Little Liza

The black slut with the 6 babies has taken to looking after Lucille 2 (who I've accidentally called Liza a couple of times). Last night Lucille 2 went and slept in the chicken pen up with all the other babies, hopefully this will continue on. The only problem is I may no longer be able to tell who is Lucille 2, but that is fine with me. I'd prefer her to have the warmth of a mother than be a solo chicken.
We were out on snake patrol again last night. This snake was particularly big and just kept hanging around the roof of the shed. Our $80 rechargeable torch is a piece of crap too so the light kept going out, plus did I mention it was pissing down rain? We were quite the sight to behold.
I need to get me a snake charmer.

Cyclone

We're experiencing a little wind and rain here at the ranch today. The babies are loving it, hanging out making a little mud bath for themselves. They look so cute when they are all muddy. Just after this photo was taken Speedy came along and pecked all of the girls to get out of 'her' mud. She then pecked a little at the grass and then walked off.

illusion

I had a terrible sleep worrying about the chickens last night, I can't imagine they slept much better either. Everyone was still alive when I woke up this morning (GOB excluded). It was a little sad last night, but I'll try to snake-proof the duck pen (again today).
I'm a little nervous about this impending snake fest as everyone is going on the road in Jan. The thought of having to remove a snake from the chicken or duck pens at night really freak me out. The way it was coiled up crushing GOB last night, I had to walk away. But soon enough I'll have to sort it out. Perhaps everyone can sleep inside with me (just the ducks, Speedy and Lucille 2).

RIP GOB

Just in the time it took me to post my previous post a snake made it into my duck fortress and took GOB (I think, it was that one). Damn it, perhaps they would have been better out tonight.
I could hear chicken noises from my desk so I went to investigate and sure enough there is was squeezing it to death in the corner. So much for snake proofing the duck pen.
Gee I'm going to sleep well tonight, but I must say, damn I've got good hearing.

Ideas man

I think Young Boy is a stew tomorrow. We went to Brisbane today and I got the run-down from their babysitter when I got home. Turns out Young Boy was crazy, picking fights with everyone, even the ducks. He chased all the chickens into the bush and poor GOB and Lucille 2 were separated and not even penned when I got home. It still cracks me up when I use GOB and Lucille in a sentence. I think I got the names right as I suspect the brown one is indeed a rooster (so don't get too attached Izzy).

I don't think Young Boy is aware of the pecking order in my chicken pen, or the rules for that fact.
Rule #1 - Don't mess with the ducks.
Rule #2 - Don't mess with Old Boy
and I'm pretty sure that's it, I don't think there is a rule about Speedy, she's sort of counted in with the ducks. But he broke both rules today.

Baby Girl made a new nest and wasn't penned last night. She had tucked herself underneath the shed. While I wasn't too keen on getting on my hands and knees and shimming up under the shed, I would have done it for the duck. BUT, someone smarter than me just ripped back the corrugated iron and picked up the baby girl, easy. No dust, spiders or snakes for me or the duck, he's such an ideas man. We saw a snake entering the chicken pen tonight, so I have a feeling Snake Fest 08 is about to start.

Posers

Don't I just have the best ducks ever? Is there such a things as duck models? if so, my babies certainly could do it. If only I could photograph as well as they could pose, then we'd be set and they'd have a better portfolio.

Mirror mirror

When I let Young Boy out of the duck pen tonight, he went straight over to the chicken fence to challenge Old Boy. I'm over this fighting, and I'm pretty sure Old Boy is as well. Perhaps Young Boy will get taken by a fox, but I doubt it.

Everyone is fine aside from that, Mandy has a sore right. GOB and Lucille 2 have been sleeping in the duck pen at night and they just roam around motherless during the day. Speedy looks so small at the moment, I think it's because I've seen her all fluffed up for the past couple of months. She still likes a pat though.

Young Boy the whatever

We caught Young Boy beating up Old Boy today, arsehole. I'm not sure how long he'll last now, I thought for sure they wouldn't start fighting until Spring. No one messes with Old Boy on my watch.

Motherless

Its official - Speedy has ditched her babies. Poor GOB and Lucille 2 are motherless and no longer walk to Speedy's chirping. They sleep with the ducks and Speedy sleeps there two but not huddled together as mother and chick should be. Actually Speedy slept in a tree last night but I'll be home and tonight and will put her in the pen.

Speedy tried to hide from me the other day - when I went to find her to tell her she needs to be with her babies, she ran underneath the worm farm but I saw her and chased her out of the patch. Perhaps I wont write that book on parenting after all.

Tommy is getting a red ring around his neck, it looks like a bow tie. Katcsa looks like she's been in a fight and someone has bitten her nose. There appear to be a scab on it, personally I think she's had a nose job and blaming it on a deviated septum.

TMZ inspired

An open letter to Speedy McNugget-

Dear Speedy,

I've noticed lately that you've ditched your kids for laying an egg or just hanging out in the chicken pen.

You wanted these children so bad and now you've left them.

I feel like I'm to blame as you didn't have a 'chicken' mother figure when you were a baby. Sure chicks are needy and they chirp all the time, but the responsibility is yours and yours only. You must be forgetting that you too were very needy, but I never gave up on you. I used to wash the dishes and you'd sit on my shoulder, I'd email at my computer and you'd sit in my jumper sleeve. People would tell me that I had a chicken on my shoulder, and that I was silly - but we had a bond.

I'm no Lynne Spears and you're certainly not Britney or Jamie-Lynne so get it together Speedy. I'm going to keep a close eye on you hopefully with a little guidance you wont end up like Amy Winehouse.

kisses

Fortress

I bought the ducks (and chickens) their Christmas present yesterday- 50 metres of chicken wire. We patched the duck pen and it is now a fortress. We went over the chicken pen and tightened up holes and put dirt around the edges. I thought we did a smashing job until this morning when I noticed that we were down another baby chick. So now there were six.

Speedy is acting very weird this morning - she's ditched her kids somewhere and is in the chicken pen laying an egg.

What's that? Can I eat it?

This is what I see most days - the ducks walking away from me. They do this when they realise that I'm not packing food.

post pen lock out

Its taken me a few days to recover from the shock of my babies not being locked up at night. Although the trust has been broken, I'm still dealing with the aftermath with the chickens.
The chickens have been against being penned up. Last night Young Boy and the mother-less black chicken went to bed in the first mango tree. I'm not sure if snakes can smell but sure enough we caught one going up the mango tree to surprise the chickens. I was a little unsure if I'd wake to my normal Young Boy crows this morning, but sure enough he was still alive.
I managed to round all of the chickens up early today and pen them into the house. None of the chickens are sleeping in the house (accept for Old Boy, who would sleep through a snake attack). This leads me to think that maybe the snake came in though the house some how.

I took all of the duck eggs from baby girl and Katcsa today. I guess I'll have to make some more pasta over Christmas.

Dog House

Someone here is in the dog house as they neglected to lock up the chickens AND DUCKS last night, even after I asked them too (twice). They were very lucky that the fox had eaten enough chickens over the past two weeks and only a baby chick was taken.
So now we're down to 7 babies to one hen and Speedy still has her two.
In the words of George Bluth Snr "And that's why you always leave a note". Perhaps I need the one armed man to come and teach someone a lesson.

nest wars

I just had to break up a fight between Speedy and the Baby Girl with the sore foot, who incidentally is the friendliest and kindest of the female ducks. You see Baby Girl has been sitting all day today on a nest where Speedy sleeps at night. Speedy went into the pen and just pecked at her back and head. I stopped her but she kept going back to peck more. I tried to get Speedy to sleep elsewhere but realised that she wouldn't take no for an answer and probably end up hurting baby girl pretty bad. So I ended up taking Baby Girls eggs and making her a makeshift nest and moving Speedy onto the nest. Speedy was still trying to have a go and the duck while I was holding her. She was pecking at her head, I was worried she took out an eye. So now Speedy is sleeping with one eye open and watching the duck. Baby Girl is so gentle she'd never even fight back.
I think I saw Katcsa eat a poo today. It was hard to tell what it was but she was loving it.

Saturday

I went out to rescue Young Boy from the clutches of tick hell yesterday when I noticed that he'd already removed it. I bet he got some slut to pick it off for him. Mmm that would have been a bloody tasty morcel.
The baby girls leg is a little better today and she is no longer sitting on her eggs in the patch as I took them away. I broke yet another of my duck rules today and fed the baby girls a little roast chicken. Some scraps came back from the larder today and while I fed some to Ralphy the girls wanted to try some. Turns out they enjoyed it, I hope they won't turn on Speedy.

tick

I saw a tick on Young Boy's beard today. I'm pretty sure it was a tick and not the imaginary type I saw on Ralphy a few months ago. As the tick is grey and his beard is red it's quite easy to see. I'm going to ask someone to get it off him tomorrow. I've never been one for catching chickens. I'm trying to imagine me out there getting him, it would be quite difficult. I can barely catch Old Boy and he's hardly quick on his feet. Perhaps we can dust Young Boy down for lice at the same time.

Swimmer girl

The water submerged over night which was good. There is still a little pond out the front of their house, but now they can walk in and out of their pen rather than swim.

Here I was worried about the ducks last night, but when I'd go and check on them they'd be out standing in the water playing around. It was just Speedy that didn't like it, I'm glad she still went in there then went for the high ground of a tree.

One of the baby girls has a sore foot again, I've been braking all the rules I've set as I'm letting her sit on her eggs as I think its good that she's not walking on her foot. Problem is her nest is in the vege patch under the worm farm, so another rule broken - no animals in the patch. But I trust her not to leave her nest. I'll take her eggs in a day or so, plus I don't let her sleep there at night.

Water issues

We've been experience what I would call flash flooding today at the ranch. The duck and chicken pens were under water within about 1.5 hours. I've never seen it flood there so quickly. It subsided for a little in the late afternoon but now its picked up again.

Which leads me to my current predicament. They are now all locked in the duck pen, which is now a pond. There is an island of dry hay which all 5 ducks and Speedy are sitting on (Mandy is up the top). I'm going to go out and check on them soon, but if it keeps up I'm going to move them into the chicken pen. I'm beginning to think now I should have done that in the first place.

Queen Speedy

At long last a better photo of Speedy with her babies. Here she is tonight getting ready for bed, I hope I didn't blind her too much with the flash.

She is the smartest chicken ever, and I'm not being biased. This morning when I was off feeding the ducks and chickens Speedy went into the shed (where she isn't supposed to be) and I heard her make this strange chicken noise. The other chickens chirped back to her and there was a bit of excitement in the pen. So I went in there to get her out of the shed when I realised there was a snake in there and that's what she was talking about. Smarty. So there a now 3 black hens and 2 roosters and 10 babies. I hope some of the babies survive as our chicken numbers a dwindling. The other black hen is like a zombie, she has been sitting on one egg in the chicken pen for what seems like ages.

Fox fest 07

I just got home from Brisbane and found the last of the brown bitches with no head. So it was definitely a fox. I now believe the Mongy Foot has indeed been killed and not doing an insurance scam. I also noticed that the youngest black bitch is now nesting somewhere so I'm guessing that she'll probably die too. If its not snakes its foxes. I'm keeping a close eye on Speedy and making sure that she's in with the ducks and that the baby girls don't go off and nest some where.

See ya Mongy Foot

I received confirmation last night from the neighbour that Mongy Foot is dead, supposedly a fox took her and her touched babies are being cared for by the mother with the 8 kids. I believe the fox part but not the babies being cared for. Chickens don't usually do that.

The neighbour said she slept in the tree the other night and that's when she was taken. the story has got holes through it, so it wouldn't surprise me if she turns up one day. Anyway the story about her sleeping in a tree is right. Speedy tried to do it the other day and I got her out of the tree and sent her to the pen, so lucky it could have been Speedy. Speedy was up in the tree and her babies were chirping around the bottom trying to get up up. I said to Speedy "you need to be with your babies penned up, I'm your mum and get down" so I picked her up and put her down on the ground. Sure enough she's been in with the ducks ever since. She's also reclaimed her spot as Mongy foot has gone.

I had a like/dis-like relationship with Mongy foot. I liked her feet and that she was old, but I didn't like that she kept trying to steal Speedy's life. I think these were her first kids so she would have died a happy chicken

Old Boy

I was out taking photos of Old Boy yesterday, he's such an old man. He's a little unstable on his feet and he just stands there and sleeps. Everyone was out under the mangoes chirping and scratching around while he just sat there posing for photos. I love that he can sleep while he's standing.

Vanished

At appears the Mongy Foot appears to have up and left taking her two touched kids with her. I'm not sure whats happened, if its been fowl play or if she wanted to raise her babies else where. You never know with theses chickens. The main thing is Speedy and the ducks are ok.
Maybe she'll turn up like that canoeist from the UK, in five years from now.
Am off again to Brisbane today until Monday so the babies are again left in the hands of the neighbour. I gave him some duck eggs the other day to say thanks for keeping a watchful eye over my ever-expanding kids.
I had to step in between Mandy and Old Boy today. It seems that everyone wants to start a fight with Old Boy, the girls especially. Old Boy will kick the girls ass; before they'd know it he'd be ontop of them. I think it must be some sort of right of pasage to start a fight with Old Boy. He never starts it with them, but he's always ready for a blue - it must be the taste of blood he received a few years back when he killed a fellow cock.

Dreams

I dreamt last night that Old Boy was dead. It came to me when I was out in the garden today watching Old Boy have a nap on the ground. I can't really remember the details other than he was dead. I'm sure I was devastated. Good news is though it was all a dream and I'm not psychic.

The ducks have been playing out in the mud again as its been raining at our place. I think the clouds are only above the ranch as when I left to go into town it was dry and hot. Katcsa is still making her throaty noises. I call her my 'pack a day duck' or the Scarlett Johannson of the group; she's very husky.

farmer

I couldn't manage to get out to take a photo of the babies today. It has been raining pretty hard. But here enjoy a pic of some bananas. We've been getting quite artsy with the garden photos lately. The garden is going off due to it having rained a lot and we planted lots of seeds during Spring. So many cucumbers, its non-stop cheese and cucumber toasted sandwiches here (with lashings of mayo).

Clown baby

Tommy (or Beaker, but I think it was Tommy) bit Mandy's already bulbous red nose yesterday. Just when I thought the Muscovy nose could get no redder, one of them goes and bites it. Poor Mandy, he was limping about nursing a sore foot and one very red nose. Those ducks can take a good bite too, it was lucky it didn't come off.

Single white female

While the photo isn't very good, this is the best I can do of Speedy and her babies (for the moment). The other shots I took just ended up being of her bottom.
Above is the mother with the 8 babies. Mongy foot had two babies the other day and the bitch went in and took Speedy's bed in the duck pen last night. I tried to get her out with a stick but I figured she'll have to deal with the ducks in the morning, at least Speedy knows the ducks.
Mongy foot is always trying to take Speedy's stuff - her nest and eggs and now her bed. I'm beginning to dislike this chicken.