A Day in the Unfolding of the New Year

Trying to take on a few major projects while my work schedule is lighter, as well as help the kids with homeschooling and their own projects has kept me on my toes, but it has been quite rewarding. I will share more about the projects going on around here in the next few days. Okay, seeing how often I am too tired for blogging lately, how about I promise to do my best, but acknowledge they might be a bit late?

This blue Silkie pullet is one of a few new layers who have been contributing their first few eggs to the family here lately. This morning, she seemed bent on being broody, though she wasn't actually sitting ON the egg. Wyatt wasn't sure whether to be thankful she was making the collecting easy or explain how the whole broody thing worked, but since he was trying to get pens cleaned between storms, I think he was just happy for anything simple he could get!

Shine got to hang out in the house for a while with his buddy Shadow this morning. They haven't had as much of this time lately, since the rain and mud has led to some rather muddy hooves! On the flip side, at least the rain has the barrels mostly full again! Shine and Shadow sure enjoy the companionship, though, they were great friends when Shine was a house goat.

Later, Shine got to head down to visit friends at another 4-H club we compete with sometimes. A number of the youth are brand new to the group, but a few have grown up together showing as a group for several yers now. It is amazing to me to see them so grown up!

The older youth were examples and teachers, as they should be as Senior showmen. They also enjoyed laughing with each other and at themselves, I think!

Shine seems to be settling in to the showing thing, though he seemed to like raiding cookies from Bailey's pocket the best!

I think it is funny that after each trip off to training sessions, meetings and community outreach, both Shine and Shadow stop in the front yard to check all of the statues. 

I am not sure what they expect, but they are usually the only ones who move them!

FOr those of you following the saga of the lonely chick, I gave in this week and arranged for the little one to have some friends. A big thank you to Melanie for sharing some of her purebred Black Ameraucana stock with us, these will likely be te only new poultry stock until after county fair.The four little chicks have taken well to their new surroundings, and the slightly older Java of ours seems to also be taking well to having young charges to look after.

Some of the biggest news these days is that Miss Versie seems to be getting ready to kid. Bailey is spending lots of time out there, and we are tracking her progress. One interesting thing about her, Verse has taken in the last day to stretching out by climbing the fences of the maternity ward with her front hooves. I sure hope that means that the babies are settling well into proper position.

You can barely see Verse in this photo, she was in the corner of the pen after our last check. She really is a sweetheart. While I don't think kidding is truly imminent, I will head out there again in another hour and let Bailey sleep a bit. It never hurts to be on the safe side, these will be her first kids. 

On that note, I think I will squeeze in a short nap. While moping the kitchen is calling my name, I think it can wait a coupl eof hours and help me warm up after I traipse back out to the goat area in a spell. Hope you all have a wonderful night, I will share again when I can! Love to all.

New Baby Silkies Hatching

We brought in new roosters to the breeding program this Spring. I kept thinking that I would get to show how well they did at the open show at the fair in April, maybe I will get to that tomorrow =).Anyhow, they turned out to be great, and they moved in with the hens to begin helping the ladies with their eggs a couple of months ago,

This week, the first two of them hatched!  The little one on the left in the photo had trouble, and Bailey had to help it a bit. Whenever that happens, we don't typically have great luck. Nevertheless, the little one was holding its own when the other one hatched the second day, so we let it move to the brooder and give it a shot. In the end, it just wasn't strong enough, but it;s blue friend is managing alongside the other chicks in the brooder.

This little one looks as though it will be blue in color. It is cute and friendly, and playing happily with the other chicks, though it of course spends more time near the heat source than any of the others.

I love how curious chickens are and the consider you, and your role. I love how as babies, they haven't yet decided that my role is largely to bring treats and hide eggs from!

While farming has greatly underscored the old adage about not counting chickens before they are hatched, I hope those little Silkie eggs due to hatch soon do well so that this adorable little one has a friend "her" own age!

Spending the week trying to get our feet back under us!

We are finishing a crazy time in our lives. I have been immensely thankful for having chosen to home school this year. We will spent a good bit of the hot, desert summer finishing up the studies, but we're able to be there with our family when we really needed to.  What a blessing. 

Sunday, we kicked off the week with a fruit tart the boys were craving before heading of to church. . Bailey is settling in to her new assignment teaching the 4 and 5 year old class,  and I got to help while Wyatt enjoyed helping lead games in the last hour of Sunday school next door. 

Monday was a big return to studies, and also the last official 4h meeting of the year. Little Let Your Light Shine wasn't thrilled with sharing his Bailey with her school work, so he embarked on a mission to eat her assignment list.

This was in the back seat on the way to town to go to the meeting. When we walked in to the meeting,  the club president automatically saw Shine, called out, and brought the attention to the club leader . Since Shine was a distraction, he and I were sent outside. 

The youth updated one another, and then voted on officers for the next year. Bailey was elected Vice President, but was the only one who had signed up to run for Treasurer, so she slid over to the Treasurer slot to give her friend the job he wanted for his last year.

After the meeting, we all went down to the park for a potluck.  The kids had so much fun that some of us didn't leave the park until well after 9!

Finally, I rounded them up, with big kids carrying little ones on and over their shoulders, since I needed to open the gym in the morning. 

After my morning shift,  I stopped by to donate my ponytail. I thought we agreed on 11 inches for the donation and enough left for a decent ponytail to stay back from my face while I am teaching, but instead the ponytail was cut off at about 14 inches. 

This is how it came out. It was a bit of a shock for me, but it will be pretty cool for hiking this summer. I have to admit, though, that when the other moms waited for me after girls group, I felt like part of the family. It reminded me of when Charlie had let Bailey take Wyatt ' s ultrasound to school years back (strange, I know, I wasn't going to tell anyone yet) and I got to the daycare after work to find all of the moms waiting for me. I really feel blessed to be finding a true church home. 

Shine is really settling in to living with his people and his four legged friend, Shadow.  He would like to watch the baby chickens in the brooder, but  isn't tall enough to peek. So at this point, he was perched up on a couple of my boxes just below the brooder.

Sometimes he hangs out on the trampoline next to this, but Shadow loves it too, and this was closer to the noisy little ones!

We tried hard so far this week to settle back in to homeschooling, and when the wind wasn't too bad, getting our work done outside. Shadow seems to really be loving that, she curled up next to Wyatt to look at the white board list while he was working on Spanish.

While they were working on this, I tried to figure out what to do with all the ribbons from fair. This pile took more than the bed, and didn't include any from the livestock. The blue rosettes were what they used for purple ribbons for photography this year. I think I will let the kids decide if they want any photos up in their room, and put it all in photo albums by year. 

There is just so much, and they really did learn from the process this year, as well as from the feedback on the judging notes. They have one final photo competition this weekend, but they seem to really enjoy telling a story with their work and having time to dedicate to it.

Shine and Shadow have taken to sharing bowls, but last night he was guarding his bucket of hay pellets. His actual bowl is next to Shadow's, and for as much as Shine is appreciating the company, Shadow is too. We have lost several very special family members this year, including Shadow's brother Vegas, and she likes having a buddy around.

Shine has taken to sleeping on the bed with Bailey, like Shadow does with Wyatt. Here, Shine was practicing Shadow's skill at keeping the kids company during Spanish studies. In the morning when I go to wake them all up, Shadow and Shine lay there awake and wait for me to call them.

The spring hatch continues, as little partridge Cochins joined us, along with light Brahmas and more.

There are three little new ones in the brooder this evening who hatched last night and this morning, with more talking and pipping away in the incubator now. There are also blue Cochin bantams, which came from the same stock as those bailey took to fair this year. They all earned blue except for one, which had a comb injury from earlier on when he had stuck his head through the fence. Wyatt is eagerly awaiting his next batch of Silkies, after selling his favorite hen in the auction and bringing in new roosters to improve his stock. Some are sue almost any day now.

This was the first Polish to hatch from the ones we brought home this Spring. Cannot wait to see how it comes out!

Well, we did get a little going to try to finish the new pen, and Charlie brought home the wood we asked for for the doe barn project.  We will see what we get done tomorrow! What's going on at your house?

Poultry Available

The chickens around here are used to being spoiled, or in the words of chief poultry man, Wyatt, "well-cared-for".  We often have chickens available, from day-old to adult, in a variety of breeds. We do our best to keep this page up to date, but if you are inquiring about certain ages, breeds or birds, please feel welcome to email or call us.

This is Trooper, a blue ribbon partridge Silkie hen. She is still a wonderful mama hen, who keeps things in line around the Silkie area. When a couple young roosters moved in recently, they thought they would tell everyone who is in charge.  Trooper used the back of her head and backed the two young roosters up to the edge of the coop, then gave them quite a talking to. Their behavior changed radically, and there has been peace in the coop since, with the hens settling back in and eventually returning to sharing nests and setting on eggs as a team.

This is a group of younger chickens in the grow out pen. The Buckeye in the foreground is a blue ribbon, best of breed rooster now, and we only have one young Buckeye available at present.  The light Brahma behind him is among the blue ribbon hens (one of whom has recorded best of breed) that is the mama hen to the current grouping of young Light Brahmas. We have these available from day-old up to adults. These have been champion heritage meat birds, as well as breed winners in their own right.

Some of the Brahmas we hatched last year. We no longer breed the Buff Brahmas, but do have a few left from last year's hatch. They have such a wonderful disposition!

This Buff Brahma was determined to hatch little ones from her favorite rooster! Funny thing about the Brahma roosters, the ladies prefer them so much, they stand and talk to them at the fence, with their own roosters getting rather frustrated!

More of last year's Light Brahmas in the grow out area.  We have one trio of these available right now, who are about 2.5 to 3 months of age. The standard bred heritage day old chicks are $5 up until the age of one month, then $8, then after two months $10, and up from there to cover the cost of the soy-free, corn-free organic feed we use. We have calculated that by the time they reach four months of age, they cost us on average $15, with $20 by 5 months and $25-$30 by point of lay.

These are the babies in the brooder as of the middle of March. Two more little light Brahmas were hatched last night, and are not in the photos below. The little barnyard mixes we also have are a mix of Ameraucana, Phoenix, Brahma and Buckeye. They should be fun! As these are not purebred, they are available for $2 each as young chicks.

The little ones in the brooder get along so well, and even young roosters care for the younger ones as they come along.

Still the young chicks can also be found cuddling up to stuffed animals for a nap when the others are playing.

Present Availability:

day old chicks:

2 Light Brahmas

one week and up:

4 Light Brahmas

2 Partridge Silkies

7 Barnyard Mixes

2.5 months and up:

3 Light Brahmas

1 Buckeye

1 Partridge Silkie

Point of Lay (7 months to 8 months):

not available until after county fair at the end of April

2 Light Brahmas

6 Partridge Cochins

While there are still several eggs in the incubator, after these hatch, we will not set any more until after County Fair, and those will be very limited. Discounts are available to 4-H youth.  Custom hatches are available, with a deposit to set the eggs.

Please feel free to call, email and message with any questions you have!

Progress, Slowly but Surely!

Sometimes life just keeps throwing things at you to see how strong the core is and whether you can withstand the storm.  Last week, we learned the doe barn and the shower are definitely not very strong. Wel,, we had been putting those back together and helping them stand up for years, but the shower wall cracked open and the doe barn was a complete loss in the storm last week.

But life goes on, you pick up and keep going, and learn and are made better in the process.  While I could go for a little less of this shaping, I am learning a great deal, and the applied math is quite the ongoing home school lesson plan as a break from the books!

These photos are the sprouts in the new baskets. They are finally sprouting. Much of the way these baskets work is very different than the prototype containers I had been using. Once I get the correct things down to an exact science, I will share exact timing and measurements. 

If you have any you would like to share, there are several folks wanting to learn! Please feel free to comment directly to the blog so they can benefit from your knowledge and experience.

We did have one mishap where I was moving the stack for watering, and all the boxes fell and had to be put back together. I am a bit of a klutz, as you can tell...

On Monday, the kids and I began the research process on the new shower in earnest. When we renovated the master bedroom and bathroom about ten years ago, we put in a corner shower unit. Back then, it was a great choice, really opened up the room, and the plastic wall were really the latest.  (Hard to believe, huh?) This one was initially put in wrong, so Charlie and I had to do the best we could to try to redo it without damaging it, and in the end I ended up redoing the glass and caulking every year since. So when the crack appeared i the plastic wall last week, it was more annoyance than surprise.  

The design in the bathroom layout really needs to stay though, so my options are a different shower of he same type, a different shower of an upgraded version, a different one of a quarter round version, or a similar pan with tile walls and similar upgraded glass doors. 

The nice gentleman at Lowe's helped me inspect the pan on all of them, and showed me that the upgraded version of what we have was on a clearance sale. So, is that good or bad? Charlie and I thought about it, and yesterday, I went back and purchased the whole kit. I have 90 days to change my mind or change my mind about the walls and put in tile, so now I just need to decide whether I am really up for the entire installation. The demolition, on the other hand, I know I am up for, this thins has been annoying!

I think I have the doe barn issue narrowed down to a couple of possible solutions, which Charlie and I are still debating. But I need to get it fixed fairly quickly, so I do need to get on task with that!  What do you all use for your does? We do have one separate kidding pen, so sectioning off isn't a big deal, but we need something that will provide shelter from heat and wind, sun and rain, etc. And which will hold up to the weather and wind, while providing support as it will be a chunk of the fencing of this pen.

Well, slow and stead progress moving forward. The shower didn't fit in the little SUV, so the truck has to go back for it today, and hopefully this afternoon that new pen project can make some headway.  Oh, and kudos to those nice folks at Lowes. The recognized me, took time to help me, went out of their way to try to get everything together and keep me on time for work yesterday, and laughed their way through the ups and downs, evening noticing the USAA on my debit card and asking for my military ID so I could have a discount above and beyond the clearance price. So often doing things by myself as a military wife, I feel like there is a neon sign above my head saying cheat me, I feel so blessed when I do things usually left to the men and have such a wonderful experience!

Love to all, and have a wonderful day. Relish the blessings where you find them!

And a Beautiful Week Brought a Wild Wet Weekend!

The young Light Brahma on the left hatched on Monday morning, the little Silkie tucked between the stuffed puppy and the brick holding the water was hatched on Friday. So cute and sweet, and the first poster babies for the baby animal photo contest launching this week on the farm Facebook page.

These copper thunderbird and swarovski crystal earrings are one of the prizes for the contest!

The tomatoes are getting closer to being ready to go out each day. Perhaps by the time the storms pass, everything will be ready!

Kale and spinach growing in one of the lettuce beds. One of Wyatt's hens keeps sneaking out to play in the other lettuce bed and eat the seedlings and dust bathe in the lettuce bed, so I am going to replant that one after the weekend storm moves through.

The Pichu plants are coming back pretty well, thanks to those of you who gave me advice in how to prune them! I will be looking to see how they grow in compare to the seeds I saved from last year.

The chickens were loving the beautiful weather during the week, and particularly enjoyed dust baths...

Some were willing to share the craters they had dug in the ground...

others don't share very well and send the others off to find their own spots!

We have been continuing with the special coop project.  The kids got the panel of doors attached to the fence panels, but with the weather we were unable to get anything else done on the project yesterday or today. Hopefully the coming week!

I haven't gotten to tilling the main garden, though hopefully soon. Funny thing, Shadow is absolutely convinced that the owl on top of the clothesline is going to mess with her farm, so she keeps a close eye on it and tells it who is in charge...

For some reason, I am entertained with this tree that died in the buck pen. This branch makes nice firewood, though I miss the tree!

We believe silly Silver here is pregnant, though we haven't had her tested. Going to have to get her some more exercise, though,  I think she is a little big right now, and don't want that to cause problems.

I have been acquiring windows and glass panel doors for a greenhouse project to come. I am really looking forward to that project, but lately other projects keep presenting themselves, so hopefully soon!

We haven't had rain since back in November, as far as I remember. A big storm blew in yesterday evening, with mostly wind, but things were holding their own this morning. Then this afternoon, another big round of wind came. This is the doe barn, pretty much a total loss.  All of the animals are safe, though, so we are glad and will begin creating plans to rebuild.

This double rainbow appeared in the front. Funny thing about the wrath of a storm, so beautiful, yet leaving such destruction.

The geese are pretty much the only ones who are loving the weather, but I am thankful for the rain!

This single rainbow was to the North East of us.

  When life gets crazy, it is good to bring out the treats to brighten the day of the chickens!  Okay, so everyone got treats and the animals all enjoyed them, and we enjoyed breakfast for dinner. Now time for one last check of the night before bed. Hope you are all safe and sound and have a wonderful weekend!

Watch for that contest to come up this week., and set aside your photos you want to enter. Love to all!