Yesterday we got off to a slow start…fixed the tractor shed…readied it for purlings…lost another turkey…changed
Yes, we lost another turkey chick. Obviously one of the clumsy adults stepped on it and killed it. Vick found it lying in the grass, out in the run. She was heartbroken of course. That prompted us to again…pull the remaining chick from them and place it in the adjoining turkey house under a heat lamp with medicated food and water. The incubator has another two new chicks in it that will be ready to go under the heat lamp today and possibly three more that can emerge sometime soon. Had we not pulled the eggs from the adults and placed them in the incubator, they remaining six chicks would have surely died because the adults just let the eggs in the nest and went with the one hatched chick outside. It’s strange, because in the wild, a hen lays an egg a day in the nest, leaving after each egg is deposited until the total clutch of eggs numbers the brood size she wants or is normal. Then, the hen sits on the nest without moving and after 24 straight hours of sitting, the eggs ALL begin to develop together. In this manner, all eggs should hatch on the very same day and the hen leaves the nest with all the chicks. In our case, the hens (2) started laying eggs and stayed on the nest from day one…enlarging the clutch daily, but also beginning the development of each egg at a different
time. That is why we have had chicks hatching all over the place this last week. Oh well…anyway, we are attempting to take care of the little ones better than the adult turkeys do and we realize a male will not be tolerated and must be kept separated.
Josh showed up at his usual time, so he and I worked on the stand to hang the posthole digger on at the new building so we could remove it from the tractor. Josh uses the tractor to clean the barns and it is unsafe to have the digger hanging on the back as he moves around the farm, cleaning. While we made the stand, Vick went for the special dog food and medicines at the Vet. We were done and Josh started cleaning when Vick returned, so she and I headed to Appleby’s for our weekly chicken feed. ‘
When we returned, Josh was finished cleaning and itching to get at the new tractor shed construction.
We moved the end roof truss out to the edge of the wall and remounted it and installed an addition one on the other end, also flush with the wall. We added end caps matching the regular and started installing purlings until we ran out of time and got ready to put all the animals away for the evening.
After Josh went home, we went to Greenhill Café for dinner, where Vick enjoyed a veal parmesan sandwich and I enjoyed a sausage parmesan sandwich. Frank makes the best hot hero sandwiches around….
When we returned home and I thought about the day, I realized there was absolutely nothing I could take a picture of that would show the fruits of our day’s labors…So…I just clicked some and here they are. Just enjoy them since there’s nothing new…
And that’s how the day ended…”Down here on the farm.”
Can you see any difference between yesterday and today?
Signs of summer in Back Eyed Susans...
Pretty flowers on the lattice...
How about from another angle....Maybe?
Beautiful red crab apples...
Speaking of apples....the deer didn't get ours yet!
Remember Vick's project from Stemple's Sawmill...
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070509 Cluckin' "A" Critter Farm, LLC
Sorry to hear about losing another turkey. When my grandparents still had their farm, my grandpa use to put his turkey chicks with the chickens or at least with a good cluck that wanted to sit, and let her raise them until they were old enough and strong enough to be with the bigger turkeys. It's just a thought! I know you have been having bad luck with them lately.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't see any change in the shed pics but it still looks nice, can't wait to see the finished project! Have a great day!