What a long day it has been here at the farm. The day begins quite early with milking, processing the milk, feeding Beauty the horse, the rabbits, chickens, guineas, turkeys and ducks.
Today I acquired a new female rabbit. She is not an angora but should keep Prince happier than he was since he had no other rabbits for companions previously.
Our two turkeys, Hobbles and Goobles, seem to be adjusting well. Friday I should be getting some more turkeys. I am hoping to get around 20 this year.
Beauty let me brush her quite a while today. I was able to brush the area where her saddle would go. This was the first time I was able to brush there for an extended amount of time. She seems to be adjusting quite well to her stall.
Darla is producing a lot more milk and we are planning to get some more female goats by June.
My garden is blooming dandelions! Seriously! They have already got way ahead of me this year. I did some weeding and fed the weeds to the chickens who had a hey day with them.
This coming Saturday is the native plant auction in Indianapolis. I am considering going but have not made a definate decision yet.
Filed under Chickens, Dairy Goats, Goats, Horse, Poultry, Rabbits, Turkeys by on May 9th, 2007. Comment. 
It has been another rainy day here. I went out to see Beauty this morning and found out her name was Dolly. The previous owner stopped by and told Marie that yesterday. I am going to leave it up to Sarah what we will call her from here on out.
In addition to the Cardinal family living here I now have a Blue Jay family too. I haven’t found their nest yet but have seen the male and female frequently.
Darla and Mr. Buck have been fussier than usual due to being cooped up inside because of all this rain. They have decided they do not like the grass hay so I filled their hay feeder with the alfalfa hay. Animals can be really picky sometimes! When they first came the grass hay was fine!
A few of the chickens ventured out today and of course, Sunshine the duck who loves rain. Kim said she expected the turkeys and ducks to be ready sometime Sunday. I can’t wait! She is hatching some Polish Chicks for me as well. She found a trio of Showgirls for me too! I can’t wait to get those.
Filed under Chickens, Dairy Goats, Ducks, Goats, Horse, Poultry by on Apr 27th, 2007. Comment.
What a week! Beauty came into our life and we have all been working to train her. Sarah, my daughter, just loves horses and this was a real surprise for her. Right now she is being boarded until we get her stall built and the electric fence up. I am hoping she will get along with our two goats, Darla and Mr. Buck.
We are thinking of getting another dairy goat come June because we need more milk!
I am done hatching chicks for this season and have done pretty good so far. All of the chicks are healthy and growing. This weekend I will pick up some turkeys and ducks from Kim who is hatching them. She is also going to be hatching some frizzles and polish chickens for me.
This afternoon I heard a strange noise in my office back by the wood burner and thought it was a wild animal. It turned out to be Bibbs the cat and her newborn baby kittens. Looks like I will have barn cats after all!
Lowe’s had a 75% off sale today on their trees and shrubs that had been bitten by frost. I bought several new ones and we planted them tonight. I bought a Semi-Dwarf Orient Pear, Viburnum bracteatum ‘Emerald Luster,’ Sweet Bay Magnolia, Princeton Sentry Ginkgo, Pink Dogwood, Yoshino Flowering Cherry, Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice,’ White Princess Peach and a Sugar Princess Peach.
Finally we are thinking of putting some instructional gardening videos up on the website. To do this we need to have more space. This decision needs to be made by the 20th of this month. I would like to encourage anyone who can to please use the donation button and donate what you can. You will have a choice if you would like to be listed as a donor.
Thank you in advance.
Filed under Chickens, Dairy Goats, Goats, Horse, Poultry by on Apr 24th, 2007. Comment.
Darla is such a ham! She seems to know what a camera is and does the funniest poses when I go out with one!
I am making a honey wheat bread tonight to go with supper and more butter. We are really enjoying the ice cream and hot fudge sauce I made the other day.
Darla is such a character. When it is milking time she jumps right up on the stand but as soon as her grain is gone she begins stomping her foot and refusing to stand still until I get her some alfalfa hay to eat. Mr. Buck is settling in and sure knows when to run for the stall!
Friday was a nice day and they were able to go out into the yard for a bit in the afternoon. Would you believe Darla stood out and cried for the longest time instead of being happy she was out?
I have five chick eggs that are showing signs of starting to hatch today. The 21st day is actually not until tomorrow so it looks like I might get a few early arrivals.
It is snowing here today so I have been inside most of the day. I worked on painting a wood house that had a shelf on it that will have some nails put in it to hold corn for the squirrels to eat. We will put it on a tree outside the living room window once it is finished. I really like seeing the squirrels and birds in the garden.
I think the dogs and cats like watching them out the window as well.
All of the ducks and all but seven of the chicks, the last ones hatched, are in the chicken coop now. We had to move them out to make room for the new arrivals. In addition to the chicken eggs that are in the incubator I have a few guinea eggs too.
Saturday I will be at the North Park Mall from 2 to 4 with Lisa talking about the National Wildlife Federation for Earth Day. I will also be talking about the Plant-A-Row For The Hungry Program and encouraging people to participate! If anyone is in the area please stop in and say hi!
Finally we are thinking of putting some instructional gardening videos up on the website. To do this we need to have more space. This decision needs to be made by the 20th of this month. I would like to encourage anyone who can to please use the donation button and donate what you can. You will have a choice if you would like to be listed as a donor.
Thank you in advance.
Filed under Chickens, Dairy Goats, Ducks, Goats, Guinea, Poultry by on Apr 14th, 2007. Comment.
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