horses and turkeys

My husband told me when I came home from work yesterday that there had been a few cars stopping in the road by the pasture to look at the horses.  I wondered why that would be since Lucky is six weeks old and most people around here have seen him.  After dinner I went out to enjoy the fresh air a little after being inside all day.  I wandered out into the back by the pond and there the horses were.    They decided to put on a show for me.  Lily was obviously in heat and Chance was trying to breed her.  I won’t go into details here but trust me when I say that horses breeding can be pretty amazing.

 Little Lucky would stand off to one side while Chance was trying to mount Lily but that little stinker tried to mount her himself when Chance wandered off for a minute.  He’s only 6 weeks old.  I guess living in a family group he gets to see it all and get big ideas. 

 I now know why people were stopping in the road.   The horses have all kinds of room now as we opened up more pasture but they had to go up by the road to breed.

 I found a little baby duck wandering around under the feet of the bigger birds peeping frantically on Sunday morning.  Happy Mothers Day.  No one claimed him- three ducks are sitting on eggs and one had been off her nest for several days, something got her eggs.  The sitting ducks weren’t due to hatch yet.  I guess one egg somehow hatched early.  Big mystery.  I put the little one in with the chicks in the brooder and he settled right in and quieted down once he warmed up.

 The bronze turkey hen that hatched her eggs in my sweet corn last year has been jumping the fence from the poultry yard and going around to my raised herb bed to nest.  This bed runs right along the fence that keeps the dogs from eating the birds and they have been barking at her as she sits but it doesn’t seem to faze her.  I had made several nice nesting places in the poultry yard but none of those must have appealed to her.  She has 2 eggs in under the herbs now.

 We have a junk pile in the back of the barn.  We try to keep it small but you have to have a junk pile.  There’s an old van bench seat on its side in the pile and another turkey is laying under there.  Turkeys have strange ideas as to good nest sites, although that place is probably better than the herb bed next to the dogs.

 My canaries have been a big disappointment to me.  While the hens have built elaborate nests and are even sitting in them from time to time there have been no eggs.  I don’t know why- they are getting top quality food, the males are singing like crazy, I have seen them mate- just no results.  Breeding season will be over soon and I think this one has been a dud here.  This weekend I am going to move one cage to another location and see if that helps.

 The wild birds have been pretty successful breeding.  I hear cheeping everywhere around the barn.  The birds are at the feeder non-stop and the jelly and suet disappear quickly.  I have a little downy woodpecker that has learned to perch on the hummingbird feeder and drink out of it.  I just worry he will try to enlarge the holes.  Dames rocket, autumn olive, honeysuckle and comfrey are all blooming for the hummers to feed on.

 Ah such beautiful bountiful spring weather.  I wish it was like this all year round.

It may have felt like spring in March this year but now I know it’s truly here.  We had a whiz bang all night storm that left us with 2 inches of rain.  And when I opened the barn door this morning the barn swallows were back, chirping as they swooped around.   At the bird feeder today I saw the first hummingbird.  And of course there are new baby chicks in the brooder in the barn.

It was a misty, grey, and humid morning, the kind frogs love and they are again singing their heads off.  The turkeys were extra noisy too, gobbling, fighting and mating.  And then there was the Guineas- the silly things have sort of paired off and one pair would be here yelling and another there and still another there.  Add that to birds singing lustily and roosters crowing, horses neighing and it was a concert.

It is much quieter here in mid-afternoon.  Even the dogs are sleeping. My canaries are singing and a robin somewhere outside is calling, but the barnyard is quiet.  The sun is trying to come out.  From my office window I can see the rumps of Lily and Lucky, one big blond tail swishing and one little fuzzy black one.  The horse flies are out too. 

Chance, the stallion, is back with the two of them but Lily really makes him toe the line.  He is not allowed too close, although I was glad she allowed him to stand at the edge of the run in shelter this morning out of the rain.  She takes any treats I give him away unless I stand there and keep her from doing it.  He tries to keep me away from Lily most of the time, as stallions tend to do, but that’s hard because when she wants something  from me she’s right there and he better not be.  I just have to be wary of flying hooves.

I sponsored a chick sale at work and had over 400 chicks in my office at Extension waiting for people to pick them up.  Talk about noise!  Those poor unhappy babies can really peep.  As each person picked theirs up it got quieter and quieter, finally I shared a ride home with 6 little leftovers.  They joined the 18 I had put in my brooder that morning.    I have some Black Jersey Giant pullets, first time I have raised that breed, some new Ameraucanas, some Rhode Island Reds and of course some of my favorite breed, Isa Browns.

I also ordered 8 assorted bantams to round out an order someone else had placed.  It’s always fun to watch these assortments grow and find out what they are.  I was hoping for silkies but none really look like it.  I am guessing most are Old English Games of various colors.  They will probably be sold as they get older.  One of these days I will have time to sit and watch them for a while and decide what they are.

I was looking around the place this morning and thinking about all the things that still had to be done, spring housecleaning, barn cleaning, mowing, kennel cleaning, flower bed weeding, vegetable planting, chopping down dead trees, the list goes on.  Sometimes the work seems unending, but I wouldn’t want to live in the city again.  Anytime I get to sit around and watch the chickens peck or horses graze makes it all worthwhile.

The winds finally let up after 4 days of howling northeast or northwest winds.  Even though the temps got up to 60 or so I couldn’t stand it outside.  The wind really irritates me and makes me feel worn out.  I thought I was just an odd wind hater but at a meeting of gardeners last night everyone was complaining about the wind.

 Today was much nicer, the wind was light, the temperature above 60 and it was sunny this morning although high clouds have filtered the sun now.  The birds were singing and it was a pleasant spring morning.  I had to go into town for chicken feed so I took the back road and I noticed a large rock near the side of the road.  I decided to stop and pick it up for my flower bed.  I then decided why not pick up a few more to outline a new bed I was thinking about making.

 I was driving along stopping to pick up rocks along the road and edges of fields that had just been plowed up when a guy came out from his house laughing and said his wife had seen me from the window and guessed I was collecting rocks for a rock garden.  He said they had a pile of them I could drive right up to if I wanted.  So I did and filled the floorboard of the passenger side.    I was afraid to get too many as my shocks aren’t too good but I wish I had collected just a few more.

 The people around here probably think I’m nuts as I am always stopping the car to take a picture, pick up a plant sample to identify or collecting rocks.  Oh well eccentricity is allowed as you age.   At least my slow ride along the back roads wasn’t as eventful as another lady’s who I saw just after I picked up my rocks.  She had driven her small car off the road into a ditch.  I stopped to ask if she needed help, she was a woman about my age.    She was laughing a bit, said she was embarrassed; she was looking at - one guess- her cell phone and just drove off the road.  The wrecker was on the way.  People never learn about those stupid cells.

 After I unloaded my rocks I went for a brief walk through my pastures and around the pond.  It was not a good feeling when I saw how dry and crunchy everything was.  The pond banks are almost bare - Chance- my stud horse, has been out there eating.  Lily and Lucky’s pasture isn’t much better.  I have some hay here, its stemmy old stuff they don’t like very well but I’m going to start putting it out again.  We really need some rain to get the grass growing.

 I did find an orioles nest blown out of a tree from the high wind.  They make a pouch type nest.  It was made almost entirely from horse hair with some strands of white plastic from woven feed bags and a few pieces of black plastic or nylon strands.  I think that may have come from some black plastic “chicken wire” we had used on some pens.  Inside were some remnants of leaves.

I kept wondering why they picked up what they did to build with.  Horse hair is strong I guess while still being pliable and soft.  I guess they collect what the horses rub off.  The feed bag and plastic wire pieces are odd though.  When did an oriole have the chance to unravel a feed bag?  Nature just has so many things to discover and marvel at.

Birthday musings

I had a wonderful birthday celebration with my family yesterday.  It was a bit of a problem getting there- our car has a bad windshield wiper and we drove through some monster thunderstorms, had to pull off the road 4 times.  Only 30 miles south of us they got at least an inch of rain but here at home my rain gauge only registered a 1/4 inch.   At my folks home 50 miles south they too got only a 1/4 inch or so.  It was a narrow band of rain.  We really need some more rain. 

My family got me some wonderful garden related gifts and we had a nice potluck meal.  My son and his wife did some wonderful cooking along with my sisters.  I am so lucky that both my parents are alive on my 60th birthday and in good health and mind and that I could be with them. 

When we got home I found that Lily had jumped the fence in a low spot to get into the pond pasture where Chance is at.  I will guess she is in heat although she was chasing him away quite roughly and he was going.  She left Lucky behind and he was quite upset.  When I put her through the gate he latched on and began to nurse frantically.  Her udder was full so she had been over there a while.    You just can’t go away from this place for a few hours. 

 This morning I strung some hotwire across that spot.  Hopefully she didn’t get bred.  I want her to wait until at least May to be re-bred.  But I will mark it on the calendar.   She is looking for good grass, not eating hay well so maybe she was just hungry.  I was hoping for rain to get the grass growing again. 

We should have baby ducks hatch this week.  The guineas are laying eggs but it’s the tom turkey who is sitting on them.  I don’t know why, he started sitting on some duck eggs then the guineas started laying there.  The turkey hens just started laying in another spot.   Tom turkeys shouldn’t sit, but I have two that do.

 My apple trees are blooming today, unfortunately it may freeze tonight and tomorrow night.  So no apples either probably.  It’s a rotten year for fruit people- expect high prices.  The dandelions are gorgeous, whole fields are yellow with them.  At least the bees will have something to eat.

Happy Easter

It’s Easter Sunday and a chilly blustery day here.  The sun is shining but the north wind is biting cold.  It’s blowing the doggie door open in my office.  Even though it was 80 just 2 weeks ago I have to admit this is more like early spring and Easter weather. 

 This is a year for the record books of horticulturists like me.  It’s interesting what plants are surviving the early warmth followed by seasonal cold the best.  My poor lilacs had buds showing color but are now turning brown.  The flowering quince is blooming quite nicely.  Many daffodils in bloom were browned and wilted by the cold yet the tulips soldiered on.  The fruit crop in Michigan remains questionable and since this weather is not just confined to Michigan, the nation’s fruit crop may be at risk.

I don’t know if it’s the weather or my chickens have been listening to TV stories about rowdy egg hunts but they are trying to give me egg hunts of my own.   Our egg count has dwindled and I keep finding eggs in odd places.  That may be because the mean Guinea hens are hanging around by the nest boxes or because some of the hens want to raise their own chicks.  Or it could be the weather since some of my chickens are molting, which is odd this time of year.

 Our turkeys are also doing odd things.  We had some large eggs, either duck or turkey laid in two different areas of the barn.   The two bourbon red tom turkeys have been sitting on those eggs part of the time, although the hen turkeys are ignoring them.  Last year the old tom sat on some infertile turkey eggs for a couple weeks until I tossed them out.  His son has his same habits.  We have 3 different Muscovy ducks sitting on eggs in different spots so I think they are turkey eggs but they will never hatch with the on and off again sitting.

 I think the Guineas are disrupting the nesting of the other birds.  They chase the turkeys and chickens viciously.  I would give them away but no one wants them.  My husband has started pushing that option - giving them away.  They are interesting but noisy and mean.  Maybe if we just had 2 instead of seven.  I’d keep one pair but I have a heck of a time sexing them.  They are dropping eggs here and there but not nesting that I can see.  If I found a hen on a nest I’d keep one other bird and give away the rest.

 Our foal Lucky is doing well.  He’s eating grain and hay with momma now.  His coat is shiny and plush.   I found out his color is called bay with a pangera mutation, which is common in ponies and donkeys.  It makes the muzzle and belly and legs lighter.  He’s a wild and crafty little bugger though.  I have a heck of a time catching him and I am not doing it enough. 

 I have a little halter that Lily’s last foal used that I want to get on Lucky, although I think it’s just a bit large yet.  It might make it easier to catch him.  Horse people say you should catch and handle foals every day but that’s not happening here.  I don’t know, I sometimes find that young animals get tamer as they get older as long as they are treated gently and that they tame naturally.   Food treats have tamed a few horses around here I took in because no one wanted them.

 We haven’t put his daddy Chance back with him and his mom yet but he is getting impatient to be back with his mare.  She hasn’t came into foal heat yet but I expect it anytime now.  I wanted to wait a bit before allowing her to breed so the next foal wouldn’t be born so early in the year.  Lucky is called that because he’s lucky he was born on a March day that was so warm.  I am hoping my fences will keep them apart at least until late April.  We leave in a bit to drive to my moms for Easter dinner and will be gone several hours.  I bet that’s when he will climb the fence.

Happy Easter

a baby is born

Friday March 23 my mini mare Lily had the cutest little foal.  I wasn’t absolutely sure Lily was pg.  I thought she looked fat but then again she seemed to get fat every winter.  I thought she was getting a “bag” several days before but Steve just laughed when I told him that because he has heard it before.  The last 2 winters I thought she was pregnant and I was wrong.

Thursday evening I was watching her graze and I thought she sure looked like her udder was swollen but I kept my mouth shut.   So I wasn’t totally surprised when I went out Friday morning and she didn’t show up to eat.  I went looking and found her by the pond with the little long legged cutie.  It had rained a little overnight but he looked quite dry and was already frisky.

We had Chance with her all last year but he is the little stud that is about 6 inches shorter than her and has crippled hind legs.  We were told that before we got him he had been with several mini mares and larger mares for 4 years with no babies.    Well love finds a way.  He was with her when the foal was born but she didn’t want him near and we moved him to the pond pasture and put her and the baby in the pasture with the run in barn, which is close to the house.

 Lucky’s legs look fine, he has a black mane and tail, reddish body color with lighter muzzle and legs.  He may be a dun, or maybe a bay, color is hard to determine this young.  He is hard to catch already, I want to handle him each day so he is fairly tame but he really knows how to get around.    My legs are so bad right now it’s hard for me to catch him.  I am going to sit in the pasture tonight when I bring Lily her feed and hope he comes up to me.

 I feel bad now that I had Lily on such an austere diet all winter of 1st cutting grass hay and carrots or apples.  She had foundered last year on alfalfa mix hay.  I gave her no grain all winter.  I ran out and got some sweet feed for her and started giving her a small amount and she is very happy.  I’ll get some mare and foal supplement soon.   She looks thinner of course now that baby long legs is out but she doesn’t look too thin.  Grass is starting to get good so she will be able to eat to her hearts content and I won’t have to pen her up to keep her from foundering on it this spring.

It’s amazing that Lucky is already tasting the hay and grass and getting in the water bucket.  He runs circles around mom then ducks under her belly and comes out the other side.  Lily is still a little protective; when the horses across the street come over close to the road she takes Lucky in the barn or way out in the pasture.

 Chance has been hanging out on the other side of the fence gazing wistfully at them.  He isn’t being too bad now about trying to get through but I wonder what will happen when Lily comes into foal heat.  That usually happens 10 days after they give birth and they will re-breed if you let them and supposedly are very fertile then.  I don’t want her to re-breed at the beginning of April because the next foal would be born in early March and our weather might not be as nice next year.

 I should have Chance gelded.  All last summer I kept saying that and because of what happened with Charlie I put it off. (Charlie was Lily’s son who died after gelding.) He wasn’t too obnoxious with us - probably because she got pg in April last year.  I know they can still have sperm for a while after gelding too.   But maybe he would get along with Lucky better. 

 Because Lucky is a boy he will have to be sold.  If he was a filly I would have kept him with Lily and gave Chance away.  But after the Charlie experience I will sell this guy off as a yearling, if we can get him and Chance to be friendly that long.  People tell me studs can be left with foals they fathered, along with the mares, for a year or so, but I am a little leery.  But our fences aren’t the kind that will keep a stud away from a mare in heat and horses don’t like to be alone.  So the next month looks a little bumpy for us.

 This is the first time we have had a foal born here.  When we bought Lily Charlie was about 6 weeks old and I thought he was small.  I did not do a good job training Charlie, he was spoiled so I hope I do better with this one.  I had been seriously thinking of selling the horses, they are expensive little buggers and a lot of work.  I just have this thing about having all this “pasture” and nothing eating it.  Then winter comes and you have to buy hay and haul water.  And there is fixing fences and catching loose horses and getting burrs out of manes and all that good stuff. 

 But then there is watching a little cutie racing around the pasture and mom lovingly nuzzling him  and watching sleek, healthy horses eating green grass and well…..

Its so spring its scary

It’s a beautiful St. Patrick’s Day in Michigan; we may actually get to 80 degrees and we have already broken the record of 72 at 76 degrees at 2 pm.  All week the weather has been very warm. We had some serious storms a few nights ago, with a tornado touch down or two just south and west of us.   But for the most part it has just been beautiful.  We opened the big pasture up to the horses and they have been trying to find those itsy green blades which are sprouting up.  The chickens are out scratching and they must be finding something because their feed consumption has gone way down.

 The frogs are singing like crazy, robins, red wing blackbirds and turkey vultures are back.  Mosquitoes and bees are out.  The crocus are in full bloom and some things are leafing out.  The buddleia, the honeysuckle, the roses by the back door, all are getting leaves, it’s just amazing.   In 2009 and 2010 we had an early spring but not this early.  Our windows are open and I have the ceiling fan on here in my office.  I worked outside cleaning a flower bed this morning and got so warm I quit.

 The warm weather is forecast to go all through the next week, with storms here and there.  It is nice but also scary because the fruit trees will bud and then probably we will lose the crop to a frost or freeze.  That’s what the fruit experts are predicting.  Maple syrup season has been a bust.   There may be considerable damage to perennials and trees that leaf out early too.  But there is nothing we can do about it.

We had another batch of sizzle chicks hatch yesterday.  I think just 3 lived though it looked like a couple more hatched.  There was a huge cache of eggs under the hen and I think the other hen was continuing to lay there so who knows what will happen.  I will probably wait until tomorrow and then clean the whole nest out.  The bigger chicks are still in there and don’t seem to bother the little ones except by stepping on them, which the tiny ones are fast learning to avoid.

 The guineas, which we call the terrorists, have taken to roaming the yard.  They are so noisy that I am seriously thinking about getting rid of them.  They are mean to the other birds too, they even chase the turkeys.  Steve said I should clip their wings like I did the turkeys and ducks so they can’t get in the yard.  But I decided t wait until I get ready to put the garden in, maybe in their wandering a few will just disappear.  And when they are out of the chicken pasture the other birds have some relief from them.

 

My stupid dogs which could be outside in the nice weather seem to want to stay inside.  Even when we were both outside this morning, working where they could have seen us from the yard they stayed inside.  Maybe its too warm for them, there isn’t much shade in the yard right now.  And unlike us, they don’t feel like they have to get out and enjoy it because it might not last.

 Hopefully I will get to my woods this weekend and look for surfaced bottles and other junk.  There is an old farm dump out there and I like to look through it in the spring when there is no undergrowth or bugs.  I have found some interesting bottles and things.   I used to look for old things as a kid around some old farm buildings I could walk to.  I wish I still had some of the stuff I found there.  There’s money in that old junk.

Yes the weather is nice but it's a bit scary.  It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop or acepting a trade off- we get warm weather but a bunch of tornadoes.  Or we get warm weather now and winter in April.  But there's nothing we can do.