The little chicks are just over a week old and are developing their feathers. They had outgrown their big cardboard box in the porch, where they initially were kept so I could watch them closely. 

Today they went to the new place, the livestock trough brooder. There are two heat lamps in the trough, in case one bulb burns out. There is real hay on the floor of the trough, a big chunk of moist sod, food and some water, though the tray on the chick waterer cracked so tomorrow a new one or two will be in order. The sod is for dirt. They need the soil bacteria to help culture their digestive system and the grit in it to grind the whole organic grain they are being fed. I have ground the grain for the first week and will do so for a bit longer, but they are starting to pick at the whole grains too. 

I observe the little chicks cared for by the mother hens. The day they are hatched she calls them outside and they jump, walk, hop and manage to get to where she wants them to be, sometimes with a great deal of effort, but they do get there, nonetheless. They scratch the dirt, pick up the odd piece of grain and bits of grass and the chicks are exposed to wind, sun, rain and even snow recently. When they are cold, they peep loudly and mother hen warms them until they are calm. She warms them less and less as they develop their feathers and can begin to regulate their own temperature better. 

I have had great success with the livestock trough brooder.This old trough was free because it has rusted through in two places. I posted an ad looking for one and the gent was pleased to have it gone, as it was no longer useful to him for his cows. It is large. I have a smaller one too, and this year it is set up beside the bigger one, for goslings and ducklings when they hatch in the mom's nests. I cannot allow them to free range with their parents because the ravens eat them. There are three geese on about 30 eggs. 

After the chicks are out of the brooder, they go into a hoop coop with a heat lamp still in case of a chill. The hoop coop is 8 x 10 feet to provide ample growing room and it is movable, but the chicks all have to be caught and caged for moving. The geese and ducklings follow a similar path. 

These chicks are top of the line Ameraucanas, Cream legbars (and both those breeds lay blue eggs) and there are 3 white Chanteclers too. I am going to mix them with my existing chickens of those breeds, plus the Partridge Chanteclers I already have.  My aim is to create a wonderful, hardy, foraging flock that will lay eggs and raise chicks from year to year. I think this will be my last influx of new chicks for some time and from now on, just a new rooster will likely be added. 

And to think, upon moving here, I suffered a true bird phobia and was deathly afraid of chicks and chickens, well, all birds to be exact. It took 3 years to fight that phobia and I can finally say, it is gone. Now...back to check on the chicks. 

There is not much to report on with the chickens. They just hang around all day  in the spa and then move to the coop for the night. They have not really started going out of their winter pen, since there is nothing to forage, and unlike the ducks and geese, they are not drawn to the water puddles from the melting snow. They have started to lay eggs, with between 6 and 10 coming daily now. The young pullets have started to lay as well, but they choose the weirdest places, like the rabbit hutch or manger in the barn. They do not go in the coop for the night. Luckily for them, the winter was mild and they were able to stay in the shelter beside the coop without too much problem. No matter how many times I threw them in the coop and locked the door they returned to the shelter instead. Finally I gave up, except for the three who roosted outside in the pine tree. One perished that very cold night we had because I could not find him, but I did catch the other two and locked them in a little cage so they could not leave in the morning. Then they returned to the coop. 

The day spa is a double size hoop shelter with a window facing south. That window makes all the difference. They bask in the rays of the sun while being sheltered from the snow and wind. When winter was here in full force, the ducks and geese in the spa raised the temperature considerably as well. The ducks and geese slept there in the winter, out of the elements. At one point when we got quite a bit of snow, the roof began to sway and I had to knock all the snow from it and prop it up inside, just in case. 

These hens are 4-5 years old, the purebreds, and the cross breds are 1 to 2 years old. I will have most of them butchered at the end of the summer because I have new stock ordered. New Chanteclers, Ameraucanas and Cream Legbars will be hatched from eggs coming up from Calgary in April. Then they will be brooded in the granary out back of the little farmhouse, until they are old enough to join the chickens in the coop. Some will be sold too. Cream legbars lay sky blue eggs, Ameraucanas lay blue green eggs and white Chanteclers lay light brown eggs. The Partridge Chanteclers will likely be kept on, but I have not found a rooster in that breed yet, so they will marry the Ameraucana and the Chantecler roo.

Chickens provide bug control here and forage through the composting manure piles in the barn yard. The breeds are excellent foragers. In the summer, they are fed at the end of the day and must forage all day long. ON good days they eat very little grain because they are full of bugs and grass, the way it should be. Though the birds are tough when they are butchered, they are incredibly tasty and make the finest soups. I thank the chickens for their work and their eggs. I do appreciate them very much, even though they are not my favourite critters on the farm. They have a job to perform and they do it well. Today they were enjoying the sun at the spa, just like ladies do everywhere, clucking away to the other girls! 

Since June, several times a day as I gather the eggs from the nest boxes, I throw off this hen. She would find some eggs and pretend they were hers and want to hatch them, only other hens were still laying in the boxes, so I had to remove the eggs or end up with a fiasco of 40 some eggs, some broken, maybe maggots and nothing hatched. It is not good for the hen to sit in the box for months too, because it promotes the perfect environment for mites and lice. So far, she appears to be clean, thank goodness. 
But today an unfortunate incident occurred. A young chick of maybe a few weeks belonging to a different hen got trapped in the duck's water bowl and was there for a long time. The chick was cold and was falling asleep when I found her. I tried to give it to the mother, but she was not interested in waiting for the baby because she has 8 others to tend to. For a moment I was at a loss as to how best to warm and protect this little one. Then I had an idea. 
I gave the wet, cold and tired baby to this hen. I lifed her and tucked the baby under her wing. She began her clucking instantly and I breathed a sigh of relief. The Mother Clucker finally had her baby. She was puffed up and proud and chattered softly to her little foster chick. At last she was happy. 
Later when I checked on the pair, the baby was dry and was sneaking in and out of its new mother's warm feathers, quite content and  the hen was still clucking away to her baby. Goodness knows she sat there long enough to warrant a foster chick. Finally, she has her little one and all ends well. What a happy story from The Fat Ewe Farm .

Something is killing my birds. I was gloating for a while because the dogs do such a great job of keeping any predators away, that there had been no losses at all, other than illness or accident. Then, without warning, something killed a Muscovy duck and ate her neck only. That predator did not come back the next day, or if it did, it took its prey away. The next day and every day thereafter, it has come back and killed and eaten the neck of mostly ducks, probably because they are on the ground and very easy to catch compared to chickens, but it also has gotten two chickens. I have set a trap and reset it too, but I do not actually know what I am trying to catch. 

Predators that eat the neck only are Great Horned owls, mink and sometimes weasels, though they usually prefer to puncture the throat and suck the blood of not just one, but several animals at a time. Skunks and racoons also may be the culprits, but the larger the animals, the less likely it is that they would penetrate the defense the dogs offer. They are formidable when working in their pack. 

I have a friend with a wildlife camera who offered to set it up for me, but he has not yet shown up. Another friend offered to set traps, other than my live trap that I have already set, and he also has not shown. Good intentions, but no follow through as of yet does not help me. In the meantime, a dozen birds hare gone, or rather the necks of the birds are gone and the rest is in tact, but of course dead, dead dead. 

What to do? I will call my friend with the camera again and try to get that set up so I know at least what it is and what time to expect it. The camera has a clock that shows exactly what time the motion is detected and the filming starts. That tool would be excellent, but if he is too busy now to help, I will just go and buy one, as I am sure it would come in beneficial in the future too. My poor little birdies. I feel so sorry for them being terrorized and eaten, blood spilled and bodies munched right before their eyes. Tonight I locked them in the coops. That could be good or bad. If it is a weasel, they can fit through very tiny openings and since the birds have no escape being locked in, the weasel could kill many. If it is a larger predator, he will have to bust through wire to get in and that might cause commotion enough to bring the dogs, and I did leave the pen gate wide open so they can move easily without having to jump in. No fence can keep them out if they want to go in. They jump. Good dogs. Now, let's get that predator so we can relax again. 

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. 

There are over 100 chicks, 4 turkey poults and about 20 ducklings in the brooder so far. Tomorrow the ducklings need to be separated because they use up all the water and make such a big mess, it just isn't fair to the chicks. The turkey poults do not know how to eat or drink on their own and that is something, when the turkey mother hatches her eggs, she teaches the babies to do. Otherwise, they must learn on their own from watching the chicks or if they are by themselves, their human caretaker must show them by giving them the food and taking them to the water and dipping their beaks into it. It is so much easier when the mothers hatch their babies and care for them, and the babies are so much smarter. Last year, I carefully observed newly hatched chicks. The mothers took them around the barn yard, showing them what food was good, how to drink water and when they got cold, she called them to her and brooded them right where they were. In the first week, the young ones cannot regulate their own temperature yet, and need to be very warm, so the mother broods them very often, but they also are out and about and running over and under grasses and straw. Humans tend to coddle the chicks, not giving them straw, thinking it will cause their legs to splay, but in the real world, they are everywhere. The better mothers watch their babies closely and defend them fiercely. No one dare get too close or she will rush at the intruder and peck hard and scratch and puff herself up to appear a ferocious as she is acting. Human raised chicks miss all that fun. These babies will live in the granary brooder for a month, then be transferred to a hoop coop with a heat lamp in the corner. There they can experience the sunshine and fresh air and learn how to cope with the wind. Some will be kept to breed next year, but most, if not sold, will be put into the freezer for delicious meals in the winter. Their lives are honoured though, and they are loved and appreciated very much. Thank you little feathered friends, thank you so much. 

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. 

OK, I know it isn't officially spring, but the days have been so warm, that the snow is rapidly melting. The animals have come alive and are robust and full of joy. The little ewe Jacob, one of Stephen's daughters, jumps with pleasure when she is about to be fed, straight up into the air off all fours and so does her father, though she has never met him. 
The goats are playful and the ewes are relaxed as their bellies are growing with their little ones. But the ones that are the happiest are the birds. Cooped up all winter in two tiny buildings, only out to eat and drink and then back in to stay warm, they now have the run of the barnyard. The Ameraucanas love to hang out with the adult ewes and are in their pen, eating the Great Pyrenees dog meat and scratching through the sheep manure for worms or eggs or whatever they find there. One little hen found a composting pile with dirt on top, which was fully thawed and she was in Heaven, bathing herself in it. A duck fell asleep, soundly, on a pile of straw, abandoning all cares. Normally the Khaki Campbell ducks are a little flighty and getting close enough for a good picture is not so easy. The geese are searching for nesting areas, so I made three for them today. There are four females and I will have to come up with a fourth nest in the area for her. As a reward for their freedom, the hens laid a dozen eggs today. Thank you my little chickens! The problem with free range chickens, though, is they lay the eggs in strange places, like the straw pile or the hay bales. There were two duck eggs too and soon, it looks like the geese will start to lay as well. The bunnies will visit the buck and there will be little bunnies...oh the fun of spring is wonderful on a warm day. 

So far, the ducks, geese and guinea hens have not laid eggs in the winter, which is a good thing, because the ducks lay them on the ground which is frozen and the eggs freeze. Last year, they started to lay in February. The eggs froze and then the ravens discovered them and they waited. The moment an eggs was laid they swooped down and stole it. This year, the ducks will be kept in their coop until noon. Usually they lay before 10 am but there is a straggler occasionally.

The Partridge Chantecler chickens have laid faithfully all winter. There are five hens and usually there are three eggs. The day before yesterday, three light Sussex hens and two gold laced Wyandottes were added to the coop. They did not lay the first day, which is to be understood. They were indoor chickens in the winter and are still afraid to venture outside, but the food and water is outside, so they will have to eventually. Today one of the light Sussex laid an egg and in the other box, a Partridge Chantecler was busy laying too. Usually there are not enough eggs to bother selling them in winter. The dogs get the excess in one big omelet. I did collect two frozen eggs today as well. The temperature did not get above minus 22 C and is going down to minus 30 again tonight. If the eggs are not collected within an hour of being laid, they are frozen and cracked. I try to go out four or five times a day, but still miss the occasional one. There was an Ameraucana egg today too, laid on the floor of their coop, even though they have a nest box. Silly chicken! Winter is a hard time for all.

There are three coops on the Fat Ewe Farm. One is an open hoop shelter covered with a tarp and it even has a window on the south side, a favourite spot of the goose who loves to bask in the sun. The long coop houses the ducks and geese, but the guineas and some of the chickens also hang out there during the day. There is a dust bath of wood ash as a spa enticement, and a dish of oyster shell or another of gravely dirt to go along with the grain lunch. This coop just got a good layer of fresh hay, which the birds eat from as well as snuggle into.

The next coop is the insulated pink coop with a window and pop door. There are three rows of perches and a cage which housed the wayward bantams who were locked in at the start of the brutal winter because they preferred to be in the tree. After one froze and fell out, the rest were caught and caged, since locking them in was only good for as long as the door was shut - then they high taled it back to the tree roost. Now they roost ON the cage instead. Gross! The perches remain clean, but the cage is yucky. The guineas, Chanteclers, and bantams live in this coop, plus the Muscovy ducks, who like the climate better than the waterfowl house. This coop has an infrared heat lamp for those who like to bathe in the warmth of the light, and nest boxes in case they are inclined to lay an egg, which the Partridge Chanteclers have done all winter long.

The third coop is a hoop shelter half covered with plywood and corrugated plastic. It is not insulated but has a cool design that keeps the heat in very nicely, with the birds providing the majority of the warmth for themselves. The Ameraucanas have adopted this coop, plus the white Chanty rooster and a few of the bantams. They do not mix with the rest of the birds for some reason, likely because they were raised in isolation from any contact for the first 8 weeks of life. They are flighty and unfriendly towards chickens, humans and dogs. I would suspect that their poor socialization is the reason for their self isolation. I plan to keep the eggs and raise a new bunch of Ameraucanas from them and sell these to one who does not mind their unfriendly demeanor.

And that is who lives in the Fat Ewe Farm coops.