The Protectors and the Predator

Odin, King of de Good Life Farm, Protector of the Six Realms

I am a storyteller…not stories in the sense that I am a liar…but I tell stories that must be told…REAL LIFE STORIES! To date, all of my published works are nonfiction books for children. They are stories that must be told about our animals who cannot tell their own stories; they just live their lives and I feel like they count on me to tell their stories.

Yesterday, a story happened in front of my eyes. I often say that I wish I could capture the videos/pictures my brain sees and somehow share them with my readers…but, alas, stories with pictures are the best I can do. This story could have been a horror story. It could have been a devastating tear-jerker. But, instead, it is a story of a hero…more accurately, two heroes who worked together to do the job that they were created to do, and the result was an heroic rescue which averted the demise of some of de Good Life’s residents!

You’ve probably guessed one of the heroes…and if you guessed that gorgeous “white lion” pictured up above, you are correct! Odin is an amazing protector of “his” chicken flock and our cattle (Have you read My Name is Odin!?). He has owned the role and has shown himself to be trustworthy! The second hero isn’t as big, not as loud and not as fast, but he is beautiful in his own rite and has a very important job to do guarding from his vantage point, which he does quite well (if you haven’t read My Name is Merlin!, then you MUST!)!

Merlin with a few of his girls after their close call with the hawk

I will start at the beginning…it’s a very good place to start. Typically, I do not open the door of my chicken coop to let the chickens free range until afternoon, so that their egg-laying is finished while they are in the coop and I do not have to replay Easter morning egg hunts every day. This day was no different.

After letting them out, gathering and bringing the eggs in, I was sitting at the dining room table talking to my mom and dad and watching out the sliding glass door as I often do. I saw some chickens fly…which they do from time to time…and then it looked like one of them had hopped up on the fence post! Now I had never seen them do THAT…and less than a second later, in HORROR! I realized that IT WASN’T A CHICKEN…IT….WAS….A….HAWK!!! I literally screamed those dreaded words, “IT’S A HAWK!”! I sprang up and ran out on the deck and immediately heard Odin in his biggest and fiercest bark warning the chickens of the predator. My first thought was “Oh my word! How brazen to fly around and then perch on the fence post!”

I watched for a split second in amazement as Odin was doing his best to scare it away. He was literally high jumping and barking his loudest, meanest bark and running around like crazy! Thankfully, it finally flew away!

The fence post that hawk DARED to perch on…just next to the chicken coop

But, at the same time Odin was going on the offensive to get rid of the danger, I saw Merlin going on the defensive: taking care of his girls, talking up a storm to them, telling them what to do, where to go and where not to go…gathering them close to himself so he could keep them safe! Some of them had been in the cows’ shelter and some of them were halfway between the shelter and their coop and some of them were near the coop! The chickens that hadn’t been near Merlin were the ones I had seen flying toward the coop for safety!

The chickens busy working on the manure pile

I ran back through the door into the house and breathlessly announced I was headed out to make sure it was gone and that everyone was safe (and yes, I had a grass-fed beef bone in hand to reward Odin for his diligence). Once outside, it took several counts to make sure the chickens were accounted for and ok. I went into the coop to make sure and three of the hens were cowered under their roosting bars, as far back into the back corner of the coop as they could get. I realized they must have been the hawk’s targets. They were pretty badly shaken, but safe and unharmed!

Where I found the 3 hens cowering…no doubt they were the ones most traumatized by the hawk.

Leaving the coop, I wanted to check on Merlin and the other hens again, and when I got outside I was again amazed! Merlin was standing on the very top of the manure pile, standing guard. His body language was almost defiant and he was chattering up a storm. It was almost like he was standing up there as a beacon to the hawk, just making sure he was gone and wasn’t coming back! And the whole time, he was talking and chattering as if to say “And don’t come back!”

As I left the pasture, Odin was happily gnawing on his treat for being an EXCELLENT livestock guardian! And me? I was filled with awe and wonder at the amazing creatures that God has created! Watching them do what has been hard-wired into them was amazing, working as a team as if they had rehearsed it!

Odin enjoying his treat after a job well done…a raw beef bone!

I know my adrenaline was still pumping for quite awhile after the excitement, but I was mostly just feeling so thankful! This story easily could have been a tragedy but instead, it was an amazing story of two heroes who worked together like a well-oiled machine to take care of a dangerous predator to their flock! I am so thankful for them both!

“Get the Cow Out of the Chicken Coop! ?????

Yep! You read that right! Just when I think I’ve seen everything, yesterday I looked out toward the pasture and at first my eyes couldn’t figure out what I was seeing. It was raining quite hard and my vision was obscured by the raindrops! THEN, I realized what I was seeing was a COW BEHIND sticking out of the CHICKEN COOP!!! So I yelled to Micah to come help me. I wasn’t sure how difficult it was going to be or exactly what I might have to do!

I ran out in my sandals and as I got closer to the chicken coop, I realized that it was Mocha’s behind that was sticking out of the chicken coop door, but what shocked and astounded me more is that Caramel was ALL THE WAY in the coop helping herself to the chicken feed! I yelled at them and pushed Mocha backwards out of the way. In the meantime, Caramel realizes she has been caught in the act and tries in vain to turn around but can’t! Then, Caramel started backing out!

After I got the girls out of the coop and chased them into the corral where they could be sequestered, I went back and checked on Merlin and the chickens and WOW!, Merlin was talking up a storm, telling me all about the ordeal they had just been through. Then I realized that Caramel had CLEANED OUT the chicken feed! I stood and talked calmly to Merlin and the chickens and told them I was so sorry that happened. I refilled their feed and left them to settle down. Can you imagine two “somethings” coming into your house that were 150 times your size? Just let that sink in for a moment! They were FUSSED!

Today, everyone seems to be settled down and I will know NOT to allow the cows near the open chicken door unless I have it secured so that they cannot get in…or, I will make a door from which ONLY chickens can come and go!

Too bad this little scenario happened AFTER Merlin’s book was finished! I bet it would have brought some smiles!

By the way…I apologize for no pictures of the incident! I was just concerned about flying out there and getting the situation handled!!!

Bittersweet endings and new beginnings

Today is a big day in the life of our calves. Truffle turned four months old! Today I can trust that her rumen is fully functioning and that she no longer needs mama’s milk but can fully digest the hay and grass that will from now on be her sustenance. But, I have decided not to make that change today…I will allow her to have her mama’s milk on her four-month birthday and change her life forever tomorrow.

Oreo turned four months old on December 30, but rather than separate him from his mama and not separate Truffle, I decided to give him an extra three weeks with Jersey so that when the traumatic change came, they could be a comfort to each other. He definitely hasn’t needed the milk, although you would never know that by how he runs into Jersey’s stall licking his lips (do calves have lips?) anticipating that delicious white nourishment.

It is sad, in a way, to know that they likely will never be with their moms again; that they will not be be thoroughly cleaned by mama’s sandpaper-like tongue or experience the comfort and warmth of nursing off their moms. I will be taking plenty of pictures of this day and will share them.  However, as life is made up of many stages, it is now time for them to move on to the next stage of their lives.

From the farmer’s perspective, this day means less hassle.  I will give you an example of my milking time so that you can fully understand what I mean:  When the calves are first born, they are with mama all the time.  So, at milking time, they have to be separated into a separate stall so that we can milk the moms. After milking, they are returned to their moms for the day.

At about two to three weeks of age, we separate them from their moms for a few hours before the evening milking and then they are returned to their mamas after milking for the evening and nighttime hours. Gradually, the hours of separation are increased as the calves grow.  By the time they are about a month old they are separated for about 6-8 hours and then by the time they are a couple of months old, they are separated right after the morning milking and are returned to their moms after the evening milking.

A few weeks ago, we started putting the calves together in a separate stall together instead of staying with their moms for the night. It was a sad (and loud) adjustment for them but after a few days they settled in and quieted down.  However, when we start the milking process in the mornings, they are quite vocal in telling us that they are eager to see their moms.

So, it’s done. They have been with their moms for last time.  Tomorrow they will be very vocal in trying to tell us they we have forgotten to take them to their moms and I will gently remind them that I warned them this day was coming and that I didn’t forget.  They will complain loudly for several days and then they will settle down and enjoy the hay and grass and playing with each other.

Mocha and Jersey will be upset for a few days as well. Mocha shows her frustration more readily than Jersey, so I suspect she will make milking hard on me for a few days, refusing to stand still and mooing in her loudest voice.  But, eventually they too will learn to accept the new normal and in a few months, hopefully we will be anticipating the birth of their next calves.

This cycle with this set of calves is complete. Soon another cycle will begin but for now, I will just enjoy milking my cows and loving on my calves.

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