Soooo the wrong footwear

OK. so, tested and proved ( like there was ever any doubt )

CROCS are SO NOT the right footwear for winter, no matter how short the trip is supposed to be, cuz once you set out there in them……….it’s going to be an uncomfortable and much longer trip than you expected.

Never mind the obvious………. holes on top that scoop snow down into your toes, the same holes that scoop top soil into the same place all summer, but between them, and the "who decided to put the chicken coop down hill" factor……………yup, slide ride it was, missed the duck pond, landed safely at the bottom, sporting a muddy butt and snowy toes.

So this was supposed to be just a quick trip to let the chickens out, but now I’m at the bottom of the hill, wearing pretty much a pair of highly ventilated jelly beans on my feet and I still have to get back up……….apparently, among other things, to dig out my ever so fashionable (NOT) heavy duty grippy soled winter boots from summer storage.

So when I do get back up there, I start to wonder ……….why do I own these things.

I mean really, they are not at all attractive, the grippy soled snow boots put them to shame in that department. Summer or winter, something is falling through those holes to wedge or melt between your toes. They come in the most ridiculous colors, mine are purple……mauve if you want to get all fashionista about it…and if that’s the case, your whole fashion sense needs to be evaluated.............. by a therapist.

If you do wear them for a full weekend, they give you the silliest sandal tan…….a week of polka dot feet. The same holes that did that, I know what they are supposed to do, but they don’t, your feet still sweat like a pig………well not in the snow I guess, but freezing is just as uncomfortable, if not more.

So why do I own them???

Well they are pretty much go anywhere, don’t need to stop for a footwear change, into the river, out of the river, across the field, into the garden, go scoop manure,  indestructible, and if you do destruct them, who cares, kind of shoes. They also work well in the kitchen as a built in stress mat.

Other than that…….they suck, but I’m keeping then anyways.

A comedian once said about them "there are people all over the world wearing fanny packs that are laughing at you"

I think of that every time I put them on, and make damn sure I take them off before I leave the property.

　

　

Camera instead of keyboard

Apparently I took some time off from the keyboard and picked up the camera to keep track of these little guys...............here's a small photo log of their growth.

And as crazy as it seems to want to take pictures of your chickens.............. I'm not alone with that, and here's someone that is way better at it than me........I just can't get them to stay still long enough and fight off the dogs for attention to do any better than this.





see, we can all get along



stop wiggling...........



get down funky town



it's a big world out there when you're  this small



oh look............a bath!!



see now, if BatGirl would just stop lickin her lips like that, we'd let her go in



more dog patrol



you're still wigglin'



food, food,.....food............food, food



dog patrol on the newer bigger better bath



oh it really is a big world.............we'll have to mow this down!!!



Hosta.....I smell Hosta!!! food, food ......food........



sometimes being a teenager is not the best lookin time in your life



food, food......oh crap, we already ate all those hostas



Little Lucy.............tough decision, food or socialize



Citronella



and the boys are finally showing their colors



Day 3

Nut Date..............July 8, 2011

2 dogs, a cat, somewhere around 40 fish................and only one dog even just remotely cares about these birds. Which I guess is a good thing and she is still showing signs of just wanting to mother them...................but they are so small, and she is so big, so the wait is on.

Everything we have read on the internet, seems to be either labour intensive or not really what the birds want. They seem to do just fine, and totally enjoy being on plain straw. And we're thinking the poop might just fall through and then off to the composter. Chicks like duck starter feed way more than chick starter. Chicks and ducks seem to get along just fine, the chicks are actually more animated when they are with the ducks and they all cuddle up together for a sleep.
The temperature control thing has been an issue for us as we have had 10* swings in a day, depending on outside temp, garage door open or closed etc. ..................and yet they all seem healthy and happy. I'm feeling that they are much tougher than the literature reads. Tomorrow they move to the Chicken Hilton, on plain straw, and all together, but I am planning on segregating the chicks for a good part of the day with the medicated feed that we got talked into and don't really understand the need for.............and if they don't start eating it, it's for sale on Kijiji. Oh, and they all love cooked rice with yogurt, broccoli and chopped Romaine....................a mix of leftovers that I did for the dogs. Actually they like it more than the dogs, because it was strawberry yogurt. Of course Ol Fart will eat anything, but little Miss Mom aka Bat Girl, 100% mutt raised on pure meat...................well, she's being fussy about this mix........so at least the birds like it.

The package has arrived

Nut Date...............July . 6, 2011


The package has arrived. They are so cute, and I know full well that they won't stay that way. I've gotten them home and settled as much as possible after a full day in a 12" square box on a truck.

We have 13 birds in all, 5 chicks and 8 ducklings

the ducks are here for bug control and fertilizer, and there is, at this point, absolutely no way on earth to tell them apart.............
I know your thinking Huey, Dewey and Louis etc. but NO. It's

Raid
Off
Vapona
Muskol
Deet
Repel
Slugger
and
Guano

for the chicks we have 2 brunettes, 2 blondes and a redhead

so they are
Lucy as the redhead
Elvira and Joan ( as in Jett ) for the brunettes
and just to complete Bobs' fantasy of twin blonde chicks
Mitzi and Bambi as the blondes.

　

so 6 hours into it, I have learned.................
　

- ducks poop waaaaaay more than chickens.

- duck water dishes need water dishes under them, and then something to absorb the water............it’s a splash factory.

- they are friggin cute...........poopin like crazy, already chasing bugs and passed out for the night.

So 7 hours into it I have learnt

• they are not passed out for the night

The dog that is peeing, may actually be going through a " I need to be a mother " thing............she just spent 2 hours guarding a dirty sheet that I had out to dry.................but at least she's not peeing in the house anymore.......well for today anyways.

Tomorrow, I think the ducks need to have their first swim, I need to find out what little miss Mom is really thinking, new babies, or dinner. And then we need to introduce the cat to the whole scenario.

More Duckumentary

Nut Date ..............June 27, 2011

3 more trips to the lumber yard, and another one looming for tomorrow, so we have now decided that the "free eggs " might be free in the year 2020.

Other than that, construction continues to be perfectly crooked, somewhat planned that way way to accomodate drainage for when we have to do full clean outs. It's looking good and I'm getting excited.




The Chicken Hilton aka The Quacker Box in it's infancy
for the totally well crafted inspiration for this
click here 

this is a good picture of the "pond" in it's original state

the pond that sounded like such a good idea when we started,
only to find out that it was just the begining of the whole
Duckponics saga.

Duckumentary, Part One, a tale about free eggs and Sh ( poop )

Nut Date…………June 24, 2011

Day one of our newest and quite possibly the craziest new venture we have ever embarked on. The order is placed, and tomorrow we're off to the lumber store to start construction. Hoping to use up of the leftovers from the still unfinished deck to complete this project, we have a plan and a location decided on. The parcel arrives on July 6th, not the best timing in the world with Pitfest ( 30+ people with dogs and kids welcome ) being on July 9th this year, but that was our last chance for delivery this year. We're expecting 5 chicks of a
"layer variety" ( that means we have no idea what we are getting ) and 8 Rouen ducklings.............the domestic version of a Mallard, and flightless, like and Emu.

Chickens lay eggs, and poop. Ducks eat bugs of all kinds and poop. So the idea is to have free fresh organic eggs, fertilizer and bug control. Not to mention that the ducks are going to give the dogs some entertainment that they may not be expecting.


So, many hours spent on the internet to find answers to many questions. We've got some of it figured out but there's alot of confusing info out there. The jury seems to be out on whether you can raise chicks and ducks together, but hey, we've already got 2 dogs, a cat and fish, so why not add a few birds, just to mix things up a bit. In the end, and true to form, we will be breaking alot of the rules and muddling through this on a wing (pardon the pun) and a prayer. We figure by this time next year we will have it figured out as to how it should have been done.

So first clue as to how green we are at this,

..........this morning I go to get 2 of the farm fresh eggs that I've bought at a farm I visited, just to get a handle on what's involved and whether it's worth the effort. The woman there was very helpful and friendly, gave me some great tips, but her English was not the best yet and I'm sure if I'd brought a Polish or Ukranian friend, I would have gotten alot more out of the visit. But never the less, the hen house was much quieter than I expected and the smell was not nearly what I was dreading. $3.00 a dozen and the eggs are amazing. Did have an issue trying to crack the first one, seems these farm eggs need a bit more muscle to get into.

............anyways, back to the morning breakfast adventure.

I go out to the fridge ( we are keeping this dozen in the garage fridge because I already have a full tray in the kitchen fridge ) and I open up the carton, and there are 4 perfectly shaped, cracked and empty eggs in there. They were in the door of the fridge, so it's possible that it fell out and we broke them, but where's the mess ??? These things are totally clean, I can't figure it out. So I cook up 2 and eat them while surfing for ....."can chickens lay empty eggs" and no surprise, some people say they have had that happen and others say it's impossible. But everyone who says it can happen has found them in the chicken coop, not the refrigerator. So part of me wants to join the forum and say...."hey, yes it is possible, I just found 4 of them in the egg carton that way", part of me wants to go back to Polish lady and say " hey, you sold me 4 duds" and part of me is saying oh never mind, just forget about it. Luckily that last part was speaking loudest to me. When I got home from ordering the chicks, I mentioned this "strange phenomenon" to Bob the Builder. He looks at me like I'm an idiot and tells me that he put them there because..............HE COULDN'T FIND THE KITCHEN COMPOST BUCKET !!!!!

I mean really, I almost crabbed out the nice Polish lady, I almost went on the net and said it really does happen, I wasted an half an hour looking this up!!! Who the hell puts empty egg shells back in the carton looking like a full egg???? is it not natural to put the two empty halves inside themselves???.............removing all doubt that the chicken may have laid them with nothing inside???? all this because I left the compost bucket in the garage to air out!!! Oh, I so hope the chickens make more sense than the man..LOL

This is not the learning channel..........

If you’re tuning in here thinking that this is the learning channel then you’ve taken a big left turn and need to correct your course. This is more like the what not to learn channel, or learning at the school of Hard Knocks. It’s a blog about the learning curve towards the goal of being self-sufficient, the gardens that feed us and the crazy ride that we started when we added birds.......the many mistakes made, lessons learned and the chuckles along the way.

The curve, BTW, is not really a curve, it’s more like a Muskoka road, leading to the cottage. It has twists and turns, hills and bumps and the occasional dip in the road that askes your stomach whether or not you still want to hang on or just bail.

But just like that Muskoka road…………….the destination is awesome,

Are you ready to come along for the ride. ???