Wistful Whisk

Hidden amoung the green is a certain creature with a longing for warmer times. This is Whisk, formally known as The-Throw-Away-Kitten-Who-Nobody-Loved-Let-Alone-Concerned-Themselves-About. You can see why we changed her name.

The large floor potted plant in front of one of our bedroom windows is a favorite haunt of Whisk's in the winter. As she looks out the window at the white, blustery winter, I think she finds solace in the green, growing plants.

Whisk is the first semi-outdoor cat I have ever had. All my cats were strictly indoor kitties. Unfortunately, Whisk, likely coming from barn or feral cat parents, will not be confined indoors. In the winter, however, it's a different story. She hates the season with a determination only cats seem to possess, all claws, spittle and teeth. I'll open the door and she'll peek outside, throw me a dirty look and walk haughtily away. Not only does she take the weather as a personal insult, she also seems to thinks it's all my fault.

But life with Princess Pissy Pot of the Universe does have its rewards. She's an excellent mouser but she leaves the young bunnies and chicks alone. And sometimes, when she feels like slumming or the weather has really gotten her down, she curls up beside me in bed, all purry and furry and warm on a winter's night. My favorite furnace has four legs, a tail and purr.

Our First Hatchings

Once upon a time I had a broody hen so I stuck a few eggs under her to see what would happen. Twenty-one chicks later... Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I ended up with three broody hens and the result are these little chicks of varying ages. The last eight are in the cardboard box so they won't get trampled by the bigger chicks. Once they out-grow the box, I'm thinking I'll section a bit of the brooder off for them until they are old enough to mingle with the bigger chicks.

The practicality of chicken management hit home with this experience. Don't let hens go broody in the winter. It's too cold for the chicks to survive. Breaking a hen's broodiness is fairly easy. Stick her in a pet carrier with food and water for a day and she'll promptly forget all about her maternal yearnings in a bout of self-righteous indignation of being enclosed. I've done twice since the chicks and it works like a charm. And if I am going to brood chicks, I'll time it so all the chicks hatch at the same time and use an incubator. Because taking away dear, fragile, newly hatched baby chicks from their moms makes me feel like an axe murderer. And a baby snatcher. And a store-the-bodies-in-the-freezer-eating-liver low-life. The chicks' shrill and distressed peeping permeate the house and the hens wander around the coop clucking non-stop, desperately looking for their babies. Both the chicks and hens get over the experience in a day but I'm apologizing to them for weeks. So I figure if my chickens sit on eggs, it's only fair they raise the results of their efforts. Unless a hen goes broody when it's warm enough, I'm going to break her broodiness.

I also discovered a bit more about the secret life of chickens. I never knew that chicks peeped while still in the shell. It is a wondrous thing to hear life before life itself is born. A hen will 'talk' to the eggs once she hears the peeping. She uses a unique and special voice, low and quiet, encouraging and comforting the little chicks out of their shells. I can sit there and listen to a gentle mama hen and wonder over the how she can express such caring in one quiet note. Some things transcend species and intellect.

A Touch of Green

This year, I decided to try something new for my rabbits. I'm growing oats, barley and sunflowers in pots for them. I figure I'll cut them down when they are about 6 inches high. I might let the sunflower shoots grow longer.

I try to feed the rabbits as much variety as I can. They get timothy hay and pellets but I like to give them fresh food in the summer and I do dry a lot of herbs and other things for them to give throughout the winter.

So today, I gave them some oat shoots. At first, the little ones stayed well away but as soon as the older rabbits went over and started eating, the kits came bouncing in to check out the new menu. They were pretty funny, they'd grab a shoot and run away with it to eat it. Two grabbed the same shoot and started eating it from either end. Pretty much the rabbit version of the Disney move, "Lady and the Tramp". The rabbits wasted no time in devouring the tender green delicacy. By the time I picked up the camera to take a picture, this was all that was left.

Feeding the rabbits oat shoots caused a hurriedly called chicken meeting. They watched the rabbits and there was a great deal of clucking conversation that sounded grumbling and discounted if not downright jealous. So I decided to throw the leftover shoots to them. To my surprise, they jumped on the oats. May-be they thought the shoots were skinny green worms. By the time I reached for the camera, all I saw were chicken butts as the hens snatched up the treat. The only exception was Tobias, my roo, who looked over the antics and decided he'd rather look regal that show his backside. Besides, he grabbed the choicest pieces before the hens ever had a chance.

So my animals are certainly enjoying the little bit of green in the winter time. And I have to say, so am I. It's nice to have pots of green in sunny windows, they may not the usual houseplants but in the long run, they tend to be a lot more entertaining.