We sold all of our baby goats from Spring/Summer 2011 - which means we sold 17 babies total! Our best year so far, hoping for one just a big and successful this year. Our waiting list for 2012 has already started.
Progress on the barn has been going well, we have the roof framed. We are waiting to purchase the tin for the roof and then move onto framing for the sides. I cannot wait for the barn to be completed and for the girls to move on in! I think they are anxious too since they keep spending time under the frame, I bet they are picking out the corners they want to sleep in!
The piglets, Max and Daisy May are doing GREAT! They are quite a pair. Max and Daisy do not like to be apart and follow each other around the yard. If I am out there with them they like to follow me around. Max and Daisy like to have their bellies scratched, sometimes they will walk right up to you and lay down when they feel they have not been getting enough attention. The pigs like to spend their time rooting through the yard to find the tasty roots below.
New addition to the farm - For Chris' birthday I got him 3 peafowl chicks. We think that we have two females and male. We are very excited to have these beautiful birds on our farm and look forward to collecting and hatching their eggs!
Our rescue efforts continue - a few weeks ago we rescued 12 chickens from a friend that was moving and could not take their beloved pets with them. They are all pure Dominique and are adjusting well to pasture life.
With every farm comes the chances for loss, sadly we have had our fair share this year.
-In September our beloved goat Pumpkin passed away. I had a necropsy done on her and the vet informed me that if if weren't for the fact that she was dead she would be perfectly healthy. So that was not very helpful information.
-In January, our valiant Gallahad passed away. He struggled a long fight with parasites and finally lost his battle. It was a very sad loss for us since he was so sick for so long and then showed such great improvement, only to come home and find that he had passed.
-Big Red, our first Rooster that was hatched here was attacked and killed by a neighbors dog while protecting his flock. That was another hard loss for us since he was our original Rooster.
-Krunk, Chris' favorite Silkie Rooster, with a foot deformity was pulled out of his chicken coop by a Racoon.
-Itty Bitty, Chris' favorite bantam cochin hen went missing from the farm without a trace. She did leave behind a sweet little hen to take her place.
It has been a rough start to the year, but we are persistent and cannot let these minor set backs discourage us from moving forward. This year we plan to finish the barn as well as add more pastures for the animals.
For chickens, we have decided to replace the coops we currently have with pure chickens of the same breed. This will be done over time as chickens come out of production or go missing. Coop 1, formally Red's Coop, will be the first coop to under go such a transformation. The Dominiques moved into coops 1 and I have found a local source for pure Dominique eggs that I will hatch this year and add to coop 1.
Well, thanks for checkin in ! I promise to update more timely this year!
