I goofed.  This strange mismatch is completely my fault. A few weeks ago, I swiped all the eggs from beneath the nesting turkey hens.  Why?  Our turkeys have a terrible track record as parents.   They’re dedicated nesters and brooders, and they’ll defend their brood with surprising ferocity.  They just can’t seem to raise them to
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The nesting turkey hens occasionally fluff nesting materials over the eggs so they can slip out into the barnyard for a few minutes to stretch their legs, get a drink of water, maybe snack on some corn. One pretty young turkey hen, walking alone, attracts a lot of attention from the the gang of guys loitering
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The mamas here at the farm have been busily adding to the livestock numbers.   Nona, a very shy ewe, presented us with twin lambs.  She’s a first-time mother, but managed the birth and cleanup duties quite well.  The trouble came later as her udder filled with milk. At the end of the first day, she had much more milk
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Morning light can be harsh. After a long night’s work on predator patrol, a dog needs his sleep. Someone should find him a doggie sleep mask. The turkeys have a different perspective.  This Blue Slate tom particularly likes basking in the early light, displaying his speckled fan, chortling to the hens.  Most mornings I find
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Here’s a close-up of the tom turkey in yesterday’s black & white photo. Note the coppery sheen of the band of feathers on the left side of this photo, just above the bold black and white bands. The Bronze turkey takes its name from the coloring reflected in the sunlight, and that copper band diffentiates
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This morning I got the call as I was heading to the barn to milk the cow. My peeps had arrived at the local post office on the morning truck. The 22 turkey poults and 8 goslings made the trip from the hatchery well and are settling in nicely. The turkeys are Kardosh Bronzes, a
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The Kardosh Bronze turkey poults can’t stand still for more than a second. They’re healthy, alert, and busily exploring every inch of the old hog waterer we recycled into a brooder pen a few years ago.