More chicks arrived in the post yesterday. These are the chickens I will grow for a number of family freezers. It will take 8 weeks. I will grow two waves of chickens for the freezers. I hope to start another set in 5 weeks time. 
Each chick is given a drink as I take it out of its travelling box and then release it by the water in the big straw lined tub that will be their home for the next few weeks. They scuttle about drinking some more, eating and then finding the nest area where they cuddle up below the heat lamp. They are all alive and very busy. Nice fat chicks.
In there is a gift from McMurrays of a ‘ free exotic breed chicken’ but there is no mention of what this chicken is – he is to be a surprise. At the moment he is a little black chicken moving through a sea of fluffy yellow. Or of course he could be a she. We will see.
I forgot to tell you that I checked the bees the other day and they have released their queen without dropping the little box she was in and are already hard at work bringing in pollen and heir little hexagonal baby cots. This is a very good sign. Most of what they are bringing in now comes from the dandelions, we are not short of dandelions.
Godot and Senor Carlos Garcia are still hanging out in the top of the barn, though I did see them cleaning up some of the pigs grain yesterday, so they must be coming down when I am not looking.
Tima helped with the weeding yesterday, after she had knocked over all the buckets and pots that is, she never digs in the garden and has no interest in wallowing but she loves to eat lambs quarters and other weeds which is excellent. She eats, I dig, works for me. The Matriarch came out and helped in the gardens yesterday so we got quite a bit done. 
This is all I could get of the ducklings. They do a waddly glide, their heads held perfectly still atop their long necks as their feet pad at speed back into their house every time they see me or even sense my approach – even when I tip toe! So here they are right in the back of their little duck house.
Sorry Mad, that is a rubbish shot, hopefully they will calm down as the days go by.
Aunty Del –
Eating and drinking and doing all the things a 10 day old calf should. Daisy is back on three milkings a day – she is in heat and has a wicked attack of mastitis and is getting very annoyed with me as I have to milk the clean quarters into one tank and the infected one into a seperate one. Which makes for a long milking period. She has started kicking when I milk the sick quarter. Which makes for a spirited session. I am taking the milk in to be tested again tomorrow but I know it is the same as last time. Bad.
I came outside yesterday afternoon to find Poppy waiting for me on the garden path. She was puffed and excited, heavily guarded by the two dogs who brought her over. She followed me back to her field, had a drink and then showed me how she got out. The two dogs and I watched gobsmacked as she slid between two panels and straight into the big cast iron Pot, then proceeded to throw herself out of the big pot and onto the ground .. a pig in a pot. I had to laugh at her! Then we led her back to her gate again and I got out some nails and my little ledge hammer and sealed the hole.
Yesterday was a busy day!
Good morning. i hope you all have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
57 responses to “A box of birds”
After months of asking ‘are we there yet’ is seems as though we are. Finally… sun, plant growth, babies and shenanigans… a pig in a pot 🙂
wonderful.. so it is.. c
Celi, my cows with chronic mastitis often get mastitis when they are in heat … there is definitely a link between the two. I will be thinking of you. I know how hard it is xx
I have been thinking this may be the case, so if she is pregnant she will be better? but I am not sure I can do another season of this.. getting her pregnant again then milking again. Then milking with all the kicking, she is not kicking me she is kicking the cups. c
I just stole your rain quote for my book! As to the mastitis . Any help will be most welcome. Daisy and I are at our wits end, this last bout will not give up. Even with the penicillin. My question is can i dry up one quarter and milk the rest, she gives 50 pounds twice a day from the three healthy quarters..
Hi Celi. We have culled mastitis quarters in the past – this was quite long ago when the kids were smaller; I was very busy with them and not as involved in the farm. If I remember correctly, we inserted ether into the teat, using a syringe. But I suggest you discuss the least painful method of culling a quarter with your vet. It is definitely an option. More recently, after having treated an infected teat with every antibiotic known to me, the teat would produce a watery substance and although I still test that teat, I only milk three teats and the two cows in question are happy and healthy. We have also last month sent away milk samples from infected cows (before treating them) for analysis; the results are returned with a table, showing us to which antibiotic the particular pathogen is most sensitive. If you haven’t done this yet, maybe this could be your starting point – try to find out which antibiotic has the best chance of success and do one course with that antibiotic. Just make sure whether you can use the milk from the three untreated teats during the withdrawal period. We are lucky that the only vet school in the country is only 90 minutes away, because we are also at our wits’ end with the mastitis. We have arranged for a specialist in mastitis and 13 vet students to visit us next week Wednesday; they are going to take samples from each teat of each milking cow on the farm, and then provide us with an analysis. I will certainly try to pick their brains as much as possible, and I will pass any relevant information on to you. Please chat to your vet and see what he/she thinks. All the best xx
Yes I have spoken with the vet .. taken in samples etc and am presently cycling through another does of antiB’s. such a bore.. however, we will soldier on, and I am thinking deeply about whether the breed her again.. I will ask the vet about drying up that quarter, she milks so heavily from the other three I would not miss it, if I could do it.. but what happens next time… sigh.. c
Surprise!
Bill that was horrible! I will never trust a chook again! (laugh) c
So much is happening! I’m glad that the bees are buzzing away happily. That’s an excellent sign.
I think those ducklings know that it doesn’t end well:)
I love the idea of a chicken surprise! What fun to wait and see what it is. Those little chicks are adorable. Poppy is one smart piggie–I wonder who her teacher could be…hmmmm. Tima is so cute–and a weeding helper–it would be hard to be mad at her for long. Poor Daisy–and you. A kicking cow her size can’t be good.
What a lot of animals you have. I have enough trouble keeping up with my garden.
Fun and games with better weather. A little sunshine makes all the difference!
[…] credit: C. Gunther of The Kitchens Garden, and prompt by Margo’s Tuesday Tryout Van Gogh’s “Garlic […]
Thank you for the chives. 🙂 xx