Our Own Zoo Part 2

We got two kittens in early June from some neighbors. Russ gave the okay...he must have been soft that day, or maybe he figured what's two more when we already have such a collection of animals! We really need cats to keep the mice down. We used to have three, but two died, and we thought it would be good to get some in training to help Tiger who has been left alone to defend the homestead. I personally wanted orange kittens because we have only ever had orange cats here. I found two brothers who fit the bill. They are so sweet! Unfortunately, the lighter colored one had some sort of accident and he is having a hard time using his back legs. His personality isn't dampened, though, and we still love him. The puppies were so excited to have some kittens to "play" with!

We got some new egg layers. These chicks were hatched at the hatchery on June 15th and came to us in the mail in a big box with air holes on June 17th. They have already more than doubled in size. Their purpose is to replenish our laying flock. These kind are called Golden Sexlink because when they are hatched, the roosters are light yellow and the hens are a darker yellow with rusty-golden markings. They are a hybrid. In the photo below, you can see a rooster on the bottom right. The ones with more color in this picture are the hens.

We got 201 hens and 10 roosters. Most chickens are difficult to sex when they are young because they all look the same. It's a lot of chickens, but the price break was good ($1.79 each) and we figured we could find people who wanted the extras. We advertised, and so far we have sold 135. We will keep 30 hens for ourselves and two roosters.

Russ sold some chicks to a man in Nephi about a week-and-a-half ago, and when he went to deliver them, the man gave him 100 feet of chainlink fencing and two turkey pults (chicks). Russ tried to pay him, but he wouldn't take it.

They will end up in the freezer, but right now they are living in a large rabbit hutch, and they make a rhythmic two-tone whistling noise. They are fun to look at!

Our latest arrival came yesterday, July 4th. He is a beautiful 4-month old Buff Orpington rooster that was owned by my friend's mother. She lives in Springville, Utah, in an area that isn't zoned for animals, but she keeps a few laying hens. This rooster was supposed to be a hen, but when he crowed for the first time a week or so ago, Dorothy realized that "Maggie" was a boy. She decided he had to go. He hasn't assimilated into our hen house very well because none of them seem to like a newcomer, so he is running out in a fenced area with the geese.

The puppies grew and two have been adopted by families.

We still have the one we call Mindy May because she hurt her leg and was limping. She's doing much better now and we hope someone will adopt her soon. The ducks also grew and this is what they look like now!