#poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

The turkeys have gotten pretty large (chicken for scale) and we have decided not to eat them this year. We can’t be hosting big holiday gatherings while the Plague continues, and we have a male and a female, so we’re going to let them raise next year’s dinners.

The tom is called Thanksgiving and the hen is called Christmas. They are very entertaining, curious and bold, and seem to take care of themselves pretty well. They sleep outside, on the fence or in a tree, but our winters are mild and I think they’ll do all right. We might try building them some shelter, but I bet they won’t use it if we do.

#turkeys #backyard poultry #chickens #pandemic2020 #poultry2020 #poultry2021 #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

Early evening checking on birds. The chickens were optimistic, but alas, I did not bring them snacks. Turkeys chilling on the fence.

#poultry2020 #chickens #turkeys #backyard poultry #farm dog #dogs #my dogs #Omie #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

He’s right behind you!

#turkeys #dogs #omie #my dogs #poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

We're going to sell a few of the teenaged chickens. Really we have more than we needed anyway, but the three we've set aside were selected for their annoying tendency to roost up a tree with the turkeys.

The Dominique is looking like he's probably a rooster. We do not need two roosters, but he's gonna be SO pretty. We may sell him later, but we're putting off the decision.

Pictured: The GOOD, well behaved Leghorns, making progress integrating into the adult flock.

#chickens #backyard chickens #brown Leghorns #poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

A guy emailed me yesterday about buying eggs, and he wanted to know whether we care for our chickens in their old age, or just keep them while they're young and productive and then get rid of them.

Loaded question, eh? Like when somebody very formally asked my dairy boss what she did with the male calves. They're expecting a bad answer, and planning to be mad at you about it if you aren't sufficiently virtuous, by their standards. Or maybe they're just curious how it works - possibly.

I told him I definitely have a few older ladies (heck, they've got to be about 4 now? Old by production hen standards) who have a place here as pets for as long as they're living well, but that I'm less sentimental about the younger ones, and I won't promise I'll never put one in the stew pot.

But then, "get rid of them" - is he worried about what might happen after that? So I also reassured him that, if I ever do decide I can't afford to feed an unproductive bird, or have any that aren't enjoying a good quality of life due to age or illness, they would never end up abandoned or neglected or taking up resources as a rescue. Because I will put them down myself if that ever happens. That's the most responsible thing.

I doubt that's what he wanted to hear. It's also not as black and white as I think the question implied.

#farm ethics #animal agriculture #chickens #my chickens #animal welfare #bloomhaven #poultry2020 #chickens2020 #idk how I'm tagging the birds

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

I just had to go save the turkeys from their dumb choices. It is raining. It has been raining all day, and it is not warm. The turkeys have been in their pen for a couple of days bc they keep trying to sleep on the fence, and the young chickens go with them when they do. We let them out a couple of hours ago to roam, and see if they would go back on their own, but as the sun set, there they were, on the fence, huddled against the cold wind and rain.

They have a dry pen, with a nice roosting bar! It’s out of the wind, and has a roof! But no. So I grabbed one under each arm and took them home, shut them in. As soon as I picked them up, all three started making “oh no! where are you? we are separated!” noises. As I went back for the third one, it hopped down off the fence and started wandering around, looking for its friends in entirely the wrong places, not remotely where their sounds were coming from. It also kept making sad searching noises, and I worried about catching it. Probably should have done this later, when they were more asleep.

But Omie to the rescue! She was with me, being good & not chasing any birds (too distracted by that new rabbit, perhaps). As the lost turkey circled the small coop, looking for chicken friends, I was able to send Omie around the opposite way I went, and we got the turkey in the alley between the coop and the fence. Then she calmly moved it down towards me, and I just picked it up!

I told her how good she was, but I was also holding a calling turkey, so I hope I got the message across strongly enough! This is exactly how I want her working with birds - calmly, intelligently, and not until asked. So good.

#turkey adventures #herding dog #farm dog #dog training #backyard poultry #my dogs #dogs #poultry2020 #Omie #herding turkeys #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

#6: Turklings, approaching gangliness.

#turkeys #poultry2020 #pandemic2020 #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

Alllllrighty, time to necropsy a turkey.

#animal death / #turkeys #necropsy #poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

So, the mystery of "Does it seem like we're getting less eggs? I feel like we're getting less eggs than we should be" is solved 🙄

#these piles of overgrown garbage are gifts from the previous owners #bit by bit we're working on them #but they will continue to plague us #at least they're not full of copperheads anymore! #chickens took care of that #chickens #eggs #bloomhaven #poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

The turklings. Still not red. I still don't know whether that's normal. The two with the redder heads & wattles we presume to be toms, and the other, without, to be a hen. We'll see.

#turkeys #backyard turkeys #bourbon red turkeys #bourbon red #poultry2020 #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

The babies are growing. Always moving.

#dramatic heat lamp lighting #esp in that last one #laying hens #baby chicks #chickens #poultry2020 #bloomhaven

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

It's baby time!

#chicks #baby chicks #poultry2020

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

We put the turkeys in their own pen/coop for a week or two, then decided that they had gotten too big for a hawk to nab, and let them out the other day. They are bold, and curious, and v enjoyable to watch in the yard! They have also firmly decided that they belong in chicken society, and have moved back into the small coop with the young ladies (who we also released to free range the other day, with some minimal conflict with the older hens). They're going to get too big to go in the inside coop area soon, and idk what they're going to do then - sleep on the roof, maybe? - but that's their problem, if they don't want to live in the turkey-sized coop we made them.

#turkeys #backyard poultry #poultry2020 #bourbon red turkeys #bourbon red #brown leghorn #brown leghorns

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

They're having a meeting.

#chickens #chicken meeting #backyard poultry #fine quality pics taken through a grubby window #poultry2020 #bloomhaven #rainy day

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

The turkey poults were constantly sitting by the door, looking out at what the chicks were doing, wanting to experience more. So we let them join chicken society, and all birds involved seem very happy with this arrangement.

#chickens #chicks #turkeys #turkey poults #teenage birds #poultry #poultry2020 #bloomhaven #bourbon red #bourbon red turkeys

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

We also got three Bourbon Red turkeys! A new venture.

#turkeys #bourbon red #heritage breeds #poultry2020