We lost our beautiful Lily and Goldie this week. 2 of my favorite young hens. The heat was just too much for them. Even though we have the duckpond which is always full and there are 4 large waterers placed around the property and filled daily they had gotten themselves beneathe the porch and were overcome by the 98 degree heat. lily was first and we tried to rehydrate with medicated I.V. (yes, you can give a chicken an IV-they sell the needles and tubing at tractor supply) but chickens will suffer almost immediate kidney trouble when dehydrated and she just wasn't coming back. Edd had to take her out back and relive her suffering. He cried, I cried, it was hard. She was a simply beautiful sweet natured hen, by far my favorite for color and temperment. The loss of her eggs and meat was but a tiny blow. How ever later that day when we discovered Goldie our last Buff Orpington hen lying under the porch, hours dead, no tears where shed but her egg/meat loss was felt sorely. she was a wonderful producer and was schedule to begin breeding this week with our Buff Roo "Steven". Buff orpingtons ar elarge and showy with their vibrant golden plummage and they are prolofic egg layers so they sell well. They generally have docile natures and are not very aggressive with other chickens making them perfect in mixed flocks.
This kick in the gut coming on the tail of living with absolutely no AC for 2 days in 98 degree weather had put us a little on edge. We decided to make the best of it and throw ourselves into working on the propeerty. I have been busy for the last 2 weeks tattooing and piercing all over our area(thank you katie for the referrals), so there were some things that needed to be done while Edd had time off from work. We made new trellis's for the cuccumber from our harvested bamboo (thank you Craigslist!) and we tied up more tomatoes and enlarged the new goose pen for the goslings (they are doing great!) we built new laying boxes out of a scavenged woodeng toy box I found, and built a huge rabbit pen for the bunnies-outside. They are so happy hopping around and jumping on thiings and eating grass.
Late yesterday afternoon the skies began darkening and once more the promise of rain hung over us and we were ecstatic! The night before the indoor temperature at our house was 97 degrees and sleep was no comfort. We were not looking forward to another night of lying in pools of sweat and sticking to everything. We had decided to sleep outside on the trampoline to get some relief, but a good rain would not only ease the suffering of the land from the unseasonable dryness, but would drop the temperature considerably and maybe produce a nice breeze too.Thus we began hoping, praying, begging for rain. it swelled, it thundered and the kids put on their bathing suits and Edd and myself settled into our chairs near the chickens and enjoyed the breeze,planning to stay right there til the rain stopped. Nothing. it circled around and disappeared. Not yet convinced it was over we held out hope for a shower later in the night.We got a call from someone in town who had gotten our number from the Tracto Supply Store for chickens. The lady had 2 pure bred Wyandotte roosters to get rid of-free, "but you gotta catch 'em." she said. Wyandottes are gorgeous and 2 new roosters would add to our breeding stock so we packed the kennel in the truck and off we went. Sure enough they were truly beautiful specimens and much easier to catch than you would have beileved. One is a golden laced showing the vibrant fiery oranges and red over blck and blue/green feathering and the other is a "blue" being a light smoky blue on the lower half of his body and a deep rick blue black on the upper. They crow clear and loud, so loud it echoes!
Home bound with our new aquisitions it began to rain! delicious smelling crisp, cool, fat,wet raindrops pummeling the windshield and thunder and lightening too! what a show as we drove home, watching the temperature gauge you could see it dropping quikly-almost 11 decibels in less than 30 minutes.Our hearts soaring and spirits revived and soothed we set about building a pen for the new Roosters at 10 pm last night. it was glad work and we were happy to be doing it. The children helped and we were all done by midnight. Roosters bedded down and tools put away we filed into our newly cooled home for showers and late snacks of bacon omelets and fell into bed, exhausted, excited and grateful. it was a good day, a very good day. I went on craigslist and found some Wyandotte hens to breed for a bargain price of $5 each. Way less than they sell for narmally. Woman didn't sell as well this year as expected and can't afford to feed such a a large flock. We will be purchasing several this week to breed here. gardens are doing great and I got another egg order yesterday from the polish restaraunt for 5 dozen eggs. The hens better start working overtime. I have to place an order next month for 60 more baby chicks to keep up with supply/demand. I never expected to have this many being sold so fast ,nor so many eggs either. The tyractor supply store has put my number and name on their registers for adult chicken sales and it is definately paying off. it may be a long time before the farm pays for itself entirely much less turns a profit, but who knows? i am happy working the land and tending my chickens and watching my children grow and develope a true love of what God has given us. It's not always enough to tell them,"don't litter" or "respect where your food comes from", sometimes you really need to show them. to give them an example to follow. No one can know if they will growup to want to farm or live a homestead life. They may leave the farm and never look back, but the lessons they are learning here will stay a lifetime deep inside where they cannot erase them. How to deal with grief without medication and how to be responsible for their own words/actions.How to do what MUST be done-even when you don't want too.Even when it hurts. Compassion, kindness, GRATITUDE. Appreciation for sore muscles and a hard days labor. For things as simple as rain and a well placed shade tree in summer.Those memories brought me back,put me here and I have found the joy and peacefullness nothing else in all theses years of adult hood could give me.Not drugs, not alcohol, not money. I hope it carries them home one day too, when they feel they have played their last hand and the world is against them and their faith wavers.I hope they close thier eyes,smell fresh baked bread and hear the roosters crowing,calling them home. I will be here waiting, arms outstretched- sweet tea and hoe cakes ready.
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