. Y’all, have you ever cleaned up rotten eggs?? So, I was using a shovel and I guess I hit one of the eggs. I knew the minute I heard the egg pop, yes there was a distinctive popping sound with a rotten egg, I knew the smell was about to be horrible. The egg did not disappoint, it was awful. I hurried up and got those egg cleaned up to get away from there. Yuck. 

Grateful for Good Friends

I am so grateful to my friends who helped us out while we were gone. Words cannot express how grateful I am. I appreciate everything that was done. I know the animals were in good hands. The animals all did fine and were all fine when we got home. That means a lot to me. We don’t leave often due to the responsibilities around here. It’s a lot to handle but it was handled. I’m so grateful for good friends that drop their plans to help me out for a last minute trip. 

Life Update

This isn’t animal related but I wanted to share this. I mentioned earlier about being nervous to leave town. We did end up leaving town. I am going to tell you, all the nervousness and indecision did not matter after getting there. We had the best day. We got to see all three daughters and grandkids along with my family. It was a fantastic day. I will forever be grateful that we were able to go and able to spend time with the family. It was much needed. 

Dog Update

Pepper is still having some trouble. Man, Daisy got her good. She is starting to get up on her own while she is outside. She still cannot get up while she is inside since she can’t get traction. She is going up and down the stairs on her own now. She is still limping on that back leg. I really don’t think her leg is broken. If I thought it was, I would take her to the vet. She is letting me touch her back leg that she won’t walk on and she is letting me to range of motion on it without trying to snap at me and no crying. She is finally starting to eat better. She is drinking more water. She is taking her meds for pain without a fight. We started her on antibiotics in case of infection in some wounds. We are taking every precaution we can for her. If she isn’t better soon, we may call the vet anyway. She is still separated from the others at this moment but she isn’t liking it anymore. 

Chick Update

I know it’s hard for a hen to raise chicks. I’m not sure what is going on with Josephine and her chicks but she is losing them at a fast rate. I have no idea what is going on and I have not seen any evidence of anything. I do not have a clue. It is sad to me to see that she is losing so many. She started with 16 but we are down to 7. I wish I knew how to help her. I hate seeing this. It makes me sad. Josephine seems good and is teaching the chicks what they need to know. 

Nervous

Ronnie and I were talking about going out of town. I get so upset and nervous even just talking about leaving. We still had an injured donkey and an injured dog that needed care. We went back and forth for several days and actually up until the last moment before leaving. I just hated to leave but I knew deep down I would kick myself later if we didn’t go. These animals all hold a special spot around here and it’s almost like separation anxiety when leaving town. I know once I get to where we are going, I’m good, it’s just the initial leaving. I know whoever is taking care of them will do a good job. I just have to get a grip. I am going to work on the nervousness more next time. 

Dog Fight

This hasn’t happened in about a year now that I think about it. It was a normal day. I let the dogs outside. I had no idea there was still food in a bowl outside. Pepper ran to get the food out of Bella’s bowl. Bella did not like that. She went to protect her food. Pepper attacked Bella. Daisy attacked Pepper since she attacked Bella. This was not a good fight. I was home alone. I just reacted. I was trying to pull Daisy off of Pepper but she was holding on. I tried to for what seemed like hours to get Daisy off of Pepper. I finally did. Pepper could not walk. She could not get up. And she was terrified. She was unable to do anything and Daisy kept trying to get to her. I was there alone so I somehow got Daisy by the collar and held her while getting Pepper up enough to get her out of there. It was not good. She couldn’t walk. I did get her up the stairs and back in the house. Poor thing. She had cuts on her ears which I cleaned. She has so much hair, that saved her from it being worse. She was able to go back outside later to do her business but she couldn’t up on her own. Let’s see how this plays out. 

Pedro Update

Update on Pedro. Pedro is still having a rough time. He is finally starting to look batter though. The vet was talking about extreme measures and I have been beside myself with worry. I mean stressed to the max. I’m so glad he is looking a little better. Better enough to not have to take extreme measures. I’m hopeful on that and so ready to get him out of that pen. It still might be awhile before that happens though. His antibiotics and hydrotherapy are working. 

Tried Hard

When my friend was here, she found another chick that Josephine had left. Since I found her nest, my friend tried to put her back with her mom. She did and Josephine was mad and flared up at her. It was kinda funny. I checked the next morning and the baby had died. We tried hard though. I did end up cleaning out the eggs that did not hatch and the baby that had passed away. This is the depressing part of all of this. We tried though and that’s all we can do. 

Mattie’s Mountain

I have a story for you. I have been feeling defeated lately after Pedro and his injury. We lost some baby chicks this morning. Some days around here are just hard. I know every one of us has a day or two like that every once in a while. This evening I was feeling stressed. The weather was looking like it was going to start pouring rain soon. I was late, of course since I work two jobs and worked both of them today. Ronnie wasn’t home yet since he works very long hours. I started to get busy with feeding and watering the animals. As I was checking the donkey’s water, a car pulls up. We don’t know too many people out here and I did not recognize the car. I thought they were lost. As a woman and a teenage boy got out of their car and she introduced herself and her son. The woman told me my husband had told them about the nonprofit we were starting and they wanted to get involved. She owns a business where we live. As she is talking, she looks up to the sky and she says she thought she would come introduce herself and her son and since it looked like it was going to rain, her son wanted to come help me and learn how to help us on the farm. Mind blown. This kid helped me with all the farm chores. I did give him an education on where we got most of the animals and where they came from. I gave him the low down why we are starting this. What I didn’t know at the time was he has an anxiety disorder. When we finished feeding and all of the chores. He was petting on the horses. When he was finished, he looked at me and said he liked it out here and he was excited to help us out. He said it was so peaceful here. I told him that was exactly what we were going for. Now, I have said all of that to say this, some days are extremely hard, but then you get a glimpse of what you started all of this for and you know you are doing the right thing. I am extremely grateful for this kid and his mom today. 

Update on my new farm hand. Let me tell you, I was so shocked when this kid and his mom showed up. The next day I had a friend over I had not seen in a while and she was helping me with the farm. Next thing I know, here this kid is again. I was not sure if he was coming by that day or not, but he showed up again and was already getting the hang of things. Do you know what a blessing that is?? Later when Ronnie got home, our new farm hand was here and so was my friend. Where were we?? With the horses of course. Horses have a way of helping with anxiety. Anyway. When they left, Ronnie told me the kid had told his mom how peaceful this place was and his anxiety did not bother him at all while he was here. Guys, this is the goal!! This is what we are doing this for. This is how we want to help these teens. I am amazed. In one day, the kid was already feeling at peace here with these animals. What does that say?? I say, see the beauty in the broken pieces around each and every one of us. We all have stuff we need to get rid of. We all have beauty around us, we just have to see it. This kid is going to start helping us 3 days a week and I am excited to see what comes of it.

Hiding Spot

I finally found Josephine’s hidden nest. I had been looking for it. I even looked in the spot she was in but I looked from the wrong side so I did not see her. This girl is smart. She ended up making a nest between the big round bales. Her and her chicks are pretty protected there. At least she knew that. She is doing as well as she can with her chicks. The weather is making it harder for her but she is trying. 

Bad News

I’m sure you know, those baby chicks did not make it. I’m sure momma left them for a reason. I feel like I should have done more or left them in the house or something, but I didn’t. I feel so guilty about it. I do know that is not actually accurate. I did a lot to try to keep them alive. I watched them take their last breath which haunts me some. I wish I had found Josephine that night to try to give her the babies back, but I looked until 11 pm and could not find her. She was hidden well from me. Each time this happens, it breaks my heart. As Ronnie says, nature takes its course. It doesn’t make it hurt less. Rest In Peace babies. 

Oh Great.

Josephine left 3 of her chicks. I have no idea where she went. I looked for hours to find her to give them back. I knew she was in the front yard since that is where they still were, but I had no idea where. I put the chicks in a box and brought them in a house. The light was giving a burning smell, so I had to take them outside. I put a cage around the box so the cats couldn’t get in there but my problem was, I could not find a plug for the light. It was 11 pm and I was so tired. I put pine shavings in there with food and water. I was hoping for the best. 

Miscalculation

There are not 11 chicks, there are 14. And later I figured out it was actually 16 chicks Josephine hatched out. That’s a lot of chicks. I know it’s instinct for them to be mommas but she worries me. She leaves chicks without realizing it or maybe she does, I don’t know. That’s so many chicks and she did it alone. I don’t know where she did it. I might need to do better with looking for more eggs. There are so many places they can lay eggs so it’s hard to find them all but goodness, I missed a bunch somewhere. 

Uh Oh

I saw a chicken sitting in the goat pen. That went on two days so I decided to investigate. I thought maybe she had babies under her also. As I was investigating and praying I didn’t get my eyes gouged out, I used a small stake board to lift the hen up a bit. There were no babies, but she is a broody hen. She was sitting on 8 eggs. Oh no, we cannot have any more chickens running around. We already had babies and definitely did not need anymore. As it is, we cannot have any more roosters. We have too many already. If we get roosters out of the hatched chicks, we are going to have to sell them or give them away. I cannot keep them. Out of the last two clutches of eggs that have hatched and the ones that survived, we had 9 babies and 4 of them were roosters. We cannot have anymore of them for the safety of the hens. I did steal that hen’s eggs under her. And I have had to do that multiple times now. She is desperate to have chicks. I’m going to fight that fight. 

Another Egg Story

So, I usually give away the eggs we have here. I took 6 1/2 dozen to work to try to give away. We can’t use all of those in a timely manner by any means. I could give them back to the chickens to eat for protein and calcium, sometimes we do that, but that’s a lot of eggs. Anyway. I had a couple of dozen for a girl at work who asked for some. As I’m in the morning meeting, one of the ladies asked me for 5 dozen. I smirked, she got 5 dozen a few weeks ago to help her garden. I said, well I have 4 1/2 dozen in my office if you want them. She seemed excited about that. She needed to do some baking for a funeral that week. Mission accomplishment with the eggs. I keep hearing, you need to sell them. I probably do to help pay for cartons and feed but it feels better to give them away. 

If It’s Not One Thing

Several things have happened in the span of a day. Bella has a limp due to a hurt paw. Jeb has a laceration on his nose from who knows what. Looks like Pedro may have a hernia or a hematoma now. And we have baby chicks from an inexperienced hen. I got a tusk to the shin from an excited pig ready to eat. If those things aren’t enough to make my head hurt, I’m not sure what I can tell you. This little farm is not always easy and the last week has not been easy. I would not trade it though. I do love it out here on the farm. Some days are just hard. I might need a vacation. 

Did you Know?

Just a fun fact for you, did you know goats like the leaves off the trees more than the grass?? The trees around here are finally starting to turn green. We have not had much rain so it’s taking longer for them to turn green. I look up and see Carlos already trying to eat off the tree. We don’t have too many trees around here. It did crack me up watching him eat off the tree. 

Intuition

I really strive to know these animals that way I know if there is something abnormal going on. That is just how I am. I check on each of them daily to make sure they all seem to be doing well. I think it’s important to do. It takes time daily to look over all of them. I think it helps to be on top of things. We do have emergencies on occasion and that’s not something I can do anything about but if I can catch something before it gets out of hand, then the animals have a better shot at getting over whatever is going on with them. I’m watching the baby chicks at the moment. 

Hiding Spot

This new momma hen, Josephine, is not picking good hiding spots. The hiding spot is good enough I can’t find her but I don’t think it’s a safe spot where ever it is. She continues to stay in the front yard. She will sit in the front yard or in the side by the steps. She stays out in the open all day. If she isn’t in the open, she will go under a bush in the front yard. I cannot find where she hatched those babies, but I know it’s around here somewhere. 

That’s Good

Mattie got over being mad at me. After the halter fail incident, it took him a bit to warm back up to me but he did. He is a sweet little guy and loves attention so I knew he would get over it. I gave him some time to get over it but it didn’t take too long. I was glad about that. I’m pretty sure donkeys do have a memory on things, so hopefully it wasn’t too traumatic for him. I didn’t push him to let me put it on. I probably should have, but I didn’t. He and Noma are still in a pen for their protection at the moment so before they get out of there, I will get the halter on him.