Miller Farm Friday

22 08, 2014

Maypole Dog Leashes – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-08-22T06:00:50-05:00August 22nd, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A guest blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

While Rachel has been at home this summer, we have established a routine of walking the dogs in the evenings.  The girls next door like to go with us and we appreciate the help. This week, however, Rachel has been housesitting so I’ve been on my own.

I faithfully walked next door to see if anyone was available to help. This particular time, one of the girls wanted to go but wanted to ride her scooter instead of walking a dog.  That left me with our four dogs and Miller who was staying at the Miller Farm Hotel while his mom was away at camp.

With five leashes, I felt like a sled dog driver.

We walked passed a friend’s house and he commented that the leashes looked like a May Pole. maypole

The school where I teach celebrates May Day each year so I knew exactly what he meant and he was right.

maypole leashesWhen I got home, I decided it would be much easier to take all the harnesses off the dogs without untangling the leashes.  That way the dogs could go get water and rest while I worked on the “maypole leash.”

8 08, 2014

New Chicks – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-08-08T06:00:15-05:00August 8th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We hatched more chicks last week.new chicks

Twenty-one of them hatched all on their own. There was one, however, who just couldn’t seem to get out of his shell.

The normal process is for the chicks to “pip” or poke a hole in the shell then they “zip” a line all the way around the shell. Once the line is complete, they can “pop” off the top of the shell and make their entrance into the world.

This chick had pipped and partially zipped. We waited 24 hours and there was still no progress.

We could hear him cheeping so we knew he was still alive. Rachel gently removed the egg and carefully helped the chick out.  He was in the shell upside down so he couldn’t finish zipping and push his way out.

We let him dry and put him with the other chicks in the brooder. He was a little uncoordinated. The other chicks were not particularly welcoming and he protested loudly in his new home. After a few hours, he was accepted and now it is hard to tell which one he is.

I named him Leo after the lion in the book Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus, illustrated by Jose Aruego.

I enjoy watching the chicks. They sleep with their heads down on the wire.  It makes me a little nervous because they look dead.

So I hit the top of the brooder and wake them up. They are not happy.I apologize and tell them I’m just “chicken” on them.

I want to introduce them to the Miller sense of humor while they are still young.

25 07, 2014

Frizz, the Second – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-07-25T06:00:24-05:00July 25th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A guest blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

One of our most famous chickens is Frizz – a Cochin bantam who looks like she stuck her beak in a light socket.dry frizz

She is a small bird who makes up for her size with attitude.

She and Samson, a bantam rooster who has feathered feet, have lived with the big birds for quite some time.

This spring, we moved them into the bantam side.  We then incubated Frizz’s eggs in hopes of duplicating her unique look.

We had success:frizz 2-ed

Frizz the Second is a bit more timid than her mother, but then she is still young.

We have several friends who are now keeping chickens. One has asked about purchasing bantams from us.

Rachel was willing to let Frizz the Second go. I am not.

So we are hatching more eggs. We’ll see what comes out.

18 07, 2014

Chicken Circles, Crop Circles and Cowardly Dogs – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-07-18T06:00:15-05:00July 18th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Guest blogger, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A guest blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our chickens are really entertaining to watch.  During the dry season they regularly “splash” around in the dirt.  I suppose it is like taking a dirt bath.  Anyway they leave little hollows in the ground where they bathe.

This one made me think of crop circles.chicken circle

You know – those mysterious circles that appear in crops all over the world.

crop circles

No one is really sure how they got there and many websites are devoted to speculations.  The most prevailing thought is that aliens land in the crops and leave an imprint of their ship.

So this begs the question – are my chickens from outer space?

In researching this possibility I discovered a cartoon:

cowardly dog

So now I have another question – if the chickens really are from outer space, which of our dogs is Courage the Cowardly Dog?

Anyone have a suggestion?

11 07, 2014

Poor Frizz – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-07-11T06:00:08-05:00July 11th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

We have had an unusual, but much appreciated, amount of rain this summer on Miller Farm. It comes in spurts – rain for 5 minutes and then sunshine for an hour. I think they call them “scattered showers.”

water puddlesAnyway, this makes the chicken yard a bit of a mess. The chicken circles fill with water creating ponds.

When I went out to check on the chickens I saw an unfamiliar chicken in the bantam yard:wet frizz

At first glance, it looked like the black bantam, but I had already spotted her in the yard.
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Frizz. She had gotten caught in one of the “scattered showers” and all her feathers were plastered to her body. It was a very sad sight. Poor Frizz!

Fortunately, she dried off and her feathers stuck back out.

dry frizz

Hopefully, she’s learned to come in out of the rain.

27 06, 2014

More Pet Therapy – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-06-27T06:00:08-05:00June 27th, 2014|Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our oldest daughter lives in Abilene, Texas as a student at Hardin Simmons University.  She spent her freshman year in the dorm then moved to a campus apartment.  This summer she has moved to a house owned by the university—a  converted duplex. It is very cute.

Her bedroom is one of the former living rooms so it’s large with lots of windows and its own entrance.  She uses the extra kitchen as a “coffee bar.”  I went to visit her last week and we had a great time.

I left on Wednesday morning. Thursday evening she called sounding distressed because Abilene was experiencing hail – very large hail.hail

The hail had come through the double paned windows into her room.

It was very frightening for her.

Fortunately her house has a carport so her car and her roommate’s car were unharmed. Beekeeper Brian aka her daddy told her to report the damage to the campus police and have them come secure the house.

When she called, she was number eight on the campus list. It turns out every north facing window on campus was broken as well as those in the nearby hospital.

Nearly a week later, the windows still haven’t been replaced. Ever resourceful, Catherine and her roommate used duct tape and plastic tablecloths to patch the holes temporarily.

samOver the weekend, Catherine acquired a kitten which she named Sam.

Catherine is already the proud owner of a dog – Bella – but her college schedule is not conducive to caring for a dog – especially one as special as Bella.

So she and her roommate decided to get a cat for the summer.  Sam came from Catherine’s boyfriend’s family and can be returned when school starts if keeping him becomes too difficult.

One of Catherine’s first comments was “Now I am responsible for a living thing.”  Yes, yes you are, I thought.

I remember having that same reaction when we brought Catherine home from the hospital. It was a little overwhelming at first.  Then instincts kick in and suddenly you become responsible.

Catherine must remember to feed the cat. And when the cat gets frightened, she must comfort it.  This is offers a different level of pet therapy.  Instead of being comforted or amused, a pet owner sometimes has to be brave and strong. Valuable traits and worth instilling in any human.

The next time Abilene has a storm, I can imagine Catherine putting on her brave face and cuddling Sam. They’ll both feel better when the storm passes.

2 05, 2014

Springtime on Miller Farm

By |2014-05-02T06:00:52-05:00May 2nd, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A guest blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

 Springtime in Texas is usually marked by fields of bluebonnets with small children having their picture taken. On Miller Farm, springtime is marked by the return of the lizards. They live all around our house and provide hours of entertainment for Sadie. She spends her days looking for lizards.Sadie and lizards

In fact this is so much a part of her routine that when she lost interest in lizards last fall, we took her to the vet. When he asked about her symptoms, we told him she wasn’t looking for lizards.

This was not at all alarming to the vet. He didn’t understand just how unlike her this was.

Sadie does, however, have a history of back problems so he thought she might be suffering some pain. He put her on steroids for a few days and she was back on lizard duty.

Bella, on the other hand, does not even notice the lizards. She spends her time checking on chickens.

bella and chickens

There are some nights I have to walk all the way back to the chicken yard and pick her up. Because of her history as a chicken killer, I worry that she is plotting against them.

Then I remember this is Bella, who has memory issues and so probably is just trying to figure out what they are and from whence they came.

Spring means many different things to many different people. Here on Miller Farm it means looking for lizards and checking on chickens.

25 04, 2014

Easter Duds – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-04-25T06:00:32-05:00April 25th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our younger daughter came home for Easter.  While she was here we went dress shopping – that seems to be the norm for home visits.  We were looking for a blue dress for a concert at her school.  After much looking and trying on we were successful.

But more exciting was the shirt I found for me:

sara's daschund shirt

For those who don’t know or remember, we are the proud owners of 4 long haired dachshunds (Bella, Sadie, Tucker and Coco) who have been the subject of this blog on several occasions.

Fortunately the shirt was on sale and I had a coupon because I was ready to pay full price.

I wore it to church on Easter Sunday.  It may not have been a traditional, normal Easter outfit but then no one expects Chicken Wrangler Sara or anyone from Miller Farm to be traditional or normal.

21 03, 2014

Broody Hens – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-03-21T06:00:41-05:00March 21st, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|2 Comments

by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Periodically one or more of our hens goes broody.  This means she sits on her eggs with the intent of hatching them.

Usually I just reach under her and grab the eggs, explaining that I feed them, they feed me. Their response is then to peck at my hand.

Rachel is a little harsher.  She will pick the hens up and toss them out of the nest box then collects the eggs.

Currently, Rachel and Beekeeper Brian have decided we should let the hens sit on the eggs until they hatch. This is fine with me – less pecking on my hands.

Apparently this particular clutch of eggs requires more than one hen.  Today there were three sitting on the eggs making it a group effort.

broody hens

One of our bantam hens is sitting on eggs also.

Sometimes I find an egg that has been pushed out from under the hens.  I’ve learned that frequently this is a bad egg Having cracked one open in the house, I discovered the unpleasant and lingering smell of rotten egg.

Now I crack the outcast eggs outside to see if it is a good or bad egg.

In other news, we are hoping to get a replacement rooster for Elliot.  I’ll keep you posted.

7 03, 2014

Guest Chickens – Miller Farm Friday

By |2014-03-07T06:00:13-06:00March 7th, 2014|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|0 Comments

A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara

Our soon-to-be neighbors stopped by last week to see if they could leave a child’s playhouse in the yard between our houses. They would have to temporarily take down the fence (the infamous privacy fence, that is) to move it into the back yard and planned to do that after they officially moved in.

That was no problem.

They also brought their chickens and wondered if we could keep them with our flock until they could build a chicken coop. This was also no problem.

They were already in a cage so we simply moved the cage into the back yard and planned to put the chickens into the coop after dark. We’ve discovered that chickens loose all their memories at night so when they woke up they would think they had always lived in our coop. chicken guestsThe only drawback to this plan was the dachshunds.  They were fascinated by the new chickens and while they could not actually get to them, their barking was very stressful for the birds.

So we moved the cage into the chicken yard behind the shed. It was much calmer for the chickens.

Now those of you with chicken experience may have noticed that the darker bird is actually a rooster.  Our neighbor assured me it was a friendly rooster and indeed it was – until it came time to clip wings.

Wing clipping is an event at which I have only been the holder of the chicken.  Rachel or Beekeeper Brian always wielded the scissors.

Since Rachel moved to college and Brian was at work, it was up to Chicken Wrangler Sara to expand her wing clipping experience and do the holding and the clipping.

It was harder than I expected.

I clipped the hen first and she pooped on me. Fortunately this was a day I did not have to go to work and had time to clean up properly.

The rooster, on the other hand, bit my arm. Actually, it was kind of a pinch since I’m not sure chicken have teeth.

In any event, it was somewhat painful, but I survived.

After the chicken scratch last week and the rooster bite this week, I’m going to ask for combat pay.

The next morning I discovered the hen roosting on the privacy fence.  Obviously, I had not clipped enough off her wings.

That night, while she was roosting in a tree, the more experienced wing clipper Beekeeper Brian grabbed her and did a better job.

Now everyone, including the guests, go into the coop at night.

And stay.

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