Birds, CRV and the Tiller

by Scott Smith

On Saturday night the Bantam rooster was killed by a predator  in the coop. Filled the hole with rocks. It is always a whack-a-mole game with raccoons and possums. Judging from some of the stories I’ve heard, we’re lucky. One lady loss 25-50 meat birds in one night.

I suspect the CRV is done. It was harder to start than that old Buick I had in college. And, once it got going, it would not go over 45 MPH. I bet that means the transmission is shot. Replaced the truck’s transmission last spring (over $2,000!), but ain’t gonna do it for the CRV.

Pop’s Fix It Shop is done with the tiller just in time for me to till and plant garlic. Fortunately, winter is taking its sweet time, so the ground is still tillable.

Me looking like a creeper.

MrG Tames A Chick

by Scott Smith

MrG has this thing about training animals that are not normally in need of training. Say, a chick or fish.

Double Yolks

by Scott Smith

BoingBoing points to this post about Dutch artist Henk Hofstra’s “Art-Eggcident” show.

I think the artist should have at least one double-yolk.

Speaking of eggs… The hens are laying again.

The Chicks and The Bug

by Scott Smith

It’s a drama worthy of an HBO special.

Chicks Homecoming

by Scott Smith

The chicks arrive on 4/5/08. MrG names a few and Jack cautions us once again: no more animals.

MrG Makes C.C. A Star

by Scott Smith

Madel grabs the FlipVideo and makes C.C. a YouTube star. The little kitty deserves the spotlight. We hardly ever give the cats a spot on the blog.

Big, Bad Duck is Dead

by Scott Smith

One of the dogs — well, Pollack — killed the big, bad male duck today. We’re now down to two females and two males. Hopefully, this ends the duck aggression, which is probably how the duck died.

When this male thought you were too close, he’d charge you. Too close was sometimes five feet and sometimes 100 yards.

Our best guess is the big, bad duck decided to attack one of the females, which drives Pollack nuts (it really is a rape that takes place). Pollack would bark from the other side of the fence. The male probably decided Pollack was too close and charged her, and then Pollack pulled him through the fence. And, that’d be it.

Animal count: 12 chicks, 8 hens, 1 rooster, 4 ducks, 4 cats and3 dogs.

Chicago Chicken Lady Wins First Round

by Scott Smith

"Go ahead and enact laws or set up best practices for keeping chickens. But don’t ban them outright," the Chicken Lady says.

"Chickens are good for the life of the city. My chickens get people talking to each other, talking to me. Children in the area are interested in the chickens. Elderly resident remember growing up with chickens when they were young. Chickens really are a good community builder."

What if Chickens do get outlawed?

"I guess I’ll have to get ducks," the Chicken Lady said.

 

I hope she gets Runner Ducks too.

Link.

Chickens in the City

by Scott Smith

Missoula, Montana has the a chicken controversy: To allow chickens with in the city limits or not.

Story via Boing Boing.

Enjoy the video.

Hard on the Hens

by Scott Smith

Rough week or so for the hens. Two were attacked by groundhogs (a guess) — one of them dying. Yesterday, another died of old age. Another hen got lost, but returned this morning.

I really don’t want to cage the girls up. Not sure what the answer is.

I know a farm in western Michigan has started to use portable fencing and a hen house. That’s beyond my scale. I can appreciate the benefit though. The birds are constantly moved and fenced-in.