#free ranging

[goatdragonfarms]

Fancypants

Beau is a very fancy bird.

[veronicafoaleessentials]

We extended our chicken enclosure this week. It's school holidays, so I had extra pairs of hands in the shape of three children, who are finally all at the "actually helpful" ages, rather than "we're letting you 'help' so you don't cry". Our kids are 5, 9, and 11, so they're all quite good at things like "hold this wire" and "pass me the tie wire so I can secure this." Of course EDS and lack of spoons meant I did half the fencing sitting on my arse being bitten by ants, while I secured wire to more wire. Husband was a big help and it was all worth it once we were finished and the chickens had 30m2 to scratch around in. Chickens being chickens, they spent their first full day of expanded freedom hiding in their shed because sky predators might eat them (unlikely) and their chicken shed has a proven chance of zero dogs (true, but their new enclosure keeps our chicken-unsafe GSD away too). Luckily this morning I went out and found them all scratching the rank grass out from under the blackberry bushes, so I'm quite pleased. My 5yo is obsessed with the chickens at the moment, checking for eggs every hour, even though Autumn means moulting and only one hen is laying. We've been treating for scaly foot too, which is simple, but uses a lot of spoons on my part. One of my pekins had picked up a rotten case of scaly leg mites, which had gone unnoticed because previously they weren't penned and she was not terribly tame. Plus she's so fluffy you can't see her feet when she walks, so I'd missed it. I feel terrible, but they're all roosting in one spot and being treated now. Mostly this involves my 11yo daughter catching the chickens while I smear greasy ointment on their feet (and all over her front) while someone holds a torch for us. It's not my favourite job tbh, but better than other mites or lice. In any case, I'm hoping the eggs pick back up before winter sets in and takes them all off the lay again.

[veronicafoaleessentials]

We extended our chicken enclosure this week. It's school holidays, so I had extra pairs of hands in the shape of three children, who are finally all at the "actually helpful" ages, rather than "we're letting you 'help' so you don't cry". Our kids are 5, 9, and 11, so they're all quite good at things like "hold this wire" and "pass me the tie wire so I can secure this." Of course EDS and lack of spoons meant I did half the fencing sitting on my arse being bitten by ants, while I secured wire to more wire. Husband was a big help and it was all worth it once we were finished and the chickens had 30m2 to scratch around in. Chickens being chickens, they spent their first full day of expanded freedom hiding in their shed because sky predators might eat them (unlikely) and their chicken shed has a proven chance of zero dogs (true, but their new enclosure keeps our chicken-unsafe GSD away too). Luckily this morning I went out and found them all scratching the rank grass out from under the blackberry bushes, so I'm quite pleased. My 5yo is obsessed with the chickens at the moment, checking for eggs every hour, even though Autumn means moulting and only one hen is laying. We've been treating for scaly foot too, which is simple, but uses a lot of spoons on my part. One of my pekins had picked up a rotten case of scaly leg mites, which had gone unnoticed because previously they weren't penned and she was not terribly tame. Plus she's so fluffy you can't see her feet when she walks, so I'd missed it. I feel terrible, but they're all roosting in one spot and being treated now. Mostly this involves my 11yo daughter catching the chickens while I smear greasy ointment on their feet (and all over her front) while someone holds a torch for us. It's not my favourite job tbh, but better than other mites or lice. In any case, I'm hoping the eggs pick back up before winter sets in and takes them all off the lay again.

[farmlifegirl-blog]

Been In A Fowl Mood Lately

Been In A Fowl Mood Lately

When I was a small child growing up in a small town, there was a small store on Main Street that my mom liked going to. On the counter were little bags of corn that could be purchased for the children to feed to the wild ducks out back, along the river. Mom always bought me a packet of corn when we went there, and I loved feeding the ducks. They’d come right up to people, but stayed JUST out of…

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[junytumbles]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yND4P4UqJPA)

[thesaddlepatch]

Influence of life-history parameters on organochlorine concentrations in free-ranging killer whales from Prince William Sound, AK

accepted 10 March 2001

Certain populations of killer whales have been extensively studied over the past 30 years, including populations that use Puget Sound, WA, the inside waters of British Columbia, South eastern Alaska and Kenai FjordsPrince William Sound, Alaska. Two eco-types of killer whales, ‘transient’ and ‘resident’, occur in all of these regions. These eco-types are genetically distinct and differ in various aspects of morphology, vocalization patterns, diet and habitat use.

Link

[jmventre]

Incredible graphic by @wildorcaorg compares minuscule @SeaWorld facility with actual #Blackfish dive data from K-33