Hard Day for chicks

Our white hen brought out her two chicks to parade around the pasture. So I went into the coop and found another chick laid out on the floor, but it was alive. So I brought it inside by the fire and gave it water, it perked up 2 hours later chirping and hungry. We fed it chick protein and some walnut bread and it was full of energy. We decided to return it to the hen. She accepted it and it is under her wing. The sad news is that my husband located 3 other dead chicks by the evening. We missed these in our 1st chick hunt. They got behind the nest box and froze in the cold. Frustrating that we did not see them in time. We learned to push the nest box against the coop wall. The cold is the enemy of baby chicks this time of the year. At least we have 3 live chicks to watch grow in our coop. Looking forward to more chicks this spring and summer.

First Chick

Today, my white game hen surprised me with a golden chick. It was running around in the chicken coop then dove under mama. I think she has more under her, I have just left her alone. She has been brooding for 3 weeks. I can hardly wait to see all her chicks. It is so nice have a broody hen do all the work nature intended. Having home brooded 2 batches of chicks ourselves, it is messy smelly work for inside the house. I am much happier to leave it to the hens outside. This batch is also from our best rooster. This will be his first flock as a father. Going to be a busy spring.

Horse Rescues

I read a lot of blogs that are horse rescue blogs. I read them to educate myself about what not to do with horses as well as happy horse news. Being a new horse owner of 2 auction mares and their babies, I need all the help I can get. I am amazed how well horses can come back from the brink of death with good food, vet care and loving attention. If you want to read about good rescues that are making the most out of donations and animal care; check out these links:

Sunkissed Acres, Shiloh Horse Rescue, and Second Chance Ranch.

This past week we called out vet out to check why our gray mare was lame, she got thrush at the trainers barn. The barn is always wet in the stalls from poor drainage. He showed us what thrush looks like (is black) and smells like dirty socks. So we are putting a green liquid called Kopertox on her frogs for the next 3 weeks. Everyday she gets her hooves picked clean and this green staining liquid on her frogs. She never had thrush at home. Anyway the treatment is working and she is running all over the dry lot with the weanlings.

Our vet also checked over our weanling colt, Mr. Bean. He was looking pot bellied. Turns out a lot of weanlings go through this "ugly" stage and his body was in great shape. However, he only had one testicle drop and is Cryptorchidisc . This means he will need surgery at the vet office to be gelded instead of being gelded at home. We are waiting to see if it drops on its own by the end of February. It is never dull out here in the Ozarks.

Quilt Visit

A lady in my town called me and asked if I wanted fabric since I am a quilter. Her mother was a quilter and she had a lot of her fabric to give away. And it was a lot of fabric. She also gave me a tour of her mothers and grandmothers quilts. So much handwork went into the pink gingham quilt. The red, white and blue quilt could have been a modern quilt, but it was made in the 40's. It is always a pleasure seeing other crafter's work. It was a real treat to see these quilts and hear the stories behind them.

Icy Wednesday

This morning we woke up to ice and snow all over our farm. The wild birds were happy to have sunflower seeds to eat. Our animals are staying inside to keep warm. Icicles are decorating all the edges around the house and trees.

Icy Tuesday

Today we thought we were ready for the ice storm. All the animals were fed, hayed and watered, but we forgot about us. What if the power goes out? And it did. This meant no water pump in the house, no running water nor toilets. This meant me going out to our pond to get 5 gallon buckets of water so we could flush. I did not realize the ground around the pond was not frozen and I sunk deep into the shore getting stuck. I pulled my foot out of my boot and fell into the pond. I got out, pulled my boot out and headed home to change. I came back and finished filling 10 buckets of pond water while getting sleeted on with cracking icy trees around me. I sledded all the buckets to our porch to be informed the power was back on. I brought in half the buckets inside just in case we lost power again. The rest froze and had to be dumped.

I learned we need to have the generator ready, water filled buckets ahead of time and fill the tubs the night before. And have more seasoned firewood than you need plus more. Burning green wood is not easy. My husband plans to get a transfer switch put in so we can use our generator if the power goes out next time. But at least our animals were warm and happy this time. Lessons learned in the Ozarks.

Sunny Day

Sometimes you just get a 3 horse pile up under the warm sun.

Busy Sunday

Here is what my Sundays are like. Get up at 7:30am in full winter gear, drive to the stables. Grain, hay and water 20-30 horses, feed the barn cats, crack iced water buckets, put the 100ft hose back into the heated office. Go home, feed and water my 4 horses, 30+ chickens and 2 dogs. Get inside to shower and get ready for church. Drive 1/2 hour away to church. After church visit with friends, go to lunch then go to the grocery. Get back home in the late afternoon. Feed the stable horses again, if needed. Chop wood from our shop,bring wood to the house for the woodstove, move a round bale for our horses, feed our gang again, visit with neighbors, drag our my 200 ft. hose to water my animals, put hose back into the house. Take a 20 minute break waiting for the chickens to come back into the coop. Then count chickens and gather eggs, put up the dogs, make dinner. By then it is late and time for bed. Sundays are the busiest day of the week for me.Whew!

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Ooo, how I love perfume in all its forms. I stumbled upon Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab or BPAL, via Ebay a year ago. I tried some of the used vials for sale there. Who can resist fall and yule scents to wear? Perfume has always been my favorite thing. New scents or natural scents I have to try them at least once. And as I get older my scent choices change. As my sense of smell wanes I choose richer and stronger scents. Roses, carnations, coffee, dew, smoky leather, books are just some of the scents I adore. And BPAL has that and more. I just have to be careful around bees and my flower scents, I get the wrong type of insect attention.

Ricochet Smart Peppy Stallion

I got to see this sweet stallion in action at my trainers place. She is just tuning him up. He is for sale if anyone is looking for a 2004 AQUA cow horse stallion. I like his coon tail and sweet temperament. His owners link for more info: Big Iron Ranch.

On Frozen Pond 2011

Here is Alan testing out our pond last week. It was in the teens last week and our pond iced over. However, this week it is almost thawed in the warm up.

Luna Back in the Game

Our farrier came out and took a look at Luna's front feet. She was sensitive to the gravel on her frogs. So he went ahead and put shoes on her front feet. Her feet are fine and she is just being cautious after they got sensitive. She can continue with her training again.

Luna Got Fit

Luna has been at my trainers for 20 days and we got to visit her. She slimmed down nicely as she has been hayed only and worked out most days. Until she turned up lame in the front. Our farrier is coming out this week to see what is causing her lameness. Luna seems happy and was glad to see us. Normally she ignores us. We think she likes to be ridden and having a job other than broodmare.