Denim Deb Hay, hay, hay. Thank the Lord!

[Denim Deb]

I had to make a fire this morning. I hope it's the last one for the spring. But, it was cold in the basement, and I was doing some cleaning down there this morning. It's going to take awhile, but at least I got started. I hope to work on it some everyday.

Can I say I'm tired of the clouds and rain? Today was the worst! It poured this morning. I was glad I put rain sheets on my horses the other day. Not only was it wet, but it was chilly. LF's horses were shivering, so when I fed everyone today, I put some hay in the run-ins. And I left the one horse locked in her stall. She was shivering the most and the other horses won't always let her in.

After I got everyone fed, I went down in my tack shed and worked on getting it good and clean. I sorted thru a bunch of stuff, and packed up a bunch of stuff that will break. I was going to heat up some soup for lunch, but when I went to plug in the extension cord I use, I found that the outlet (which is on a post) was about 2 inches above water! I wasn't about to take a chance, so I left earlier than I'd plan. They're doing some renovations to the Nature Center and wanted people to come and help sort stuff out. Plus, they're getting rid of some stuff. So, I went there for a bit. I was going to heat up my soup in the microwave there, but changed my mind and stopped for a sandwich on the way there. It's a good thing I did. They had the Nature Center tore up. I couldn't have gotten to the microwave that easily, and there was basically no place I could have sat to eat it!

There was some stuff that I can use, so I took that, then headed back to the farm and got everyone fed. My next broody has 1 chick! So, I put the mesh back up, and left her be. And, I'm wondering if I have another broody. I don't NEED another broody, but at the same time, I normally get a good price for my chickens at the auction.

Now, I'm not doing anything. It is just so wet outside and I'm so tired of this weather that I've decided not to do anything else. I'll heat up my soup and have it for dinner. I may make some no bake cookies, but that's it for the day.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ugh...rain. I know how you feel... We've had a great week, but chance of rain again next week. Enough already!

 

[Denim Deb]

We're actually supposed to dry up next week. I hope they're right. I want to do my fence.

 

[Denim Deb]

Out of the 5 eggs my 2nd broody had, she hatched out 3. 1 was dead when I got there, don't know what happened to it. The other 2 eggs were stone cold and she wanted out of there! The one egg has pipped and the chick was peeping, so I brought both of those eggs home and put them in my incubator. We'll see if either of them hatch. If she won't accept them, I'll try to get my first one to take them. I think she will.

And, I have another broody! She's in the same house that I just took the one out of, so I put her in that nesting box, and gave her 7 eggs. They're all marked so I know which eggs are which. So, that means I have 3 weeks to get another broody house built! I hope I don't get any more broodies for awhile!

 

[Denim Deb]

I'm so glad I brought home the eggs. I see movement in the one from time to time, and the other one has pipped. I think I'm going to have my bator going every time I have a hen ready to hatch out. Then, if there's some eggs that don't hatch, I can bring them home and see if they'll hatch or not.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhh, hope they make it!

 

[Denim Deb]

You and me both! I checked on them this morning, and still nothing.

 

[Denim Deb]

The chick that had pipped yesterday didn't make it. But, the other one hatched out and is now at the farm. So, my incubator is empty.

The one neighbor is complaining about my rooster. I was afraid of that. So on Tuesday, I'm going to catch a different rooster and take him to the auction. Since it's come down to a choice between roosters, I'd rather have the one I have at home than that one. Then, I'd get my hens changed around some, finally get them all marked, and bring my home chickens out to the farm. For now, I won't have any chickens at home. But in the fall, I'll bring home the hens that I plan on getting rid of next year. Other than my oldest girl, they're my oldest hens. Then next fall, I'd take them to auction and bring home the next ones to go-that is, if I'm still living here. I went property hunting this evening. There's quite a bit of land for sale in the area I want to live. So, I may be able to find something soon.

I got a bit of work done in my garden tonight. This is the first I've been able to work for several days. By the end of the week, it will be all done. And by then, I should have my chickens out. So I'll be able to plant stuff w/out having to worry about them digging it up.

 

[hqueen13]

Good luck with the property! Wouldn't that be fantastic!
Wow, you do have a lot of broodies! I guess its helpful to have them raise the chicks if possible.
We FINALLY dried out... and its supposed to rain tomorrow again. I am not going to complain too much because the pollen just hit me really hard this weekend, so the rain will help. I could have done without a whole week of it though!

 

[Denim Deb]

My field is pretty dry, other areas of the farm, not as much. And, we're supposed to get more rain tomorrow as well.

I don't mind having all these broodies, I just wish they didn't all go broody at the same time!

Today was a good day. I was able to get my living room clean B4 I left. Hubby had a bunch of stuff that he brought home from work and dumped on the floor. I got a couple of plastic shopping bags, put all the stuff in there, and stuck it in his den.

Got to the farm today, and LF was there. So, I only had to feed MY horses! That almost felt like a vacation.

W/the horses fed, I got started on cleaning my field. I have a plant in there that the horses don't touch, and I didn't know what it was. W/all the rain, and not being able to mow, the plant actually flowered. As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was-star of Bethlehem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithogalum I knew it was in the lily family, just wasn't sure what it was until I saw the flower. It's a good thing the horses don't touch it. It's poisonous to livestock, but I don't know how bad it is. I'm hoping to dig a bunch out. Some I'll plant at home, and I'll see if I can't sell some.

The reason LF was there today was because she had a shed come for hay storage. W/where it was put, they had to take down part of her fence. The shed filled in most of the spot where the fence was taken down, but there was a gap of almost 8 ft. So, I put a post in for her. Then, since she has the slip board fence, I cut the boards to size and got them in for her. (For those that don't know, or don't remember, LF has health problems. The reason I'm in the field I'm in now is so I can help her when she needs it.)

RU showed up, so I went to talk to her about the hay that I still had in my hay stall from LS. LF had told me that it is now RU's hay. CL's horses had no hay, so I suggested that I just put some out everyday until the hay was gone. RU didn't want me to do that, but she wanted to get the hay out. She was supposed to come down and get it. So, I went back to cleaning my field. I got most of it clean, but no sign of RU. So, I got Stormy fed and got hay out for my guys. Still no sign of RU. So, I went ahead and got the hay out. I put a pallet down in the new parking area, and stacked the hay on that. 2 bales were ready to fall apart, so I did throw them over the fence for CL's horses. Then, w/the hay all stacked, I covered it the best I could w/a tarp. I'm glad it's out. I was afraid that RU would get it out herself and get the wrong hay. My hay is better, so I didn't want to risk her getting the wrong hay.

Oh, and that chick I took out to the farm yesterday didn't make it. This broody is not as good a momma as the other hen. She had no trouble getting new chicks in w/the other chicks-even though she now has 9 chicks! This one couldn't handle 3. So, won't give her any extra chicks again.

Once I had everyone fed, and the chickens all rounded up, I went home. Hubby was out w/DD. So, for the first time in over 2 weeks, I had the house to myself! I enjoyed it. And, I got my dishes done, then made myself some dinner (and fudge). Now I'm relaxing B4 heading to bed.