When Huey Met Dottie

Hi farm friends, I sure hope you are enjoying this early spring. As many of you know, I have been so busy with my job over the last several weeks it has been hard to find time to visit and e-mail my wonderful blog buddies. I am so hopeful that things will ease up a bit as I get into late April and May. Hope you will hang in there with me and know I miss you and all that is going on in your world. Farmer has been so wonderful in taking care of Verde Farm and I’ve asked him to share some farm happenings directly. Today’s post is one of his. I know you will enjoy it...

Farm life can be brutish. It seems the wolf is always at the door. It seems nature is never finished yet always winding down. It seems, no less, compassion was the intent when I decided to move a little chick named Dottie to the big chicken house next door. This little chick, with the black and white polka dotted feathers—and one crescent moon drawn on her wing—inherited a feisty spirit. She relentlessly pecked her brothers and sisters, making their lives awful. I felt I had no choice. I had to move her next door.

I was happy to see Dottie blending in so well with the other roosters and hens. At bed check I knew I had made the right decision when I saw her sleeping—tiny, next to Edgar. Hooray. 

A good case can be made for allowing nature to sort-out its own problems.

By feeding time, the next morning, the chicken house chickens were already stirring. I found the gang in the run. I didn’t immediately see Dottie. Maybe I did, but I told myself it’s just a black dot in the corner. As I focused, it became clear the black dot in the corner was Dottie. I walked to her.

She was alive. Her head was tucked beneath her wing. I picked her up. Her eyes were mangled and bloodied. The other chickens pecked her eyes out, blinding her.

Oh, my lord.I couldn’t kill Dottie, which would have probably been merciful. I put her in a pen and fed her. I visited her while nature healed her.

Followers of this blog know about a Muscovy named Huey, born this past January. It’s amazing he’s still with us, considering he emerged from his mother’s egg in the deepest, coldest part of winter. I found him and his two brothers, Duey and Louie, walking on the frozen snow across the back yard, about 100 yards from their nest. Unfortunately, Duey and Louie died. However, Huey moved from the box in the bathroom, to a cage in the tool shed to a pen in the barn with a girl named Dottie.

You can read about them by clicking on the picture above

Huey, the lone survivor

Dottie and Huey hit it off. Heck, Dottie even started to lay eggs. As months passed and spring moved closer, I knew I had to release Huey. He was beginning to flap his wings and run in circles around the pen. I vowed on the next pretty day I would set him free. It pained me, though, because I knew Dottie, even though she couldn’t see Huey, felt Huey’s presence and would know he was gone. It’s not as if my animals have human characteristics as much as it’s about a human interpretation of their actions. I think love is love and transcends species. It’s something we have in common.

Huey and Dottie-he is wrapped over her fluffing her feathers

Out for their afternoon sun

Yesterday, I put Huey and Dottie in a cage and took them outside, in front of the barn. I opened the cage. Huey was curious, but cautious, sticking his head in and out of the cage. Dottie simply walked in circles, literally blind to what was getting ready to happen. All at once, Huey was free—running, flapping, testing his wings, tasting freedom, the warm wind, all for the first time. I’m thinking, man what that must be like. I wish I could remember. The other Muscovy’ came by to inspect, giving the thumbs up. At the same time, Dottie began to cluck, well…it sounded like a cry. As Huey ventured farther from the cage, I walked away to tend to the pigs.

Huey flapping his wings in freedom-Dottie in her cage

About 10 minutes later, I came back to the cage. It appeared my intuition had been correct—I only saw Dottie, still walking in circles. As I got closer, however, I saw Huey resting outside behind Dottie. At the end of the day, I gathered the Muscovy and the chicken and took them back to the pen—their home. They walked around in circles—together.

Pretty Dottie-alone for the first time in a while

Dottie stepped out for some freedom too

The weather is supposed to get warmer, this weekend, which means Huey will get another chance to test out his wings. We’ll push him out of the nest, eventually. The important thing is we’ll do it together. 

What Are Your Signs Of Spring?

Hi farm friends, hope you had a wonderful weekend with beautiful weather and a great view of the super moon. Many blog friends were able to capture it in picture form and it was fantastic. We don’t have window coverings in our bedroom yet (almost four years after buying the house) and it was like sleeping with the light on last night. We didn’t mind, the view was nice and we knew spring was coming today!

Spring “officially” began at 7:21 p.m. EDT on March 20, 2011. “The vernal equinox, day and night are each approximately twelve hours long (with actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days before the vernal equinox). The sun crosses the celestial equator going northward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Don’t you just love the signs that guided farmers of the past to till, plant, pick and so much more? Many still use these signs today with great success. So, what are “signs” of spring that you always pay attention to? Signs that tell you spring is here or it’s time to till your land or plant your first crop?

Here at Verde Farm, forsythia is the first true sign of spring. They start to bloom, bursting in bright yellow buds, prior to any other blooms only surpassed by early blooming daffodil varieties. The bright yellow is the perfect color to start spring for us as it is such a happy, bright long lost friend.

Another sign of spring is the hatching of chicks. We don’t have any just yet, but we do have Smoke, one of our Silkie hens sitting on a nice clutch. She looks a little worse for wear minus her head feathers but they will be back soon. We are excited to get our first Silkie chicks, so stay tuned.

Won’t you share your signs of spring with us?

Have a great week,

A Sad Day at Verde

Ok farm friends, all you real farmers, please forgive my weak constitution with this post. As you know if you have been following our blog for a bit, we have many different animals here at Verde. We love them all and name them and know them by name. We have many chickens and over the last three years, the chicken population has grown more than we intended. Thus the reason for a sad day at Verde.

We bought two roosters as our very first animals, Mack and Bucky. We also bought three muscovies that day too. That was the beginning, five birds and we were tickled pink. We felt sorry for Mack and Bucky as they needed a girlfriend so it didn’t take long for us to buy a beautiful hen we named Pearl for her Pearl coloring. Life was good. We had roosters crowing in the mornings and loved to see them running around the farm.

Flash forward three years and a few more chicken purchases and multiple hatches we had around 70 chickens late last summer and fall. Winter cost us a few due to the extreme cold temperatures and we had lost a few to predators, as best we could tell. My dear farmer and I knew we had to reduce the flock size before spring.

We posted some ads on Facebook and of course we have this blog/website with chickens for sale. No interest until yesterday. I was thinking about Craig’s List for a while but had never tried it. I got on the site to look and under agriculture they had several farm animals listed in my area. I thought, why not? I put an add up for 25 chickens and within six hours I had eight e-mails.

Tonight, the lucky man that I called came to get his chickens. I didn’t expect it to be so traumatic but they knew something was wrong and fear was in the air. Farmer and I were sort of paralyzed as the man and his sons started gathering them up from the barn roosts. We kept all our original chickens and made sure none of them went into the cage. They were screaming and scared and all I could think of was “I want this over with.”

It took about an hour to gather up 25 and he paid me and off they went. I couldn’t help but cry and still have tears in my eyes as I type this. We raised those chickens and they had a certain way of life here and they liked it. Out of the blue, they are now piled in a cage and headed off to another place to live and I really don’t know what’s ahead for them. He said he was going to let them free range and he loved banty hens to hatch eggs and raise chicks. Well, based on our 70 chickens, you know they are very good at that.

We always planned on raising chickens and selling them but this was the first time it actually happened. I know this sounds crazy to some but we loved them and our hearts are gonna ache for a while, especially tomorrow morning when we wake up and the farm is much quieter.

Frank finds grand prize, eager to show

Hi farm friends, hope your week is off to a great start. We are having such a great time sorting through  your incredibly clever suggestions in naming our new chicken house. The hens are not only clucking about the contest, they even sent Frank Rooster out to get the grand prize. The little fella brought it by earlier today to show it to me and I thought you all might want to see it too. His taste in gifts tends toward his own kind--chicken--yet his choices are not paltry. He found a beautiful ceramic rooster, a chicken book marker, and a great little book on poultry. The lucky contest winner will be selected on Wednesday night. No idea is a bad idea, and we, as well as Frank and the hen house, are grateful for your suggestions and participation.

And, we also are doing a giveaway for all who leave a comment on this post for one entry-- and another entry for sharing the contest on your site. This winner will be selected by random drawing and will have a different prize especially for them.

Good luck to all.

Cluck, cluck,

New Chicken Digs Contest

Hi farm friends, first I want to say thanks to each and every one of you for taking the time to read the last post about my dad. You have no idea how much your comments lifted my spirits and supported me through a difficult week. I am so grateful for all of you.

Life goes on. After the arrival of several new November birds, the farmer and I decided we’d have to have another chicken house. We talked about building a coop, but hadn’t put our plans in motion. In December, we found a  great, pre-manufactured building with the idea of converting it to the new chicken digs.

It took a few weeks to be delivered because of all the bad weather we’ve had-but finally, it arrived. We are in the process of tweaking the inside by building three partitions to keep the breeds separated. And, we’ve also added three individual runs on the back of the building so they can catch bugs, eat worms and try to intimidate each other through the chicken wire.

When the weather warms up, we’ll paint it to match our barn and potting shed-all white with black trim. I’ll also add flower boxes to the windows in anticipation of planting shrubs and flowers around it to pretty it up. I mean, we can’t let our chickens live in a house that our pigs wouldn’t be caught dead in- can we?

Our Little Pig House

However, our little chicken house needs a name and we could use your help coming up with one. No suggestion is a bad one, toss them out and we’ll catch them. We will let the chicken branch determine the official winner and then will have a pretty sign made up to hang on the front porch this spring.

Once the chickens decide, we will have a special gift basket for the winner. So, drink a cup of joe or hot tea and give it a shot. Maybe some of your chickens will have some suggestions, too. Can’t wait to hear.

It’s easy to enter. Just leave a comment on this post with your suggestion. Share it with your friends and I will also include a special gift to be selected randomly with one entry for commenting and one entry for sharing with others (but please let me know when you comment). The winners will be selected at the end of the day, Wednesday, January 26.

Happy weekend all,

All I want for Christmas is a Chicken?

When the thought of  Christmas gifts come to mind some may think of diamonds, pearls, electronics or stylish clothes. Others might go for the whole package in one swoop and wish for stylish clothes emblazoned with diamonds and pearls, which electronically sing Christmas carols.

At any rate, I suppose a lot of people wish for those types of items, and for good reason. However, some of us are inspired by nostalgia, things rural--the farm. Born out of love for the aforementioned and necessity, we think of buckets with heaters, tractor supply gift cards, Carhartt clothing, muck boots--and  chickens. Chickens? Yep, that’s right. All I want for Christmas is chickens.

Snowball Silkie

We absolutely love our feathered fowl at Verde Farm. When we bought our first two chickens, "just for fun,” we bought two roosters, Mack and Bucky. We didn’t want to deal with eggs and by no circumstances did we want baby chicks. A few months after the roos came to live with us, we felt so sorry for them we bought them a pretty cream girl named Pearl. Verde had a population explosion. We started reading, buying poultry magazines and learning all we could about these interesting entertaining and hilariously fowl birds.

Some Mixed Bantam Roosters 

It didn’t take long to realize there are thousands of chicken breeds and variations. I started looking for unusual and fancy chickens and stumbled on some great resources. Silkies, Polish, Tolbunts, Red Combs, Mille Fleur, just to name a few, caught my eye.  We decided we really wanted to breed some beautiful birds and specialize in selling some of them in addition to our colorful, mixed bantams.

Fancy

Charlotte

Last year, we ordered a pair of Polish white crested black chickens. They were gorgeous and we named them Edgar and Betty. We’ve had them for a year and a half and never gotten one egg from Betty. Not one. Edgar has fathered a few mixed chicks, Brighty being one of them. Edgar’s affairs can only be interpreted as a lack of support for poor Betty’s barren ways. Shame on you Edgar.
On a side note, Edgar lost his beautiful white mane when Betty and the rest of the hens pulled out his head feathers, one by one, and pecked his head until he, in a daze, had to be removed from the chicken house. Poor Edgar.

Our first foray into chicken breeding obviously didn’t go well. Edgar and Betty are separated. We are back to square one.

Betty-alone

Henpecked Edgar

We were not deterred. Instead we decided it was time to jump in with both feet and get the varieties we wanted. In the fall, we ordered a beautiful trio of calico mille fleur from Nancy Krohn at Bluff Country Backyard Chickens. They are gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Chaucer and Lydia

Chaucer and his girls (Betty is visiting)

In November, we also ordered a group of polish, silkies and tolbunts from a wonderful place in Maryland called Bare Necessities Farm. Now, my friends, maybe I am biased, but we have some of the prettiest chickens you’ve ever seen--real beauties.  It may be difficult for some to imagine a beautiful chicken--unless accompanied by gravy and biscuits. All I can say is this: I’ve never seen an ugly one. To me, chickens are a lot like butterflies. They are flitting, flying, running bursts of color, decorating and brightening even the dreariest day.

The Silkie Gang

Pretty birds, pretty birds

With the arrival of 14 new chickens, we knew we had to house them. We ordered a chicken chalet, which was scheduled to be delivered this week but now has been pushed back because of the weather. The chalet is a link to spring when I’ll paint it, name it and plant flowers around it.

Foof

Smoke Silkie

If the good lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll have these breeds for sale in 2011. I can’t wait to see what we get.  If you are thinking of adding or starting to raise chickens, you may want to pick one of ours in the spring. We do ship.

Lad and Blue

So, this Saturday, when you’re opening your felt covered jewelry boxes, packages wrapped in pretty papers and bows, just think of us. Our “fowl” packages may smell a little funny--but we will be just as excited.

Cockadoodledoo to you and yours this Christmas

Rise N' Shine

Good morning, farm friends. We thought it would be nice to share our dependable alarm clock with you.  That's right, our chickens do wake us up each and every day. As early as they rise, we wouldn't have it any other way. Hope you enjoy some of our beautiful birds. Check out our Bantam page while you're at it.

Today we are linking with Mary over at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Check out Mary's beautiful fall mosaic and all the other wonderful mosaics shared there.

Cock-a-doodle-doo,

Sunny's Special Baby

On a recent blog post A Brighter Verde Farm we introduced you to our special bantam hen, Sunny,  or  Sunny De-Light, as cleverly coined by one of our readers. You may remember her determination to have her own clutch.  She tried so many times to have her own biddies, but for some reason or another her babies would never hatch. That is until the day she adopted an errant light bulb left in the coop by the hubby. She also laid and sat on her own eggs.  She had the eggs beneath her and the bulb under her wing.

Sunny D. sat patiently on the light bulb and eggs for weeks. Her big day arrived one chilly fall morning, when her wings began to peep, maybe even squeak, as the feeders were filled.  On closer inspection, her wings rustled. Suddenly a tiny head parted the feathers and quickly pulled back. It's a baby. Sunny's finally a mama.

After Brightie was born, Sunny abandoned her other eggs. The light bulb didn't fare any better. When it was picked up for the trash, it had been pushed to the other side of the coop.

Brightie has a big personality. Her mother is extremely protective. She tries to take the little tyke out to the run but the baby is too small to jump up to the ramp leading outside. Sunny sometimes goes ahead,  leaving the chick behind. But, not for long.  As the baby stands in the makeshift door and cries, cries, cries for its mother,  Sunny D. walks to the bottom of the ramp, turns around and walks back up. In less than 15 seconds, baby and mother are reunited.

We are so pleased with the new arrival and as predicted, Sunny's baby has made Verde a much "Brighter" place.

See a video clip of mama and baby:

Verde Welcomes New Farm Friends

A cool, gray Sunday started with a drive to the southeastern part of the state with my nephews, Cooper and Jackson. It was an exciting day for all of us because we knew we would be coming home with our two new Shetland ram lambs from Nancy at Buff Country Back Yard Chickens. Fortunately, transport worked out well and we were able to pick them up a short two and a half hours from home. What started as an inquiry to Nancy about her beautiful Mille Fleur Calico Cochin chickens evolved into the purchase of a rooster and two hens, as well as the two new lambs.













When we got to the meeting spot and saw the precious lambs for the first time, the boys were smiling from ear to ear. The rams, named Burdock and Rain Man, are small with beautiful coloring. Burdock, a dark brown/black, and Rain a tan, were so soft, we couldn't stop petting them. We moved  them to our truck and put them in temporary crates stocked with hay we brought from home. They settled into the crates well and immediately started eating. They were happy with the hay and managed to eat almost all of it by the time we arrived back at the farm.

Burdock and Rain (Pictures from Buff Country Back Yard Chickens)

We put the trio of chickens in the cab of the truck with us. The boys were tickled to death to have the chickens up front. They fed them some Chex Mix as a treat and the trio were pleased. I mean, they seemed pleased, cooing and looking up at us lovingly, as if to say, more please.

When we got back home, the good hubs and my oldest nephew, Perry, had been preparing the stall for the new arrivals. They cleaned it up nicely and spread a thick coat of bedding so perfect you hated to walk in it. Everything was in order for our new farm friends.

The lambs quickly came out of the crates to examine their new digs. They went straight to their fresh water and more hay. We knew the chickens needed to stay on their own for a few days so we put them in a nice big crate with some corn and a water. They were ready to stretch their legs out a bit and we were able to finally get a good look at them. They are beautiful. I like to say they have "fancy feet" because their feathers stick out all around them. The nephews named the chickens,  Jet for the roo and Dotty and Lola for the hens. We thought the names were perfect.

As the evening settles in, our new arrivals are bedded down in their places and getting ready for their first night at Verde Farm. One of the best things about farm life is sharing the experiences with family and today was one of those great days.

Perry-10

Cooper-7

Jackson-9