Monday, June 29, 2009
A welcome Predator,
when I came home for lunch today and went to check on the chickens I found the 4 little black chicks all standing in a half circle making funny puckering noises. As I looked at them wondering what this was all about I suddenly noticed the snake in the middle of it all, trying to swallow a dead mouse. Wow, it's 112 degrees, I ran back into the house as fast as I could to get the camera. I got the chickens out of the pen where the snake was and closed the gate so the chickens couldn't go back in.
now the snake decided there were too many spectators and wanted to go to a quieter place so with the mouse halfway stuck in the snake's throat she took off, only to be unable to get through the gate with the mouse in her mouth, so I quickly opened the gate again, the snake went right through the gate, hurried past me and went into the next open door which was the barn, argh, that's not what I had it mind, but there she was. So closed the door to the barn and hoped for the best. The snake and the mouse where gone when I came home. This is the same snake I posted pictures of last year, I have seen her several times in the same general area, I guess she likes her hunting grounds here. As far as I know this is a Coachwhip snake that is known to hunt during the day. Shouldn't be a danger to my chickens, as she could barely get that mouse down. The rest of the chickens weren't interested in the snake at all, so have probably grown accustumed to her foraging around and since she probably doesn't care for normal chicken food, they seem to be tolerant of her.
when I came home for lunch today and went to check on the chickens I found the 4 little black chicks all standing in a half circle making funny puckering noises. As I looked at them wondering what this was all about I suddenly noticed the snake in the middle of it all, trying to swallow a dead mouse. Wow, it's 112 degrees, I ran back into the house as fast as I could to get the camera. I got the chickens out of the pen where the snake was and closed the gate so the chickens couldn't go back in.
now the snake decided there were too many spectators and wanted to go to a quieter place so with the mouse halfway stuck in the snake's throat she took off, only to be unable to get through the gate with the mouse in her mouth, so I quickly opened the gate again, the snake went right through the gate, hurried past me and went into the next open door which was the barn, argh, that's not what I had it mind, but there she was. So closed the door to the barn and hoped for the best. The snake and the mouse where gone when I came home. This is the same snake I posted pictures of last year, I have seen her several times in the same general area, I guess she likes her hunting grounds here. As far as I know this is a Coachwhip snake that is known to hunt during the day. Shouldn't be a danger to my chickens, as she could barely get that mouse down. The rest of the chickens weren't interested in the snake at all, so have probably grown accustumed to her foraging around and since she probably doesn't care for normal chicken food, they seem to be tolerant of her.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Of Sleeping Beauties and other happenings,
Enya is posing for the sleeping beauty contest. People often think these dogs are lethargic and lazy because they tend to lay around dozing all day long. However if anything unusual happens in the neighborhood, they are up in a flash and making sure everything is okay.
Happy guardian in a hole
One of my Barred Rock pullets, they are almost 4 months old now. I saw one checking out a nest box today, I am hoping for eggs in another month. These pullets have grown fast, they are as big as my other hens already, so I am pretty sure they will be bigger than some of the others when they mature. All 4 of them are "talkers" always chirping and cackling about something.
And here are my 4 Black Jersey Giants, they have quite a unique look to them, their legs are almost black now, but the nails are white still
I have increased the size of the goat pen, it's almost 3 times as big now as it was and there are 3 shade trees for them to hang out under. I put some heavy wire protection around the trees to make sure the goats won't kill them.
Since the new goat pen addition used to be part of the chicken area, I have propped the gate open with a little piece of wood so the chickens can go in and out, this is working really well and the goats have stopped sticking their heads through as they seem to realize it really doesn't make any sense.
Another Barred Rock pullet
Prince, Sammie and Leydi. Leydi enjoys her children, she runs and plays with them, all but Enya are very respectful towards her, Enya wants to run the show and has been quite successful at keeping everybody in line.
Another group picture with our scenic mountains in the background
view of the baby area, the adults can walk all the way around it, this has worked quite well to keep the attacks to a minimum once the older chicks join the rest of the flock, this also works well anytime a chicken needs to be isolated from the rest, they can go right back with the rest of the flock once they are ready to be out again
Cici
Ayla has really done a lot of digging lately, here is a tunnel she has excavated, to the right the dark area is a rather large area that serves as an underground cave
There she is underground
And here she is laying down in the underground doghouse
Grrrr, nobody is allowed in the cave
Here she is proudly guarding her creation
The trees are really starting to provide a lot of shade, and this is only the beginning of the growing season
All my bushes are in bloom, when the wind blows from the South, the whole property is engulfed in their scent
Enya checking out what's behind the bushes, there are a lot of little birds nesting in our trees and bushes, unfortunately the dogs do catch one here and there, some of them I have been able to save, I wonder how many aren't so lucky, one time I came home from work and they left me a dead bird in my office.
Enya listening to the buzzing noise of all the bees. Now if I could find some more things to grow that bloom a lot, I could actually think about having a bee hive and be able to harvest my own honey, I wonder where all these bees are coming from, at the same time I am worried to attract some killer bees
The trees in the original chicken coop are big enough now to provide shade
we do have several areas where Timothy grass is growing now, I let some of the grasses and grains go to seed, and I am hoping that next year there will be even more different types of grasses and grains growing than this year. The goats really love the fresh food.
we have a some oats growing around some of the trees
Sammie watching the goats and chickens
Sammie running towards me full speed
Sammie
Samantha running to the fence, hackles are up, she is all business
My apple tree is struggling, the dogs are trying really hard to get to the apples, I put fencing around it, but they still get to it sometimes. My husband just learned how to pound in a T-post, so we will be looking into putting up some more fencing ourselves, which will include fencing off a orchard/vegetable garden to protect it from the critters, especially the dogs.
I am also having a few plums on the Santa Rosa plum tree
Plums on one of my plum trees, in Germany we call these "Zwetschgen" and they make the best plums for a pie. One of these days when I get enough of the plums from this tree I can make a "Zwetschgenkuchen" like my mother and my grandmother used to make. This type of plum is not normally sold in American supermarkets, and without them the pie wouldn't taste the same.
Enya, the pups are now 18 months old, hard to believe how fast the time has gone by
Enya
Milo and Millie
Misty and Milo helping themselves to some fresh Mulberry leaves.
Kobi and Teddy looking for things to lift their legs on
Kobi telling Teddy that he is still the "big dog", that little dog has a serious attitude. 
The odd looking thing in the middle of the picture is Kobi the terrier, when he wants attention he throws himself on his back and wiggles around like crazy. 
Buffy, my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she had injured her left leg a few months ago, initially she couldn't put any weight on that leg, but after a few days she started limping around and now she walks okay, I can tell she doesn't scratch the ground as vigorously as she used to and she has developed a really funny flight/bunny hop when she wants to get somewhere fast. My guess is that the rooster who is no longer here, kicked her off the top perch and that's how she injured that leg. Since she is still having problems even months later, my guess is that she had torn a ligament or something like that. She gets up on the roosts at night, but she waits for me in the morning to give her a lift to the ground. Smart hen.
the 4 youngest chicks strutting around
most of the time when I go to check on the chickens a lot of them come running as fast as they can in the hope that I bring some treats. What's really funny and also a bit strange is that they take off running in my direction, but they run head down, so they can't really see where they are going, so they usually end up almost running into me, my guess is that they see my shoes and know they are there, but since I usually keep walking as they are all running towards me, they come across my shoes sooner than they expected and they always stop in their tracks like they are really surprised . 
Ayla working on another cave, that particular day I was taking pictures of the dogs when I heard a strange sraping sound that I couldn't quite figure out what it was, thinking that one of the goats has gotten herself into trouble, I started heading towards the goat pen. This is when I came about a cloud of dusk and I noticed that the strange noise came from the area where the dust was, Ayla was completely underground and digging at it. In this picture only the white tip of her tail is visible in the hole.
she goes into the cave and digs at the walls, then she backs out and kicks out all the loose dirt.
back in to dig some more
I recently noticed that I have a little tree coming up that I didn't have to plant, it's an offspring from my Purple Robe Locust Tree, yes, the one with the pretty fuchsia colored flowers. Very cool I think, especially since the other one that I had bought didn't make it.
Enya checking out the water.
Kobi chewing on a 12 inch bully stick
one evening I went outside with my camera and found the dogs fascinated with something Enya had, I could not see what it was and on the pictures it looks like maybe a caterpillar or other bug
they were all fascinated with whatever it was
Enya is posing for the sleeping beauty contest. People often think these dogs are lethargic and lazy because they tend to lay around dozing all day long. However if anything unusual happens in the neighborhood, they are up in a flash and making sure everything is okay.
Happy guardian in a hole
One of my Barred Rock pullets, they are almost 4 months old now. I saw one checking out a nest box today, I am hoping for eggs in another month. These pullets have grown fast, they are as big as my other hens already, so I am pretty sure they will be bigger than some of the others when they mature. All 4 of them are "talkers" always chirping and cackling about something.
And here are my 4 Black Jersey Giants, they have quite a unique look to them, their legs are almost black now, but the nails are white still
I have increased the size of the goat pen, it's almost 3 times as big now as it was and there are 3 shade trees for them to hang out under. I put some heavy wire protection around the trees to make sure the goats won't kill them.
Since the new goat pen addition used to be part of the chicken area, I have propped the gate open with a little piece of wood so the chickens can go in and out, this is working really well and the goats have stopped sticking their heads through as they seem to realize it really doesn't make any sense.
Another Barred Rock pullet
Prince, Sammie and Leydi. Leydi enjoys her children, she runs and plays with them, all but Enya are very respectful towards her, Enya wants to run the show and has been quite successful at keeping everybody in line.
Another group picture with our scenic mountains in the background
view of the baby area, the adults can walk all the way around it, this has worked quite well to keep the attacks to a minimum once the older chicks join the rest of the flock, this also works well anytime a chicken needs to be isolated from the rest, they can go right back with the rest of the flock once they are ready to be out again
Cici
Ayla has really done a lot of digging lately, here is a tunnel she has excavated, to the right the dark area is a rather large area that serves as an underground cave
There she is underground
And here she is laying down in the underground doghouse
Grrrr, nobody is allowed in the cave
Here she is proudly guarding her creation
The trees are really starting to provide a lot of shade, and this is only the beginning of the growing season
All my bushes are in bloom, when the wind blows from the South, the whole property is engulfed in their scent
Enya checking out what's behind the bushes, there are a lot of little birds nesting in our trees and bushes, unfortunately the dogs do catch one here and there, some of them I have been able to save, I wonder how many aren't so lucky, one time I came home from work and they left me a dead bird in my office.
Enya listening to the buzzing noise of all the bees. Now if I could find some more things to grow that bloom a lot, I could actually think about having a bee hive and be able to harvest my own honey, I wonder where all these bees are coming from, at the same time I am worried to attract some killer bees
The trees in the original chicken coop are big enough now to provide shade
we do have several areas where Timothy grass is growing now, I let some of the grasses and grains go to seed, and I am hoping that next year there will be even more different types of grasses and grains growing than this year. The goats really love the fresh food.
we have a some oats growing around some of the trees
Sammie watching the goats and chickens
Sammie running towards me full speed
Sammie
Samantha running to the fence, hackles are up, she is all business
My apple tree is struggling, the dogs are trying really hard to get to the apples, I put fencing around it, but they still get to it sometimes. My husband just learned how to pound in a T-post, so we will be looking into putting up some more fencing ourselves, which will include fencing off a orchard/vegetable garden to protect it from the critters, especially the dogs.
I am also having a few plums on the Santa Rosa plum tree
Plums on one of my plum trees, in Germany we call these "Zwetschgen" and they make the best plums for a pie. One of these days when I get enough of the plums from this tree I can make a "Zwetschgenkuchen" like my mother and my grandmother used to make. This type of plum is not normally sold in American supermarkets, and without them the pie wouldn't taste the same.
Enya, the pups are now 18 months old, hard to believe how fast the time has gone by
Enya
Milo and Millie
Misty and Milo helping themselves to some fresh Mulberry leaves.
Kobi and Teddy looking for things to lift their legs on
Kobi telling Teddy that he is still the "big dog", that little dog has a serious attitude. 
The odd looking thing in the middle of the picture is Kobi the terrier, when he wants attention he throws himself on his back and wiggles around like crazy. 
Buffy, my 2 year old Buff Orpington, she had injured her left leg a few months ago, initially she couldn't put any weight on that leg, but after a few days she started limping around and now she walks okay, I can tell she doesn't scratch the ground as vigorously as she used to and she has developed a really funny flight/bunny hop when she wants to get somewhere fast. My guess is that the rooster who is no longer here, kicked her off the top perch and that's how she injured that leg. Since she is still having problems even months later, my guess is that she had torn a ligament or something like that. She gets up on the roosts at night, but she waits for me in the morning to give her a lift to the ground. Smart hen.
the 4 youngest chicks strutting around
most of the time when I go to check on the chickens a lot of them come running as fast as they can in the hope that I bring some treats. What's really funny and also a bit strange is that they take off running in my direction, but they run head down, so they can't really see where they are going, so they usually end up almost running into me, my guess is that they see my shoes and know they are there, but since I usually keep walking as they are all running towards me, they come across my shoes sooner than they expected and they always stop in their tracks like they are really surprised . 
Ayla working on another cave, that particular day I was taking pictures of the dogs when I heard a strange sraping sound that I couldn't quite figure out what it was, thinking that one of the goats has gotten herself into trouble, I started heading towards the goat pen. This is when I came about a cloud of dusk and I noticed that the strange noise came from the area where the dust was, Ayla was completely underground and digging at it. In this picture only the white tip of her tail is visible in the hole.
she goes into the cave and digs at the walls, then she backs out and kicks out all the loose dirt.
back in to dig some more
I recently noticed that I have a little tree coming up that I didn't have to plant, it's an offspring from my Purple Robe Locust Tree, yes, the one with the pretty fuchsia colored flowers. Very cool I think, especially since the other one that I had bought didn't make it.
Enya checking out the water.
Kobi chewing on a 12 inch bully stick
one evening I went outside with my camera and found the dogs fascinated with something Enya had, I could not see what it was and on the pictures it looks like maybe a caterpillar or other bug
they were all fascinated with whatever it was 