A Place to Belong

The Queen does not care for the city... I only have to dip my toe in for a second to remember that.

I do not like the traffic.

I do not like the maze of roads.

I do not like the people.

I do not like the congestion.

What I do like is this...

Barns in a field of flowers...

Old falling down houses...

Barns on streets with no traffic so I can slow down to grab a picture...

Barns with a little bit of rust on them...

And tractors.

It was good to be home again.

Farmin'

Things are coming together at ye royal homestead.

First, the Queen won this book from one of her favorite bloggers - Empress of Dirt!

I loved James Wong's Grow Your Own Drugs series on tv so I was really excited to win his book on gardening for flavor. He is a really interesting read and I'll be trying out some of his techniques, especially on my tomatoes... mmm... tomatoes!

The royal neighbor stopped by this afternoon and tilled up a spot in front of the chicken coop. It's about 32 feet long by 20 feet wide... ish... I think he's going to come back with some disc blades and shape it into rows... I hope...

All I know is that a tractor is a powerful thing, because we struggle to make small diameter two foot holes with a post hole digger, and in less than 10 minutes with a tractor, the ground looked like this:

Pretty impressive.

As you can see, the coop and run are still a work in progress but are coming along nicely.

This weekend we were able to get netting strung on the top of one side and the wire is in place for most of the rest of it. Dig guards are attached to the fence in front and along most of one side now. We need to finish the dig guards and the netting, build the front wall and door to the coop, and put in a gate. That's most of the structure done.

I got a large feeder and waterer today from Tractor Supply. We probably need two, but they're pretty big so we'll see. I could have gotten the plastic for a third of the price, but these should last forever.

And just to let you know - the Queen deserves high praise: I resisted the temptation to purchase more chicks... there were actually a couple of varieties (plus ducks, always ducks) still in the tubs but we already have 25 potential chickens in the incubator. So I left the store, chick-less. Yea me.

Speaking of which... Five days until lockdown. I'm hoping lockdown #2 is waaaaaaaaay less stressful and the incubator holds a steady temperature this time. It would be nice to hatch more eggs out of this batch, especially the Americaunas and Australorps. Unfortunately, this Sebright egg was a dud too... I really wanted to hatch one. But hey, I kinda think they're all adorable.

The fluffy butts are no longer fluffy butts, and the babies are tweens now. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a Golden something or other. Could be a Sebright but more likely a Wyandotte. It's very pretty, also very skittish.

Howard and Sweet Lucy are feathering out. Howard... is white.

And still full of shit. 

They, in their own way, get excited to see me because they know I am the bringer of food and water. If I have food in my hands I can touch them now, it's more true of Howard than Lucy. Maybe once they're free to waddle they'll get more friendly. I feel bad that they're stuck in a small rabbit cage, but it's the best I can do at the moment and as soon as the weather stays warm enough (and the coop is far enough along) they can go out...

Pixie Dust

Someone must have sprinkled pixie dust on the royal castle because the King and I are very, very sleepy. Thus I am too tired to blog...

Instead I leave you with this stunning compilation of chicken fashion through the decades. Just click the link to view the video and be prepared to have your mind blown.

Words matter

In the past I didn't have the confidence to think of what I do as a business with the potential to earn an income. It always surprised me when anyone took an interest in what I did and I always felt as if they were in for a disappointment. It's probably one of the reason my previous business failed. That and a lack of funds to do it right.

I've suffered from a lack of confidence for a long time. It's not my parents fault, they have always encouraged me. It's not the King's fault, he has always been very supportive. It's me. And I never could explain it, not even to myself.

The other day I remembered a conversation I had when I was in elementary school. I was in the gifted/talented program and someone asked me what that was all about. I told her it was because I had a high IQ. It was the truth and it wasn't meant to imply that she didn't, but she took it that way, got mad, and eventually we parted ways.

I was ten or eleven but I still think about that conversation from time to time - and, if you can believe it - I still feel guilty for making her feel bad about herself.

My lack of confidence probably has everything to do with that one experience. After that it felt vain to admit that I was smart or talented or pretty. It was etched into my brain that I must think I was better than someone if I acknowledged something positive about myself that had absolutely nothing to do with them. Looking back at this point in my life I realize sure, it was her problem... but I was a kid at the time and apparently it made an impression.

After that I still made good grades, but I tried to keep that to myself. I was a good clarinet player but always felt uncomfortable and never wanted to be first chair, it's one of the (many) reasons I quit band at the end of my junior year... too much pressure. And while my best friend never shrank from using "big words", I found it awkward to use my real vocabulary because I didn't want to be different. I didn't want to put anyone off.

I was the definition of vanilla. I was so neutral that I went with everything. I got along with everyone in every circle, and it came as a shock later in life when people didn't always like me. True... I usually felt the same about them... but it didn't matter, they should like me anyway. I was a people pleaser and still can be.

I'm digressing into other things now and I want to get back to the true intent of this post, which is confidence and what it means to my business. Because I do have a business. It's in its infancy now, but I have sold merchandise and I intend to sell more.

I am going to embrace that I have talent, and believe that other people see it. If they purchase something from me I'm not somehow conning them out of money, they're not doing it out of pity, they're doing it because I'm giving them something they want.

This will be a new adventure for me. I'm putting money into educating myself, I'm working hard, and I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone. Even going so far as to think of myself as an artist and a businesswoman.

In that vein, I hate photos of myself... but it was part of my homework, and if I'm going to be sharing these photos with complete strangers I feel that I can share them with you.

When people sign up for my emails, they will receive a series of welcome emails. For the first email we were told to take a selfie that showed us at our workstations. This one actually isn't awful... I look sort of like a kewpie doll, but I don't hate it.

I love the colors in that shirt. It's one of the souvenirs I brought back from the cruise - I braved a hurricane to buy this shirt! And the angle of the photo makes me look thin. Gotta love that.

The next photo is supposed to be me overwhelmed by work. I decided if life was going to be crazy, I should have a chicken on my head. I like everything about it except me... Well, not true... I am debating whether to retake it but with a chicken on my head and one on my shoulder, holding the postcards like a hand of playing cards and looking up at the chicken. And I still might.

The final photo is me, waiting for the customer to take some kind of action. Tired of changing outfits and trying to come up with a good photo of myself, I opted for this instead, which has been a big hit with everyone...

We have the cutest chickens.

Today I bought supplies to test the waters and see if I can transfer my art onto canvas and wood to sell them as wall art in addition to the postcards. If I can then I think I can make some money because people like my photos and I'll have a more popular item to sell. Eventually I'll test glass and other mediums but I'm going to start small and grow.

So let the adventure begin... If I can make this work I'll finally be doing something I love and making money at it. It will be validating. Wouldn't that be nice for a change?

Fine Feathers

The royal carriage has gotten quite a workout this week.

Yesterday I drove to Bowling Green. A friend was able to find an agency to take Tucker, the stray who wandered up to our house a couple of months ago. We looked for his family but unfortunately no one stepped forward... He is a sweet puppy but we never intended to keep him, and he deserves people who fully appreciate him.

I won't lie, it's nice to have our situation back to normal. No kennel in the bedroom, not wading through dogs to walk through the house. I felt good about leaving him because he was happy when I left, tail wagging so hard that his body moved with it. He even put on his best puppy face and made the volunteers fall in love with him. It made for a long day but it was worth the drive to know he'll be safe wherever he ends up.

And I was able to create this postcard from a photo I took along the way. I was a little disappointed that the GPS took me down a main road because there's not as much to see and it's harder to pull over to snap a pic... but I do like the simplicity of this one (I'm biased, of course):

Today was the weekly royal rendezvous in Nashville. Time with the King, and yummy ice cream afterward - peanut butter ice cream! Real peanut butter ice cream - not cheater peanut butter ice cream that's basically vanilla with peanut butter swirled in. Grrr...

Another long drive.

On the way home I stopped in and put a deposit on the RV park where the King will be relocating. It's nice because it cuts that bill in half and we can use the money on other things (like paying down more bills and finishing our chicken coop).

And in my spare time (after feeding/watering/cleaning up after chickens, ducks and dogs) I have been working on my business, creating logos, email funnels and a website. I'm also becoming quite the troubleshooter.

My website banner:

Sign up for my emails if you dare 

My logo

When I'm not doing that I relax by terrifying playing with the chickens. I am fascinated by the nuggets. They are no longer fluffy butts because they are already sprouting tail feathers - all that from an egg!

Not to be outdone by the King, I put a chicken on my shoulders.

Every time I pick them up they flap their wings and I had to share, because I think they are gorgeous.

Even Howard and Sweet Lucy are started to get feathers. The King says Howard is in an awkward phase... I have to agree, it looks like he got a bad haircut.

And to think, this morning that water was clean...

Work, Work, Work

This weekend was very busy for the Queen... the King too, but this is the Queen's blog so let's focus on me shall we?

We started out by putting the fence around our chicken run. It always takes a while to get started but we got as far as we could. The King got a head start on it while I tended to the royal flock.

I had come up with an idea for the ducks, one that would still be disgusting, but more easily managed. With the idea in my head I scouted out the local Tractor Supply to see what I could piece together when lo and behold... there it was, almost like I envisioned it... a rabbit cage. It had a grate over a removable tray, and I could attach the food and water bowls to the cage so that it was out of the way and also immobile. AND it was on sale. It isn't perfect, I had to wrap the outside to prevent them from pooping through the bars (and they still managed) but it is much, much easier to clean.

Ours looks exactly like this except that it's covered in shit:

Moral of the story: DON'T GET DUCKS

That said, they will let you know when something is amiss. No food in the bowl? Howard shrieks. No water? Howard and Sweet Lucy create a cacophony. It's like an automatic reminder so you never, and I mean EVER, have to worry that you forgot to give them food or water... they will let you know...

Later that evening we met up with members of the royal family who were passing through the area on their way back to Boston.  It was great to catch up with them and, as usual, we enjoyed hanging out with them. The royal uncle apparently has excellent taste in beer - he had to order three times before they had one of his options in stock (sort of)... he got 3/4 of a glass because they tapped the keg, so they gave it to him for free.

Next day we were going to finish getting the fence up and... it rained/sleeted/snowed. Every Sunday for the past month it has rained. We did what we could and I finished the clips today. That leaves tension wire, a gate, hardware fabric and netting over the top for the outside, then outfitting the inside with all the fun stuff.

I laid out some hardware fabric just to get an idea what it will look like when it's done. Part of it goes up the fence to stop hawks from reaching in and grabbing chickens, the other half goes on the ground to dissuade digging.

And, in our spare time, we cuddled with the chicklets. Here the King plays roost to one of our tweens. Hard to believe only three weeks ago they were fluffy butts... sigh... they grow up so fast...

The Queen is Brooding

Today I met the King for lunch then came back to tackle that which I dreaded the most...

...cleaning up the brooder.

Ducks shit more than any other animal on the face of the planet. Thus, the pea gravel had become poop gravel.

My poor chickens were having to live in it and I was having to smell it. I put it off last night because I was too tired to finish the job and I knew if I cleaned the poop there would just be more poop the next day. Boy was I right.

But today I rolled up my sleeves and set to work. I scooped out alllllllll the pea gravel, rinsed it off and put it into a trashbag. We can use it somewhere else. I poured a new bag into the duck brooder because for them I think it is the best litter. Then I gave them food and water and put them in their brand new brooder.

They were thrilled. Wouldn't you be?

They had the cleanest brooder of them all plus fresh water and food, and perhaps not a ton of space, but probably the same as they had if you count all the chickens that were in there with them.

But they weren't happy...

They were upset and didn't stop shrieking for a good 30 minutes. And almost immediately they pooped three times. Then they huddled in the corner and Sweet Lucy got stuck behind the water dispenser with Howard smooshed up against her.

You'd think I was trying to kill them. But I wasn't. Yet.

In the tween chicken brooder, the sand turned into cement, so that's just there forever unless we can chip it out someday. And there was water in the crevices from the ducks.

I decided to put pine shavings in there instead of putting the rocks back in, because I figure the shavings can absorb the water and next time I change it out maybe things will be back on track. The chickens are much neater than ducks... there are some shavings in the water, but the water isn't everywhere and the feed isn't everywhere and I don't see poop everywhere. The Queen is pleased.

The baby chicks are easy. I changed the shelf liner, and done. Next time I'll switch to pine shavings, but they're still so little they think everything is food. And it helps me see their poop, which is not something I normally aspire to see (especially as much I've seen lately), but it lets me know if anyone is having issues. That, and inspecting their vents... had one little guy with pasty butt. Wet q-tip to the rescue!

And this little guy is so stinkin' cute! He was the last chick we took in. He's so sure footed now, toddling around with his buddies.

I also put the eggs in the brooder. Still working the humidity out, but the temp is good and humidity doesn't matter so much at the very beginning. The green eggs are Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers, the big brown eggs are Australorps, and the tiny white egg is my Sebright.

By the time I finished all that, the ducks had produced three more splats of poop.

#*@%^!!!!

Among other accomplishments, I unclogged the bathroom drain and created three more postcards.

So now I'm sitting on my royal butt and watching crap tv instead of cleaning crap... Nice change.

Another batch to hatch

Today was a busy day for the Queen.

I have taken time off from my postcard business and it's time to get back on that horse. The Queen also has other ideas... ebooks and possibly a video course, things that take a bit of upfront work but make money in perpetuity with little effort.

In that vein, I have been learning a lot from a nice lady named Renae Christine. She gives a lot of information away for free, and it's very useful, not like those free ebooks or reports you often get. She also has a course called Rich Mom University, geared toward handmade items, but applicable to pretty much anything as long as it's a physical item for sale.

I decided to enroll. Most of the time I pass on things but her free videos were enough to convince me that it's good knowledge that can help me with my current and future projects.

After almost completing the first part of module one, I went to a local homesteading meeting to learn about gardening and spend time with friends. Picked up some useful information as well as some seeds and a couple of plants.

Then it was on to Walmart for a duck brooder, aka large plastic storage bin. It's time to move the ducks to their own brooder and let the chickens have some more room and a cleaner area.

Then Mayor Tom called and told me he had more eggs. This will be the last batch of eggs for our flock. If someone else wants me to hatch some I'll do it, but I think we're good for a little while. This batch has Australorps and Americaunas, plus eggs from his flock. There is one Sebright... I was hoping for more Sebrights but maybe this one will hatch.

So it was a long, but productive day... and the Queen is tired. I still need to clean the existing brooder and set up the duck brooder but it may have to wait until tomorrow unless I catch a second wind.

Right now I just want to relax for a minute...

Eggshausting

Being a chicken can be so eggshausting.

She looks dead doesn't she. Sometimes I have to stop and watch them breathe because they lay beak down and flatten themselves against the floor of the brooder.

You may notice that one of these things is not like the rest... Mayor Tom gave us another baby chick today. He managed to hatch one but doesn't have other chicks its age to put it with. So we have an Ameraucana chick now. It's like the universe gave me back the little chick that perished in its shell.

The remaining 10 eggs still show no signs of pipping. It may be that they didn't survive when the incubator went haywire, or maybe they were too hot and grew too large in the shell. We'll see, there's still time. Thursday will be day 25, after that it's unlikely they will hatch, but just to be sure I'll float them in water and see if they move.

It's amazing the difference a couple of days can make. Our hatchlings are zipping around the brooder like nobody's business. They're fluffy and I'm already seeing little feathers. 

The new guy hatched last night and he's stumbling around like he's had too much to drink. I have to remind myself that he's tired, and not to worry if he plops down and sleeps a lot.

The TSC chickens are in something of a middle ground. They're getting bigger and love to perch. They can flap their wings a mile a minute. Some of them are growing calmer, and after the initial airlift out of the brooder, they're content to perch on our hands or shoulders. A couple are still skittish.

The ducks... ah the ducks... just big mess makers and they take up a lot of space. They squeal when you try to pick them up and are more likely than not to poop on you if you do. Have I mentioned that I'm ready to put them outside???

And the Queen is finally working with someone to find a home for Tucker. I listed him on a few Facebook sites as free to a good home but was told by several people that's a good way to turn him into a bait dog. Truth be told you can see in his face how submissive he is and he does run that risk. People out here are incredible... But some people are good, and the lady who contacted me is going to find him a home or place him with an agency. After speaking to her I have a good feeling about it. She's been doing rescue for 19 years.

There was one person who inquired about Tucker. Asked how old. Then how much he weighed. Then wanted to meet somewhere. Just seemed odd to be so quick and not want to visit first (not that I wanted them out here to see our dogs), so I'm glad this person contacted me and offered to help. I want him to find a good home, he's a sweet dog and I can tell he's already been through enough by the way he acts.

So life continues at the royal palace. We are currently overrun by chickens, dogs and waterfowl, but we're putting the pieces of our puzzle together and getting it sorted out.

Fluffy Butts!

The royal household now has eight little fluffy butts in the brooder and 10 unpipped eggs remaining in the incubator. Unfortunately one of them pipped but was unable to get out, or the poor chick had grown too large for the shell... I tried to help it out this morning, but it was already gone. It was a pretty little bird with black feathers... I know it happens but it is still sad.

Since that was the last pip for the time being, I was finally able to move the chicks out of the incubator and into the brooder, and I cleared out the empty shells. It's easier to control the temperature and humidity if chicks and eggs are separate, and eventually the chicks will need food and water.

We're on day 20, and I have hatched a theory that lighter eggs pip earlier than darker eggs. Because that's what's happened. We have brown and brown speckled eggs that haven't pipped, but the blush and white eggs all magically turned into chicks. I think the remaining eggs are Australorps and Barred Rocks and/or Rhode Island Reds.

The King redesigned the brooder to accommodate the new chicks and the older chicks. They are separated by a cooling rack, but can interact with one another, so by the time we put them in the coop they should all get along.

I find it odd that you have to show them where the water is, but they find the food on their own.

I dipped their beaks into the water as I put them into the brooder. And for good measure I did it again after a few minutes. 

The are so much fun to watch, and much less afraid of the big giant hand than the Tractor Supply chicks.

Eatin' time.

As you can see, Howard is quite large... and the ducks are quite interested in our babies. But right now they're more interested in a huge clump of grass that the King dug up for them.

We started to fence around the coop but the weather was not cooperative today. I feel like getting the supplies and sinking the posts were probably the biggest hurdles and next weekend we can make good progress. 

All I know is that I'm ready for the ducks to be out of the brooder...

CHICKENS!

As I write this, we have eight chickens, a pip, and 10 still making up their minds. I am beyond thankful that they weren't hurt when the temps spiked.

It's so cute to watch them stumble around the incubator and snuggle with the sponges.

They explore with their beaks like dogs explore the world with their mouths, but pecking instead of licking. They peck the incubator, they peck the sponges, they peck the eggshells, and of course, they peck at each other.

Humidity has increased with the hatched eggs, which was expected, so in addition to the two plugs, I have lifted both windows a smidge to regulate it. The chicks need to dry off and they can't if the humidity is too high. But it's a delicate balancing act between temperature and humidity between the chicks and the eggs.

After this pip has zipped and dried we will probably start transferring them to the brooder. That is, unless there is another pip that happens in the meantime. All in all the eggs have up to 25 days to hatch in the normal range, so the 10 that haven't started to hatch still have a little time.

Even then I will perform a float test to make sure there's not a chick before I give up. Supposedly you can put the egg in some warm water and it will move if there is a viable chick, you just have to make absolutely sure there's no pip in the egg or they'll drown.

We have a screen in between the existing flock and the new so that they can get acquainted but no fights break out.

The baby side has shelf liner for better grip and a softer fall. They get medicated chick feed since they haven't been vaccinated against coccidiosis, and their water has electrolytes and probiotics (which I also give to the bigger chicks). 

I'm looking forward to proving that it's the ducks who cause the mess... and having one section of the brooder that's not so yucky.

There are egg shells everywhere... oh the carnage.

And out of something so innocuous comes this... 

A cute little chicken baby.

Is it wrong that I was tempted by more chickens at Tractor Supply today? They had different breeds... but you have to buy them in groups of six and I just wanted two. I asked if they ever had sebrights... they apparently get mystery boxes so they had no idea. Not helpful. I want sebrights and silkies...

Pip Pip Hooray!

After all the worry and uncertainty, the royal chickens are beginning to hatch!

First there was the pioneer chick who popped off a part of its shell. I was elated when the King pointed it out to me because it meant there was hope after all!

Because after that, a second egg pipped. And a third. And now a fourth. At this point I'm going for it, we're gonna hatch all 18-19 chicklets, I feel it in my bones!

We got incredibly lucky...

So what is a pip? It is when the chicken first pokes through the shell. They have what is called an egg tooth, and they use it to break through the membrane into the air sac and through the shell. It is step one in the hatching process.

This is our second pipper:

If you look at the bottom of the bottom egg you can see where I marked the air sac with a pencil, and just above that, almost in the center, is a slightly raised bump where the chick is poking through. It can easily be overlooked unless you know what to look for... but there it is - a pip!

There are two eggs that have pipped and two which are in the process of zipping, which is when the chick has chipped all the way around the egg and is preparing to use its legs to kick the shell away from its body.

These are our more advanced eggs:

The one at the top was the first to pop its top, the lower one pipped third but broke through second, and below that, just out of the picture is the most recent egg to pip.

They will all hatch at different rates and it can take 24+ hours for the whole process to occur. Maddening! But at the same time, it's more than I was hoping for, even if I really was hoping for this... hard to explain.

This photo is from a thread on the Backyard Chickens blog, it show a full zip:

It's what I hope to see tomorrow. This is like waiting for Santa on Christmas morning... but more stressful.

So once they are out of the egg, we leave them in the incubator for two reasons. First, to dry, because they can easily get cold and sick if they are wet. Second, to peep and bump into other eggs which encourages them to pip/zip/hatch.

At the end of the hatch they absorb the yolk sac and can forego food for up to three days. Hopefully they will all hatch within a couple of days of each other and we won't have to figure out what to do about chicks and eggs... If you open the incubator while a chick has pipped you risk drying out the membrane and shrink wrapping the poor thing, so it's best if you don't have to...

To that end, the sponges are working beautifully. I am using a straw and a small funnel to add water to the sponges through the air holes, and the humidity is holding at about 60-65% where it needs to be.

 Fingers crossed for healthy, happy chicks!

It's that time again...

Daffodil explosion!

 

Just wish they lasted longer...