Eggs

Set 12 guinea eggs last night under my broody hen. 27 more days till hatch, fingers crossed for a good hatch.

Of Mice and Dishwashers

I'm this house's primary dishwasher. A combo of hard water, a water softer that needs re-bedded, and a lack of money prevent me from using a dishwasher. But the house does have one and as a general rule it get ignored. I'm not even one of those people who stores stuff in it. But the last couple days it has gotten a lot of attention and not for the best reason.

It started with me walking into the kitchen the other night to see little Cloud jammed under the boot rack. When I asked her what she was doing she popped out holding a mouse in her jaws. This is kind of par for the course with an old farm house and well I appreciate the cats' efforts, I don't like cleaning up guts so all kills go outside. So I told Cloud to drop it and she looks at me, growls at Wrangler who comes to see what is happening, and drops it. And it looks at me and makes a run for it. Cloud follows but gets detracted by a toy in the same corner. Little mouse runs the edge of the kitchen and into the crack by the dishwasher where none of us can get to. Two mice kills later and we still don't have that little brown mouse. Instead we have cats pulling at the insulation around the dishwasher in what seems to be an attempt to get the injured/dead mouse.

So the current debate is do we pull the dishwasher and see what we find or do we wait and see if a smell develops?   

Just Keep Going

Just keep going, that is what I tell myself at least once a day. From my personal life to work or to my stubborn ducks who won't go to bed on time if at all. It keeps me going and helps me keep sane (though the antidepressants really help that). 

To anyone who is still reading I left off with Nick in bad shape. He ended up passing away a few months later in November of that year after multiple rounds of antibiotics failed to kill off his urinary tract infection. It hurt like hell. He was my baby and had been basically my mother's forth child. But in a way it was a relief, at the end he was in so much pain, had to wear doggy diapers which he hated, and he did not deserve that. His final resting place is under the apple tree in my yard next Sparky the beagle my dad had when I was young. But life goes on, no new dog yet but when I have the time and energy to deal with all the love and pain a new dog has to bring.

But speaking of time and energy I still do not have a job in my field (If you happen to know of one in PA shot me a message) but I am working two jobs both in retail. One is full-time, the other part-time but it all equals out to being around 45-50 hours a week on the low end. It makes ends meet but some days it is really hard to just keep going. But I'm doing it and will keep doing it until I find something better that allows me to support me and my animals.

The animals as usual ebb and flow in numbers here. There is currently 7 hens, 2 ducks, 2 turtles, 1 rat, and 7 cats. Yep 7, last summer started with the 3 boys I had when I last posted Butterscotch, Rodolph, and Darkside. In the being of spring I was trying to catch a starving cat down the road from me a tiny black and white thing. I caught her but she got away from me and was never seen again, but as she escaped me I noticed something. Nipples, she was nursing babies who I had never seen the multiple times I had stopped and feed her. So driving by her spot a few days later I slam on the brakes and swerve to avoid a pile of kittens curled up of the road. I scooped up a little stripe (Tesla) and a tiny tortoiseshell baby (Cinder), while a tiny black and white baby (Houdini) just like his mother made a run for it. With the help of a neighbor teen and his friend who stopped we caught all of the starving babies and I took them home. It took the big boys a bit but they grew to love them and Rodolph adopted them as his own with lots of cuddling and grooming. But the worse happened Roo was hit by a car and had to be euthanized. Then a friend and I while driving around at one in the morning stopped and rescued a small black kitten with a white spot over one eye of the road. She was only about 2 weeks old and despite our best attempts, little Eclipse passed a few weeks later. Then a 8 or 9 week old grey and white baby (Cloud) crawled out from under my sister's car and made herself at home. We are currently working on getting everyone spayed and neutered, but I will always be here for them.

But we just keep going birth and death, blown up engines and new jeep (and new engine in old), frustrating jobs and the more frustrating hunt for a better one, this sucky but much loved house with all of it's issues and my desire to own it 100%. The next goal reached, next failure, or the next dream will all come to be but only if I just keep going.

Blood, Poop, and Tears

I've spent the last few days trying to keep everything together and all I want to do is cry. Tuesday night Nick started straining to poop, I didn't think much of it and made sure his water dish was full. Then Wednesday morning came and it got worse he got me up around 5 which is 3-4 hours to early for him to go out. Came down to a couple spots of pee and a small bit of diarrhea . Let him out and cleaned up the mess, went back to bed. He awoke me again at 6 to the same joy at which point I gave up on sleep and looked up cures for constipation. Gave him some of the canned food I keep around for the cats mixed with water to help him get some more fluids and took him for a walk around the yard. Not a lot of progress was made and I had to go to work.

I left my roomates' with both my cell and work number and picked up wet food actually meant for a dog. I unfortunately had to run to my dad's house to pick up his mail and I finally got to head home. Still no luck on the pooping front. More wet food and walks were provided with no real luck. He got a little bit out so I decided to hold off on a vet visit, until I saw how he was in the morning. Well morning came early at 5:45 and my floor covered with a mix of diarrhea, pee, and vomit. Also with some more straining and a new symptom: no desire to eat. And if you have ever meet a beagle, let alone Nick you know this is not a good sign. But the vet clinic doesn't open till 8 so we both fell asleep on the couch. He seemed more comfortable then he had been but the no eating thing was worrying. So we made a call to the vets office which was having issues of their own with their computer system being down, but they got as an appointment at 3.

Got to the vets and got an exam and an x-ray. No blockage, the bones he got into the other night weren't stuck, in fact he really wasn't constipated the straining was a symptom of his diarrhea. But we had to add to the bad news they did a urine sample and unlike all the pee I've cleaned up (he has had some issues since a UTI last summer) there was blood and bits of gunk all through it indicating an infection. But we had more great news the mass on his side which I've been concerned about shows up on his x-ray possibly indicating  that it is cancerous, which they would like to do a ultrasound on to get a better look at at some point. 

But to add to my lovely day he has two medications he must take to knock out this infection and help with everything. The only problem is Nick hates medicine with a passion and he knows when you are trying to hide it in food. So we are now trying to get 3 pills a day into him without him catching on or me getting bit (again) in the process.

But to add to all the tears from this, because of some issues with my insurance I've been off my antidepressant for about 2 weeks, so I'm in withdrawal from that which is messing with my mood and and ability to cope with things. I also need to get the insurance figured out to get up to date on vaccines so I can meet my cousin's new baby. I still haven't had luck finding a full time job and everything I try to figure out from a job to getting a new phone to projects in the house seems to go wrong. Oh and with the vets computers down I get to wait to see how much this visit cost me (x-ray alone was $95) and I still need to make an appointment with them to get his shots, check on the infection after the meds are done, and possibly an ultrasound. So this week sucked and I just want it to be done.

College, Ducks, and Rats

So this past Saturday I graduated from college with a degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary biology. Which is cool, now to find a full time job to help pay for everything. So if you know any jobs working with animals or in the biology field in Western part of PA let me now.

Well in other news there is now 6 ducks running around. They belong to a friend of mine who should be moving in soon. They kind of scare the chickens, but the ducks are starting to bond to the flock and follow them around. But they love the stream behind the house, they are still getting conformable getting down there without guidance. They are also a little young still (bought as chicks in February I believe) so we don't know sexes yet, but hopefully mostly girls. They are suppose to be Khaki Campbells.

And Luke is home from college and is settling in well. He is in an old hamster tank at the moment but should be upgrading to a bigger tank soon.

Flu

Ended up leaving work Sunday night with a fever. Then spent all of Monday in bed with fever, aches, and hives. So I did not go to my classes, canceled my therapy appointment, and called off work. Having a fever of 102.5 F was no fun, hopefully the ibuprofen will keep the fever down for my Organic Chemistry lab and my Ecological Applications class tonight.  

Blue Desk and Paint

I redid a desk for storage in the bathroom. Before:

 And after as a pretty, pale blue desk for bathroom storage:

 Sanding, paint, and new handles do wonders. But inside the draws I found that the wood had originally some sort of sign.

Ignore every bit of disaster area in the back ground. And remember paint on top of plastic not newspaper and latex based paint comes of floor fairly easy.

Lucus is Targeting

Luke as I call him is now targeting the ball, plus here is the basketball court we are using. This is the video I'm emailing the professor to show progress and that I did it.

Tricks, Chickens, Rats, and Deer

So in my Ornithology class this fall we taught chickens to do tricks. My little chick Clarice:

 She learned to peck the red dot (shown in picture), follow it around, climb steps, cross a balance beam, ring a bell, fly between tables, and we were working on flying down from the balance beam when we ended training at the end of the semester. She is an absolute sweetheart who was perfectly happy to chill on my shoulder and cuddle during training.

 I ended up bring her, another Silver Laced Wyandotte but a rooster named Bodie who is an asshole who likes to bit people, and Zazu a little Easter Egger hen who was Clarice's roommate while they where at the lab who was very attached to her.

They are doing pretty well with the big flock besides, Red beating up on Bodie when he is being an asshole. But Bodie tried to play with one of the twin fawns from last year the other day. The touched noses and then jerked away. And then the fawn tried to do that head bump, jump fawns do in play and then ran to her mom and sibling. But I only managed to get pictures right as she started to jump away. But the Ornithology 3 are the 3 closest to the fawn. And then Red and his daughter (3/4 EE, 1/4 BA) next to him, the red hen is the Rhode Island Red cross hen from my grandmother and the little Buff Orpington on the side is also from my grandmother. So far no eggs from the new girls.

In Animal Behavior this semester the same professor that had us train chickens last semester is having us train rats. This time around we have to work in groups to train them to play basketball. So this is little baby Lucus, who I'm calling Luke and who may be coming home with me at the end of the semster.

That's a classmate's hand containing him

But I'm working on the house cleaning, remodeling, having friends move in to help pay bills, and all sorts of stuff that I'll hopefully be updating you on soon.

So did you miss me?

Sorry I haven't written in so long my life has been a mess. But brief catch up I was down to Red my rooster, 2 3/4EE/1/4EE hens, and my brown leghorn hen this summer. When I for some stupid reason agreed to let my brother watch them and the 13 eggs the black 3/4EE/1/4EE hen was sitting on. And he lets something eat the brown leghorn hen, the black 3/4EE/1/4EE hen, and all 13 eggs she was sitting on while I was working fairs. And then didn't tell me about it until I came home and discovered it.

So that sucks. My grandmother because she is an awesome person gave me 2 of her hens a buff orpington and a hen who is at least part Rhode Island Red (might just be crappy hatchery quality, might be a mix I really don't know). Who are both doing fine.

But my flock may be growing again soon, my Ornithology class in college was hatching chicks to train, which failed with only one chick hatching who has ended up being raised by the student aid in the class. But the teacher ordered more and my little chick is doing well in training and I may be allowed to take it and possible some other chicks home at the end of the semester. But we will see and we will see if I'm back in my actual home soon or not. I'll try to stop by more often.

Death and raccoon's again

I had been having eggs being eaten and destroyed, we discovered that it was raccoons eating them. So 2 weeks ago I caught the 1st raccoon,  another raccoon was found to be doing the same thing so I caught it ( it was female and possibly mother of the first) but it wasn't in the trap first thing that morning but got it's self trapped mid-morning ( the chickens where on lock down and safe).  That night (Monday) I went out and came home to one of the little roosters and 3 hens on the deck. The one popdoor hadn't closed right and something had forced it open, and on top of that it was pouring rain and thundering and lightning. Red and the bantam hen where inside safe, and one of the other hens was in the trap. I got everyone off the deck and into the coop, and look for the other 4 hens and the other little rooster with no luck. With the storm in full force and no birds in sight I had to give up.

The next morning one little hen showed up and the rest never did. The missing little rooster's feathers where scattered from the old dead tree (where I did look) part way down the yard, nothing of the 3 hens ever turned up. The hens where all 3/4 EE/ 1/4 BA (Red and the BA/EE hens) that where hatched last fall, two where black with red lacing on the neck and one was the classic EE coloration.

5 Days later I caught another raccoon, who has very aggressive and did something I had never heard a raccoon do it screamed. And I don't mean the shrieks and other random noises raccoons make, I mean sounds like a human child is screaming. It was one of the creepiest noises I've heard. But it has now been 4 days and no new raccoons/predators have been caught and no other deaths or stolen eggs have occurred so hopefully this is the end of it for now.

I gave away the mean brown leghorn rooster a few weeks ago to someone to butcher, plus these losses I'm down to 6 hens and 2 roosters. And the remaining brown leghorn rooster will hopefully go to a new home with my grandmother soon, as her rooster Hawk has become mean and she plans to butcher him and take the brown leghorn. If that happens I will be down to 6 hens and 1 roosters, if she doesn't end up taking him I'll probably give him aways as 2 roosters is way to much for 6 hens. And that's what's been going around here.

Changes

I haven't posted much as life got busy and my life changed drastically. My Mother passed away very suddenly in April and everything is kind of up in the air right now. But as to the animals I gave away the attack rooster last night to a women who is going to butcher him when she butchers her meat birds. Here is him in his box waiting to be picked up.

But Spot who had a serious neck wound last month, and who we believe had 3-4 strokes in the last two months, pasted away last night/early this morning. He is the last of our cats descended from my original cats. He is now buried about 10 feet from his mother (Blue Eyes) and his litter mate Rex. He is pictured here with his other litter mate Dot who passes away several years ago, Spot is the one with his head down.

They don't respect the porch

As you can see Nick doesn't really care about the chickens.

Green House

One of my birthday presents is a green house!

My Baby Girl is Gone

My beautiful CM girl the last of my original flock was killed today. My sister came home to her hit and dead on the road and moved her body so it wouldn't get hit again. So I came home to her cold, bloody body. She is buried next to Blue Eyes. I've cried until I can't cry anymore, most of the deaths in resent years have hurt but where expected. This was so unexpected and she was my baby, I had raised her since she was two days old. With the new coop and no sign of the fox of late I haven't had to face death in the flock besides the few chicks who died at hatch. One of the chicks is her little girl, but it only helps a little. And it hurts because I threw out the last her eggs when I discovered the hidden nest she had started before molting. She would have been 6 years old March 17, 2014.

Growing Babies

The babies turn 11wks old Wednesday/Thursday so I decided to get some new pictures of them.But first Red came to check if I had food and to defend me from the little roosters.

Mom and babies where out foraging on their own.

And these 3 where following in hopes of food, but I'm kind of pissed off at them, the one has taken for going after people and the other two just follow without doing anything. But they have done some growing since I've posted pictures.(if you are interested in any of them let me know, as I said the other two are fine and don't bother people.)

And to the babies!:

 And Butterscotch tried to help me take pictures:

And all the other girls where in the coop, the cross bantam hen and the brown leghorn hen (who has like the boys done a lot of growing) are currently the only ones laying. My oldest girl the Cuckoo Maran was just keeping them company as she is in the middle of molting.

 You can also here that I have a new metal trash can for feed as my other one's lid rusted out.

The little roosters again the one in the middle is the one who is attacking/threatening people

 This is a stray cat that keeps showing up, his friendly and lets us pet him. He is also well fed. The other cats of course don't like him because he's male. I think he probably lives at my neighbors as they have a large number of cats and he probably gets more attention and sometimes food here so he comes to visit.

 And Red making sure I'm absolutely not going to feed him, you can see the toe he broke as a 4wk old and his kind of creepy long spurs.

The flock and Babies

Finally got some new photos of the flock and pictures of the babies. First off mom (BA/Easter Egger) and babies (5 3/4 Easter Eggers/BA and 1 Cuckoo Marans/Easter Egger):

This rest of the flock has started hanging out together with Red only sometimes scaring off the little ones, but when they divide the big bantam hen tends to join with Red and the CM hen instead of the bantams:

 An idea of the size difference between a standard rooster and a bantam hen:

The bantam group when they go off on their own, unlike the standards they aren't friendly and tend to avoid me:

A nice shot of one of the little Roosters:

More of mom and babies:

Magera

Magera passed away shortly after my last post, him and the chick are buried together just down from his mother.

Death

The chick with the deformed foot died today and Magera, the oldest of our cats, is dieing. He went missing Friday and returned Sunday crying and a bit of a mess, our guess is that he was hit by a car. He has slowly been going down hill and I don't think he will make it through the night. Honestly my life has been going badly and I just want to cry and cry.

Chicks

Sorry I haven't updated, in total 9 chicks hatched but two died within a day of hatching. The one had had trouble hatching, it had got shoved out from under mom and had broken all the shell off but was still trapped in the membrane. I helped it out, but it died that night. It was a little black chick, the other chick was a light chipmunk chick who was dead under mom when I found it. As to the rest of the hatch 3 are black (one is the Cuckoo Maran/Easter Egger), 1 pale chipmunk, and 3 regular chipmunk. The one regular chipmunk has a deformed foot, the toes wouldn't uncurl and it was having trouble walking so it now has a boot made out of cardboard and tape to help the toes, hopefully, flatten out. But it is already walking better with the boot. I'll try to get picks over the next couple days.