Monday, July 15, 2013

More odds, more ends


I feel that my area has seen a lot of rain this month, but the local streams and creeks still look pretty sad. I don’t know if that’s because July’s weather has been so hot or the lingering effects of not much snow this past winter. I suspect winter’s lack of snow is a major culprit; even though the weather has been hot, it’s also been humid and until this week rain or drizzle has been a near-constant. I keep thinking the creeks should be higher than they are because the mud around the cabin never seems to dry out, and my deck hasn’t been dry for weeks.


With the creeks looking the way they are now, and this the first day of a week-long 95 degree and higher heat wave, I don’t want to think about what the streams will look like in August if that month turns out to be a typical one. This year has been so untypical in so many ways, though, that I’m less worried about that than I might otherwise be. Not one month or weather pattern has been “typical” thus far in 2013, so for all I can guess, August could bring cold weather. I can only hope. I was ready for fall to start after the first 90 degree day in late May.

Although I haven’t had a recurrence of raccoon issues, my neighbors report instances where flowers were dug up and destroyed. It’s possible an opossum is to blame, but the most likely culprit is a raccoon. The chickens are on lockdown. Again. They hate that.

One of my chickens has turned into a broody hen, spending hours sitting on eggs that are hers and everyone else’s. I have evicted her once and then placed her by herself, with the eggs, in a separate enclosure where she could brood away. She immediately stopped brooding. So I put her back in the original chicken pen, and guess what? She’s brooding again. I have no idea what I will do with a clutch of chicks, should she manage to hatch them, let alone a clutch of chicks that are likely to be half roosters. I will deal with that if and when it happens.

6 comments:

Terry and Linda said...

You can put her in the main house in a dog crate to brood in. Of course if you have tons of roosters you will be stuck with the hideous job getting rid of the roosters.

I am so NOT a fan of raccoon and skunks and foxes where hens are concerned!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Scott said...

In San Diego on Sunday, I noticed a restaurant called Rooster Burger--no kidding--and I have no idea where the name comes from. However, if your brooding hen produces a bunch of male chicks, maybe that's your answer.

Granny Sue said...

Plenty of rain here too, but the creeks are running full. Thank goodness. Maybe the water table has returned to something like normal. I feel your pain with the broody hen. Breaking one up is hard to do, and yet they will nearly commit suicide doing this. I hope she is successful and you have chicks!

Carolyn H said...

Terry and Linda: I tried the dog crate--put her and the eggs in the crate with a nice bed of straw, her own water and food. She immediately abandoned the eggs, so I put her back in the main pen. And guess what? She is sitting on the eggs again. Sigh.

Carolyn H said...

Scott: Rooster burger, it will be then! I just hate to pluck a chicken, and it's been years since I killed one myself.

Carolyn H said...

Granny Sue: My broody hen, dubbed Dumbell, abandoned the eggs when I put her in a dog crate (with eggs, straw, water and food) but immediately returned to brooding when I put her back in the main pen.