BIRTH! LIFE! HATCHING!

Stay tuned for many more updates and pictures this week.

Our hen is a mother! Last night we discovered 3 chicks: two black chicks and a grey chick. The mama hen is white, so it looks like she might be a surrogate mama to all three.

Mama hovering over her little peepers

We were really beginning to think she was sitting on duds and debating how much longer to wait before throwing out rotting eggs. A few days ago in a brief moment of having her off the nest to get food and water, I used my headlamp to peer inside the eggs. By holding the eggs against the headlight, the egg becomes somewhat transparent and I can check for signs of life. I didn't get through checking them all, but of the eggs I checked, at least two seemed solid and dark while the others let light readily through with little shadowing. I did the same with a store egg in the fridge for comparison and found those to also light up translucent when pressed against the headlamp. From this I decided only a few were even possibly developing and near hatching - I was right!

Unhatched clutch

I am left with a decision about what to do with the unhatched eggs. I don't think my curiosity is great enough to crack them open to see how they are inside, nor do I have the fortitude to eat them. According to the Encyclopedia of Country Living, a rotten egg can be distinguished by the tough inner membrane if you venture to crack it, a distinctive smell, and it will float in water. According to the float test, I have 5 rotten eggs and one "stale" egg (standing on end, just barely touching the bottom). If I was desperate and starving, I'd go for egg #6, but we're not. We will either throw them as far out towards the ocean as possible, or shoot them that way with the potato gun and let the seagulls and fish have a stinky treat.

Broken shells left behind by little chicks

The magic of chicks:
From getting my first hens in preschool, I've always faced a lot of confusion and questions from the people around me about chickens and eggs and the who "birds" part of "the birds and the bees". I will do my best to explain the common questions I've heard.

Chickens are supposed to start laying between 20-24 weeks old, though chicks born in spring tend to start laying sooner but less fertile eggs, less steady eggs, and smaller eggs (what we have now). Chicks born later in the summer tend to not lay until the next spring, but then lay larger eggs more consistently. There is no comment in there about chicks born in the end of October! Hopefully these little ones will make it through the winter with their novice mama.

Once hens start laying, they lay an egg nearly ever day (~255/365) with or without a rooster... just like how human women produce eggs with or without a man. The difference with a rooster is that the eggs may have the potential to develop if sat on and such. Both fertilized and unfertilized eggs are equally good to eat, and as far as I know, the only way to tell the difference is to put them in an incubator.

The hen in theory lays her first egg first thing in the morning, then each day lays her egg about an hour later until 12 or so days later when she lays her final egg right before bed, then will stay on the nest through the night and for the next 3 weeks until they hatch. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Often the hens will all use the same nest box as they have the instinct to lay their egg where there already is an egg to 'add to the clutch'. I designed my nest boxes so two hens can actually share and lay at the same time, though generally they don't all have the need to lay at just the same moment. In our modern world, going "broody" or having the impulse to stop laying and sit on the eggs for the next 3 weeks, then plan to raise some chicks and thus not lay another egg for quite a long time, has been virtually bred out of chickens to increase egg production. I have gone to lengths to find chickens that still have their natural instincts intact and am committed to letting them do what nature does without too much intervention from me. If the chicks make it, excellent! If not, hopefully it will be good practice for her and next time she'll be an even better mother.

So once Mama Ukraine, my good white hen there, saw the pile of eggs her sisters had laid over the last three days about, she decided it was time to start sitting on those eggs. Because the chickens are young, and it is winter, and the roosters don't have all their smooth moves down yet, I was afraid all the eggs might be duds - no babies. But Mama Ukrane was diligent. In theory, she carefully turned each egg every couple hours, turning them over and switching which eggs are in the middle and which are on the outside for even incubating. She slept on the eggs, spent most of the day on the eggs, and was very calm and sedated to conserve energy for her long work ahead. Each day, she took a quick break to run outside, get a drink and some food, and stretch her legs before rushing back to the eggs. I felt the eggs every time she was off the next and they were always still toasty warm from her body heat. I provided Mama Ukraine with a little cup of food and water in her nest box with her to try to help her keep her energy up. Chickens have a higher-than-human body temperature which helps them fight infections yet, coincidentally, means the eggs are incubated at about human body temperature; this means a well-endowed woman could carry an egg 'close to her heart' for three weeks and hatch a chick if she was very careful and dedicated. If I had the proper equipment, you can bet I would be trying it.

As we got closer to the hatch date, and it looked like Mama Ukrane was really set on hatching those eggs, I waited until late one night when she was the most calm and settled in, then had Tim help me lift the specially designed nest boxes off the shelf and onto the floor so her chicks wouldn't fall when they hatched. I also waited until she was off her nest to get food and water one day, then used my headlamp to 'candle' the eggs as described above. If I was really dedicated, I could have brought a few into the house at a time and held them up to the projector light in a dark room and may have been able to see veins developing in the chick embryos. I was more interested in getting a vague idea if there was any hope of eggs hatching while disturbing the nest and risking the eggs as little as possible. The result was quickly checking a sampling of eggs and going with "dark" or "light" inside. If I was clever, I would have marked the good ones from the bad ones, maybe even slowly smuggling out the bad ones one at a time to focus her love on the good ones. As it happened, I just got out of the hen house as quick as possible so as not to bother the poor expectant mother more than necessary.

Now that the chicks have hatched, Mama Ukraine promptly abandoned the unhatched eggs and went about protecting her new chicks. When all is quiet, the chicks will explore around their mama, running and hopping on their first day of life like our mail-order chicks did at a week old. When something disturbs the hen house (me), Mama Ukraine sweeps in and plops herself down over her chicks, keeping them warm and safe. I have put out baby-sized food and water containers with protective fencing around to keep the big birds from knocking them over. I also put the adult water up high to keep the little ones safe from drowning and put a foot-high board across the bottom of the hall to the outside to keep those chicks safe in the hen house and out of the rain and mud. I am afraid if they go out, they won't be able to get back up the ramp to the house, and it is quite cold and wet out there.

The Bunny Room

Brother Daniel, Amanda, and their four bunnies; Bruce, Lady, Gus, and Baby (? I think. Can't remember the fourth name) are on their way here through Canada. Leaving Juneau on the 14th or 15th, they should be here in just a few more days despite the snow, darkness, and caribou of Canada. When we did the drive, it took about 4 days driving all day long in summer when the days were quite long and the roads less treacherous. When they finally get here, We'll have a happy surprise and some pieces of home with their snugly bunny room all set up. To clarify - this is not Daniel and Amanda's room, but indeed Bruce, Lady, Gus, and Baby's room. I've fortified the door with an extra baby gait to keep Tilly out of the sacred space. It helps that she's a bit afraid of the clunky metal thing ever since Tim shook that piece of metal at her while saying "Woo woo!" Hopefully the bunnies will like their new room with hopping-level snugly spaces. I've been working on some designs for custom 4-plex bunny hutches for their new apartment and coming up with cost comparisons with buying pre-made cages. We are so excited to have the siblings down and staying, especially just before a certain husband of mine's birthday.  We are sure to have fun playing board games, card, and maybe Tim and I can even leave for a weekend knowing Oliver will be well cared for in our absence. We've got to take advantage of every opportunity at farmsitters.

Commissioned Officer Tilly

At our last Search and Rescue group meeting, the group decided on a logo they liked from my designs. Also, a few representatives from the Sheriff's office came by to snuggle the puppies, talk to us about crime scenes, and pass out badges - to the dogs. I am just some volunteer who follows Tilly about and runs the radio and GPS for her non-opposable paws; but Tilly! Tilly is a commissioned officer! If I get kicked, they will give me a bandaide and it will hurt. If Tilly gets kicked, it's assaulting an officer!

October

I feel that my blogging comes in fits and spurts. Our life comes in fits and spurts, and when it's busy and full, there is no time for posting! And when it is slow, there's no point in posting! I don't know that it has really been slow since we moved, or before we moved really. We have a pretty great and full life. Since last I posted, there is no way I can catch up, but I will summarize the important points so blogging in the future will not become increasingly intimidating with so many things left out. 

With Petunia gone for such a long time, Tilly and Esther made good progress bonding. As long as Tilly is entertained with  other things, like climbing rocks and trees on the beach, she can be muzzle-free with Ester! and with or without the muzzle, Esther seems determined to find a way to creep up and snuggle the puppy. On the goat-note, Petunia is finally home! After a month of being off on a date with her boyfriend on the farm we got the girls from, we've decided she is most likely pregnant even if no one witnessed the deed. We are glad to have her home, Esther is glad to have her home, and we are particularly looking forward to those baby goats around Valentines day, and fresh milk to match! Petunia seems perplexed by Esther and Tilly's relationship, like she's the only one who remembers dogs are predators.

We have elected to discontinue milking Tadd's goats as we prepare for our goats to begin to produce, but with the last of his goat's milk I've made a hard cheese which is now hardened and dried by being left in the butter cubbord of the fridge for a while and is now dipped in lovely red wax to help the aging process. I should remember to continue flipping it from time to time to help with even moisture distribution. In a few more weeks, I will grate it up on some pesto pasta and we will have a splendid dinner.

I can't resist posting a picture of this cuteness. Nearly every day Tilly and I walk to our neighbor, the K-9 Search and Rescue leader's house and check on the newest addition to the team. This adorable little golden retriever puppy, so much calmer than Tilly was at that age, gets let out to play with the other four goldenss and Tilly. I think Tilly's nose is sticking into the corner of that picture, as well as my feet attempting the pose the puppy. Today Tilly had to stay home while I went over because she hasn't been feeling well, but hopefully tomorrow will bring back our bouncy puppy - she is already beginning to perk up again.

In chicken news: we are up to 8 chickens regularly flying the coop. One of them knows how to go under the gait to get back into the yard with proper motivation, though despite my roosts as aids, the rest are a bit oblivious about getting trapped out. There are maybe 4 chickens laying eggs most mornings, though one of our good layers has taken up residency on a clutch and is attempting to be a winter mother. I am happy to let nature take it's course and see how she does with her dozen eggs. It would be exciting to have chicks again and see them following their mother about in the yard. I really ought to think about chicken proofing the fence a bit better. I think I just need to add a floppy bit everywhere there is a horizontal top bar on the fence. We'll see.

Our friends Nathan and Zac, from Juneau, came to stay for a few days before heading off on a cross-country road trip for the next month or so. We had a great time visiting with them and they were of much help, planting some lettuce in the greenhouse, helping me move my finished 4x4x8 compost structure into position and filling it with the compost. Hopefully they are staying safe and having the good kind of adventures wherever they are now.

As Zac and Nathan headed out, our family of three also headed to the mainland. Tilly, Tim and I went back to our special spot east of Everette to do some more exploring. Yet again, we left right after work on a Friday and made it to the trailhead right around sunset. Trailhead might be the wrong word. We made it to the washed out place in the road where driving ended. From there, we started hiking with our packs and made it about 50 feet before encountering a wide, shallow, quickly moving stream. We hopped from rock to rock fairly easily, carrying Tilly, and only getting our feet a little damp. On the other side we did not find the continuation of the road, but instead thick brush and piled rotting logs. After strambling through, over, under, and on that for a while, we hit another stream, and another. Each getting a little faster and deeper it seemed. Finally we came to a stream that seemed to have no good crossing point and decided it was time to head back the way we came to the far side of that first river and continue through the woods on the hillside - anything had to be better than this! As the water went over our knees, and Tilly squirmed in my arms, we managed to get safely back across for a final time - and there we finally hit the road we had been looking for! After about a mile of washed out chunks of underwater asphalt, we were walking down a dry road.

We expected an old abandoned forest service road or mining/logging road from long ago. Instead we fount blacktop, brightly painted lines, and street signs; the road must have washed out more recently than we thought. What a glorious reward after all that struggle! But it was a bit eerie - to be walking down a great road in the middle of the woods, all alone in the dark. We imagined buying a chunk of land and having this private wilderness racetrack. Then we saw a light off in the distance. What kind of crazy meth-heads would be out here in the woods like that? Maybe it's other campers? No - loud opera music blasting from a shack. Clearly we had come across some sort of secret drug operation in the woods in the middle of the night. We leashed Tilly and pointed our headlights down as we crept past quickly and quietly. We took a deep breath when we were out of site. Then we saw another light in the distance - were these small mining operations? We had heard people still lived out here to mine,  Again we scuttled on by. Then there were moving lights ahead. As we crossed a bridge, two cars passed by. Strangely, the cars were new sedans and not beaten 4x4 jeeps. There must be a road in, though we thought we checked the map carefully. Or maybe these people have been stuck here since the road washed out! But the increasing cars and houses brought on a new problem - this was where we planned to camp, only to find a road with cars and private property instead of secluded National Forest wilderness or old mining ruins. We were supposed to be in the woods and somehow we ended up in a town! Where are we? A map had loaded on Tim's phone before we headed out and the very edge happened to include our GPS marker and a camping area depicted nearby. Unsure what we'd find, we decided to continue on and hope for the best.

We found the National Forest campground with no signs remaining, no pay box, but newly painted composting bathrooms unlocked and empty bear proof trash cans, and pristine camping spots without so much as a cigarette butt on the ground. We pitched our mini-tent in the first camping sandbox area, flat and soft, and built a fire for our dinner. We tried not to think of the Twilight Zone, of horror movies, of waking up and being in a land of forever dark, or waking up and being surrounded by a suddenly bustling town still stuck in the 60's with black-and-white people instead of color. I fell asleep with the bright moon shining on the tent and dreams of people coming by with flashlights. In the morning I woke up early and resumed drying our boots over the fire until a man came walking down the trail to us. Suspicious he was one of the people trapped in this forgotten community for the last 20 years, I asked him what he was doing and how he got here and such.

It turns out the road washed out about 6 years ago and the government plans to eventually rebuild it. By going a ways down the highway, then turning through some other small town and taking back roads to Forest Service roads to logging roads and driving for many miles, it's possible to drive to this abandoned forest road. All the home owners we saw chopping wood in their yards gave us friendly waves as we found the bridge to the actual decrepit road to "Mineral City" up Silver Creek past old mines. We also found a nice trail which avoids the river crossings and follows the washed out sections of road far above in the woods. Next time we will drive to where we left off.

Back at home, we've been enjoying evening fires and now have the company of Mom Joy and Uncle Joel and Cousin Min Min and Alex for the next few days.