Lamb

Lamb

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Last Burst of Winter


Hello dear friends, the challenge at this time of year is that with temperatures so close to freezing it is hard to know if precipitation will be rain or snow.  Last night we lost!  Snow it is.






The birds are wondering what is going on.  We had previously started moving bird feeders away from the house because of what appeared to be a red squirrel invasion.


Last night we were struck by both a weasel and a fox.  The sad end to our collection of chickens.  We are going to send our one remaining rooster to a friend that also raises chickens.  We will need to rebuild our chicken coop and run before buying any other chickens.  During the night the fox was on our veranda-even with all exterior lights on we could see him watching us.


Our chicken coop is now empty.


On the other hand the snow is very pretty and symbolically gives us a new start!



How pretty is this light bulb?






Today and tomorrow are going to be just at or below freezing but by Tuesday we will back up to 6 degrees Celsius and this snow should melt.  

Wishing everyone a great week.  Thank you for visiting!

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Tragic Week For Our Chickens




Hello dear friends, it has been quite a week here at the farm.  We started the week with having a skunk take up residence near the barn.  So not unexpectedly on Tuesday evening our German Shepherd Abby was sprayed.   Anyone that has had a pet sprayed by a skunk with sympathize!  Then, on Wednesday evening our Yellow Lab Lucy was sprayed.  If anyone is wondering, we have had a great deal of experience in this area and a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dishwashing liquid is the most effective way we have found of getting rid of the smell.

While this misadventure was unfolding we discovered feathers on the lawns.  For anyone with chickens this is a dreadful sign.  As our chickens are confined to a hen house and run finding feathers means we have a predator.

I did some internet research to learn more about skunks and discovered that they are generally beneficial creatures.  Skunks eat mice, rats, grubs and fallen fruits.  Unfortunately for us however skunks also like eggs and will kill chickens.  Further investigation tells us that skunks can dig their way into the hen house and that, my friends, is precisely what happened.  They will eat eggs and kill the chickens.



We have different colours of laying hens.  We have found white feathers, red feathers and even striped feathers.  Clearly many birds have met the same fate.








On Thursday evening I was on our veranda and glanced towards the chicken run and was astonished to see a fox at the run.  It appeared to be staring intently inside.  I rushed to the area and although the fox was able to run away I discovered this hole in the fence.  Upon inspection I found other areas of the chicken fence had also been broken away.



As I walked around I found more feathers.  Friends, I cannot tell you how distressing this was.  It appeared that we were not only dealing with a skunk that was entering the hen house to kill chickens but that we also had a fox that was grabbing chickens from the run outside.


This predator issue has taken over our week.  What to do?  The skunk has evaded the live trap all week.  If we left the hens in the coop they were easy prey.  So we decided yesterday  morning to let the chickens run free thinking that they could at least try to escape a predator by flying up into the cedar hedges.  So imagine our horror yesterday as we were standing on our bedroom balcony looking down only to see a coyote come right into our grove and nab a chicken.  The photo below is of Abby who was also in the grove and was chasing the coyote at full speed.  The coyote just managed to crash through the page wire fencing with the chicken before Abby nearly caught up to it.  






The coyote is an even bigger concern for us than the skunk or a fox.  We have several young lambs and having a coyote so close to the house and barn is a serious threat.  We are surrounded by forests and use electric fencing to protect our animals but unfortunately it is too soon to turn on the fencing.  As you can see from the photo below although most of our snow is gone the fencing along the forests is still buried in snow.







I must confess that we have moments when we wonder if it worth having animals but the big answer is "yes".  We love living in the country and raising our sheep and chickens.  Every challenge is an opportunity for us to try something new and get better at what we do.

Yesterday we had our remaining 2 roosters and 4 hens running free.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the chickens had a field day!  They love to dig and scratch and look for bugs and young shoots.  The air was filled with the sounds of our roosters crowing and the early spring smell of decaying leaves being disturbed by the scratching of the chickens.




















This is the view across one of the sheep pastures with part of our forest in the background.  We really wouldn't ever want to give it up!




Thank you for visiting!




Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Good Bye Winter!



Hello dear friends, are we not all becoming a little weary of winter?  I certainly am!  This is the time of year when the sun's rays are becoming warmer, the birds are abundant, and then we have a quick reality check with a little burst of snow and cold temperatures.  We had a couple of centimeters of snow overnight and the temperature as I was leaving this morning was a brisk -11 degrees Celsius.  The temperatures are forecast to be above freezing each day this week so I am quite convinced that by the weekend the snow will be replaced with....muddy dogs!


We love this little arbour.   It is supposed to be the entry to the vegetable garden which has great hopes every year of being fenced in.  The fencing remains an outstanding item on the agenda and some years to be honest the vegetable garden is just one more idea on our list of things to do.  The little statue at the base is the resting spot of Tigger, my very first cat.  Tigger lived to a very respectable 19 years of age.  As our friends know all of our departed pets are buried here at the farm.


I have taken shots of this view many times.  This is what we see from our bedroom balcony.  The chicken coop and adjoining run are for our laying hens.  The pastures beyond the chicken coop are for our sheep.  Our property ends where the evergreens are just visible in the distance.  Just to the right in the photo is Apple Lane.


Here is a view looking down from the balcony.   Our driveway is just on the other side of this gate.  I have named this little area the Secret Garden.  It is moist and shady and is in a very sheltered area bounded by the house, the fence and the decks which extend from our kitchen and on the lower level connect with our little gazebo.  I have imagined this as a cool and welcoming spot on a hot summer's day.


Another view of the arbour along with our garden privvy.


A view from the driveway looking towards the house.  The sun is just coming up!


And finally a view down the road as I head off to work.  Wishing everyone a great week!