Spring full of life...

I picked up 4 new Partridge Rock chicks from the man I buy my poultry from. We met at a poultry show at the adorable Windsor Fair grounds. He handed me a small box full of feathers and I handed him $20. I got the better end of the bargain!

At home I put the chicks into a "brooder" I had fixed for them. It is really a large rabbit cage, with a heat lamp on one end, a special water dispenser and a chipped china bowl full of high protein food for baby chickens. They were very quiet the first day, napping under the warm light and looking out at the new view. Since that first day they have become more active; making little "cheep cheep" noises, sparring with each other and running about.

Meanwhile, the new Muscovy hen is laying an egg every morning at 6 AM sharp. We have 7 now and I am hoping she will set on them and hatch some little downy baby ducks. That would be cute overload for sure!

Spring at Fair Winds is full of life.

Chicken drama...

Every night when I get home from work one of the very first things I do is go out to the coop to check on the "ladies." They are normally very predictable, and such good chickens! At dusk they are all on their roost. I count 13 beaks and lock them all in safe and sound.

Tonight it was quite dark when I got home. I took a teeny little girly flash light outside; checked the food and water, gathered three perfect eggs from the next box and then counted; 1, 2, 3...11. Hmm. Something was amiss. I counted again. Still 11. Missing in action were one of my new Partridge Rocks and my older Wyandotte which has been not quite right for a few months.

Stepping out of the coop I saw the dogs looking at a dark lump on the snow. It was
the Wyandotte. She was lying on an icy slope, looking quite dead. At least, until one of the dogs nudged her and she moved a little, in a slightly undead manner.

I went back to the house, luring the dogs away from the chicken, and grabbed a much, MUCH bigger flashlight. A manly sort of flashlight. Slipping across the snow I carefully picked Henrietta up. She looked at me with a cocked head out of one chicken eye, and I carried her gently to the coop. I tucked her into a safe corner where she could reach food and water if she wanted to. I suspect she'll be dead by morning, and a better "farmer" than me would put her down now. But I'm letting nature take its course.

With 12 beaks in the coop I went out in search of the other missing bird. I walked the fenced yard, no chicken. I went to the front yard and looked in the trees, thinking maybe she had roosted. No chicken. I looked until my fingers were frozen. I was sad, worried that this lovely chicken had been eaten by something or was cold and alone in the long night.

On a whim I peeked in the garage before I went in for the night. My whims are good. There was the chicken, nestled down on a little hay that had fallen on the floor. And, bonus! She had an egg with her.

13 beaks in the coop. 4 eggs in my pocket. Nothing like a little chicken drama to wrap up a day.

Two chicks...

I have a bird feeder and heated bath on my deck for excellent bird watching from the kitchen.
Something larger than the average bird caught my eye this morning... a Partridge Rock pullet sharing breakfast with a chickadee!
In order to get to this feeder the pullet had to go a good distance from her coop, up 3 steps, over the deck, up on the deck rail. The chickadee didn't seem to mind sharing. Another example of my "everyone here must get along" rule in action!

Chicks and leaf peeping and a supper suprise...

Today I brought home four new Partridge Rock pullets. They have the most beautiful feathers. I am going to slowly introduce them to the flock. They were raised in a cage, and when I let them out in the coop they were quite fascinated. Note the two gaping out the window. I can hardly wait until they see the big world outside, filled with bugs and grass and dirt and dust baths. They will lose thier little chicken minds!

When I woke up this morning I thought: we should mow the yard and clean the garage and scrub the toilets and do some laundry and wash the windows and scrub the floors and NOT go look at leaves, we can do that another time. Then I remembered that the foliage does not wait like chores do. So we went leaf peeping up north. Up close the leaves glow as if lit from within, yellow and orange and flaming red. From a distance the hills look like some retro '60's shag carpet in shades of russett.

We didn't see any moose this time, but there were SIGNS of their presence. >grin<

Scenic vistas appeared around every corner. The sun was bright the air was crisp and the music on the iPod was excellent. The company was pretty nice too.

When we got home our friend Meg was visiting daughter Rachel. And the house smelled of an exotic blend of spices. The girls were cooking Indian food! Chicken curry, samosas and chapati. Here is Rachel, flipping a chapati (flat bread) with great skill.

The table was set, the candles lit, the food cooked. It was beyond delicious... not just the food but the fact that the dinner was prepared and I didn't do it. The fact that when I came home my house was full of life and laughter and flavor. Just as the day was filled with color and wonder, (and new chickens!)