We are drowning in eggs, here on our tiny farm. We are now getting eight dozen eggs every week - and it’s only February! Chickens lay more eggs when the days are longer. Our new flock is not completely mature, so they’re not yet laying at full capacity.
In fact, it seems as if they are often taken aback by their own egg laying. We’re finding eggs everywhere. In the nesting boxes, of course. And in the feral cat shelters. But, often we find eggs in the rose bushes, or out in the middle of the yard. It’s as if these new hens are walking along, minding their own business, when, poof, they pop out an egg!
When they’re not popping out eggs, we can find them digging holes in the dirt and then sitting in the holes, sometimes rolling in the dirt as if they’re taking a dirt bath.
The countdown to our first goat babies of the season has begun. Lulou is officially due on Wednesday, and she usually kids early. We’ve set up the kidding parlor. We located all the supplies that we stowed away at the end of last year’s season. Towels, wipes, scissors, dental floss, iodine, lube, flashlights, thermometer, and the slurper (which is a little bulb that can suck mucous out of a baby’s mouth). The dental floss is for tying the umbilical cord, and the iodine is for dipping it.
We covered the floor with yoga mats, and then with cedar pellets (to help with the smell) and later today we’ll cover that with some clean straw. We’re now checking on Lulou several times a day. Her udder has started filling up, but she can still hold her tail up. So, we don’t yet have to set our alarms and check on her every two hours around the clock. Right before they go into labor they lose their ability to hold their tails up.
See how these goats hold their tails up? (The photo above is Molly, Mothra's daughter). That’s how goats like to hold their tails. But, the tendons that allow them to do it loosen right before they go into labor, which gives us a really great clue about when we need to bring them to the kidding parlor. (Below is Polly, Phoebe's daughter - she's holding her tail more parallel to the ground, but when a doe's tendons loosen for giving birth, she isn't even able to do that).
The wild birds are shifting, now that the seasons are turning. We no longer hear the sandhill cranes flying low over our farm every day, whirring to each other. They’ve become restless, and many of them have already left for Nebraska. But a pair of roadrunners has taken the roof of Jan’s house as their playground. I often hear them up there, clacking away. Sometimes they hop down and run around our driveway. Soon the barn swallows will arrive. I hope they reuse the nest they built last year in the breezeway.
One of my favorite wild bird things is in the goat shelter in the back pen. The little barn has open beamwork near the roof that is home to a flock of sparrows. When I walk into the building, a cloud of them flutters out the opposite door. I had wanted to tiptoe in and take a photo of them sitting on the beams. But they were too shy. So, here are the beams where they were sitting just seconds before I took the shot. You can see one of their nests in the eaves on the right.
These same sparrows share the goats’ grain and their hay. Their friends sit in an enormous congregation in Jan’s front yard, in a pomegranate tree. I love when they all fly together out of that tree, and I love watching them settle back in the tree, one by one.
Oh, here’s something totally random that I saw the other day:
This is the chicken-guardian cat, sitting on the hay cart. I think I had left the cart there while I went to a pump to get a bucket of water for the milkers. When I headed back, I saw that the cat was watching her chickens from her unusual perch. I know, she looks as if she's going to pounce, but she's not. She just got startled by my approach, and shortly after this photo she jumped off the cart and headed to the chicken wilderness.
On the heels of last week's horrible winter weather system, we have emerged into spring - and biking season! Oh, how I love cycling to our mailbox! The quiet here is so intense, and riding along the dirt road, heading in the direction of the Manzanos is a pure pleasure. In the afternoons we’re now in the 60s, which is the perfect temperature.
In soap world, I’ve gotten some feedback from my bar dish soap testers - I need to make that soap harder. I’ll be making a new batch soon, and then testing it in a month - keep your eyes peeled if you want to be a tester (and receive a free bar). Our spectacular photographer is here today, taking pictures of our two new bars: cedar and nostalgia (smelling like the old shampoo Herbal Essence) bath bars. Our cedar bars will be available on my website beginning tomorrow!
Check it out: https://www.serenasoaps.com/