Surprise in the Compost

Unlike other people we have far more in our compost heap than just compost. Recently we had a chicken and some eggs, and before vicious Mama sat on the eggs there were about 15 of them. So I was shocked when the other day my daughter told me that there was only five.

I told her that they must have been buried under the straw, but being the strong willed, stubborn teenager she is, this was ignored. Therefore, the eggs hatched, we had four chicks, and vicious Mama and chicks were placed in the maternity wing.

This is where the problems began, take one hot, steaming compost heap, a calima with temperatures reaching up to 40c and a batch of eggs, and there will be chicks! So, off my daughter went to put the ducks to bed, just as it was getting dark, and an hour later, loads of screaming and a frantic dig in the compost she returned with five more chicks.

It appears that I was right, and that the eggs had been buried in their own personal incubator. So, although vicious Mama was under the impression that she had done her work, in fact the straw had acted as a fantastic birthing place.

My daughter was convinced that she could hear chirping, so spent an hour in the dark, with a torch digging in the heap! I have to give her credit, because I didn't get off the sofa, and had no intention of being out in the dark up to my elbows in compost waste! Dedication or madness hmmmmm that is the question!

Grab the Safety Gear

That time has arrived, we are not prepared, and I am not going near vicious Mama without full safety gear! Yes, she has begun to hatch her eggs in the compost heap, now why is this an issue I hear you cry. Errrr because she isn't called vicious Mama for nothing.

This chicken is a fantastic mum, she protects her brood with her life, and stays with them at all times. However, this is where the issues come, as I remember the last time she was in the maternity wing, needing a rake to feed everything. Not for any other reason than my own safety.

Now you may think I am being a wimp, and I am not typically afraid of many things ( apart from the dark oh and zombies) but this chicken can leap and karate kick all in one swift motion. There were many times when I left the area as Is aw her approaching.

Therefore, to get her and her chicks off the compost heap I want safety gear, full safety gear, which will ensure that none of her kung foo movements are effective. Or I may just send the children, and remain in the safety of my home, locked in, watching from the window, and sniggering!

BBQ Goat

The goats are driving me insane at the moment, as they keep escaping at every opportunity, and the other day we spent the whole day putting them back. Now I have no issues with them escaping and heading up the 25,000 square meters of mountain to eat anything, and everything in their way. However, I do mind that they keep ending up in my drive eating the bushes.

Why can they not just stay where they have been put, or even escape in a subtle way that doesn't irritate me. I realise at this point that I am attempting to find the logic of a goat! On top of the escaping goats, Rico is driving everyone mad, with his constant horny goat noises, and the over affectionate behaviour.

When you go into the goat pen he runs for you, now not in a friendly way, and he is vicious. Jack was always a pain in the arse, however, he was controllable, Rico simply isn't and I think it is time for Rico to go. Before, you all jump on the save Rico bandwagon, I am trying to find him a new home. Although BBQing him seems like a fantastic idea.

Hugging Chickens

I like animals, I would even go as far to say that there are a few that I love, but I draw the line at hugging chickens. There is nothing cute about a chicken, therefore, why the hell would you want to hug one. It amazes me the amount of crazy people on FB, and yes there are people who hug chickens!

I understand hugging a cat, dog, rabbit, and even a goat to a point, but a chicken! Firstly chickens flap, and often they poop, and I would imagine that the whole squeezing motion would in fact make them poop more. So, again, why would you want to hug a chicken?

When I made this point on noseybook AKA Facebook the other day, I received many messages of disgust informing me that I needed to hug more chickens! So, lets just clear up once and for all, I have never, and will never hug a chicken! I wonder if hugging the chickens would increase egg production, hmmmm that could encourage me to hug a few!

Alternative to Coffee

I drink a lot of coffee, which I have no issue with, but other people it seems have, as they are always questioning my daily intake, and stating that maybe I should cut back. The thing is why, I like coffee, I drink it all day everyday, and trust me you do not want to encounter me without coffee seeping through my system.

I was emailed a link for alternative coffee recipes, and before hitting the delete button I thought I would take a look. Not because I had any intention of drinking an alternative, but for research purposes. There were some ridiculous recipes, including Dandelion Coffee.

Now to be honest I have never seen a dandelion here, and if I did I would use them to wishes and release fairies, not to drink and pretend it was coffee. How can anyone make a pot of these presumably green sludge and claim that it is an alternative to coffee.

That would be like eating an apple, and claiming it was an alternative to a chocolate eclair! Anyway for anyone that wants to try the "alternative" here is the recipe, enjoy and please let me know what it is like...

Can a Duck Climb up a Tree?

This is a question I found myself asking last week when I discovered Finn up the tree. Now on first glance you think, no don't be silly she flew there, however, this was not the case. Finn had climbed the tree, using her claws, which not resemble something similar to Freddy Kruggar!

Duck care has been lapse recently, and I havnt had chance to clip the ducks wings, or look at their claws. Normal ducks have really short claws, however, Muscovy ducks have long talons to climb, and protect themselves. Hence why Finn, is using hers to explore what she can climb.

I begun to read what to do with the ducks to avoid them climbing up everything, and using their talons to attack. But then I thought why bother, ducks up the trees is no different to chickens up the trees, which I was told didnt happen. Also I think that owning a guard duck is quite cool, and that if I could train them to attack on command this would be fun!

Imagine the call to 911

"Please come quick, I have been attacked"
"By what"
"Its huge, vicious, and has really long talons"
"OMG what is the creature that attacked you, a dog?, bear? savage wolf?"
" errrrr no a duck"

With that thought in mind I have left the ducks as they are, and have begun researching guard ducks, and training capabilities. Hmmm this could be fun!

Today is a Sad Day :(

There is always so much going on in Casa Chaos, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of the days. However, the 17th June was looming, there was no avoiding it I couldn't sleep through this day and wake up on the other side. There will be very few people that remember, or even care why this day is a sad day for me.

A year ago one of my closest friends died, he was there for me every day, he helped to watch over my children, listened when I had problems, and helped to dry my tears when I cried. Sam was no ordinary dog, he was a huge part of our family.

Sam is buried on Casa Chaos land ssssshhhhh yes we all know this is not allowed, however, who was going to stop me. Burying him here allows me to walk past him every day, stop and talk to him when I am sad, and remember the good times.

The rational side of me knows he was only a dog, OMG how could I say that Sam was one of us! So, today is a sad day as I think about how much we all miss him, but know he is in a place with endless bones where he can run free and never get old <3<3