Vet update

Photo:  With any luck, all of this messing around will result in another sweetheart of a calf like little Ruby Well, I did it.  Bessie got her shot. I botched it just a bit.  Giving the actual shot was no big deal, though. I got out all the instructions and the pre-filled syringe about 5 pm yesterday, ready to do the deed after dinner.  I had remembered that it was Friday night for the first shot and again on Sunday night.  Wrong. There was a moment of dread when I realized that it was supposed to Friday MORNING.  Time to put on the face of shame and call the vet.  I reached the vet on-call that I haven't met yet but have talked with extensively.  She wasn't fazed by my mistake.  She said it might make the results a little less sure (as far as a successful artificial insemination resulting in a pregnancy), but that I should give the shot this morning (Saturday) and push back the Sunday night shot to Monday night.  She did not say what a failure I was as a cow owner, or how could I have missed giving the shot by 12 hours.  I was relieved. The shot and instructions were set out on the counter so that I couldn't miss them this morning.....I settled in to watch Kung Fu Panda with Jeremy and Jeff.....and then headed to bed for a sound sleep in order to be up bright and early to give THE SHOT.  Wishful thinking.  Yesterday, Rocky had snapped up and swallowed whole a large bit of baked pig skin that the chickens had left.  (Explanation might be in order, I guess.  A local meat, milk and eggs CSA farm had taken their hogs to slaughter and a friend is a member there.  She was able to get 4 large bags of "back fat", which I baked down into lard.  What was left was crunchy strips of pig skin with small bits of pig fat and lard still attached.  The chickens quickly scarfed down all the yummy stuff---which I gave them because the pigs were raised organic on pasture and the fat was not from supermarket pigs---but I didn't realize that pieces of pig hide were still lying in the grass and not pecked into tiny bits.  Rocky did his usual snatch and grab routine---walking like usual on the leash, suddenly grabbing something in his mouth, looking at Shadow to see if she has noticed, and bolting the whole thing down before she can fly at him in a rage.  Sometimes it's been a dead chipmunk, shrew, or other yummy cat-kill.  This time it was a large hunk of very dry pork skin--about the same as swallowing a big rawhide bone whole).   Anyway, he was in rather gastric distress all night, having to be let out every 2 or 3 hours, gulping large amounts of water, trying to get comfortable and only seeming to be comfortable outside on top of the picnic table (with coyotes howling in the distance, so I couldn't leave him there).  Needless to say, I'm not well rested. So, back to the story.  If you remember yesterday's account, I over-emphasized stuff like Bessie trampling around, tossing her head and endangering my life, that sort of thing.  She does protest when the vet is here because she has to be tied to the stanchion to keep her under control.  It is a bit intimidating to think of dodging her head or hooves as she moves her big bulk around trying to avoid me. What really happened was this: The chickens had pecked clean the skin of a pumpkin that I gave them last night.  That was Bessie's treat while I set up for milking. The poop was scraped out from where she would stand and new straw was put down, the milk crate was ready for me to sit on, the iodine dip was ready to sterilize her teats, and she was happily munching on pumpkin skin.  I had the syringe of medication in the milk pail, ready for my first opportunity to enrage my cow and make her into an enemy rather than a placid milk-machine. I turned away to bring the bucket of grain into the milking area, and there was her left flank, nicely exposed, tail off to the side.  She had no indication that I was about to do anything out of the ordinary.....perfect position and timing for me to plunge the needle into her thigh.  I uncovered the needle and hovered it above her skin, trying to convince myself to do it (once, a neighbor was undergoing fertility treatment and her husband had forgotten to give her the fertility shot before leaving for work.  She called me, frantic, and asked if I would do it.  I know I hurt her because I didn't know what I was doing, and blood wasn't supposed to well up, and I never wanted to give a shot again.  That was my only experience of giving a shot to another living thing, and it was not a happy one). Bessie kept munching, unaware of the mental turmoil I was going through.  My hands had to stop trembling and I had to convince myself to just get it over with. She did not flinch at all.  I was the one who flinched.  I jabbed the needle in and then plunged the medication through it.  She looked up and shifted just a bit, as if to say "Huh?" That was all.  The trampling and head butting and voiding of body fluids and all of that stuff?  Must be for effect when the vet comes.  Bess went right back to her pumpkin and proceeded to let me milk her as if I hadn't just jabbed a needle into her back end.  No hard feelings, no potential for injury, no angry cow chasing me around the cow pen.....and one shot to go before the rescheduled breeding on Tuesday morning. Wow, maybe I COULD have been a vet....if only I could remember the correct time to actually GIVE the shot! Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

The joy of playing vet

Today is the day.  I got cows for this very reason.  I dreamed about this particular moment of cow ownership.  Months of waiting to arrive at this wonderful turning point..... I get to give Bessie a shot in the butt.  Oh, long-awaited day!  (I have to mention here, that Jeremy made a cyst joke that has become the "butt" of many comments at the dinner table.  The reason for the shot is the cyst that the vet discovered, which will keep Bessie from coming into heat.  Bessie's cyst and the whole reproductive side of things was the topic of non-appetizing dinner conversation, courtesy of me.  Jeremy piped up and said that Bessie was going to "in-CYST" on getting the shot.  His timing and emphasis was perfect.  We couldn't help but laugh, and the dinner table conversation went downhill even more from that point.....  Very cute and clever.)  ;) Today I will clip the lead onto Bess's halter as she bobs her heavy head around to avoid me, tie her up to the stanchion as she pulls with all her might to drag me out of the barn instead of cooperating (not easy--on my part).  I will dodge her feet as she tramples around after being tied up (she WILL be shifting around and trying to escape), lift her tail as she tries to void her insides by way of protest (supposedly lifting the tail immobilizes a cow in some way, but I watched as the vet had to wait for the downpour to let up while he held her tail), push against her manure-encrusted/freshly splattered back end and (easier said than done) jab a needle into the back of her thigh to administer the prescribed medication which MIGHT result in a successful AI attempt on Monday.  On the other hand, she might decide that the bucket of grain in front of her is so delicious that she willingly stands still.  Either scenario is totally possible, but I still have to stick a needle into her.  Not fun. This is the shot which will in some way do one or more of these things:  counteract the cyst that is keeping her from coming into heat, encourage her to come into heat in spite of the cyst, or will encourage her body to produce an egg cell to be fertilized on Monday.....something along those lines.  End result could be that she is pregnant and due to calve again in early September 2013.  I'd kind of like to know if it's a 50/50, 25/75, or 99/1 chance. She gets another shot (given by me again) on Sunday between 8:00 and 9:00 pm, and then I call the vet, and he comes exactly 12 hours after that with only a 4 hour window of time to artificially inseminate her before all these efforts come to nothing. I supposed it's a necessary part of the learning process with the specific cows that God has entrusted to our care, but.... Of COURSE we have a cow who needs preferential treatment.  How boring might farm life be if I didn't have to learn how to be a vet as well as a farmer?  (Be sure to read that last statement with a good dose of sarcasm). (Come to think of it, my childhood dream was to be a vet, and second to that would have been to own and ride a horse.  If you substitute bossy manure-coated Bessie the dairy cow--who couldn't possibly be saddled and ridden, whose mane and tail couldn't possibly be brushed and fussed over--for the sleek and beautiful horse in that dream, I guess both parts of that fantasy have come true!  Hooray!)  :) If I don't fumble the needle and syringe, it won't be too bad. When the vet plunged the first shot into her thigh last Friday, there was no blood and it was over quickly. After all, when she had mastitis last spring, I had to put syringes of warm medication up all 4 of her teats, twice a day, for 4 days.  No way could we afford to pay for the vet to make the house-call that many times and he didn't necessarily want to since this was something the owner (me) could do.  She didn't flinch except once, when one quarter of her udder had become red and feverish and the very act of touching her there must have been painful.  She didn't flinch except that one time, even though I could feel the stuff bulging up her teats and into her udder.  Bleah!  That was NOT my most fond experience with having a dairy cow. Now this, this lovely experience could top even shooting medicine up her swollen teats (sorry for the crudeness).  Giving a shot to a 1000 pound cow, by way of jabbing a long needle into the back of her leg is NOT going to rank up there with the joy of seeing fresh white milk streaming into a gently steaming warm bucket.  It will NOT compare in any way to seeing calf and mama romping joyfully through the stand of white pines.  It can't possibly top the absolute wonder of watching little Ruby slipping out of Bessie and taking her first breath after being born, or holding my own breath as I waited to see if Bessie would turn out to be a good mama after all (she is a great Mom, contrary to all those stories about modern-day dairy cows having lost that mothering instinct).  It will definitely pale in comparison to standing at the gate, making a weird clucking noise and seeing both cows hoist themselves up from their comfy spot in the sun to race over and see what delectable treat I have for them (pumpkin, pears, apples, green beans, Bessie even munched down radish tops).  If it results in another beautiful calf like Ruby, it MIGHT be worth it.  Ask me again in 9 1/2 months! If all goes well, maybe I'll wish I HAD pursued being a vet!  At any rate, I'm getting to live out part of that childhood dream, in a totally unexpected way. Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

The trashpicker's list from yesterday.....

Wow, looking back over the "wish list" I sent yesterday, a few comments come to mind: "What kind of selfish person puts out a list like this?"  "Who has such a greasy mind that they try to pry into the dark nooks and crannies of their friends' basements, sheds, garages for this kind of stuff?" "What kind of trash-picker actually puts out a bulletin of the things they'd like to come across in someone else's cast-offs/trash?" "What is this person THINKING?!!!" And..... "Wow, if anyone actually reading this list has even one thing that ends up at the farm, we'll be a gypsy-camp of clutter, for sure!" Anyway, to put a lighter spin on my "request"---It's out there, whatever, can't take it back at this point.  It's filled with things that COULD be put to good use, but are not necessary in the least.  All of these things are inconsequential, but COULD be used in projects or collecting rain water or numerous other things.  All of these things MIGHT be pulled out of someone's trash if I was passing by and didn't have the kids in the car (they would be mortally embarrassed!)  Michael groans if I pass a pile of trash with a perfectly good pumpkin on the top of it, and begs me NOT to stop.  The boys thought it was terrible that I removed a smashed pumpkin from their school parking lot on the Sunday after Halloween.  Who wants a trash-pickin' Mom? On the other hand, the flip side of the "list" is this:  If we have someone on the farm that would be of use to you, our friends and family, whether it was donated from someone else's junk or is junk that we generated on our very own, you're welcome to it if it will help you in any way.  If you're starting up with chickens and we've accumulated a wealth of chicken supplies (which we have!), why should you pay for anything if we have it available? If I have a heated pet-water bowl that I've used for chickens and you need one for your outdoor kitty, our clutter becomes your penny-saved and provides you with something that is useful to you. If fencing that we no longer need could be used to surround your garden and keep rabbits out so that your flowers or vegetables can thrive, it's yours. If we end up with hay at the end of the season and you've come to the end of your supply, we can spare a few bales. (That's a big "IF" this year for everyone, I think!) I like that way of looking at things.  Not just providing for only our family in our own tiny little private world where no-one else can touch us, but operating as a community.  When my Mom cans and freezes food every summer and fall, she goes over the top in generosity as she shares the wealth.  When we needed fence-posts, they pulled out the old T-posts that had been stored under the deck for years and trucked them down here for us to use (the posts were all used within just a couple of months).  When the windows of my parents' house needed to be replaced, my Mom and Dad borrowed a huge trailer to bring down their old chain-link dog kennel and all the windows that could be salvaged.  On our side of things, I've been making jams and jellies and fruit juices that are different than my Mom's vast repertoire, and I'm itching to share them with Mom and Dad.  Not out of a sense of obligation, but because it's an expression of gratefulness and a way to give back. That's the thought-process behind the "list".  Just brainstorming to say "If you don't need this and want to get rid of it, we could find a use for it.....or we could potentially pass it on to someone else!"  :) Happy trash-picking......if that's your thing! Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

The right piece of clutter/junk/trash for the job....

Or the title could be "The Dutch penny-pinching ethic".  Or:  "The Inevitable Gypsy Camp of Clutter" Or:  "The trash-picker wannabe" I've been compiling a mental list of things that would be considered trash, junk or clutter in suburbia but could be put to good use out here. Number one on the list right now:  Halloween/fall decorations.  *Straw bales can be used for animal bedding or to spread on top of muddy walk-ways.  If it's soggy, it would work well to spread out over the mucky cow-pen outside and give Bessie and Ruby some traction in the mud. *Pumpkins.  If they haven't been carved but their lives as decorations are over (or almost over).  Nothing moldy.  We actually bought 100 jack-o-lantern sized pumpkins at the local Menard's for 50 cents a piece the day after Halloween.  Jeff had the fun job of going to the hardware store to pick them up with the trailer, and we figured it was at least a ton of pumpkin and MUCH too heavy for our little trailer to do ever again.  Jeremy has been smashing a pumpkin each day, while Ruby is so eager to get in and munch that she almost got hammered on the head one time.  Between Bessie and Ruby, not much is left for the chickens.  Ruby will seek out the orange skin that is left and munch it when there's nothing else.  We stored them in the silo where they will freeze solid, unless we have another crazy mild winter like last year, and then the rats will find a way in and eat all the seeds.  Even after being frozen, the poultry will eagerly peck at the thawed pumpkin "flesh", and I'm already wishing that we'd bought twice as many when we had the chance. *Corn stalks.  Ear corn, Indian corn, and the corn stalk decorations can all be used here for animal feed, as long as the decorations don't have craft spray or varnish on them. Elsewhere on this mental list:  Construction materials. *Lumber.  The lone or cut-up plywood sheet after a project is done, or 2x4's, 2x2's, 2x6's....you get the idea.  We took the old and well-used choir platforms from the church in Palatine when they were being dismantled, and slowly that old wood is being re-used for things around the farm.  Old pieces of plywood left over from other projects are sometimes the perfect size for a chicken nest box, or to patch a hole in the barn wall where the baby coons needed to be removed.  Boards that have been cut to odd sizes can be cut down and used instead of purchasing a full-length 2x4 in order to get a 36" long piece. *Small amounts of shingles or tar paper left over from large projects and no longer needed (can be re-used on the roof of a dog house, or a chicken "tractor", or a rabbit hutch...where they don't need to be a perfect match to any other roofing supplies). *Gate latches, strap hinges, hard-ware type stuff that you might have bought years ago but that didn't work for the job or that you never found a use for Other items that might be "junk" in your garage or shed or basement but that could find a new use here (Here I start to sound a bit greedy, or like a pack-rat/hoarder): Fence boards or packing crate boards (Packing crate boards have formed the *FREE* siding of the new cow shelter----boards that were salvaged from the jumble of stuff on the third floor of the barn.  Jeff and Russ also used packing crate boards and miscellaneous 2x4's to build Ruby's calf stall, plus metal hardware that we had.  I don't think that they spent anything on supplies.  VERY Dutch!) Pet food bowls, feeders or water bottles, or old crocks that could be used for water or feed. Garden fencing.  Used garden fencing or chicken wire, as long as it's not in a tangled mess. PVC pipes or connector pieces--for constructing chicken-pens Metal pipes or connector pieces for outdoor chicken-tractors (movable cages for the birds to live in and for us to control where they graze, OR there are DIY greenhouse plans using bent metal or PVC tubing) Pet cages (rabbit or guinea pig cages, etc. can be used for batches of chicks or for containing one or two birds that shouldn't be in with the rest of the flock--think "sick-bay" or new-bird accomodations.) Child/pet safety gates. 5 gallon buckets, with or without lids (for catching rain water, hauling warm water to the cows in winter, or making into nest-boxes) Old windows or old patio doors that could be used as cold-frame toppers in the garden Old smaller windows can be used in other ways around the barn and coop Dog crates--can be used for outdoor movable rabbit "runs" to allow the bunnies to graze grass in safety, or to keep growing chicks separate from the main flock temporarily. Dog leashes (or collars, cat collars) Dog or cat medication.  My mom gave us their dog's Front-Line and Heart-Gard when they had to put their sweet old Sheltie down.  Medications that haven't reached their expiration date can be used by us or another pet owner for the dogs and cats Compost bins or compost bin-type fencing. Old fence posts--either metal T-posts or wood posts 55 gallon plastic barrels (to use as rain barrels under the eaves of the house or barn, but only if they have previously been used for food and not fertilizer or other chemicals) Old tarps that could be cut to size (using the good parts, discarding the ripped parts). Recycle bins (the chickens LOVE to crowd into the old Palatine recycle bins if I fill them with straw.  Makes a big nest box for laying eggs, but is also very handy for sorting or storing things) Cat carriers, for transporting chickens, ducks, or rabbits between coops, to the butcher, or to another farm. Old mis-matched plastic storage containers with or without lids have various uses Metal trash cans or buckets--for storing feed, to keep rodents out.  Doesn't matter if they are dented or don't look nice anymore. Half-gallon Ball glass jars for refrigerating fresh milk Rope or twine--thick rope could be used to rehang the tire swing that Jeremy enjoyed Old birdhouses that could still shelter a bird family but might be a bit weathered or worn Small animal traps, like the Hav-a-hart style Milk bottles (glass half-gallon--but please get your deposit back instead if they are from  Oberweiss!) Canning jars and/or canning jar lids--old ones can be used for kitchen canisters (beans, rice, noodles, etc.), newer ones can be filled with fresh-canned produce or jam Half-barrels from wooden wine or whiskey barrels (The cows drink their water out of 2 of these every day until we can buy a galvanized metal water trough at a reasonable price).  On Jeff's wish-list:  A small outdoor table that could be used on the garage "patio" when he grills On my wish-list:  An old working refrigerator to keep in the garage for egg or milk customers to help themselves at pick-up time if we're not here Michael's wish-list:  Scrap metal.  Michael has been disassembling a huge old curing oven that was left outside of the barn, and getting a bit of money for the metal pieces.  Small pieces of "junk" metal can add up to a few pennies or even dollars, if the collection becomes big enough to warrant a trip to the metal recycle place with a full trailer.... And....dare I ask it?  If you've splurged to buy a new snowblower and might have an old snowblower in need of repair...Jeff and Chris might be able to make one work.  Jeff pulled one out of somebody's trash last year, Chris tried to get it to work, only to find out that key parts were missing.  It looked like the one they were trying to fix had already been cannibalized for parts to fix a different one....  It was disappointing (not that we couldn't buy a snowblower if we decided that we really need one) but the challenge of fixing one up was exciting (not to mention the challenge of being "Dutch" by not spending money!) Well, that got a little ambitious and maybe a tad bit greedy.....The list got longer each time I proof-read it!  Like with most of my ideas, I dream big and then need to scale W-A-Y back to reality.  If you're cleaning house, clearing out a shed, looking at plywood that's been leaning against your house for 5 years, or anything like that, we might be able to come up with a use for some of your cast-offs......just let us know!  Disclaimer for all of you generous souls out there:  Please, please, please don't go out and buy anything just to fill the "wish-list".  We are fine with or without these things.  It's just a list of things that COULD be put to good use IF they are available. The challenge then will be to continue to avoid what Chris joked about:  He laughed as he said that he was wondering if our farm would start to look something like a gypsy camp with piles of "junk" accumulating everywhere!  We're working on keeping the gypsy camp style to a minimum, although it DOES have a certain appeal, but are constantly realizing that we will always need more supplies for the farm ideas than we have money to spend on those supplies.  Some projects just won't happen, and that's OK.  There's not time for every project that comes to mind.  The much-needed project of today is quite easily pushed aside when something more monumental needs to be accomplished.  But it's always wonderful to take a look at the pile of lumber or sift through a bag of PVC connectors and find just the right piece for the "task at hand".  :) And by the same token, if we have a supply of cast-offs that have become "junk" but that you could use for a project, you are welcome to them.  Just visit the gypsy camp to see what junk might suit your needs. Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

Queen Bess demands queenly accomodations

Photo:  A Royal Pose Well, the persnickety Bessie has upped her high maintenance even further.  The vet was out yesterday to vaccinate both Ruby the calf and Bessie (being from an organic farm, Bessie didn't ever get vaccinations, so we thought it best to give her the same shots that Ruby would get).  The 4 month old Ruby and her 8 year old mama both got the same treatment--shots in the back of the thigh to protect from various sicknesses that could literally take down a healthy calf of Ruby's age and leave it dead within 12 hours.  Scary! We've been waiting for Bess to go into heat, so that we can start keeping track of her cycles and get her bred (artificial insemination).  I was supposed to be watching the interplay between Bess and Lucy to see which one was in heat and which one was ever-so-femininely sniffing the air (or other actions) to indicate that one or the other was in heat.  With Lucy gone to live in Ohio, my heat-indicator for Bessie is out of the picture.  She has --maybe-- come into heat once since she gave birth back in July, and now even that seems in question. At my request, to give me a starting point for counting down the days until her next heat cycle, I asked the vet to give her a fertility check (plastic sleeve on, and shoulder deep in cow to "feel" what stage she is in).  Certainly it's not his favorite part of visiting a farm with cows..... The results?  She won't be coming into heat on her own.  At all.  She has a cyst.  Not good news.  Even a bull couldn't get this cow pregnant. Vet said that there are two kinds of cysts that cows get:  One type has them in heat every day, and one will keep them from ever coming into heat.  Bessie has the last kind. So the artificial insemination process will become even more artificial.  The vet is coming again today to start her on a series of shots.  He will administer the first one this morning.  I will administer the next shot next week Friday.  He will have a 4 hour window of "opportunity" to place the purchased bull's "stuff" inside of her on Monday (the insemination, artificially done), the 19th of November.  Without the extra queenly attention which will hopefully result in a royal offspring next September, she would not come into heat, could not be bred, and (in a normal dairy situation) she would be packed off to the sale barn because she would no longer be valuable to the dairyman. So in a way, Queen Bessie has been spared a very un-queenly fate because she landed on our farm, where I had no choice but to become fond of her and her bossy ways and high sense of cow-dom.  Here, she has a chance for an excellent "bovine practitioner" to work his magic.  (It seems that the challenge of the situation serves to thrill the vet about practicing all aspects of his veterinary expertise, which is a good thing.  He is "syncing" two beef cows' fertility cycles at another place at the same time, so it fits in with what he's doing on other farms, which might save us a little bit of money, too. He goes there first, comes here second, keeps track of breeding all 3 cows on the same date, it works, I hope......). We'll pray that this procedure works, and that she conceives a little prince or princess on the first try.  Even with the money from the sale of Lucy to help pay for Bessie's fertility expenses, vet costs could easily skyrocket if we don't approach this with common-sense! The adventure continues.....along with all sorts of knowledge about the reproduction of cows, which I certainly didn't expect to find fascinating.....but here we are! Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

1920's farmhouse for sale, 4 acres

In my on-going wish for more suburban-to-country-minded neighbors, here's a farmhouse for sale about 5 miles from here: 1920's farmhouse, 4 acres with barn, riding arena, pond, chicken coop.... The house looks very nice from the photos.  The property itself is described as "in need of TLC" and "overgrown", but then....that's what we had to plow through here, too, and it's been worth it. Price drop from $275,000 to $260,000, and the "history" part of the listing leaves out the fact that it was up for sale for quite a while and taken off the market at $300,000 just over a year ago.... 1215 N Ridge Rd MCHENRY, IL 60050 Something to keep in mind:  McHenry county is voting on limiting the amount of poultry and other livestock on any unincorporated lots under 5 acres, depending on zoning (AG zoning would be a plus, but the tax amount suggests that it's probably estate zoning, same as ours).  Besides that, this is a very cute farmhouse in a fairly nice location.  If you don't want over a hundred chickens like we have, then this would be a really nice property to at least look at..... Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/ --- On Tue, 11/6/12, Laura Dykstra <dykstrazoo1@gmail.com> wrote: From: Laura Dykstra <dykstrazoo1@gmail.com> Subject: a picture for you To: dykstrazoo@sbcglobal.net Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2012, 9:18 AM You have been sent 1 picture. 08112350.jpg These pictures were sent with Picasa, from Google. Try it out here: http://picasa.google.com/

Barnevelders: Moving day(s)

Photo:  The garden shed that has served well as a chicken coop The Barnevelder coop is standing empty tonight for the first time since we brought the birds here after closing on the property.  I've enjoyed looking out the kitchen window, watching the birds pecking and scratching and doing their chicken-y-thing out there. There were 2 roosters to start with, and a small flock of hens. Those 2 hatched in Cheryl Rathe's Pre-K class, must have been in the spring of 2010(?).  That puts them at 2 1/2 years old, but their spurs are so long now that you'd think they were older!  Their babies all showed signs of Welsummer breeding (sometimes the 2 breeds are mixed in the hopes that Barnevelders will pick up the darker brown egg-laying genes from the Welsummers).  So, those 2 roos were given a different flock in the barn, and they are BOTH still protectively guarding their ladies.  The next rooster was Earl, a beautiful Barnevelder roo with black and mahogany feathers and a strutting "air" about him.  He lived in the barn for a while before becoming king of the coop.  While in the barn with the rest of the mixed flock, went through the respiratory sickness and nearly died before pulling through.  He quite happily became king of the roost when we replaced the two brother-roos with Earl.  When Earl died suddenly last winter, then the replacement Barnevelder rooster stepped in, and has been very watchful of the hawks that roost in the big willow tree, very vocal when there is danger to his hens, very vigilant in showing them the tastiest morsel of food or wriggling worm, and then very proud as his ladies all rush over to fill their beaks with the bounty that he has clucked about. Now, despite his loud protests, he and his ladies are in the barn, being assimilated into the larger flock.  His place might be in question, because the pecking order of the roosters in the barn already has been toppling as the birds all stay inside because of the colder weather.  One of the older roosters, one with 3 inch spurs, was already trying to pick a fight through the netting around the pen.  This morning, the BV roo was out of the PVC pen and running scared as the other roos try to keep him in line and steal his hens..... Before getting to the moving the rooster, I've been gradually been moving hens from there into the barn.  The PVC and netting pens were set up, and a few hens at a time we--re scooped up by the ankles off their perches and then brought flapping and squawking into the barn to adjust in the relative safety of the PVC pen (as opposed to just being plunked in the middle of a hostile flock of old biddies who want nothing more than to pound the new hens into submission--sometimes the picking done by the hens seems worse than the actual fighting by the roosters). First I moved the less than perfect hens--the ones that aren't true to the breed.  Some were from the mixed flock to begin with, and were moved into the Barnevelder pen back in May when the barn was WAY too crowded with classroom chicks.  They grew up as a flock in the separate coop and never knew that they weren't purebred.  What a cruel awakening it must have been for them to realize that the quality hens were left behind in comfort while the half-breed pullets were being hoisted upside down to be transported into crude PVC pens! Anyway, the move wasn't without incident.  The PVC pens aren't poultry-proof if 5+ pound hens are flapping around and throwing their bodies at the garden netting that makes up the sides of the pens.  Almost all of the displaced pullets and hens found a way to escape at one time or another, as I repaired places where the cable-zip-ties had come loose.  Those hens also found ways to slip out of the barn and end up right back in the Barnevelder coop with the old flock.  (Chickens do whatever they can to return to their familiar roost every night, so at the first sign of a path to freedom, the homesick ladies made a dash for their old pen, and walked forlornly around and around the outside of the fence until they became brave enough to fly up and over to familiar territory).  I've been tired of seeing the same hens back in the old coop every night, and there HAVE been a few tufts of feathers on the ground which could either mean that an interested rooster was overly enthusiastic to come across an unfamiliar hen out in "his" territory, or that a hen was lost in the dark between barn and coop (and was swept away by an owl or coyote during the night). The move has been progressing over the course of a week or so, and tonight I was finally sick of it, so rooster and remaining pure-bred Barnevelder hens were hoisted unceremoniously by their ankles and brought to live in the barn.  Several times, a chipmunk or maybe even a rat has been rustling around in the empty feed bags of that coop (I'm ashamed to admit that I've screamed even as I'm trying in vain to get my foot moving to stomp on it).  Sigh....the chicken dust and old litter in that coop is disgusting.  I don't know why even a rat or a mouse would WANT to live in there, but I can smell them and have seen them.  It's time to clean, sanitize, leave empty for the winter, and then we'll see if it becomes a chicken coop for a healthy flock or the "Bunny Barn" for Jeremy's new bunny (yes, he quickly changed his mind about whether this new one was going to be "his"). So....the coop is sitting empty, ready for a full-scale cleaning which I don't have time to do, AND I'm still cooking and canning buckets and buckets of pears which were a true gift from the Harvard feed folks. Lots to do, and here I sit, typing......at least there are pears quartered and cooking into juice on the stove, and all the animals have been let out/fed/milked/watered, whatever they needed before I got sidetracked by the lure of the computer screen.  Before I let all of the time get away from me, I need to get back out to the cow-pen and shovel out the remaining manure that big Bess and little Ruby have deposited in their barn and feeding area..... Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/