Meet the Ladies

Now that they are all settled--we sometimes get five eggs a day! We even got a double-yolker this morning, pretty exciting :) Last night, I spent some time trying to get pictures of the birds--mostly because I can't tell them apart and it would be kind of good to know which is which (in case of any issues).

I'll begin with Chick-Fil-A (a.k.a. Necklace). This is the bird Graysen selected and she is more than happy to have her picture taken--quite the poser this one! I call her Necklace because of the black-tipped feathers that ring her neck.

I had a lot of pictures of Chick-Fil-A :) Next to her in the final photo is a gal we call "Sprinkles"--this is due to the short white flecks that are in her feathers--they look like sprinkles. Brennen liked the name Candlestick because of her gray legs and feet--I thought that was pretty creative, too! :)


Next up is Honey Chicken. She's my favorite! She just looks so . . . chickeny :) She's a little bit smaller than the other birds, so I suspect her of laying the tiny almost Robin's-egg sized protein pockets we collect each day.

Next up is Brennen's chicken--Zaxby. I have a hard time remembering that, so her a.k.a. is Princess Fluffy Buns :) It's self explanatory ;) She, among the biggest birds, seems to be one of the gals that rules the roost. Chickens do have personalities--mostly arrogant and fussy, ha! (Except Honey, she's just sweet ;)









This is the only picture I got of Josie. She's the only chicken who likes to be petted. She'll sit still and let Graysen pet her while everybody else runs for cover. They're friendly chickens, as long as we're not IN the coop with them :)



The next chicken doesn't have a name yet, so for now I'm calling her Uganda Chicken. We are sponsoring a little girl in Uganda who just turned four years old. I wrote her about our chickens and sent her a picture. The kids agreed we should ask her if she'd like to name our 7th chicken. It will be fun to see what she comes up with--though it will probably take a couple of months for us to learn this bird's new name :)





And finally--there's Cupcake. Oh, Cupcake. She is not a pretty lady. She's in the middle of molting and kind of a hot mess, lol :) You'll see in the following pictures, that she's not a fan of getting her photo taken when she's not looking her best--attitude!!! Ha!


 

What's Bugging Me?

BUGS!! I feel like there are SO MANY bugs right now! The ladybugs/Asian beetles are EVERYWHERE. Flies--so many flies! I smacked and flushed eight in one elimination effort in the laundry room alone. Fruit flies--endless amounts of fruit flies. Pirate bugs--those stinkers bite! And speaking of stinkers--stink bugs! I've never seen so many stink bugs inside and outside the house, ever! Spiders--spiders are supposed to be helping with these pests. We have spiders--HUGE spiders, daddy longlegs, the little ones that drop down from the ceiling where we walk into the garage. We could bug bomb the house, but now we have all these little furry critters that can't be in the fumes. But worst bug situation of all . . . our poor little hedgie has a major mite infestation :(

I noticed on the last cage cleaning day that his skin looked . . . clumpy, dirty, dusty? I started researching dry skin online and discovered--mites. Apparently, wood chip bedding is often infested with mites, especially the kind that is stored outdoors. Now you tell me. He got a bad batch and he is COVERED in mites.

Exotic pet vet visits are not cheap, though we can take him to our normal Chauncey vet. With saving for Gabby's upcoming leap into orthodontia, hedgie vet care is not really in the budget. My first thought, "Release him to the wild." Okay, that's not very nice. My second . . . start researching home treatments.

For the past couple days, Caelan and I have been bathing Radagast in a mixture of canola oil infused with essential oils (thieves, purification, and lavender). The idea is the oil smothers the mites and starts to moisten and heal his skin. He's lost soooooo many quills, poor guy. The mites are just nibbling them off of him :( I'm literally itching thinking about it (although only people with very sensitive skin can/will react to this type of mite--which is why Caelan and I are taking care of him :)

We think we've managed to smother most of the living batch of buggies. Of course, they also lay eggs. So today, we washed Radagast with Mane and Tail to get the oil off, then we'll wait a day or so to see if anything hatches, then repeat the oil. This is until Buck is able to get a prescription from his pharmacy (it's nice having a vet in the family who can call in things you know you need without having to do a formal office visit). However, hedgehog mite medicine is not something they normally keep "on hand" at the pharmacy--I can't imagine why? :) So, it will be today or maybe early next week before we can get it.

As you can see, we also relocated him back to his original cage with puppy potty pads instead of woodchips, while his big enclosure soaks in vinegar on the lawn outside. We're hoping that the same infestation doesn't affect the guinea pigs or the hamster who also share this fodder.

But on a good note--we haven't seen a tick in MONTHS!! :)

Skillz

One of my guest bloggers in action (Chauncey has been laying near the typing keys since he was a puppy and I wrote stories for the newspaper :)




My guitar boys--now learning to play bass guitar--in addition to an occasional drum lesson. They love music time at Mr. P's :)

Ummm . . . Gross.

"Hey, mom! Come see what we found in the backyard!"

"Will I need rubber gloves?"


"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

Oh boy.

This is life on *the farm* ;)

While the neighborhood kids were over playing, they collectively spotted this completely intact mole (the fur is surprisingly soft, almost like a kitten!) lying on the upper deck of the first hill. It was broad daylight--odd for a mole, notorious for liking darkness. Well, I don't know if this one was an adventurer, like in the storybooks, and met his fate as a result--or if he was an incomplete meal for another nighttime adventurer. Owl?

The weird thing is, other than a little blood on his nose and possibly a puncture wound under his left arm, he seemed undisturbed. I let everyone have as much time as they wanted to inspect him, flip him with a stick to see the other side, etc. (good science, homeschool action right there :), then I used my gloved hand (oh, yes, thankful for those gloves!) and picked him up. He still seemed warm to the touch! Is that possible?

Caelan, "Check Google and see if moles play dead . . ." (I actually did have her check this before I was willing to touch the furry *dead* one). "Inconclusive." Drat.

Well, I went for it. I let the mole fly and off he or she went into the tall prairie grasses of our second hill. Since they are such pests, I will gladly say, "Another one bites the dust!" and call it a success story. But still . . . ew.

Zoorific

We like to go to a mostly empty zoo in the off-season afternoons!

This one worked out great, because Buck and I wanted to run some errands (and have a brunch/lunch date) in the morning of his first day off. We returned some things to Lowe's, got some other things we've discovered we needed, and even ran into our chicken friend and two of her girls! We also restocked my coconut supply, and bought a cinnamon broom--oh my goodness! I've always wanted one of these. Every time we walk into Trader Joe's during this time of the year, they have the vestibule filled with cinnamon brooms. I'm too cheap to go *off list* for something not food (even if it is only $3.99), so I just enjoy the aroma as I enter and exit. Buck has no such qualms--"We should get one!" He was right, we should! And we did. And the house smells sooooo good!

We had brunch at a nice little diner that reminded me of our CA days for whatever reason (because it's not a chain I remember from out there). Maybe it's because I ordered a Baja omelet? :)




Next we packed up the kids and headed to the zoo. Since we are so adventurous, we parked at the opposite end that we normally do--what?! First stop, the adventure area, and within that--the birds! They are so friendly now, they walked right up and sat on Buck's shoes (he's kind of like Snow White!)

We also got to play with the goats and then see the lions. We thought the lions would never actually sit in the back of the Jeep that they put half in/half out of the enclosure--but sure enough there they were! Two males, but weirdly, the one in the back of the Jeep seemed to be trying to eat his own tail :/  Buck said he'd gnawed it raw and kept working on it. IDK, maybe it's a weird fall grooming practice? We never did find a zookeeper to check in with.


On our way to the exit, G$ wanted to spend some of his birthday cash on a bag of rocks from the gift shop :) He's been asking to do this for the past few times, but with a card arriving in the mail just before we left . . . well, today was his day! He combined the new collection with his previous bag of rocks from a grotto we visited, and expanded what you see here. I was amazed he smushed that many unique, colorful stones into that one yellow, velvet drawstring bag.

And not to brag, but the next day Buck took me out on ANOTHER date--to a new restaurant that my friend S's brother and sister-in-law are part owners of. They source locally for art, ingredients, and flowers. The food was unique and so tasty--an unusually trendy palette for our community :)

When we got home Graysen, who was a little annoyed with all this going out, said, "Are you going to go out for breakfast tomorrow too?" I said, "No, because we have church. But dad does have Monday off ;)"

This and That

Here's a little compilation of a few things that we've been up to . . . karate of course is still in full swing as the kids move towards earning their decided second degree black belts this week. At our first chance to get to karate closest to Graysen's birthday, he wanted to wear the birthday belt and have the birthday song sung to him by the class. But our four kids and the instructor were the only ones at the class! Still, he requested everyone sing to him by his karate name, "Mr. ???? Happy Birthday to you," ha!!

Our girls, whichever was willing, were invited to babysit at the neighbors' house. When they learned the appointment was at 8:15 AM--Caelan was out :) Gabby was super excited for her first solo babysitting job! She even took care of most of her schoolwork the night before, so that we could go straight into our group lessons when she returned. Very responsible!

She said they had a nice time building a LEGO pirate ship and playing quiet-ish games. When mom returned, I guess all that pent up energy was expelled on her :) By all accounts, Gabby did a great job and had fun on her first official sit!

For his birthday, Graysen asked for a board game. He didn't specify which one he wanted, so I looked for one with bears. This is what I came up with--Bear Valley. You have to get to base camp BEFORE THE BEARS EAT YOU!! I guess it is kind of complicated. Caelan read the instructions, then Buck found an instructional video. They're still playing the base version without all the extra layers--like sparkly foxes and gold coins that look like Nilla Wafers :)





For weeks, our neighbors have been so excited about getting their new puppy! They are a retired couple who also go to our church. The boys do poop patrol for them once each week--and now they'll have three dogs to clean up after--but I don't think this tiny guy is going to make much of a mess for awhile anyway. Sweet, baby beagle!

I popped out of the shower (popped, check the spelling ;) just as everyone was leaving for the puppy-meeting adventure. It was raining anyway, so I didn't bother to dry my hair. It's not a new gelled fashion trend I'm trying to bring back, ha!



Teenagers are fun! Gabby decided to be, like, a sleepy lady for Treat Night and wants to put a green mask on her face for her costume. I haven't had my old Mary Kay mask product in a loooooooong time, so I told the girls they could try making masks out of food we had in the kitchen. This one is avocado, banana, honey (they also made an oatmeal, cinnamon, baking soda, but that one turned their faces bright red, so they washed it off!) Super funny girls having a good time with their first homemade *beauty* products ;)

Egging Us On

So far, being a chicken family has been pretty easy! Each morning when he wakes up, Buck heads up the hill with the dog to do the chores. He opens the little chicken hatch and gets the birds their food and water. If he's running late, ooh are those ladies in a huff! During the day, the kids check on them about twenty times, because it is fun to see what the chickens are up to. They haul up buckets of scraps for the compost pile and to delight the birds. Having all the extra veggies from the day we picked the birds up has come in handy--we can't eat or store the raw food fast enough, so we share with the feathered girls :)

In the late afternoon, we take the chickens another round of feed and replace their water. It takes four pounds of feed to produce a dozen eggs, so they need a pound of feed twice a day. This was a little practical math lesson the kids helped us figure out--and how did we come up with these numbers? Well, each day in school I assign the kids reading from "Chicken for Dummies." The evening before, I've usually shared highlights with Buck about my newfound chicken knowledge. Currently, this book is on loan from the library, but I'm thinking we'll have to get a copy of our own for reference. I told Buck, "It's like What to Expect When You're Expecting," everything we need to know and a whole lot that we don't :)

Did you know it takes a bird 24 hours to process a new egg for laying? That means that by the time the egg is laid--it has been 25-26 hours. So, your morning layers will gradually become afternoon layers until they skip a day and reset back to morning. You can also tell what color those eggs will be by investigating the patch of skin beneath the chicken's ears. Thus far, we've had big dark brown eggs with speckles and smaller pale tan eggs that are solid color. However, we were super excited that yesterday--after two weeks? we had a third girl start supplying us with eggs. Today, when Brennen and Graysen went to check on the flock, they returned with both hands behind their backs.

Brennens says, "Not one!" (one arm comes out) "Not two!" (next arm comes out) "Not three!" (brother's arm comes out) "But FOUR eggs!" (brother's other arm comes out ;) This was an exciting day, because we are figuring at our current investment rate--we're averaging about $10/fresh egg, lol :)

We've discovered that all the chickens lay their eggs in one box--the one farthest from the door (which seems the safest to them--this I also learned in my chicken book). It makes egg collecting easy--except for the fact that it is the FARTHEST possible box for us to reach, so of course it is their favorite, ha! You can see in the first picture, that's where several of them are hanging out. Somehow they've come up with a way to take turns in the egg laying box--that's fine with me. Just keep laying those eggs, ladies!

Still working on naming them--but we're getting close! The girls suggested Disney Princess names (which I thought was hilarious!), but the boys vetoed that idea. Originally they were all going to have fast food chicken restaurant names, but these birds are too girlie to be called Popeye and Chester (etc.)

Today, because it has been so rainy and they don't like to get their feet wet or muddy, we transferred a huge bucket full of sand from the kids' old sandbox into the chicken coop. Graysen said, "Looks like the chickens are at the beach!" Yes, they are quite tropical now :)

Speaking of tropical, it has been raining like crazy around here! We've had little rain all year, and now the garden and coop is like a mud bog. All the neighbors and their kiddos want to come check out the flock, but the mudslide back home is a bit intimidating :) The sun is supposed to shine for the next couple days, so perhaps our tours can begin then.

I'm glad we got chickens!