Thank you Lord for the rain we received yesterday, last night and today! We sure needed it! Need lots more but am thankful for what we did get.
Picked some peas and butterbeans today...put them in the fridge and will shell them tomorrow...too darn tired tonight. Got the goats wormed, Ben (our Labrador) bathed and groomed, and finished up some custom embroidered burp cloths for a wonderful family friend that just had their first baby!
All the chicks are doing great...the little Buff Orpington with the wound is doing much better and should make a full recovery.
Deperately need to make a trip to Jeffers (pet supply) next weekend and purchase at least one rabbit cage, hoof clippers and a new toy for Ben!
Oh, and we found a great home for our 1 1/2 yr. old Boston Terrier (Brody)...I sure hated to see the little guy go (had guilty second thoughts there for a while...esp. since he was a Christmas surprise from my wonderful husband), but Brody just did NOT fit in with our household...Our Lab (Ben) and Poodle (Ginger) are older and very laid back and Brody consistently jumped/knawed/nipped/licked on them no matter how much they growled/snipped at him...I was so worried one of them would "snap" one day and eat him up. AND fast...the little guy was like a bullet...very sweet and smart just HYPER. No amount of training we did worked when he was around the other critters...if you had him by himself, he was very attentive. Basically, there was NO harmony in the house, so something had to be done...he now has a nice home with an older couple and is getting all the individual attention and love he can stand. Good luck with your new life little Bro-Man...we'll be keeping in touch!
So, we have come to the conclusion that although Boston Terriers are cute and little , they are just not the breed for us. I hate to give an animal away...always worry that someone won't take care of them like I do but sometimes you have to make tough decisions that make situations better for all in the long run. Ben and Ginger are happy tonight...harmony has been restored!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Heartaches on the farm...
Well, today was not a good day for critters :( Our long awaited first litter of Holland Lops to be born in our rabbitry was delivered sometime in the middle of the night...1 stillborn. I figure it was the stress of the heat and the fact that we used a first-timer buck...and only bred them once. Several top-notch breeders recommend rebreeding right away (and multiple times) to ensure a large litter but I just can't bring myself to do that right now in this relentless heart and humidity! And not too sure, if our buck is even able to...with all this heat, he may be sterile until fall.
So, we will give all the bunnies a nice break and let them try to stay cool. We will start breeding again in the fall and will hopefully be blessed with nice, large, healthy litters of adorable fuzz!
We also lost 2 of the older pullets and 1 is wounded. Sometime tried to get into their pen and/or snatch them throught the wire. One Buff Orpington pullet was just gone...one Rhode Island Red (RIR) was mortally wounded and another Buff has a small puncture wound, which I treated and she should be ok. :)
I figure it was either a stray cat, coon or possum...leaning towards the cat...or cat keeps most critters run off, however she is getting older and there is good size tom cat that she has a little trouble handling.
We decided to move the pullets from their "biddie pen" into the Big coop with all the other chickens. We enclose the bottom underneath the coop with chicken wire and turned them loose. The older hens can't get to them and neither can any other critters :)
Hope everyone else is having a good week. Blessings, ~ Angie
So, we will give all the bunnies a nice break and let them try to stay cool. We will start breeding again in the fall and will hopefully be blessed with nice, large, healthy litters of adorable fuzz!
We also lost 2 of the older pullets and 1 is wounded. Sometime tried to get into their pen and/or snatch them throught the wire. One Buff Orpington pullet was just gone...one Rhode Island Red (RIR) was mortally wounded and another Buff has a small puncture wound, which I treated and she should be ok. :)
I figure it was either a stray cat, coon or possum...leaning towards the cat...or cat keeps most critters run off, however she is getting older and there is good size tom cat that she has a little trouble handling.
We decided to move the pullets from their "biddie pen" into the Big coop with all the other chickens. We enclose the bottom underneath the coop with chicken wire and turned them loose. The older hens can't get to them and neither can any other critters :)
Hope everyone else is having a good week. Blessings, ~ Angie
Friday, June 17, 2011
More chicks...
Hubby brought home 6 more Buff Orpingtons (st. run) and 4 Rhode Island Red (pullets) today! They are a bit older than our other biddies...in fact, they are probably a little more than a month old...they are in the gawky "dinosaur-looking" stage.
They are out in our "biddie pen" (a converted 10'x10' dog kennel wrap in chicken wire) and having a good ol' time. They love the igloo doghouse!
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I sure love my chickens.
They are out in our "biddie pen" (a converted 10'x10' dog kennel wrap in chicken wire) and having a good ol' time. They love the igloo doghouse!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
New Chicks are here!
We got our new chicks in the mail ! We received 5 Buff Orpington pullets (for those of you not familiar with chickens...a pullet is a "girl" chicken not yet of age to lay eggs in chicken-lingo) 1 Buff Orpington cockerel (chicken-lingo..a "boy" chicken not yet matured), 5 Blue Cochin pullets and 5 Silkie Bantams...3 white pullets, 1 white cockerel, 2 blue pullets. I just love chicks! They make the cutest "peep..peep" and are so darn cute. Not to mention, I love the old heritage breeds and "fluffy-butt" chickens! :D
Our daughter, Sarah, has now put our bunnies to the side and is spending all her time with the chicks. One dark blue (almost black) Silkie Bantam in particular. Now, she wanted the white ones...even had them "pre-named"...PuffBall, SnowBall, & CottonBall...they now take the backseat to the Blue Silkies, (which I orginally wanted/asked for). But, at least she is excited about them...the Silkies were ordered for her anyway (more or less :) to show in 4H.
Sarah is very good and gentle with our critters and loves to spend time with them...so much like her momma. Samantha, our youngest daughter, is a whole different ballgame. She is better suited to play with large, less delicate critters like rhinos and tigers...some that have a better chance of holding their own with her **LOL**
And of course, our son Nate, had to sit down and count each chick over and over again. ..."one chicken, two chicken, three chicken..."...etc. I think it is the sound they make that intrigues him.
Well, after getting them setup with starter feed, little sugar water and heat lamps, they are all doing good and seem healthy. This was our first time ordering from My Pet Chicken and thus far, I am very pleased and plan on ordering from them again next year! I like that you do not have to order a minimum of some outrageous number (like 25) of each breed and that you can specify pullets, cockerels or straight run (unsexed chicks in chicken-lingo)...this way there are no suprises (like ending up with a dozen cockerels) and I know exactly what I'm getting. Plus, the shipping was super fast on these...they were hatched out and shipped on Monday evening and we received them on Wed. morning! That is less than 48 hours in transit...perfect for newborn chicks! So, here's a BIG ol' "THANK YOU" to My Pet Chicken for an awesome order! :)
Our daughter, Sarah, has now put our bunnies to the side and is spending all her time with the chicks. One dark blue (almost black) Silkie Bantam in particular. Now, she wanted the white ones...even had them "pre-named"...PuffBall, SnowBall, & CottonBall...they now take the backseat to the Blue Silkies, (which I orginally wanted/asked for). But, at least she is excited about them...the Silkies were ordered for her anyway (more or less :) to show in 4H.
Sarah is very good and gentle with our critters and loves to spend time with them...so much like her momma. Samantha, our youngest daughter, is a whole different ballgame. She is better suited to play with large, less delicate critters like rhinos and tigers...some that have a better chance of holding their own with her **LOL**
And of course, our son Nate, had to sit down and count each chick over and over again. ..."one chicken, two chicken, three chicken..."...etc. I think it is the sound they make that intrigues him.
Well, after getting them setup with starter feed, little sugar water and heat lamps, they are all doing good and seem healthy. This was our first time ordering from My Pet Chicken and thus far, I am very pleased and plan on ordering from them again next year! I like that you do not have to order a minimum of some outrageous number (like 25) of each breed and that you can specify pullets, cockerels or straight run (unsexed chicks in chicken-lingo)...this way there are no suprises (like ending up with a dozen cockerels) and I know exactly what I'm getting. Plus, the shipping was super fast on these...they were hatched out and shipped on Monday evening and we received them on Wed. morning! That is less than 48 hours in transit...perfect for newborn chicks! So, here's a BIG ol' "THANK YOU" to My Pet Chicken for an awesome order! :)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
New Blogger on the Block...
Ok...I reckon I will give this "blogging" a try. Would rather write on my own blog and website than "update" on facebook and that "twitter-thing" anyway **lol**
I don't really have a set theme for my blog, but would rather just write about my day/week, or random personal thoughts and various experiences...some blogs may just be about how much I love being a mom, or tips on pet care...our new adventures with goats...maybe gardening and homesteading...or my passion with quilting & sewing...thoughts on a book I have recently read...my new addiction in raising/showing holland lop bunnies or maybe just sharing personal experiences or loving and living with a child with autism...oh, and NCAA football season is coming...gotta put a plug-in for our Florida State Seminoles...Go NOLES!!! Basically, whatever comes to my mind when I feel the need to "blog".
Thanks and God Bless! ~Angie
I don't really have a set theme for my blog, but would rather just write about my day/week, or random personal thoughts and various experiences...some blogs may just be about how much I love being a mom, or tips on pet care...our new adventures with goats...maybe gardening and homesteading...or my passion with quilting & sewing...thoughts on a book I have recently read...my new addiction in raising/showing holland lop bunnies or maybe just sharing personal experiences or loving and living with a child with autism...oh, and NCAA football season is coming...gotta put a plug-in for our Florida State Seminoles...Go NOLES!!! Basically, whatever comes to my mind when I feel the need to "blog".
Thanks and God Bless! ~Angie
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