Too much for a Title with a hook. Gotta read it!
There was dramatic drama yesterday and a delightful delivery. Let’s begin with the delightful delivery.
New calves.
These two bobbies are so quiet. We brought them back from a big noisy place so they are probably quite shocked at the warm straw and old barn and relative peace of The Farmy. Angus cross.
They quickly found their water and their food then toddled about chewing on pieces of bed straw. So far, I have not heard them make a sound which is good. They are not unsettled by the move at all.
This morning they were politely standing at their feed station waiting for breakfast. They are not tame so I am moving slowly and singing to them as I arrive so they hear me coming.
These two little ones will stay in the barn for a few weeks until the grass gets a bit harder. They have never been in green pastures before and we need to be wary of bloat. So it will be grass hay and dry feed for a wee while.
Baby Robins
Baby robins in the robins nest.
Not pretty yet – but pretty hungry. I still cannot work out how many there are. What do you think? Mother Robin is very attentive.
Tima has cows
The big cows have come across to live in the field with Tima for a couple of weeks. It has some great forage in there now.
And the gates in the barn are not strong enough for these huge animals to be leaning over to inspect the new calves. I have had this field closed up waiting for this day so they are more than happy out there.
Tima is less than happy about sharing with cows but I will watch closely. She did not appreciate them escorting her to bed last night! Then poking their heads right in to her house to check that she was settled. But they cannot get into her tin hut so she is safe in there. (And grumbling a bit – but they all know each other).
Cows are nosy but by this morning they were back in the middle of the field grazing. Tima is having breakfast in bed – then we will see if she comes out to graze herself.
Bastard Mink (the drama)
Yes you read that right. The Mink came hunting yesterday at lunchtime. As a rule Bastard Mink do not come out in bright sunlight – they usually hunt at dawn and dusk but it has been so overcast and dark with this heavy cloud that I guess this big mink risked it.
Boo and I heard the chickens screaming and ran over. As I unlatched the chook house door Boo was quivering beside me waiting for his command. I opened the door – told him to hunt and he flew in – scattering birds in all directions, out streamed the flock of screeching fluttering chickens followed by the mink. Boo in hot pursuit.
The mink ran straight under the feed hut. The hut is on two runners so has two open ends and for the longest time Boo darted back and forth trying to get under the gap.
It was hiding under there. And all the chickens were outside due to the kerfuffle. And they were all around the hut hunting for grain and immediately proceeding with dust baths. Oblivious to the danger inches from their feathery fluttering. So Boo and I could not leave until it was done. The mink would grab one for sure if we left.
In the end I put Boo at one end of the hut (with the command to Wait which as you know is not the same as Stay) and I got long sticks and poked under the other end making a lot of noise and calling to Boo to hunt. (Hoping it would not run towards me – a cornered Mink will bite). Luckily it tried to escape out the other side and Boo caught it and killed it fast, without a sound. Then brought it to me and laid it at my feet while I was still on my knees at my end of the hut banging away with sticks and shouting.
It was a big long bastard mink and a male.
Boo sat behind the dead mink and looked off into the distance – his standard photo shoot look.
The mink has had a good christian burial. I hope it was a lone shark. It is not unusual for a male to go off alone to set up a hunting ground.
After I had settled the calves into their new home I proceeded to find and block anything I thought might be a hole in the chicken shed. A mink can collapse its head, kind of folding in the bones of its head, so it can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter. I hate mink. It needs to get back to being tight as a drum in there.
Boo and I will stay on high alert. It is spring after all.
Boo and I went out twice in the night just in case there were more but he did not smell any.
Lest you feel sorry for the mink: Here is an old post about Bastard Mink. You will remember they killed 11 chooks in one night at one point in the last battle with them. When they killed a wee bantam I had nursed to almost adulthood – that broke me. This post is from a little later when they started in on the ducks.
All is well this morning though.
Weather
The weather, like my mood, is still grim.
Overcast – maybe a few showers – high winds. We will stay alert. It is mink weather. Wet. Cool. Dark.
Celi
31 Comments on “Too much for a Title with a hook. Gotta read it!”
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thekitchensgarden 
You and Boo are such a team- nice job to both of you.
The new calves are going to grow fast! They are Bobbies correct? Wasn’t that the term you use for food stock?
I can relate to Tima, when a routine is changed abruptly. Tell her Deb will grumble a bit for her but she must learn to share her field space, although not her bedroom 😉
Yes. These are Bobbies. I need to go back and make that clear in the text.
Thanks Deb!
Bastard mink. It’s like rats; where there’s one there’s countless more. Problem is, as adults, they have no natural predators. We have feral mink around here in the fields also, escaped from fur farms.
Those are lovely looking Bobbies – the brown one almost looks like a teddy bear!
Well done Boo – I hope there was just one mink, they are a complete PITA!
It is the natural order. They are predators on your chooks. You are their predators. If they had been more circumspect, less greedy, you would have received a nasty surprise in the morning, but they were stupid and therefore did not get a chance to repeat their stupidity. Boo is a Very Good Boy. It helps to love your work, eh Boo Boo?
Boo certainly loves his work. When I tell him we are going hunting his ears and his head go straight up- he is practically on his toes – waiting for the next command.
Way to go Boo 💜 Bastard mink……such bad actors…..
Good for Boo. Maybe mink coats aren’t such a bad thing after all? Although without the demand for fur coats there would be no mink farms for them to escape from and come raiding chicken coops in search of food.
Good morn ing Cici…..Ahhh…..new lovely animals. Always something interesting going on on your farm. I recently watched something on Amazon called Clarkson’s Farm. It was entertaining and funny. I guess I never realized how much work goes into farming and raising animals.
Have a great day.
Jo
I have heard of this show. I must watch it myself!
Never a dull moment down on the Farmy. The Bobbies look sweet & handsome lads. They will enjoy their time & excellent lives while there.
A good couple of years I would say. Lots of grass for them. I hope we have a good hay season!
Handsome bobbies. Glad they have settled so quickly, no wonder with the gentle lovingness on the farmy. Well done Boo, the perfect dog. No sympathy for the bastard mink! Look forward to Bobby tales.
Yes! They are still so still and quiet but the barn is empty but for them a d a few birds so it is a good spot to settle in.
Yeah that Boo is a magnificent beast…worth his weight in gold, as they say. But with humans he’s a pussycat–loving to be petted. You’d never know his talent merely meeting him.
Haven’t heard of minks around Savannah, but I heard what sounded like coyotes yipping last evening. These are new in the area. Seems lots of species are on the move, with their traditional habitats being destroyed by real estate and highway development. Also barks I don’t recognize.
Foxes have been a problem, and owls.
The mink is a native so it does not surprise me too much but I do agree that highways and roads and new developments take a huge toll on wildlife. And highways disrupt the natural flow of water too.
The bobbies!
I marveled at your many skills and how much you know as I read this post. It is life in the country and of a farmer and of someone who has applied herself to learning and experiencing. Well done Celi. x
Thank you Ardys! I think most of farming is problem solving. And it is good for us to stand still and really but out a problem. Do you think?
Absolutely xx
Good boy Boo!!
I’m impressed at the great team work, you and Boo. Well done.
Yes! Boo and I are a team! He is still on high alert too. He hears sounds I don’t. Very useful
It posted this time, but zipped in before I could enter my details. Anyway, it’s me Juliet, appreciating the Boo-Celi team.
He is a team player that dog!
Every night now – I am afraid .
What did you ever see on your trail camera, anything?
Nothing. Though I knew something was there. I brought it back up to the house. Maybe I don’t have it set up right.
That’s odd, mine are often triggered by a branch or weeds and grass blowing, giving me pictures of the scenery
Well done boo ! Great team work.
Yep… I don’t think there’s an all-encompassing blog post title for this one.