The spring chicks growing bigger and lovelier by the day. By giving them personal interaction daily, they are very comfortable around humans. Once, I put them into a basket and brought in the house for some ladies to admire. They were shocked, thought they weren't real! "They are so calm!" they exclaimed. The secret, we told them, is handling the chicks at a very early age.
We'll soon be adding to our barnyard menagerie and expect another batch of chicks to arrive in June (these were the chicks we planned on) this recent batch "was unexpected." Followed by another batch of baby ducks (I love chickens but these is SOMETHING about baby ducks... am I right?)
Not to get ahead of myself! Back to the threesome we have now, a few weeks ago (a month to be exact), our gals were officially weened off heat, lights of the brooder; however, they are still "isolated" from the main chicken flock to ensure there will be no coccidiosis problems (the new chicks are being given apple cider vinegar in their water to insure healthy & happy chickens) We erected a temporary run in one of the raised beds and are using an old rabbit hutch for their "coop." Figure we'll move them into the main compound in a few weeks . That will give us time to turn over the soil in the main compound, add some fresh mulch and sprinkle some diatomaceous earth.
In the meantime, it's fun to see the girls enjoy their earthly surroundings.
They just love taking dust baths and go into a semi comatose trance. One pullet was in such a trance I had to poke her to see if she was alive. No kidding!
When I look at all our critters enjoying the dirt, sun and companionship of others I sometimes get a wee sad thinking of the animals that don't share such experiences and shudder at the "modern" ways of bringing food to the table.
What a blessing it is to share the homestead with all creatures great and small.
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Caring for Citified Farm Animals
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“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your increase” (Proverbs 3:9)
What "first fruits" are you harvesting from your garden?
Isn't it exciting to see the first fruits ripening before one's very eyes, doesn't one's mouth water with anticipation of tasting the first berries, peaches, apples, etc of the season. What a blessing it is to walk outside one's back or front door and harvest our daily bread and for this we are extremely grateful for this opportunity.
But before I am tempted to pluck the first blueberry or strawberry of the season and pop into my mouth savoring the warm sweet juices, I have to pause and remember that this harvest is not ours alone. These first fruits belong to a Creator who has given us soil, seeds and rain in which we gain our freedom & sustenance and so we offer them back the earth as a token of our appreciation.
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