Category: General/Miscellaneous (Page 1 of 5)

We put up a Purple Martin house in October of 2023. It was fun to construct and I planned to add a few more, once the Martins arrived. Unfortunately, last summer was disappointing as various other birds took the spots and there were no signs of any Martins present at all.

Well, the planets have aligned this year and we’re excited to have some new feathered residents to welcome to the farm. There seems to be quite a few of them and most seem to be fairly young – with only a few fully developed adults.

But they certainly seem to be enjoying the place and there is quite a bit of activity building nests inside with many birds coming and going continually. Close to sundown, they all take to the air depleting our area of flying insects so we are happy to have them around.

Initially, I thought we’d put up the house and be done with it. I have since learned there is a bit more to it. The houses need to be cleaned out after they migrate south. This one is bolted to the top of a 15′ 4×4 so I’ll be changing that design to make access easier. I’ve also learned about a threat to these beautiful birds by sparrows and starlings, who compete for nesting spaces as well as attack the very young in their nests. So I’ll be modifying the openings to deter those attacks as well.

They really are entertaining though. I must walk between the garage and the shop a dozen times a day and pass right under their house, where they all greet me and will then take to the air to accompany me on my trek. They are quite active and it’s a hoot to watch them during their swooping flights – chattering all the way.

It’s really an ideal location for them though. They are on the corner of the garden, just at the edge of our farmyard with 9 acres of pasture open to them right out their door. There are 3 (maybe 5) more locations around the garden where I plan to add more so I’ll be building some more houses this winter.

It gets busy at sunrise. Luckily, it’s only for a half hour or so AND it is entirely of our own design by spoiling our critters with gourmet feasts to no end.

Most “chicken folk”, throw the days ration of store-bought generic feed on the ground as they let the birds out of their coops. For us?

Prepare chicken feed:

1. In a large bowl, add 7 scoops of organic/non-GMO feed.
2. Add 3 hard boiled eggs and any eggshells used the previous day.
3. Add a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese and or cottage cheese/yogurt.
4. Add 8 good shakes of cayenne pepper (organic of course – as all ingredients are).
5. Add 8 good shakes of oregano.
6. Add 6 good shakes of garlic powder.
7. Using a potato masher, grind up and mix thoroughly all ingredients.
8. Set bowl aside.

Prepare feral cat breakfast:

1. In a bowl, add scoop of cat kibble.
2. Mix in about 1/3 of a can of mackerel/salmon or tuna.
3. Sometimes, we’ll crumble in some stale white bread or buns.

Head out to the barn with both bowls. I first ring a cowbell as I walk out the back door to summon the cats and announce breakfast. I’ll typically feed the cats first so they stay out of the way while addressing the chickens. (The ferals also get another helping of the same at closing (coop) time, which is sundown).

Returning to the counter outside the front coop, for the chickens, I’ll scoop 3 cups of the feed mix into each of the 2 larger feeders, which are 4″ pvc pipe cut in half lengthwise to make 2 trays. Lacking protection from the elements, these go in the back chicken run/barnyard that is protected by the barn lean to roof.

As I venture to the back with the trays, this is when I’ll know if there is something in the live-trap I set out there (with peanut butter bait) overnight. More days than not this week, I’ve either trapped another possum or more often another skunk. If it’s a possum, I throw a towel over the trap and carry it to the back of the barnyard by the big gate. These are turned over to a local trapper who is releasing them at his farm, since he claims their numbers are way down (you could have fooled me). If I can’t reach him, I’ll release them in the National Forest up the road about 5 miles. However, if it is another skunk, they are humanely dispatched and I drag the trap over to the gate. Later, I’ll dump their carcass in the opposite corner of our property and the coyotes typically haul them away within a day or 2.

With that out of the way, once I place the trays in their holders, I fling open the barn door and the chickens rush out to feast.

Then, I’ll return to the front and scoop out 2 more cups of feed into each of 3 more trays (2″ pipe). 2 go into holders in the front chicken run. Depending on the weather, I’ll put on the “roofs” to these if needed. Then, I open the front coop door and that flock rushes out. Some instantly go directly to those feeders. Others rush to the back to eat out of the bigger ones with no roof, and a surprising number of them skip the feeders altogether and go out into the barnyard to find worms and bugs in the morning dew.

The 3rd tray goes in the middle chicken run, outside the infirmary and middle coop, which we call the battered hens shelter. This also gets a roof if needed.

With everyone in the barn now fed, I’ll check all the water stations and top off as needed. The chickens will get a 2nd helping as I replenish the trays from the remainder in the bowl around noon – usually 6 or so more scoops.

Meanwhile, the dogs are watching my every move in the morning because they know they are next. As I return to the house, they excitedly run to the front door for they know I’ll be coming out the front to retrieve their dishes from the porch. Once I do, they sit patiently at the door and will whine if I close it as they like to watch me prepare it. To pacify them during this, I give them each a pro-biotic chewy to munch on.

Prepare dog(s) food:

1. In each bowl, add 1 tbsp of coconut oil.
2. Add about 2 cups of veggies. These are the store-bought frozen variety and is typically a mix of carrots, squash, beans, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower etc.
3. Add a large tbsp of cottage cheese or yogurt.
4. One tbsp of raw ground meat. This is purchased from a local butcher shop and is labelled as “pet nutrition – not for human consumption” and is either ground chicken, pork or beef.
5. I’ll also conceal a omega-3 fish oil capsule inside the glob of meat.
6. Add 4 or 5 chunks of organ meat. We started with partially cooked beef liver but now prefer beef hearts since the liver is where toxins are filtered out. We’ve also used beef tongues when that is all that is available.
7. Add 1 raw chicken wing, purchased frozen in a big 10 lb bag.
8. Add 7 shakes of apple cider vinegar (about 1/4 cup).
9. Add a cup of 2 of “organ juice” from when we thawed/partially cooked the organ from step 6 or will use organic beef broth when that’s all we have.
10. The final topping is a sprinkle of frozen blueberries.

I’ll set their bowls down on the front porch and they both eagerly “wolf” them down. They both save the chicken wings until the end and will carry them off to their favorite places to munch and enjoy. In the evening (sundown), they simply get kibble – which is also their treat/reward during the day for frisbee time or other activities. They are very easy to bribe!

Prepare Luther’s food.

Luther is our remaining domestic cat who resides on the front porch, when he’s not out hunting. As I let the dogs out to pee at 5am, he is already there on his perch by the door whining for food, as his dish is often raided overnight by the ferals and is always empty by morning. So I will scoop him some kibble until I get some coffee in me. However, when I feed the dogs, he is ready for more but not more kibble. Instead, he gets a simple delicacy that is easy to prepare. In a small dish, he gets about a teaspoon of fresh tuna bathed in a good portion of hot water. He sips the water mostly but sometimes will eat the tuna as well.

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That’s it. That’s my morning. What do I eat? Who has time for that?
No wonder I am getting so skinny 😉

They KEEP coming! make that x4!

After trapping 3 of the beady eyed critters in the past 3 days, I’d say it is once again, Possum season. Just like last year, the first was bigger (probably mama) and those that follow are the smaller youngsters. I believe last year, we topped out at 8 or 9 so I’ll continue to set out the trap each evening until they are gone.

When we first noticed them (again), they were inside the coop in the barn but likely were just stealing eggs and didn’t mess with the birds. They can do much damage and decimate your flock,… if the conditions are right. But, they are opportunistic and typically won’t mess with adult birds during the day when they are awake and alert. If they were to get in the coop (or inadvertently locked in) after sundown, they will likely attack the sleeping birds on their perches. We are doing a better job of “sweeping” the barn at sundown now but there would still be plenty of places to hide and remain undetected so we’ll see how that goes.

Like the others, these are being released at a local trappers property so he can restore their numbers (which seem fine to me). But now, I am having second thoughts. The trapper told me that the very first one (that was shot last year), yielded about 12 ounces of “possum oil” that he is selling for $60/ounce!!!

Apparently, possum oil is a valuable commodity in antique firearm circles
(cap and ball, muskets, muzzle loaders), as a superior lubricant that doesn’t
break down over time as other oils do. So now, I am looking for YouTube videos
on rendering wild game. And from what I’ve seen, it’s not too difficult. Ka-CHING!

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And on the “GOING” side of things

Today we lost one of our Cinnamon Queen auction hens. She’d been sick for a few weeks so it wasn’t too surprising. When I fed everyone this morning, she was still upright but had such a terrible posture that I knew her time had arrived. She didn’t move and ignored the food I brought to her in the infirmary. When I checked on them a few hours later, she was already on her side and stiff as…. a chicken in the supermarket. So, I prepared a fire in the burn barrel and she is “cooking” in there today as I write this.

She had long stopped producing eggs so it was just a matter of time before we had to decide to cull her anyway. So thank you Lillian, for saving us the trouble.

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Update: 2/13/2025
Any suggestions dealing with that exotic skunk “fragrance” wafting in the air?

After waking the past 3 mornings to another possum captured in the live trap each day, I could tell today would be different before I even turned the corner to enter the chicken run. Sure enough, I managed to capture Pepe LePew. This is the 2nd time now. Like the previous time, this one took the “22” train to skunk heaven. I feel guilty dispatching a caged animal but what else can you do?

It had already released its “olfactorical delight” (likely when the trap sprung shut) but I wasn’t willing to be bathed in it to humanely let it out. Then, I dragged the trap to the far corner of the barnyard and will dispose of it in the woods later.

But for now, everything reeks. The chickens came out to eat but quickly ran back inside the coop so we moved their food inside for now. It’s also pretty cold (15 now, high of 30) so using the hose is out of question. We had to change our clothes so they could be thrown in the washer and am certain our noses are retaining some of it – but it’s much more intense outside the barn and wondering if there was a powder that could be applied to absorb the odor.

The area where the trap was located is gravel and was up against a pile of hay being stored under the lean to for Sherry’s goat farmer/friend. I think I’ll try to scoop out as much gravel as I can. But there won’t be much I can do if the hay got sprayed – other than insist they take it now, instead of later.

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