Spring in February

It’s February 4 and the sun is shining and its about 40 degrees here in Michigan.  There is no snow.  This has been a weird winter but I like it.  We have had the hose to the barn run every week at least one day and many weeks every day, at least in the afternoon.  I love it when I don’t have to carry buckets of water.  On warm days I just fill several large buckets and it lasts me through most days when the hose doesn’t run.

 Today I opened up the coop door and let everyone have a day outside.  I am hoping that all will return home to roost and I am not trying to get turkeys out of the trees tonight.  All the birds were so restless, fighting and running around in the coop that I just let them out.  The guineas were the first out followed by a couple hens then the ducks.  Not all of them ventured out right away but I think they will.  The sun should be good for them all and they may even find a few green shoots here and there.

I put some nest boxes in big enough for turkeys in the coop last week.  The turkey hens have been trying to get in the chicken nests.  It looks like I have 3 tom turkeys and 3 hens.  At least 3 of them were doing a strut and circle dance in the coop.  I think I messed up with choosing the dark turkeys and left a tom instead of the old hen which I really, really regret.  It makes me sick thinking that she may be in the freezer. She was such a great mom.  They looked so much alike last fall.  I stared at them every day trying to sort them out.  But when you go to catching them things get confusing.  There is one dark hen so I am hoping the smaller one that I thought was a young hen just got bigger and was actually a tom.  Time will tell.

I have a duck sitting on eggs I can’t reach very well so I’m letting her sit.  Didn’t want babies until April but at least it will be March.  The other hen ducks are very interested in finding nests too.  The only bad part of letting the birds out right now is that they will roam all over looking for places to hide nests and this isn’t good outside nesting weather.  At least there aren’t many good hiding spots right now. 

 I have been trying to tell what sex the little wild kittens are- they are nearly cats now.  I hope they all aren’t female or we will have a population explosion. (They always find a tom somewhere.)  They won’t let me pick them up and look.  I haven’t seen any acting like they are in heat, that’s a good thing.  Steve keeps cooking eggs for them, they are spoiled little things.

The horses have been frisky and Chance is rubbing his winter coat off.  I wonder if he knows winter is going to be mild the rest of the season.  The groundhog did not see his shadow here so maybe this good weather will continue.   It’s just if the animals and plants get too many signals that winter is over and then we get a surprise clobber snowstorm or real cold weather it really hurts them.  And it’s so likely to happen.   But everyday I don’t have to carry water is a blessing and its one more day closer to true spring.

Later in the evening footnote.

I went outside around 5 pm to get all the birds back in the coop.  Most had came inside already.  However one turkey had flown into the dog kennel.  I was able to rescue him with just his tail feathers lost.  The guineas were all making their horrible noise outside because one of the flock had went over the fence by the pond and couldn't figure out how to get back.  Since I would have to climb down a slippery bank and back up on the other side of a fence to get to it, I waited a bit but he was still there after the others finally marched off to bed.   So down I went and back up, working carefully so I wouldn't fall into the icy pond.  When I appeared on the other side he suddanly remembered he could fly.  He went over the fence and was in the barn way before me.  Guineas are pretty stupid.

February 5- the birds stayed in the coop.  Maybe they'll get another outside playdate soon.