# Arrowti's journal - backyard farm!



## arrowti (Apr 28, 2016)

Hello! My name is Arrowti and I live in central Maine. To date, we raise pigs, chickens, and ducks - pigs for breeding and meat, ducks for eggs, and chickens for meat and eggs. We will be adding turkeys next month, though, and eventually want to either get a cow or a pair of goats. 

Anyway, I think most people click on these to see pictures. I'll introduce you to our major members of our farm, like our breeders, and their piglets, and a few ducks and things...

First, we have Wilma. She will be two years old this far and has recently had her second litter. Her first litter she had 3 barrows and 3 gilts. Her first litter, she had 7 piglets, 4 stillborns, 2 dead, and 1 survivor. We believe the losses were due to her being lame for a few months while she was pregnant and not wanting to move much, as well as the stress of being moved several times as we were trying to get more fences in for more pastures. Wilma is currently raising her surviving daughter, Pebbles.

*Wilma* is a pure mulefoot sow, ~450-500 pounds (we haven't measured her in awhile). She's very protective of her baby and chases away the other piglets who want to play with her.






*Bell* is our other sow who is mothering her second and final litter, due to aggression and resistance to take care of her piglets. She isn't careful and crushed, stepped on, and tossed several of them against the wall when she gets up or lays down. She's a little bit too big to be a mother, I think. She had 9 piglets in her first litter. She had 13 in her second, but crushed 2 and 1 was stillborn.

Bell is a Tamworth/Duroc cross, approximately 700+ pounds.





*Pebbles* is Wilma's daughter, and will be a gilt that we will keep. She is a pure mulefoot. She is playful, energetic, curious, and super speedy. She does everything her mother does. 





*Gimpy* is one of Bell's daughters who she stepped on, tearing a large patch of skin off her leg. The muscle was visible on a large area of her leg for over a week before the wound began to heal. She walks with a limp but is constantly getting better. If you saw my post in the injured pig forum about skin torn off on a piglet you'll see how much she has healed since then! 

This is what is left of the scar - ignore the piglet butt, they just kept getting in the way!  She is a mulefoot/tamworth/duroc mix. 





*Ginger* is our third sow. I couldn't get a picture of her because she was somewhere out back in the woods, but I'll add one soon! She is a pure Tamworth sow. In her first litter she had 8 piglets. We haven't bred her yet but plan to so she'll deliver this fall. She is approximately 600 pounds. 

*Fred* is our boar. He is the father of all the litters born on our farm. He is a pureblood mulefoot, very sweet, gentle, calm, but also has a very high libido. We have some of our uncastrated boars with him so they don't try to mate with the females, and those will be sent to the market. He makes sure they're in good shape, and has basically taught them that it's rude to hump each other and that screaming for food during feeding time won't make us get to them any faster! He is almost two years old and starting to grow in tusks. He is probably around 600 pounds. Not the best picture... he wouldn't stop moving!






*Our Other Animals!!*

So I absolutely love our ducks (they're my favourite part of the farm... shhh... don't tell the pigs!) 

We have 5 cayuga/pekin mixes (cayuga is a black duck with green highlights, and the pekin is the big white duck that's usually eaten), one of them is a male... we have 1 pekin female. 

*Fatty*, our pekin female looks good as usual. She's absolutely beautiful and has big, round blue eyes, that look so innocent even as she's stealing food out of pig bucket every time you turn your back!





*Opie,* our drake, is friendly, peaceful, and protective. He's not afraid to chase 'threats' to his girls away, whether it be our insanely mean rhode island red hens or the 50 pound labradoodle who just lives to sniff the butt of every animal in existence! 





We also have 3 roosters and around 40 laying hens of various breeds. As I mentioned, our rhode islands are mean like crazy and beat up on the poor gentler hens and try their luck with the ducks with little success - if they peck a duck hen, Opie attacks them. They don't mess with Opie!

Here is our dorking mix rooster, Vanilla, with a Buckeye hen. 







That's all for pictures right now. I'll add more if you want more. I'll try to update this every day with happenings going on around our farm.




As for today... we got 101 cornish cross chickens (I call them tweet tweets because they're only three days old) yesterday. Those are the meat birds. We'll get a second batch of 100 in a month or so. NO we aren't eating 200 meat birds! We usually sell most of them and keep 20 or so each year. We sell our eggs and pigs too, as we definitely aren't eating 20 hogs per year!

We have 3 uncastrated boars going in on May for processing. We're testing them for boar taint. If there is any they'll be turned to spicy sausage. Their mother, Ginger, was the most protective mother we've seen, and wouldn't separate from them for anything. She charged at anyone who tried to pick up a baby, so we decided to leave it and see if the mother or father lines have boar taint in them.

There were 3 pigs running around our yard the other day... and they weren't! People have been calling us all over town reporting pigs running around and we have no idea whose they belong to. No one has said anything! If they come back we'll try to capture them so they don't cause trouble or get killed in an accident or something. We know they aren't ours, because we counted, and they are pink hogs, and we only have 2 pink hogs and one of them is nursing piglets. Strange...

Our dog is a labradoodle, about 50 pounds, who has never attacked any of the animals. She's more interested in sniffing and chasing, but is scared of the pigs... and only when the pigs look at her, otherwise she's right in their butts. She also has epilepsy, and she had her latest seizure a few days ago. I'm worried she'll have one when she's in a dangerous place, but so far she's almost always inside with us. 


Anyway, this is probably a really long post so I'll cut it here!


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## frustratedearthmother (Apr 28, 2016)

Love the pics and the bio on the critters!


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## Poka_Doodle (Apr 28, 2016)

This is very interesting. I'm small going to raise some Cornish Cross but only 25.


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## samssimonsays (Apr 28, 2016)

Love the menagerie you have going! I too want to raise turkeys


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## arrowti (Apr 28, 2016)

Cornish are tasty but as they grow, ration their feed or they will likely suffer heart attacks and/or broken legs.. they never stop eating. And pooping. 

I've never raised turkeys but I do like turkey meat more than chicken meat!


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## Latestarter (Apr 28, 2016)

Sounds like quite the farm! I'll be following along to enjoy the input  If you can catch all those loose piglets, it's just more for your bottom line down the road. Whoever owned them obviously didn't care for them very well if they all escaped and nobody has claimed them...


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## arrowti (Apr 29, 2016)

No update on the stray piglets. No new sightings in town, so they're probably out in the woods away from people. 

Today started nice, ended rough. All the chicks are doing good, no deaths. Which is rather unusual, knowing cornish cross.. we usually lose 1 or 3 chicks early on, with such a large order. Won't knock it, but hopefully it doesn't mean they're going to be sick later on (if it can go wrong, it usually does).

Wilma is still 'guarding' her territory from Bell's piglets and chases them off. I noticed she mostly chases off the castrated males and just stares at the females. She hasn't chased the injured female with a limp but she does huff at her as if to tell her to 'leave' because Gimpy gets up and runs away. She doesn't hurt them. She just makes lots of noises and runs at them but is careful when she does it. 

I've noticed today, watching Pebbles try to play with Bell's litter... how HUGE she is. She is a pure mulefoot, who grow slowly... and Bell's piglets are part Tamworth. But she's bigger than almost all of Bell's piglets and looks so much stronger. 

Last time: Wilma had her litter of 6 a week before Bell had her litter of 9, and Bell's piglets were born the size Wilma's 6 were at a week old. We just brought Bell's first litter to slaughter on Monday, and Wilma's first litter still has a month+ to go! Just as a size comparison. So Pebbles is spoiled rotten and getting tons of food! She uses her mother to scratch all her itches... especially her nose!

The trouble started later... One of our young boars somehow escaped the pen - no wires down, no holes, no sign of digging underneath. He just got through. Maybe he jumped 4 feet (haha). Anyway, he ended up in the pen where our mulefoot feeders are (Wilma's first litter), and Ginger is. Caught him mating with his half sister (grrr!) and hopefully no others before then before we managed to chase him out and into a new pen. Hopefully she doesn't get pregnant by the time she's supposed to be sent in. 

We're trying to get all 3 young boars into their own pen when they go in in May. We've got two of the three in and they are fighting a lot, but the third is in with Fred and Fred keeps chasing him away from the fence (from us). Maybe he likes his buddy... 

As of now, all ducks and chickens are locked in for the night. Hopefully tomorrow has less.. surprises! No more pigs escaping, for one. 

Oh yeah, we're getting a guinea pig tomorrow! Someone bought one from their daughter but it seems the daughter is more interested in her phone than her pet, so she's giving it and all its housing/materials to us to take care of. Never raised a guinea pig, so I'm excited!


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## samssimonsays (Apr 29, 2016)

Congrats on the guinea pig I know you'll enjoy it! Keep it away from draft I areas and in a well traveled area of the house (they are super social once they settle in) and they thrive.. I miss mine so much but sadly am allergic now. 

Sounds like a chaotic day for all today! Hope it mellows out for you


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## arrowti (Apr 30, 2016)

The sun has gone down yet again!

Today, we finally managed to separate all 3 boars into one pen. The biggest one is the meanest one but they've settled down for now.

Pebbles is fighting a bit with the other piglets, and ended up picking a fight with the wrong one! Two bloody ears later and she went and hid under Wilma. She's been picking on the smaller ones so she probably deserved it. It's too bad we couldn't co-mingle them earlier on, would've kicked most of the 'fighting' out before. That male in particular is a bit aggressive even with his own littermates, so we're keeping an eye on him. 

Wilma has mostly given up on chasing out the other piglets, since they're quick and run in circles all over the place. She just sighs, walks away and lays down. Pebbles always curls up at her belly. I feel bad for Bell's piglets. She doesn't let them sleep with her and always pushes them away when they try. The closest they can get is to nurse, when she decides to let them. She doesn't show any sign of worry when they squeal in pain from fighting or getting zapped on the fence. Grr!

Our guinea pig has spent most of the day hiding in her little cave spot. She is still nervous but tonight she is finally coming out and exploring, though usually stares at us nervously when she sees us. She is eating and drinking right now. She's a white guinea pig with a splotch of grey on her head. The picture I have isn't great, because she keeps hiding!

Looks like she was sticking her tongue out at me. 





When it comes to hay... we get hay from another farmer for our pigs and ducks bedding, but I'm not quite sure if it's the 'same' as the 'timothy' hay that they're supposed to eat. We got a bag from the former owners but it has just about enough for one night, so we're wondering if we just buy it at Petsmart or something or if we can use the same hay we give our pigs and ducks. 

One senior cat thinks she's fun to look at, but the bars are too thin for his paws to get through. He might be feeling like hunting but she's safe in there. She's about 6 months old. The former owner called her Cupcake... I might change that name (I don't like it haha). She's really energetic right now that we're giving her the stuff in the bag of hay/mix of forage. 

That's all for today.


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## Ferguson K (May 1, 2016)

Wow! Just got caught up. I'm surprised that little gilt made it with little complications.


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## arrowti (May 2, 2016)

There wasn't much to say yesterday so I said nothing.

Today, we've been checking all the meat checks for pasty butt. Three so far, and one of them got pecked so much after getting cleaned that she bled, but she's doing fine now. Cannibals, honestly!

Pebbles is being more friendly with Bell's piglets since they are getting their 'order' established. All the pigs are doing good. We've got a lot of Bell's litter sold already (when they're 8 weeks old). The loose pigs have been found and their owner has too - they escaped weeks ago and have travelled over 50 miles from home! The good news is they're safe and no longer pose a risk to cars in roadways or 'hiking' people (we have lots of stray pigs attacking people stories in Maine!). 

It's rained all day today and will be raining for the rest of the week, minus Tuesday. The ducks are loving it. We found them outside the fence today and couldn't figure out how they actually got out! The fence was not fallen, and there were no gaps... well, I followed them around and found their escape route. They walked all the way out through the back of their 'enclosure' (which isn't fully enclosed, because we need to access one of the pig pens without electric wires in the way), walked all the way along the fence line of a 60 foot+ pig pen, around the side, through the woods, and finally came out in our yard! When they were hungry they walked all the way back.

Those little brats are smarter than I thought...

The other animals seem to be doing good today.

I've been feeling 'under the weather' lately. Tired all the time, thirsty a lot, poor sleep. I finally ended up with a full blown migraine today (it's been over a year since my last one, so I didn't recognize the build up). My vision went crazy and then just as that got better, the migraine hit. Had to miss class because I was so nauseas. Fortunately it only lasted a couple hours. Unfortunately my head still feels like my skull has shattered into pieces on the back that hurts whenever I cough, sneeze, or move... that'll pass soon. 

Hopefully things tomorrow will look better.

As far as that inured gilt... she's almost walking perfectly now, with a barely noticeable limp. Her leg, though, is slightly malformed. She can move fine on it, and I'll try to get a picture of it so you can see what I mean when I say 'malformed' - looks like the leg bone is far too large for that side - but so long as she continues using it and grows strength I don't see her having any further issues. 

Keep forgetting to take pictures of Ginger...

The guinea is doing great. Still shy and won't let us pick her up but she loves having her chin and face scratched.


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## frustratedearthmother (May 2, 2016)

Hope you feel better soon!


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## arrowti (May 7, 2016)

It's been a couple days since I've updated due to being busy lazy, but I do have some stuff to share. 

We had a wild mallard female who visited us for a few days and tried to hang out with our ducks, but she wasn't cool enough for them so they always ran away from her. She is absolutely gorgeous, tiny, and so cute. I want some mallards now... 

No one has offered on the mixed boar so he'll likely go to the market with his brothers soon. We've got several offers on the piglets though, and one gilt picked out! A big, strong, healthy female. 

It turns out Gimpy's leg is not malformed, but as it has continued to heal, I see there are now two abscesses on her leg. Now, we've never dealt with abscesses before, and aren't quite sure how to deal with it. The "let it be" option has been working great so far but we want to be sure what to do about these. Should we slice them and let them drain or let them burst on their own? I'd get pictures but they just won't stand still! She is no longer limping or suffering from any apparent ill effects other than the two abscesses. 

We've lowered the fence today between Wilma and Bell and aside from some growling and pushing they haven't fought. Wilma tosses Bell's piglets around, and Bell tosses her own piglets around too, and doesn't seem to care. Wilma refuses to suckle any of Bell's piglets OTHER than Gimpy, for some reason, who she is very nice to. Pebbles is a brat and is biting at all of them and fighting a lot, but no one has been getting hurt and when they're not fighting, they're sleeping. We'll be getting a tag soon so we can tag Pebbles, because other than the marked for sale gilt (marked with a livestock marker), and Gimpy, we can't tell the other gilt apart from Pebbles without looking very closely... the other gilt is long, and Pebbles is compact, like her parents. 

One of our roosters might be joining our meat chicks on the market wagon soon. He's been attacking his own hens, not trying to mate, but aggressively going after them. Usually Sirma (the bantam rooster) stops him, and now Opie is going after him too and attacking him when the rooster is attacking, for some reason, even though the rooster isn't going after the ducks, but he could seriously injure a female and is just a disruption...

Not to mention his 4 favourite females are completely bald on their sides under their wings (just noticed that today, actually). 

Vanilla is being somewhat aggressive this Spring, just like last time. I chased him around the yard one day and he hasn't gone near me since. He's never full out attacked anyone, but was walking up and eying me while eating which is a sign of imminent hostility, so I put him back in his place. The rest of the year, he is fine. In Spring, he gets a little snippy. He fought off some large bird once though so he earned his place, because the other two roosters did nothing at all. 

We will be moving Ginger in with Fred sometime in the near future. There will be more piglets in the fall! Hopefully healthy piglets with no troubles...



All migraine after-effects are gone now. The meat chicks are growing good, and stink to high heavens already! Something about fat, sweaty, poopy chickens smells worse than anything else on the farm, other than duck poop on a hot summer day... anyone else noticed that?

We've handled the guinea pig a few times. We heard from the previous owner she doesn't like being grabbed but likes to cuddle once she's captured. She's a pooping machine, I swear...

My cat Patch is getting old... that doesn't stop him from walking around at 3 in the morning with catnip, howling his head off.


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## Ferguson K (May 7, 2016)

What a group of wandering pigs! I'm not surprised they got so far. Pigs travel a LOT more than people think in the wild.


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## frustratedearthmother (May 7, 2016)

Glad you're feeling better!


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## arrowti (May 15, 2016)

Today, we brought the 3 boars of Gingers to the market... they will be done on Tuesday. If there is boar taint they will all be sausage - if there isn't, they will be treated like any other pig. Ginger seemed oddly depressed today. She laid down at the gate between her and where her sons were and refused to eat. Normal temperature, no sign of worms of sickness. She just seemed sad. Hopefully she'll be okay in a few days. Fred got very depressed when we brought his friend, Bacon, into the market. He wouldn't go near us for days, and barely ate. Our pigs are very emotional, it seems.

We have yet to cut the abscesses on the piglet's leg... her limp is completely gone. We will do that soon. Pebbles is shaped like a short, round sausage lately, I should get a picture... the others are longer, so we can tell them apart if we look close enough. Pebbles is also the only one Wilma won't toss around. We should tag her soon, before we lose her in the midst of all the piglets! Fortunately Bell only has 3 females, 1 with the scarred leg, and the other two are 'long', so we can tell them apart for now.

The meat chicks are getting huge already. Poor things.

There are many reports of foxes around in the area, but so far, we haven't seen anything. Today, the ducks were making alarm calls and all the chickens were hiding (the ducks were outside the enclosure, because it was raining and they always escape when it's raining), but when I went outside they stopped. Maybe I scared whatever it was off, or if nothing at all, made them feel safer. Ducks are strange creatures... if I pick up a stuck, they make alarm quacks and run away from me as though I'm going to hit them. If I pick up a pitch fork, they come running... 

On Friday I found a red sex link (3 years old) dead on the floor of the coop. She had swollen bumblefoot on her foot, and a swollen vent. It looked like a prolapse. Sadly we didn't catch it in time... 

Today, I found another hen (also a 3 year old red sex link) with a prolapse. Hers looks terrible, and it is bright red, puffy, and covered in poop. We will cull her tomorrow, as the prognosis for her isn't good and would likely recur later, considering her breed and age. Strange how we get two hens with prolapse within 3 days of each other, both the same breed, same age, and from the same stock... poor birds. Will be keeping an eye on the others, hoping there won't be any more. We will likely cull the entire hybrid flock (all 3 year old sex links of various colours) this fall, as they have too many health problems. We have 4 year old heritages going strong with no problems other than 2 with ascites and a genetic anamoly in an easter egger than resulted in brain tumors.

I want to add some buckeyes and barred rocks to the flock this year... I love the buckeyes, and the barred rocks have such a nice personality.

Still trying to convince everyone to get some bunny rabbits for meat... (I love rabbit meat). I want to raise a goose this year too. We've never had goose before and it's extremely expensive at the store, considering how small it is and how full of chemicals it is. Anyone got any advice on a good meat breed for people who have never raised geese... let alone seen a goose?

Spring classes are over. Summer classes begin next week. No breaks from school until next summer! 

We had some strange insect or bird here for a few days. It's gone now. It made a sound like a long, loud human whistle, lasting for 10-15 seconds, then repeating it after 20 seconds pause. The whistle was one note and didn't range in pitch. I wasn't the only one who heard it so I wasn't hearing things! It's gone now. It creeped me out though. Never heard anything like it. Almost sounded like a cricket, if the cricket made the noise nonstop for 15 seconds without changing volume. Couldn't find any match for the sound in nature sounds. Maybe someone here has heard something similar. 

It was only creepy because while I was listening to it, a bright light fell from the sky behind the trees... weirdness comes in pairs.

Cupcake is doing wonderful. She's very skiddish when we pick her up but once we have her, she likes to cuddle up in our neck and nibble. She sheds like a wild beast and has sharp claws too. 


Not much new about me... a cold went through the family but other than a slightly itchy throat when I went to bed last night - gone when I woke up - I've avoided it. Allergies are another story. I'm allergic to something in the air between May-September and get an awful dermatitis rash on my face. The past two years I controlled it by large amounts of zyrtek and a nasal inhaler. This year, I'm trying a new allergy medication with gold bond's exzyma cream. So far, so good. Some itching, a little redness in the corners of my lips, but it hasn't broken out. I can always switch back, since I have both the nasal spray and the zyrtek handy. I just wish I would grow out of it, I've had it every summer for the past 8 years now. 

Also found out that I'm allergic to some fiber being used in clothes now... "rayon", and with rayon, "modan'. I suspected I was allergic when I put on some new shirts and developed an itchy red rash on my back... the only differing ingredient from any other shirt was rayon or modan (which is a type of rayon). I was shopping for new shirts today, and while checking what was in some shirts I found lots of shirts with rayon - A LOT of them. I hope they don't use it in every shirt... because once I was done handling one of them with 100% rayon, my hands got red, irritated, and stung badly for a few hours. Sensitive skin is not a virtue!

I desperately want to add more ducks to the flock. I love the ducks. We have 6, but there's always room for more, right?


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## Latestarter (May 16, 2016)

Sorry bout the red sex links... I don't think they were "designed" to last as long as a heritage breed. Don't you just hate sentimental animals?  Hope your remaining pigs get over it soon. The pork should help you and family get over it... school straight through with no break? It's sacrilege I tell ya!  But then, maybe you'll get done with it quicker... but THEN you have to like REALLY work... get a job and that sort of thing...  That's really tough having sensitive skin. Must be really difficult trying to buy clothes... If no rayon or derivatives, you're pretty much left with silk or cotton... At least they're natural (aside from dyes and such). I guess if it gets too bad you can move to a tropical location and wear grass skirts and coconut husks  (going all native here). Then you'd need to worry about sun burn though... Always trade offs. Hope you have a great week!


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## arrowti (May 19, 2016)

Oh yeah I need to get a job as it is now that I only have a few classes instead of full weeks of classes... need money to pay for the 'online homework' website! Isn't it bad enough I have to pay for a 140 dollar text book (which I probably won't buy at this point), but also have to pay an additional 100 dollars just so I can do my homework? I spent nearly all I had left from my last Summer/Fall job on tuition for the summer courses (over 2000!) I had 5 classes each semester and couldn't work on the farm, have 5 classes each week with loads of homework AND spend most of my time at my job so that's why I don't have one now... so far, no luck. Many applications have been sent, but no replies. :/

Anyway! There have been numerous reports of foxes in our area. We haven't seen or heard any yet... and not birds have been taken. The ducks take their daily walk through the woods each morning to escape the enclosure and have been fine. I hope crazy screaming sound the pigs make when they're hungry made the fox stay away. Ginger is all fine now. She's back to wanting belly rubs. Still forgot to get a picture...

Wilma has trouble with mud, for some reason. She always gets stiff when it's muddy, but better when it's not. We'll try to get her on an uphill pasture, to avoid lameness, so that she stays fine. And getting Bell to stop harassing her constantly would be a great thing for her. Bell is such a bully... no matter what Wilma does, Bell comes up and shoves her away. Bell could have a full bowl of food and water, but if she sees Wilma eating all the way across the enclosure, she comes over and pushes her away... then goes back when Wilma goes to eat out of THAT bowl. That sow's on my last nerve, I tell you...

We haven't culled that hen yet. I don't know why. Her 'prolapse' seems to have gotten less severe, although she does waddle a bit, she seems perfectly happy to be eating, drinking, and hanging out with her friends. No one has pecked at it. We'll have to do it eventually, as it could cause an infection and we don't want her to suffer. 

Unfortunately, one of our meat chicks grew ill. I found her lying in the brooder, getting stopped on and not moving, one wing splayed. She chirped but seemed very tired, eyes closing. She was breathing hard. I brought her inside and got her to drink a bit. She then fell asleep. By that night she got twitching in her head and had difficulty swallowing. She somehow made it through the night. But when she got spasms in her wings (similar to the flapping a chicken does pre-death), and constantly twitching of her head, we put her down. Her feather growth was very poor compared to the other chicks, she was smaller, and her neck seemed strange... I couldn't even feel a crop. She was much less fat. We usually use chicks within the first week to failure to thrive, and not so often at 3 weeks.

The others are doing great. All healthy and plump, drinking, eating, and the roosters are mean. 

I really hate putting down a bird. Especially chicks. She had just turned 3 weeks, hadn't even gotten to experience the 'great outdoors'. It'll be warming up this next week so they can FINALLY move out onto the grass. 


On a side note... does anyone here watch Grimm? Can't wait for the finale tomorrow!


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## arrowti (May 24, 2016)

Good news and bad news...

The good news is we got a call from the butcher about our 3 boars and not a single one has taint! Yay! I'm not a big fan of sausage, since I prefer having nice juicy roasts, so that's good news for me.

The bad news... Wilma's been limping again and stiff. We were thinking she might be unhealthy as this is the second time, and not a single one of our other pigs have ever had issues. We were considering removing her from the herd, as we didn't want her to live unhealthy and in pain with frequent bouts of lameness. That is, until I heard screaming and fighting yesterday, and went out to check. Bell had Wilma slammed against the inside of the hut, lying half on her legs, and they were snapping at each other. After 15 minutes of trying to get Bell up she finally got up. Wilma was limping badly. Her limping and stiffness started soon after we took the wire separating them down. It could be a coincidence and she could just be an unhealthy sow with problems in her joints... 

But... we put a new wire up, so the piglets can pass but Bell and Wilma are separate. If she improves, we will know that Bell was the cause of Wilma's lameness, due to slamming and pushing her around so much. Regardless, her aggression and bullying is far too out of hand to keep her with other pigs. Wilma already seemed much happier today. Probably because she could eat, drink, and lay down without Bell harassing her and shoving her all the time. 

Honestly, some pigs are just brats!

Fortunately I have no dead birds to report... of any type. Wilma's first litter, the 3 barrows and 3 gilts, will be ready for market soon. The second batch of meat chicks and the turkeys will be here next month! 

I would like to raise a goose or two for meat. We've never had a goose before.. We've never eaten a goose before either. Anyone know of a nice, fast growing goose breed that's easy for those who've never raised geese?


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## Latestarter (May 24, 2016)

Just curious... If Bell is as mean as you describe, why are you keeping her? I would think you'd keep a gilt and process her. Just asking...


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## arrowti (May 24, 2016)

We will be getting rid of her when her piglets are fully weaned.. we let them naturally wean at ~8 weeks old. Which will be quite soon!


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## arrowti (May 28, 2016)

My summer class started Friday... and I have an exam next week! Fortunately, it's only basic stuff. Anyway, on to the farm details.

The piglets are slowly weaning themselves. Three of our pigs decided they would rather get dehydrated than drink out of their new watering bowl (a large, heavy metal tub that they couldn't tip over and end up out of water with before the end of the morning). Fortunately they recovered fine and are back to normal. I really don't understand it. Our other pigs drink from it just fine.

Fred is lonely... but he'll get some company soon! Our mulefoots from Wilma's first litter are approaching their market date. We'll be getting the meat from those three boars soon, I hope.. I've been craving pork chops! 

We bought another kiddie pool for the ducks since they refuse to stay in the enclosure and I'd rather them not be left without a large source of water throughout the day. 

Now, on to some less hopeful/good news. Yesterday, it was in the 60s. Today, it was almost 90. And it went to 90 in almost 3 hours after being around 55 in the morning. We have 5 separate waterers in the meat chick's 'chicken trailer', and we added ice to it and added frozen bottles around to help keep them cool. It, and they, were in the shade. Unfortunately, the high humidity and lack of a breeze made all efforts useless. We lost one chick. Then, an hour and a half later, we checked back after picking up some feed and charcoal, and found 15 others dead - 1 died while we were removing the bodies. All the dead ones were in the back of the trailer, with the waterers dispersed through the front and middle (the top of the back end isn't openable, so we couldn't put waterers there). 

It turns out that they did not know - or the heat chance was so sudden - that they couldn't get up and walk those 6-7 steps to the closest waterer to drink. Their bodies were so hot. We had to pick up the other chicks out back and put them in front of a waterer just so they would drink - they simply refused to get up and walk to it themselves. It was quite awful removing all those bodies of those poor birds. 

And yet, I am completely baffled. We have raised our other 4-5 batches of meat chicks in the same trailer, in the summer, with no issues. In the shade, with waterers in the same locations... they would get up and drink. These ones would not. What would cause otherwise healthy chicks to not get up and get a drink when it's hot? Do you think the change was so sudden they were 'shocked', so to say? Or is this batch simply from a 'less intelligent' gene pool than our previous chicks? It'll be down in the 60s the next few days, then back into the 80s. I really hope these birds learn to get up and drink. There won't be anyone home during the week to pick them up and put them beside a waterer on the hotter days, and I really don't want more birds to suffer a heat stroke. 

I am caught between the sheer confusion of why they wouldn't drink and and sadness that so many died what was likely a horrible death in such a short time. Anyone have any recommendations on keeping them cool? We can't really stick a fan outside, as a fan in that much heat would blow up. 

Thankfully, we had no other losses around the farm... all the pigs are okay, the laying hens/roosters are good... and the ducks are great. 

Well, a chipmunk died. My old arthritic cat brought it up to me while I was checking to make sure the rest of the birds were alive. He has trouble jumping on my bed but apparently no issue chasing down and catching a little chipmunk.

Last year, we raised 100 meat chicks, and lost 4 not long after they arrived, 1 other at a few weeks old from failure to thrive, and 2 from heart attacks. The previous years of smaller batches (20s and 50s) we've lost maybe 1-2. We've lost 18 total from this batch (80 chicks total, 20 were sold to another woman), and may lose more. It's just very discouraging. The weather seems to be set against us. The day we got the chicks it was in the teens - in April! The day after we remove them from the brooder to the outside world, it jumps up extremely high and the humidity was very high. 

I know this is how things work... there are good batches and bad batches. But it still feels awful to lose so many 4 week old chicks to heat. 

I'd appreciate any advice on keeping chicks cool, if there is any. We don't have enough waterers to cover every inch of space under the trailer for the chickens that don't want to move. 


That's all for news between the last time I posted and now. Hope the next one has better events! 

The ducks were fighting over a bucket of water earlier... I wish I had recorded it. They just didn't want to share one single droplet of water!


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## frustratedearthmother (May 28, 2016)

So sorry for your losses...


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## Latestarter (May 29, 2016)

Sorry for the carnage... Not familiar with meat chickens really... all mine are dual purpose. They don't develop the huge breasts, but seem "healthier". Are you a member over on BYC? There are LOTS of chicken experts over there. Maybe someone over there could enlighten on what happened and/or present options to keep it from happening again...


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## mysunwolf (May 29, 2016)

So sorry for your losses  I agree, I think it sounds like 90 degrees was just a huge shock to their systems and they overheated before they could figure out what to do about it. Not sure if this is useful but this article helped me: Common Mortality Causes in Broilers. You can spray them down with a mister attachment on your hose, they don't like it but it certainly helps--we did this for a few batches when it was above 80 degrees. We definitely have an average of 7% losses on our batches of 100+, and some batches are worse than others for unknown reasons. I put large waterers every 4ft scattered around their favorite hangout spots, but we have had better luck with pasture pens and electric netting than letting the Cornish X free range (forces them to be closer to the water sources). It also helps to have some "normal" chickens in with them to show them how to move around, forage, and drink water. Our pasture pens are also about 50% ventilated, and that is necessary for the Cornish X which just overheat too easily. Here's what we use:



 

We've switched to the Freedom Rangers (not the knock-offs, the real deal) starting this year and, aside from increased aggression in the males, have noticed how healthy, active, and intelligent they are in comparison. They take more time and feed, but honestly it's been worth it to not have so much sickness and death in the meat birds. Plus they have just as much breast meat, better flavor, and are almost as tender as the Cornish X. 

We have also had the same problems with the red sex links as you describe. Most of mine died or had to be culled before 3yrs. But I have one red sex link left that is 5yrs old and still lays an egg almost every day! I have saved a few daughters from her since she is such a rare bird. 

I have really enjoyed reading about your pigs and ducks and the rest of the farm too. I hope things go better with your chickens the rest of the season. Keep sharing and can't wait to read more!


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## Mini Horses (May 29, 2016)

Sorry for the high loss rate.  I have a 1/2 doz red six links & will never buy more.   I jut don't like them!  My best birds are the larger ones.....Buff Orp, Jersey Giant, Barred Rock.   I do not raise for meat but, they are good for that, also.   Heat & cold they are just more intelligent and go to shade, water, hen house, etc.  

Maybe that's why I don't mess with broilers, hate finding loss.


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## arrowti (May 30, 2016)

Our chicken trailer looks almost exactly like the ones in your picture! Even down to the metal sheets. We've fortunately had no more losses but are continuing to watch them. They really really like being in the back of the trailer over the front! We were told misting them could cause problems, unless you mean a special mist attachment as opposed to a mister setting on a normal nozzle - people say they could cool down too quickly or something. If not maybe we'll try that next time it gets hot.

I've wanted to try another meat breed ever since we started raising these, but haven't managed to convince anyone else here to agree! Personally, I'd rather pay a little extra in feeding a healthier chicken than don't have all the health issues.  I don't like to see the cornish cross living such a poor quality life, sitting all day in their own waste because they don't want to get up.

At least, that's how I've seen them.

Wilma is doing a lot better, and she managed to jump the fence somehow... it isn't busted down or fallen, but she's somehow managed to get to the other side!

On the note of red sex links: we have one rescued red sex link from a family who had their coop burn down one winter and she was the only survivor. She is very intelligent, very feisty, an escape artist, broody often, and lays very well. No health problems from her, even though her feathers are still blackened from the fire almost two winters ago. We'll keep her when we get rid of the rest of the hybrids.


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## arrowti (Jun 9, 2016)

We just lost Fatty... I looked outside a little bit ago, and two ducks were somehow outside the fence, and the other three were in... all the females were quacking loudly (alarm call). Fatty was nowhere to be soon. I kept looking around, and out in the woods I saw a white shape. I went over and she was covered in blood, laying on the ground, propped up by her bill. Something had bit her around her neck and back. She was still alive when I carried her to the house, and put her in the warm bath, but she was bleeding too much, too quickly. She died after only a few minutes.

I don't know what it was. It ran off when I was walking out in the woods, leaving her alive, so maybe a fox? Fatty was molting, so there were white feathers all over the place to begin with, so I have no idea where/how it got in. 

I know it's horrible to say - all things have to eat - but I just want to kill whatever it was. I'm so upset and angry. Fatty was my favourite duck - favourite livestock animal, really. She was so sweet, even-tempered, beautiful... just the nicest duck around. Poor duck. This is the first animal we've ever lost to a predator. I wish we had a guard dog that we could keep with them as protection while we aren't home or even outside. 

As far as anything else that's happened, I'm having trouble remembering. We sold one of Bell's piglets. My brother moved out. And I really don't like my summer class, especially when I'm going to be away tomorrow which means something might get the other ducks - or the chickens - while I'm gone...


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## norseofcourse (Jun 9, 2016)

I'm sorry about Fatty    I've never had a duck but I know what it's like to have a special animal.


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## Latestarter (Jun 9, 2016)

Sorry to hear about fatty. Hate it when we lose an animal to predators... Hope the rest stay safe tomorrow while you're away. Sorry you don't like your class... is it the material, the teacher or combo of both? Sometimes you just gotta suck it up and push through it.


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## arrowti (Jun 10, 2016)

The teacher is great. The material is easy but the homework website is just driving me crazy. Very slow, often down, and almost no information on what you did wrong and how to fix it - which is something a professor would explain if they graded it manually... sometimes it comes down a simple typo and poof - wrong!

But anyway.

Nothing showed up today. We put 4 hot wires across the back just in case, and to keep the ducks from escaping and going into the woods, which puts them at risk. I know they love playing on our yard but until it's safe, it's not worth it. Unfortunately, prolapse hen went downhill very quickly today and had to be put down... but I learned she didn't have a prolapse after all!

She had ascites.. but she swelled up in a way that her back end got swollen first, resulting in the puffy appearance of her vent and the difficulty pooping. Yesterday, she was inside most of the day, perched on the bar. She let me pet her and was alert and calm, so I assumed she would be fine. Prior, she had been walking around with no trouble (just a dirty butt, swollen vent, and awkward stance), eating, foraging, drinking, and just being a chicken... she was dust bathing the day before!

Today, I got home from class and saw a chicken lying in the dirt, not moving. I knew it was her as soon as I saw it, and thought she was dead. Her eyes were closed and she didn't react to me approaching, but to my surprise, she was alive. She had gotten pecked half to death from the other chickens, and her comb was bloodied and her face had wounds... chickens are awful to each other. When she tried to stand she stood directly upright (like a penguin), but gradually slid to the ground, too weak to stand, drooping. I tried to get her to drink and I heard some weird noise like a squelch, and all the water bubled back up out her nose! Poor girl must have been completely plugged up with fluid and food. 

We culled her tonight. She had a massively swollen belly today, seemingly overnight. It was so big she couldn't walk. 

At least she got a few more weeks at a good life before she went. 

We did get the meat from the 3 boars... all my favourites... pork chops, pork shoulders, and delicious ribs! Also can't forget about the ham. Bacon and sausage are at the bottom of my favourites, honestly... I know. It's sacrilege. I like them both but I never crave them like I do with the other products!

We defrost and heat up the back fat to give to the chickens once every month. They love to eat the fat.

Also... there's this strange tiny bird out by the wall of one of the pig pens... I noticed her first the other day, and then again today when I walked around to check the woods for any sign of a predator. She's extremely tiny, smaller than our english game bantam hen had been. She shoots out of the ground, runs past me, and just freaks out. Her wings are spread when she runs around and she glares at me with an open beak as she goes past! So strange... She looks like a fish out of water sometimes with the way her wings are spread (like a triangle). 

Today, I just happened to look down, and saw a hole in the ground with acorns. So I took a closer look... those weren't acorns! They were baby birds. 3 little baby birds, about the size of acorns. She is their mama. 

I'm just not sure what species they are. My best guess after tons of searching is that she is a Winter Wren... 

Our turkeys are going to be coming early, at the end of the month, instead of in July. I can't wait to raise some turkeys. I've never raised any before.

The ducks were quiet today. The females barely quacked and they mostly laid around, not doing much. Opie was very protective and was going after any chicken that went by. He seems very angry today, and I understand why. Something (a dog most likely) took one of his girls, and although it wasn't his favourite girl, it was still his girl! 

Hopefully things look up from here.


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