We Need Pigs

NIGEL:
Heroic piglet saves drowning goat!
http://media.smh.com.au/selections/robert-hughes-critic-artist-and-friend-3654545.html

All Quiet Now ...

SUSAN: Today we harvested Buster and 46. Why? Several reasons: Since Two-Spot and Buster cannot get along (as demonstrated in an earlier post), we can't have these two roosters together. Buster is brother to 15 hens, and even though we live in North Carolina, we're not keen to have him mate with his sisters. 46 had a great haircut for a Rock Star Rooster; but, enjoyed fighting everyone (especially us!) and was not very successful with the ladies (except for the birth of Two Spot). And, we need to have the "rooster section" of the coop available for Solo, Sunshine, and our 37 new chicks. So, we did it, and the farm is so quiet! Apparently Two Spot is not as vocal as 46 (well, who could be?) or Buster, so it's really quiet on the farm.

Immediately, we moved Solo to the (now) "adolescent section" of the coop so that she could go outside for the first time and also not step on any of the little chicks. She's a bit out of sorts in the new environment, and spent most of her outside time actually underneath the coop ... but, she'll settle-in to her new home soon.

38 Chicks Arrive from Iowa

SUSAN: As mentioned previously, Nigel and I were bummed by the loss of chicks hatched on the farm; but, Nigel was obviously more bummed than me! He ordered 37 chicks from Murray McMurray - Bard Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Rhode Island Reds. Apparently these breeds all make really good moms and will hatch their chicks properly. They arrived on Thursday, July 26 as day old chicks and just like last time we were given "one free" - perhaps we'll call her/him #38!

Just like two years ago it is so much fun to watch them sleep on top of one another, fall asleep wherever they are standing (including in the food bowl), and run around chasing whomever has the feather/pine chip/etc. Solo was not too sure about the new 38 chicks when Nigel introduced them on Thursday. Sunshine, though, since she's a bit younger ... seems to really like sleeping near them.

Two unusual things with the new chicks. On Saturday afternoon, I found one dead in a bit of a sleeping position. We think that maybe she was asleep and Solo stepped on her accidentally. Last time we had 100% survival of our Murray McMurray chicks.  And, another of the chicks has something (maybe her internal organs) sticking out of her vent. We're watching her carefully and hoping that she returns to normal soon.

It's hard to get great photos in the coop, but you can see that we're raising them in the middle section of the coop - they are no longer in a brooder. It's a great location for them, and very easy to access for water, feeding, and catching one to see if she is okay.

What's super fun is just trying to remember how to raise the chicks. We've had to pull out the Chicken Bible again to remember what we're supposed to do. For example, are we supposed to clean the poopy from their vents? How often should we change their bedding? How much sugar should we put int he water?

Only one chick (again)!!

SUSAN: Last we updated, Nigel purchased an incubator and placed 7 eggs inside (important to note that the incubator is in our basement). After 21 days of rotating 3 times a day, maintaining perfect temperature, and adding water to maintain humidity ... we saw a crack in an egg! Very exciting. And, then we heard her chirp. Very exciting for Boomer who immediately wanted to investigate! Sunshine hatched out with no problem. She's definitely Two-Spot's chick as she looks a lot like him!

Unfortunately, the second little chick did not hatch quickly. After 24 hours, we tried to help her by removing some of the shell; but, she had not properly absorbed her yolk sac. Reading other blogs online, we learned that it may be possible for her to absorb the yolk sac, which we allowed her an overnight to do; but, when Nigel checked downstairs, she had died. It was so sad.

Nigel gave the remaining 5 eggs a few more days, but no hatching. They were not fertilized (What was Two Spot doing?????).

With only 2 out of 12 eggs successfully hatched, we were both a bit bummed; but, happy to have Solo and Sunshine to enjoy!