Who is up for a counting game?
Would you like to count these white chickens for me?
They are so hard to count when they are moving. And a few have scratches on their backs from a night predator of some kind. I need to know if I have lost any.
I actually suspect foul play from one of the cats: reaching through the bars and trying to roll a fat chicken out for an early dinner. The scratches really do look like they are from some kind of cat.
Usually I get back from bedtime in Town after dark, then launch straight into chores, (this is the best weight loss program ever!), so last night I swept all the chicks inside and locked them in until dawn. They were bouncing out as fast as I got them in but eventually I was able to close the door. They are all fine and good this morning.
It may not be the cats ( though I would not put it past Vandal), there are also hawks about and we have had eagles hunting here before. (Remember Mrs Pania Flowers). A few times lately I have heard the layer hens scream alarms (the guineas were great alarm birds – I miss them and don’t miss them all at the same time) but once Boo and I get over to the middle field where the hens hang out, they (the big layer chickens) are all hiding under trees and bushes; which is an indication of hawks or eagles flying above.
Calves Out!
For no apparent reason a gate was left open in the barn yesterday and the calves got out.
This gate was absolutely and completely closed. I know this for a fact and I have witnesses.
(We will discuss this series of strange occurrences tomorrow. I think I have a visiting ghost and I think I know exactly who he is!).
Anyway I was just beginning to get dinner ready in Town when John called to say the calves were out. I dropped everything (including my Mother In Law, back into her chair) and drove at speed back to The Farm to find that the two calves were right out in the unfenced wheat field eating clover. Bad. Bad. Bad.
I ran through the fields to the fence line then I lay flat on the grass next to the fence and rolled right under the fence- there are no gates down the North end of their pasture so this is how I get in and out. I rolled under and rose very slowly up on the other side and commenced to stalk and walk the reluctant calves around the exterior fence line of the entire property and back up the driveway to the barn.
At any moment they can bolt away into 100s of unfenced land (with harvesters slowly rolling up and down) so it is nerve wracking.
There were some funny moments – not the least of them being John helpfully driving down the lane in his tractor as I was walking the calves up the lane, of course they took off past the pond and through the garden. And Someone had closed and latched the barn gate after the calves had gotten OUT. So no getting them back in there. They bounced right off that idea.
But eventually I ran them into the back field. (Actually no running we do all this very slowly with Boo locked in the car).
The back field has no gate either – (Someone took that gate off to get his planter through and never replaced it – I am starting to lose my patience with the state of our gates) so John parked the tractor across that opening then parked himself across another broken gate opening and I was able to get them back up onto the concrete pad and dragged those gates shut. No gates swing anymore.
I left John to feed out the hay.
Then I raced back to my car, kicked my gumboots back off, jumped straight back into the car barefoot and bolted back to town to feed our elder.
The exercise was good – though of course I was not carrying my phone to count the steps and they don’t count when they are not counted. Right?
There is always a risk of bloat after an animal has gone straight into the clover to gorge so the calves will stay on dry hay for today and after I have checked the fences they can go back out into tue field.
Speaking of Hay
Baling hay today with rain in the forecast. Hmm.
Baling hay and elder care don’t really work together. So I am trying to come up with a plan.
We will see.
Have a great day!
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
29 responses to “Counting Out The White Chicks”
What a nightmare!
I would rather a herd of cows out than just 2 calves. Two animals are really really hard to herd along.
I bet!
The good thing about plans is that they can be changed, as needed. I remember the brilliant plan to build the addition to your house in anticipation of the Elder Lady coming there to reside. Then, again, great idea to turn it into a B’n’B to generate some extra income for a while. And, now, apparently it’s your own space but still part of the house, just as your loft was once. All of which is to say that being able to pivot as needed can be very satisfying and can stave off regret for what might have. I salute you!
Yes! And when the Elder Lady is ready for 24 hour care (as in the end of life) she will come out to the studio and I can work (write) and mind her in the same space. She says she is not ready yet though and I agree. Old people often fall when transplanted. Their own homes are best.
might have *been*, was meant there
Got it!! And I agree about being able to roll with the changes. We have to. Or we break!
Talk about “It never rains but it pours”. How do you cope with so many emergencies? As for counting your steps you really don’t need to!😊Damaged chicks, escaped calves, opened gates( looking forward to hearing about that)! Oh and a reminder of Mrs Pania Flowers! 😍
Wild and crazy times! Chasing young pigs around to get them back into their enclosures sounds a little bit similar chasing calves. Except we had to keep running every which-a-way to keep them headed in the right direction. Dolly, the blue heeler, was a help sometimes… and sometimes not. 🙂
I always think that when pigs are out they separate like a shattered watermelon. All running in different directions. Do you miss your baby pigs? I kind of miss having them around..
Yes, piglets are always precious! But I don’t miss them. Castrating the babies, which we did ourselves, was the worst! Inseminating our first sows with semen shipped in from Iowa was definitely film worthy, and wild and crazy too! We just let our goats go this year, and I do kind of miss them. But, I’m looking forward to the freedom of traveling together again soon in the near future!
Oh I understand totally! I had to stop the breeding so I could travel again. And I w stopped with the piglets when my castrator left the state !
One might almost think of sabotage if one was being paranoid, but all these events are common, everyday things. It’s just that they don’t normally arrive all at the same time! You are probably the least likely person to need to count her steps, since they surely far exceed what is considered a healthy daily count. Don’t sweat the steps. I have a sick hen. She’s just standing there with her wings drooping, not eating. Her crop is empty and I don’t think she’s egg-bound, so I’m a bit worried. She’s one of the better layers. I shall see what the morning brings.
And thanks to everyone for their hugs and thoughts. His battle is over and he gave up the fight at 8.30 this morning, local time. The world was a little greyer today, and will be for a while.
Threes – I think they will arrive in threes! So one more to go.
How old is your hen? Odd that she has become sickly. Living with a grey world for a wee while is ok. Just stay grey until you are ready for yellow again.
I was worried that she’d be dead when I went to let them out, but instead she was the first to come hurtling out, clearly starving and extremely active. I was telling Deb; lots of sorting through photos today. Such memories…
How lovely that you have those photos. Usually us immigrants are short on pictures.
True. I was careful to snatch as many as I could before I left, and scan others I couldn’t nab.
Clever girl. I did not mean to be away so long. So it never occurred to me that they might get lost. Falling through the cracks of time!
There’s that saying…”When it rains, it pours” meaning of course that one small splat sets in motion what could be utter chaos. Knowing you C, it is just one foot in front of the other until all is resolved. I would dearly have loved to witness the rolling under the fence line though 😉 I guess it’s good that the cows haven’t caught on to that trick!
It is a fun trick. I just lie parallel with the fence, lift it slightly (maybe 6 inches) then roll over twice until I am on the other side. And I ALWAYS, ALWAYS. Laugh as I roll.
lol. That gave a great mental picture, Celi! (But so much more dignified than squirming underneath on all fours like we used to do… ; ) But y’know, I can still hear a grown-up’s voice calling across the field “Don’t climb the fence!!”
Oh my. This would make a funny picture book. But then many of your farmyard stories would. The dropping grandma scene had me chuckling. (I know you would have done it gently)
Yes. I was gentle – she was waving me to hurry off!
This rhyme from years ago published 1947-ish! but popular still later during my childhood ago popped into my head…
Just the last stanza:
The finger marks upon the door
By none of us are made;
We never leave the blinds unclosed,
To let the curtains fade.
The ink we never spill; the boots
That lying round you see
Are not our boots,—they all belong
To Mr. Nobody.
Mr Bloody Nobody!
HaHa, yes! I remember that one – or at least parts, lol – and actually the first time I’ve ever read it, so thanks for the memory; ). Here’s the whole thing: https://allpoetry.com/Mr-Nobody
Correction! There’s no mention of your boots, so this isn’t all of it either:/).
This one is obviously an older (and complete: ) version. Better cadence too – I actually did read it aloud to myself (with a huge smile upon my face!; ) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42914/mr-nobody
You’ll have to employ a rickshaw to transport the Matriarch around the property. Give her a noise maker and park her at one of the malfunctioning gates. On a sunny day of course.
That is a perfect idea!! I will tell her.