WHAT A YEAR!
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| Were you a good girl this year, Jessie? YES, you were a very good girl! |
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| Cooper, look! Santa brought you your very own raccoon! (Yep, this one didn't last long either.) |
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| What? Doesn't everyone order ornaments that look just like their chickens? No? Just me? Hm. (I love Etsy.com) |
New Year's Eve. What a great year it's been on Glen Hill Farm. So many firsts for us we're grateful for it all. Looking forward to see what 2015 has in store for us all!
What's been going on here this week? It may have been a great year, but this week has brought us lots of worry....
Because Cooper is doing his best to earn the title of "the most expensive free dog ever" we have been back to the vet many times this month. In fact, when I call the vet's office these days, they answer by saying "What's going on with Cooper now?" It's pretty funny. If only it weren't so expensive. Hoping to get a frequent flyer discount of some sort? Oh well.
So, a while ago, Cooper had a bump appear under his skin. No big deal, Jessie is a bumpy-ish kind of dog, too, so I wasn't alarmed, knowing that Jessie's have all been harmless, nothing to worry about. But a few weeks ago, Cooper's bump opened up, creating a sore about the size of a dime. I kept my eye on it, and when it wasn't healing on its own, I took him to the vet. Long story short, after 2 weeks of antibiotics, he still has this sore. Just when you think it's almost healed, he scratches off the scab and we're back to an open wound. Yuck. Luckily it doesn't seem to bother him. Today is looks pretty good. Keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't scratch it. I'll give it a day or two more, and then sadly, I think we'll be heading back to the vet.
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| See Cooper's sore on his shoulder? He's had it for about 3 weeks now. Hoping it will heal soon. |
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| Cooper's sore |
Also, last week, when I picked the dogs up from the kennel, they let us know that they saw worms in Cooper's poop. (Insert gagging noises here.) Worms, for me, falls into that category of mites, lice, etc. I just can't stomach the idea. Blech. I had no idea that he had worms! Truth is that because of their electric fence, I just let the dogs run out in the morning on their own, so I rarely see their poop until I go to pick it all up (which probably happens once a week because they poop out in areas of the yard that we don't use much.) Good news is that I learned that worms are actually a pretty easy fix. One pill usually does the trick. Poor Jessie had to take the medicine, too, just in case. Kind of felt like I was punishing her for her brother's bad behavior, but what can you do? Better safe than sorry. Cooper acted very strange the night we gave him his worm medicine. He barely slept and was kind of running around the house all night long. I'm wondering if it was a side effect? He was fine the next day. (The rest of us were exhausted, but he was fine!)
Since we're on some gross topics anyway, here's what's been going on with the chickens...
Egg production has slowed waaaay down here at Glen Hill Farm. Most days we are lucky to get 2 or 3 eggs a day now that we are in the dead of winter (as opposed to 6 or 7 eggs a day in the summer.) And actually, we're lucky to get 2 or 3 because many chickens stop altogether in the winter. But we have one chicken who has never missed a day laying. She's amazing. She's our smallest hen and yet she lays the largest eggs, every single day. Any guesses on which hen it is?
It is our white leghorn, Minerva Louise! She has given us one beautiful white egg every day since she started laying. Really, if I were to add to our flock, I would definitely get more white leghorns. She's great. HOWEVER, this past week, we had some pretty upsetting occurrences when we went to eat her eggs. I have gotten in the habit of cracking our eggs first into a tiny bowl before adding it to whatever recipe or to the pan on the stove. And this is why... When I cracked open Minerva Louise's egg (she's the only hen that lays white eggs so I know it's hers) it was very bloody inside. I'm not talking a speck of blood just on the yolk, I'm talking the entire white part was red. Yuck! It was pretty gross! And very upsetting to see! (pictures below if you can stomach it.) I know that a small blood speck is totally normal, but this was such a large amount of blood that I was really worried. After researching, I learned that because she seems healthy otherwise, it is probably nothing to worry about. Same cause for the small blood speck as it is for the larger blood situation: Most likely caused by a burst blood vessel in the hen while the egg was being formed. Not a cause for concern. I am happy to report that the next egg just had a small speck of blood, and then today's egg was totally healthy. Phew! By the way, this proves that those little blood spots are NOT the beginnings of a chicken embryo like some people believe since our eggs are definitely not fertilized.
So, if you've ever received a carton of Glen Hill Farm eggs, or any fresh eggs from a local farm, I would recommend cracking them into a separate small bowl first! While the small blood specks aren't harmful, and can be used no problem, I definitely wouldn't eat the one that was really bloody. I read that the large egg factories have special machinery that can detect these eggs with blood spots and remove them. Sadly, Glen Hill Farm doesn't own that fancy machinery yet! :) So please, let me know if you've ever received an egg from us that has had blood specks in it, or didn't look right for whatever reason. I would want to know if it was a common occurrence.
Here are the gross pictures...
COLDER WEATHER...
The chickens seem to be doing well with this cold winter weather. They like to huddle together outside in a sunny corner. I also give them extra chicken scratch on really cold days. Keeps them active and eating it helps them stay warmer. Happy to report no frostbite yet.
Jessie loves the winter! I call her my polar bear. Doesn't mind the cold and loves the snow! She's also a really big fan of stealing mittens and hats off the kids! Winter is fun for her.
Cooper on the other hand, does NOT like the winter. He comes out with me in the morning to take care of the chickens, and within minutes he's barking to get back in the warm house. Poor guy. He has a very thin coat of fur, so he's probably legitimately cold. (He's totally that guy that looks big and tough, but he's actually a total wimp. LOL!) I'm not a big fan of people putting clothes on their dogs, but it was looking like Cooper actually needed a little something for him to be able to stay outside with me each morning. So, I broke down and got him a little coat to help him out. And it definitely helps him stay out much longer. I have to admit he does look kinda cute in it. Bonus is that I put it on Jessie on rainy days and it keeps her coat drier. (She takes forever to dry.)
Cold days for Cooper. Rainy days for Jessie. Win/Win.
Jessie brought me this birds nest today. I'm not sure what kind of bird it belongs to. (We have so many different kinds of wild birds in our yard, it's awesome.) Anyone know which kind of bird makes a nest like this? The crazy thing is that I swear that the inside of the nest was made with my hair! It was kind of crazy to see, it is exactly like my hair. You know when you clean out your brush and you throw away that handful of hair? I'm wondering if that's what happened? Maybe, or maybe not, but I'm totally going to toss the next brush cleaning of hair into the woods for the birds instead of the trash next time.
Since we're on some gross topics anyway, here's what's been going on with the chickens...
Egg production has slowed waaaay down here at Glen Hill Farm. Most days we are lucky to get 2 or 3 eggs a day now that we are in the dead of winter (as opposed to 6 or 7 eggs a day in the summer.) And actually, we're lucky to get 2 or 3 because many chickens stop altogether in the winter. But we have one chicken who has never missed a day laying. She's amazing. She's our smallest hen and yet she lays the largest eggs, every single day. Any guesses on which hen it is?
It is our white leghorn, Minerva Louise! She has given us one beautiful white egg every day since she started laying. Really, if I were to add to our flock, I would definitely get more white leghorns. She's great. HOWEVER, this past week, we had some pretty upsetting occurrences when we went to eat her eggs. I have gotten in the habit of cracking our eggs first into a tiny bowl before adding it to whatever recipe or to the pan on the stove. And this is why... When I cracked open Minerva Louise's egg (she's the only hen that lays white eggs so I know it's hers) it was very bloody inside. I'm not talking a speck of blood just on the yolk, I'm talking the entire white part was red. Yuck! It was pretty gross! And very upsetting to see! (pictures below if you can stomach it.) I know that a small blood speck is totally normal, but this was such a large amount of blood that I was really worried. After researching, I learned that because she seems healthy otherwise, it is probably nothing to worry about. Same cause for the small blood speck as it is for the larger blood situation: Most likely caused by a burst blood vessel in the hen while the egg was being formed. Not a cause for concern. I am happy to report that the next egg just had a small speck of blood, and then today's egg was totally healthy. Phew! By the way, this proves that those little blood spots are NOT the beginnings of a chicken embryo like some people believe since our eggs are definitely not fertilized.
So, if you've ever received a carton of Glen Hill Farm eggs, or any fresh eggs from a local farm, I would recommend cracking them into a separate small bowl first! While the small blood specks aren't harmful, and can be used no problem, I definitely wouldn't eat the one that was really bloody. I read that the large egg factories have special machinery that can detect these eggs with blood spots and remove them. Sadly, Glen Hill Farm doesn't own that fancy machinery yet! :) So please, let me know if you've ever received an egg from us that has had blood specks in it, or didn't look right for whatever reason. I would want to know if it was a common occurrence.
Here are the gross pictures...
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| VERY bloody egg. So upsetting. :( |
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| Blood speck on yolk. Kinda yucky, but not too bad. |
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| Yay! Minerva Louise's eggs are back to normal! Phew! |
COLDER WEATHER...
The chickens seem to be doing well with this cold winter weather. They like to huddle together outside in a sunny corner. I also give them extra chicken scratch on really cold days. Keeps them active and eating it helps them stay warmer. Happy to report no frostbite yet.
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| Cuddling up together in a warm sunny corner |
Jessie loves the winter! I call her my polar bear. Doesn't mind the cold and loves the snow! She's also a really big fan of stealing mittens and hats off the kids! Winter is fun for her.
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| My sweet polar bear loves the snow! (This photo is from last winter, we haven't gotten this much snow yet this year.) |
Cooper on the other hand, does NOT like the winter. He comes out with me in the morning to take care of the chickens, and within minutes he's barking to get back in the warm house. Poor guy. He has a very thin coat of fur, so he's probably legitimately cold. (He's totally that guy that looks big and tough, but he's actually a total wimp. LOL!) I'm not a big fan of people putting clothes on their dogs, but it was looking like Cooper actually needed a little something for him to be able to stay outside with me each morning. So, I broke down and got him a little coat to help him out. And it definitely helps him stay out much longer. I have to admit he does look kinda cute in it. Bonus is that I put it on Jessie on rainy days and it keeps her coat drier. (She takes forever to dry.)
Cold days for Cooper. Rainy days for Jessie. Win/Win.
Jessie brought me this birds nest today. I'm not sure what kind of bird it belongs to. (We have so many different kinds of wild birds in our yard, it's awesome.) Anyone know which kind of bird makes a nest like this? The crazy thing is that I swear that the inside of the nest was made with my hair! It was kind of crazy to see, it is exactly like my hair. You know when you clean out your brush and you throw away that handful of hair? I'm wondering if that's what happened? Maybe, or maybe not, but I'm totally going to toss the next brush cleaning of hair into the woods for the birds instead of the trash next time.
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| Quick trip to NYC this past weekend and my boys couldn't resist these hats. You can take the boys out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boys. |
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| Thank you Grandpa & Grandma for taking such good care of your grand-chickens! |
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| Grandpa loves to give out treats to all his grand-pets! |
