Lucy Lives and Other Stuff

Lucy is still alive–and maybe in that last rally before death. I am not sure. The night before last, I was pretty sure she was within a day or two. But since she was still alive the next morning, I decided to give her one last spa day to freshen her up and pamper her a little bit. I only give spa days when a chicken needs a good scrub, which is rarely, but since Lucy has had health problems, she has a poopy behind. It was good to get her cleaned up.

Anyway, she came in, had a warm bath, ate treats, was still mostly indifferent to me–as this is Lucy’s way–and her energies have been lifted ever since. I mean, I know she’s going to die in a few days, but I am so happy she’s having a little rally. My gosh, she’s a trooper with a strong will to live. Tonight, when I was collecting greens from the garden, she was right there as I fed spinach to the flock.

We have been very busy this week. We also moved the meat chickens out of the garage and into their big house and yard last night. They are pretty little, but we decided to go ahead and let them make the big move since the weather is mild, and they are mostly feathered out. As we moved them from one side of our property to another, Ron and I got many steps in. One at a time, we carried 25 birds from the garage to the back side of our property where there is a coop and lots of trees and logs for the chickens to play in.

It’s a hard thing keeping meat chickens, but I won’t think about the end right now. As I carried each little chicken, I just focused on making them feel loved and telling them how wonderful it was going to be to get to play in the trees, grass, and sunshine. They took full advantage of their first day in their new space and played all day and found so many worms and bugs. It was cool to watch their instincts kick in. Without any mama to teach them, they just knew what to do. As we engaged in acrobatics and caught each of the 25 birds for bedtime tonight (in a couple of days, they’ll do it on their own), I saw some really full crops. Yeah, those little chickens had a great day in the sun.

And speaking of sunshine, we got a second day of sun today. I am so hopeful the strawberries are going to ripen. I think a couple will be ripe in the morning. They were close this afternoon when I last checked. Sadly, more rain and gray skies are coming, but maybe it won’t be as much as it had been. Last year, we baked in the sun. This year, we rarely see it. It’s a challenge for sure, but farmers and homesteaders always learning and adapting. The good is coming. It’s just a little different and a lot slower.

I’m really worried about my carrots though. Three plantings and still only partial sprouting. I still have much to learn, obviously.