The 2 bantam chickens went to Tim's co-worker where they'll have an enclosed run, safe from predators. We've been hoping to get them safely relocated since we identified the mystery chicks as a breed unsuitable for foraging. Too small to eat, too slow to run, and too mellow to forage isn't going to work. They are cute as buttons, are a breeding pair, and should lay lots of eggs- a good fit for Tom's place. Everyone was pleased with the arrangement. Good luck guys!
Livestock principle #1: Livestock need to be good fit workers for our style and goals in farming. They are not pets nor do we want to needlessly set them up for failure.
Mama Muscovy and the ducklings went home with our new neighbors, Kifah and Mark, who are budding permaculture farmers on the next block. We'd anticipated from the beginning that the three adult ducks would never be truly tame and that we would keep their babies. However, Elvis and The Groupie (the other male and female) kept swimming across the pond to our neighbor's property and messing up their garden. So we Craigslisted them. Mama Muscovy had done so very well brooding and we had put up deer fencing so we'd hoped that she'd lead her babies into good habits, but no. The call of the water was too seductive. She and a dwindling number of ducklings (3 of 6) were down in the pond living the high life, not up eating wasps and flies like we'd "hired" them to do. Mama's a good mother and the three remaining ducklings are hardy survivors. We wish Team Muscovy well at their new place! This concludes our Muscovy experiments for 2013.
Livestock principle #2: Good livestock stay home and do their work. They do not cause trouble.
The Guinea Guys, the four adults- 3 male and 1 female- we bought this spring, are now at Kifah and Mark's farm as well. We had also anticipated from expert advice (thanks, Sam!) that these adults would never be truly tame and would tend to wander. And, lo and behold, they did. Just got a email from the same long-suffering neighbors on Saturday saying that the guineas are regular visitors whose shrieking freaks out their dog. Unlike the ducks, the guineas had been doing their jobs at home eating ticks and had only been insanely noisy a few minutes a day. Not great brooders, not tame, and didn't bond to our territory, but that was exactly how they'd been advertised as adults so it was no surprise. Best wishes Guinea Guys! I hope you roam in good health.
Livestock principle #3: Do not expect livestock to behave contrary to their nature.
Kifah and Mark took 3 home last night and in true guinea style, the fourth one didn't come home until this morning. Anjali and Kiley lured her into the greenhouse, captured her, loaded her into a dog kennel, and walked her over to Kifah and Mark's in our little red wagon.
Way to go Anjali and Kiley!
Since they were doing their job and we have time to prepare for success before they leave their coop in a month, we decided to keep the 8 newly hatched babies, called keets, and experiment with keeping them home as babies so they will know their territory as adults. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted.
Aaawww!
Baby keets
I wondered if keets would be adorable or ugly or so ugly they're adorable.
Surprisingly, they are adorably leopard striped and cute.
Huddled asleep
I have a soft spot for guineas so I hope they'll stay home and do their work. If not, roast guinea it will be.
Livestock principle #4: Livestock who do not fit are still an asset to be shared with friends in the Dance of Kindness as livestock or lunch.
On the up side, we still have 13 chickens left- 2 roosters for mating, Mark's amnesty rooster Brownie, a sneaky rooster who missed being culled but will be, and 8 egg layers who haven't laid anything yet. By the end of summer, Sam, the guinea guy, is going to buy me another dozen pink egged hens ready to lay. I feel poultry poor, so maybe I'll up it to a dozen and a half or maybe two if the guinea hypothesis doesn't pan out.
Mark, poultry photographer
Really free range chickens
Yesterday a friend inquired about our farm and I said, "Well, we're failing our way to success. At least I hope it's toward success because we are doing a lot of failing."
Just like we tried a number of different gardening hypotheses- planting over 150 different kinds of plants and multiple varieties of the same plant in at least 4 different styles of agriculture so we could compare and contrast them- we also tried three very different kinds of poultry, three different breeds of chickens, and three different kinds of housing. We learn best by comparing and contrasting. Trying different hypotheses and seeing which one works best is hard work and yet now we've learned things.
We've learned that purebred, expensive chickens are not necessarily a better fit than a healthy hybrid.
We know that the drought year's 'meadow' is the wet year's 'pond' and that trying to keep water fowl home working when the property line runs through a pond is futile.
I've learned that I like the look of plumper chickens more than skinny, scrawny ones.
I've learned that I'm a sucker for a handsome rooster.
We know that wooden housing is our preference contrary to our early hypothesis that the greenhouse would be nicer. It was better for winter at least initially when we had to confine guineas and ducks for a month and we'll see about this winter. I thought plastic would be better than wood, too, and for sleeping quarters only, again spring-fall, it is nice and very easy to clean and move around. However, good old-fashioned wood, heavy though it may be, really looks like the front runner for winter so far. We'll keep you posted.
Poultry yard- new location and additional coops- wooden and plastic
We are failing but we had anticipated failing from the beginning which is why we didn't put all our eggs in one basket, all our chickens in one coop, or all our hope in one bird.
Good luck, Muscovies!
Best wishes, Guinea Guys!
All the best, Mystery Chicks!
We've been failing very successfully.
Now let's hope we fail all the way to success.
And eggs.
How much longer 'til pink eggs?
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