Broody Hen

Have you ever seen a broody hen who hatches out her own chicks and then cares for them? Well this is my first year to see such a thing (another farm had some) and so I had to have one. I found a hen available and I found some of the Easter Egger chicks that I wanted to get some pretty colored eggs from and went farm hopping.

First I picked up the hen who is a Cochin x Silkie, the lady I got her from calls her a "Frobbit". She's white and very silky smooth. She didn't like being pulled off of her clutch, but into the box she went and on we drove to the other farm.

The woman at the other farm had all sorts of animals: sheep, bunnies, geese, ducks, chickens and quail. Lots of chicks, and 3 incubators full of eggs. She picked out 5 hopefully girl chicks (she even showed me how to tell by their tail feathers if they're girls or boys). She suggested putting them into the same box with the Frobbit, as she has at least 4 Frobbits that I saw all with their own following of chicks. Sure enough she settled right down and was a gracious mama to the new chicks.

When we got home we put them into our large dog kennel so the cat couldn't get at the chicks and the mama and babies could bond. They are so quiet compared to the chicks in the brooder box under the heat lamp. I forget they are there then I freak out and go check on them and they're all just quietly sitting there looking around. SO CUTE!!!

kids named her Dutchess and her 5 chicks

Busy

I can't even begin to tell you how busy we've been this last week.

Thursday I started helping to lay down hard wood floor in our parish hall, we have someone coming to stain it before Easter. I helped Friday, then Saturday, then Monday and today we're almost done. Taking way longer than I expected. I thought two days of my time, but this is crazy! It's been a lot of fun and hubby took this week off so he's been a big help with the kids, but not much school has gotten done.

Chicks started hatching on Thursday thru Sunday. Hubby's project with the kids, they hatched around 160 and sold most of the "extras". We're keeping about 35. The roosters will be our meat chickens this year and the hens we'll keep to lay.

Thursday my husband and friend headed to Anchorage to pick up our temporary priest who's from California. Married with a 1-yr-old girl. We were so happy to have a priest for all of the services that are called for during Holy Week and Pascha. Little did we realize that this priest was my husband's long lost (Arab) twin. Friday began our 2 church services per day ('till Sunday) schedule, so that's in addition to everything else.

My husband picked up his bee hive on Saturday and will get bees in it this coming Saturday.

Sunday was Palm Sunday one of my favorite feasts of the year. Church was full, salmon was awesome and the company was amazing! I even got to wear my new "June Cleaver" dress. When I ran over to my sisters real quick that afternoon I got the van stuck in the mud, argh! So I got out in my nice dress and put on my work gloves and proceeded to gather boards to put under the tires. My brother-in-law finally had to push me out with his 4wheeler. The sun was still shining so it was ok.

The goat, Amelia, finally had her babies (three!) last night during cowboy night. I'd started writing a blog post when he said, "Anna! Now!" and ran out to the garage. I followed and heard her scream. When I got there he was holding a long gooey goat kid by the back legs and there was another on the ground. We called our goat "midwife" and she told me to have him pull up on her belly in case there were any more and there was. It came out backwards and my daughter tickled it's nose with some straw to make it sneeze. They are all beautiful Nubian boys (bummer no girls) but cute none-the-less. They have great lineage so they maybe good heard sires, or, someones dinner (I don't think ours).

On we go with this crazy week. Thursday the annual bishop visit will be upon us. At some point I have to let the kids dye eggs and we have to figure out if we have all the pieces to their outfits. Make food, and more food and buy food. Go to lots more church. And church and then PASCHA! I can't wait!

Saturday

I decided to be better today! I got up, went upstairs, came back down and quickly crumpled back into bead.

Husband left around 9:30 to go pick up fertile eggs from 3 locations around our town.

While he was gone my cousin called informing us that our friend who has been struggling with Cancer and a broken back passed at 3am. My heart hurts for his wife and son that lived with and cared for him. His wife is my kid's Greek teacher and they have not had Greek class for the last 2 weeks because of our illness and his downward turn. Memory Eternal. May his soul dwell with the blessed.

I got in a nap and when hubby was done putting 158 eggs into the incubator to be hatched on Lazarus Saturday or Palm Sunday, I told him about our friend.

He told the kids and some cried. They have seen him more over the last 6 months at their house than we have. It's good, they need to see and fear death just as we all do. He told his wife in the last month or so that the only thing we can really be prepared for is death. He's so right.

After that my husband set up our nice new huge dog kennel (goat kennel) in the garage for our larger goat due to kid on April 13, but can go 10 days early or late. He visits her daily and noticed her laying down more and moaning more. Time to get our rear-in-gear and get all the things we need in order.

The phone rang a lot, the kids screamed, played and cried a lot and then it was time for church. I told one to go with hubby and the rest stayed home and took showers and cleaned up the kitchen.

When he got home he loaded the clean children into the van and drove to Fred Meyer to let them pick out their own dinners. I'm sure they just loved that. I don't think I've ever let them do that. He also got me some whole-clove garlic bread and grapes, a baby monitor to hook up to listen to the goat, and a bag of dark chocolates. He sure loves me.

I have an idea, I'll be better tomorrow!

This week

Sunday the kids were so happy to open the incubator and pull out some of the new chicks that had hatched. They are especially adorable when you hatch them yourself. Probably like when your own baby is just by far cuter than any other baby you have ever seen. It was amazing to watch and the fun should begin again this weekend with another batch. They sold them all very quickly and Papa will be taking over the sales and customer service end of things because apparently 12-yr-olds can do algebra but can't count chicks and will over sell them to your friends and family. Not as fun.

Pictures? No, of course I didn't take any pictures of the VERY FIRST BATCH OF CHICKS THE KIDS HATCHED OUT!!! That would be much too clever of me.

I've been feeling run down since last week but I had a meeting to go to with E on Tuesday night. By the time I got home I felt rotten and had a low grade fever. By the time I forced myself into bed it was a full on rough-and-tumble fever and I got out the big guns (huge polar fleece quilt) and hunkered down for the night.

Wednesday I slept all day, not a huge fever but needed to sleep. Right on through to Thursday late morning when I forced myself upstairs so my husband (now sick too) could have the morning in bed and I could get the kids to do chores and some school. I canceled the appointments I had and by 4:30 I needed a nap. Back to bed, hubbys turn. He made them spaghetti for dinner and got me some soup.

Friday I decided to get better. Sometimes that works. I got up, didn't feel like death, took a shower and then felt very tired. I got dressed went upstairs, got the kids to do some chores and school and snuck into my office where I have been neglecting customers all week. I had 8 new messages. I called back a few and hoped for message machines so I would not have to get into a long conversation with anyone. After a half hour I was done.

My brother-in-law had called earlier asking if we were better yet. Friday was Annunciation the day when Angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce the news of carrying Christ in her womb. Because of this feast, Friday is also the only "Fish" day during Lent. I had agreed for the first time in our marriage to go out to sushi with my husband and so my brother-in-law wanted to bring my sister to try some out too. I said, "I'll try to feel better by then, I could take a Tylenol and we could try!" But at around 1:00 he called and said they wouldn't go, so I was relieved and ready to go back to bed. Hubby immediately went and picked two nice big salmon fillets out of the freezer and put them in the sink to thaw.

I got into bed, read some blogs and woke up 4 hours later having missed my friend coming over to say hi. (Sorry Jessie!!!!) I don't feel great but I felt like writing what is probably the lamest most boring blog ever!

I just hate being sick, fortunately I'm not sick a lot. As you can see I have a wonderful husband that takes good care of me when I am.


2010 meat chicks and pretty cute er rag-a-muffin gang



Chicks, bees, baby goats and Pascha

It's amazing.

You look at things you take for granted and you don't notice them until you start farming.

Like "kicking the bucket" we realized where that got the name REAL QUICK! When that goat (or cow) kicks over that bucket of milk you worked so hard to get, you want to slit it's throat and stick it in the freezer.

This article was not what I expected when I typed "Easter Lamb" into google. But this man is Greek Orthodox and describes how his Paschal Lamb is so much a part of him. Lambs (and goats) are born in the spring and at one year old they are at their biggest that you want to let them get before they begin to get tough. Thus giving us the Easter Lamb or an Easter Kid.

The hatching eggs went into the incubator last night. There are 45 total the children are excited as is my husband (me too I suppose). I am looking forward to having some special Black Copper Maran chicks as my own in 20 days from now. It seems the perfect thing to do during Lent, hatch out chicks for the spring.

My husband ordered his bees last week. They will be here in April and we will set up our first hive. Just one this year. My husband will be in an apprenticeship with a friend and he's letting us borrow the hive for the first year to see how we like it.

Our larger Nubian goat is due on April 15th. The girls go into heat in the fall and then you can try to time them to kid when it's best for you. They have to be dried up 2 months before kidding, so Lent seemed a good time to have little to no milk. I think we'll dry up the other one too since she will kid in June but I really wanted my daughter to have a good period of time off so that she would not have to milk 2x per day. I'd like her to be antsy to start when one of them kids and that should happen with a good break. We have thought about raising a male kid up for next year's Pascha feast. We shall see.

It's amazing how our food cycle actually used to revolve around what food was being produced at that time of year. I've already seen that with the garden but it's so much more apparent when you add animals to the mix. It's sad more people don't get to experience that. I'm glad our family is just beginning to learn it.