These Crazy Animals! Part 4: Miniature Schnauzer

     Our miniature schnauzer, Fritz, has always been a friendly dog.  We got him as a pup from animal control soon after Caleb was born.  We would take a daily walk around the neighborhood with Fritz tiring out about half way and crawling under the stroller for a ride, then he would hop out fully charged when we got to the park.  Soon he would escape our house and go to the park by himself every chance he got. Fritz soon made friends with the 5:00 dog group whose owners brought them to the park to let their dogs run.

Fritz with his "schnauzer" hair cut.
Silly little pup begging for a biscuit.

     Our backyard was a pass through that the neighborhood kids used to get home from, and they often left the gate open.  After we had to retrieve him from a shelter, we attached a tag with our street address and phone number.  We met quite a few strangers at our door bringing Fritz back from the park.  Eventually park regulars got to know him enough that they would just put in back in our yard and secure the fence.

"Squeeka! Squeeka! Squeeka!"

     Fast forward to our new home, with plenty of room for a little dog to run.  I shouldn't be surprised to find out that he had made new friends with the neighbors before we did!

     Gail and David were the first neighbors who we met at our new home.   They are awesome and have an adorable little pug named Pugsly.  We found out that every morning when Fritz was let out, he would head across the ditch and wait at their back door for them to let Pugsly out to play.  He would also get a daily dog biscuit from them.  Eventually Gail and David got a new dog - a pit named Scrappy who loves to be chased by Fritz.  When Gail and David put up a fence to keep Scrappy in, they made sure to leave a 8" gap so that Fritz can continue his morning visitation.

"Pugsly"

     We met Christie and her mom, Jenny, not too long after.  Christie had moved in a couple months after we did.  Fritz would visit her family in the evenings.  He would bark at the back door, then snooze under her dining room table.  Once on a cold wet night, he even had a nice beef stew dinner before coming home.  When we met Christie, we had Fritz with us, and her greeting to us was, "Oh, he belongs to you? We hoped he was a stray.  I even told my mom that I thought we might have a new dog."  She was so disappointed.

In need of a haircut - I guess he does kind of look like a stray...

     We have now lived here for almost three years and Fritz continues his daily neighborhood rounds.  One day Rebecca was looking for Fritz's leash.  When asked why she needed it, Rebecca said, "I'm going to take Fritz to the park." 

    "NO!" I said, "Absolutely not.  Fritz is never to find out there is a park near by!"  

"The end"

These Crazy Animals! Part 3, Guinea Fowl

GUINEAS!

     Guinea fowl sounded like a great idea when we were packing to move to Pungo almost 3 years ago.  The land was covered with ticks, and we were buying enough space, and they are just comical when they run, their feet moving frantically under the skirt of feathers.  So when Malbon's Feed & Seed offered guinea keets for $6 each, I bought 6 and took them home in a cardboard box.  "Guess what I have!" I said, opening the box for Rebecca and Dan to see.  Rebecca said I had lost my mind.

     I raised them from tiny babies, bought a chicken coop kit to keep them in, and let them free range.  The guineas refused to voluntarily go in at night, but would sit on the fence waiting for me and our dog, Fritz, to chase them all over the yard, then finally trap them and herd them in.

Guineas on the fence waiting to go in for the night.

     One night I was getting my shoes on for our nightly routine and heard a commotion.  I ran outside in time to see guineas flying everywhere.  Two were in the pool, one was in the front yard, two were hiding in the corner, and one was missing.  I rounded them up, spent forever chasing them around the pool, and was not only soaking wet, but heartbroken - an owl had apparently swooped down and snatched one right off the fence.  I was down to 5.

     The thing about guineas that I still had to learn is that guineas are suicidal.  They will get themselves killed every chance they get.  So by the following year, 2 had flown into neighbors' yards and gotten eaten by dogs and 1 more had been hit by a car.  

     After the owl incident, the guineas started roosting on the back steps' handrail.  The steps quickly became covered in disgusting poo.  They also tore up the screen on the back porch, and a week after we had it fixed, they did it again.  They would consistently get stuck in the fence behind our house and scream loudly into the night until I came to save them, then they would run, fight, and scratch me during the "rescue."  So when I saw an ad on Facebook for guinea keets, I proved that Rebecca was right when she said that I had lost my mind, and bought 6 more.

     In my defense, I had a plan this time.  I was going to raise these babies right alongside the chickens, so they would be more docile, sleep in the large coop with the chickens, and only leave the area to clear the property of ticks like normal guineas should.  Instead I got crazy guineas, all male, who attacked and molested the chickens mercilessly, ate all the chickens' food, and didn't leave the run to hunt for ticks.  

Guineas on top of the chicken coop.

     I took out an ad offering guineas for $10 each.  Then hens were afraid to leave the coop and cowered in the corner.  I lowered the price to $5 each, and locked the guineas out of the coop.  Those horrible randy guineas flew into the neighbor's chicken run and molested their chickens.  I lowered the price to free, and was relieved to get an answer.  We immediately boxed them up and drove them a few miles away to drop them off at their new home.  The lady's son met us in the yard and offered us $10 each to take them back home with us  - NO DEAL!

     At the beginning of this season, I still had the two of the originals.  I called them "The Sisters" and watched them run around comically as they combed the yard for ticks and left eggs in strange places.  One evening I noticed only one of The Sisters was roosting on the handrail.  "Sister"now  walks around the yard by herself now and occasionally hollers out into the woods looking for her sibling.  

"Sister," our last guinea hen

     The other day as Rebecca and I stood on the destroyed porch, Sister crossed the yard heading for her lonely roost.  Rebecca said, "She looks so sad.  We should get more guineas."  She has lost her friggin' mind!

   

Raising Chicks part 1, choosing the breed and sex

Lucas, at 8 months, with my niece's chicken.

I knew I wanted chickens from the start.  I read all the books and spoke with people who had chickens.  I bought my little hen house kit and put it together one hot day when my daughter was home sick.  Then I ordered my 6 chicks and prepared a cardboard brooder box for their arrival.  I had no idea how much I had to learn.  For those of you who are planning your own flock, I thought I would let you know some of the things I learned.

The first thing you should know is that chickens are addictive!  You will find yourself watching the chickens all day long, talking to your friends about chickens, and subscribing to poultry magazines.  You will find others who love chickens and make Facebook friends in the poultry world when you need advice.

I purchased 6 different breeds that are known to be good layers and do well in the weather of Virginia.  Even before they were out of the brooder, I knew that 6 was not enough.  I learned about the fancier breeds like Silkies and Polish, and hunted them down on Craigslist.  When planning your flock, I know you want eggs, but include some fun pet type breeds!  They are friendly and cute, and friends will not mind seeing the multiple pictures on your phone and FB of your chickens if they are adorable.  Research all the breeds and make your decision carefully (be sure to Google "frizzled" chickens - over the top cute!)

You may hear the term "bantam" - this is a small chicken, which lays very small eggs. Some breeds come in standard or "large fowl" (full sized) and bantam (small sized), while others come in only standard or only bantam.

"Easter Egger" chickens lay blue eggs. The Easter Egger
is a mixed breed - "Ameraucana" is pure bred.  (Occassionally
you will get one that lays olive colored or brown eggs.) 

The sex of chicks:

Pullet means female.  If you are ordering from a hatchery, you can order all pullets, but keep in mind that sexing is only 90% accurate.  In my first batch of 6, two ended up being males.

Straight run:  Unsexed chicks, meaning you are likely to get quite a few males. Some feel buying straight run, and planning to cook and eat the males, is the most humane thing, since it gives the males a chance at having a good (yet short) life.  Although I understand the logic, I just couldn't.

Males or "Roos" (young males) also called cockerels or roosters:  Roosters can be difficult to  find a home for, so start thinking about what you will do with the roo now.  Some thoughts: In certain breeds, roosters can turn aggressive, no matter how much you have handled and loved on them as babies. Having a rooster go into a pot (yours or someone else's) can be hard to come to grips with, but realizing that he has had a much better life than those brought up in commercial facilities makes it easier.  When trying to get rid of a rooster, once it is over a year it is less suitable for eating, so making the decision sooner rather than later is to your best advantage. 

Stanley was supposed to be Stella. He was very aggressive
and, after attacking my son, helped me come to grips with
the idea of eating a chick that I hand raised.  I could not do
the deed, but gave him to a nice Italian woman for the pot.

More about Roosters:

You don't need a rooster to have eggs.  You only need to have a rooster if you want the egg to turn into a chick.  

You can eat eggs that have been fertilized by a rooster.  The fertilization takes place by sex, with the rooster hopping on top of the hen.  As long as a hen has not been incubating the egg, it will not turn into a chick.  Hens usually lay a few eggs before sitting on them, so as long as you collect your eggs at least once a day (twice a day if you have a hen that is broody or wants to sit on them), your eggs should be fine. More about eggs in a future blog.

You can keep multiple roos together, especially if they have grown up together, and most will figure out how to get along.  Some may fight - certain breeds are more aggressive than others.

Wow is this blog getting long - I will write more about the brooder in my next post!

New to Pungo

We are new to Pungo, having lived in this area of Virginia Beach for only a couple years.  Before coming out this way, we were warned that it is a hard community to move to.  Rumor has it that people in Pungo don't welcome "outsiders," and maybe it is true with some.  Living in the Creeds area of Pungo, we have found just the opposite.  It may be that, coming from country bloodlines, we fit in a bit easier.  It could be that, having grown up in the country as a child, this life came easy.   Whatever the reason, moving out here felt like coming home.  This place is like being in an old book; it is so wonderful, that it seems like it could be fiction!  I am starting this blog as a way of keeping a journal of our experiences.  Even if I am the only one to read it, I want to record this incredible journey.

Introductions:  "We" is composed of:

My husband, Dan, and me, Jane

Our children:

Caleb

Lucas

Rebecca

And our plethora of pets - a dog, 3 cats, 2 horses, chickens, guinea hens, and 3 new ducklings.

Last year was hectic and a struggle to get things done, built, and planted.  It was a great time of learning.  This year's challenges have become easier as we learn more about what to expect of our selves, our animals, and our property.  Last year we bought a shed and converted it into a chicken coop, hired someone to build a barn, hired someone to put in posts for a horse fence, and planted fruit trees. Then we learned about raising chickens, handling predators (we have a lot from hawks and owls to foxes and the occasional coyote), deer who eat baby trees, drainage issues, surveying, and how to build our own damn fence and structures. As a result of our knowledge, this year we have dug a ditch, installed electric netting and pinwheels to deter predators, moved our horse fence off of the neighbor's property, started composting, and plan to build a carport for our tractor and add more fencing to protect our sticks that were once trees.

Should be fun!