Monday (1/19) - We had visitors from Wisconsin. As soon as he got home, Jerry and I went to help unload, unwrap, and inspect the load of new chairs at church.
Tuesday (1/20) - The roofers FINALLY showed up to fix the roof where we had a leak in September. While they were here they also fixed the guest house (storage area) roof that was in bad shape. It was worth the long wait for this company. They did a good job and cost half as much as the other estimate we got. The kids and I also ran over to church to let the insurance adjuster in around lunch time.
Wednesday (1/21) - The roofers finished up this morning. Jerry met with the owner and paid him, then stayed here to have lunch with us. This afternoon, I was supposed to be part of an online focus group (for $35) but there was some kind of mix up and they never sent me the email.
Thursday (1/22) - I took Hayden for a well check with a new doctor. The doctor was nice; very laid back which I actually like. I will be taking the twins next week for a well check too. Gram Linda baby sat so Jerry and I could go out to dinner.
Saturday (1/24) - We went on a hike with our church Keepers group at San Tan Mountain Regional Park.
Sunday (1/25) - The twin's 11th birthday! Knowing we'll be busy next weekend, Jerry trimmed up all the bushes along the fence this afternoon. The frost a few weeks back got them. It looks bare now, but we know they'll come back. And bare looks better than dried and brown.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Eleven Times Two
The twins turned 11 today! I always say the days are long, but the years are short. Never do I think that more than on birthdays. I honestly can't believe my two tiny preemies are almost taller than me!
We started the day with donuts from the new Dunkin Donuts by our house. I don't even know when it officially started, but we have a tradition of donuts for breakfast on your birthday. We even popped in a few candles and sang Happy Birthday.
The boys took it easy most of the afternoon after church. We told them we'd take them out to dinner. Before we left we let them open their gifts and a couple cards. We are planning a combined birthday party in February so they will have to wait to get the rest of their gifts then.
We let them choose where to go out to dinner. It was a hard decision. Eli wanted Chinese and Justus wanted Mexican. We let them work it out and when we asked for their final decision they said Chili's. So that's where we went. The service was a bit of a bummer, but the food was good. The birthday boys enjoyed their huge burgers and that was the most important thing!
We came home and had cupcakes for dessert (and sang again)!
When it came time for them to blow out their candles Justus, ever the joker, blew out Eli's first then his own. He did it so fast Eli had no idea what even happened. We ended up re-lighting his candle so he could blow it out again himself!
Happy Birthday Eli and Justus!
We started the day with donuts from the new Dunkin Donuts by our house. I don't even know when it officially started, but we have a tradition of donuts for breakfast on your birthday. We even popped in a few candles and sang Happy Birthday.
The boys took it easy most of the afternoon after church. We told them we'd take them out to dinner. Before we left we let them open their gifts and a couple cards. We are planning a combined birthday party in February so they will have to wait to get the rest of their gifts then.
We let them choose where to go out to dinner. It was a hard decision. Eli wanted Chinese and Justus wanted Mexican. We let them work it out and when we asked for their final decision they said Chili's. So that's where we went. The service was a bit of a bummer, but the food was good. The birthday boys enjoyed their huge burgers and that was the most important thing!
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| Eli's food art at Chili's |
We came home and had cupcakes for dessert (and sang again)!
When it came time for them to blow out their candles Justus, ever the joker, blew out Eli's first then his own. He did it so fast Eli had no idea what even happened. We ended up re-lighting his candle so he could blow it out again himself!
Happy Birthday Eli and Justus!
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Keepers Hike
Our Keeper church group learned about hiking this month. To finish off the pin requirements we went to San Tan Mountain park and took a hike. Jerry took the big kids. I kept Annabeth and went on a short nature walk and visited the ranger station.
I think everyone had a good and the weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. The wind started to really pick up just as we were finishing up.
I forgot to bring the camera which is too bad because one of the volunteers at the station got Annabeth to touch a snake! I think she just did it without thinking about it then she promptly turned to me and made a face and shuttered.
Jerry got a few photos of the rest of the group:
I think everyone had a good and the weather was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. The wind started to really pick up just as we were finishing up.
I forgot to bring the camera which is too bad because one of the volunteers at the station got Annabeth to touch a snake! I think she just did it without thinking about it then she promptly turned to me and made a face and shuttered.
Jerry got a few photos of the rest of the group:
Monday, January 19, 2015
Wisconsin Visitors
When I lived in Wisconsin I was very active in the local mother's of multiples club. Right after I left a new mom named Kimberly joined the club that had a set of twins followed by a set of triplets! Several people in the club told us that we had to meet because we are similar and would have a lot in common. So when I was back in May we finally got to meet at the Mom's Night Out. We chatted awhile and I told her to stop by when the next time she visited Arizona. (She has family here.)
Kimberly and her family are here in Arizona on vacation and they stopped by for a visit today. She has a lovely family and we had a great time. I think the three of us adults talked pretty much non-stop while the kids played. Her kids were super sweet!
Before they left we all (barely) squeezed onto the couch for a group photo!
Right before they arrived they stopped to get their first ever In N Out burgers. When Kimberly posted a photo of their burgers on Facebook one of the other GBAMOMs (and one of the ladies) said, "You must be close to Shelly." We took this photo to show her just how close!
We love having visitors, especially from Wisconsin! Come back anytime Kimberly and family!
Kimberly and her family are here in Arizona on vacation and they stopped by for a visit today. She has a lovely family and we had a great time. I think the three of us adults talked pretty much non-stop while the kids played. Her kids were super sweet!
Before they left we all (barely) squeezed onto the couch for a group photo!
Right before they arrived they stopped to get their first ever In N Out burgers. When Kimberly posted a photo of their burgers on Facebook one of the other GBAMOMs (and one of the ladies) said, "You must be close to Shelly." We took this photo to show her just how close!
We love having visitors, especially from Wisconsin! Come back anytime Kimberly and family!
Week in Review 1/12 thru 1/18
If you haven't noticed I'm trying to do a better job at keeping up the blog. I can't tell you how many times we have used the blog or blog books to help us figure out what happened when. So I am going to try something new: weekly recaps. We'll see if I am able to keep it up. I'm only going to include things that aren't an every day occurrence. In other words, I won't mention school, laundry, meals, and cleaning, etc.
Monday (1/12) - Pa and Gram arrived late in the evening. Their flight was fine and they got here right on time. I let the boys stay up late and go to the airport with me. Although Hayden chose to stay home and watch football with Dad.
Wednesday (1/14) - Keepers of the Faith meeting. We talked about hiking and hiking safety. The Bible lesson was about having a determined spirit. We played a game called "Dead Fish". What does a dead fish do? Nothing! The kids had to lay perfectly still. If you move or make a noise you are out. The kids were, surprisingly, good at the game and seemed to enjoy it too. They asked to play it twice.
Saturday (1/17) - We checked out gates at Shoppers, Higley Feed, and Pet Club. We are hoping to fix the back fence situation soon. We also got a new batch of chicks.
Sunday (1/18) - We all wore our Packer attire to church and then came home to watch them lose to the Seahawks.
Monday (1/12) - Pa and Gram arrived late in the evening. Their flight was fine and they got here right on time. I let the boys stay up late and go to the airport with me. Although Hayden chose to stay home and watch football with Dad.
Wednesday (1/14) - Keepers of the Faith meeting. We talked about hiking and hiking safety. The Bible lesson was about having a determined spirit. We played a game called "Dead Fish". What does a dead fish do? Nothing! The kids had to lay perfectly still. If you move or make a noise you are out. The kids were, surprisingly, good at the game and seemed to enjoy it too. They asked to play it twice.
Saturday (1/17) - We checked out gates at Shoppers, Higley Feed, and Pet Club. We are hoping to fix the back fence situation soon. We also got a new batch of chicks.
Sunday (1/18) - We all wore our Packer attire to church and then came home to watch them lose to the Seahawks.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Cheesy
We made a few game day preparations. My parents brought their big Packer flag and hung it out by the pool. They even brought their Packer car flag to put on the Buick!
Friday we ran to JoAnn's to get some yellow fleece so we could make some cute cheese scarves. I think Roz had one (or made one) a long time ago, but my mom and I had recently seen them again on Facebook. They are super easy to make and since they are fleece there isn't even any sewing involved. The fleece was on sale for $3 a yard. We got 2 yards and made 12 scarves! One for everyone with a couple to spare. I gave one of the extras to a friend and made her an honorary Packer fan even though she doesn't know anything about football!
We all wore our Packer gear to church on Sunday. Most of our church family isn't really into football so they get a kick out of our Packer obsession. Before we left we took a few photos.
Everyone in this photo was born in Green Bay - except for poor Jerry. We adopted him into the Green Bay and Packer family many years ago though.
Unfortunately, all our decorations and attire didn't help them pull off a win. It was a crazy game, but in the end we lost.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
New Batch
After losing over half our flock we decided to get our new batch of chicks a little bit early this year. We get a new batch every year so when the old gals molt we can have eggs from the new ones. Last year it worked out great and the flocks merged very nicely.
Last year I chose to entirely new breeds so we could easily tell who was from the old batch and who was from the new. This year I decided I liked Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks enough to get more. So I got five each of those. I also got five Ameraucana chicks. We've never had them before. They lay blueish eggs instead of the usual brown or white.
The chicks settled in nicely under the heat lamp in the garage. The kids love chicks. They enjoy naming them even though the names don't stick and there is no way to keep track of who is who at this point. Eli named one TJ. Annabeth picked up a yellow one and said she wanted to name it "California". I have no idea where she came up with that! She later decided to change it to "Daniel Chicken".
She was talking about how she loves chicks so much. I asked her if she liked chickens and she said no. She was pretty sad to find out that these little chicks will be chickens in just a few short months. She told me she doesn't want them to grow up. Moms everywhere know just how she feels!
The yellow chicks are the Buffs, the black ones with the little light dot on their heads are the Barred Rocks, and the darker colored ones with lines are the Ameraucana.
It is hard to believe in about a month we'll move them out of the garage and then a couple months after that they'll lay their first eggs. I will say now that we are only getting two a day, I am really looking forward to that!
Last year I chose to entirely new breeds so we could easily tell who was from the old batch and who was from the new. This year I decided I liked Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks enough to get more. So I got five each of those. I also got five Ameraucana chicks. We've never had them before. They lay blueish eggs instead of the usual brown or white.
The chicks settled in nicely under the heat lamp in the garage. The kids love chicks. They enjoy naming them even though the names don't stick and there is no way to keep track of who is who at this point. Eli named one TJ. Annabeth picked up a yellow one and said she wanted to name it "California". I have no idea where she came up with that! She later decided to change it to "Daniel Chicken".
She was talking about how she loves chicks so much. I asked her if she liked chickens and she said no. She was pretty sad to find out that these little chicks will be chickens in just a few short months. She told me she doesn't want them to grow up. Moms everywhere know just how she feels!
The yellow chicks are the Buffs, the black ones with the little light dot on their heads are the Barred Rocks, and the darker colored ones with lines are the Ameraucana.
It is hard to believe in about a month we'll move them out of the garage and then a couple months after that they'll lay their first eggs. I will say now that we are only getting two a day, I am really looking forward to that!
Friday, January 16, 2015
Up Up and Away
We see hot air balloons around our house quite often in the winter. Thursday morning this one flew right over our house. It looked a lot closer in person. They were so close I could here the burner blast and I could actually see people moving in the basket. We waved, but I don't think they saw us.
The boys take walkie talkies when they go play in the neighborhood. I use the walkies to check on them and call them home. This last week we have started picking up the hot air balloon pilot's transmissions on the walkie talkie. We can hear them, but they can't hear us. It's kind of fun to listen to them talk.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Rough Week
We had a rough week.
Last Sunday Jerry took the dog for a walk and found a credit card and drivers license on the road. When he got home we googled the name and called the number we found (thankfully, he had a listed number). The man told Jerry his wallet and other items were stolen from his garage Friday night. He had already taken care of the credit card but wanted his license back. He came by to pick them up Sunday evening. He was a very nice guy and told us the whole story. He told the boys to always listen to their wives because he didn't listen to his about keeping his wallet in his unlocked car in the garage. He also told us about a mid-day break in at his neighbor's house which I think scared the kids a bit. Which leads me to...
Wednesday night we went over to church to clean after we finished eating supper. We had run over on Monday night to take inventory so I could order some needed items and everything was as it should be.
Wednesday night as I was walking towards the area where we keep the mop bucket and I saw one of the doors to a room we use for storage was damaged. Honestly, my first reaction was to look up and see if something had happened to the roof that would have caused damage down below. Then I saw the room where we keep all the kitchen supplies had every drawer and cabinet door open and I knew there was a problem.
I called to Jerry and told the kids not to touch anything. We looked around. Sure enough, the back door had been pried open. We have several small rooms we don't use for much so we put regular interior doorknobs with locks on them just to keep the kids out. The thieves used a tire iron to pry open every single door. They could have just popped the locks since no key is required! One door, the door I saw first, had a huge hole where they kicked it in. I bet they were disappointed when they got in that room. It was just a cardboard gingerbread house and a bunch of sucker balloons from our float in the holiday parade.
They busted and pried the rest of the rooms for no good reason as well. There was nothing worth stealing in any of those rooms. Unfortunately, there were some items of value in the main room which they did take: latop, sound equipment, etc.
We called our pastor first and the police second. Jerry ended up staying to give info to the sheriff and help secure the busted door. The kids and I came home. We didn't clean anything, of course. The sheriff was pretty thorough and attempted to get fingerprints and footprints. Whether or not the criminal(s) will ever be caught remains to be seen. The unit next to ours was broken into not too long ago and the sheriff thinks they might be related. Thankfully, the landlord got some video footage of that break in.
I think there is special place in hell reserved for people who would steal from a church. Thankfully, they were just thieves and not vandals or it could have been much worse. The scary part for us is we live less than a half-mile from church!
So we all went to bed a little unsettled Wednesday night. Thursday morning we woke up to our usual routine. A few of the kids came in to chat with me on my bed. It was cloudy and dark so it felt earlier than it really was. About 7:30 we finally decided we should probably let the dog out so JD volunteered. He went out the door and hollered there was a chicken in the main yard. That happens a good bit so we didn't think much of it. I hollered for Eli who is the normal chicken wrangler and then I looked out towards the coop.
I can't even describe what I felt when I saw feathers and bodies laying all over. I ran in my pajamas and slippers out there and started crying. It appeared all my wonderful, feathered friends were gone or dead. I started counting. I found two injured chickens and then we found another unharmed Barred Rock that had hopped the fence to safety from whatever it was - we're guessing coyotes. I couldn't believe out of 13 chickens I had only 2 whole and 2 badly injured remaining. I put them in the coop and went in to call Jerry.
The kids knew I was upset. They were so sweet about it. Wesley helped everyone get breakfast and they all worked together to clean up. I got dressed and went out to clean up the mess. I kept looking for the 3 missing birds hoping maybe I'd find one hiding. I was overjoyed when I found Loosey hiding in the corner of our mini-chick coop! I gave the standard "cheep cheep" call and she struggled to get to me. I was sad to see she had an injured leg.
I didn't want to keep the injured chickens in with the healthy so I put the little coop back into commission. The door of the little coop is broken so I rigged up a piece of plywood for a door and put the three injured birds in there to recover. I wasn't too hopeful. Loosey surprised me though. She ate and drank the water I put in there and then hopped into a corner to rest. The other two, one Rhode Island Red and one Barred Rock, didn't look good at all.
Of my thirteen gals, I had: 6 dead, 2 missing, 3 injured, and 2 fine. I was and still am in a bit of shock. Chickens aren't like a dogs or cats, you don't live with them and cuddle with them, but you do get to know them a bit. They do have personalities. And they did bring happiness, and eggs, into our lives. We raised them since they were tiny chicks, some of the older ones had been with us for almost 2 years. They aren't able to protect themselves - that was our job and we let them down. All the time and money and effort and sweat of the summer months was wasted in just a few minutes.
We'll never know what really happened, there were no tracks or evidence of any kind, but our best guess is a couple coyotes. It could have been dogs but, surprisingly, we don't see many stray dogs in our neighborhood. And most of the dogs around here live with chickens. Two chickens were gone and I don't think one animal, coyote or dog, would carry off two chickens. It also just seemed more likely that coyotes could get over the fence better than a dog. I would have thought that if it had been dogs they would have still been in there. The bodies were still warm. The sun doesn't rise as early in the winter, plus it was cloudy, so I'm guessing we found them not too long after it happened. Whatever it was it didn't go into the coop. They got the gals after then came out of the coop for the morning.
But, like I said, we'll never know. What to do NOW is the challenge. We knew letting them free range was a risk, but we were doing everything to keep them safe short of keeping them in a run. We had been securing the coop every night. When we went to Wisconsin in May we left the small door open on the coop so the gals wouldn't have to be let in and out every morning. We thought it would make it easy on our chicken sitter. But when we got back it was summer and the sun comes up early and we got lazy and out of the habit. Lesson learned. We will be going back to securing the coop every night because if the girls had been secure in the coop just before dawn we might have avoided this.
We had planned on getting another batch of chicks later this month. We will still do that. It will just be a bigger batch than anticipated. It will be a long time before we have enough eggs to feed us all again. One or two a day just won't cut it, but right now we are thankful we'll at least have that.
Update 1/9/15: The three injured chickens survived the night. Loosey seems to be doing the best of the three. She limps, but can get to the food and water. The RIR seems to be doing pretty good as well. Eating and drinking. As far as I can tell her only injury is to her left eye. It is swollen shut. Loosey and the RIR seemed almost their usual selves when I dropped a few raisins in as a treat this afternoon! The BR is not doing well. I have not seen her eat or drink. She doesn't move much and I don't think she will make it. We will probably make the decision tomorrow to end her suffering, we just wanted to give her a bit of a chance, just in case.
Update 1/10/15: The RIR was well enough today to join the two healthy chickens. Her eye is still swollen, but she was acting normal otherwise. She was able to get into the coop to find food and to roost. Loosey is still hanging in there. She is eating and drinking, she mostly just sits in a nesting box I put in there. I am mainly keeping her in the coop so she rests and doesn't over exert herself. We also saw the injured BR up and eating/drinking today too. So we put off making a decision for now. I actually got two eggs today, so that made me happy!
Update 1/17/15: Things are going better than I hoped. The injured Barred Rock seems to be recovering. I am really glad we gave her time to heal before making any decisions. It does appear she will be blind in one eye, but she seems to be adjusting well. The injured RIR's eye is healing nicely, her eye looks almost back to normal. I think she will make a full recovery. Loosey is doing better too. She is still limping, but I let her out of the little coop to join her friends. She was very vocal about being contained, even when the RIR stayed by the little coop to keep her old friend company. When she tried to roost in the little coop I figured she was probably be feeling well enough to be let out. And, sure enough, she got on the roost in the big coop this evening just fine. Except for her limp, she seems her usual self - pecking at the younger gals who get in her way and coming when called for treats. I am still getting 1 or 2 eggs a day from the non-injured gals. So it appears after the whole ordeal we will end up with a flock of 5. Which is a heck-of-a lot better than the two I thought we were going to have!
Update 1/24/15: Got four eggs today! So two out of the 3 injured birds finally laid again. This made me very happy!
Last Sunday Jerry took the dog for a walk and found a credit card and drivers license on the road. When he got home we googled the name and called the number we found (thankfully, he had a listed number). The man told Jerry his wallet and other items were stolen from his garage Friday night. He had already taken care of the credit card but wanted his license back. He came by to pick them up Sunday evening. He was a very nice guy and told us the whole story. He told the boys to always listen to their wives because he didn't listen to his about keeping his wallet in his unlocked car in the garage. He also told us about a mid-day break in at his neighbor's house which I think scared the kids a bit. Which leads me to...
Wednesday night we went over to church to clean after we finished eating supper. We had run over on Monday night to take inventory so I could order some needed items and everything was as it should be.
Wednesday night as I was walking towards the area where we keep the mop bucket and I saw one of the doors to a room we use for storage was damaged. Honestly, my first reaction was to look up and see if something had happened to the roof that would have caused damage down below. Then I saw the room where we keep all the kitchen supplies had every drawer and cabinet door open and I knew there was a problem.
I called to Jerry and told the kids not to touch anything. We looked around. Sure enough, the back door had been pried open. We have several small rooms we don't use for much so we put regular interior doorknobs with locks on them just to keep the kids out. The thieves used a tire iron to pry open every single door. They could have just popped the locks since no key is required! One door, the door I saw first, had a huge hole where they kicked it in. I bet they were disappointed when they got in that room. It was just a cardboard gingerbread house and a bunch of sucker balloons from our float in the holiday parade.
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| The door the busted to get in |
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| The door bolted shut - it's not an emergency exit at the moment :) |
 |
| A thief leaving the unit next to ours in December |
I think there is special place in hell reserved for people who would steal from a church. Thankfully, they were just thieves and not vandals or it could have been much worse. The scary part for us is we live less than a half-mile from church!
So we all went to bed a little unsettled Wednesday night. Thursday morning we woke up to our usual routine. A few of the kids came in to chat with me on my bed. It was cloudy and dark so it felt earlier than it really was. About 7:30 we finally decided we should probably let the dog out so JD volunteered. He went out the door and hollered there was a chicken in the main yard. That happens a good bit so we didn't think much of it. I hollered for Eli who is the normal chicken wrangler and then I looked out towards the coop.
I can't even describe what I felt when I saw feathers and bodies laying all over. I ran in my pajamas and slippers out there and started crying. It appeared all my wonderful, feathered friends were gone or dead. I started counting. I found two injured chickens and then we found another unharmed Barred Rock that had hopped the fence to safety from whatever it was - we're guessing coyotes. I couldn't believe out of 13 chickens I had only 2 whole and 2 badly injured remaining. I put them in the coop and went in to call Jerry.
The kids knew I was upset. They were so sweet about it. Wesley helped everyone get breakfast and they all worked together to clean up. I got dressed and went out to clean up the mess. I kept looking for the 3 missing birds hoping maybe I'd find one hiding. I was overjoyed when I found Loosey hiding in the corner of our mini-chick coop! I gave the standard "cheep cheep" call and she struggled to get to me. I was sad to see she had an injured leg.
I didn't want to keep the injured chickens in with the healthy so I put the little coop back into commission. The door of the little coop is broken so I rigged up a piece of plywood for a door and put the three injured birds in there to recover. I wasn't too hopeful. Loosey surprised me though. She ate and drank the water I put in there and then hopped into a corner to rest. The other two, one Rhode Island Red and one Barred Rock, didn't look good at all.
Of my thirteen gals, I had: 6 dead, 2 missing, 3 injured, and 2 fine. I was and still am in a bit of shock. Chickens aren't like a dogs or cats, you don't live with them and cuddle with them, but you do get to know them a bit. They do have personalities. And they did bring happiness, and eggs, into our lives. We raised them since they were tiny chicks, some of the older ones had been with us for almost 2 years. They aren't able to protect themselves - that was our job and we let them down. All the time and money and effort and sweat of the summer months was wasted in just a few minutes.
We'll never know what really happened, there were no tracks or evidence of any kind, but our best guess is a couple coyotes. It could have been dogs but, surprisingly, we don't see many stray dogs in our neighborhood. And most of the dogs around here live with chickens. Two chickens were gone and I don't think one animal, coyote or dog, would carry off two chickens. It also just seemed more likely that coyotes could get over the fence better than a dog. I would have thought that if it had been dogs they would have still been in there. The bodies were still warm. The sun doesn't rise as early in the winter, plus it was cloudy, so I'm guessing we found them not too long after it happened. Whatever it was it didn't go into the coop. They got the gals after then came out of the coop for the morning.
But, like I said, we'll never know. What to do NOW is the challenge. We knew letting them free range was a risk, but we were doing everything to keep them safe short of keeping them in a run. We had been securing the coop every night. When we went to Wisconsin in May we left the small door open on the coop so the gals wouldn't have to be let in and out every morning. We thought it would make it easy on our chicken sitter. But when we got back it was summer and the sun comes up early and we got lazy and out of the habit. Lesson learned. We will be going back to securing the coop every night because if the girls had been secure in the coop just before dawn we might have avoided this.
We had planned on getting another batch of chicks later this month. We will still do that. It will just be a bigger batch than anticipated. It will be a long time before we have enough eggs to feed us all again. One or two a day just won't cut it, but right now we are thankful we'll at least have that.
Update 1/9/15: The three injured chickens survived the night. Loosey seems to be doing the best of the three. She limps, but can get to the food and water. The RIR seems to be doing pretty good as well. Eating and drinking. As far as I can tell her only injury is to her left eye. It is swollen shut. Loosey and the RIR seemed almost their usual selves when I dropped a few raisins in as a treat this afternoon! The BR is not doing well. I have not seen her eat or drink. She doesn't move much and I don't think she will make it. We will probably make the decision tomorrow to end her suffering, we just wanted to give her a bit of a chance, just in case.
Update 1/10/15: The RIR was well enough today to join the two healthy chickens. Her eye is still swollen, but she was acting normal otherwise. She was able to get into the coop to find food and to roost. Loosey is still hanging in there. She is eating and drinking, she mostly just sits in a nesting box I put in there. I am mainly keeping her in the coop so she rests and doesn't over exert herself. We also saw the injured BR up and eating/drinking today too. So we put off making a decision for now. I actually got two eggs today, so that made me happy!
Update 1/17/15: Things are going better than I hoped. The injured Barred Rock seems to be recovering. I am really glad we gave her time to heal before making any decisions. It does appear she will be blind in one eye, but she seems to be adjusting well. The injured RIR's eye is healing nicely, her eye looks almost back to normal. I think she will make a full recovery. Loosey is doing better too. She is still limping, but I let her out of the little coop to join her friends. She was very vocal about being contained, even when the RIR stayed by the little coop to keep her old friend company. When she tried to roost in the little coop I figured she was probably be feeling well enough to be let out. And, sure enough, she got on the roost in the big coop this evening just fine. Except for her limp, she seems her usual self - pecking at the younger gals who get in her way and coming when called for treats. I am still getting 1 or 2 eggs a day from the non-injured gals. So it appears after the whole ordeal we will end up with a flock of 5. Which is a heck-of-a lot better than the two I thought we were going to have!
Update 1/24/15: Got four eggs today! So two out of the 3 injured birds finally laid again. This made me very happy!
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Big Girl Bed
We went to Ikea last week and found a big girl bed for Annabeth. Jerry put it together last Sunday. We really like it. It is a nice classic looking bed and sturdier than we thought it would be. We bought the slats from Ikea instead of using a box spring so that makes it a bit lower to the floor just in case of a roll out.
As you can see, Annabeth was pretty happy with it too.
The first night Annabeth went right to bed without any problems. I checked on her several times. She never fell out or even came out of her room.
The next night she did ask for the crib back. We had left it in her room just in case. I told her that she couldn't sleep in it anymore and she was sad, but got over it quickly. That night when I checked on her she was asleep UNDER her bed. I didn't want to drag her out and wake her up so I just left her there. I asked her about it the next morning. She hadn't fallen out, she did it on purpose. I told her not to to that again because I didn't want her to hit her head and I didn't want any scorpions to find her. That was all she needed to hear, she has happily slept ON her bed at night and during nap every day since.
I think she is a bit afraid of the dark so she doesn't get up and come out in the middle of the night on her own. Sometimes she gets up on her own after her nap and sometimes she hollers for someone to come and get her. Overall, the transition has been simple. Although, emotionally, moving out of the crib is one of those milestones that is a bit hard for me. The crib is put away for what will probably be for the last time. And a big girl bed is just further proof that my baby isn't a real baby any more.
As you can see, Annabeth was pretty happy with it too.
The first night Annabeth went right to bed without any problems. I checked on her several times. She never fell out or even came out of her room.
The next night she did ask for the crib back. We had left it in her room just in case. I told her that she couldn't sleep in it anymore and she was sad, but got over it quickly. That night when I checked on her she was asleep UNDER her bed. I didn't want to drag her out and wake her up so I just left her there. I asked her about it the next morning. She hadn't fallen out, she did it on purpose. I told her not to to that again because I didn't want her to hit her head and I didn't want any scorpions to find her. That was all she needed to hear, she has happily slept ON her bed at night and during nap every day since.
I think she is a bit afraid of the dark so she doesn't get up and come out in the middle of the night on her own. Sometimes she gets up on her own after her nap and sometimes she hollers for someone to come and get her. Overall, the transition has been simple. Although, emotionally, moving out of the crib is one of those milestones that is a bit hard for me. The crib is put away for what will probably be for the last time. And a big girl bed is just further proof that my baby isn't a real baby any more.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
New and Improved
Did something this past week that we've been wanting to do for awhile... installed a washer and dryer in the guest house. We kept our old washer when we got our new washer and dryer. Then we found a decent used dryer on Craigslist.
The set up out there was kind of odd. I had to think about it little bit before I came up with a good arrangement. It's a little unconventional, but they work which is the most important thing! Now guests (especially my parents) don't have to lug their laundry over to our house.
Next up out there will be a new water heater. The one out there has looked like it's on it's last leg since we moved in. It still works though so we'll wait.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Snowy Mountains
We rang in the new year with a cold snap. We're not complaining, even the worst Arizona winter "weather" isn't real winter weather. Since we moved back it seems once a year the conditions are right and we end up seeing snow on the distant mountains. It is a special, and beautiful, sight here in the desert!
This year we even ended up with a dusting on San Tan Mountain right by our house. I took this photo late in the day. I didn't even notice the snow or I would have been out there with the camera earlier. I hope it wasn't my only chance to catch a photo of snow on San Tan!
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