Sheila spends a lot of time on her bed these cold days. You can always tell how cold it is going to be by how high she pulls the straw up. This is a day time bed. Her day bed.
Later when she was out in the fields the chickens came in and wrecked it. She had to start all over again. I imagine she was quite cross.
Everyone got a double dose of food again yesterday. Especially the cows.
I put the young sheep out in the field while I re-organised the sleeping quarters so Mama could go into the clean pen. The pen she has been in will be cleaned out completely, limed and left bare as long as I can, to try and get it clean enough for the lambs that may be coming late winter.
We found a hawk on the floor in the barn yesterday having a fight with one of the Peafowl and the guineas were closing in. Even Kupa was lining up to have a go. I got a big pole and chased the big birds away so the hawk could get its bearings and fly out but it stood with its legs slightly apart, firm on the ground, a little hawk about 12 inches high, brown and white and speckled, dishevelled and ruffled with its wings slightly raised, awkward yes determined. For the longest time it watched me. Its eyes firmly on mine, taking no notice of the barn birds. It was a beautiful little hawk. I began to suspect that it had been injured and then had to consider how to help it. It was only a few feet away from me, just standing there, it took me all my time just to keep the other birds from attacking it again. Then it flipped up into the rafters and after a few minutes, it glided straight out the doors and was gone.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
63 responses to “Sheila’s bedmaking”
Brrr. She’s such a smart girl though. I have a little dog that is not budging from under the covers this morning and it’s no where near as cold here!
Sheila just went back to bed after her breakfast, and lay there while i crawled about her huge body covering her in the straw and then laying the blanket on top, she was so good, i think I might do that at night too, i have always thought me leaning on her and pulling the straw closer might make her jump up but all she did was grunt. I think it is more of a game though she is huge and has a hide tougher than the average shoe, with more fat on her than a seal, these older breeds of pig are far better at managing cold… c
Those chickens are like younger siblings just waiting for the opportunity to do something to make the older sibling angry.
And that little hawk may not have known what he was getting himself into when he entered the barn. It’s amazing to watch nature in action.
Close encounter with a hawk! What a scene to encounter. Hawks do have that wide spread stance while they are evaluating things. Almost like a knight.
Guineas are tough little birds. He didn’t realize there was backup and it was a trap.
You have a wonderful way of describing action. The book is bound to be a delightful read.
I love Ton Ton’s face in the last photo “Is that it then?”!!!
Christine
Your wonderful photos of Sheila housekeeping give us a real perspective on just how HIGH her bed really is. I laughed out loud. And don’t you just wonder what TonTon thinks of all the varied creatures about him.. His nose must be in its glory.
Thank God you were there to save the hawk.
True, the peahens would have killed it for sure..interesting – the wild world that we hover on the edges of.. c
Sheila’s bed shows some impressive skills. Curious. How does she move hay about. Does she pick it up in her mouth? Or just shove it with her big piggy hips?
Are you considering you and Sheila raising some piglets come spring? After all you “have been there, done that”.
Yes Pat, I am hoping to breed her using AI so we do not have to send her away to a boar though. Fingers crossed.. c
An interesting experience for the hawk! I remember once a magpie coming in through an open window to my daughter’s bedroom: we caught it by throwing a bath towel over it and letting it out of the front door. He immediately flew up to a nearby elm tree and we could hear him telling all the other birds about his adventure in strident tones of disgust!
Aren’t we the lucky ones…those of us that live close to nature. To see the hawk (predator) caught in the act of taking—-something from the barn. Then to see the guard birds come alive to protect their space, their area of living…since the guard birds were many and the hawk was small and ONE you actually saved the hawk (of which we all know). The balance of life…the hawk can live, but not in the barn filled with food, but in the wild where it was born.
I loved the visual of the experience, Celi….Well done!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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Love Sheila. Thanks for sharing your hawk moment. Just a little slice of your day. Now that I’ve read the blog, I can get on with the rest of my day. 😉
The smaller hawks can really be pesky. One fell through the netting on top of my mutt chicken pen once. The mutts are silkie crosses. When the hawk was on the ground it was shorter than the cockerels and they would gang up and go after it, then it would fly into the air and they’d all turn around and run, screaming “hawk! hawk!” We watched this for a while because nothing was getting hurt, and because it was pretty funny. Then my son caught the hawk and released it. The mutt cockerels strutted around the rest of the day, proud of themselves.
Ha ha ha ha!!!! 😀
Are mutt cockerels what i think they are? perfick!! c
A few winters ago my DH went to the henhouse to close their door. It was already dark outside and the light had gone on for the chickens. Imagine his surprise when he saw all the chickens huddled in a corner and sitting on the roost was a great horned owl. The chickens were hysterical! We had to get the trout net to grab the owl (they stand almost 3 feet tall and have very long talons and beaks). Talk about some scary minutes.
Still trying to convince DH to let us get a piggy. A heritage breed like Sheila would be perfect. He is just being stubborn. The hawk in your barn must have been very hungry, indeed.
That is a brilliant story, 3 feet high is an impressive story indeed .. c
OK,……2 1/2 feet. But it was formidable, indeed. Did not appreciate us wanting him to get out of there. Screaming chickens, flapping owl, screeching. Husband yelling. Pandemonium!!! I will never forget it.
I really can imagine.. those birds are big.. once, a few years ago a bald headed eagle came in to land on a fence post and it was enormous.. the guineas set up such a screeching.. i cannot imagine trying to catch somthing that size.. well done. . c
Yikes!
A reinforced hotwater bottle required for Sheila!
Oh yummy!!! 😀
I bet the hawk didn’t expect neither the formidable contents of the barn, nor the cavalry to come and save it. It’s wonderful that you did, and rewarded with a special moment.
That is a formidable bunch, the Barn Gang! Glad you saved the hawk successfully – hope he doesn’t repay you by grabbing any chicks!