Magpies?

Could these girls possibly NOT be Magpies?

Over the past week or so I have been wondering if these ducks really are Magpies. Their coloring is the same as well as some other characteristics such as their temperment and all that.

This is our Magpie drake - you all know him as Sheldon (Shelly)

However, in my quick research on the differences between the Ancona and Magpie, I found that they are related, which is obvious based on these photos. However, Magpies are a Light breed and top out at around 4 to 4.5 pounds. Ancona ducks are a little bit larger and can get to 6 to 6.5 pounds. At this point, in looking at their size now at two months old, they appear to be slightly larger than Shelly. I'm not sure that they are done growing either. A couple of pounds make a difference in smaller animals and I think we'll be able to tell the difference pretty easily.

Also, I have noticed over the past week in particular that the new girls have some feathers that are blue and green. These feathers don't just have a glint of color in sunlight, but in their actual feather color. Shell-Bell has blue OR green feathers only when the sun is shining on him.

One other difference would be the wings. Shelly's wings are definitely not flight specific sort of wings...kind of stubby in a way. The girl's wings are definitely larger and they appear that they could get some lift if they tried hard enough. After some more research, it appears that they are not prone to flying either, so that's a good thing.

Now what? Well, at this point, now that the girls are two months old I probably will not be able to do much about this problem as far a returning them. It's only a problem because I specifically wanted Magpies and potentially have the opportunity to breed them. According to the Conservation Priority list on the Livestock Conserverancy website the Magpie is listed as threatened. While the Ancona is on the "Watch" list...and yeah, they are both heritage breeds. I thought it might be fun to breed Magpies and maybe make a little extra cash for a heritage breed duck.

Even if Sheldon were interested in mating with these girls I wouldn't be increasing the numbers of the Magpie breed. That is the disappointing part.

I don't know...we'll see. Getting rid of them is not an option. I have grown attached to them, I can't imagine not having them even if they are not what I had requested in the first place.

Whichever breed we have we have a nice little flock of heritage breed ducks.

As a side note - these girls are TWO months old! There is always a milestone to celebrate with animals!

Even with disappointing discovery - Farm Life is the Best Life!

Broody Hen Update

If you missed my last post on the Broody Hens go HERE to catch-up...go ahead...I'll wait :)

This was Friday morning

As of yesterday two of the hens were back to normal. In fact, whenever I went to look in on them, they looked very much like they would like to rejoin the rest of the flock. They should spend at least one more day in there. Just to be sure.

The third lady is VERY persistent and might not break even today. I am not sure how we'll fish her two friends out without her escaping. We could just remove Miss Broody and release the other two back into the arena.

I suspect that she has been overtaken by her biological malady the longest of the three. It would be so much easier to release three non-bloody girls back to their friends.

Main reason...Egg Production is DOWN!

Oh, I did find out something new - our escape artist, Dora, laid an egg at the neighbor's house! That would be kinda crazy, she is only 4 months old! She's an over-achiever!

I think it is plausible though, over the past couple of weeks I have observed the following things in the Java's behavior:

• A couple of them have been a little more interested in the nesting boxes
• They are becoming more interested in the oyster shells
• They are making the "I wanna lay and egg" sound
• The neighbor found an egg in his lawn (this one is a dead giveaway)

Even this morning, once the chickens were released from their nighttime jail one of the little girls was looking into the nesting boxes they way that the big girls do....hmmm...

Very Interesting.

Broody girls or not, Farm Life is the Best Life!

Broody

We have been dealing with broody hens. It seems like several have been broody over the past couple of months and it is somewhat maddening. As of today there are three hens that have gone broody - for sure. There may be one more, but she has been blending in and hiding her symptoms pretty well.

Since they pretty much quit laying and have been hoarding all of the eggs in their vicinity I've been wanting to find a way to get them to STOP brooding and get over it all. Also, without Thor there is no chance of them actually getting eggs that are fertilized.

This week we got lucky and Justin Rhodes posted a video on how to break a broody hen:

We don't have a kennel, but we do have the old brooder...aaaahhhh - ironical right?

So before releasing the non-broody girls from the chicken mobile this morning we had to catch the three that spent the night under the egg cart. Tom was able to catch #1 pretty easily...before she could figure out what was going on, she was deposited in her old house from waaaay back when she was just a chickie. 

The other two proved to be a little more challenging. After a few minutes of chasing them around the pen, we let them calm down. Then one more time of the two of us chasing them around, this time Tom had the fishing net. That was a no-go. Okay fine, we'll just go along with our morning and we'll get them yet. 

Fast forward a few minutes and they had gone into the big nesting box and settled in for a day of just taking up space. Or so they thought. 

After I told Tom that they were settled in we promptly went over and he was able to grab one of the girls and I got the other and off to the brooder box they went - to be broody. 

They are set up with some water and some food. Hopefully we won't have to keep them in there terribly long - a couple of days maybe three at the most. I hope. We had to weight down the top with a plank and some pieces of firewood to make sure than they will stay in there. I hope they will still be in there when we get home later. It would be something if they weren't...

Look at their hackles...they are not happy!

Hopefully they will decide that being broody is not worth it and snap out of it. It would be nice if they would just realize that they won't be mommas anytime soon, not without a rooster anyway. 

Farm Life is the Best Life...

Even in the frustrating moments.

Some Days...

Are just more exciting than other days.

Earlier this week I had to make a trip home during my lunch break to take care of a Butcher Box delivery. I figured it would be a nice and easy lunchtime activity - go home, unpack box and place the meat in freezer. One would think that right?

Well no, that would be just a little too easy. This is what I found on the door when I arrived home:

BIG SIGH...

Well, I decided to take care of the box first and then give the neighbor a call. Really, what I was doing was preparing myself for the worst. She couldn't possibly still be at his house.

It was time to make the call - he did a quick check and said that she was still under the bush in front of his house. Big sigh of relief! Well, that was a surprise! As he told me that she was there I immediately started walking his way. This is such a great way to meet your neighbors! When I arrived we introduced ourselves, engaged in a little chit chat and then I said I needed to get her and get home so I could get back to work. With some help from him, I was able to grab little missy. 

This is where I should describe my attire...

Since I was home on my lunch break I was dressed for work. On this particular day I decided to wear a dress and comfy light jacket. Yep, I'm walking down a residential street carrying a chicken under my arm. Fortunately it was fairly quiet and I only encountered two other neighbors on my way back. Of course those two neighbors had to ask what was up...obviously I'm carrying a chicken! Thankfully, I made it back without any trouble. Little miss became a little agitated once we reached the road, but I was able to keep her calm.

Seriously, I was completely surprised that she had made it so far - that particular neighbor's house is about 500 feet from our house. In chicken terms - that's like a half marathon! I am also surprised that she crossed the road without being hit...yes, there's a joke in there somewhere.

Anyway, while I was walking back I was thinking of where to keep her for the afternoon so she would be safe. It didn't take a second thought as I realized that the ducklings would be fine not having access to the chicken tractor - she is after all a chicken!

Not a great photo, but you get the idea

Later in the evening we decided to clip her wings - so as to remedy her flying problem. She is a wily little thing - so we decided to clip both sides. However, we have noticed since they were about a month old that Javas are quite athletic, so she was still able to jump/fly over the 4' fence. I found this out yesterday as I returned home from work. Little stinker!

Since Tom will be away from the house most of today I decided she needed to be confined (for her own good). This meant that I needed to spend the remainder of my outside time trying to identify and catch little missy. It occured to me that the Javas REALLY like their scratch feed and I know how little missy eats out of my hand. So with a little scratch I was able to grab her to relocate her to the chicken tractor.

I am not one to name my hens, but I have named a couple and we have named her Dora.

Farm Life Is The Best Life!

Even with chickens who like an adventure...

One Month!

The Dynamic Duo, aka Rex & Fiona, have been with us for one month - as of June 5.

We are total novices at this pig raising thing, but I'm enjoying learning how to take care of them and watching them grow week after week. Since we look at them everyday it's hard to say how big they are getting. I'm sure there will be a day when we look at them and see just how big they have gotten...that might happen sooner than we think!

In the last month we have learned a few things about them.

They are incredibly friendly. In my research, I had read how friendly they are and how they are kind of like a dog and want affection and all that. Once they settled in they started feeling more relaxed around us they started coming up to us while we would sit in their pen and just plop down and wait for a belly rub. That really didn't take long at all, a week maybe less. It's like they are taking a mini-nap and just relaxing at our feet.

I don't know about other AGH, but these two like the people who come for a visit. We have neighbors and friends who have come to meet R & F and the pigs are pretty friendly with everyone. Most people who venture into the pig pen are able to pet them and experience them up close and personal...even kids. This past Sunday one of the neighbor boys came over and I invited him into the pen and he was just beside himself. He LOVED them! He kept going on and on about how cute they are...which they are, but he just seemed like he couldn't believe it.

Look at these cute faces...SO CUTE!!

Another thing that we are finding out about them - they are pretty frisky, as in playful. Since their area was increased this past weekend they have been happily exploring underneath the pear trees and as far as they can into the field. Yesterday Rex was jumping around and running after Fiona. So funny!

For the first couple of days they were hiding out in the tall grass

The afternoon they were moved I found Rex behind their shelter and in the tall grass. I was hoping at first that they would do their poo and pee business in this area. I know Fiona was...she had that look about her. Rex may have just been hiding out. He's not good at answering questions.

They don't eat everything that is tossed into their area. We start each morning with a couple of hamburger buns and a bit of hog/swine pellets. Depending on the day they may get some treats like kitchen scraps from friends and neighbors. They really like fruit...they are not a fan of radishes...artichoke leaves are okay, but they leave those alone for the most part. A friend of ours included a small hamburger patty with the bag she brought over and low and behold...they ate it! I think that Rex got the majority of the patty. That would figure being a boy and all...hahaha!! They get another ration of pellets and a couple of buns in then evening as well. Some days they seems famished...other days not nearly as much. They never turn their nose up to a meal though.

More than anything we are loving these two Guineas and look forward to when they finally achieve their purpose on our farm. Breeding and producing baby AGH! So glad that our farm is now complete and these two are thriving.

It's a rough life, but they make it work

Farm Life Is the Best Life!

Dreams Do Come True!

I know...it's been a little while since I was here last...I've been enjoying what we have been blessed with!

The idea to transform our property into a small farm was probably most definitley my idea. I usually have some sort of crazy idea brewing in my head. It doesn't help that I watch homesteader videos and think that we can do some of the things that "those" people are doing!

Having pigs was my dream (so I am told). Before we made the trip out to Cascade Meadows Farm I had envisioned where I wanted the pigs to be eventually. Underneath these pear trees. They are old and fairly ugly. The tree on the left actually had blackberry canes growing around it and up into the tree. It was a MESS!

This is from January 14.

Ever since that visit I had been anxious to get our piggies home, but first we had to prepare the space for them and get some basic supplies. Figure out how to house them etc. Most of all I just needed to be patient and wait.

Now that they are home we have had such a fun first month with them and have been acquainting ourselves with their personalities. They are really sweet and are so affectionate. They like most people that come to visit and they REALLY like seeing us coming toward the paddock. We are, afterall, the chuck wagon!

The Kids Waiting Patiently

It may seem like Rex is being frisky with Fiona in a rather familiar way, but I think he was just goofing around - especially when he head-butted her back end! She is fairly tolerant of the little dude, I hope that when it comes to breeding that they will be successful!

These two bring so much joy to my heart (especially after losing our Mr. Decaf a couple of weeks ago)...our farm really is complete with them. The space they are in right now is now complete and they now have a couple of trees to rest under when the summer heat arrives.

These are just a sample of the things Fiona and Rex do while we are out with them.

Really Rex? You couldn't walk another 5 feet to the pool?

Rex seems to be napping everytime I turn around!

I'm not kidding! Alway snoozin'

Farm Life Is The Best Life!