Chicks and Honeybees

Seven Chicks
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

I was going to add six chicks this spring, but not until the end of March or beginning of April. That all changed two Sundays ago when a text came through asking if I wanted some chicks, because twenty-five were coming by mail to a co-worker. My answer at that moment was - "Humm." Some of my reservations were because of horror stories I'd heard about mailed chicks - broken legs and broken necks - and still alive. Broken legs can be fixed, but broken necks are a different story.

My plan was to add certain kinds of chicks that would be great egg layers, since I had more people wanting my organically feed chickens' eggs. Organic feed cost more, so I need to have a good return, when it comes to eggs, for that cost. This led to the question of - what kind were coming, and with that answered, the research began. There were twelve different kinds coming, with a thirteenth being an extra bonus and an unknown exotic.

Of the twelve kinds, I wanted a Black Star, Red Star, Pearl White Leghorn, Buff Rock, New Hampsire Red, and either a Speckled Sussex or Araucanas/Ameraucanas, which I was leaning towards the Araucanas/Ameraucanas for the colored eggs they provide. The other kinds coming were Black Cochin, Dorkings - they have five toes, Columbian Wyandotte, Golden Polish, and Turkens. With these breeds, I studied what the chicks looked like, finidng that some look like others, but made notes hoping I would be able to sort them.

Their first evening home.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons 2017

On the following Wednesday, the chicks arrived safe and alive, despite temps in the teens. With that many different breeds, and chicks who do not look the way they will once grown, I sat on the floor looking inside the box of peeping chicks. The ones, I will call weird looking, like the Turkens, who have naked necks, were easy to identify. There was only one "normal" type chick that was easy to single out - the Black Stars who were black with white tips on their wings.

For all the sorting done, the Black Star was the only one I knew I had that I wanted. The rest was a guessing game, or as a friend stated were - "mystery chicks." Nevertheless, I brought home my chicks and fell in love watching them, and listening to their sweet peeping songs.

I noticed how at ease these chicks were with me, which was different than the chicks I'd gotten at a farm store the last few years. I am still learning about chickens, but I wonder if the babies who come through the mail, view their human caretaker as their mommy right away. In comparison, the chicks from the farm stores are kept in huge horse/cattle watering troughs, with hordes of monsterous sized humans staring down at them, and even though it is not supposed to be done - reaching in to pick them up, etc. I think this creates fear and makes it harder for the chicks to not see their human caretaker as a threat. Just my theory.

Six of seven chicks. The Black Star has white tip on her wing.
© Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

 My chicks are all thriving and growing. Some are getting more color on their wing feathers, like the two little rusty colored ones in the picture on the left. I think both are the Speckled Sussex. As this mystery unfolds, I will add updates.

In the honeybee department, I checked my hive, and the great news is they got through the winter. We got lucky with the winter, as it was mostly a mild winter. That helped my bees survive with the situation they were in last fall - not enough food. It helped that I was determined to help them anyway I could. The candy boards were a big help. Days in January and February above 50 degrees so that I could check food supply, and change the boards also helped!!

I am providing pictures of the hive, as of Friday, March 24, 2017, including some up close views of worker bees (females) with pollen on their legs. Enjoy!

You can see honey on the upper frame.

Brown stuff is a pollen patty - food which will help queen lay more.

Two worker bees coming in with yellow pollen on their legs.

All pictures were taken and are copyrighted 

© to Tracey R. Simmons, creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017. 

Take a Look at Nature's Charm and Critters on Our Farm - March 5th - 18th, 2017

Pippin O'Chi celebrated her 2nd birthday on March 15th. Hope, Pippin & Spritzen Nala O'Chil got into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. Seven new chicks, future egg layers, arrive on Wednesday. All are doing well, singing their little peeping songs. Enjoy the pictures!

All pictures are copyrighted © to Tracey R. Simmons,

creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017.

Deaf Dog Hope Howls in Her Sleep

Deaf Dog Hope
March 2017

Imagine being pulled from the depths of sleep by your dog howling in the night. A dog barking or howling in the night wouldn't be unusual if they were outside; or they heard something that has caused them to wake up. Now think about if it is a dog who was born deaf who is howling, but most important, she is still asleep while she howls.

Since adopting Deaf Dog Hope on December 29, 2013, she has woken me up only a few times with her slumbering howls. It is a sound that is completely different from a hearing dog's howl. It is an extremely mournful, soulful sound, which wraps around my heart and squeeezes as I hear it and as it slowly diminishes. It leaves me lying there in the lingering silence wondering what has triggered the howl; and how in the world could Hope connect to her ability to howl - making the sound, having been born deaf??

Shortly after adopting Hope, I was absolutely surprised when she barked the first time, and it was and still is ear splitting. I realized because she cannot hear herself, she has no volume control, so to speak, causing the high decibel rated barks. Her dreamful howl isn't even ear-splitting or loud, which is why it is such a lonely, gut-wrenching sound.

I know I shouldn't have been surprised with her barks, because God gave animals instincts. These instincts tell the animal how to be the animal they are, to include their form of communication, even if they are taken away from their mother and handraised by a human.

This howling situation is different. Hope has never howled while awake. My other dogs have howled in response to the coyote populations yips and howls and from sirens. Hope hears none of it. Even if she sees my dogs howl, she does not join in.

Deaf Dog Hope with her favorite toy - a
Spiky Ball.
March 2017

As a child, I had huskies who loved to howl, so I understand a hearing dog's desire to howl. It is part of going back into their wolf ancestry. Howling is a form of communication, just like barking is. Howling can attract attention, can be used to make contact with another dog, announce their presence, warn other animals to stay out of the howling dog's territory, be an alert to danger, or used to search for another pack member. Some howling is caused by high-pitched sounds like emergency vehicles' sirens. While other howls can be caused by extreme pain. There are some dogs who even howl out of boredom or loneliness.

Whatever the reason, howling is part of a dog's instincts. Unlike humans who have to be taught how to do everything, include talking, God has embedded howling and barking in a dog's genetic code. The nagging question I have is - how does a deaf dog connect to her ability to howl when she doesn't have the above hearing triggers to cause it, doesn't have injuries to cause pain, is inside safe from predators, and most importantly - is asleep? Since it is an eerie, sorrowful howl, where is Hope in her dreams, what is she connecting to that creates such a distressing, heart-breaking sound?

I am left puzzled, wishing I could read Hope's thoughts in those moments. If you have a deaf dog and have experienced the forlorn slumbering howl, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I am including several pictures of Hope playing. She is so fast, it is difficult to get clear pictures. Over a hundred pictures where taken in two days time trying to get some clear ones for you to enjoy.

All pictures are copyrighted © to Tracey R. Simmons,

creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017.

Take a Look at Nature's Charm and Critters on Our Farm February 26th - March 4th, 2017

The weather has been weird this winter. Temperatures below normal at times, and well above normal at other times. Since it is time to start plants inside for mid-May planting outside, I thought I would show some pictures of last summer flowers. A little teaser of things to come when it is warm outside. There's a few of critters thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

What's that you say? Summers on the way?

All pictures are copyrighted © to Tracey R. Simmons,

creator of Paws4Hearts Rescue, 2017.