Yesterday while working in the barn I heard a chirping that sounded both out of place and at the same time familiar.
It was the chirp of an emerging peachick. I was sure of it. I climbed up the ladder to the loft to check Mrs Flowers but she was giving nothing away. 
Maybe tomorrow we will see some chicks up there. Sensibly Mrs Flowers has created her nest in the Peacock Palace in the well between old hay. She is safe there. I can shut the door. I can keep the cats out of there.
But Pania as usual has made her nest out in the top of a hay stack. Right in the open. Watched by cats. From every corner. They will get the chicks. So I am going to have to take her eggs and incubate them. It feels so mean, but those chicks won’t last a morning with five cats working together.
Poor old Pania. I will work it out though.
The piglets and all were eating sunflower seeds all afternoon.
Poppy and her piglets were separated yesterday. Poppy just followed me across the fields. This was miserable for Poppy, though deep down I think she knew why, the piglets, left in their house, just ate everything in sight and lay about like little fat pigs.
I gave Poppy a few beers, and some rescue remedy and she seemed to settle down for a while. She was already quieter by evening. (Probably hung over poor lovey). Weaning is so hard. For animals and humans.
Tane got all excited about Poppy being out in the field and began chopping his jaws at her so I took them across to the barn. One change in the ecosystem of the farmy and everything is out of sync.
Then terrible weather came in like a whirl and I put everyone I could into the barn. Luckily we missed the worst of it. Later in the night I went out and opened the doors up again. We get some wild weather this time of year.
I pick sunflowers every day, the whole heads. The chickens, both the meat chickens and the layers and all the pigs love munching on them. The sweetcorn and sunflowers have been wonderful feed for the animals.
I hope you have a lovely day,
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
41 responses to “Peachicks and sunflowers”
Good morning, c. Boo looks happy enough. Agile enough, too. Is he improving? >
I think so – luckily this time the infection had not got out of hand before I noticed it.. c
Look at Boo snaking through the gate. I hope this means he’s on the mend… Poor Poppy must feel like a mum waving her babies off to their first day of school. Proud, but sad and a bit anxious how they’ll get on without her. I think a nice beer was probably just what she needed. Interesting that you feed sunflower seeds to your chickens; I was always taught that they brought on a moult because of the oil in them. Obviously one of those old wive’s tales!
I never heard that but they have been in a moult for a few weeks now so maybe the sunflowers will hurry them through? I have always fed them to the meat chickens though.. and piglets.. c
Have Poppy and Manu been introduced yet? Those sunflower heads are huge 🙂 Looking forward to seeing the peachicks. Laura
Merciful heaven no. They will be introduced in January, the last thing I need is winter piglets!.. c
Love the pic of Boo mid-jump 🙂
Poor Poppy. Hope she cheers up soon x
Weather is mad for certain glad you all are doing well. Stay safe.
Tornadoes and storms are not uncommon here, we get them every year.. I have a plan.. c
Hop and Pop will be very thankful soon, no doubt! It will be interesting to see if she has calmed down for good, or if she’ll be up to her old antics soon! 🙂
So glad to hear that you have some peachicks hatching! Hope Boo is on the mend. I love that you gave Poppy a couple of beers. I hope she does okay without her greedy brood!
Usually I just give her a drink out of the bottle but yesterday she tried to tear the bottle out of my hands and drink it be herself! So her beer went into her food dish! c
Oh my, a desperate woman indeed!
Oh, hop and pop Poppy, poor girl. Is she and Sheila still buddies? I know relationships all change with motherhood…. trust me, I have lost many a friend after they became Moms since I’m not a member of the club. 😉
Boo, what talent he has!
That is such a sad thing. At present Sheila and Poppy are wary of each other, they forget. But as the days go past they will reshuffle and become gentle with each other again.. c
Poppies piglets are getting big!! She will thank you down the road that you helped in the weaning process. What a great idea in giving the piglets the sunflower heads! Never thought about that!
Maybe you could swap Pania’s eggs for something else. Like giving fake eggs to broody chicken.
Poor Poppy, though I bet she’ll cheer up if she gets to go on long walks with the dogs 😉
Sunflower seeds are exceptionally popular as human snacks in Spain – people leave little piles of the shells all over the place.
Yes, once she is settled . I could swap out some eggs for Pania, that is not a bad idea, she still gets off them every day .so it will be easy.. c
Hopefully she won’t notice the difference 😉
It will be interesting – I will start up the incubator and do it today.. c
Poor Mommy- at least she had a few beers to settle her. You are such a good mommy to all the farm animals!
Our cats don’t stand a chance against protective mother hens and ducks. Perhaps Pania could hold her own too?
christine
I have seen these cats work as a pack, the moment the hen chases off a cat the other cat steals the chick from behind her..These cats are ferocious hunters. But if you think they will be safe I am more than happy to try. c
if pania has been setting week or more, you may trade a baby from mrs flowers for her eggs.. put baby under her fter dark
usually, with chickens, they think thier own egg hatched during night.. and then put her, and new baby in cat proof area, in the morning
and put eggs in incubater
ron that is a good idea, I have checked Mrs Flowers too and she is still sitting though i KNOW I heard a chick, we will see.. c
I sort of think you’ll have to give Pania fakes – or move her if you give her a chick. She might be devastated to think she’d done a good job hatching only to lose the chick to cats. I don’t trust cats – love them dearly, but don’t trust them an inch. Mine will drink my tea if I walk away, so . . .
Chris S in Canada
I planted giant sunflowers for the birds, but I hadn’t planned on squirrels eating the flowers while still buds. I even put “hair nets” on the ripening heads…which didn’t deter the squirrels. Don’t they know I would share the bounty with them too?
Oh no. That was bad luck. Weirdly I don’t have a squirrel out here.. not yet anyway.. c
Sunflowers were huge items in Ukraine; seed covers spill sidewalks; the oil from the sunflower seeds is incomparable; a woody, earthy taste maybe; it’s been a while; nothing here seems to compare; best to you and all