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. 

This is one son. The picture simply does not do him justice, for he is beautiful. He has beetle green feathers and blue ears, a trait inherited from his Silkie ancestry. He stands with the cocky upright stance of a small bantam rooster and has very pretty neck feathers and five toes, another Silkie trait.

This is the father, the original Silkie/Ameraucana cross, one of the breeds being a bantam breed. The Ameraucana was a Blue Wheaton feather pattern, though the blue does not come through adequately in this picture. This rooster is excellent for the flock, calling the hens over when he finds food and sounding the alarm at overhead predators or passerbys. He also sings when the hens lay an egg, announcing the continuation of his progeny. There are seven roosters at the Fat Ewe Farm and 4 of them have to find new homes. The other male offspring of this rooster are available as well for ten dollars each.

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.

Here at the Fat Ewe Farm, many breeds of chickens have been tested. Black Australorp, Columbian Wyandotte, Jersey Giant, Speckled Sussex, Silver Spangled Hamburg, Japanese Bantam, Blue Orpington, and now Ameraucana and both, white and Partridge Chanteclers. The reason most of them did not make the grade is because they were not winter hardy. For example, the combs on the Jersey Giants are large, especially the roosters and they froze in the winter. The Japanese Bantams were not hardy enough and their feet froze. The Silver Spangled Hamburg is doing fine, and she is a good layer, but the rooster version is not nearly as hardy. The Orpington still here was kept because the dogs got her and ripped the skin off her back when they were young, so when the others went to the processor, she got to stay. She is sort of a pet, if there is a pet chicken on the farm. Her comb is not red or pink now though, and I suspect she may have worms. That is another subject because chemical wormers are only used as a last resort to save an animal.

The hardiest birds hands down are the white Chanteclers. They were bred in Canada by the monks, and his idea was to produce a very hardy, good sized dual purpose (meat and egg) bird. They are not pretty like some of the other breeds, just plain white with small combs and no wattles (hangy down thingys by their beaks). Those parts are what freeze on other breeds, so it is a good thing not to have them. But, they have not layed eggs this winter. The Partridge Chanteclers have layed a few and just in the last week, there have been two or three eggs a day. The eggs are small because the chickens are pullets, that is, they are young and just starting. Laying eggs takes a bit of practice and patience and hurts at first, like having a baby. So small eggs are better to start with than big ones. I am hoping the white Chanteclers will also start laying and the Ameraucanas, which lay blue/green eggs will too. Those white Chanteclers have been sleeping in the waterfowl house, which is an open three sided deep shelter. It is not warm in there, but it is protected from the wind and no snow gets in. The birds could go into either coop, but they do not seem to mind the cold. Bonus points to the white Chanteclers, pretty or not, for being winter hardy. Now let's see some eggs.

There is a rooster for the Ameraucanas and one for the white Chanteclers. I am hoping both will breed the others and I will end up with a super hardy winter tough mixed flock laying some blue and some brownish eggs. The bantams are crosses and they are as hardy as the Partridge Chanteclers, plus they have been laying the odd egg as well. Even though I check the nesting boxes frequently, at these frigid temperatures, the eggs have been freezing before I can harvest them, but I have managed to collect most. If I see a hen in the box, I go back and check often. So far, it is working.

Part of the sustainability of raising chickens is that no supplemental light or heat should be necessary for the right flock and they should still produce some eggs in winter. In the old days, the coops were hardly insulated, if at all, and the chickens survived just fine. Some were not watered, but left to eat the snow and they do do that, but I still give them water. The bantams do not drink it, preferring the snow. The only problem with the bantams is that they are so light, they do not produce a meat carcass. Otherwise, they are the best foragers and are very independent, all summer feeding themselves. Next winter, a huge manure/compost pile will be located in the chicken yard. The idea is that the heat from the pile will keep it thawed all winter and the chickens can forage and eat the worms and bugs and other tasty morsels from it, reducing their need for grain based food in winter. If it works, perhaps, grain can be eliminated completely.

The white Chanteclers are the breed to choose for winter hardy birds. Hands down. Second are the Ameraucanas and the Partridge Chanteclers, tied. Thank you chickens for your eggs, your bodies and your foraging. The farm would not be the same without you.

This is day 5 of extreme cold temperatures. The ducks have wads of poop frozen to their butts, because when they sleep, they poop and it freezes instantly to their feathers. Bathing in the icy water does not thaw the poop enough to remove it. If the wad grows too large, the ducks have to be submerged in warm water, brought from the house, to thaw the poop, or it could obstruct further poops. Gross! The chickens roost up higher, so they do not have that issue. The geese do, though, but not as bad as the ducks. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to go all the way up to minus 25, whoo hoo. I will definitely have to bring warm water for the ducks several times to thaw those bottoms.

I noticed the fat tailed Karakul sheep, Dora, has been off by herself the last two days. I did not see anything amiss with her, but today there was some blood near her tail so I grabbed her and had a very close inspection. Her tail, that is the inside of it, was missing - gone!. The skin was flapping without the tail. It is not the way the dogs or coyotes normally would eat a tail and has me puzzled. I think the livestock guardian puppies must have eaten it somehow from the top to the inside, but why would she have allowed that to happen? Dora is a submissive sheep. So I moved Dora in with the Icelandics, away from the pups. I did not see any blood on the pups either, which is strange. I am miffed and so sorry for Dora. How painful that must have been, whatever it was, that ate her tail while she still had it on her. Now, what do I do with the remainder?

Oh, yes, and the rest of the animals are doing OK. The three Blue Faced Leiscester sheep have been treated for pneumonia, but one was still shivering today. I will have to call the vet again and see what I should expect from the very expensive drug he gave her. The other Dorset ram lamb that had diarrhea was treated at his farm prior to his arrival, but maybe he was missed. I have been in a dialogue with the previous breeder. If he kept good records, he might be able to tell me more. I will have to take a fecal culture to the vet and find out what his problem is and get it fixed so the other sheep do not contract it. He and his wife are confined to a small enclosure pen away from the sheep, but the llamas are on the other side. They do not have fence contact though.

And, the rest of the birds, the guineas and other chickens are just trying to stay warm, which is not easy when there is no let up in the frigid cold this week. Brrrrr.

This is the broody hen number 2. She is likely Polish and Ameraucana, but one of those would have been the bantam version, meaning downsized chicken. She has the tufts of the Polish breed and lays white eggs. Perhaps she is part Houdan, another crested chicken. Her vision is slightly impaired by her feathers on top of her head, but she manages. Her young ones look very much like her. It appears as though the golden and black hen was the offspring of the Japanese bantam rooster. The others are most likely the result of the mating with the Ameraucana/Polish bantam rooster. This hen's genes are strong though, since each baby has a tufted head and a similar feather pattern to her. The two mostly black chicks are roosters and the the gold and black and black and white are hens. The mother is quite friendly and likes to be around people, but she is not tame. Her babies have similar dispositions, yet are a little more wary of humans. They are comfortable with the dogs and cats and often eat their meat while they are resting nearby. The dogs have been reprimanded for chasing the chickens off, since they are very large dogs in comparison and they do let the chickens eat their meat for the most part.
The hen and chicks roost in the trees for the night. They have been caught and locked in the coop for 5 days, hoping they would call it home for the nights so they are protected from the elements, yet they prefer the tree. The next time they are caught, they will have to live in a cage in the coop for some time, with the other broodies 10 babies that are a month older. There are several roosters in that brood too, and I am hoping they all get along. People have remarked on these chickens and asked to buy some. They are superior foragers and very good at looking after themselves. They do not eat much grain, but prefer the bugs and greens they find, yet the hen lays an egg a day. The problem is finding the nest. One was in the barn, one was in the bush, one was under the Juniper tree and another under the wood pile. Where she is laying now, I have yet to discover. Thank you for your gift of amazing babies, mother chicken. I am grateful.

She hatched 10, lost one immediately, and then in the next days, 5 more. The four she managed to keep are more to their credit than hers. Shortly after hatching, she decided to roost in the pine tree for the night and leave the babies to freeze on the ground. I got her out of the tree and took her back home for a few nights, then made a stairway up to where mom hen insisted on going, so the little ones could get up there too. They did not have flight feathers yet and were not able to regulate their own temperatures, much needing the warmth of mamma hen. It is a good thing she only had 4 babies when she decided to roost. There is no way she could have kept more than that warm all night perched on the branch she chose.

But last night for some reason, one chick did not make the stair way up. He peeped and called for help , but mom was deaf to his pleas and roosted in her tree. When I picked him up, he was shivering uncontrollably, so I held him in my hands and warmed him up. After he stopped shivering, I tried to put him in a branch of the tree, but by then it was dark and he did not move. Mom did not cluck to call him either, so he had no idea of where to go. So, then I got a ladder and put him beside his mother, where he happily snuggled under her wing and fell silent, glad to be warm and comforted. What a bad mommy!

 Broody hen number 2 is not the best mother. She lost 5 of her 9 chicks shortly after hatching them. They would call her loudly, while she wandered off to eat in another area. So many times, I have shooed her back to them or shooed them over to her and she nonchalantly continues on her way doing what she was doing with no mind to the babies. Two of the little ones are quite good fliers already and two are not or are too shy to fly very high. The broody has taken to roosting in the tree, fairly high up and the little ones cannot get up there. They stand at the bottom and scream for her and she thinks she has her brood though she only has the two that can fly. The first few nights I got the broody hen out of the tree and she clucked all the way back to the place she had the nest and stayed there for the night. But last night she was not having it. She wanted to stay in the pine tree and that was that. So, I made a stairway to Heaven for the two remaining chicks, who happily scrambled up to the branch and then figured out a way to get to mother hen. The same thing happened again tonight because the little ones did not remember how to use the walkway. After some encouragement they made it up the tree to mamma and there they are snugged against her, despite the rainstorm on its way. I sure hope she manages to keep the 4 of them warm enough on that branch.