Oana's Winter Update
The animals bear the cold bravely
This winter has been a very snowy one, and at times, absolutely
frigid. The animals have been putting up with it allright. Here's a
little overview of what's going on with everybody.
Guineas
A few days ago, while feeding the guinea hens, I noticed that two of
them were limping or refusing to walk. Their feet were twisted and
frozen. Since they still live outside in their hutch, the only
effective thing I thought I could do for them was move them into
Vermidise with the rabbits and chicks. Yesterday I recruited Andrew
and Opalyn and we managed to catch three of them and put them in a new
pen in Vermidise (which Katie and I built some months back, just in
case we needed an extra bird home). The others escaped. Two of them we
caught this afternoon with many adventures, and the last one is still
on the loose. We'll get it eventually and put it in the warm
greenhouse with its flock.
Goats
They whine, but they're doing fine.
Rabbits
They're hanging out in Vermadise, warming up the place and being
quiet. Nothing new.
Sheep
The sheep are pretty much unfazed by the cold or snow, although the
rain gets them a little cranky. Junior, whom we left with the ladies
after the Chaucer fiasco, has started headbutting them. Since the
ladies are likely pregnant by this point, it's risky to have Junior
messing around like that. So, with a little coaxing and encouraging,
we led him to Chaucer's pen, where Chaucer chased him around a bit for
good measure. Now they hang out together and occasionally headbutt
each other for fun.
For those of you who don't know about the Chaucer problem... After
hanging out with the ladies for a good month, Chaucer the ram began
getting very aggressive with everyone. He hurt Katie and Walt by
headbutting them violently for no apparent reason and without any
significant warning. The last straw was when he chased me until I had
to take refuge in the garden and run to get help putting him away in a
separate pen.
Darkwing
His foot seems to be doing a lot better these days, and he is using it
to hop around and stabilize himself. In the spring, I think he should
have a shot at being reunited with the duck flock. Right now, I have a
feeling he thinks he's just a special kind of chicken.
Chicks
Look how big they've gotten!
I can hear clucking now, as the peeps are fading away into chick-hood.
Let's see how many hens we get...
Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 68
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