Monday, January 19, 2009

Chicken Stuff


Today began early (for me anyway) with my usual farm chores - what my daughter's friend calls *chicken stuff.* I let out the chickens that were in the hen house - our Ft. Knox of chicken houses, complete with electric fence - that is, I let out those that choose to live in safety. We have a couple of hens who generally refuse to go in at night. One hen, Honey, is slightly crippled and thinks she's more comfortable living under the house; sometimes a friend will join her. The other hen, Lucy, has decided to be a renegade and rarely associates with the other chickens. She has chosen to sleep on our tractor under the equipment shed, lay her eggs on hay bales, and eat the cat food on our front porch. We've decided that she is channeling her inner cat, what with her solitary lifestyle and her craving for cat food. By the way, Lucy's eggs are twice the size of any others which might explain her desire to be alone.


Other *chicken stuff* includes checking on our herd of Boer goats. We've just been blessed with 5 new babies. However, one almost didn't make it. His brother was stillborn and his sister is twice his size. We're still trying to decide if his mother, Esmeralda, his taking proper care of the little guy. This morning I decided to start supplementing his diet with a little cow's milk, just in case. Esmeralda has already successfully raised two babies, but with her, you never know. More on *the bearded maniac*, as she is affectionately known, later.


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