Oh Rona

 I really do not want to make this post, but I guess I need to. Rona, one of the barn cats has been gone for a month. It does not look like she is coming back. I wish I knew where she went but I don’t. She was a free spirit and she did what she wanted. I knew that when she came to live here. She was the sweetest and most cuddly cat but she wanted to roam. She was all over the place. Earl seems to be doing okay without her. He seemed depressed for a bit but he is out hunting and roaming on his own. He does not roam far from his home in the shop. He seems content where he is. I am looking for a companion for him to live in the shop at the moment though. My heart is broken for Rona but I have stopped looking for her. She did this once before but was only gone for 3 days. It’s been a month now. 

New shelter

 We finally put up a loafing shed for Jeb, Noma, and Cracker Jack for raining weather. Noma and Cracker are using it but Jeb seems content by Jasper’s fence under the shelter. That’s where he stays. As long as they all have a spot when it’s raining, I feel better. Most of the animals don’t care about the weather but it just makes me feel better for them. I’m happy it’s up and it’s being used. Noma and Cracker have been moved around a bit and I’m happy thy have their own shelter now. I am planning on getting a big barn soon and then I won’t have to worry about it at all. They will have the option to get in there or not. 

Wheezy

 Let’s talk about Wheezy. Wheezy is a chicken I pulled out of the coop yesterday. This chicken was the next to be pecked off in the pecking order. He was named Wheezy because when I picked it up, the little chicken was wheezing. Poor thing had already been pecked into the ground. It could still get up but several of the chickens were pecking on it. I didn’t really have anywhere to put Wheezy but Ronnie said to put it in the shop. So, I did. I knew Earl wouldn’t hurt the chicken so until it was bigger, that’s where it would stay. Not ideal in the least, but it would be warm and dry and still alive. I went out later to check on the chicken, and Wheezy was gone. I could not find that chicken. I had no idea where to look. This morning, Ronnie found Wheezy alive and well in the small goat pen. I was still worried, I knew the big chickens were in and out of there daily, so I hoped they wouldn’t try to hurt Wheezy. Well, they didn’t hurt Wheezy. Wheezy became friends with the goats. Ronnie sent me a pic when he got home since I was still at work and it warmed my heart. The pic was of Wheezy and one of the goats. Looks like Wheezy will be fine. That chicken is living life. And likes to be petted and loved on by me. Yay!!

Chicken pecking order

 As I am sure you know, I am learning as I go with all of these farm animals. I do my research on them, but sometimes it’s trial and error. We had 28 baby chicks here, they got too big for where they were, so we put them in the chicken coop. We are down to 23 chickens now. The pecking order has not gone well and we have lost 5 chickens. Chickens are brutal. Badly brutal. I had no idea. They are literally killing each other. It looks like things were not going to get better, so I opened the gate and let them go. They all stayed close to the coop but they ran around eating and doing their thing. I didn’t really know what I was going to do after that. There was no plan for after that. I felt they were too small to stay out in the open because of predators. But I didn’t want anymore of them to die. My heart is broken for the ones we have lost. I just didn’t know what to do. They stayed out for a couple of hours. I knew it was going to rain last night but didn’t think I had another choice. The next thing I know, the chicken I now call Momma May, was on top of the chicken coop and was calling them all back into the coop. Every one of them went back in without a fight and cuddled together against the cold night and the rain. All were alive this morning. They were let out for several hours tonight and then they all went back in when they were called. It was an awesome sight. Hopefully this will help them all. They need to get a title bigger and then they can be free range like the other chickens. I don’t think Momma May has much time left with us. She basically stays in one spot laying in straw and doesn’t get up much anymore. For now she is Momma to all f those chicks. It’s heartwarming to see. 

Jealous Jeb

 So, went out to check on Jasper one day, it was hot outside and for some reason the fan wasn’t worker. The pull chain didn’t work. I meant to tell Ronnie and forgot. The next morning, Ronnie sent me a text after I had went to work and asked where the cord was for the fan. The cord?? Yeah, the electrical cord that plugs into the wall. What?? Apparently, Jeb was either jealous or was trying to play and ripped that cord right out of the fan. Ronnie found the cord in the field. That could have gone terribly wrong for Jeb. The new fan is now inside the shelter and he cannot get into Jasper’s pen to do that again. Never a dull moment around here. You never know what you will walk into. 

Egg stealer

 It’s springtime and I am now aware that snakes are out. I knew they were but I wasn’t too worried about it. That has changed a bit. I mean, I’m not going to live in fear of snakes. I live on a farm. I know they are here. I think I just don’t want to see them. Ronnie had found one and took care of it on Sunday morning. That was the first one I had seen on our property. I didn’t think much of it after that. Later in the day, I went out to feed the animals. I had a crate in the shop for when the ice storm hit to keep the cats warm. Since then, the chickens come in daily to lay eggs in there. I pick them up daily, so I wasn’t thinking of snakes. When I went to look in the crate earlier in the day, I noticed there were several but not all of the chickens had been in there yet, so I left them. I went to check on the eggs before I fed and something made me look up in the corner of the crate. I saw some of the eggs were missing... not a good sign. When I looked up in the corner, I saw the body of a snake. Not the head or the tail, but just a small portion of the body. I calmly walked out with Earl in my arms. I texted Ronnie and said there was a snake in the shop. He came out and sure enough, there was a snake. A big snake. He moved that crate and told me it was a dragon it was so big. I had to see it, not sure why I needed to, now I have nightmares and don’t want to go in the shop. This thing was huge. The snake is gone and hopefully we won’t have any more. When I started thinking about it, Earl had been sleeping up on the shelves and I thought I was crazy with counting eggs and seeing some missing, so now I think that the snake had been in there awhile. Luckily, I had not seen it before. And it didn’t come out and scare me but I did have this weird feeling the last several times I got eggs out of there. Good grief. I know it just wanted some food and it got some meals. But, I was nervous. No, it wasn’t a rattlesnake but I didn’t know that at the time. Now we have some moth balls in place and snake away stuff. Hopefully that will work. I also took the crate out and Ronnie chicken proofed the shop. I found all of the eggs in the goat pen today, Ronnie will have to see if he can snake proof that with moth balls and snake away. What an adventure this has been. 

Jasper Spoiled

 Jasper may be the most spoiled cow. He is so sweet and loving. He walks on a leash. He will sit down beside me. He will run around the yard with me. He loves attention. He has his own area and it’s about to get bigger. Having Clare with him did not work out, but we are going to be getting another one so Jasper isn’t lonely. He does not act like he is lonely and he has his chicken friends to hang out with him in the evenings. He has his own fan to keep him cool and to keep the flies off of him. He even has his own radio to keep him from being lonely. I never thought I would have a cow and to have Jasper is just amazing. He is so much fun to have around. I will get him on the leash and take him around so he can have fresh grass, until we get the fencing fixed. The donkeys and goats are sure interested in him. I think they are wondering what he is exactly. Jeb is so jealous, he cannot stand it. Jasper is definitely awesome and I’m grateful he is here.