Mama Hen

 A couple of weeks ago Chickory went missing. The kids mourned her loss, assuming the fox got her. But 2 days later she came screeching into the yard, clucking and carrying on. Then promptly disappeared again. For a week she would show up every 2 days until finally we discovered her nest, safely in a corner of the barn. She was sitting on 20 eggs.

Now Chickory isn't a big bird. She's actually pretty scrawny. So I pulled about 9 eggs and left her with the rest, hoping it was a more manageable number for her to keep warm. I candled the eggs, threw out the non-fertile eggs and set the rest in the incubator. Yesterday was hatch day. We had one peeping in the incubator when we woke up and 2 more working their way out. A peek under Chickory revealed 3 chicks.

By mid-afternoon she had 7. And by evening, when all was said and done she had 9 little babies. And we still only had our 3 inside. We moved her into a safe, enclosed location- our "chick house" within the larger storage area of the chicken house. We slipped our 3 under her as well.

This morning we went out to visit them. Chickory is all fluffed out with her dozen chicks all crammed under her wings.

All but one so far looks to be half Brahma- fluffy feet and all. Only one little one- all yellow and no fluffly feet.

Annika is in love. She was sad to see the chicks leave the house. But is happy to be able to go out and spend time in the barn with the birds.

Here's our rooster, one of them anyway. A big, beautiful Buff Brahma who gave us lots of colorful little babies!

April 6, 2013

Bones. Found outside and claimed by Annika.

The next round of tomato seedlings growing strong. About 80-90 total tomato plants.

1 of 5 lavender plants. Also growing strong.

Eggplant. It finally got warmer in the house, which means the eggplant finally took off.

Peppers. They grow slower than the tomatoes. But they are getting there. We are trying lots of new varieties this year.

Rhubarb.

And basil. I've got about 7 different varieties.

Spending time with the babies. They are phone pics, so not the best. But they are growing bigger everyday. We'll have some new ones to introduce soon too!

How was your day? 

Kidding 2013: Coco and C.......

  

We could tell that June was getting close to kidding, but every time we looked out on her she'd be up and grazing- which is not a sign of a goat in labor. But she took us by surprise.

 Last night Cale went out to feed the alpacas and came rushing in yelling, "June had her babies!!" So I rushed out the door, and down to Cale who had already gone back out to her. She wasn't in the main pasture in the barn like I was expecting- she was in the lower pasture, down by the creek. She was there calling with 2 wet and wobbly babies bopping around beside her.

We wrapped up the babies and tried to lead June up to the barn. That's when everyone else came running and things got a little confusing for the goats. June crying for her babies, Bertie crying because June was crying, the newborns cried for their mama which made Bertie cry for her babies, who also came running. We had to pull June up and into the barn and after all the crying stopped and she realized her babies were right in front of her she calmed down and went back to cleaning them.  I guess the family bond between Bertie and June is much stronger than I thought.

It was dark by the time we got everyone settled for the night. But the 2 new kids were all dry and fluffed up this morning. They look exactly like their dad, and now we have a little more color in the herd. 

We have another pair- a doeling and a buckling. The little girl's name is Coco. But we are still in disagreement on the boy. A few of the kids want it to be Kipper. Some of us want Crispy....

 We have possibly one more kidding to go this season. Poppy is still pretty skiddish, though she will come for licorice treats, and I haven't been able to get my hands on her stomach to feel for movement, so we are just keeping a close eye on her udder and body to watch for signs that she might be pregnant.

linked to: The HomeAcre Hop, The Homestead Barn Hop,

Kidding 2013: Jack and Jill

 Last year on March 24, it was a sunny and warm day. We were working on the fences in t-shirts and shorts and Bertie was in labor about to deliver her first set of kids. That labor was easy and smooth, and I am grateful that my first kidding experience was easy and uneventful. It prepared me for this March 24th, in which the kidding was not quite so easy....

I woke up yesterday to Cale at my bedside asking if a goat is standing with her head shoved against the wall means she's going to have the babies soon. I said yes and went to check. She was in labor. Early stages, but it was going to be that day. Cale and Cohen spent a lot of time watching that day. So did the chickens, who wanted to lay their eggs in her hay. It was not warm and sunny like last year, it was rainy and cold and windy. But we checked on her every hour or so until about 2:00 when she started to push and the amniotic sack was visible- though I will spare you the picture of that...

Jack getting clean

We thought it would be soon, but an hour passed, with the boys eagerly watching, and still not much of a change. The sack eventually burst and she laid down in the hay, pushed a couple times and then her contractions seemed to stop. I sent the boys inside, telling them I would call when I saw feet.  Another hour passed. I was cold, sitting under the heat lamp googling stalled labor on my phone. Eventually I forced her to stand back up and a few minutes later her labor started up again and I could see the tips of the hooves. Cale, who had been the most excited to help with the labor, made it back into the barn.

Once she started to really push, I could see we were going to have a bit of a problem, I just wasn't sure what that problem was yet. What I could see was 2 hooves and a bit of the nose. But one was a front foot and one was a back foot. When she contracted I could see the tip of the second front foot. I tried to rearrange so the front foot came before the back, but honestly had no real clue how or what to do. I sent Cale in to have Paul do my googling for me and once again I forced her to get up in hopes that she could get the babies rearranged a bit better in that position. It worked and as the first kid came further out I realized that it wasn't his back foot, but the second kid's. They were both trying to come at once.

Jill finally arrives!

The first kid, Jack, was delivered. His face cleared and cleaned with the help of towels and Bertie's tongue. Cale held the heat lamp over him as he squirmed and tottered and tried to stand. It was cold, and we needed to get him dry fast.  Bertie is a very good mother and is very thorough when it comes to cleaning her babies. I, on the other hand, was much more in a rush for her to get back to delivering her second baby, because it's back 2 feet up to the knees were hanging out of her.

Cale kept Jack warm while Bertie delivered Jill

Jack was up and had attempted to nurse when the contractions finally started up again. Breech babies aren't the optimal position for kidding, but it's not as big of a deal as it is for people. And Jill was delivered breech with out any issues. We got her cleaned up too and waited around until she was almost walking and had nursed as well.

By this time my brother and his wife, Lili, had made it home. Paul brought Annika out to meet the babies. The boys all made their appearances to see them. We set about making the shed as secure as possible. It's rather drafty, so we filled holes with towels, wood and hay. Secured the heat lamp. And hoped the temperatures would not dip too cold in the night.

This morning, everyone is doing fine. Despite the snow flakes blowing and cold wind. Bertie keeps the babies under the lamp and blocks the wind by sitting in front of them.

It's supposed to be cold for the next 3 days, but hopefully by the time June delivers it will be much more spring-like! And hopefully, her delivery will be much less eventful!

This post is linked to the HomeAcre Hop, Homestead Barn Hop,

The Kidding Kit

You can now find this post on my other site, The Free Range Life. Here is the link to The Kidding Kit.