Monday, September 19, 2011

First Fox Fatality and The Population Explosion

Fall is almost here. Yay! My favorite time of the year. August was pretty quiet. Spent a good deal of time getting ready for the school year. Got thru the earthquake and Irene with no damage.
This is Dragon Run Creek that runs on the one side of our property. It was creeping into the dog's run due to Irene. Never lost power or anything here thankfully!

Even tho I had no plans of adding babies this late in the season. Well, ya know.

POLISH and Population Explosion Part 1
Gotta love this one. The lady I bought them from runs a poultry group I'm in, one of many. She said they were "rare, polish - pronounced as in furniture polish". They are freakin Polish as in Poland. We should know. Sonny's Grands came over on the boat from Poland! Some of you know me as Mondz, well that's short for Mondzelewski. Can't get much more Polish than that. And rare, I don't think so. Color combo's maybe.
I bought 3 of the little darlings, 1 week old, pullets.

Here at 2 1/2 weeks. Going thru that Don King phase! LOL!
The Turken is Coco. Named after my fave character on Foster's Home for Imaginary Pets, it's a cartoon. The Polish starting with the Gold Laced - Hershey, the middle one - Zasu, named after Zasu Pitts, she was an actress way back in the day. Not sure on her color yet. And the what I think is going to be Blue is Lola.
They are now in our living room.
Coco was a surprise hatch and the only one. She's about a week younger than the others.

The Polish were bought on a Friday. That following Sunday we went to visit The Guys. And I was given Perky to rehome. He's no Pepito thankfully! Whom I still have scars from by the way.
He's free ranging now. Bela still gives him a hard time, but he's slowly working his way into the tribe. Quaker Jack the drake gave him a hard time for awhile also. But now they seem to have some bromance thing going. They are spending a great deal of time just hanging in the yard.
Perky is a 6 mo old Silver Laced Wyandotte. He's getting some girls of his own in the Spring. He makes the coolest noises and still on half crows.

The next day, Monday I got an email from a young lady who had some rescue chicks that I had given up on getting. She brought them over that eve. Not sure what they are, but the consensus the larger is a Cornish cross. This chick has to weigh at least 2-3 lbs and is 7" tall head to foot already.
Ginger Snap and Checkers aka Chubbs. Coco hatched the same day these got here. They are out in the Foo Foo house now along with Sugar Pop.
The 2 Turkens went to live with my friend Sergio. Sugar Pop in front.

Ok, so in 4 days 7 chickens.

Population Explosion Part 2
Fast forward to 9/10.
Went to visit The Guys again and to pick up my gifted rooster Victor.
While getting ready I get a call from my neighbor. She's at a mutual acquaintances house. We all by chickens from him. He has a trio of Black Silkies, breeders, would I be interested. Well, what do you think? Is there a 12 step program for chicken people?
Humphrey and Lauren

Bette
And they girls were kind enough to lay a few eggs, now under a broody.

My Gift
The Guys bought me Victor. A Blue Polish Roo.


If all this wasn't enough, it is ever? We found a clutch of 14 eggs that morning! One of the Turken hens had been gone for a couple of days and I had given up on her. Second time during the Summer. We also found the first clutch and that is where the first 2 Turken chicks came from. So they are under 3 hens, plus the Silkie eggs.

The Invasion Begins
Don't know about you, but we were invaded by Stink Bugs last year. And so it has already started this year. Tony has been catching them in the house and feeding them to the chicks. Elvi get's excited every time he see's Tony now. LOL! Elvi is a roo turns out. He's a house chicken tho, so we can deal.
We've also had a Praying Mantis invasion this year. It's nothing for us to count a half dozen on the Butterfly Bushes in a day. And that's just the one's we can see from the front windows!
I knew that was a bad omen. We are also being invaded by spiders of every shape and size. Yuck! I don't mind them outside, but in the house, I don't think so. I try and live by the Wican Creed of "do ye no harm", but sometimes it's easier to play squish the bug.

First Fox Fatality
I took my MIL to the grocery today. Soon as I parked the van I noticed something red running across the yard. Yep, a fox. Of course this is the day I have on my regular shoes the kind that have a 1" sole and 2" heel. I chased that mf to one side of the trailer and back to the other. We don't have underpinning. Finally it ended up in the dogs run. It and the dog went at it. I yelled, they both stopped and looked at me. The fox took off under the fence. I've got the spot covered up now. I was afraid that the dog being on a chain that could lead to problems.
Went to do inventory. Lost one pullet, just starting to lay. And what really pisses me off is the gdamn fox left it! I mean total waste of a young bird. Found feathers a few feet from the house also. So I'm guessing it came thru the fence, went down by the houses. Caught Peanut Butter (she always hung out down there) and chased her into the house. Feathers everywhere and she was in there. I just pray it was fast.
Took care of her Viking style this eve so the damn thing didn't try and dig her up. With any luck it will end up like the others we can here at night. Squishy on the side of the road.
Peanut Butter was the last of the chicks I had ordered in the Spring. Breed unknown, just started laying last week.
Pricing pred lights tonight. Also looking into a high powered pellet gun. A fox tail would look really nice next to my large Grim Reaper on my bulletin board. Yes, my side of our computer room looks like Halloween on crack all year round.

Until next time, take care all!

Gothy