Dealing With Animal Life and Death on the Homestead

Life on our small farm is abundant.  Especially as spring approaches, the anticipation for new life builds!

Chicks are being born, goats are preparing to give birth, green sprouts appear on trees, and we all wait in excitement for the front pastures to make their transformation into glorious fields full of wildflowers. 

For me, as a fairly new farm gal, all of this new life also brings a bit of a worry about death.  Will everything go okay when our goat Nancy gives birth?  Will we be able to keep her kids protected from predators?  Are the new chicks staying warm...or are they too warm?  I still perk up at every noise I hear at night listening to make sure that nothing is getting into our chicken coop and hurting our chickens.

We had not been living here long when we experienced our first animal loss.  A pack of dogs got into our chicken coop and killed every hen that was in that coop. 

We were devastated.  We felt guilty for not being able to protect them better and we felt sad for the loss of life.  I hated farming at that point.  I was ready to move back to the city.

 

 

Over the next year we lost several other animals and each time we mourned. 

I kept thinking it would get easier for us but it never did. 

I was afraid to get any more farm animals.

I started to wonder if maybe we were not cut out for farm life.

 

But as I prayed about it and as I learned from other homesteaders and farmers I began to see a new reality emerge.

It should not get easier.

You see, by working on a farm and learning to homestead we learn the value of life as well as death.

We work each and every day with animals that give their all to provide milk, honey, and eggs to nourish our families.  We love on animals that eventually give their lives to bring us what we need to live.

Becoming a farmer does not mean that you should become hardened to death, it means that you become thankful for life.

I don't want to turn back into the girl that slapped some eggs on the table for breakfast never taking the time to think about the hens that worked so hard to lay them for me. 

And I don't want to turn back into the girl that grilled dinner and served it up never giving a thought to the animals whose ultimate job it was to feed me.

No. I will continue to feel sad when we lose animals. 

Because being a farmer is not just about what all I can take from the animals and the earth, it is also about what I can give.



We are super excited for the opportunity of participating in the Homestead Barn Hop #146!!

Chicken First Aid

We have some chickens here on Bumpkin Farm and we really enjoy them!  They were the first animal we brought onto the farm besides the dog, cat and fish that moved with us from the city.

To begin with we bought five Buff Orpingtons and they were so sweet!

(She totally showered after this picture and was lectured on the fact that chickens carry disease and having them on your head and this close to your face probably is NOT a good idea....but cute picture!!)

Unfortunately they were killed by some dogs that got into their coop early on.  We were so, so sad.

We had a rooster that apparently had a stroke or something similar and slowly lost his ability to walk.  We prayed for him and my daughter brought insects for him to eat and did "physical therapy" with him to keep his muscles moving.  Unfortunately, he eventually died as well.

Early on we found out that there are not many vets that will help with chicken issues, plus that could get really expensive, so we began to learn on our own. 

Recently we entered the henhouse to let the chickens out for the day and one of our chickens named Roadrunner (due to her resemblance of a roadrunner as well as her super-sonic speed!) was laying on her side completely unable to move.  Her wings were spread in a weird way and she could not move anything except her head.  I really thought that we would have to put her down when my husband came home that night.  I was also super worried that she was in a lot of pain and I might have to put her down before he came home.

We did a little research and could not find any clear disease that this resembled but we went ahead and separated her from the other hens.  This was not only for the safety of the other hens, but also for her own safety as they will tend to pick and peck on weaker, sickly chickens.

We gave her food and water and as long as we held it for her, she was able to eat and drink so we decided to wait until that evening.

Come that evening she was able to move her wings some, so we decided to wait until the next day.  Then she was able to sit and keep herself upright, but still not stand.  She could not move to go potty so we also had to keep her bum clean :)  Poor girl even laid an egg.....though we tossed it since we did not know what was going on with her!

Three days she could not move.  She just sat or laid and let us feed and water her.

Then my husband came upon a tip for giving sick chickens a little bit of Gatorade, so we started that and we began to see a big difference!

Three more days go by and she is hopping to come out of confinement so we stick her in with the other hens and they instantly began to harass her.  We gave it a little bit to settle down, but they would not stop picking on her so we pulled her out.  She was feeling a lot better, but still was not 100% and the other hens must have picked up on that.

So...a few more days alone and then we stuck her in the coop after bedtime and the next morning they all woke up, she was able to fly up to the roosting bar and everyone was friendly again!

I was very thankful that we ended up being able to keep her.  She is back to laying eggs and picking on the younger chicks!!  I am also thankful for the internet enabling us to become chicken doctors!!

So my chicken first aid advice is this:

1.  First thing...separate the sick chicken.  Like I said, this not only protects your flock, but also the sick one.

2.  Make sure the sicky has food and water and is able to partake of both.  You don't want one injury to end up leading to death by dehydration.

3.  Use the internet!!  There are so many good sites out there for chicken owners and a lot of been there, done that information.

4.  Our two favorite chicken remedies are diatomaceous earth and Gatorade!!

5. When the sicky gets better, be careful of integrating her back into the flock.

6.  Sometimes nothing you can do works and they die.  We have lost a total of 8 hens over the last year.  We feel sad each time we lose one, but we also try our best to give them a great life while they are with us and that helps us feel a bit better when it is time to let one go.

We figure that Roadrunner must have pulled a muscle and just needed time to heal.  She did not like having to eat and drink with our help so her electrolytes became unbalanced and the Gatorade helped with that.  In the end we probably will never know for sure, but I am so thankful for our happy ending this time!!

Farm Cute-ism

 

Cute farm moment..........

 

This cat actually belongs to some of our neighbors, but she enjoys coming over and playing with the girls....both of the human and of the chicken variety!!  The hens were all snuggled up with her for a nap yesterday afternoon!!

I am working on a post for tomorrow showing you how we go through our milking and filtration process each morning with our goats!!

Hope you have a wonderful day and don't forget to stop and appreciate the cute moments that YOU encounter :)

Chickens and Poison Ivy

**Picture warning....there are a couple of gross poison ivy pictures at the end of the post!!**  :)


A little over a week ago we decided to up our chicken flock by four.  After buying the chickens we brought them to the back of the house and let them go.  Only then did we realize that we had made a bit of a mistake!  They would have no idea where to go in the evening!!

I guess we just thought that they would know where the coop was by osmosis or something!!

Anyways, we realized that we needed to round up the chickens and start them out in the coop.  Easier said than done my friend!!  Boy howdy were those girls flighty!!

On top of the new girls being skittish, one of the old hens was MAD!!  I tell you, she was squawking up a storm.  She followed Farmer Willie around the yard yelling at him for about 30 minutes.

 

Well, the new hens were sooooo fast!  They were running everywhere!!

So imagine us all running around trying to catch these four hens that absolutely do NOT want to be caught.....Oh wait, I can help you imagine it!!  I snapped a picture! :)

After chasing for a while, one of the farm cats decided he would help, so he started running around trying to attach the chickens.  This led to squeals from the peanut gallery and a new sense of urgency to catch them!!  My sweet germ-a-phobic DD #2 even went running into the brush to try and help get them.

So FINALLY we were able to get all four into a temporary coop connected to the hen house.

Of course, two of the older chickens thought it was really interesting to watch the new ones inside the run!!

Well, you know how I mentioned DD #2 pitching in and even going into the brush to try and save the chickens?  Well, I should also mention that she is EXTREMELY allergic to poison ivy and going into the brush, while well intended, ended up being a REALLY bad idea!!

Two mornings later, this is what she woke up to!

One more day passes and it progresses to this....

My poor baby girl!  All she was doing was trying to help!!

Well, her reaction just kept going and she ended up with blisters.  One area of the blisters looked like this....

Soon, she could not move her fingers because of the blisters, so we headed into see her pediatrician.  They cut the blisters opened and cleaned them out really well!

Ended up she had the equivalent of 2nd degree burns due to her reaction.  It has been a rough week and weekend for her, but praise the Lord, she seems to be doing better now!!

So the lessons we learned on the chicken poison ivy day are:

1.  When you get new chickens, start them out in the coop for a bit so they know where to come home to at night.

2.  Play with your cat for a while before you go chasing chickens, or he will think it looks fun and try to chase them with you!

3.  Don't go into the brush if you are allergic to poison ivy.

4.  Roosters help protect hens from playful cats!!  We got one the next day thanks to our awesome neighbor!!

Adjusting to Life on the Farm

I told you guys yesterday that I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to our move, but I am not the only one.  DD #2 is struggling to find her place here as well.

Of course, we kinda suspected that would be the case!  She does not like animals, dirt, or anything that has touched either. So..... we knew there might be some trouble there as there is nothing here that has not touched either an animal or dirt!!  That being said, she is a trooper and works each day to find the blessings.

Our other three daughters as well as Farmer Willie appear to have been born for this life!!  DD #1 has worked really hard to get a garden plot ready for planting. 

And DD's #3 and #4 spend every available minute outside.  They have loved the cats, snakes, dead mice, dirt, trees, etc!!

I had a friend come by yesterday and she had read my blog.  She suggested that part of the problem might be because I don't know the area well enough yet.  I think she might be right!!  So next week, she is taking me on an exploration trip!!  I am really looking forward to that :)

In the two months that we have lived here, we have all been forced to learn some life leasons, many of them revolving around animals.

First, about a month ago, we were out of town on a college exploration trip for DD #1 and some of our neighbors were watching our chickens.  A dog got into one of the coops and killed all four of our youngest chickens.  We were devestated, while at the same time trying to remind ourselves that we knew, sooner or later, we would lose some. 

After the dog attack, our sweet rooster became really depressed.  He stopped crowing immediately after the attack and we seemed to lose more of him each day.  Finally, in the last two weeks he started losing his balance and it became difficult for him to walk. 

In our research, we figured that he had a stroke, so we took care of him, and prayed for him.  DD #3 would catch bugs for him to "hunt" for and she exercised his legs for him each day.  We carried him in and out of the coop, making sure he was protected and had food and water.  DD #3 would even clean him each day as he could not get around well for going potty.

In the last couple of days, he seemed to be improving!  He walked more and we saw him really fight to stand for several minutes.  He even tried to give himself a dirt bath!!  But unfortunately, yesterday, when DD #3 went to let the chickens out of the coop, she found that he had died during the night.

One of the biggest lessons we have learned on the farm is seeing the hand of God in everything.  It is easy to see His hand in the beautiful sunrise and sunset, the running water in the creek and in the beautiful song of the birds. 

But when things happen that seem to be contrary to all that is good, it is more difficult.

We just happen to be reading through Job right now, which just increases the question of...why? 

I can't answer that question, but I have asked it plenty of times.  I do know that I have learned that during the "why" times, I can cling to the fact that:

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.  Psalm 62:5-8

Chicken Run....For Real, Not The Movie!!

Okey Dokey Artichokey, let's get on with the chicken story!!

So, as I told you yesterday, we finished the chicken coop and surprised aCOWntant Willie with it! He was very surprised and we were all pleased because when it rained that night, the inside stayed dry!! I think DD#1 and I might become pro chicken coop builders!! :)

Next step was a chicken run because we need a safe place for them to play out in the fresh air when we can't watch them. There are a gazillion ideas for building chicken runs, but due to the rain we needed something quick because we were just hours away from getting our four girls!!

The decision was made to go with a portable pvc pipe run, so we all set to work!!

We got the frame together!!

Once the frame was done, we wrapped it with chicken wire and used zip-ties to connect it.

It was then that we ran into a bit of a problem.  How in the world could we safely connect it to the hen house so they can go in and out during the day?

Well, at this point aCOWntant Willie was starting to feel sick so DD #1 and I crawled into the run and went to work trying to figure it out.  We came up with a few ideas that DID NOT WORK and finally came up with something that will work for now.  We used a staple gun and stapled the wire to the hen house.  It is not the most secure thing and we will need to revise it in the near future, but it works for now!!

Then we needed to get nesting boxes and roosting bars in the coop.  I had read a quick and easy nesting box idea where you just use dishpans, so we went to work on that!!

And tah-dah!!!  We have nesting boxes!!

So every night around sunset, we go and call them into the hen house (coop) and lock all of the doors up for the night.  Apparently chickens go almost comatose at night!  Who knew??!!

When we went out to check on them yesterday morning, they were all four snuggled up in one nesting box.  Sooooo cute!!

DD #3 has become our chicken queen!  All four chickens are in love with her.  As soon as they hear her voice they come running to her.  She will sit down with them and they all climb up in her lap and go to sleep! Total cuteness!!

Yesterday afternoon we were presented with a great opportunity to go in with a neighbor and acquire 4 more chickens, 3 of them are already laying eggs!  So...DD #1 and I headed back to Lowe's so get the supplies to build another coop!  We almost finished it yesterday so I will post pictures tomorrow of our new hen house and our 4 new additions!

I believe that we have decided to try and sell any excess eggs as a fundraiser for our family mission trip this summer!!  It was aCOWntant Willie's idea and I must say that it is a great one!!

See ya tomorrow!!