Mostly birds

It's dripping away here today. The temperatures rose to above 40 degrees a
small heat wave that is much appreciated after the cold we have been having.
But this wetness isn't as great for livestock and pets as people would
think. Many will get sick from the weather change. Wading and walking in
icy water in pens and pastures then walking in the still chilly air is one
reason. Heavy coats cause sweating and then animals get chilled from being
wet. Respiratory disease climbs in confined animals.

I take a cautious joy in the moderate warmth however. Even without much sun
the air smells like spring and the birds are starting to sing. Some
ambitious sparrows are building a nest in a drain pipe that became
disconnected by the house. They are flying back and forth with chicken
feathers from the barn to line their nest, making it fluffy and warm. They
seem to prefer white feathers, although we have fewer white feathered
chickens than dark and there should be less white feathers.

The birds at the feeder are starting to show a bit of spring mating color.
The starlings spots are fading and the yellow of the goldfinches is getting
brighter. My canary inside however, still isn't singing. He needs a mate
and I am determined to find one for him. Canaries are harder to find than
they used to be. I think I may try to raise some.

I'd also like to find a Bourbon red tom turkey. Checked prices for Bourbon
red chicks today and found them up to nearly $10 each. My hens are
excellent sitters, I bet they could hatch a couple hundred dollars worth of
chicks if they had a tom. They sat on a clutch back in December, I'm hoping
if I found a tom they'd lay again this spring.

Thinking about buying some muscovy ducks too. They are getting banned in
some states as they go wild easily and then compete with native ducks rather
successfully. But we had them years ago and I liked them. They are a South
American breed and are slightly different genetically from domestic ducks
and North American native ducks. They can mate with domestic ducks but
most of the young are sterile then. The males have a big ugly lump on the
face and are a lot larger than the females. There are many colors in the
muscovy.

Yep that's what I need, more animals to feed.