Saturday, October 13, 2007

Saturday, October 13, 2007


While we were working in the garden this morning, I noticed Lily/Willy (Willie?) standing very close to the fence and holding her head very still while Aileas licked her ear. Aaaw, how sweet.


Six of our does came in heat in May but only one of those breedings actually "took". Dana is due to kid October 18, and she is definitely feeling rather full! The rest of the does were bred again late in August so wont be kidding until January.



We ordered 50 Cornish X chickens and they arrived Friday. We are hoping to sell enough of them to cover the cost of their feed for the next 8 to 10 weeks. Mum sent me a great link on feeding chickens ( http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/1/1-4/Harvey_Ussery.html ) and I am hoping to feed these little feathered freaks as naturally as possible. The Cornish are bred to grow out to butchering size in 8 weeks, which is definitely not natural. They are prone to heart attacks and crippling leg problems from their rapid growth, which is why we limit their feed after the first two weeks. We also feed kefir almost daily, depending on our milk supply. We have experimented with various feed mixes and have not been totally happy with any of them. We'd like to avoid soy and antibiotics as well as any of the strange additives that go into commercial chicken feed. You can place your orders now! :o)



Mooky did do a little tilling, but was having trouble with the tall grass wrapping around the blades (tines?), so Kris took over and Mooky sat down to rest his weary body. The tall grass was a result of me getting behind in the weeding all year long! I ripped a bunch of it up and threw it over the fence for the animals, but couldn't keep up with it due to the fact that one of my helpers didn't feel good all year long.
We are planning to plant oats in most of the garden for the winter, and let the meat chickens spend a lot of time in there eating greens and bugs in addition to whatever feed mix I can come up with. Then later on we'll let the goats in to graze occasionally.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Gluten for Punishment

Mooky thought that he should have his own cooking show and Erinn suggested he call it "Gluten for Punishment". :o) Ha! Aren't they funny?

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Pokey


Pokey used to love to jump up on our bed and take a nap.





I love these pictures that Alex took of Gabby and Erinn.

Faster Pics

Here's Erinn trying out Bailey's english saddle. She loved it, and she said Thunder did too!


I cant believe how much faster most of these are loading, so I might as well get it all out of my system right now before switching back to the new computer.
Today, besides the leak under the house, we got lots of MNAF work done, some gardening, all the laundry, and Kris planted oats in the "hay field". IT's not exactly a HUGE field or anything, but it IS fenced in and is a good place for Pokey and other deer to graze. Once it gets pretty tall, we open the gate and let the other animals in to graze.
Mooky is really nauseous and hurting in his joints. It's been a couple months since he had so much joint pain. He almost threw up earlier, but is feeling better now that he's spent some time outside making a shield.
I let the little Banty Mama and her four chicks out of their pen today. She is keeping close tabs on them, trying to avoid goat hooves!
I had to buy store bought eggs on Thursday when I went to town. YUCK!!! They are so pastey white and runny! I'm fixin' to make chicken stew out of a bunch of these hens! Who wants to come for supper?

Pictures


Mooky and "Little Wheels" 3-07




Christmas '06 with the Beairds. We had such fun!

Happy Birthday to Kaetlin!


I'm still on the old computer so I won't be able to post any more recent pics of Kaetlin until later.

Happy Birthday to Alexandra!


Skipper!



I need more recent pictures of you!
Here's one of when you broke you arm by trying to do a flying leap OFF the trampoline. :o)

Weird Problem


Gabby feeding Pokey 8-06




Summer '06. Tana and Erinn with Glory.




Legacy - one of our all time favorite LaManchas.

This morning Kris asked me if I had looked under the house for a nest of eggs since the chickens are either NOT LAYING or have a hidden nest. So, I got the flashlight, but rather than finding a nest I found a LEAK! Yikes.
Kris crawled under there and found that there was a damaged pipe that needed to be replaced. The question is, how on EARTH did that pipe get damaged? It was partially crushed! There was only a 6 inch space where any critter could have gotten under there and the damage was up high, right against the bottom of the house. The puddle under there was small enough that it couldnt have been a long time problem. Weird. Strange. A mystery.
Anyway, I am thankful we found it before it was a huge problem! So, we've spent the day getting the necessary pipes in town and preparing the problem. It was an easy fix, except the going to town part.

Old Computer, Old Pictures


Side view of the house before we had the barn, when the kid pen was UNDER the deck!



Oh my. Look at those bare feet in the barn yard. That explains the parasites. :o(






Look at the ears on this Saanen kid! Makes me miss having Saanens.


This is a "4-H '06" picture of the kids at the livestock show. (Sorry about the eyes.)