Pet ??? Chicken

6.27.2012

This morning, a student was preparing her horse for a riding lesson...  the goats had been returned to their stall for "brunch" and to be out of our way, as were the hens.

Said horse was groomed, and tacked up, ready to go. The student climbed on, and we walked to the ring for the lesson. Normal kind of day at a horse farm, right ? All was safe, peaceful and quiet...

I was in the midst of teaching when something moving fast caught the corner of my eye. I ignored it, thinking it was a leaf blowing in the stiff breeze. Then it happened Again.  Turning to see just what was in a boarders' pony pasture, I saw one of our Lavender Hens running as Fast as her little chicken legs could go. Down the hill, wings held out to help with better balance and across the pasture she came.  It was Lilly , the little hen that I was so sure wouldn't live ! Down that hill, she ran, hopping along when she got going to fast for her legs to keep up. Across the flat area, and under the ring fence she ran- right across the ring to ME. She stood there, panting from her LONG trip to us.... asking to be picked up because she sure wasn't comfortable just standing there, all by herself.

And so there I was....  teaching a riding lesson, carrying a half grown Lavender Orpington hen ! She was so happy to be 'safe' with her foster mom and was content to be there in my arms.  When we were all done with the lesson, I carried her across the ring, and SHE had to walk the rest of the way up the hill to the barn. I bet Lilly slept well this evening. 

 It turns out that I am also loved by a chicken.

She tries hard to act like it's not important to be around me.

  This is Lilly walking towards me in the barn....

Here she is again- I can't go far with out her running along behind- Or in Front of me.

Birding At WoodFinn

6.26.12

Summer Just arrived, and this past Spring we have had a good number of bird nests around the farm... one in our forsythia by the house- three little Robins. One in the hitch of our horse trailer- Smart mama Robin- no rain, no winds, no hot sun for her babies. One up in the hay loft- I believe those were Starlings... And one in the upper corner of the barn aisle, near the over head sliding door. Those are Carolina Wrens...http://www.berkscountyweb.com/birds/carolina_wren_1.htm
. that mama did a superb job of hatching / raising her family.  Teeny tiny small little birds- amazingly good parents, they were. We knew the eggs had hatched and had seen the mama Wren flying into the barn, feeding her little family many times.

This evening, however, one of the students wanted to get her horse used to the overhead door opening and closing while she was right there. So, I closed it and opened it a LOT. Finally the horse figured that the sliding door was only just a wee bit scary, and decided that perhaps stealing some hay was a better idea. Than being so scared one had to jump about and act like a goofball....

In doing this raising and pulling closed again- the door rattled and banged some. Apparently, this scared the now "big enough to fly"  baby Wrens. A friend had stayed to watch the (obvious) torture of the horse, and was learning as well. Something ever so small flew right across the barn aisle to the stall door on the other side! It was a little Wren- right out of the nest. My friend tried to catch it before the barn kitties saw it, and discovered that little bitty Wren youngsters are FAST. It flew into the wash bay and scurried into a small hole in one corner. ( the mice use this...)  After much searching and moving of stored items, the little bird was found. Ever so gently it was carried out of the barn so the mama Wren could find it easily.

Then there was Another one.  This one flew real well it turned out. We never did catch it, but we all hoped it would be fine, and live to tell it's tale .... There was one left behind in the nest and as I was leaving, I saw the mama Wren bringing it some tasty snacks. I'm Sure she will find the other two and care for them as well. I felt so bad at disturbing the babies- never even thought they were of flying age. I wish them well  !  Here it is, clinging to the block wall and trying to blend in...

 Wrens are one of my favorite wild birds. So terribly small and fragile, but mighty as can be.

All kinds of new stuff !

6.26.12
We have been busy lately- getting things neatened up, cleaned up and < oh my>  Put Away ! I took an afternoon to work in the tack room last week. Only half of it, mind you. The half where all of the riding equipment is stored. Racks for saddles, bridles, boarders equipment tubs, and a movable saddle rack with three of my saddles on it. Everything got pulled away from the walls on the left side, and the carpet swept as well as one could. Then I re-arranged the tack boxes, slid the movable saddle rack over to the other side. This way, ALL of the boarders items now are on one side, while my tack is on the other, along with a BIG picture window, and the "feed" area.  I'll have to get some pictures of it. Its much more organized now, and easy to get to things.

Then the next day or so, I got busy in the Other half of the tack room. Again- ALL items pulled out, sweeping of much crud and mouse pooh accomplished. Oddly enough, I found things I'd not seen in a good long time ! I found two pairs of rubber boots for rainy weather, a box full of gauze 4x4'' pads and more. The older drafter show harness was re-placed, the pretty table was moved, and wiped down, the books got re-organized for reading, the chairs cleaned off, and many things were simply tossed because I didn't need to keep them any longer. And things were really looking nice again.

There are a few working students here who have really proven their worth. They're willing to help when needed, and make our barn so much happier.

 Two more horses are moving in next weekend, so I need to convince the two Lavender youngsters that they must behave like chickens ( which they ARE) and sleep in the hen house with the others.

The little goatie girls will be moved to the end of the barn where their new 'stall' will be. Of course, until I sell a cart, one is going to be sitting in the aisle at that end of the barn , but it will work fine. I need to buy a 12' gate for one side of their new stall ( we are dividing one in half) and a way to let them in /out will need to be created too. ALL by this coming weekend !  I found a perfect gate for them at a near by farm store, and will go get that tomorrow, so half of it will be accomplished.


It has been a busy couple of weeks, but enjoyable. Summer is here and among some VERY hot days, there have been delightful summer days with low temperatures and low humidity. I wish THAT summer weather would just stay .

''Chicken herding Goats'' ????

6.5.2012

Well, it seems I've seen it all.....  Have to explain this before it'll all make sense.

We have goats.

 Not "just goats" but Tennessee Fainting Goats ( Aka- Myotonic Goats). There are two of them- Misty & Malibu. By now they're around 5 months old. They arrived here via a good friend who raises this great breed of goats. I posted some photos of them in earlier blogs here, but now ? They have grown, and get into ALL things left around. Sweat shirts, soda bottles, water bottles, chicken houses, and more.... Its' a 'goat thing', I have learned from past goats. I have always wanted to try my hand at raising goats- and what better ones to have around a farm.  They stay small, are easy going, and not getting stressed much over things. But the best part is they Faint !  I always feel sorry for them when they do, but they're learning that bopping over onto the ground with all four legs stuck out straight is a normal thing. Goats with a sense of humor, they are .

SO, back to the other evening....The goat girls had been allowed to be loose in the barn and around the barn for the evening, while my working student & I got horse stalls cleaned ( actually SHE did the hard stuff- Thanks Dani !) , turned drafters out for the night, and brought the 'little' horses in after a long day outside stuffing their happy little faces. It was my assignment to find the new Lavender Orp chicks ( now almost full grown) and entice them to come into the barn and into their "house"-  the end horse stall- for the night. I found them, and Misty & Malibu had come along with me. They see me as a funny looking foster mom, I think.... anywhere I go, They Go. If I'm "lost" and they don't see me, they begin calling " MAAAAAAAAAAAA ! MAAAAAAAAAAA" in very loud goatie voices. Its not long before I call to them, and they come a-runnin in my direction.

Here I am- trying to get two rather independant young chickens from the outside of the barn and into the barn where they'll be safe for the night.  M&M are close on my heels, venturing out to grab a piece of weed, or to graze on some sweet clover. I get the Orps into the barn and they over shoot the stall door. When at full speed ( at least for short legged goatie girls ) - Here come Misty & Malibu up the aisle !  They run right past me, scaring the chickens, and stop at the other end of the barn. Misty realizes she has no clue where her "ma'' is and turns around, looking for me. She sees me waaaaaaaaaaaay down at the other end of the barn as does Malibu. Jokingly I tell them to
"Come on Girls- bring those chickens down to me ".... they come at a canter back down the aisle way- actually Chasing the two young chickens in my direction !  All I had to do was to be sure their door was opened, ( get Misty Back out of the chickens' night stall) and slide their door shut.

Laughing at all of these antics was grand - we ALL need a good belly laugh now and again, and that few minutes of goat herding gave us ours !

Life on this farm is good..... I have goats to now to help herd the chickens in for the night .

Photos ! 6.1.2012

Glenn & I walked up to the barn last night and took the camera.... It had been a Beautiful early summer day with low temps and low humidity. I got SO much accomplished outside, I am paying for it today. Back pain kept me awake most of the night, so 'someone' is going to sleep real good tonight , for sure.

Danielle Sheaffer ( more about all of this later) was here, as was Michelle G. to help out with the morning barn work. Thank Goddess and God for these great people !  If it wasn't for help, I'd be lost until this back/ hip/ right leg gets straightened out.
*Thank you to ALL : Joan, Shanna, Jaide, AJ, Dani L.,Sam G., Amber (who has moved on to other jobs now) And to anyone else who has volunteered their precious time to help out at the barn !!
So while those gals were getting the heavy work done, I mixed dinner feeds, and got Evie out of her stall and into cross-ties. She got curried, and vacuumed til she gleamed in her summer coat. Then she got clipped and looked simply Fantastic. By then most of the other things were done, and we headed towards cars and the house. Danielle was going to bring her stallion, Doc, over to use the ring and I decided that mowing was a good thing to do. After all, it Wasn't walking at all- I get to ride :)

And mow, I did !  Got the whole barn area mowed, the whole ring , which was knee deep in places, and set the driving cones back up. Thanks to drafters grazing in the ring, not One was left standing.

When Glenn & I got up to the barn , the mares were all grazing happily in the cooler weather, and BoJangles was contentedly feeding his face too.  It was great- Evie & Lynn chose to not come to the gate so we could get some nice action pictures, but we got a few anyhow. Abby came up the hill in her pasture to get some peppermint treats, and I got a few shots of her . Turns out we took a TON of pictures !

With out further adieu - Here's some of the shots Glenn & I took :

 First is of BoJangles...

then 3 shots of the newly mowed ring !

Then I tried calling Lynn & Evie ( our two Percheron mares)

to come get some cookies... it worked for a little bit.

And then it didn't .....

Ahhhhhhh, oh well.... back to grazing 

That's Evie in front, Lynn behind

Most likely the best mare I have ever owned...

Lynn

See ?  Grazing was more important than horse treats !

Evie had an itchy ear....

Ahhhhhhhhhh, that's better now.

Abby, however, NEVER turns down a chance for horse cookies !

Glenn feeding Abby her favs- peppermints !