Living in the Wild

hey, it's empty!, originally uploaded by maggies farm.

I love living with nature, but sometimes it can be a little too close. We had ursine visitors today - A mamma and THREE cubs. I now know how Monkey's pool got broken. They all had a swim, pulled down the bird feeders and headed off into the woods. I banged a few pots together to send them on their way.

Now I have to keep an eye out for Monkey and the dogs, not to mention the chicken house and goats. This particular bear and cubs wander all over the valley, although this is the first visit to our house that I've witnessed.

Some bears destroyed our friend's orchard across the valley this weekend. There's not a lot of food for them out there right now because of the drought. They better leave my berry bushes alone, or else...

Three Ducklings

three ducklings, originally uploaded by maggies farm.

This week three little ducklings joined our menagerie. We've had horrible luck in hatching this year. Of course, I haven't been very attentive to the situation and have left it all up to nature and the whims of broody hens.

Most of this hatch didn't make it. There were a lot of fully formed chicks that just didn't hatch properly. I'm not sure why. The crested duckling may be a clue as the crested gene has a fatal gene connection somehow. (I just skimmed over most of the crested information in my reading). I do have one duck with a very tiny bump of a crest and she must be this one's mother.

The three are very happy in the brooder. We are playing with them in hopes that they'll be a little more people friendly than their parents. They're just so cute and fluffy!

Say hello to my little friend

boo boo chicken, originally uploaded by maggies farm.

The Monkey named her Boo Boo Chicken. She's a Polish bantam and like to ride on my shoulder. I don't think she can see too well, but she's awfully cute in a goofy sort of way.

A friend gave her to me along with two Ameracaunas and a Silver-Pencilled Rock bantam. I helped him out this spring by giving him a couple of laying hens. When his chick order came, he raised them up to a decent size and passed on four to me.

Funny looking creature.