Fun On The Farm

Crystal and Mike and the kiddos stopped this morning to see if I wanted to ride into town with them, go out to breakfast and shopping. Umm, no thank you but if anyone wants to stay here with me and play in the garden, they are more than welcome to stay.  After feeding 3 kiddos a pancake breakfast and watching some Sesame Street, we headed outside.

 First we moved the turkeys from their overnight pen out into the big pen to hang out with the chickens.

Next we had to ooh and aww over the baby chickens. We talked about Fred the Rooster and why is he being mean now.  He used to be a very nice rooster but now, not so much. He is a very protective daddy. It's so much fun to watch the baby chicks.

 The kids have giant pumpkin plants so they weeded them first while I worked on the wildflowers.  It's hard to tell the weeds from the flowers.

Tony Dog took a few dirt baths that cause quite the giggle fest.  He wasn't very much help pulling weeds but he sure provided some entertainment.

 After an hour, we decided we've had enough garden time and needed a snack. On the way up to the house, we explored the hydrangea bushes.  They are about to explode with color.

Now we are coloring and will have some lunch pretty soon.  We decided a peanut butter and jelly picnic is what we want today.  So much more fun than going to town.

And Then There Were Two

Yesterday afternoon we fixed up the new pen for Henny Penny and her new family.  I took her and Ernie was going to get the baby and the eggs.  A new chick had just hatched out.  She is from Miss Blue who liked to lay her eggs next Henny Penny.  I was quite sad when he said there were 2 that didn't make it.  So now we are waiting on the 3 remaining eggs.  I know there is at least one more from Miss Blue.  I'm wondering if any will look like Henny Penny.

I don't want the turkeys to feel left out.  Today is their 2 month birthday.  They are so fun to watch.  We let them out of their pen sometimes and they follow us right over to the big pen to hang out with the chickens.  Then at night, I go out and call them and they come right to me and follow me back to their home.  It's never dull around here!

If you enlarge this picture, you can see Proud Pappa Fred in the back.  I'm hoping at least one of the chicks looks like their father.  I never thought I would feel this way about chickens.  They just make me happy!

Today is retreat day one.  I'm so glad I live close so I can come home and check the babies.

Farm Tales

The baby turkeys are almost 4 weeks old now.  Saturday we moved them into their big home.  They looked so big in the tub they were in and now they look so tiny!  They are quite adventurous and so fun to watch.

 The front of the chicken house needs wire across the bottom. I keep forgetting to do it.  The other day I happened to spot an egg.  Then I found 5 more.  Today I spotted 3.  I had the camera in my pocket so decided to set it on the ground and take a picture.  I see 3 more eggs I couldn't reach.  I'll have to get the tennis ball flinger and a kid to lay on their stomach to get the eggs out of there before they get nasty.

Saturday was bee day.  We lost both of our hives last year so we are giving it another shot.  Cross your fingers that we get some honey this year.

The littles were getting bored with watching bees fly around and decided the chickens needed a snack.  See the big rooster in the front?  That's Fred. He isn't mine, he lives next door but likes it here better.  He's a nice rooster so he's welcome.  The neighbor kids came and got him the other day and the next morning he was strutting down the road.  Makes me wonder if they gave up on him.

Turkey Update

We've had the baby turkeys a little over 2 weeks now.  Sadly one didn't make it but the other 4 are doing great.  They aren't real friendly but are quite curious and look at us when we talk to them.  When I try to catch them, they run away so I leave them be, I don't want them to have a panic attack.

Turkey Farmers

Today we became turkey farmers. After the grand kiddos were out of school, we went to the local farm store to buy four turkeys. There were five in the tub and we couldn't leave just one there so he came home with us too.  It was so fun to look at all the baby chicks, geese, ducks and turkeys.  I say these are the only birds we are getting this year.  Time will tell.  This reminds my of my friend last year with her chicks.  

We don't know if they are girls or boys, we'll find out soon enough. It doesn't really matter. These are being raised for meat. I'm glad I don't have to explain to the kiddos about this.  I think it's best to dump that chore on to the parents. They are so darn cute!