When the Garden is Done

The garden that produced so much for us and is still actually producing some stuff is finally winding down. Last weekend we started to pull up plants, harvest Sunflower heads, clean up some hardware and then let the feathered creatures come in and enjoy some gleaning.

For weeks, I had been trying to get Walter & Leona to come into the garden and root around for stuff. They had a chance to come in a few weeks ago, but found it too intimidating I guess because they wouldn't follow me in.

This was the one and only time this summer that we had waterfowl in the garden:

At that time they just hid out behind the Three Sisters corn and when it was time to get them to go, they showed how stubborn they can be, very stubborn.

The geese are so veggie-centric that I KNEW that they would have to stay out. Until now.

Gus & Greta can't believe their good fortune

When they first walked into the garden, they just stood there not understanding what they should do. Then they saw the bean plants and that was it...they started to nibble on the leaves. This is a surprising thing about these two, they are not 100% into the bean leaves, but they LOOOVE the beans. Lenny was the opposite, loved the leaves and couldn't understand that the bean was food too. Since the weekend they have been able to come and go into the garden whenever they please. Of course that is available while we are home.

The other day I suggested to Tom that they be corralled into the garden when he has to leave for an extended period of time. That works out well because it is a sad sight to see them in their house and when they are in with the ducks the ducks are unhappy. This is the perfect solution. Well, until the garden is planted again.

The only thing that I will put in the garden this fall is the garlic when it finally is delivered. The season between the fall stuff and getting the spring/summer crops in can be a little on the longer side. This way we won't have to put the chickens in the garden...not just yet anyway. The chickens do great at tilling and spreading things like compost around.

I do like to put tarp down over the garden to smother weeds that have come up and give the garden a chance to recover during the late winter, so the critters will have to stay out. I might put down some cover crop after all of the plants are out, but I haven't decided for sure just yet.

Anyway, the feathered critters have been enjoying their smorgasbord of leftover beans and some sunflower seeds and corn stalks. The geeses REALLY like the corn stalks. I'm not sure what it is...maybe they like the feel of the leaves. They are so weird...they try out everything!

All of the waterfowl including Betty

Betty and the duckies she hatched

There are a couple of Butternut squash still on the vine, so I'll have to wait until they are appropriately ripe before pulling up the three sisters plants. I would like to dry the corn stalks and maybe line the rest of the fence with them. We'll see.

This time of year is always a little sad, but I still try to grow something during the Fall and Winter. Then I'll start planning my 2020 garden!

Farm Life - growing food for people and animals!

New Babies

Sunday morning we had a nice surprise of two ducklings under Betty. At first when Tom came in to tell me he didn't know that there were two. Later on I went out to take a look (or listen) and I thought there were two.

So, I REALLY wanted to see what she had going on underneath her, but I didn't want to disturb her too much - she's a serious momma! When Tom came out I asked him to lift her up so that I could take a photo of the duckling(s).

As it turns out, both of the eggs that Tom gave her about 4 weeks ago hatched...

Fully satisfied with the photo I had taken Tom placed Betty back in her box. Then I went back to doing this, that and the other thing outside.

This is where things went sideways. I don't remember what all happened after taking the photos, but I do remember that after a brief discussion, I thought that maybe all three of them should go into the brooder. I think this is what happened next...I helped Tom bring the brooder into the garage. Seriously that morning really was a blur. I went back into the house and was playing a game on my kindle and he came in a short while later to say that one of the ducklings had died. I don't know if this was inevitable or if we contributed to its early demise, but that's just the way things go.

It is possible that when she was being returned to the box that she put all of her weight on one of them. Possible, but really how plausible. I would think that she would have felt the baby underneath her somehow. Or maybe that one got smothered somehow and maybe just revealing them was just coincidental or something.

We'll never know, but I do know that we just can't beat ourselves up. Maybe we're only meant to add one extra duckling this time - who knows for certain?

After a brief period of grieving...I decided that I need to move forward with my plan. Going to Wilco to pick out some chicks that we'll use to replace some of the older ladies. Also, I was trying to figure out if Betty would accept babies from her own kind. After church I made my way over to Wilco in Battle Ground to take a look at what they had in the store. I wanted to get chicks that hadn't been in the store for a long period of time so that the chicks and the duckling would be of similar size for a minute.

My first choice was a White Leghorn. A nice white chick to add to the bunch, but these chicks were already starting to develop their first flight feathers, so I decided against them. Then I thought that maybe I needed to add a different colored chicken to the flock and one that would lay something other than a brown egg. There were Ameraucanas and Olive Eggers - both expensive. I didn't want to spend a lot of money for what I feel is like a novelty egg color. The Olive Eggers were $7.99 each - YIKES!

Besides price the other deciding factor is whether or not a chicken breed is a heritage breed or not. The Olive Egger is a breed that is a cross between a dark brown egg laying chicken and an Ameraucana (I think). I don't like the look of the Ameraucana, I don't care what color the egg is...the muffs are weird. So the next choice that was interesting to me AND heritage, the Sicilian Buttercup.

These littles are so cute! I absolutely love the markings! The Mottled Javas were cute with their little "capes." The markings on their faces are so unique. They will look like this:

photo credit chickencoopplans.com

It's hard to tell what size this little hen is. Is she a bantam is she regular size? I can't tell. They do come in "regular" size and bantam. The sign at Wilco did not say bantam, so I can assume that they will be a regular sized hen. The comb will be interesting to see. They don't have a single comb, but two single combs that joins in the front and in the back - forming somewhat of a crown. Their legs are also supposed to be a willow green color.

So, I get the chicks and arrive home to introduce one of them to Betty. As it turns out Miss Betty didn't want to accept the chicks. What I realize now is that I probably should have introduced them to her at night, but that wasn't really an option as we had our Small Group Sunday night and the last thing I wanted to do is try to put chicks underneath Betty. Especially since she is so very sensitive about us being around anyway. We just get the evil eye from her...

This is the look only a little more mean.

So, I'll be raising the Buttercups for now and then at some point we'll have to come up with a different set up for them. It will be a while before we can integrate them into the flock anyway.

We love the babies! So much that I had a dream that we were trying to craftily slip some new ducklings under Betty. Which I thought about when I woke up and thought it was for real!

Oh...babies everywhere! Fun times on the farm!

Favorite

Photo from the weekend...

Grandpa Ott's Morning Glory from Seed Savers Exchange

This pretty Morning Glory is all over my fence and it is such a pretty bloom. I love it!

Betty

Betty is back at it!

A few weeks ago I said out loud that I didn't want to try to break Betty's broody the next time it comes around. I wasn't thinking that a few weeks after uttering those words that she would want to sit. She must have heard me...tricksey little hen! Then she went broody and Tom said that he would like to give Betty a couple of eggs.

What would be great is that these will be females. With my luck we'll get two drakes. What would be good is that the eggs hatch at all. Not that we doubt they will, there is a chance that they won't. If they do hatch that would happen around September 24. My thought is that I could get some chicks from the local farm store and take the ducklings from her and raise them with the chicks. We ended up raising W & L after 4 weeks so it seems like maybe we should just raise them from the beginning. Of course the problem with that plan would be that she is the momma and she was a good one to the first two that she hatched. So, I need to think about this carefully over the next few weeks before the eggs hatch.

What we have observed is that W & L are more duck like than the Magpie Squad who were hatched and then shipped to the feed store. They had to figure out things on their own. Other than showing them the water and their food, they followed their instinct and that really only goes so far. The thing that I do like about the Squad is that they are not totally skittish around us.

Betty is great though - every couple of days she will totally tear out of her nesting box (which is a tote) and get down to business. Eating, getting hydrated and get in a dust bath. Each task is done with great urgency. Unfortunately I usually don't get to witness her time OFF of the eggs because I am at work most of the time she goes into this routine. So, the garage door HAS to be open just wide enough so she can get out of there!

Growing the Magpie Squad wasn't something that I thought would really happen. However, it looks like Betty is our ticket to the charming and delightful Magpie Duck. I am glad to add a couple more, but what would be really great - one of the magpie girls going broody and hatching her own clutch of eggs. I guess this will have to do for now.

Life on the farm is time well spent.