Life and Death on the Farm

About a year ago, I wrote a post about farm life and if it really is worth all the trouble.  Fast forward a year and the troubles are happening again, but in a deadlier version.  But I will get to that a little later.

First I want to introduce you to our newest family members.  This is what I love about having a farm. The babies and the new family that we introduce on our farm. The new life that makes you feel so good and happy inside.

One of the things that I love about our public school is that in kindergarten and first grade, the classes get to hatch ducks and/or chickens.  They learn all about the process and the life cycle.  They get to see something that most do not get to witness, even in this rural area. I have never see children so excited.  Talk about a true hands-on learning experience.  That is something that they will always remember.

Aren't they cute?

The only thing is that once they chicks and ducks hatch, they need a place to go, We were lucky enough to be able to get 5 chicks from Carly's class to take home with us.  They are the cutest things and we get to experience raising chickens from the chick stage.  Before, we always bought pullets because we were afraid that we didn't have the time involved to take care of them.  But since we raised ducks up last year from babies, we thought we could do the same with the chicks.

We are hoping to get a couple of more ducks as well. There is a class that is currently trying to hatch some ducks and hopefully if they all hatch, we will get a couple of them.

But chicks aren't the only addition to our family. We have another one as well.

Carly has always wanted a bunny. From the time she was 4, she has been asking for one. We have always put her off saying that we didn't have a place for one and we didn't have the time to take care of it.

Well, this weekend we finally gave in. But there is a catch. She had to pay for the bunny, she has to take care of the bunny, and she has to do extra chores in order to help pay for feed.

Meet Rocky:

Our sweet, totally adorable, floppy-eared bunny. I'm in love!

Rocky is short for Rock Star.  That's right! We have a rock star living in our house. ;-)

We are not sure if it is a boy or girl, but it is the sweetest thing ever! This little bunny is so docile and loves to explore. I'm glad for this addition to our home. Steve and Carly will be building a rabbit hutch this summer so look for that post to be coming in the future.

Now for the bad.

We have lost a couple of our animals. First is was one of our guineas. It disappeared while we were away for the weekend. We even had Steve's daughter come and check on our animals. We came home to a pile of feathers.

With this many feathers you know the outcome can't be good.

The worst part was that four days later the guinea showed up in our yard dead. So now I'm wondering, did it get away from the original attack, only to come back home to be killed? I really thought that maybe one of our dogs had ended up killing it, but now I'm not so sure. They are rarely every aggressive to our birds, so it wouldn't be like them to kill one of them.

I posted a YouTube video of the sound of coyotes that run across our back field every night.  Well, the other morning, after Steve got up to go to work, he heard Abby (our border collie) going crazy. He got the spotlight out, and shined it into our backyard and just beyond the electric fence stood a coyote. As soon as the light hit it, Abby took off like a crazed and vicious animal (she is honestly so sweet) and tore into that coyote and drove it down past our creek.

This is one of the reasons why we have the dogs that we do. They are both stock dog breeds and very protective. While they may be part of our family, they do have a function on our farm, and that is to keep us and our animals safe.

We started talking about beefing up security. We need to redo the chicken run. The chickens can now get out and they roam free all day long. I love it, but it is no longer safe for them.

But the guinea is not the only one we lost. We also lost one of our ducks. Our one and only male duck. I didn't find a pile of feathers like I did with the guinea. It only took one...

This is the last thing I wanted to see.

I also found some paw prints.

One of the paw prints I found.

These are too large to belong to one of our dogs.

So now the hunt is on. Our first priority will be to drop everything and start working on our chicken pen. They are not going to be as happy, but they will still be alive. And this summer, we hope to get a chicken tractor built so they can still roam where there is fresh grass, but still be protected. And of course while we are home, they can roam free all over our yard.

So take a look at the paw print for me, and if you recognize it, let me know in the comments below what you think it is.  Is it a coyote? We also have bobcats around here as well.

Leave a Comment animals, babies, chickens, coyotes, death, ducks, farm, farm life, farming, guineas

Farm Fresh Eggs!

Normally, I like to stay up to date with what is going on in the world.  As a full-time librarian, it really is my job to know current events.  So how the price of eggs sky-rocketing got past me, I will never know.

How I did find out was during a conversation with a couple of scout parents during a camp-out.  It just so happens that we all own chickens and were talking about how our chickens were laying during the summer as well as who was brooding, etc.  One of them brought up the fact that they were so glad that they were getting eggs and not having to buy them at the store because of the cost.  Of course I had to ask about this, because honestly the last time I noticed the price of eggs, it was just under $2.00/dozen.  That is when I was told that the cost of eggs is now almost $5.00/dozen because of the Avian Flu.  

Ridiculous!

I was completely shocked!  It has been almost a year since we have bought eggs in the store.  So to be honest I really don't pay attention to egg prices.  But to not even read about this or hear this on the news...my summer is just too busy I guess.

So with the news of soaring egg prices and then seeing those prices for myself, I knew that I needed to take even better care of "our girls."  Don't get me wrong, our chickens are well taken care of.  But with those kinds of prices, the eggs they are laying now are like golden eggs!  We currently have 5 hens and we get anywhere from 3-4 eggs a day.

Our Girls (as well as Mr. Rooster)

It is situations like these where I am so thankful that we are growing our sustainable farm.  To be honest, I don't know if we could really afford the $5.00/dozen eggs in the store.  We would just have to try and do without or make substitutions, especially in baking.

Even though having chickens is work, it is well worth it to be able to feed my family something that is a good source of protein.  Also I know where those eggs came from.  I know how the chickens are raised, and what they are fed.  I know how they are treated, and I know that they don't live in poop all day long. ;-) And in times like this I don't have to worry about the fluctuations of the store prices.  For those that can't have chickens either because they don't have room, or because of city ordinances, I would suggest checking out a local farm, or farmer's market.  Usually the prices are a LOT more stable than a regular grocery store.

So what are the egg prices in your neck of the woods? Let me know in the comments below.

Leave a Comment chickens, eggs, farm, farming, sustainable living

Sometimes I Wonder If It's Worth It

While I didn't grow up on a farm, I spent many days in my childhood at my grandparent's dairy farm.  I have always wanted to have my own farm and raise my children with that kind of life, and in the process teach them some valuable and great life lessons. I know that farm life is hard. There are many set-backs and it is far from being a glamorous job, or one that you can get rich at.  Carrying hay to cows as you sink down in knee deep snow, having to carry buckets of water for the animals because the pipes froze, and having your crops eaten by deer, racoons or your own dog are just to name a few.  But with what has happened the past several days, I have begun to wonder if it really is worth it. 

We currently have 7 chickens,  4 ducks,  and one guinea.  We originally had 4 guineas but 3 of them were killed. Knowing that they like to be in groups we put the lone survivor in with our chickens.  It seemed to work but there are days where they just don't get along. In fact they are just  like children. Best friends one day, enemies the next. There is definitely a group dynamic being played out daily in our chicken coop.  Throw in 4 ducks to the mix and there are times where you have bedlam.

They seem calm now...

My story starts with last Thursday.  This was the day where we had one of our roosters (we have 2), and our guinea to get out of the chicken run.  And where did they end up?  My freshly planted garden!  Of course trying to chase them out just ran them further through the garden and all I could think about was that my garden was ruined!  To add to that, as Carly and I were trying desperately to get them back, the 4 ducks escaped and you guessed it!  They too went right to my garden!  It must have been a site to see, me chasing the rooster and guinea, Carly going after the ducks.  She had just got the ducks put up, and was back helping me when the ducks got out again.  I was ready to cry.  It was time to leave for Carly's tumbling class and we were both muddy and out of sorts.  Luckily with the help of my husband who had just gotten home from work, we were able to get everyone back in.

As if that wasn't enough drama, the very next day after my husband came home from work, he asked if I had seen our calves lately.  Come to think of it, I didn't believe that I had seen them in a couple of days!  So he started looking for them.  And they were no where to be found on our land.  That week we had experienced some bad storms, high winds and lots of rain.  Steve had found several places where the fence was down.  He called our neighbor and asked if he could look on their land, and thank goodness the calves were there and alright!  People may not realize it, but cattle thieves still exist and of course that is what I was thinking.  

Trouble makers!

So while the calves got home safe and sound, that meant that there was a lot of fence that needed to be mended.  A. Lot. Steve spent three days working on all the fence that goes around our entire property and fixing all the spots where the calves could get out.  And while he loves doing that kind of work, it was exhausting, hard work.  

One (out of many) of our new fence posts. Nice work honey!

Which brings us to last night.  Steve had just finished putting in the last  fence post and stretching the wire.  He came into the house and asked if our dog Abby had gotten into the pen with the ducks.  My heart froze in fear.  I asked if the ducks were alright and he said no.  Then I asked if they were dead and he said no.  I told him that Abby had not gotten into the pen with them.  Then he said that two of the ducks had their feathers torn off their backs.  

He brought the ducks in and thanks to a friend of mine that also has ducks, I knew that I needed to put some triple antibiotic ointment on their skin to help heal and protect.  One duck was worse than the other, and I was just sick to think about the trauma they went through.  We think that one of the roosters got to them and was trying to breed them.  So instead of a shower and resting, Steve had to reinforce the chicken and duck pens to make sure that they couldn't get to each other. And I had to reassure the kids that the ducks would recover.  In fact this morning, the ducks are doing much better.  Their little backs look horrible, but they are eating, drinking, and hanging with their buddies.  

The two in the middle were the ones with feathers gone.  Poor babies!

So with all this happening within less than a week's time, I have begun to wonder, is it really worth it?  It is so much work.  Like I said earlier, I knew it was going to be hard work, but it is harder than I ever thought it would be.  It has lots of heartache with it too.  But there are also the good times.  Like the first time we got eggs.  The produce that we got from our garden last year and everything we canned for the winter.  The freezer full of beef to help feed our family and cut down on grocery bills. The kids learning to bottle feed calves.  And more importantly the life lessons that my kids are being taught.  They see the good with the bad.  They are learning that in life, not everyone wins, and not everyone gets a medal.  They are learning that hard work is the key to success, and that being rich does not mean having a bank full of money.  

So in the end I guess maybe it is all worth it.  At least it is giving us adventures that we can have, share, and remember.  

What about you?  What are some of the struggles you have had?

2 comments calves, chickens, cows, ducks, farm, farming, fence

What a wonderful Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays!  To me it is a time for renewal.  It is a remembrance of an awakening after death.  Of course I am referring to Jesus being risen from the dead. But I am also referring to the beginning of spring.  After winter's "death" the renewal of spring comes and with it comes life.  I absolutely love springtime.  The beautiful flowers, the start of gardening, the sunshine and warmer days.  

I thought I would share with you just a few pictures of my family's Easter weekend.  We had egg hunts, church services, special meals, and even celebrated my father's 80th birthday!

Here are my beautiful eggs from our chickens getting ready to be boiled for deviled eggs.

And here are the eggs after they are done.  They were gobbled up in no time at our family dinner!  So easy to make and so good!

We went to an egg hunt and the kids had a great time.  Not only were there eggs that the kids searched for, but also there was candy everywhere!  Here is Carly gearing up for the egg hunt.

And here she is picking up eggs and candy.

Drew also had a great time at the egg hunt.  You have to admit Easter candy is some of the best!

And here they are after the hunt.  They are loving the loot they got!  In fact if you look close enough you can even see a little bit of chocolate on Drew's face.  I think he ate as he hunted. :-)

So what are some of the things that you did for Easter?

Leave a Comment chickens, Easter, eggs, family, farm, farming, fun, holidays