We knew turkey poults were delicate. We read up on it ad nauseam. We were prepared. So mid-week, we went and got our 24 poults. First thing we noticed when we set them up in the kitchen is the smell. They don’t smell as sweet as chickens. But okay, we can deal with that right? Well by the end of the week, the house was rather too pungent. But that ‘s not the worst of it.
Turkey poults die! Quickly and for no apparent reason.
The first one to go was on Thursday. Katie was home when she noticed that one was stuck under the feeder. She extricated it but it did not survive long. Then a few others started exhibiting signs of what could be wry neck. We are not sure, but the poults affected seemed unsteady, heavy headed and had a hard time just keeping their eyes opened. So by Sunday evening, we lost 4. They are now buried in the back of the property.
Funny how we were so affected by the first one, and by the fourth, we were just kinda resigned.
So the girls moved the poults to the little apartment in the back of the barn. We can control the temperature in there and the smell is not so offensive. And the good news is, they survived the night.
But on happier news, all the chickens are sharing the barn stall now. The 3 oldest are keeping to themselves and the 20 younger ones keep warm by snuggling. So on that front, all is good. No pecking and no one is being bullied. That’s good. Of course, we still don’t know how many roosters are part of the bunch yet. That will determine how many we keep, if we need to separate them and so on. Roosters will want to form their own little clans. Too many roosters, too many clans in the stall… I don’t want them to get territorial or aggressive towards each other.
The girls have started scavenging the property looking for material to start building the chicken tractor. Hopefully we’ll make headway by next weekend on that project. They had a friend helping them on that front while I had my own friend helping me build a fenced enclosure for the puppies. That should also be completed soon. It’s rather satisfying when you build stuff with recycled materials. So far, the fenced area has cost $0! I will need to purchase more pickets and stringers but the whole project will be done on a minimum outlay. That’s my favourite kind of project!
Lastly but surely not least in the girls’ hearts, we got barn cats. Now, we knew we wanted them, that we are all allergic and that they really would stay in the barn. No excessive socializing with them. That lasted about 2 minutes.
I went to a neighbouring farm that has lots of extra cats. I had my pick and chose 3 little fur balls that appealed to my sense of cuteness. Perhaps not a wise decision! I just figured if I can’t touch them, I can at least enjoy them from a distance. So the girls actually spent hours bathing the little critters (they were covered in cow poop and other more mysterious stuff), removing tangles, preparing their stall for all creature comforts. Within a few hours those kittens were following the girls all around the property. So much for having wild barn cats!
So all in all, it was a productive week. We even found time to transplants over 60 seedlings. I’ll talk about that more on the vlog, so don’t forget to check us out at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY9Ui5tpGbA
Unruffled Farms 