''Outside'' Chickens - big smiles !

 Well not Totally.  But the 6 healthier chicks have been outside most of the day in their "puppy pen".  It came along with the Hen House when I bought it...as well as some items I failed to take along with me when we picked the coop up. :(

The 6 bigger chicks really have a good time out in the fresh air and warm sunshine. I put bird netting over the top to ward off other birds ( I Hope!) , so they have been out there peeping n' pecking .  There are some fascinating things in dirt and grass for chicks, I have found.

Tomorrow, I want to move the puppy pen and put the 3 smaller  chicks out for a while so they, too , can soak up some sun.

The 'Dirt Devils'

I still have three chicks in the garden tub in the bathroom it seems. ( the bigger ones now are in the tack room) I let them out daily to run about flapping wings and of course pooping on the bathroom carpet while I clean their little brooder out, refill the water n' food. They absolutely crack me up with all the squawking and flapping as they run. So today- I let them stay out a little longer- the day is already pretty much gone, so why not. After much running with little scraggly wings flapping, they settled down to cleaning my carpet. Every little piece of ' what ever' was picked up or inspected closely and then Lizzie ( the Rhode Island Red) began sitting down and scratching w/ her feet. Hmmmmmmmmmm- ???? Then Silver ( the only little Silver Wyandotte) dashed over to see what Lizzie had found. Quick to loose interest, Lizzie went over to where the robes were hanging on the door, and sat down with a theatrical plop. ( that's her peeking out from under the robes) Devon ( the Bigger Dominique) went over and plopped down beside her. They Love sheltered places it seems. Then Silver came over and after much carpet cleaning, started to attempt her first 'dirt bath' ! Lizzie watched and did some scratching and side ways flapping too- soon Devon had enough and she moved back some from the diggers and flappers.

Thats Lizzie the Rhode Island Red peeping out from under the robes on the door....

Silver trying her best to take a dirt bath on the carpet !

Whewwww- time for a rest now... Silver, Lizzie and Devon in front- right

Barn Spring Cleaning Day

 This past weekend we had our first official Barn Spring Cleaning day. Lots of friends came over to help and we got SO much done! The weather was chilly only until a person got working hard- then it was quite warm. The fences got repaired, staples added where needed, insulators slid up or down the wires to posts, and inside the barn, cobwebs were taken down. One boarder was busily staining the outsides of the stalls - his two kids really helped out a lot too ! Two friends under took the Big chore of cleaning the end stall where the Chaise is stored. This area had become a place to simply " put things"- so it was a bit cluttered. The tack room got a face lift as well- windows cleaned so they sparkled in the sunlight, the blinds even got washed off. All the nooks n' crannies got cleaned and re-organized and it wasn't long before we all had worked up a big appetite..... so once we were all done, we took a break for a late lunch. Yummmmmm- salads, dips,chips and hotdogs, along with some delicious desserts of banana bread n' brownies. The last thing we got accomplished was to slide the new ( to me ) Hen House around so it now faces the correct direction. The barn looks so fresh n' clean now- the little peeps couldn't even make it smell badly .

**Thank you ALL - you have no idea how much your help

and friendship is appreciated !**

                            This is Joan, cleaning the window blinds.... Whew they were filthy

Shanna's son modeling a helmet...

The Hen House Movers....

Fence Fixers... Scout supervising

Girl Scouts invade WoodFinn....

A while ago, I was contacted by a Girl Scout leader - the mom of one of the gals who used to ride here.....  She asked me if I could conduct a 'clinic' of sorts for her troop of Girl Scouts- So they could work towards getting their Horsemanship Badge.  I said that it would be great fun to do- and we set up a date for it.

Today was the day !  There were 5-6 of them- ages 8-12 , I believe. Some true horse lovers and some who merely liked horses in the group.  I told them about horse care, stable care, saddles and bridles, some famous horses and more. They got to groom my old App mare , Alli who totally enjoyed herself pestering the girls.  Then we handed out some home made horse treats- and gave some to the Percherons who were inside the barn.  They got a laugh at Evie who got to try a fajita of peanut butter and brown sugar I think.  She liked it after much tasting - and then wanted more, please ??   We didn't want to create any colics, so the horses only got to have a little taste of the Horse treats brought along.  I hope to have helped some horse crazy kids become yet More interested in learning .

Here are some shots of the girls learning about horses :

                                                            Grooming...

learning to saddle

Thanks for a fun day, gals !

Its' Here, its' Here !

 Well the new (* highly used) hen house is here. It arrived Friday evening in the midst of one Big thunderstorm.  The husband & I drove for an hour to see it- pay for it, and then help the fellas I'd hired load it. All went well but there was no way it'd have fit in our pickup--- instead it was slid into a dump trailer (big sturdy one) and off we all went towards WoodFinn. It rained and sprinkled pretty much the whole drive home. LOTS of traffic and I sat there in our truck hoping those guys had taken a 'less traveled' route than we had chosen. After all- My new (highly used) hen house was with them .

We got to our farm earlier than they did, got the barn lights turned on and as it began to rain again, they arrived. Gee'd and haw'd the pickup with trailer and my hen's house around to almost the correct area I'd chosen. BUT- it was Backwards.... typical of my life it seems. So it is here, filthy and has no little shutters on it because it wouldn't fit in the trailer.  We had to remove them and the front door so it'd fit . There was no space left to spare once it was loaded.  Whew !

Dirty and in all its' not-so pretty glory. I want to power wash the whole thing, and get the shutters / front door re-installed . THEN decide what color to re-paint it all !   Seems the previous owners' kids found a can of spray paint.....  But the good thing is that's Here, Paid for and Almost ready for the peeps !!

The Great Chicken Coop Caper....

I have been looking for a cheap house for the little Peeps for a week or so. I found some- thanks to friends looking online for a reasonably priced, big enough building to create a Hen House from. One friend sent some very beautiful, but expensive chicken coops that were way out of my price range, and one sent some ads for really nicely made ones but were a little small for 9 chickens to happily live in.....   So the search continued.

One day I was looking thru Craigs' list online ( What a Wonderful site !!) for "items of interest" as I do some times when bored. Horses for sale, tractors, plants ; all sorts of delightful things for a horse farm owner to read about.  I saw an ad for a Cute Chicken Coop- and looked at it more closely. Oh it was Adorable- a small play house that had been changed into a , yes, CUTE house for chickens. It was the correct size, and the person mentioned that she had some fencing and wire too that the buyer could have.  I wrote to ask more about it and she was very good about answering quickly. I asked for some more photos of it and then didn't hear from her again. I thought " oh well, she sold it " and went back to my search.  A few days later- she emailed me - her computer had crashed and she was in the Library catching up on their computers.  YAY - it wasn't sold yet !  I decided then and there that I wanted it. Now to figure out a way to move it to our farm .................

Flying Bambinos !

Thursday morning I was undecided : Clean the stalls first or clean the peeps brooder. There are now 6 little chicks living in my tack room.....

 Nora, my helper, was here and was happily brushing winter hair off of Carlene, the Clydesdale. I decided to get the peeps little brooder neat n' tidy first, then get the pooh in the horses' stalls. It made sense to me anyway- maybe not to anyone else. Carefully picking the plastic brooder box up with 6 partially feathered peeps was a job in itself. They are getting HEAVY.  It will soon be time for them to live outdoors- YAY. 

I sat the box on a chair, making sure it was perfectly balanced and removed their feeder and water dish. Sitting those beside the sink, I stepped over to roll up the dirty bedding - newspaper n' paper towels. It is interesting to do this with 6 little chickens in there also. Had to herd them to one end, then roll the now dirty, smelly paper towards them, and finally slid it out from under their little chicken feet. Much peeping and complaining of possibly being someone's dinner for certain from them all. A few are very friendly and some are semi-friendly by now, so I was sure it was those girls complaining about being eaten. I have found chickens are Always scared of being someone's dinner. Either a hawk or raccoon might happen along- you just never know what one might find in a tack room !

I stepped over to put the soiled paper in the trash can and as I turned around, I scared the peeps who ran to the far end of their brooder.  Yes- this caused an awful dropping sound as it hit the floor. Squawking and terrorized  noises ensued as the peeps toppled out of it. There were three still in the brooder, totally scared. Three toppled out onto the floor. They were standing there as though they were thinking in their little chicken minds "??" No one had moved, but for one little pretty peep, Skylar.  She'd figured she'd now go exploring in this wonderful big place, and was walking about checking things out. The Dominique, Ada, sat down to consider what just happened, and my poor little Rhode Island Red peep, Lucy, was so terrified- she froze in place. Reminded me of a Fainting goat  as she lay there expecting all the worst to happen.  Of course, nothing did but me making some " oh my gawd" noises , putting the brooder Back on the chair and asking Nora to balance it for me I'm glad she was here because it was going to take two humans to hold the brooder, and catch the now Very much 'over their scare' Peeps !   

Nora balanced the brooder, and I scooped up little chickens who complained loudly about losing their new-f+ound freedom. Once they were all safely returned to the pen, Nora went back to her grooming, and I finished putting down fresh paper for them. Got some hay from the hay stall and soon the peeps were happily scratching about in it looking for what ever little chickens look for.  All of them were fine, and I hope not to traumatized over their unexpected flight.

If these chicks survive me caring for them, they are going to be some hardy mature chickens. We won't go into how the next day I dropped an exploding water dish all over their freshly cleaned brooder..... Poor Little Peeps !

Scarlet's New Stall

It seems that my newest Appaloosa mare, Scarlet is now able to walk in from the pasture each evening all by herself. I had turned a new horse out with her since the boarder left so they'd hopefully get to be friends....  They are getting along alright but far from Best friends. My guess would be they tolerate each other. Luckily they share a Big pasture.

The other evening, I haltered Scout and Scarlet was there letting me know that she knew where her stall was and that she could go in to the barn by Herself. I'd already done this a couple of times and she did really well :Walked to the barn, down the long aisle and right into her correct stall. I opened the pasture gate and let her go free. (our farm is totally enclosed where the horses are- no fear of a loose horse ending up on a road)  She walked to the barn in front of Scout n' I
- looking side to side, totally relaxed. She then trotted into the barn, and I could hear her trotting down the aisle, then nothing.  Scarlet had gone into her stall. Lets' hope she got the correct one.

No- she was in Scout's stall and eating His dinner - seemingly quite content. I 'shooed' her out and she walked across the aisle to her correct stall.  The rest of the evening chores went uneventfully by.

Next evening- I tried the same thing- and yep, Scarlet went into Scouts' stall Again. This time I have thought about that and had put all of her correct feed, etc in there. Scout wouldn't get short-changed again. 

I realized that she'd been telling me clearly that she likes her new stall, so I let her keep it. She's happy as can be now- her buddies are just across the aisle for talking to, and Scout seems to be fine in his new "apartment".  

All is well once again. Its interesting to see how horses will communicate with we humans- so long as we humans are intelligent to see / hear it.

Easter - chickens n' puppies

Happy Easter, everyone ! Hope your day was a great one. Ours was peaceful, warm and sunny. Sadie was allowed to meet my new baby chicks today for the 1st time. It was so nice, I carried their brooder outside so they could enjoy the sun, and Sadie was fascinated! For those who don't know, Sadie is our 8-month-old American Bulldog puppy.... and she's not ever seen chickens before.

She was amazed that they were alive- and I kept cooing to her in a lovey voice " awwww, what sweeeeeeeeeet little babies- We LOVE babies, Sadie.... goooooooood girl".  She kept looking at me, then back to the baby chicks. She even gave one a lick- So gently. I'm very glad she didn't think to taste one completely!

I am So glad this puppy is as kind and gentle as our other American Bulldog was. Sure am proud of her for not trying to eat a little morsel of chick!

Early Easter Gift x 2 !

Tomorrow is Easter...
 a wonderful holiday where kids get gifts or candy and the adults go to sunrise services at their church of choice. There's a lot more to it, but I'm sure you all know how the story goes. So - 'Happy Easter'  to all who are reading this !!

Each year for a while, there have been " easter animals" who arrive here on or the day before Easter. One year it was a small spotted 'easter bunny', then another it was some 'easter geese', one time, it was something I fail to remember - but each Easter I look forward to what's going to show up here !  Nothing yet- but its merely the day before Easter. I no longer have those photos but I have the memories  :)  

This year, my dear husband surprised me with three old 'Britain' hunting hounds. These are small metal spotted dogs made in England as a part of a fox hunting scene- along with huntsmen, and ladies. I already own some of them, so the fox hounds are perfect. Then today, we went out to find some daisies for Easter flowers.  I ended up choosing a mixture of purple daisies, some daffodils and a couple of other plants all in one container. I love this because there are so many different types of plants, each one will remind me of my husbands' generosity .

Lil' Chix

For some time now, I've been wanting to try raising some chickens. Having had some long ago, this year was the year for this farm! I'd waited long enough- my husband still doesn't acknowledge their existence but they are here. And, living in the garden tub in my bathroom ! I borrowed a brooder from a good friend along with a feeder and waterer. When the chicks arrived at the local feed store- I'd be ready.

That was March 11th, and today is April 3rd, the day before Easter. The chicks now have a lot of feathers and have all but doubled in size. I chose two each- and all hens of : Silver Wyandottes,Partridge Plymouth Rocks,Light Brahmas,Dominques,and two Rhode Island Red babies. From what I'd read, one should get more than one wants to end up with due to "chick loss" ( IE- some might die). Well, I ordered 10, thinking I would end up with 7-8 hens.I still have TEN babies. There are two 'weak and smaller ones who now are living in a shoe box w/ their feed/ water in there but the others ? They are all doing real great .... growing and eating- and of course, pooping like mad. Once they are 5-6 weeks old, I can start getting them outside for a while. Slowly working them up to being able to handle the weather. I need to buy some chicken fencing to go up as a pen and get one of the extra stalls out back ready as a hen house, so its going to be a busy spring here !

Herd dynamics n' horse clippings

This morning I woke up to find my husband had taken the day off ! First good surprise of the day. We walked to the barn, and he helped me feed/ turn out and then left me to get the stalls done while he re-did the electric tape we use as a sight "fence" for the wire fencing in one pasture. I got done in no time, due to it bein such great weather and my having taken two Tylenol before hand. Re-bedded a couple of stalls, dumped/ re-filled water buckets , hayed the empty stalls, and neatened up some. Mixed up dinner and put that in the empty stalls so all we have to do this evening is feed the drafters inside, and bring the long tails in for the night. Simple as can be - and pretty efficient too.

Since Annie the Percheron boarder is gone, I wanted to work on putting Scout ( paint boarder gelding) in with Scarlet & Alli, my two Appy mares. Ahhh a field Full of color - I love it ! I'd put him out w/ them once before so today was going to be fine, I hoped. Scoutie went out first, then Alli & Scarlet. Yesterday I was horsewatching and reveled in how much Scarlet protects the much older Alli. Alli turns 28 yrs old this spring and Scarlet is just 10 and they're both pretty good pals. Once their hay was pretty much done, Scarlet n' Alli wandered off to "graze" on the little bits of green grass trying to grow, and Scout finished up the yummy parts of the left over hay. Scout trotted up the hill to where the girls were and was trying to get them to move off - like a stallion might but he was no where near as agressive.... Alli trotted off because she wasn't quite sure about him being a n ice guy or not.. Scarlet however, trotted Between then, glowering at Scout and all but headed him off. He turned and she pinned her ears and postured big time as though to let him know to " LEAVE her pal ALONE !" He did and when it happened again- he was once again headed off by Scarlet who put herself in between the two. Scout tried to bully her and he got confronted with a threatening hind hoof flying towards him . She spent most of the day keeping Scout away from her bestest pal and letting Scout know he was Not allowed to pick on Alli what so ever. Things calmed down and life was good for the rest of the afternoon.

This morning- Scout, Alli n' Scarlet were out together. Scout tried to bully his way so he could gorge on all the sweet hay I had put out for all to enjoy. Scarlet was fine, so long as he left Alli alone- but the minute he trotted towards Scarlet's friend- she lifted her head up and came to defend Alli. It was so neat to witness ! Scout would give way as Scarlet meant business and he understood ALL to well.... I watched this all from the barn aisle as I was grooming Evie . Scarlet was bound and determined to protect her older friend who's blind in one eye. She would go over to Alli and check to be sure she was alright after placing herself between Alli n' Scout. Once Scout was being polite he was allowed to graze with 'the girls'. All is pretty peaceful now- and I imagine it will continue. I love being witness to horses being horses, can ya tell ?
-------

Evie had a morning at our beauty parlor- AKA- the barn. She got longed for abt 10 minutes and did much better than I expected. I'd not done anything with her in this manner in a couple of years due to her stifles causing 'growing pains'. This mare grew up and did it FAST ! She's 18 hands and one half inch now- and she turns four on Tuesday. She's soooooooooo elegant for one so large and is continuing to fill out so she actually looks like a well bred Percheron mare now. I like it ! For a while I was wondering if she was ever going to fill out and grow up. Evie hasn't had much of anything done to her all winter so she was a bit of a visual mess. Mohawk bridle path, a Long tangled mane, fuzzy feathers, and a thick drafter tail. UGH.- whatta mess. So after her longeing lesson, we walked to the barn and she had actually gotten a little sweaty due to winter coats being on and it being so warm here. Curried and vacuumed her winter hair off some which she loved immensely ! She then got her bridle path clipped with the Big noisy Sunbeam clippers - right down between her ears - she was beginning to look prettier. I used the little A-5's to get those winter whiskers off her jaw and trimmed the fuzzies from her ears too. WOW- what a difference that made. I am going to try to remember to take my camera up tonight to get some pics. Trimmed her feather some off her legs, and trimmed the backs of her pasturns so she'd look ready to go into a halter class - notttttttttttttttttt / hahahaaa. I pulled a ton of length off her mane , then thinned it some too. She looks Great - but for the raggedy winter coat still on her. It won't be long til that's gone too.


By that time, Glenn was all done re-doing the tape fence and came to see her. She almost posed for him- she was so pleased with all the attention ! So one down,4 to go concerning trims, etc. Scarlet got her day at the beauty parlor earlier and Alli got trimmed up a little too, Carli the Clyde got her mane pulled, bridle path trimmed as well this past week, so we're getting back to stunning again around here. I'm not,, but the girls are !