And Then There Was One

Around 5pm yesterday, Phil headed over to check on the cows. He found that they had knocked part of a hay bale over the electric line, grounding it out. Then thirteen of the fourteen had headed out of the paddock for the open fields. He called me to come over, with flashlights and shepherd's crooks.

For the next half hour, in the fast-falling night, we stumbled through brambles and over swales. I almost tripped myself twice with the crook, and once I snagged the flying end of the (non-electrified) electric line. It had come loose for a second time. (Phil had caught it the first time.)

But the reality is, Phil knows how to manage the cows. It wasn't traumatic; it wasn't unreasonably difficult. Really, it was almost a non-event. Which I suppose shows how far his animal husbandry abilities have progressed.

And happily, this all happened before a very little bit of snow fell: our first snow of the season. Just enough to dust the ground. Then a half inch of rain came.

I continue to read through Harvey Ussery's book. Last night I read about how to improve a breed. Mark each chicken with a toe punch. Weigh each chicken at about eight and 16 weeks (or 12), to see which are the heaviest. There is also a way to select for egg production, or meat production. So interesting! One of these years I hope to get 250 birds from one of the critically endangered breed of chicken, and start to improve that breed.

It was an interesting exercise, to think about what I would like in a bird. Of the chickens we've had so far, my favorite is Tux, who is (I think) a Black Australorp. She's a faithful layer of nicely proportioned brown eggs. I like her chunky, squat body, in contrast to some of the skinny, leggy, long-necked birds. Compared with the flighty Leghorns, I like her calm temperament; she lets Isaiah interact with her. The colored sheen of her feathers is visually interesting. She forages for food diligently.

From a cursory scan of the critically endangered breeds, both the Holland and the Redcaps appeal to me, though Phil pointed out that a dual-purpose breed isn't as necessary in chickens: they're small enough to run two unique flocks.

Always something new to learn; always something new to try.