Turkey Trouble

This mama turkey has been hanging around our cabin. She has a few babies we have seen running on the trails, but lately she has been hanging out closer and closer to the barn.

If you saw my previous post: Camping on the Farm, I shared that we have a cornhole game by the cabin.  This is a game you play using “corn bags” that are tossed.  The “corn bags” are a felt fabric stuffed with whole kernel corn and sewn shut.

We went back to play the game the other night and could not find the bags.  After a few minutes of searching, we found one empty bag of material, then another and another and so on.  Yep, you guessed it, mama turkey had stolen the bags and put a tiny hole in each one and eaten the corn!!

We have had no rain in almost 2 months.  The ground is hard as concrete and most of the wild vegetation has shriveled up. These poor wild animals are having a hard time finding food sources.  I am finding more and more deer in my pastures picking at leftover hay.  The raccoons are around and in the garbage, the birds are eating and drinking at the feeders and bird bath more than ever.

This picture was from yesterday.  She has now made her way up to the chicken and goat pasture and was eating the chicken scratch feed.  Needless to say, I ran to the feed store today and purchased a bag of corn to put out back in our feeder for her and her babies.

For more of our crazy daily farm living adventures, don’t forget to follow our facebook page: ChasenChanceRanch

 

Farm Happenings

Blue and Oreo finally enjoying a sunny day

Spring on the farm is one of the busiest seasons.  It is the time for cleaning up the winter mess, prepping the gardens for planting, fixing up all of the animal pastures/enclosures that have weathered the winter snow and ice, starting all the seedlings in the greenhouse, spring hockey, jv soccer, varsity softball, work, meals, and trying to have a bit of fun inbetween.

Here are some of the things we have managed over the last week (not including meals which will come in a later post 🙂 :

If you have followed along with my Facebook Page…Chasenchanceranch, Disco foundered in January and has had a rough road over the last 2 months.  With aggressive treatments he is on the mend thankfully and even had his mane trimmed as he always has for riding and showing.  Even if he never makes it on the trails again, we are beyond grateful to have him comfortable and not in pain.

The baby chickens coop has been completely netted over the fencing and roof so there is never another hawk issue and they can be free and go in and out of their coop at will.  We have owned this property in my family since 1972 and have never had an animal lost to a hawk until this year.  It was a very hard life lesson for the kids to handle, but we are doing all we can to ensure the safety of all the animals!

The bunnies have a new run attached to their house so they can get some exercise and play during the day.  Meanwhile the “Chicken Brigade” travels the yard making sure to keep the bugs to a minimum!

Pops of color from the spring perennials are starting to liven up the grounds while some plantings are thriving in the portable greenhouse.  If you do not have primrose in your garden, I suggest you invest in some.  They are a very hardy spring plant and have beautiful green leaves during the summer when not in bloom.  They bloom in early fall as well and add great color.

Spring sports are underway.  The boy (in red) at his first jv soccer practice, the Teen Queen practicing catching and throwing for Varsity softball, and the boy playing in a jv hockey game.  Our nights are busy after work for sure!

The cabin is being set up for the summer to live in, the awning is up on the house for some outdoor dinners, morning coffee when not sleeping in the cabin, and rainy days when we play board games under it.

This robins nest is in the eave of the cabin.  We have to leave it as it contains these cute little eggs and a hopeful robin mommy!

And with the nicer weather comes our weekend bonfires to end the nights.  This was the “big one” as we burned up all the branches from around the yard and a few pallets.

And that’s part of the week in review!  Tonight is the first Varsity softball game…Go Lady Eagles!!!

 

Life Lessons on a farm…

Living on a farm offers so many benefits. But for every benefit there is always a hardship.

Farming teaches your children responsibility with helping them learn how to plant, hunt, cook, and can their own food.  They learn many tricks of the trade for getting the right vegetables to grow along with making a little money selling those things at a roadside stand.

The Boy and his friend after a hockey game playing with the chicks

Caring for animals is a huge responsibility.  It teaches compassion, love, nurturing, along with the commitment to the well being of the animal and loss.  There are sacrifices to be made such as leaving a birthday party early to get home to feed the animals.  Many other times you race home because the weather has changed and those animals need to be brought in.

This weekend was a very hard lesson at our farm and that was learning to understand that no matter how responsible you are, things still happen that are hard to accept.

We purchased 6 baby chickens about 7 weeks ago to compensate for 4 of our older girls who will soon stop laying eggs and live out their golden years with us.  The kids hand selected each baby.  We have had them living in a huge bin in our basement until old enough to go outside.  Over the past 7 weeks they have held them, cleaned them, taken care of them and loved them.

Putting the babies from their travel bin into the outside house for the day

Yesterday was the day we decided they had outgrown their bin and were ready to move into the “baby” chicken coop and pasture.  This is a special area for the babies to grow into a full size chicken.  There is fencing that is 6 feet high on one side and 4 feet on the other.  There is also a baby gate before the 4 foot fencing.  Long story short, 2 of the babies are gone.  After being out there for 2 hours we went in for 20 minutes and came back out to find one of the babies outside of the fencing dead and one is missing.  The other 4 are ok.  The kids are devastated!

We have come up with 1000 theories on what happened but may never fully know.    UGH….so hard to accept!

As much as I want to grieve, I have to be strong for the kids who were still having tears slide down their cheeks getting ready for school today.  Sometimes the farm life is harder than you imagine!

Morning Mist

This was the beautiful morning sky and mist over the cabin and back pastures this morning when I headed out to feed the animals.

It was 63 degrees in Buffalo, NY today.  Last year at this time, I was trying to blaze trails in the snow to get to the pastures.  Not sure I like this warm weather but the skies make up for it!

Farm Kids

This picture really captures the essence of “farm kids” in my mind.  I love how they still at 13 and 10 appreciate their farm animals and remain the little “farm kids” we have raised them to be.

We built a larger run for the chickens tonight so they have more room to free range safely when we are not home.

You can see more cute chicken pictures on our Facebook page here:  Cute chickens

Circle of Life

Living on a farm it’s very important to teach the kids at the earliest age possible about the circle of life.  We have had many animals that have touched our lives here.  Flash was one of them.  He was a one of a kind rooster for sure and lived a good long life for a bantum chicken.  When he started showing his age last week we made him as comfortable as possible.

His funny personality and antics will be sorely missed, but we are thankful for the 7 years he was a part of our family.

You can see more pictures of our Flashy on my Facebook page here:   Flash

Beautiful Day on the Farm

Even though it’s 11 degrees out it’s still beautiful with the blue skies and sun!

You can’t tell but the horses have worked a small area in the pasture after each snow fall and it’s actually about 3 feet higher than the actual ground. If they step off into the snow that’s not worked they sink almost up to their bellies.

Poor Blue the goat wanted to come see me at the chicken coop and realized it was over his belly so he turned around and went back to the trail I made for them to use to walk around.

Al and Oreo thought it best to hang in their house and peek their heads out rather than venture out!

I need this sign

We are adding to our little chicken clutch tomorrow.  These cute little ladies will be coming home with me

How could I not when they need a new home?????  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!!!

Now it’s up to the kids to name them 🙂

Inner Clock

Mysty waiting when I pull in from work

Yelling to me as I walk out the door towards the barn

This mare loves her food. She knows exactly when I get home from work and waits at the fence for me to pull in. She stares and watches me as I walk in the house not caring that the rest of her herd will not join her standing and waiting.

When I come out after changing into barn clothes, she yells to me I imagine to hurry me along.

As soon as the goats here her yell, they peek their heads around the corner of their house to confirm I am on my way with everyone’s lunch!

It’s all about the tools

Having the right tools in the barn is just as important as having them in the kitchen!!  Here are some of my “must have” tools in my horse barn.

I keep a scrub brush and empty bucket for cleaning out the water buckets in the stalls.  I scrub them and empty them to refill with fresh, clean water.  I have an orange hose that is heated.  I plug it in when I enter the barn and by the time I am done with stall cleaning and other chores in the chicken and goat houses the hose is ready to fill the water buckets.

The blue fish net is an EVERYDAY item.  I use it to clean the water in the buckets on days that I am not emptying them and just refilling.  They catch all the little bits of hay or grain that may have fall in into the buckets.

You just swirl the net around and the water is free of any debris and fresh.

I have scissors and wire clippers hanging at the doorway to cut open hay twine or quickly nip/repair any part of the wire goat and chicken fencing.  Having them at your finger tips when you need them is a great feeling.

Last year I asked for a tool box for my barn.  This is MINE only.  It is off limits to the kids and the man of the house.  I keep a hammer, screw drivers, wrench, and all different size nails for any little projects I need to do in the barn.

Those projects include hanging pictures and items that make me happy.  I love this oil barn painting that was found in a house after someone purchased it.  It’s signed Adele 1956.  I painted the frame black and love seeing it every morning when I am in the barn.  The blue framed picture is one I bought at an antique shop many years ago. I have no idea who it’s by but love the picture imagining it’s a soldier returning after a long time away and getting reacquainted with his woman.  And last the old license plates from my parents, lanterns found in the woods and an old fashioned beater.  I feel right at home in my barn.

A staple gun is another handy tool for those days the wind is coming in the cracks of the doors.  You can easily plastic them with a quick staple to the corner of a sheet of plastic.  Plastic bins for important items such as paper, pens, leg wraps, injury wraps, etc.  keep the items free from dust.

Felt blankets purchased at Walmart for $5.00 each work great at covering the saddles again keeping them free from dust and dirt and easily removed when getting ready to ride.

Bucket rakes and muck carts are another fabulous invention.  They make picking stalls a breeze.  I also keep a few around in case one breaks or for when someone else is helping (after you forced them) to clean stalls.

And last, but certainly no less important, is a baseball cap for those days you get stranded in the barn when it starts pouring!  It helps keep the rain or snow out of your eyes when emptying buckets, bringing in all the animals or making a mad dash to the house.

These items sure make my job easier and assist in keeping me happy in my barn 🙂