Monday, January 9, 2012

Small Victories

Sometimes, I get weighed down by worry about little things happening here on our little homestead, and then miraculous-feeling things happen that boost my spirits in a matter of seconds.  Recently, we've been worried and very annoyed because Lady Macbeth, our Australorp pullet, has become increasingly vocal, to the point of waking us all up with her loud and incessant squawking starting as soon as the coop light turns on at 6:30 AM. Not only are we losing sleep simply due to how loud she is, but the chicken coop is about ten feet from the neighbors' house, and if we're being woken up, I can only imagine what it sounds like to them. We have threatened Lady M with the soup pot, to no avail, and are planning to take a dozen eggs to the neighbors as a peace offering (they haven't complained at all, but it would be nice to be pro-active), but the situation remains a little worrisome. She is a great layer (all four of our original chickens are laying daily- no such luck with Vivian and Mimi yet) so we don't want to get rid of her, but loud chickens in the city just don't last. If worse comes to worse, we'll probably sell her to someone who doesn't mind the noise and doesn't have neighbors close by.

However, two seemingly small things occurred tonight that make everything seem better. First, we have determined beyond a doubt that we have a second generation of rabbits on the way! The first time breeding the rabbits, back in November, didn't take, but this time it is very clear that Duchess is "in kit," so we will have new bunnies around the 15th of this month! We're finally on our way producing our own meat.

The second small victory is that we managed to trap the rat that recently decided to take up residence in the garage. Rats are the last thing we want around (besides raccoons), and after the first couple attempts at trapping it with various baits failed, we discovered today that Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese is, in fact, the way to a rat's heart (and death). Not an entirely pleasant experience, but a very satisfying result!

Now if we can just get that chicken to shut up...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

yay kits! That will be so cute (and later, tasty). Good luck with your neighbours/hen, what a shame if you have to give her away.

Unknown said...

Its probably my fault for naming her Lady M! Never was known to be a subtle or quiet woman, was that one. - Leah