Chicken Overload - Week 3

So, this has definitely been a week centered around chickens. The biggest news is that the farm got an order of 250 baby chicks on Thursday. They're the cutest things. We're raising these chicks as meat birds, so we'll have to butcher them in about 3 months. Luckily, I've heard the chicks get really ugly soon, so we won't have to butcher cute little things. I'm a little apprehensive about the butchering, but I realize that the meat I eat has been killed, and I want to participate in that process to understand and respect the food I eat. I'm kind of in charge of the baby chicks, meaning I check their food and water 4 times a day (baby chicks eat and drink constantly) and I make sure that their domes are sufficiently warm. We've already had a few die, but that's to be expected.

In other chicken news, I got attacked by one of the roosters, Ralphy. It's not really dangerous or painful, but it's just annoying. His neck got all big and puffed up and he kept pecking at me. I had to kick him away continually until he calmed down. The next time I went into the chicken coop, I just ignored him and he ignored me too, so hopefully we won't have to battle time and time again.

The last bit of chicken news is that we've lost at least 3 hens to eagles in the past week. The eagles come in the night and fly off with a hen in their talons. We built the hens a shade cloth structure, and that seems to have kept them safe from the eagles for now, but we'll see. It sucks that eagles know they're safe from humans.

In some other animal news, I think the decision has been made to get rid of the goats (Flora, L.D., Juniper, and Jasper) and get a milking cow instead. The goats are annoying, only one of them gives milk, and the milk tastes really bad. Becca's disappointed because she's really into the goats, but I think the cow will be much more appreciated.

In other news, we celebrated two intern birthdays this week, Sean and Mark. We fired up the cob oven and roasted two chickens and baked cupcakes and cookies. We also hung out with the interns from a nearby farm that night, Sarah and Eric. The food was so delicious. And, it's really fun when we all hang out in the evenings and cook in the cob oven.

Last, but most important, I'm falling in love...with the dog (Pippin). She's the best dog ever.