Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Down on the Farm

So we did it... we got chickens!  We went through all sorts of ideas, and were just about ready to buy a few laying hens (8 months old) from a nearby farm, when we had to go to Tractor Supply for something else.  Boy, the chickies are cute!  So, we went with the babies for the fun factor.  I understand they tend to be easier to get along with if you've had them from chicks, also, so hopefully that will be true.

I thought I was about done with babies in the bedroom, since Lily is almost two and usually sleeps through the night now, but now I have six fluffy babies in a bin in my room.  We couldn't figure out anywhere else to put them to keep them away from the cat until they can go outside.  Right now, they have to have a heat lamp all the time.  So, not only is my room noisy (peep, peep, peep), but it has a red glow 24 hours a day.  Oh, well.  This too will pass.  The kids love them, and even Mike said he had to go check on "his peeps"  the other day.

We also had our first chick injury scare.  I was checking on them, and noticed that one seemed to be pecking under her wing.  When I picked her up, it was all bare and bloody there.  So, I looked on line and found not very much of use, but I tried washing it with a saline solution.  After that, she started preening more than picking, and it looks much better today.  Hopefully that will be the end of that.

I can't believe how fast they are changing - and I thought human babies grew fast!  They were a few days old when we got them, so they had a few feathers on their wings, but now some of them have almost all of their wings feathered, and they are starting to get tail feathers, too.  That looks pretty funny, with all the fuzz!

The bunny has a new fence.  We only let her out of her hutch when we are outside, but at least it gives her a little mobility.  She doesn't like going back in her hutch at the end of the day, though!

The kids and I planted some seeds in pots last Monday.  Lily has sunflowers up, Rory has a morning glory and some zucchini, and I have cucumbers and tomatoes.  The onions are also coming up in the garden, and today we have asparagus!  We only planted them last year, though, so we won't be able to eat them until at least next year.  (sigh).

We've been having sump pump problems (again).  The pump is working, but the float switch broke.  Therefore, we have been having to go downstairs every hour or two around the clock to turn it on and off.  PAIN!  I had to order a new switch, because the store we got the pump from does not carry replacement parts for it.  It finally came today, and wouldn't you know it, I couldn't get the old one off to put the new one on.  I'll wait for Mike to get home to do that, so I don't strip the screw (one of my talents).  The depressing thing was that I had the part, but still had to run up and down the stairs all day.  Well, I thought of using WD-40, since "if it doesn't move and it should..."  but then I decided to plug the thing in and try it unattached.  It works by turning the pump on and off at the plug, and it has its own cord, so I reasoned that it didn't really have to be attached to the pump to work.  Well, I was right!  Then I had to figure out how to make it tip up when the water got too high.  Well, everyone knows that "if it moves and it shouldn't..." use duct tape!  So, I duct taped it to the side of the sump pump hole (with a whole lot of tape, because it's wet in there and doesn't stick real well).  So, it looks strange, but it's actually working!  Hallelujah!  Now I just have to convince Mike that it really should be put in the right way, as I don't know how long the duct tape will hold.

Rory is back to school today, after having a week off for Easter break.  He's trying to figure out how he can be a fireman, a policeman, and a builder of some sort all at the same time.  I told him he doesn't have to decide on a career quite yet.  He's very concerned about wanting to get a job.  A couple of weeks ago he wanted to be a lawyer, and he's also spent time wanting to be a doctor and a teacher.  Now he's thinking he'll sell eggs.  Maybe we will have enough to sell - who knows?  I guess we'll find out when the hens start laying.  

2 comments:

  1. Hi - I'm commenting on my own post - Mike got home and fixed the pump properly! Yay!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You should change the name of your blog to Down on the Farm! ;-)

    ReplyDelete

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