Sunday, May 12, 2013

Fowl Play




After many valiant attempts, Thomas has accepted that he will not be permitted entry into the house. He has, instead, chosen to sleep on the arm of the wicker love seat, the same one Bruno prefers to sleep on. It didn’t strike me as a pet bed when I purchased it, but it’s not the first time I have been mistaken.



His obsession with my fingers has not subsided yet. I have been reminded more than once not to stand idly by with my hands hanging down, as he latches on to one at every opportunity. Randyman’s fingers, apparently, do not hold the same appeal. I got so tired of being vigilant about my hands, I tried to evict Thomas from the yard. Out into the big pasture we went, with the sheep. The Maremmas kept watch over everyone, as they usually do.



 I even hoped Thomas would take up with the chickens, in spite of the risks they hold for him. They were not interested in making friends with the big galoot. He followed me out into the pasture, noting various bugs.


 After I got him down there a good long way, I sped back to the gate, leaving him waddling in my wake.



 He spent hours pacing the fence trying to get to me. I finally felt sorry for him and dumped him in the pasture next to the back yard so he could at least see me. He resumed pacing THAT fence. I picked him up and carried him to the pasture gate while I let the sheep in. They all ran by except for Rosemary and Thyme. I set Thomas down, assuming he was now safe from the thundering herd. Thyme proceeded to chase him all over the corral. I never saw sheep attack before, but Thomas was having a very, very bad day. I caught him up again, tucked him under my arm and returned to the back yard while he sniveled and whined about my earlier abandonment of him. There seems there is no alternative to his being  a yard bird.

The 56 meatie chicks have arrived and are doing extremely well in the brooder. Randyman put screening over the top and on the front of the milkroom which is great, because it not only keeps the cat and birds out, but flies as well, for the most part. Other than 3 of the Red Rangers dying the first two days because of injuries during shipping, all the chicks are thriving. I am really tickled because the  CornishX chicks are usually not so likely to do well, especially early on, in my experience. Maybe this will be a good chicken year, even if it was not such a great turkey year.



Miss Buffy is setting on 10 eggs again. She went broody in the nest box again, so after marking all her eggs and taking out the ones I refused to let her have, I moved her into a soft kennel in the lambing shed where none of them can jump out, causing her to abandon the rest of the eggs. True to form, days after I moved her, my black hen went broody on me as well.



At the end of the day, I grabbed a small bucket of grain and called Sushi from the far side of the back pasture. To my surprise, she jumped the ditch and ran to me. Locking her in the small paddock earlier this year paid off. She’s smart enough to know her name and greedy enough to come for candy. It looks like we will have a bright future ahead of us. 



After I finished the outside chores, I baked, cooled and sliced my whole wheat sourdough bread for this week’s sandwiches. I love this recipe, because I can mix it the night before and let it rise all night, then just bake it the next day. This time, it 'over proofed' so I kneaded it down and let it rise a third time and it baked up perfectly, with 2 big loaves.  Still warm bread, fresh from the oven with fresh homemade butter...a great way to end a 'fowl' day.


20 comments:

  1. Oh my, I cried with laughter over this post. I feel so sorry for Thomas. Can you get him a new girlfriend?

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    1. We are going to see if there are any turkeys close to his age when we go to town. I feel bad for him, but on the other hand, it has been a great opportunity for me to learn what characters these birds really are! I had never thought of them as anything but Thanksgiving dinner!

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  2. Happy Mother's Day. Always enjoy reading your posts. Any tips for the sourdough starter? Have never tried but I am willing to give it a go.

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    1. Happy Mother's Day to you as well, and thank you very much. My starter is about 15 years old now. If you have none, I have saved and powdered some of mine for emergencies and would be happy to send you some. It takes about a week to get it all rehydrated and happy again. If you want to send me a SASE, email me and I will give you my address. :) ranchrustics@me.com

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  3. That's great that Sushi is now a reformed bovine. Good job on changing her attitude Petey!
    Poor P. Thomas, sounds like he's just lost without you. He's going to be a hard one to part with.
    Ohhh, that bread of yours! If I was there I'd put my feet under the table and not come up for air until I had demolished the entire loaf! I love fresh bread with the butter melting on it.....
    It's looking like spring at your place now! :)
    Kristi

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    1. I really thought Sushi was never going to come around. I was ready to put her in the freezer and give up on it, but she is so darn smart. It will be hard to part with Thomas as I enjoy his company, actually. He' s been a good companion, especially when I am in the garden, except for that little finger fetish he has...

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  4. Poor Thomas, he is so lonely with out you... Talk about bonding !!! I prefer to work without gloves, but I would have to if he was around. Crazy bird. LOL. What great news that Sushi came around. Good Job.

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    1. He not only kept getting in MY way, he went over to interfere with Randy's trying to put a drip system together haha!

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  5. Loved the turkey tale, what a character! I'm glad to see Sushi is coming around and that bread looks absolutely divine! :)

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    1. Thank you. Thomas makes me laugh. I love this bread, its so easy to make!

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  6. Glad to hear the new meatie chicks are doing well. Too bad that chickens aren't into friending a turkey...poor old P.T. could use a feathered friend. I suppose you could start putting a jacket on him and teaching him to eat at the table :-) make him an honorary person!

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    1. It's funny because they got in the yard today and he was hanging out with them, but when I chased them out, he stayed put. He didn't want to leave the yard...or me..not sure which. I already have a DOG that eats at the table LOL

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  7. Petey, as always I laughed my way through this post! Poor Thomas has a really serious crush on you and I don't know how you could ever even think of forcing him to live somewhere else! Maybe you could stick feathers in the Guard dogs hair and he would follow them around! Sounds as though Sushi has begun to see things your way at last. I am so glad for both of you! And that beautiful loaf of bread---my,my, I do love good fresh homemade sour dough bread. I used to make it myself but lost the starter long ago. I have thought I would like to do it again somehow but I know I would eat far too much bread!!
    Ginny S in Texas

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    1. It's definitely one of the highlights of my life, being attractive to turkeys! LOL

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  8. A great way to end a "fowl" day. That's funny and the bread looks wonderful.
    But... this poor turkey. Thomas is really having separation anxiety... and what's with the fingers? If it wasn't such a funny story, I would worried about the poor old turkey. Maybe you could crate him and let him sleep next to your bed at night. LOL! Just don't let your hand fall anywhere near the cage.
    Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. He seriously has issues. He seems to think my fingers are the motherlode of earthworms and will not stop pursuing them. I have even grabbed him by the throat for it, but the second I release him, he is singlemindedly hunting them again!

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  9. How nice to peak into your world!

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    1. Thank you Jayne, thanks for stopping in and taking the time to say hello! :)

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  10. I was telling my daughter (who has had turkeys in the past) about Thomas being bothersome, and she said that she had to " dominate" her tom to get him to respect her. She "sat" on him - kneeled over him and held him down, head down too and petted him and told him what a good turkey he was. After a bit, let him up. She said it made a world of difference for him to know you are the boss! Just thought I'd pass it on.

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    1. I appreciate it! I have zero prior turkey experience so any kinda info is helpful! Thanks!

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