new additions

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted.  Things have been crazy around here.  Classes started the 17th and it is so hard to get excited about computer programming!  I miss biology so much!!!!  Unfortunately I still managed to score 100% on my final for my last class so I can't get out of learning this stuff on the grounds I can't get it...

Anyway, we have added 3 baby turkeys who have not been named yet.  They are adorable and I will get a photo up soon, just have to find my camera.   The turkeys are a heritage breed called Narraganset (not sure about that spelling though).  Our hopes are to have a male and 2 females so we can raise our own turkeys for future Thanksgiving dinners!  This breed is like the wild type turkeys so they grow slower then the kind commercially grown.  The commercial type born now will be ready in as little as 4-5 months but, the ones we have take about twice as long to reach butcher size.  Some say 8-10 months others recommend waiting tell they are over a year.  We have no plans to butcher these 3 little ones unless we end up with more than one male.  But hopefully they will provide lots of future holiday dinners!

The other addition is a new Roo.  Our neighbor got us a full grown Rhode Island Red Rooster.  He was in the neighbors barn crowing away this morning.  He is use to being a free range roo and so we are trying to give him his space but he is wandering all over our property and the neighbors.  Our main goal is to keep him out of the woods across the street.  Last think I want is him to be hit by a car of cause an accident!  But although he has been wondering around he keeps coming back to our beautiful girls.  We have 17 surviving chickens from the 22 baby chicks we purchased, I am hoping to be able to start telling boys from girls soon.  Keeping our fingers crossed for mostly girls so we will have lots of eggs!  If we have multiple roos then unfortunately...well, let's have happy thoughts that there won't be many.  Chicken soup anyone?

My Prayers

My heart aches for the people in Boston today.  Why has our world become this sad?  Why is there so much hate?  I don't care who is responsible...how can anyone justify these cowardly actions?  You want to prove your way is the best then stand up and state your case, don't hurt innocent people!  The injured are not major decision makers on global issues, just people out to have a nice day...

Home again

So glad to be home again!  We dove to Arizona to visit with the Grandparents and it was SO HOT down there!  Now I am happy to be home, rain and all...

All animals did fine while we were gone.  I can't believe how big the chickens have gotten!  Red Velvet is still a cuddler, I was worried that after a week of us being gone she wouldn't be so lovey but she is!  They have all changed so much that it is hard to tell some of them apart, going to have to really check them out and figure out who is who on a couple of them.  Stripe and Franny specifically look more alike, almost identical at a distance!

We should have another batch of kits any day now.  Keeping our fingers crossed that Rosey is ready to be a mom and steps up...We are also working hard on the Chicken run so the girls can get out and stretch their legs more.  I will post a photo as soon as it is done.

Coop

SHHHHHH....  Here that?  That is correct, total silence in the house!  We moved all 18 chicks into this new coop yesterday.(after adding roosts, heat lamp and pine shavings to the floor of course) And all 18 did fine all night long and I slept all night without being woke up by chicken squabbles!

Here are our fuzzy legged girls, Yoko and Poachy, they are light Brahmas, you can see Yoko's legs in this picture to see how they have feathers.  These are the smallest of the chicks and I have been worried about them but they are holding their own just fine.

Here is Cutie on the left and Americana (which lays blue-green eggs) and Stripe on the right is a Barred Rock (this is Shane's favorite chick and lays brown eggs).

On another note here are the new bunny girls.  Sozo on the left is a silver New Zealand/Flemish giant mix (heavy on the Flemish giant I think) and the little grey one on the right is Lovie also a New Zealand/Flemish giant mix.  They are not related, from 2 different breeders.  We are hoping to keep a variety of blood lines.  Now just need to add our white New Zealand purebreds and we will have a full house!

If all goes well, next year we have talked about adding turkeys, and goats are still a maybe???  I am trying to talk Shane into adding a bee hive too, wouldn't that be cool!!!!

surreal life

Family just finished dinner and I am sitting here enjoying a nice glass of wine since I have no place to go tonight...and all hell is breaking lose around me...the 18 chicks are constantly peeping and pooping and now they won't stay in their brooder and will roost on anything!  Remind me again why I wanted to have my own farm...I am thinking another glass of wine will make it all better tonight!

Shane has started the Chicken coop and hopefully the chicks will transition nicely out of my living room. Note to self: if raising baby chicks again make larger, harder to escape brooder!

By the way our farm has grown by 4 feet!  We adopted 2 new female rabbits, both are New Zealand/Flemish Giant mixes.  Sozo is a silver colored 6 month old and Lovie is a grey 3 month old.  Now all we need to make our breeding set up complete are 2 pure white New Zealands, a boy and a girl (unrelated) that I want to get from the breeder in Spokane if at all possible.

sad loss...

Good and bad news today.  Good news, our rabbits had babies...Bad news, they appear to be premature and looks as if they were still born.  Just going by what our kits looked like with prior rabbits I do not think they were full term.  We have never had the first litter of kits survive from any of our rabbits in the past.  I moved Buck out to give Rosey some peace for a few days.  We will give it another try and hope for a better out come next month.  Still hoping to find a white New Zealand female to add to our group real soon.

smoking

Shane is trying to quit smoking again... please send me all your possitive energy so I can get through this!  Last time he quit for 10 days and decided to celebrate by buying a pack...hopefully this time it will stick!!!