Do you know the expression....

Do you know the expression...when I get my ducks all in a row??

Well, I managed to get the majority of my 70 chickens (roosters, guineas) in a row....

Longer post in a few with updated pics of the residents of Cackleberry Hollow.

A Day in the life...CSA Day (Picture Intensive!!)

One of the items on the 101 list was to do a "Day in the Life" blog post.  

It was requested that I do a CSA delivery day.  I didn't feel like it was a "typical" day as I am off the farm and in town, but then when I thought about it, yes, twice a week this is a typical day.

On Tuesdays and Fridays, I pack up the "little dump truck" with all the farm goodies for my wonderful friends/customers that have are subscribers to various items off the farm.

After the morning milking (no pictures of that....until I get a staff photographer, not enough hands to milk AND take pictures!), we load up the car and head the 25 miles south to the city to meet with my wonderful ladies.

This day, Boy went with me because he was going home with one of his best buds (whose mom is one of our friends/customer, too) for a sleepover and fun at one of the local water parks.

After the pickup, I also had food to take to my Reyn BFF, as her father-in-love had just passed away and I only know one way to comfort...food.  This ended up being a whole 'nother "Rea" fiasco because later I discovered that I had left the food at the wrong house, and the residents were sure that the chocolate chip cookies I left must have been poison.....sigh. 

And what timing!  My car turned over a milestone while I was out! 

(And yes, I am aware that there are TWO check engine lights, and that I am out of gas!) 

After all the deliveries, over to Sam's to pick up coffee (something I am not able to grow on the farm) 

And fuel, because everyone gets nervous when I am out driving on fumes. 

And briefly looking at a new "milk mobile" because of the check engine lights..

Then finally a stop at the grocery to pick up prescriptions and my vice, Diet Citrus Drop (something else I can't grow on the farm -grin) 

Then back to the farm by 3 pm.  

Unload the car.

Milk jars to be sterilized.

Brief nap to take.

Then chore time....chores were a bit longer tonight as my Boy was off having a blast!

This is our only named chicken, Omlet.  She lets us pick her up and pet her.

More about her soon!

Taking care of my "flock" of turkeys.  OK, it's only 2:  a male (Stuffing) and female (Cranberry). 

Omlet is their 'pet chicken' too.

Taking care of the "girl dogs" Kristl and Iona.

Taking care of the 'herd' of rabbits.  Currently 38.

And the Twins!  They are getting so big!!

Miracle (left) and Franci (right)

Mama Cow, Hershey, out on her pasture line.

And Yellow Cat waiting patiently for his dinner.

Calling the hens for their dinner (sorry the video is choppy)

After all the Critters are fed and watered, it's time to go in and feed the people.  After fixing dinner, eating, and doing dishes, it's time to go do some work in the gardens.  

Danny Dog is my farm dog and comes along for all the chores....plus, he LOVES raw beans so he keeps me company with the hopes of getting a few (and usually does!)

This is the brassica patch in the front and behind that is the bean patch.

The Roma tomatoes are finally starting to change to red!!

Then as the sun gets ready to go down, it looks as though a storm is rolling in...

and I was able to get some amazing pictures of the sun rays!

And off to the house to finally get some sleep before it starts up again tomorrow morning!

Is it really spring??!?

It has been a LONG winter, eh?

Could spring finally be here?  I sure do hope so.  I haven't been on more as I've been having a Trigeminal Neuralgia flare up that is kicking my behind.  I can't even find words to describe it.  So I've had many days of getting up, milking the cow, take a nap, milk the cow, eat dinner and go to bed.

But in the meantime, I've also bought baby chicks to keep me happy.  Everytime things are really bad, I head to the feed store and get a few more fluffies to cheer me up...so now the current count is

Trip #1
2 Buff Orpingtons, 4 Americaunas

#2
2 Silver Laced Wyandottes
2 Gold Laced Wyandottes
4 Cuckoo Marans
2 Buckeyes

#3
6 Guineas (3 have died)

#4
4 Turkeys (3 have died)
2 Welsummers
2 Easter Eggers

#5
10 Meat Birds (1 has died)

#6
2 Buckeyes

#7
2 Dixie Rainbows
2 Brahmas
2 Partridge Rocks

So.....I have 3 troughs of babies in my pump house, and the first 6 are now big enough to live in the small moveable coop in the barn.  And just today, I had a chick hatched out by a broodie mama.  Only one (so it's likely a rooster) and it looks like a Barred Rock.  And one of the duck mamas wen't broody yesterday, so we may have ducklings in 40 days.

Ah...the feed store in the spring...

Going to the feed store in the spring is a dangerous proposition for me.  You see...in the spring time (and I know technically it's not spring for another 26 days) they bring in baby chicks....

But let me back up...just a bit.

I've been waiting for almost a month for my new cows....then there was a delay in delivery of the two....then somehow Half-Pint got hurt...then another delay in delivery.  She was supposed to come today.  But then I got a call that maybe it would have to be tomorrow as the ground is too soft to load....so disappointment.

Then my Boy was going to put up my grow room so I could start my seedlings.  But the package had 3 packages of one set of poles and non of the others...so I ended up with 16 missing poles and the tent had to be packed back up to go back from whence it came....sigh.

So my Dear Man, knowing what would happen...and actually encouraging me...sent me off alone to the feed store...

Two Light Colored Americaunas, Two Dark Americaunas, and 2 Buff Orpingtons.

And I'm going back on March 10 to geth the other 3 breeds I'd like to add!

Baby it's cold outside!! Animal Updates!

So it's the second day of sub zero temperatures.  Weeee!  I LOVE my new coveralls that the guys got me for Christmas.  They are pink-alicious!! AND WARM!!  I will definitely never get lost in a snowstorm....Raspberry colored coveralls, Lavendar Boots, and my Sky Blue Grandma Coat. (And don't forget my new "darth vader" ish face mask and -22 degree ski gloves!!)  I AM READY!!!

Time for animal updates.

And so far, so good.  All the animals are surviving.  They are all locked into either the barn or the coop.  We haul out hot water twice a day (sometimes 3 times) to make sure everyone is drinking and to help warm them up.  I have 10 chickens that have decided they are "too good" or "too wise" to hang out in the coop.  These are the 5 meat chickens that really need to go to "camp" and 1 rooster and my 4 oldest hens.  The majority of the occupants of the chicken coop are the 30 "teenaged" pullets that can start laying-any-day-now-thanks! and the ducks.  (I'm to the point of being ready to rehome the ducks too.  They won't go to freezer camp because we don't like to eat them. I'll have to find someone that does.)

We lost 3 of our rabbits before the cold really started.  It's sad because all of the rabbits currently are the ones with names that have been here for over a year and have given us litters.  All the ones that generally remain nameless (because they will eventually feed us) went for their drive in November.  We lost Waldo (AKA Killer) our big New Zealand White Buck.  He was very friendly, and loved to be scratched.  He was the daddy to most of our litters.  We don't know how old he was when we got him, and he started stumbling and not keeping his balance and then we just lost him.  Then there was our Florida White Buck, Lightning.  He scratched his eye and it got infected.  We treated the infection for almost 3 weeks.  One night I brought him in for his nightly wash out and treatment and he was fine...I made a decision that I was going to keep him in the house until he was well (something we DON'T do-keep rabbits in the house) and as I was telling Boy to go get me a cage to keep in the laundry room, he (the rabbit--not the Boy!) thrashed his legs, screamed and died.  It was very upsetting!  He was very docile and sweet so it wasn't the stress of being held...I think the infection took over more than his eye...and at least he died being held and loved.  Finally was the most upsetting, it was my "designer" rabbit that we got "free with purchase."  We bought some cages and she came with the cage.  She was a Trianta rabbit which is a fairly rare breed.  She was gorgeous with bright auburn hair.  She gave us a really nice litter this past summer.  She passed right after Christmas.  And even sadder is that her namesake is one of my Besties.  :(   We also don't know how old she was when she came to us, she wasn't actually sick, so we're going to call it old age also.

So we are down to 11 rabbits, and 1 is promised as a delayed Christmas gift.  My Man has been researching a new breed that we are going to incorporate into the rabbitry.  They are called AlTex Rabbits.  As soon as it is warm enough to bleach down cages, we're going to get just an AlTex Buck and breed him with our New Zealand Girls.  We have two that are currently (hopefully) bred.  We'll see around the 15th of this month if they took (fingers crossed!!)  Bred is Rexella (our new white New Zealand Doe that actually was born and raised here.) And Shadow, The Boy's black lop bunny.  We'll breed our other lop next week for Easter Bunnies.

Weldon is getting BIG!  He is doing just fine in the cold. He has his routines and doesn't like when they are messed with.  The other night I watered him and then had to go get feed from the chicken feed for the "uppity" birds in the barn, and he ran to the door out to the pasture and didn't just MOO at me to get back there to feed him his nightly ration of sweet feed...but seriously BELLOWED the whole time I was walking away.  And didn't stop until I turned around and was heading back to the barn.  Silly Bull!

Our Yellow Cat (Timmy) has taken to disappearing for days at a time, but I have recently discovered that I am pretty sure he actually is living in the loft and usually can't be bothered to get out of the hay to come be social.  Unless I call for him, which means I have some scraps for him and Iona.

When I went out to the barn this morning, I hadn't seen Yellow Cat for 3 days.  I had prayed over all the animals in the barn as I listened to the 30+ mile-an-hour winds that howled all night causing -20 degree + windchills.  I prayed an extra prayer that I would see the cat, so I would know he was not out on a prowl...I came into the barn this morning to find the cat cozily sleeping in the dog house, basically under the Pyrenees.  That is one smart cat.  That is the best place in the barn--under a big dog blanket!!  Iona (the Pyrenees) loves Timmy.  We are so blessed that all the animals get along!!  And I was blessed to see that the cat (and everyone else) was doing just fine.

In the house....it's COLD!  It's a very old, very drafty farmhouse, even with the new siding and putting plastic up on the window.  We have suspected for the last few weeks that there is a blockage of some sort in the chimney as we get smoke every time we open the door to add wood.  And really we don't seem to be getting much heat from it.  So tonight we will have to forgo our woodburner....(softly crying) and go with the emergency back up heat pump (that seems to only work well if it's OVER 30 degrees) and crank up the electric blankets. The fireplace needs to be completely cool when they come to work on it.  I think the predicted NEGATIVE 10 degrees will cool it down sufficiently, don't you??

I'm Thankful for....Day 15

I'm thankful that our "pets" feed us.
I was also so excited this morning to find that one of my two Americauna pullets came "online" this morning!  We have green eggs again!

Love them!

 

 

Baby Guineas and Baby Chicks...

It's been about a month ago....blush....but I got a boxful of guinea keets in the mail.  Now I have stories about my dear guineas....some real some my imagination.

A few years ago I got guineas...they are not the hardiest creatures.  Or the smartest.  Or the quietest.  But they are essential on the farm for the tick population.  Out of the 15 I got back then...6 survived for a while...and then there were two...And those two lasted for quite some time....but then Girl Guinea decided to sit on a nest WAAAAYYY far away from the coop.  And Boy Guinea (called Guinea-Guinea) would go out and check on her.  Then one day, the nest was empty of eggs and the girl.  She decided to spend a bit of time with Coyote.  
Have I ever mentioned we have a pack of coyotes around here?

Well, anyway, everyday Guinea-Guinea called to his mate:
"You-here? You-here? You here?" 
Alas, no response.

Finally, one day we didn't hear Guinea-Guinea calling for his mate.  We figured he was gone for good.  But then two weeks later, he came back.....
And then, gone again.  Now he's been gone over a month, so we are pretty sure he went to Coyote, ""cuse, me, 'yote?  Have you seen my mate?"

"Why yes, I have.....Would you like me to take you to her?"
"Yes, indeed, please."
And Guinea-Guinea and his mate are together again....in the Coyote's tummy.

SIGH

Anyhoo...good to know my luck with guinea birds is still about the same.
I received a box with 15 guinea day olds.  6 Dead on Arrival.  This is not good.
6 more died within 12 hours.  Then 1 more within the first 48 hours.  2 survived for about a week.  Then we lost another, and the last one looked like it was going to go too.  I brought it inside and kept it in a shoebox with a heating pad. 

The same day the guineas came, I needed to pick up some chick feed (as Bess had ate all the chick feed as her last meal :( ) And Rural King was trying something new and had Road Island Red Pullets (Females) and Cornish Cross Meat Chickens (day old). 

Some women impulse buy shoes.  Others hand bags.
Me? I impulse buy live farm animals.

So 2 RIR's and 6 meaties came home from the store with me. 

I feel pretty confident now at a month old, that these are going to survive.

Below are pictures from the day I got all the baby guineas and chickens.  I'll have to take and post more up-to-date pictures soon.



The big yellow looking ones are meat birds.  The brown/red ones towards the back are RIRs.  And the little gray looking ones are guineas.

 

Guinea getting a drink.

Farm animals-Picture Heavy!

Grandma Arizona came out to help with chores.  Man was "photographer" and took TONS of pictures of us with the animals.


Danny, Kristl, Rea, Bess, Weldon

Bess, Weldon, Rea, Iona, Kristl

Bess, Weldon, Rea, Iona

Bess, Rea, Iona (pay attention to ME!) Weldon

Bess, Weldon, Rea, Danny, Boy, Iona, Gma AZ 

Boy, Iona, Gma AZ

Grandma Arizona and the Meat Chickens

The harvest is almost ready!

Iona

Weldon, Bess, and Ta-Da, the Rooster

Gma AZ and Man
A boy and his Mom!

Chick Sitting

Danny is actually my Boy's dog, but he is quite the Farm Dog too.  He goes everywhere I go.  He is good about leaving the other animals alone (for the most part.) He's figured out it's OK to chase the chickens only when they are in the garden (although occasionally he has to do a quick chase of a rooster or guinea just because it is so FUN!)

Last week, when we got our new chicks, I let them out to "free range" for awhile in our "little" back yard.  And Danny sat among them and "chick sat".

Farm Critters....picture heavy

I thought I would do a day in the life...but my camera kept getting in the way.  Most of my jobs are messy ones....

First Installment...Farm Critters

Yellow cat has found a nice place to lay in the sun surrounded by a crumpled up wire fence so he doesn't have to worry about Danny coming to "play" with him.

Iona-girl looking all sweet.  She is in need of a good brushing to get the winter undercoat out.

Weldon has doubled in size.  He's approximately 75-80 pounds now.

 

Bessie is starting to put on weight again and looking very sleek. 

She'll be A.I.'d again in June.

 

Boy got a new set of cages for his 4H Rabbits.  We have way too many rabbits currently and some will be heading to "freezer camp" in the next few weeks.

 

While mowing, I ran over a wild rabbit nest.  We held onto them until we were done with the mowing and then reconstructed the nest and put them back.  Mama took them somewhere else entirely the next day.

 

Our newest chicks are all feathered out and will be moving out of the pumphouse and into the barn soon!

 

 

Busy on the farm.  Iona and Man getting the mower ready to go and the cows enjoying the sun.