Sad chicken lesson

We learned the hard way NOT to let the comet chickens hatch eggs!!  We had 2 suddenly want to start setting several weeks ago which we thought was odd.  They are a hybrid chicken for fast egg production and we didn't think they had that 'nesting' instinct in them.  They are not around a rooster so none of their eggs are fertilized.  Well, 2 of them decided to start setting, so we took some of our fertilized eggs from the Maran group of chickens and put them under our expectant mothers.  Yesterday we discovered that one of the hens had a baby but it was dead in the yard.  We figured all the other comets got jealous or something and trampled it.  So later yesterday evening, another egg hatched but oddly the mother pecked at it when it would peek out from under her.  I thought that was rather odd for a mother to do that so we kept an eye on her.  The kids came in before bed from their finally round of checking on the animals, and one of them said "That mom is mean.  I saw her peck at her baby".  So today I decided to go out and get some food and water ready for the baby and see how it was doing.  I took her out from under the mama hen and what an awful site.  She had pecked at the head and the eyes were bulging out and I think part of the brain.....it was so gross but the poor thing was still alive.  We immediately removed all the eggs from under both comets (7 of which are in the process of hatching) and put them all under our Maran chicken that is setting.  Hopefully she will take to them without any issues (or else I'm bringing them all in the house to hatch myself!!!)

Farm update

I can't get out to take pictures as there is a monsoon outside right now!!!  But I sure do love the rain we are getting, especially for our garden!  Our pumpkins and cucumbers are starting to flower now.....yay!!!  We have weeded several more rows.  The rows always look so nice after all the grass and vines have been picked out.  There are quite a few rows that we really can't weed because we can't find any produce growing....ugh.  We don't see any peppers or strawberries, can't find any garlic or carrots (bummer!!!)  and our cantaloup look pitiful.  Still need to weed the corn and green beans.  Next year we will definitely need to take a different route to help with the weeding issue.  Sitting in 90 degree heat picking weeds has not been fun.  It will be worth it and I think we will definitely appreciate the food a whole lot more as we eat it, knowing the work that went into growing and maintaining it!  I have found the canner/pressure cooker I want.  It  has excellent reviews so I'm excited about getting it.  Now to find some good recipes.

We have 3 hens that are setting right now.  I think we should be getting close to hatching pretty soon.  Our baby comets are getting within several weeks of starting to lay eggs.  We are going to have an explosion of eggs pretty soon.  Hubby has been starting to build the new chicken coop/area for all our eggs layers.  The guinea are getting close to being let loose (they are caged right now).  I have a feeling we are going to lose quite a few once this happens.  They do fly and wander far away so we will see how many stick close by.  The ducks, geese and goats and so much fun to play with.  They love attention!  We did notice a big problem with our pond the other day.  We found about 50 dead fish floating all around the perimeter of the pond.  We did some reading and found that during a heat way the balance of the oxygen in the water changes and then when a thunderstorm comes along and mixes up the water it can cause oxygen depletion.  That is exactly what happened last week.  Right after a big thunderstorm is when we found all the dead fish.  I didn't realize how many bass we had in the pond!!!  Sad to see, but hopefully there are some left in there to replenish the stock.  So many new things you learn living on a farm!!!

The kids are still doing their end-of-year testing trying to finish up their grades.  It will be such a great feeling to be done and ready to start the new year!  We are heading into grades 7, 5 and 3 with a kindergarten/grade 1 ready to start full time.  I'll have to do a post about our curriculum for the new year.  Always exciting starting new books!

That's about it.

A Biblical Alternative To The Sinner's Prayer by Paul Washer

We need to hear this over and over!!!  Such truth!

Garden pics

Here are some pics of the garden.  You can see that some of the rows still need weeding!!!  We've done several already, but there are more that need to be done.  Vines and grass are really growing around the plants.

first row pumpkin, second row green beans

3 rows of green beans

corn, potatoes and tomatoes

cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and hopefully peppers

our rows that need weeding!!!!

Updates

We have been quite busy around here trying to finish up our end of year school testing and getting our report cards all completed.  We have finished up every subject but English, so hopefully over the next 2 weeks we will get everything done!
Farm life is going well.  Our garden is blooming which is nice to see.  We have had to weed quite a bit lately as the grass have overtaken most of the garden.  Hubby tilled all the 'walking' areas between the rows which really helped, and now we are weeding each individual row.  With it being so hot outside, we don't stay out for long periods of time.  Needless to say, the pool has been getting alot of use of the past couple weeks!!
The animals are doing well.  We lost one of our laying chickens last week (to the dog) and this morning we lost a guinea (to the dog!!!)  If she wasn't such a good watch dog, I think we'd get rid of her!  This hunting-for-sport is costing us money!!!  We have 2 more hens that are setting....one of our comets and one of our marans.  Baby chicks are so much fun to see!!
We had a nice time with company a week or so ago.  The kids had a blast with the other kids.
Every one is doing well!  That's about it......