HATCHED!!

A couple of weeks ago, the chickens were all moved up to the new chicken house in Provaglio, except for...two hens went broody and stayed behind in Salo sitting on their eggs.  They were sitting together in the same nest on 3 giant goose eggs (from a neighbour) and one teensy tiny egg from the dwarf chicken "Chinesina".  Then we bought 4 new leghorn hens and 4 turkeys (mmmm...thanksgiving!) that went straight up to the little farm and started making themselves comfortable.  Lots of new poultry to keep us entertained!  Then Gab went to the champion breeder of Valdarno chickens and bought 40 eggs, and all they went into the incubator.  And just 3 weeks later...

WE HAVE CHICKS!!! AND THEY ARE SOOOOOO CUTE!!!

On friday, all the eggs in the incubator started hatching! On saturday, the geese and one dwarf chicken egg under the broody hen hatched!  How exciting!!! In spite of a power outage on the incubator for a few hours, we still got about 50% hatch rate, which is great for the first time!  22 little chicks and They are Soooooo Cute!  Here is a video of the valdarno chicks just hours old (under their heat lamp now)... 

And here is a video of the two geese that hatched (the third didn't make it) and Chinesina's little survivor egg...he is just absolutely adorable. Nina's called him "nemo" 'cause he's the lone survivor of a predator attack that took his mom...he's got special dispensation, and won't be destined for the pot any time soon!

The bees arrived too!  5 hives and millions of bees -- Gab kitted up in the beekeepers suit and took 5 colonies of bees and transplanted them from styrofoam boxes into their actual hives, and MAN were they pissed!  But the beekeepers suit worked, and he didn't get a single sting!

But there's bad news too -- within a couple of days, the new turkeys all showed signs of illness.  (I have never seen an uglier creature than a turkey...even the babies are hideous...still, endearing in their grotesquerie)  The stinking nasty brutish industrial battery raising stinking (did i say that already?) farmer sold us sick turkeys.  By the rules of the farmer's market where we bought them, they all should be vaccinated.  Humph, yeah right.  Same stinker sold a "couple", meaning cock and hen, of purebred dwarf chickens to Sabrina...she got them home, and they were a very modern "couple"...two cocks.  Double Humph!  Within two weeks, two of the turkeys were dead, but the other two miraculously survived.  The vet was tres impressed, and now we have 2 quite rugged immune turkeys!

About the same time as the turkeys were dying, we forgot to close the broody house here in salo one night and a weasel got in and killed one of the broody hens.  Nina woke to the ruckus and came to wake us up, and we ran outside and scared him away before he could get them both and the eggs too. We lost the Chinesina, but saved her wee little eggie.

And then, while all this is happening, where is the damn cat?  She up and disappeared. After a week we started to worry it was more than spring wanderings.  Signs up all over the village, but our Calli has disappeared...maybe she's found a nice quiet family that feeds her tuna once a day and is living it large...i hope so!

But back on a good note, we had our first party!  Gramma and Grampa are here from Canada, and we had a picnic on easter monday up at the farm, and it was the best party ever!  Gab built a barbecue out of old pallets and some roofing tiles...who needs to spend hundreds of bucks on a barbecue, humph, not us!  Loads of people came, and we all had a beautiful day, loads of food and a great easter egg hunt.