The hot weather is taking a toll on everything it seems. It is hard to have a good attitude when the weather stays in triple digits and doesn't cool off enough at night to offset it.
I have two very protective hens with chicks in the chicken house who are ready to take their charges out into the real world.
The ducks have decided the barn is the best place to hatch their babies and have made a nice nest under the shelf there. The duck is also very protective of her nest.
Yesterday morning the mother hens took their babies into the barnyard area and apparently ventured too close to the duck's nest. A royal battle ensued between both the hen and drake and the two mother hens. It was ugly. It was not easy to stop. I finally managed to get the mother hens out of the area and into the pole barn to break up the mayhem. The duck went back to her nest and the drake went back on guard duty. No blood was shed.
No bloodshed was not the case in the afternoon. I decided to let the turkey out of the cage (again!) thinking surely she was over her mothering instinct. By then the mother hens were back in the chicken house which has a nice breeze blowing through it when the back window is open. You guessed it, Wanda wandered too close to the baby chicks. The disturbance that followed was horrendous. Straw, dust, milo and feathers flying everywhere. A noise level to warrant serious ear protection and claws, wings, beaks all moving in kill mode. I'm so glad Royal Palm turkeys are smaller than other turkeys. When in full fight mode it isn't easy to subdue one. None of the birds was seriously injured and band-aids plus antibiotics were applied to my injuries. To top it off, guess where Wanda headed back to...you got it. She went right back to the empty nest she has been in for over a month now. One more time she has been captured and returned to the cage where she will stay for at least 6 days this time.
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