Random Five Friday

1. While we were in San Diego last weekend, Thistle lost a horn. He did the same thing a couple years ago and it freaked me out -- blood streaming down his face and a hole where the horn had been. I called our vet and she instructed me over the phone on how to spray it with antiseptic and wrap it. I used green vet wrap and he looked like a cross between a pirate and a sikh. Cindy was taking care of the animals for us over the weekend and she didn't want to bother us in the midst of what, she knew, was a difficult time. She managed to spray the wound and it stopped bleeding. He was doing fine when we got home. Monday he was resting quietly in his doggy igloo and by Tuesday he was trying to head-butt Cowboy.

2. The weather this week has been miserably hot. Tuesday started us out at 94, Wednesday 98, and Thursday 101. That is too hot for May. I'm sure most of you have heard about the fires burning in San Diego -- hot Santa Ana winds, steep brush covered canyons, and arson -- not a good combination.

3. Wednesday I cancelled my lesson with Sandy due to the heat. I like temperatures in the 50s and 60s for riding. The 70s are okay, the 80s are difficult and once you hit 90 -- forget it. I can handle cold much better than the heat. The barn where Lucy and Winston are is in the Sacramento delta area; a good ten degrees (or more) warmer than here at home.

4. When I got home from work Wednesday evening, it was cooling off a bit -- 80 when I pulled up the driveway. I wanted to try riding Pistol in the trail boots I bought for her the other day. They fit great and she didn't mind them at all. Brett rode Mufasa at the same time. He caught Mufasa and brought him to the tie rail while I went in the pasture to get Pistol. As I was closing the gate, Pistol came racing across the pasture, calling to Mufasa, with her tail in the air. She stood at the fence batting her eyes at him. This girl does not play hard to get. I rode her bareback and she was a good girl; listening to me while keeping one baby blue eye on the studly Mufasa.

5. Today was "only" 94 so I went ahead and took my lesson. I did warn Sandy that I probably wouldn't make it through the entire 45 minutes in the heat; I rode for a bit more than 30 minutes. I felt nauseous for a few hours afterwards but I did manage to ride. We had some nice trot and canter work and I was particularly happy with our trot transitions. Very soft and very smooth.

Moving into the Hen House

The chicks have been living in their brooder which was set inside the hen house, with a heat lamp hung overhead.  They don't need the heat lamp any longer and they were getting pretty crowded in the brooder box.  On Monday we set up the hen house with shavings on the floor, water set up higher on blocks, and their food suspended from the ceiling with hay twine.  They are too small to get up into the laying boxes but I filled them with shavings anyway.  We carried the brooder out into the chicken yard where they happily chirped standing in the patches of sunshine coming in through the sides of the brooder.  Brett hung a dog barrier on some nails so they can't get into the chicken run just yet.  They are too big for the brooder but just the right size to be a tasty morsel for any number of critters roaming the ranch.  I'm afraid raccoons, skunks and cats could scale the fencing if they put their mind to it.  And hawks can swoop down from above.

Brett stood inside the hen house and I lifted the chicks out of the brooder, wings flapping madly, and handed them over the barrier to Brett.  They immediately huddled in the far corner of the hen house.

I picked some grass and sprinkled it in the middle of the hen house.  They love grass.  After a few minutes, a couple brave chicks came over to investigate.

The first day they spent exploring and running back to their corner whenever we came into the run to peek in and see how they were doing.

It only took them a day to get acclimated.  They are eating everything in sight, running, trying to fly, and roosting on the lowest rung of the roosting ladder.

The chicks are one month old now.  We think we may have a rooster in the flock.  One of the barred rocks has a suspiciously large comb and I caught him trying to mount one of the other chicks.  Pretty soon we'll know for sure.