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Saturday, January 3, 2009

resolutions and a roll call

Small but significant new year developments include a resolution to let go of desperately yearning for a farm and instead to totally surrender to being here. Anyhoo, the princess castle and surrounds pretty much looks and feels like a farm already - minus the fencing maintenance. After having a big long hard look at myself, I realised that the things I associate with living on a farm are deep peace, deep quiet, stillness, calm and solitude. Well, obviously these are things I can have RIGHT now. I can have a farm on the INSIDE and take it with me everywhere. And as such, 2009 will be the year of the farm on the inside. And its cheaper too.

And anyway, my kiwi vines are fruiting. I can't leave now.

Now, a quick look at who's who in the duck herder zoo.







This is "Big Fella" the $50 chicken. He is supposed to be a faverolle cockerel, but who knows. He has the wrong number of toes. Regular viewers will remember he was the only one of 12 faverolle eggs posted from far off Proserpine at great expense to hatch. He is called Big Fella because he hatched out with about 20 pekins and he TOWERED over them. I think he is going to be a boy, but he doesn't seem to be colouring up very well yet - too much black, not much red....... but he is quiet and lovely and is BFF with............



Winky. Winky is a pure bred pekin hen. Now unlike the faverolles, the pekin eggs hatched out wonderfully - 75% which adds further evidence to my theory that air travel does not do fertile eggs any good at all. One of Winky's eyes was stuck closed after she hatched, which explains the name. Nothing that a deft touch with a wet cotton bud couldnt fix. She is all good now.



Here is a shot of Miss Quentin and Annie Clare. Winky and Big Fella are hiding on the left.





And here is Camilla. The only chicken on the block who is actually laying. Everyone else is either too old, too fluffy or too young.



For example, dear old Charlotte here, is WAY too old to lay eggs anymore, but she has very important jobs like pooping in the garden and marching inside to steal the cat food and entertaining our guests by jumping up on the outdoor table to see what is for lunch. Charlotte loves BBQs.

Well, thats it for chooks. Perhaps ducks next?

10 comments:

Lucy C said...

I don't think I will ever own a farm either.
Oh well..maybe when we are old and grey.

Jacqueline said...

I love your 'farm on the inside' resolution for 2009 - I think I'm going to adopt that one. We were most amused with your summing up of the egglessness due to the chooks being "too old, too fluffy, or too young". We don't have any oldies yet but we've got a few fluffies. I just brought home a little Rhodie chick so we can have at least one regular layer!

Happy New Year.

Jacqueline said...

PS I did the same thing with buying fertile eggs from a farmer a long way away - three out of thirty hatched and they were all roosters and none of the breeds we were supposed to be getting.

The Duck Herder said...

hello mountain girls!

fluffiness does make up for a lot of egglessness. just as well hey!

atm I can't believe how many chickens there are in the backyard and how few eggs that equates to. Now come on girls, I need more than one egg a day to keep us in muffins and frittata.

Jacqui I wonder if you squeeze that little rhodie if the eggs will come out sooner?

Anonymous said...

cute chooks.

Unknown said...

I don't think I could post pictures of each individual chicken separately ~ not counted them lately! I'll be so thrilled when the dogs are fenced in & I can save enough to get the chicken area finished. My Traveller Lads took time out as 1 is very ill & can't work at present. Another has been drafted in & they were meant to be up here working this day, but I think the organizer forgot that it's Sunday!

(Also blogger still hates me!)

Anonymous said...

Hooray for the farm on the inside. This is a good resolution, I think. Happy noo year to you and yours...

Anonymous said...

Great resoloution and I loved meeting your chooks!

The Duck Herder said...

hello everyone and thank you got stopping by!

happy new year to you miss sherdiepants. How are the renovations going? You may come and visit my farm any time you like! Make sure you bring that nice architect ok?

Hi Killi - Happy new year to you and I guess the number of chickens you have is proportional to the SPACE you have! We are quite over stocked even with 6 chooks and three ducks, their off spring etc etc - wishing you a wonderfull 2009 and I hope that blogger decides to return the love soon!

duckie xxxx

Unknown said...

Happy New Year to you , too Duckie & to all of yours. I suppose I do have a bit of space for my poultry :). I'm trying to post a picture or so a day over on wordpress ~ got to catch up first though. This is to make me take a picture a day, so you may get to see all my critters by the end of the year. I would do it on blogger if it would let me