Counting my chickens

I have an accidental retrospective piece here today.  I could have sworn I posted it in July 2014 but no. 

I have committed one of the classic new farmer blunders.
It's so classic, in fact, that it has it's own cliche.

I counted my chickens before they hatched.  

Three broodie hens times let's say 10 babies each...
The broodies were sitting and we were hatching plans about how to house 30 babies.

The hatching started- three chicks- then more than a dozen were in the process of hatching!
"Isn't it particularly satisfying to have babies on R Farm again?"

The next morning we started to find the dead chicks.
Dead in the shell.  Dead on the floor of the coop.  

When I saw broodies pecking other hens' babies, we kicked them out of the coop.  Picking up dead and dying chicks, I was so furious, I told Tim to get me an axe because no baby killers were going to live on my farm.  He said, "There's been enough death."  And I let them live but secretly hoped they'd get eaten by the raccoon.  Grrr.

We borrowed a neighbor's incubator and put 15 eggs in there, hoping.  One which was in the process of hatching we returned to the broodie and later found that chick dead in its shell.
 
A day later of the 15 who hatched 4 were alive, including Lazarus, the chick we thought was dead but had only been sleeping.

Lazarus was never well and he hung on for three more days.  I felt I should put him out of his misery but I was hoping for a miracle.  Maybe he'd defy the odds and make it.  He struggled so much that I couldn't bear to watch or take photos.  And then, one morning, he didn't come for breakfast.

New life.
Violent and meaningless death.

Tough couple weeks on the farm.


Since summer and the heat of passion, we've reflected on this experience and intend to separately fence broodies this year.

Only two chicks made it to the end of summer.  The rooster we gave away and the other we kept.  We are not sure whether it blended in with the other white hens we got this fall or whether it fell to a predator.  Their mother was excellent and one we hope will brood again this spring. 

Chick-lings!

Last year we had ducklings and since then we've all been anticipating chicks, especially Mark who's been so excited for Brownie to have chick-lings.

After much brooding and waiting, we are pleased to announce 

the chick-lings are hatching!

Plan B

In the orchard, Tim recently found this

where his cherry tree had been

 along with a drag path all the way down the hill to the water.

 George Washington and his trusty little hatchet 

came briefly to mind.

But no.  

The trail to the water makes us suspect the beavers

which live in the pond just down the seasonal waterway from us.

Deer attempting to munch our fruit trees we anticipated

hence the deer netting.

Didn't see the beavers coming.

Between the beaver and the extreme winter,

Tim's lost all his apple and pear and most of his cherry trees.

We did replant two new cherry trees which we promptly enclosed in short metal fences,

hoping to at least make the beaver work for his lunch, 

thereby increasing his skill level and problem-solving experience, creating a super-herbivore, 

like those antibiotic-resistant super germs.

The fenced trees are still there so far

but a Nanking cherry bush went missing last week.

So we're planning on fencing all remaining trees and bushes individually with metal fence, seeing if it works 'til next spring, and if it does replanting more stuff.

I'm embarrassed to have been outwitted by an herbivore.

I'm very determined to win.

 And I'm really, really grateful that 

unlike the pioneers 150 years ago, 

I can definitely replace these trees 

and my family won't suffer hunger 

while I get my act together for

Plan B for Beaver.

R Popcorn

The first popcorn harvested on R Farm

saved from last fall for a special day

popped this week after a good day's work.

Field trip

Today Mama Phoenix took her chicks 

outside the greenhouse for the first time.

 One went surfing on mom's back.

 We're glad they're here.

In Memorium to Mama and five babies who died in a predator attack on Thursday morning. 
The five survivors are doing well.

Post hole digger

On a hot, muggy, super buggy day, 

Tim and Mark M prepare to dig a post hole

demonstrating the unwritten rule that the hardest jobs 

must be done in the worst conditions.

Down and up, down and up- 

a couple minutes to bore through loam and clay.

Another good, deep hole.

Got to love a man with power tools!

Thanks to the good folks of Adolfson and Peterson Construction for loaning Tim the auger 

and to Mark M for helping on such a lousy day.

Tim's Honeyberries

After a long, hard spring, Tim harvested 

R Farm's first honeyberries.

So yummy and hardy to Zone 2.  

Way to go Tim!