Chicken Coop Cat

I really wish people would neuter/spay their pets. More than that, I wish people would clean up their own irresponsible mess instead of dumping it in my chicken coop. Ticks me off. OK, enough of the belly aching, besides ranting rarely helps anything (just ask Mel Gibson).

A couple of weeks ago I went into the coop and found this little guy asleep with the baby chickens. I have no idea how he'd get in there. Both people doors were closed, the only way in would be through the chicken door which would lead him to the main coop, not the baby chick area. And he would have had another door to contend with, not to mention a gate and fence to get to the area I found him in. Irregardless of how he got there, there he was. The chicks were perfectly fine with him there, not bothered at all.

While the kids and I were discussing what to do, he woke up. I went to reach for him and got attitude all wrapped up in hisses, teeth and claws. He was small and probably couldn't do much damage but wimpy me went and got yard gloves anyhow. When this little cat realized I was reaching for him, he tried to get away. He stood up, wavered, took a couple of unsteady steps and fell over. Picking him up was like picking up a small fur covered wire hanger, my hand swallowed him up. I made a little box for him on our front porch. I fed him wet cat food, I thought he was too young for it but I had nothing else. He ate it and had a nice long nap. For the next week or so he didn't do much but eat and sleep ... and hate me.

And hate me he did. Ran away every time and I had to catch him to feed him. He'd spit and hiss when I finally cornered him and I'm pretty sure he used swear words when I picked him up. After a few days, he would make himself known to me, meowing and coming out of hiding but would still run when I went to pick up. But he wouldn't run far and would allow himself to be picked up. I started petting him as he ate so he'd get used to it. He purrs now when I pick him up and likes to be petted. But I can still see him fight the urge to scamper away when he sees me coming and sometimes the urge still wins.

I can't have another indoor cat. Whisk hates all cats and has chased this one already. I am trying to find him a good home but that is not likely. I won't give him to anyone not willing to have him altered. He's obviously feral and is never going to be a cute and cuddly pet. So far, no-one would bother to have a barn cat altered. I'd be lucky to find someone who'd actually feed a barn cat on a regular basis. But I'll keep looking.

In the short while he's been here, he's improved immensely. He has a little kitty-cat round tummy now. He's doubled in size and barely fits into my cupped hands. He's learned the basics of keeping his face and paws (and hopefully other areas) clean. I thought he was about 2 weeks old when we found him but he might have been older; maybe he was just really small because he was starved.

Two days ago, I started feeding him in the chicken coop storage area. I left the door open so he could leave when he wanted to. But he didn't leave. He's very happy in the coop. Whisk won't go near the coop and that solves the dueling kitty problem. So that's where he'll live. If he's still around when he's older (and a lot tamer), I'll take him to the vets for shots and ultimately get him fixed. I really don't want another cat but it looks like I have one.

Garden Update 2010

What a difference a month makes! Dolly is now surrounded by lush green growing things while a scant month ago she was surrounded by dull brown earth. Side Note:Funny thing about Dolly, everyone loves her! My neighbours all have made a point to tell me wonderful she is and I've had more that one tourist stop and take pictures of her!

Back to the garden topic. Unfortunately, it isn't as good as I made it sound. My garden was very late into the ground and that is only one of the issues. I'd say in the five or six years I've had a garden here, this is the worst one yet. Which is surprising because last year, it was terrific! There's so many problems that I have to make a list:

• Carrots. By far the biggest disappointment. I planted them in the area I let go fallow last year. This area was totally built up with compost, rabbit manure and worm castings so I was expecting great things. I planted 6 packets of seeds and the result may-be 10 carrot tops in the whole area. I have no idea why. By the time I figured my carrots were a no-show (I kept hoping they'd pop up), it was practically mid-July. So I re-planted in another area of the garden. I decided to get baby carrot seeds because their grow time to maturity is faster. They took their sweet time but they are growing now. I was talking to my neighbours about this and some of them have wonderful carrots and others have the same problem I did. One woman actually had to re-plant three times. Next year I'll put the carrot/bean combo in the lasagna garden. The beans I planted with the carrots, while a little sporadic (something likes to eat the occasional bean plant right down to the nub when they are very, very young seedlings) are doing fine.
• Corn. As already mentioned in a previous post, the corn seeds were raided. When I replanted them, I sowed very heavily and I planted the seeds deeper than usual. They did come up, again sporadically, and much less than expected considering how many were planted. I ended up transplanting some of the baby corns I had planted for shade in front of the chick run. I think the corn will be late but I should get some.
• Snow Peas. They're just plain late because of the corn. I do the three sisters method of planting snow peas with the corn. The corn stalks provide natural trellises for the snow peas to grow on and, in return, the snow peas attach nitrogen to their roots to give the corn extra nutrients. But I have to wait until the corn is about 4 - 6 inches high before planting the peas. So while everyone else is picking the fresh tender pods off their plants, I just look at my stubby 4 - 6 inch plants and sigh.

But all is not all wreck and ruin in the garden. My cucumbers are almost ready to be picked. The lettuce and beets are lovely. All my herbs; dill, basil, parsley and cilantro, are great. The onions are robust and the tomato plants have green tomatoes all over the place. I'm going to put the tomato/basil combo in the built up area next year and see what happens. I also have my 'pop ups' all over the place, a little dill and tomatoes in the most unlikely places. Believe it or not, I even have some potatoes springing up, from what I believe to be potato peels and didn't compost fast enough. Whether or not I get potatoes from them is yet to be seen. All my pumpkins this year, except for the naked pumpkin, are from pop ups. I didn't plant zucs because I still have a load frozen from last year. My raspberry crop was terrific!

Speaking of compost, that might have been pushed a little faster that usual because I was so late. I won't do that again. Another thing is that the garden never got its boost of comfrey tea because the barrel I use is being used elsewhere this year.

Things to do for next year:

• Row covers for the corn and may-be the beans.
• Barrel for comfrey.
• Get Dolly up before planting the corn.
• Get off my butt and plant earlier.
• Keep the faith.

Chicken Antics - The Good, The Bad and the Downright Annoying

Silly Timbits

When I walked into the coop this morning, I found Timbits in a nest box. Ah, that happens on occasion. The fact she lays at all amazes me, considering all she's been through. As I do my chores and general chicken management (with four different chicken sections and a sub-section within a section, chicken management becomes a skill to be honed). About half way through, Timbits informs me that her egg has been laid. This is done by clucking loudly and generally making an unearthly noise. So I go check because she'll keep up that metal-buckets-falling-down-concrete-stairs racket until I do. So I peek in the nest box where she was setting... Ha! Nice try, Timbits! I know that is not your egg because it's too big and it's GREEN. Only Leah lays green eggs.

You's a silly hen, Timbits.

Duck and SilverWing

Duck, on the left, and SilverWing, on the right, came from the same set of eggs, set under the same hen and hatched at the same time. Despite the unexplained size difference, they hang together all the time, you can't see one without seeing the other. They're both Americaunas and I'm hoping they are females, which is why I call them Duck and SilverWing. If I knew they were roosters, I'd call 'em Grimli and Legolas.

There's Always One in the Bunch...

I planted corn, sunflowers and snowpeas in front of the chick run to provide some shade for the little guys. There's always one that can manage to find a way out and eat all the snowpea vines, shred the corn leaves and tug on the sunflowers, generally causing wreck, ruin and mayhem. Well satisfied with himself, he looks around and panics because he realizes he can't get back into the run. Catching panicked mayhem is becoming my specialty and a vital part of my chicken management program.