The Emu is a week old now. It's eating and drinking well.
I won't name it~ I'm still not sure I'm not going to eat it. Family wants to name it. They keep suggesting stuff. I think IT thinks it's name is "little friend" because I call it that most often. I don't want to be attached to it. I might still eat it...........
It's been a rough week here~ Neighbor dogs massacred the chickens and turkeys last Monday. It was horrible~ the dogs showed up out of nowhere and killed 10 chickens and 3 turkeys in less than 5 minutes. I checked the birds~ 10 min later Will went out to lock up the coop and it was all over. One dog was in the pen~ the other in the coop~ they had NO chance. I have two left that escaped to the woods. I'm really upset about it. I was really getting attached to the chickens and turkeys~ they were so much fun to watch~ and I had put SO MUCH WORK into them. I'm pretty sure I know who's dogs they were~ but I can't prove it and they don't believe it was their dogs. I bought traps that will be in next week and I will try to catch the dogs and send them to the pound ~I really want to shoot them~ but I'd never seen them this far over on the property before or since (the jerk neighbors let their dogs crap in my pasture about 2 acre from the massacre and don't seem to understand when I ask them not to allow their dogs on my property that means the part of MY property in front of their house too!).......I'm not a very good shot......and it's illegal for me to shoot their dogs unless they are currently harassing livestock (and since they killed them there is no livestock left to harass!) The two chickens left WILL NOT come out of the coop. Not dumb birds I guess.
Since that happened I'm afraid to put the emu outside~ luckily it is still too little. For now it's living in my kitchen in a dog crate.
I put boards across the kitchen door and most of the day it has full run of the kitchen. It chirps, whistles, looks entirely too cute and craps a lot. I talk to it a lot.......but before long it will get to big to live in my kitchen. I'm going to get attached if I'm not careful. I don't want to get attached to it.
On the bright side~ I hatched 13 more Turkeys (afraid to put those outside too)......
and Scott encouraged me to order some new chickens from a hatchery........
so I did
But I'm not sure how it happened.....
I ordered 3 geese.....to keep with that stupid Emu.....and....um.....
well.....
75 chickens
It's amazing how many breeds there are and how 5 of these and 5 of those add up to 75 chickens. Not sure how to explain to Scott that I replaced the 13 dead birds with 78 new ones. Guess I could wait and see how he reacts when they get here. I doubt they'll stand still long enough for him to count all 78 of them..................