What did you do with your flock today?

[ChicksnMore]

Well... did you find the culprit?!
I love the outside sleeping. Is it a screen in lanai or you able to be under the stars?! Either way sounds terrific. ♡♡♡

Good morning folks! It is 5am and 63° here! We have a bit of a breeze too so feeling a little cooler.
I checked the chicks who are on the deck with a light blanket over the brooder for breeze blockage and warmth capture and they are fine. Bebopping around but still quiet.
Everyone in awhile a little moth will find its way in and they run around like sillies trying to get it. They are surprisingly good at it already!


Still dark as night now, no moon, but I had better get up. Forest demands it.
@ChicksnMore I can not say I have had a snoring chicken that I know of but I can tell you my old lady cat Marley is talking and snoring up a storm the last few days. She loves it up here and there have been extra purrs and rubs so must be good dreams

I didn't catch them in the act! The goose is bonded to the tortoise and sleeps with him.

Crazy right? So a little side trip to tell about that!

We were given 2 adult geese by a neighbor...both girls. For some reason, this goose took an immediate shine to the tortoise. She ignored the other goose and became very protective of Spud. She follows Spud around and hovers over him, snaking her neck out and making warning calls if anything comes too close to him. She kisses him all over his shell too...lol. Luckily she also likes us...we're the nice ones that'll hold plastic buckets for her to put her head in and honk...for some reason that's about her favorite thing to do. So we rehomed the lonely other goose and kept Goosebumps for all the laughter she gives us.
I went out and got a picture of them doing their thing. Spuds just thinking about starting his day and Goosebumps is already on duty keeping him safe.

So anyways...they both sleep inside the 4x4 tortoise house. The floor is sunken down to make the tortoise happy and theres a big berm at the entrance that keeps it dry inside during rain...so it's very hard to see in there!
When I came out with the flashlight and tried to peak in, Goosebumps immediately woke up and all snoring stopped before I could see anything. Spud didn't stir at all though...so I'm thinking Goosebumps is the culprit, but I can't swear on that.

I'm hoping it is Goosebumps because I did some reading and apparently geese can snore! Tortoises on the other hand don't normally and if they are it means sickness. Spud looks and acts very healthy...no discharge from his nose or other symptoms that go with snoring. So I'll keep a close eye on them both for a bit and keep trying to spy who the snorer is. Goosebumps has been with us for about 5 years and I've never noticed it before, so a little concerned either way...but what I read sounds like geese snores are normal and ok.

We have canopy beds on the porch covered in mosquito netting . Before monsoon season starts, we'll often set up cots in the court yard to enjoy the stars while we sleep...the kids really love that. But once the rains come, so do the mosquitoes and our canopy beds are our safe havens.

I really love sleeping outside. I think it helps me deal with the summer heat here better and I definitely sleep better out there then inside. Our porch is on the east side of our house and runs along our garden. So I get to wake with the sun and an earful of birdsong....and chicken crows!

I love watching the young chickies with heat lamps outside chasing moths! A light at night is definitely the best chicken enrichment toy I've ever seen!

Give your old lady Marley a pet for all of us here. Kitty purrs are sweet music.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I didn't catch them in the act! The goose is bonded to the tortoise and sleeps with him.

Crazy right? So a little side trip to tell about that!

We were given 2 adult geese by a neighbor...both girls. For some reason, this goose took an immediate shine to the tortoise. She ignored the other goose and became very protective of Spud. She follows Spud around and hovers over him, snaking her neck out and making warning calls if anything comes too close to him. She kisses him all over his shell too...lol. Luckily she also likes us...we're the nice ones that'll hold plastic buckets for her to put her head in and honk...for some reason that's about her favorite thing to do. So we rehomed the lonely other goose and kept Goosebumps for all the laughter she gives us.
I went out and got a picture of them doing their thing. Spuds just thinking about starting his day and Goosebumps is already on duty keeping him safe.View attachment 3238931

So anyways...they both sleep inside the 4x4 tortoise house. The floor is sunken down to make the tortoise happy and theres a big berm at the entrance that keeps it dry inside during rain...so it's very hard to see in there!
When I came out with the flashlight and tried to peak in, Goosebumps immediately woke up and all snoring stopped before I could see anything. Spud didn't stir at all though...so I'm thinking Goosebumps is the culprit, but I can't swear on that.

I'm hoping it is Goosebumps because I did some reading and apparently geese can snore! Tortoises on the other hand don't normally and if they are it means sickness. Spud looks and acts very healthy...no discharge from his nose or other symptoms that go with snoring. So I'll keep a close eye on them both for a bit and keep trying to spy who the snorer is. Goosebumps has been with us for about 5 years and I've never noticed it before, so a little concerned either way...but what I read sounds like geese snores are normal and ok.

We have canopy beds on the porch covered in mosquito netting . Before monsoon season starts, we'll often set up cots in the court yard to enjoy the stars while we sleep...the kids really love that. But once the rains come, so do the mosquitoes and our canopy beds are our safe havens.

I really love sleeping outside. I think it helps me deal with the summer heat here better and I definitely sleep better out there then inside. Our porch is on the east side of our house and runs along our garden. So I get to wake with the sun and an earful of birdsong....and chicken crows!

I love watching the young chickies with heat lamps outside chasing moths! A light at night is definitely the best chicken enrichment toy I've ever seen!

Give your old lady Marley a pet for all of us here. Kitty purrs are sweet music.

You can paint such a picture of your wonderland. It must be such good therapy to be watched (and loved) by so many interesting beauties. I can honestly say I never would have guessed a goose and a tortoise. Wonder if they are lost and found soul mates ♡ I often feel that way about my husband because we had such a secret deep admiration for eachother decades b4 we spoke to each other or of it. Or because Forest and I just seem to have eased into each other, understand and are inseparable. Sometimes there is just a strange universal pull and comfortable belonging.

 

[TropicalBabies]

So, I did not mention the kitten...
I figured feral kitties would show after the pooch left but I did not imagine I would see a cute little tabby kitten the next morning. I'm not sure if this is the hippee couples lost kitten or just a random, it does not matter, it needs to be captured, fed and fixed and hopefully homed. The good news is it was sitting fairly close looking like it knew where food was. Here. The bad news is Forest was sleeping on the warm spot on the brooder and spotted the kitten too. Matter of fact his gaze led me to spotting the kitten as I look to him to do our guarding. Well, he made chase and then he beat u p the kitty a little with me calling and chasing after both. Just to give you a snicker, chasing after 2 kittens through a forest full of dead fall in PJ and slippers was not the sexyiest thing I have ever done and certainly getting into the forest was easier than getting out. Matter of fact... I was not quite sure how I made it in so gracefully as getting out was a mini disaster and almost major embarrassment good thing no one was watching.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I hope right?
So to bring the story back to the kitten, I decided to keep Forest contained in the house more in hopes the kitten will come back if we are not being so darn hostile to it. I fill a dish and put it under the outdoor entrance table much like I did for Forest when he was just a little orphan. Guess it I time to bring the kitty traps up ♡

 

[ChicksnMore]

@TropicalBabies
I think the goose and tortoise happened because the white goose loved people and was mean to Goosebumps. Goosebumps was shy of people and decided she preferred sleeping with easy going Spud to sleeping in the goose house with the mean white one. She found her happiness though so that's good.

Hope you get little kitty. Our old boy Oliver is like that. Hes not fond of new kitties, but hes old and lazy now days!

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Such pretty birds!
Is your bench there handmade? It's awfully pretty too

Thank you! It's a family heirloom, so I think so? @room onthebroom would know.

 

[room onthebroom]

Such pretty birds!
Is your bench there handmade? It's awfully pretty too

Thank you! It's a family heirloom, so I think so? @room onthebroom would know.

Hello. You called?

Yes, the bench is a vintage faux bois. It was my grandfathers. He was extremely creative & for many years we thought he had made it, but we found out he bought it from somewhere when my dad was a little boy.

I’ve been searching the last few years trying to find out who the artist was. Obviously whoever made it has past on, but I’ve run on to a couple artists OL who have past the craft down through the generations. I would love to know more of its story.

I do know that as a kid I adored this bench & played on it all the time. When my grandmother past away & we sold her house everyone said we would have to leave it. No way was that happening. DH & I (with a lot of help) managed to get that beast on a trailer & haul it 125miles back to our house. I’m pretty sure it weighs a hundred million pounds.

Frankie, if you’re reading this, get your pooping birds off my bench.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Hello. You called?

Yes, the bench is a vintage faux bois. It was my grandfathers. He was extremely creative & for many years we thought he had made it, but we found out he bought it from somewhere when my dad was a little boy.

I’ve been searching the last few years trying to find out who the artist was. Obviously whoever made it has past on, but I’ve run on to a couple artists OL who have past the craft down through the generations. I would love to know more of its story.

I do know that as a kid I adored this bench & played on it all the time. When my grandmother past away & we sold her house everyone said we would have to leave it. No way was that happening. DH & I (with a lot of help) managed to get that beast on a trailer & haul it 125miles back to our house. I’m pretty sure it weighs a hundred million pounds.

Frankie, if you’re reading this, get your pooping birds off my bench.

Moving that must have been a labor of love...I bet it's crazy heavy! Its lovely and unique and must have a lot of great memories that came with it!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Happy Monday chicken etc people.

Woke extra early this morning and started wondering why my chicks are so quiet... seems strange to me. Are they too warm? Scared? Isolated from flock? These are the things I worry about @3am. By 5am I was worried that Spider was not going to shut up ever but especially when when we move our lot back down the hill... he has taken up crowing in the early am A LOT lately.

Well, I check the chicks and it feels fabulous in their brooder, great ventilation, no breezes and they have all kine places to warm or cool. They are eating and drinking very well... no poopy butts... I think I am going to drum up some small mealworms and see if I can't get a rise out of them...

I don't know if I mentioned that my m-bike part came in and it is an easy install and mech said he could get to last eve... so, I may pack the chicks up and go down the mountain to pick up m-bike and bring home. I'll drive my truck so I can take chicks, pick up ply for the bottom of brooder. That way I can put brooder on table and spy on them all day and night like the good obsessive person I aspire to be and they will be able to spy back

 

[ChicksnMore]

I still need to get started with mealies. I read about keeping them and it sounds so easy.
In the meantime...my coffee time is usually spent in the garden grubbing around. This morning there was a lot of big grubs...think these are palo Verde boring beetle larvae. They're huge! The biggest are about thumb sized! The chickens go mad for these guys