Hawks, Warm Weather, and Horse Manure Tea
Well, we had a tragedy yesterday. A hawk, unsure if it was Cooper’s or Red-Shouldered, killed two of Brighid’s chicks. Brighid herself suffered some head trauma but is okay now. Caoimhe, the faithful chicken dog, ran to the rescue and was able to keep the hawk from making off with the prize. But it was too late for the chicks.
We have a real problem with hawks here. Most people are amazed to hear about our predator problems because we are smack dab in the middle of suburbia. Well, when the habitat was destroyed by subdivisions, all the wildlife settled in here. We have more visible wildlife than you would find on a hike in a national forest. It is not healthy for the ecosystem, but we are happy to be able to provide at least this small farm as a refuge.
So as much as it hurts when the wildlife takes from our own, we are thankful the hawks are not extinct and we put more safeguards in place to help protect our chicks. Unfortunately, the most effective safeguard is running like mad when the chickens cry “hawk!”
So we chase hawks. You ought to try it, it is great exercise.
The weather is warm and balmy. We are thankful for the warm. The warm weather also brings chicken sleeping arrangement changes, which keeps me out later at night. I love being outside at night, the peace is lovely.
Daddy and I brewed some nice horse manure tea for our seedlings. Thick and rich, it is a full-bodied tea. Simple to make, but only suitable for plant tea parties.
Well, it is off to the Amish chicken sale in the morning!
Breann
