Over the last two days we have hatched eight olive egger chicks. I am thrilled with that because they were shipped eggs, coming all the way across the country via the US Postal system. One was broken in transit so I set 11 eggs. Of those 11 eggs, 8 ...
Orthopedically Challenged Chicks (Update!)
My recent hatch of chicks have put me through the wringer. Last night when I checked on them before going to bed I found them standing in water! They had somehow managed to flip the paper towel up from the corner and into the waterer. All of the ...
Hatch Update
My project chicks, discussed in this post, are almost done hatching. Six chicks have hatched and four more are in the process. None of the eggs shipped from Florida made it to hatch. Shipping is very hard on hatching eggs. I am happy to have a 90% ...
Am I being punk’d?
I have been working on a top secret chicken project for almost a year. My F1's, or first generation chickens were looking good. Three weeks ago the pullets started laying and I was thrilled with the egg color! I took the ...
He’s an odd little duck (video)
Our beloved Tucker is indeed an odd little duck. Some of the things he does are quite amusing. On Easter he was the lucky recipient of a prime rib bone. He enjoyed it for a while then decided to hide it for another day. He looked around for the most ...
Tripled my Brooder Space!
Spring hatching is in full swing here at the Buck 'n Run Ranch. I have 20 eggs on lockdown, due to hatch on Friday and 3 more to hatch on Monday. The first hatch is Crested Cream Legbars and a project I am working on. I also have a dozen ...
The Feed Shack
Bigger isn't always better. I say that because we had a big barn at the last house and we fretted over losing it when we moved here. Even though the barn was big, it seemed to always be a disorganized mess. I was concerned about where we would store ...
Food Photography Class Week Four
These are the photos I submitted for the last assignment in my Introduction to Food Photography class, followed by the critiques. I have signed up for another class, Food Photography for Bloggers, so I will be back posting my assignments for the next ...
Food Photography Class – Week Two
Today was the deadline to submit three photos for assignment two of my food photography class. Here was the task: Set up some simple still life images and shoot them from many different angles. When you think you have captured your subject every way ...
Food Photography Class
Growing ever more tired of my poor quality food photos, I recently enrolled in a four week, online Introduction to Food Photography class. Last week's assignment was to take food photographs using natural light and a reflector. We were instructed to ...
Mardi Gras King Cake
Never having visited New Orleans did not stop me from longing for a King Cake. In case you are not familiar with the history of the King Cake, I borrowed this explanation from King Cakes. The Tradition of Mardi Gras King Cakes The King Cake is ...
Hawk! In the chicken run!
This morning I went out to feed the animals at 7:00 a.m. I thought it strange that none of the chickens were out in the runs. As I started to enter the emu pasture, I heard a commotion. The emus were running around at the fence line between their ...
Chick Resuscitation (Video!)
Yesterday I received a shipment of Cream Legbar chicks from Florida. They had been in transit for less than 24 hours. I always open boxes of chicks in the presence of a postal employee. Many sellers require confirmation from the post office of chicks ...
Mourning Dove Move-in
A few days ago we had a flock of mourning doves move in. One of them somehow got into one of the covered chicken runs and stayed there for a few days. It is out now, but the flock has stayed on. I used an online bird identification site to ID these ...
Tucker. He had me at “hello.”
When my children were living at home we always seemed to have a dog. I have not had a dog since my separation from my first husband almost eighteen years ago. Since I started raising chickens, I have had a real dislike of dogs. Every place we have ...
I won’t miss the blue toilets.
The sale of our old house, the original Buck 'n Run Ranch. It has recorded and the new owners have moved in. Last week we made our last visit to retrieve a few remaining personal items. I have to admit driving away was bittersweet and a couple of ...
Me, Elvis, and the dentist
Today is my 64th birthday. Had he lived, Elvis Presley would be 78 years old today. Sharing a birthday with Elvis has been interesting. My mother loved Elvis so she never forgot my birthday. As I got older, I could avoid the subject of my age by ...
Just in the nick of time
I have been working frantically to get the little yellow playhouse I bought converted into a brooder/incubator room. The first two occupants of the room hatched last night, so I had to get it done today so they could begin ...
What is it and how did it get in my incubator?
Granddaughter Ember loves chickens. We recently gave her family their first chicken coop. It looked like this when we bought it. It looked like this when delivered. Her mama said she wanted to get Ember a silkie or two so I ordered some sizzle ...
Calm before the storm.
It is hard to know what is really going to happen weather-wise where I live. Our local news stations make a huge deal out of a little rain, declaring it "the storm of the century, possible flooding, hurricane force winds, etc. Then nothing happens. ...