Incubation

It's overcast today and a little chilly after a very warm week. I was sitting here at the computer wondering why the pellet stove hadn't kicked on. (It turns out it's set for 70 and the temp in this room is 71.) I have been outside on the nice days, plucking weeds out of the flower bed by hand again. Elves must have tossed tons of seeds out there, when I finish the dirt is bare and three days later it's green with sprouts again.

One more round of this and I'll resort to using RoundUp. I don't have to worry about it harming the lizards, the feral cats have eaten all the lizards (boo). They've also eaten all the mice, voles and gophers (yay!).

The yard is fun to be in right now, everything is lush and colorful.

The camellias have finished blooming, but the banksia (just behind the chimney) is still gorgeous, and has been joined by scotch broom, other roses, ranunculas, and peonies.

This is a view of the front yard, looking back at the wood shed, where the cats live.

Just this week I was finally able to pet one of the ferals. Chester with the bad leg walked right up to me, looked me in the eye, and rubbed his head on my hand. He let me pet him for a long time, and made a big show of enjoying it. Made my day.

I have been able to let the pigeons out for a while in the afternoons this week. I haven't seen the hawks, maybe they're busy hunting elsewhere to feed their babies. Remember Dragon and his sister that I raised from babies? They're still here.

I have to call the pigeons back into their pen in the early afternoon. That's when the cats venture out and about. The black feral, Angela, has a connoisseur's taste for fine pigeon. Cats aren't as dangerous for the pigeons as hawks because the pigeons can just stay up off the ground. The problem is my pigeons won't stay up off the ground. They like to graze on the lawn and bathe in the sprinklers. I just need to be diligent, though, and I think I can make this work.

I have been mostly been busy hatching chicks. As of today, I have 31 white Old English bantams and 37 Dominique bantams. There are 30 more eggs in the incubator. I haven't decided what to do beyond that.

My incubation procedures are a bit time consuming. Most people hatch a bunch of eggs at once, then brood all the chicks together, and move them outside into a big grow out pen at the same time. There is a lot of culling along the way. Some people cull right out of the hatcher - "Wrong leg color? Off with its head!" Older culls might go to a poultry auction. "Cull," then, can have two different outcomes. This is done so time and money are not wasted raising the subpar birds.

I understand this philosophy. It makes a pretty efficient operation and works well for lots of people. It just doesn't work at my house. First, unless something is suffering I'm not going to kill it. And second, I don't have a good enough eye to look at a small chick and know how it will mature. I'm trying to learn, but there still won't be any chick killing in this house.

I like to go to the shows. My goal is to have maybe 8 birds a year that I can take along. I would be totally happy to buy these birds instead of raise them. I think that would be more cost efficient and a lot less work. I don't need to have my name on a list of Master Breeders, that's a project for youngsters like Katherine and Bob. I'm not the keenest competitor, either. I don't need to win Best of Show every time. But once every couple of years it would be cool to come close. The birds I want to buy either do not exist, however, or they are the ones other breeders want to keep for themselves,

So I'm trying to raise my own show birds. I don't have a place outside where I can maintain an ambient temperature that will allow an incubator to work. I can't keep and handle hundreds of chicks. I don't want to ever have that many. It would be nice to raise maybe 30 a year and get my 8 show birds from that group. I think I may get to that point in a few years, after I've figured things out. But right now my breeding program is still in the experimental stage and I'm having to raise more chicks than I'm comfortable with.

My Dominique bantams, especially, are a mishmash of bloodlines and body types. I cross one male with one female at a time and keep close track of the babies so I can see which specific crosses work the best.

This is my set up. I have a small incubator. I collect and set 8-10 eggs in a batch, every 5 days. It holds a total of 30 eggs.

This incubator was expensive. BUT it's completely digital. It maintains the proper temperature and humidity 24 hours a day with no assistance from me. See that little bottle of water in the background? There is a tube that goes from the bottle into the incubator. If I incubate for 3 months, it won't even use a third of that small bottle. Not that water is an expensive component, but proper humidity can be hard to gauge. Too much and you get chicks stuck in their shells and other messy problems. This incubator prevents things like that. I like it a lot because I hate having hatching problems.

As soon as the first egg pips in the incubator, I move the entire batch that's due that week into a hatcher.

My hatcher is an old foam incubator. My digital incubator can be adjusted to a tenth of a degree Fahrenheit. The foam incubator, with its primitive little knob that you turn, is hard to adjust in less than 5 degree increments. This is what most people start out with, and is the reason why they get so frustrated trying to incubate eggs. Foam incubators are unreliable, and it's difficult to keep the temperature and humidity stable. That's not as crucial for a hatcher. Even so, I have 3 thermometers in it, and I put towels on top if it's running too cool. The cans of pumpkin pie mix are just the right weight to keep the lid firmly sealed. This has worked better for me this year because it's in the same room with the pellet stove, so the ambient temperature stays at 70.

I have a complicated system to keep track of each chick. When I collect the eggs, I mark them with the leg band numbers of the parents. (24 is the daddy, 49 is the mom in this case)

All of this creates a lot of paperwork. People like me love lots of nitpicky paperwork. If you get bored easily, you might skip the next few paragraphs. These are my tools:

At the top are the Sharpie markers I use to put small dots on the top of the chicks' heads. I keep track of this on the large journal page. It lists which eggs are in a batch. I log when each egg hatches, and make notes if there is anything unusual. I use spiral bound index cards, making a separate one for each chick. I'll use that card to follow the bird through its life here, with its show record on the back. In the card file at the top right, I have the cards of the adult birds, grouped by the cage numbers where they live. It's a good way for me to keep track of where they are, because they're moved around a lot during breeding season*. Finally, the small card sitting on top of the journal page is my color key. That's how I know which combination of colors to use for numbered bands and plain bands. The numbered band refers to the male, and the plain band to the female. In the case of full sisters, I use the same color band for quick reference. I know by the number what the specific parentage is.

*Note: The Dom bantams can be moved around, they're amiable. I don't move white Old English much because even the females will fight.

This is a journal page.

This is a chick card.

I started to explain all the stuff on the card, but then realized most of you don't really care about all that. The point is I keep good notes.

The babies go into 10 gallon aquariums heated by a 35 watt bulb, usually with the rest of their hatching batch. I move them to larger quarters every week, but keep the batch together until the chicks are big enough for the first numbered leg bands, which is about 2 weeks for Doms and 4 weeks for white OE.

This is the latest batch of babies, hatched yesterday.

This is one of my oldest babies, hatched March 11.

He and his 8 hatch mates went outside into a big brooder box yesterday. In a couple of weeks, they will go into a regular pen.

The hatching procedure totally takes over the house for at least 2 months. With bantam chicks there is no smell, they have small, hard poops like a parakeet. There is a fine dust from the mash feed, however, and the Doms will kick their shavings all over the place. I keep a shop vac handy. The white OE are very quiet and tidy. They make good house pets. Really. They aren't very chicken-y, they don't mind being in a small cage and they love treats.

One thing I like about having small batches and having them in the house is I can get them accustomed to being fed treats. When they see people they're immediately thinking "food" and not "escape." This helps when they're show birds.

There are probably a few of you who are wondering, "why doesn't she just let the hens hatch the eggs"? Sometimes I'll do that, after the regular hatching season is finished. But all hens are not good mothers. I had slipped 8 extra eggs under a mutt hen that was broody a couple of weeks ago. She was joined by another broody, which was fine. But other hens in the pen kept laying eggs in the same nest every day. So every day I'd have to sort through and pull out the fresh ones. All those hens going in and out managed to crush one egg. Then, about 2 days before the batch was due to hatch, both broody hens abandoned the eggs and moved to another nest. I brought them in and put them in the hatcher. Six of the babies hatched, but it was touch and go for a while.

Hens step on the babies, hens scratch up everything in sight, filling the waterers with mud and debris. Sometimes hens decide they don't like a particular chick, and they kill it.

It's fun to see a happy hen with her babies, but artificial incubation and brooding are more reliable.

I'm still trying to decide what to do about building an area where I can keep single birds in show cages. I won't need it for a couple of months, but it might take me that long to put it together.

Meanwhile, life is very busy. I hope spring is good at your house, too.

I told you so...

The green stuff on the other side of the fence is grass hay that was just cut yesterday.

Today it is raining.

I have my hay in the barn, so that makes me happy. But it always makes me sad to see anyone's hay get rained on.

Sacramento Kennel Club

I don't show dogs. My friend Melanie doesn't, either. But she has three Norwich Terriers that she bought from a show breeder. So we used that as a reason to go see the Sacramento Kennel Club show. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

What's the difference between a poultry show and a dog show? First, you never see people in suits at a poultry show.

Second, you never see this many people crowded into a poultry show.

Third, there must be a lot more money involved in showing dogs. I say this because the show was held at Cal Expo. The big, national poultry show that was in Stockton in January could fill the building above, but the rent for Cal Expo is considerably more than at the small, regional fairgrounds where poultry shows are held.

Another difference is the booty.

Poultry show trophies are usually smaller items that are functional and/or inexpensive.

It was fun to just wander around and see all the dogs. I'm not great at breed identification, but did ask when I took pictures, so I think these are accurate.

Pomeranian

Scottie

Skye Terrier

Norwich Terrier

Big (patient) Poodle

Big (bored) Poodle

Smaller Poodle

I don't know. I don't even know which end was
the head, they both looked the same.

Tibetan Terrier (rear view). Interesting dryer set up.

Not everyone was there to show. Some people were just enjoying their dogs.

A pair of laid-back guys.

Perfect job for a lap dog.

Everyone was very friendly, people didn't mind having their pictures taken and were thrilled to tell you about their dogs. The only problem I encountered was at this station, where the winners could have their pictures taken in front of the swamp background (seriously, it was depressing artwork).

I didn't see the sign that was attached to the background (to the left above), but that's okay because the photographer lady was happy to scream it at me...YOU CAN'T TAKE PICTURES HERE!!!!!

Oh yeah? Watch me, bitch! Dog show terminology, of course.

Really?

I need Seth Meyers and Amy Pohler to help with today's little blog.

This is the front porch of the house next door.

It has not been inhabited for at least 6 years. That's a small tree growing between the two lowest steps. There are two houses that use my driveway. This one is nearest the highway. Mine is just a few yards further, you know, where cars are parked in front of the house?

Yesterday I thought I heard Carla (mama cat) as I was walking past the old house to get my mail. So I walked over to the porch steps. There is a basement access hole near the steps, that's where I thought I heard the cat.

Imagine my surprise to find a package from Amazon on the porch at the top of the steps. I don't know if it was delivered by someone from UPS or FedEx. No matter, it was someone who wasn't using much of their brain.

I brought the package home (because my name was on it) and when I opened it I found a book Bob had ordered last year for a refrigeration class. He gave up on it when it didn't show up and bought one at the student store.

The old house has windows that are boarded up. It didn't look inhabited even when there were people living in it. Wouldn't you wonder, if you had to squeeze past the tree to get to the top of the steps, if it was a good idea to leave a package there?

I mean, really?

To Amazon's credit, the packaging was still intact and the book was in usable condition, though it is no longer needed in this house.

For Katherine from NZ

Here is a picture of the horses in their weedy pasture. They are old Tennessee Walking Horses. The one in front is Champagne Dust, 18 years old. The black one is Blue Top. I think he's 26 or 27.

The weed-free field beyond the blue outhouse is the lawn farmer's crop, and beyond that are rows waiting to be planted with sweet corn and other vegetables. Actually, the corn has been in for a couple of weeks, it just isn't visible from my front window.

Rainy Morning

Yesterday I noticed that the oat hay in the fields was just starting to form seeds. This morning the rain is doing its best to knock the oats down.

When it rains this time of year, there is a delightful lushness that sets in. The oaks are leafing out, seasonal streams trickle down from the foothills, all the plants take a deep drink and give their full attention to reproduction before the dryness comes.

I'm staying in the house this morning, enjoying what may be the last toasty fire of the year from the pellet stove. But I took some pictures for you.

Scene from the back door.

The lilacs are in full bloom. The lawn was cut just 3 days ago, but it has gone delirious in the rain.

Scenes from the front porch.

How many flowers can one camellia bush hold? This one is trying for a record.

Just beyond the camellias there are dogwood and redbud. There's also a dark blue ceanothus back there, but it doesn't show up on a dark, rainy day. I took special care to pick a ceanothus that blooms with the redbud because the colors together are spectacular together. A scotch broom with them would be just about perfect. I have two, but they bloom 2 weeks later and miss the party.

Looking out the bedroom window:

The rose that grows over the wood shed and halfway up the redwood tree is just starting to bloom. There's usually a cat on top of the post at the lower right corner, but this morning the kitties are all inside the shed, curled up and snoring.

All this flowery beauty is making me drunk. Eyeball drunk, not highball drunk. I need another cup of coffee.

For those of you in colder climes, you will eventually get some spring, but not until we've overdosed here in California.

Buying Hay

I have a small pasture (maybe 3 acres?) for our two old geldings Blue Top and Dusty. In the spring, like right now, there is some lovely, green, annual grass out there for them to eat. The horses are busy eating all they can while it lasts because, in a couple of weeks, it will have gone to seed. It will be all dried up and gone for another year. That's how it is in a Mediterranean climate, unlike in states where there is rain periodically during the year. In those places, the native grasses are likely to be perennial. They stay green.

If we want green pastures in California, we have to plant them with perennial grasses and clover and irrigate them from late Spring through Fall. Our pasture was actually planted that way in 1973. That made a very lovely scene: the lush green pasture in front of the house, with a horse or two in it. In those days my stepfather was alive. He raised cattle and had a lot of land. He would keep a couple of horses in the pasture part of the year, then put them in bigger pastures elsewhere when the grass here had been eaten down. The pasture was maintained properly.

After my stepfather died, the only pasture we had was the little one out front. The horses had to be kept here year-round. At first we tried to keep it green, but there were three problems. First, it costs more for electricity to pump irrigation water than it does to buy hay. Second, our horses founder on rich green grass and clover. And third, with horses constantly on it, the pasture cannot be maintained properly, the perennial grasses eventually die out and seasonal weeds replace them.

The horse "pasture" became more of a pen. It's only green for a month in the spring.

As the geldings are happily munching the tender spring grass, the first batch of weeds is also growing and is preparing to take over. It is Cheeseweed Mallow (Malva parviflora).

In our fertile soil, it grows to 3 or 4 feet tall, providing good cover for gophers. Oh goody. Sometimes it also provides cover for nesting ducks, but with 8 feral cats on duty I doubt the ducks will be investing in real estate here this year.

Cheeseweed leaves are supposedly edible. They can be added to salads or cooked as greens. You can also use them instead of grape leaves when you make dolmas. (I don't make dolmas. If I did, there are lots of nearby vineyards where I could grab leaves.) The roots can be ground up to make shampoo. I hope I never have to resort to that.

I am mostly not inspired to eat cheeseweed because That Goat, when he was alive, would not touch it. The cheeseweed flourished the year we had 5 goats in the pasture. The horses won't eat it, either. I consider horses and goats qualified experts on which plants are decent to eat.

Soon the cheeseweed will be mowed. Hopefully before it goes to seed. Then the horses will have a dry pen and they will only be eating hay.

Native Californians, and anyone who has even rudimentary powers of observation, understand this cycle. Many people who buy their first property in a rural area do not. They buy 10 acres in the spring and put lots of animals on the "pasture." A month later the grass is gone and they have to buy hay.

We are lucky to still have a little hay grown in our area. It used to be easy and economical to raise horses in Sacramento County because there were lots of small fields (10-20 acres) where people would mow and bale the annual grasses in May. Those fields are now covered with disgusting houses and concrete. It's much harder to find feed for livestock. In the past few years the weather patterns have changed enough that it's harder to grow hay, too. We have a warm, dry spring. Then just before the hay is mowed, along comes a late storm that knocks it all down. That makes it harder to mow. As a final touch, there will be heavy rains about 2 days before the hay is due to be baled. There have been several years when the grass and oat hay was ruined for horses, it was only suitable for cows.

The grass hay that's okay has been very expensive, sometimes more expensive than alfalfa.

This year I was lucky to find out about some good hay from last year that had been stored in a barn all winter. The barn needed to be cleaned out and the farmer had to sell it quickly. It was a choice of whether to buy hay that I know to be good quality, or wait for this year's crop that's still in the field. I decided not to take a chance on the new crop.

The hay was delivered on a truck that holds 88 bales. I wish I'd taken a picture of the truck for you. It was driven by a lady who really knows what she's doing. The truck has a squeeze mechanism that picks up a whole stack of hay at one time.

This was my stack.

We store hay in the building right behind the stack. About an hour after the beautiful hay was delivered on Thursday, I found out there was rain due on the weekend. Of course. Baled hay attracts rain. It's like washing your car, as soon as you do that, it rains. Bob put a tarp on the stack, but that didn't cover it very well. Bob only has free time on the weekends, there was no way he could drag all that hay into the shed in time.

So I asked at the Corn Stand if anyone wanted to make some extra money. And this is the fun part. I took the picture above at 5:30. Thirty minutes later it looked like the picture below.

It was magic.

Hay in the barn is like money in the bank. With that, and such wonderful neighbors, I feel rich.