It is early this year for the birds to lay so profusely. The geese have even started to lay and usually they have not been interested until May at the earliest. Evecn the turkey has laid an egg! I know the tom turkey has certainly been very adept at showing himself off, drumming and fanning for his two hens and the chickens who are at all interested, but most are not. 
I would like to say that the eggs come pristinely clean from the nests, but they seldom do, even when I put fresh straw in the boxes. The turkey and goose nests are barrels with ovals cut for openings and they have a piece of cemet board for a roof and another peice of plywood for a screen to their entrance, just enough to make them believe they are private. That is essential for nesting. They need to think they have chosen a spot that is safe from predators and prying inquiries. 

It is too early really for any to hatch the eggs on this farm since they have no enclosed area in which to rear their young. They do have areas that are protected but not from the elements except in the coop. This year, my plan is to remove the babies as soon as they are hatched, that is from the guineas, the geese and the ducks, because they loose to many to the ravens. The chickens seem best at protecting their babies and keeping them out of harms way, so I will attempt to have the chickens hatch and raise the ducks and goslings this year and see what happens. Some babies, I think I will have to brood, or at least eclose the mothers until the babies are big enough that the ravens and hawks leave them alone. Last year, there were about 80 ducklings hatched all in a couple of days, and in the first day, over half of them were eaten by predators. The dogs do not seem to bother with the ravens, likely because the chickens fly as well. 

The goose eggs that are too early, such as these, go to the Easter egg painters, particularly the Ukrainian egg artists. These two goose eggs are already spoken for. I sell the goose eggs for $5 each at this early stage. They may have gotten too cold to be viable for hatching, but they could certainly be eaten or blown out for decorating. 

The turkeys on the farm are cross bred Standard Bronze heritage turkeys and wild turkeys, with little of the wild and more of the bronze. They look quite amazing in the sunlight when their feathers assume a life of their own, shining with hues of bronze, gold and brass in the sunlight. They lay a large speckled egg. The eggs, like all eggs, are white and the second to last function is to lay down colour on the egg, prior to the bloom, which protects the egg from bacteria and keeps the moisture in so it does not dehydrate, yet is porous enough so the chicks can breathe. It is really very amazing! 

I am grateful for the birds on the Fat Ewe Farm. Given that I was truly phobic and terrified of all birds, even the tiniest sparrow or hummingbird, when I first arrived, I have evolved and conquered my fears with much effort and steel of will. I can pick up a turkey or a goose and am not in the least bit afraid. Only going into a coop where there are roosters and hens flying at me, is the last of my hair raising fears, and I am conquering that too, thanks to the Fat Ewe Farm birds. These initial eggs are being sold as hatching eggs and the excess are going to be used to make dog biscuits. Great stuff, really. Ewe ought to try some. 

Gosh ducklings and goslings are cute! The last of the hatch was out today, with just a few goose eggs to go. The eggs were collected early in spring when the temperatures were still very low and although they were likely fertile, they were not viable. The ducks laid in their shelter and the chickens in their nesting boxes, but the geese were laying outside in makeshift nests. Unfortunately, most of the eggs got chilled and only two geese out of 50 eggs hatched. There are four geese setting now though, and each has a dozen or more eggs, so most likely, many of those eggs will hatch. The geese adults all care for and protect the young goslings. Last year, the gaggle raised 5 mom hatched little gaffers and they all went into the freezer. This year, if the eggs all hatch, which is not likely, but possible, there will be more than 40 goslings. It will be more difficult to protect the babies from arial predators, particularly the ravens. I am not sure how to handle that, not wanting to lose the young ones, but at the same time, wanting to allow the gaggle to look after and raise their babies. Only Robbie, the border collie, chases the ravens off. The other livestock guardian dogs do not much bother with them, unfortunately. 

Two goose eggs pipped, that is the baby broke through the shell, but they have been in the shells too long now, and likely will die in the shell. It is usually not a good idea to liberate the hatchlings either, since they often die shortly after, especially if they are stuck to the shell or membrane and bleed from being released. There are a dozen more goose eggs still in the incubator due in a few days. Then hatching is pretty much over for this year. A hundred chicks and about 25 ducklings, plus 5 turkeys made it, and so far, just two little goslings. They are all living in the granary aka brooder house with two heat lamps (in case one light burns out in the night or anything else ). During the day, if it is good weather, the granary door is open with a wire cover in place to keep cats and ravens out, so the birds can get some fresh air and see outside. In a few weeks they will be transferred to separate pens, one for the waterfowl and the other for the chicks and turkeys. There they will remain until they are well on their way to adult hood and have gained the ability to fend off predators and watch for themselves, usually about at four months old. The males will be sent off to the processor at five months, and the females sold as laying hens or kept for breeding stock and laying hens for the farm. Then next year, the cycle will go on. That is the way of the hatch. 

The first hatch is underway. The cost of keeping birds is much less than buying hay for sheep and goats, and the eggs, chicks and adult bird sales far outweigh their upkeep. That is not so with the other animals on the farm, but at least something breaks even!
The incubators are not mine, but belong to two different friends. I am splitting the hatch with one friend and the other gets his pick of the birds, so it is a win win situation for me and for them. About 40 mixed duck eggs, Rouen, Saxony, Ancona and Khaki Campbell, plus Muscovy, and 15 Standard Bronze turkey eggs, 18 mixed geese, Tufted Toulouse/Embden/Pomeranian, and chicken, Ameraucana/Partridge and white Chantecler and a few others plus bantams are all in the incubator with the chicks due on April 26 and the waterfowl on May 3 and 5. Muscovy ducks take the longest to hatch, followed by the geese then ducks and chicks the shortest, at 21 days. Some of the hatch has been presold already. About the same time, or a bit later, the farm will be receiving an order from Performance Poultry with specialty birds so there will be waterfowl and chick brooders set up and ready to go. Three separate hatches will be made, with approximately 80 eggs per hatch. After that, if there is still interest, the hatch will be set by order only. Unclaimed birds will be raised and either sent to the processors or kept for layers or for sale as adult birds. In the summer the feed bill is very low because the birds free range and basically feed themselves. This year, the numbers of adult birds are too high for the small farm yard, so they will out to pasture with the sheep so the dogs can also watch over them. With the new fencing, it will be easier to pasture the birds. The fliers go where they wish anyhow, so basically it is the ducks and geese and a few of the chickens that will need supplemental grazing. The benefits of raising the birds are many from fresh pastured eggs to bug control to delicious dinners. And to think that when I began this venture three years ago, I had a terrible bird phobia and could not touch a bird, not even a newly hatched chick, let alone go in a coop. Now I can, though the odd time, I still get prickles on the back of my neck when the birds fly by my head. I actually like them now, especially the comical ducks. They are my favourites, hands down. The egg pictured is from a Standard Bronze turkey, and I even like them. 

Technology is good and bad. There was a time when reading about another's life was only in the newspaper or a good book, and now, blogging has become as much a part of communication as those old standbys. But, when technology crashes, so do the pictures and stories. I know better and still have not backed up my photos and data on my computer. Fortunately, mail and blog content is remote managed from a different server and would only be lost if those servers went down and content was lost. What I lost over the past week was minimal really, but it was not convenient. Photos had to be transferred one at a time, so I did not transfer as many and with missing keys and a non functional space bar on my old laptop, which I have kept for the great playlist and was so grateful to have it, I also did not write as much. Then there was the issue of the passing my friend and web master, which caused the .com domain to be inaccessible for nearly two full months. Power of attorney papers and identification of the executor and so on had to be provided before I could access my domain. As a result both .ca and .com now work for thefatewe. Frustrating as it also was, the ending developed to a good outcome really. 

Which leads me to the next topic, the daily hunt of eggs. It is like Easter every day on the farm. The free range birds do not always choose to lay in the many and differently situated egg boxes and they may just stop laying in a favourite spot for a reason only known to the hen, and look for a better place. So, the hunt is always new and interesting. Here is a photo of the new Standard Bronze turkey hen, or rather her tail, as she is laying her egg in the curl of the hay bale which has come down enough to make her think it is a safe and sheltered place for eggs. The ducks sometimes lay eggs on the ground almost as they waddle around and I try to collect them often throughout the day before the dogs or ravens find them. The dogs have gotten very good about not touching the eggs this year though, so that is less of a worry. The other nice treat is that the eggs are already dyed very pretty interesting colours, including bluey green, pink , light beige, dark tan and cream, plus of course, white. Thank you hens! and bless those little bodies that work so hard. 

Robbie helped me herd the new geese into their shelter for the night. They had taken over the bird pen and ousted the farm geese, which did not know where to go for the night then. So, I ousted them, reinstated the farm geese to their pen, and then after quite the round up, Robbie put them into their proper place. He is getting more and more skilled all the time. 

But the turkeys, well, that is another story. They spent 3 nights and days in a pen, a rather nice one, with food, water and a roost, plus a nice place to lay eggs for the hen. There was no way they were going back there though. They decided to fly up on the coop roof instead. It is remarkable that birds that big fly so well, but these heritage turkeys were the result of a cross with wild turkeys, and they certainly retained their flight abilities. So, up on the roof they were, making their turkey noises and not wanting to come down for no one , no where! Robbie and I left them up there and where they will sleep tonight, who knows, but it is not going to be a cold night. They are very hardy though and can withstand the winter roosting in trees apparently. They do have a barn and their own shelter, should they choose to go in for the evening. Silly turkeys!

The Standard Bronze turkey can be dated back to perhaps earlier than the 1700's when the settlers arrived with domestic turkeys and allowed mating to the wild turkeys. The resulting birds were much larger than the wild counterparts, and much tamer, so the breed became a standard. Being a hybrid, the hardiness and vigor was also increased and for two centuries, the Standard Bronze turkey was the most popular turkey. It gave way to the Broad Breasted Bronze turkey, which lost popularity to the White Broad Breasted turkey because the white feathers resulted in a cleaner carcass. The Broad Breasted Bronze and White turkeys cannot breed on their own, but the standard Bronze still can. The toms are over 30 pounds and the hens half of that. The hens make excellent mothers and will often raise a brood of their own turkey babies, called poults, each year. The breed is known for its less aggressive tendencies, however; there can be differences within the flock, depending on the breeder and selection. The Standard Bronze turkey is on the endangered list. The Fat Ewe Farm is hoping to build a small stable flock of Standard Bronze turkeys to keep the breed going, but also to have roast turkey from the farm raised birds. The turkey hen has laid two eggs, but the first one was frozen by the time I found it. If she appears to go broody, I will give her back the eggs I have collected and have her raise her own babies. It is not unheard of to have a chicken hatch the turkey babies, but they are more delicate than chicks and need more attention for a longer period of time. The Bronze turkeys are slow growing and do not mature until nearly a year old. Welcome to the Fat Ewe Farm, you lovely thangs!