Extreme Weather And Other Events On The Ranch

 

It was 90* here on Saturday. We have only seen this high of a temperature one other time and that was in Late July a few years ago for just a few minutes. Usually, we hit the high 80's for a couple days late in the Summer. We are high in the Mountains at around 9000 feet. This is an extreme temperature especially for early June. 

We were blessed with some cloud coverage that lowered it to the high 80's later in the afternoon. The sun is really intense at this altitude anyway, but with the heat it was too much for this girl. I like it in the 60's inside and out. In fact, I find it difficult to sleep when it is above 70* in the house. 

We kept the doors closed and the shades drawn. It hit 84* before noon. I was shocked. I'm sure we broke all kinds of records if they actually kept records in this remote area. I hope that this is not the new normal. 

On a lighter note, we saw our first Pronghorn Antelope baby on Friday and one on Sunday. They are so cute. This is also earlier than normal. Maybe the animals know something we don't. 

We lost our pet hen this afternoon. She died in my arms. I noticed yesterday that she had a dirty bottom and today she wasn't acting right. I brought her inside to clean her up and give her a warm soak in case she was egg bound. She died before I turned the water on. 

She loved to jump on our laps and lay down. She was a funny creature. Very smart. She was not hand raised, she just did it on her own. Very sweet natured. I took this photo a couple of days ago. She was just fine. No sign of illness or injury. 

Goodbye Sweet Friend, You Will Be Missed...

 

Mrs. Smith

Update: Sick Chickens

 

God answered our prayers. Praise God! All of our chickens are fat and happy. The two that were sick miraculously recovered. We did not have the dreaded avian influenza. I have never seen a chicken recover from being that close to death....

Mrs. Smith

Sick Chicken - Avian Influenza?

 

We have a sick chicken, possibly two. I had to call the Department Of Agriculture this morning. We will know in 24 to 48 hours if it is Avian Influenza. The whole flock will be infected and die. Then they will come take the birds and test them. If one bird has it they all have it. I hope that this is not the case. Our hens are our pets. They eat out of our hands and jump in our laps. We really enjoy keeping chickens for many reasons.

Just because a chicken dies does not mean it is Avian Influenza. The lifespan of a chicken is 3-7 years. Our chickens are over 4 years old. They are well cared for and pampered. Chickens die. They just do...

Mrs. Smith🙏

Chickie Birds



 

We have eight new editions to the ranch. Chickie birds are everywhere. They all hatched on July 3rd. I opened the coop to find fuzz balls running all around. I was so excited. Two of our hens had nests full of eggs. They did not choose the best possible nesting areas, therefore, only eight of the thirty eggs hatched. I know better now and will try remove extra eggs from the nests next time. The eggs on the bottom did not get enough warmth and some of the eggs hatched, but were smashed and never stood a chance.

Number One gave them some scratch this morning, so I snapped a few pics. It was  impossible for me to get all eight in one picture since they move constantly. They are almost all feathered out now. They can regulate their own body temperature at this age, but still snuggle up with their mommies at night. They were out of the coop in three days, but could not get back in by themselves at night and needed a little help. They are a pleasure to watch.

Hen's have amazing parenting skills. The chicks start learning from the moment they are hatched. The hen's keep a watchful eye out for any dangers at all times. I have learned a lot about the language of chickens. They are actually great communicators. They call each other for dinner, warn each other about potential dangers, fuss, complain, they all rejoice together when eggs are laid and much much more. 

Morning Tea With Our Chickens

Well, the chickens have landed. We managed to almost complete the chicken yard yesterday. It was a long day of hard work that was still going on when I received the text that it was time to wrangle chickens. We were not anywhere near completing the task of providing a safe home for our new charges.

The farm store shorted us 25 ft of chicken wire which made the task even more difficult, since it was a three hour round trip to go back to get the wire needed just to get the run finished. That was not going to happen, since I actually had to go pick up the chickens in a few hours. Our focus turned to securing the yard with what we had and putting a temporary coop in place. We could have used a few more days to get the job done right.

Number One and I finished the temporary coop and secured the yard as best we could without the wire and I headed off to start wrangling. It only took 15 minutes to catch 14 hens and 7 roosters with the help of many. I have not officially counted to see what I ended up with, but I'm sure it's something like that. When I got back into the car to leave Lil, the border collie, was in the back seat with the chickens keeping a close eye on them and licking her lips I'm sure. I don't know how she got in the car, but it was funny. I thought the chicks were breathing awfully heavy.  I got back home and released the birds into their new yard. This was their first experience in the outside world. In a pen, anyway.

They were clueless. It got dark pretty fast, so I went back out there to make sure that they went into their temporary coop. Nope, they had not. They were all huddled up beside it, so I gave them a hand into their new digs. I checked on them throughout the night to make sure no predators were looming. None were seen.

This morning I got up and went out to make sure that they were out of the coop and in the yard. Nope, they were not, so I gave them another hand back into their yard. I have heard that chickens are not the sharpest tools in the shed, at this point I must agree. Then I took my cup of tea and lawn chair out to the coop and watched the chicks enjoy their new found so called freedom. It was the best TV that I have watched in a long while.

Did I mention that I am sunburned. The worst part is behind my knees. I must have changed hats and clothes three times, but I still burned. That's just the way it is for me. The wind blew non-stop and is still blowing. We started the Sabbath late (last night), but we are enjoying every minute of rest today. We will hopefully finish the yard tomorrow and start on the real coop. I thank God for our "Hill Billy" ingenuity, but I can't take pictures of it. I will keep track of the real deal with pictures.

Blessings,
Tina

Yard Bird Association Update

The chicks have arrived! They were picked up by a member of the Yard Bird Association from the feed store, all 100. Sadly, only 99 lived through the shipping process.

I went to visit my 25 chicks yesterday, since I won't actually take custody for five more weeks. They were all locked up securely in a stall in the barn with all sorts of protection measures all around them, including two large cats. I didn't dare try to open the cocoon up for fear that the cats would loose all self control and leap into the stall killing as many as possible.

I could hear their loud little chirps outside the barn as I walked up. I'm sure this was driving the killer cats mad which was driving the crazed border collie to do circles outside the barn as she hoped that one of the cats would appear, so she could give chase. What a scene. If they made movies about phsyco ranch animals instead of vampires this definetely would have been a " two thumbs up" kind of flick.

Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures. I was barely able to peer through a small gap in the fencing to see our new additions to the ranch. I am so excited. Number One, not so much. He is still trying to figure out what type of coop to build. Tick tock, tick tock, the clock is running out.

I did come up with some new ideas last night whle trying to fall asleep. I will share my new ideas with Number One in hopes of relieving his stress and getting my coop built.
The next animals to add to the ranch...Goats ???