Happenings on the Ranch

No, they’re not poltergeist.  But they are like something out of a scary movie.  They’re both fascinating and terrifying at the same time from our perspective.  It’s survival of the fittest. Who’s quicker, us or them?  They have stealth on their side but we have a rifle.  They invade quietly, one on the attack while the other waits in the tree line.

They’re coyotes.

They’re beautiful animals, they really are.  But the first three years we raised poultry they wrecked havoc on our flocks.  Since the chickens ranged across the back three acres of the property these predators figured out they could get a quick, easy meal without much effort.  Just run through the tree line and grab a grazing chicken and keep on running.

This year we moved all the flocks to the front of the property so we could keep an eye on them and the dogs could be around to ward off predators.  Not just the coyotes, but foxes, opposums and raccoons, too.  It had worked really well thus far.  Last year we had lost around 65 chickens by this time.  Crazy, right?  This year we hadn’t lost any.  Until now.

They’re back.  They’re feeding hungry babies and have gotten desperate enough to come to the front of the property.  They creep slowly up to a cluster of trees and just wait for the chickens or turkeys to wander close enough to the fence line.  Then, boom.  Like a shot out of a cannon one darts out, grabs the unsuspecting bird in it’s jaws without slowing down.  The pace picks up as she runs full speed toward the back of the property.  Her mate waits in the shadows as she joins him and they head off to feed the babies.  Four days in a row now we’ve lost one or two birds per day.

It would be more if my mother-in-law wasn’t so vigilant.  She keeps an eye from her bedrooom window which faces toward their hunting grounds.  If the birds wander too far, she blows her whistle to get their attention and bring them back.  If she sees a coyote, she blows the whistle even louder.  That’s our cue to grab the rifle and head out the door.  I’m a true animal lover and I’d hate to have to shoot one because they’re just trying to feed their family; but so am I.  Survival of the fittest.

If this keeps up we may need to fence in a large area for the chickens and another for the turkeys.  We’ve already started on an area for the younger birds, but it may need to be expanded just to protect our flock.  If they’ve got no food, maybe the coyotes will go somewhere else to eat.

So, it’s been six months or so since my last entry.  That’s exactly how long our CSA season lasts.  Tells you how busy we were.  We had an absolute blast for our first season and a very positive response all around.  Our waiting list has been growing since June and we’re starting sign ups now.  Planning is already under way for next season and there are so many new and exciting things we’re working on I just can’t wrap my head around it just yet.  I’ll save that for later.  Right now, I think I need to do a brief recap on  what’s been happening around here lately!

All of our calves have born for the year and, unfortunately, we lost one of the momma cows in the process.  So, we’ve been bottle feeding “T-bone” and he’s doing very well.  We also lost a bull – he’s an escape artist!  He’s still wandering somewhere in the Peculiar area and people catch sight of him now and again but he’s so keen to what we’re doing that he’s impossible to catch.  Eventually I hope to get him back but in the meantime we have to figure what we’re going to do about getting our cows pregnant.  Grrrr.

We ended up losing about 85% of our laying and meat chicken flocks to predators this year along with many ducks, geese and turkeys.  Right now we’re working on trying reconfigure things to keep closer track of the birds and keep them protected from foxes, coyotes and other prowlers while still allowing them to free range.  Not an easy task, let me tell you.  I’m determined to make it work, though.

We’re also working on ideas for hoop houses and row covers for the crops next year to cut down a little on the wrath of mother nature.  She’s our friend and our enemy at the same time and since we’re expanding our programs for next year we really want to have a little bit more control over the harvest.  We’ve come up with some great ideas that won’t impact the land at all and I can’t wait to see them come to fruition.

Now that the harvest season is over I’m hoping to post several times a week.  If I can manage to keep that pace into the planting and harvesting seasons, then all the better.  Like everything else on the farm, though, we’ll have to see how it goes!

-Karin

It has been really nice out today – almost balmy.  The animals really enjoyed lounging in the sun.  Unfortunately, it looks like another predator also enjoyed one of our chickens.  Our beautiful Japanese bantam “Tiny” has disappeared and I have found no trace of her.  It’s always sad when one of our animals mysteriously disappears, but even worse when it is one that’s more like a pet.  She was our only Japanese bantam and I will miss her beautiful feathers and the tiny little eggs she would lay.  We still have our two Americauna bantams – “Prince Ozorumba” (Oz for short) our very colorful rooster, and “Queen Sheba” our white hen.  Sheba has yet to lay but when she does it will be fun to see what color the eggs are.  Americaunas often lay eggs that are blue or green in color.  Instant Easter eggs!

The broiler chicks are continuing to grow and will be ready for the table soon.  If you live in Peculiar and are interested in having some farm-raised chicken delivered for your table, go to our Local Orders page.  In the spring, we will have chicken available in our CSA Meat Program as well.