Two of my Pheonix hens had gone missing about a month ago and I just knew those darn girls were nesting somewhere. I do not want Pheonix chicks as they are a small breed which lay small eggs. My flock will be solely Black Austrolorps starting this fall, once my young ones start laying. However it's my fault as I kept a Pheonix rooster and he's been doing his business with all the ladies.
Upon entering the barn I found Lightning was back. (She''s the one mentioned in the post Chicken Wrangler). There were 7 little absolutely adorable chicks with her. I went to find the boys and gave them the news. They were so excited!
We set up some chick food and shallow water for them. I insisted to the boys that I was not the chicks mommy, that Lightning was in charge of taking care of them. They only somewhat took me seriously.
I heard more cheeping and found two more chicks in the hay loft. How did they get up there? This brought me to the conclusion I had to go up to the storage shelf up at the top of the barn. That is where I found her nest. She is obviously an ace at hiding as I had looked for her up here before. I found 7 more abandoned unhatched eggs and a mess of egg shells. I gathered them up and decided to give them to the pigs.
The only way I can come up with how she got them down was by making them walk the plank.
They are really light so they must bounce pretty good as all were fine and healthy after falling at least 25 feet. Throughout the next hour I found 5 more chicks both outside the barn and down in the stables. Her chick numbers were up to 12. It was a constant thing over the next few days finding and returning lost chicks to their momma.
Just so you know I made myself stay when I fed the abandoned extras to the pigs. OK that was awful. I firmly believe you have to see the consequences of your actions.
Our power was still out Monday morning with the new estimate of it being restored late Tuesday night. I contacted everyone I knew to find a generator. Thankfully a friend loaned us one and we got the fridge and freezer plugged in again. I had been worried about the pigs fence not being juiced but they were still avoiding it. However at feeding time that night around 8pm I went up and they were gone.
PANIC!!!
Oh my god. How the heck do I find two pigs who have escaped into 12 acres of 4 ft tall pasture adjoining woods? I followed my instincts and prayed they had not gone towards the road. There was no evidence of them in the garden or riding ring so I started calling them and headed off to the back pasture and woods.
How on earth do you call a pig? I mean seriously? I felt like a panicked idiot shouting high pitched "Hey Piggies!"
About two acres away I found them. How did I DO that? I had some feed with me and coerced them back to the pen. Not an easy task. As soon as they were in it was a race to get their fence plugged into the generator. You can imagine my disappointment when I ran back up to find I'd lost and they were gone again! I still don't know how I managed it but I got them back. I swear I was a sheepdog in a past life!
Once they were back in I was exhausted and it was almost 10pm. I could tell after their taste of the promised land they wanted to get back out. Exhausted and overwhelmed I sat up there with them waiting to make sure the fence kept them in.
Always one to try and find the bright side, I saw I had been gifted with a little surprise. For the first time in my life I saw fireflies. They were magical.
At 11:30 I went down to the barn. The pigs had both tested the fence and had had a large spark jolt their noses. They had gone to bed and I went and turned off the generator. It was a risk but I knew I might run out of fuel and the thing was crazy noisy.
6am the next morning I turned it back on and found the pigs happily still in their pen. Thankfully the power came back on late Tuesday morning. Everything was fine except we had to figure out how to prime the well.
Hurricane Arthur was an adventure to be sure and I've certainly learned some lessons.
Keep up the good work Amber.
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