I'm willing to try anything, Kel.

(goes to hunt up ziplock baggie and rice)

the shutter button's stuck on zoom, so perhaps it's the combination of fine airborne clay dust (during the dry season) and 95% humidity during the rainy season?

the computer, well, some capacitors are oozing yucky stuff, so I don't think rice will help.

:D :o :D

Olivia, Olivia, Olivia !!!!!

It's time for you to visit Jungle Kay's little farm once again...

Lots of things happening around here, babies hatching, and being born, and just plain being adorable.

Today, we're going to look at some young Wok-Woks.

These patitos (that means ducks, en Espanol) like to hang out under the palm trees, in the cool mud at the edge of my pond.

Sometimes they poke around in the mud, and get their beaks and feathers REALLY dirty and muddy, but luckily, the pond is right there, so they can go take a BATH.

:D :) :D

I'm on a different computer, so you have to CLICK on these pictures to enlarge them:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1...8014dt4.th.jpghttp://img151.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Teenage ducks, hanging out in the mud, resting, and enjoying the view

And here's my new little goat kids at play:

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/504...8013lu0.th.jpghttp://img54.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Paul and Alia having some fun


http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/990...8012mn9.th.jpghttp://img91.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Little Alia, standing on a stump


Paul and Alia like to go *boing boing boing* and leap from stump to stump, playing kiddo-games.

They chase each other, and run around JUST like little kids at play.

Paul and Alia are a little over three weeks old now.

Here's their momma, Leeloo, nibbling some fresh cabbage leaves:

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/861...8001qq8.th.jpghttp://img91.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif

I hope you had FUN visiting my farm today, Olivia, and I hope you like your BRAND NEW HOUSE !!

:grouphug::hug::grouphug:

oh cool cool cool, thank Kids and Kay, I see the one kid has figured how to get to the top of a plant, thank you for the visit, down on the farm

Love it, love it....Thanks for sharing your new family with us..:D

More, more.....:hug:

Olivia?

Guess what?

Our turkey Hadassah hatched her eggs today, nine little turkeys.

Momma H doesn't like people peeking in at her babies, so I watch the coop from the porch.

If I go outside to get a closer look, she calls to her poults, and they all RUN to hide underneath her.

Then, Momma H spreads her feathers, and POOF! the babies disappear from sight!

So, I go back to the porch, and UP pops the babies, sticking their leetle haids out between the tail and wing feathers.

And I laugh and laugh, and their little heads turn around, looking all over for me.

But they can't SEE me, because the screened porch has a layer of shade cloth mesh, that lets air in and out, and I can see OUT, but the little turkey babies can't see IN.

I got my friend to take some pictures of Hadassah and her babies, and I'll put them here as soon as she emails them to me, okay?

Love from Auntie Kay, in the jungle, by the river, listening to the chirping of insects, and the singing of tree frogs.

Sleep tight, little one, and I hope you LOVE your new house... and give your mommy a smoochie for me...

:hug::grouphug::hug:

Good evening, Olivia!

:D

Sorry to be so slow about this, but my camera is broken, and I had to wait for my friend to send me the pictures she took...

Anyway, enough excuses, let's take a look at Hadassah and some of her little turkey baby Wok-Woks !!

Here's Mama Hadassah, sitting pretty on her nest, hatching her eggs:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5...farmqj0.th.jpg
All fluffed up, and nowhere to go!


http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/5...s035hp1.th.jpghttp://img184.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
PEEK-A-BOO, I see YOU !!


If turkeys had skirts, this little one would be hiding behind mama's right now!

Hadassah's feathers make a pretty good hiding place, wouldn't you say?


http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4...s036bl1.th.jpghttp://img521.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
LOOK, Olivia, the baby turkey is peeking OUT at YOU !!

I like to sit on the porch and watch, where Mama can't SEE me, because when she does, she chirps to her babies, and they all RUN and hide underneath Mama's feathers...

But, when I'm hidden in the shadows of the porch, I can watch the little turkey babies run around and play.

Sometimes they even HOP right UP on their Mama's back, and take a little ride!

They eat special ground corn and grains, and their favorite treat is scraps of lettuce.

The babies like to play KEEP-AWAY with the bits of leaves.

There will be a big piece of lettuce right there on the ground, but they all will CHASE the one who has a teensy scrap, and try to grab it away, just like children playing with a ball.

Next, we have some photos of your little namesake Duckie Wok-Wok...

Here's Lady Olivia Silver and her friends, coming to see me, and get some nice juicy cabbage:

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/5...s266jw2.th.jpghttp://img397.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Rush-hour at feeding time!!

Olivia, if you look at my profile picture, you'll see I used to have long hair, but in THIS photo, can you see how it's now very short?

Well, I had this problem with BUGS, I got into some fire ants, and had to chop off ALL my pretty hair, because I couldn't comb or braid it any more.

I'll bet you miss your hair as much as I miss mine?

:hug:

Here's some pictures of Lady Olivia for your wall:


http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5...s267mx7.th.jpghttp://img207.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Little Lady Olivia steps to the front of the line.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6...s268cy5.th.jpghttp://img171.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Lady Olivia

Tomorrow we'll look at my Naked Neck Chickens.

They are pretty darn FUNNY-looking !!

So, goodnight sweet Olivia, and I'll see you later...

PS: The pictures above are "clickable" thumbnails, if you want to see them bigger, just click on them.

Olivia, I hope you're enjoying all the fun animals! Also, I hope you're looking forward to seeing the Naked Neck chickens as much as I am. :D

WOOHOO...More Wok Woks..:D

dagnabbit, I just noticed, the "Special NT Brownies' Ingredient" scarf (folded into a headband) that I wore JUST for Jim and Frank, well... ya can't quite SEE it.

:D:cool::D

looks like it got cropped.

:p;):p

Wok Woks need their veggies too!

ROFLMBO Cayo :D

We can see part of it and those of us who know about Special NT Brownies know what's on the cropped end of that scarf. lol :D:D:D

i dearly love the commentary and the pics .... still ... i have a teeny weeny question ... when the momma duck (who had ducklings and chicks) went to teach her ducklings about swimming ... what happened???? did she also try to teach the chicks to swim? was just curious

well, Deb...

we keep all babies in the nursery until the ducklings start getting feathers, and their oil production glands start to function, (that's what keeps them dry when they swim)

and we have an orphanage too!

it's a special section of the nursery for motherless babies, like those chicken babies (day-olds) we get from the hatchery - Cornish Crosses, and Hyline Browns, that don't naturally breed, they are imported), and fertile eggs we hatch in the incubator, and eggs from abandoned nests, that we put into the incubator as soon as mom leaves the nest with her hatchlings.

see, the mom has a decision to make, obey the chirps of the hungry babies, and take them out to forage, or stay with the rest of the warm eggs in the nest.

Mama usually waits 24 to 48 hours, and then gives up on the eggs, and takes the hungry babies walking to teach them how to find food, to scratch, dig, and find the food bowls.

thus, our orphanage almost always has occupants, and we just add the babies with "unfortunate" parentage to the orphanage, so they can properly socialize with their own kind, and learn the ways of the world.

the orphanage has hay bales, roosts, water dispenser dishes, grain bowls, feeder trays, and a sandy floor, where I throw whole corn, lettuce, and cabbage, and kitchen scraps.

our little Hovabator home-incubator, nice and humid:

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6367/dscn4021fa1.jpg

HATCHING DAY:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8417/dscn4022ey2.jpg

here's our homemade indoor brooder box, complete with feeder and waterer:

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/93/dscn4020lh6.jpg

fluffed out after hatching - we ended up with sixteen total in this batch:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/3006/dscn4030wi8.jpg

so, to answer your teeny weenie question Deb, (MUCH more long-windedly than you could EVER have wanted, LOL !!):

when the chickie babies DO follow a duck-mama to the pond, we take the babies away, put them in the orphanage, because otherwise, they'd just stand at the edge of the pond, cheeping miserably...

no, they don't try to swim, some instinct prevents it...

thanks for answering ... i felt compelled to ask ... didn't wanna know baby chicks drowned !!!!

next question ... is guinea pig a food item ??? i know what rabbit tastes like and love it but have not heard of guinea pig for dinner ... you do know that now that i have found this sight i will be picking your brain on all kinds of things .... i know ... we should have a thread called ask farmer kay ....

i will always be amazed by what you do and will always be honored to call you friend

yes, but shhhhhhh, don't tell Olivia !!

Guinea pigs appear on the menu in Lima restaurants

By Leslie Josephs, Associated Press Writer

LIMA, Peru — Ever wonder whether a cabernet sauvignon or merlot would best complement your childhood pet?

It might be a dilemma if you visit the coastal Peruvian capital, where chefs have turned guinea pig — a staple protein of the Andes — into a gourmet dish.

Five years ago, chef Marilu Madueno added cuy, as guinea pigs are locally known, to the menu at La Huaca Pucllana, an exclusive Lima restaurant popular with tourists that overlooks a pre-Inca temple.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...igs-lima_N.htm

the meat tastes similar to rabbit, except more tender, with a texture sort of like the neck meat on chicken, when it's been stewed for hours to make soup or gravy.

except for a short stint as a wanna-be flower child in the late 70's, I had *no* experience at this...

thanks heaven for the internet and books, we're learning as we go.

we raise geese (6), turkeys (10), chickens (68), ducks (142), goats (5), rabbits (5), guinea pigs (20), and we have one pregnant pig.

we haven't had to buy meat, milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, or kefir, at the store for quite a while now.

with the prices going up so crazily, we think we did the right thing.

now if we could JUST get the organic GARDEN to survive.

the bugs here are un-freakin-believable!

on the other hand, the orchards are doing very well, mangos, bananas, citrus, dragonfruit, and cocoyams (taro) are all happily thriving.

the only things we need to buy are animal grains, flour, rice, beans, snacks, beer, and a few luxuries, and (of course, *sniffle*) most of our veggies.

what we really need is a live-in organic gardening expert for a couple of seasons, to get us really rolling.

:cool::winky::cool:

know anyone who'd like to volunteer?

we have a fully equipped, furnished GREEN eco-guesthouse, with a composting toilet, rain catchement system, water filters, storage tanks, and butane appliances... suitable for one or two people...

oh, and the guesthouse has internet, electricity, and phone lines, LOL !!

:hug:

I had my own organic garden here Kay, before the MS heat fatigue made us plant it over with grass seed. I did pretty well with it too! If I were single I'd come down and stay a spell to get you going with that! :) DH wouldn't go for it though... He's a homebody, (but adorable nonetheless.) ;)

The only problem I'd have is figuring out how to combat the pests in a tropical climate with eco-friendly means, as opposed to doing it in corn and soybean country. With all your birdies I think it would be doable! :)

Thanks for sharing your pics! :hug:

Here you go, Gazzy...

as promised, I present some Naked Neck Chickens, at Darwin Farm, deep in the remote jungles of Belize, in Central America, a couple miles from the Guatemala border, now officially flooded, and isolated from the world.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9...3358pi1.th.jpghttp://img517.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Naked Neck Chicken, with a top-knot, eating breakfast

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9...3370fs3.th.jpghttp://img529.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Naked Neck having a chat with a REGULAR Chicken

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7...3378rv9.th.jpghttp://img100.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Three Naked Necks with my new turkeys

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3...3374co9.th.jpghttp://img266.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
New turkeys, on loan from neighbor, because his Tom is too old... we'll share the resultant eggs

Olivia, babygirl?

How are you this evening?

It's raining, and raining, and raining some more, here in the rainforest.

Rained so much, we're STUCK at home, because the ROADS are all flooded.

Good thing, we had stocked up lots of food for our animals, or they might decide to take over, like in George Orwell's famous book "Animal Farm"

In a few years, your Mommy can read you that book as a bedtime story...

:D:rolleyes::D

Anyway, today we're going to look at the GOOSIES !!

Remember back in March, when they were hatched?

The goosies are now 7 months old, and pictures of them were the very beginning of this special Olivia Wok-Wok Thread.

Seems like just a short while ago, but the geese are ALL grown up now!

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2...3421pl5.th.jpghttp://img523.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif

Here they are, Connor, Larry (who turned out to be Laura, lol!) and Moe, with their mother Gwynneth in the background.

Didn't they grow up to be HANDSOME little goosies?

The geese guard our property 24 hours a day, and let us know when anyone or anything comes around.

They wake us up to tell us if a possum or skunk or fox or jaguarundi is trying to get into our chicken coops, or bothering the ducks.

And the geese work CHEAP, for only a handful of corn and a few leaves of lettuce a day.

The rest of the day, they patrol the land, freeranging, and eat greens and grass... They're the greatest workers in the world!!

The next picture we're going to look at is of some of my ducks, taking a break on a fallen tree trunk.

Look CLOSE at the duck on the right:

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/893...3385xs8.th.jpghttp://img55.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif

When ya got an ITCH, ya gotta SCRATCH, no matter how ya reach it !!

This is me, feeding my ducks this morning, at my pond:

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2...3413so0.th.jpg

Yes, Kelly, I'm still in my flannel jammies !

:D:p:D

Last picture for today... here's the baby turkeys, running around in their section of the land:

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5...3418qw4.th.jpghttp://img100.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif

These are the same baby Wok-Woks you saw a few days ago, hiding under their Mama's feathers...

Now they're getting BRAVE, and going out to explore the world!

And they're growing up FAST !!

Que chic! :D (actually, that's a pretty good pun)

LOVE the stylish Naked Neckers.

I'm thinking I like the top knot one a lot. He/she sort of looks like my hairy chicken! :D

oh farmer kay?!??? what's a jaguarundi ?

evenin' Deb...

a jaguarundi is a small wildcat, like a puma:

http://www.travel-album.com/vacaSEAN...31/sdh7jr.html

they're about twice the size of a housecat, and love chicken dinners.

they weigh about 10 to 20 pounds:

http://ambergriscaye.com/critters/jaguarundi.html

Now that's a cat i've not heard of ... my father raised "big" cats ... samson and tillie ... jaguar, satin lee and princess ... black panther, ivan and annie ... bengal tigar, oliver and olivette ... lion and lioness, charles and diana ... cougar (mountain lion) and a snow leapard whos name i have forgotten .... i have pictures somewhere in a box in the garage of my boys riding oliver and olivette ... no need for an alarm system at his house either ... first fence says no tresspassing ... beware of cats ... this lead onto property and through the 10 acres where the cattle roamed .... second fence says do not enter and BEWARE OF CATS .... this lead into the second area where the feed barn, the garage for the tractor and boat was stored, about the size of a block ... just inside the third fence (which leads into our yard and to the house) dad had a sign posted which read "i told you beware of cats" ... if you made it to this point without a family member coming outside you would find 2 very big cats staring at you ... one usually would jump on the hood of the car and the other would be either in the driver seat or standing beside the door ... each fence you have to get out and open ... no electrical help there ... you can imagine the shock at finding out that beware of cat was an actual warning sign and not some humorous joke ... was funny though to see peoples faces ....

WOW, that's so interesting, Deb !!

jaguars, black panthers, Bengal tigers, cougars, and lions ??

again, I say WOW !!

what we have here in Belize are five different wildcats, the Jaguarundi, the Jaguar, the Ocelot, the Margay, and the Puma:

http://www.belizezoo.org/zoo/zoo/mammal.html

that's why our perimeter is so sturdy, and the nursery wall fences extend deep underground, and it's roofed over with double and triple fencing (hog panels, chicken wire, and cage fencing around the base).

still smiling over your dad naming wildcats Charles and Diana... but,,, shouldn't Sampson's mate be Delilah?

:D

how did your father acquire such an interesting menagerie?

that'll teach people to leave their car doors OPEN while they go do the gates, lol!

yes, we have a big wrought iron gate that must be opened manually at the entrance... but there's no electronics here because they would just CROAK in a few months, because of all the rain and humidity.

:D :hug: :D

I think the Margay is very cute!

tillie was the first cat that they got and mom named her ... that got samson 2 years later from a circus that was going to put him down ... he was only 3 years old ... they said he was not trainable ... dad had him doing basic commands within 6 months ... figured that they just didn't want to take the time to love the animal ... so he was already named when we got him ....

dad was a doctor with several fields of expertise ... general practice, psychiatrist, obgyn, he had more letters after his name than i have ever seen ... over achiever to the max ...

one of his best friends got into exotic cats when he retired and this was at the time that the actors were all getting big cats as pets ... they were a fashion statement of wealth then ... anyway ... dad fell in love with the big cats and over 7 years he aquired a breaders permit and was breeding for zoos and safaries ... he would also take the cats that were "lost causes" either orphaned and not expected to live or had medical problems which required extra care ....

Olivia !!

Look who's here for breakfast at the pond!

it's the lovely Olivia, my beautiful silver, white and gray duckie...

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/l...armlife059.jpg

As you can see, little Lady Olivia is starting to get her flight feathers, they're the ones coming in a darker dove gray.

And her head and chest feathers look like they're going to be a gorgeous clear white.

:grouphug:

then I must recommend a GREAT book to you, about a lady here in Belize who rescues animals, especially those used for making films... and built a ZOO to house all of them!

Sharon has a Jaguar named Angel:

Sharon shares her office with a three-legged jaguar named Angel. When the screen door bangs, Angel limps up a cleated ramp that connects the jaguar habitat to the office, a plywood shack on stilts. When she sees Sharon, Angel rolls over and stretches like a dog wanting its belly scratched. Sharon will toss Angel a piece of chicken through the wire fence that separates them. The jaguar catches the meat in her jaws with a clop. Visitors to Sharon's office often ask to pet Angel, which Sharon discourages. "Never pet a jaguar," she once told me, "unless you're willing to feed her your hand."

the book is called The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, and describes Sharon Matola's fight to stop the Chalillo Dam, which would wipe out one of the last populations of these beautiful birds in Belize.... here's the first chapter, to get you started:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/bo...pagewanted=all

:hug: :grouphug: :hug:

You've taken over his territory....The least you could do is feed him a chicken dinner, once in awhile..:D

oh, I don't begrudge an occasional chicken now and then, but when the *&%$* tried to drag off my PRIZE mother goose, I got a little bit peeved.

and when a jaguarundi took my favorite duck Mocha, I cried.

on the other hand, I didn't mind much at ALL, when the evil rooster Tyrone The Terrorist got snatched.

these are just the risks we take, allowing our birds to free-range.

but hey, the birds are a LOT happier when they're free to roam.

:cool:;):cool:

i've already started reading kay ... so far ... i definitely wanna read the rest of the book ... boa ... hmmm did frank ever tell you i use to have an albino burmese python that was 6.5 feet long .... and yes ... when dealing with any animal ... especially wild or mistreated animals ... one should exercise caution ... if you smell like food and move like food ... guess what ... the animal will think you're food ...

Kay, your pictures and stories are fascinating. Thank you for sharing them with us. :hug: