I'm dreaming of...chicks!

Happy Tuesday! I can't believe how fast time is flying. At the end of the month I will be back in Maryland and back in my house. Sgt G (my husband) and I were talking about our goals, and our farming goals came up. We realize that we don't want to jump back in with all the animals we had before, at least not while we try and work on things together. We did decide that we wanted chickens. We ordered 25 chicks that will be delivered in April. They are an assortment of egg layers and I can't wait to hear little peeps again! We still have all our chicken equipment, which is one of our reasons for starting right away with chickens. There will not be a huge start up cost other than the chicks and feed. When we left the house, we sold all of our fencing, gates, and goat equipment. I would love to have goats asap, but realize financially they will have to wait. I am hoping that as soon as I get back, we can get a garden started for the year too. We are catching up on mortgage payments, and paying 1.5 payments until we are caught up so the budget will be super tight. My goal is to grow as much as possible to try and cut the grocery budget down. The chicks will not start laying until they are about 5-6 months old so we wont have eggs right away. Hopefully we will find other frugal ways to increase the homestead and save money in the long run. I am so excited to be getting chicks. Sgt G and I had fun picking out what breeds we wanted. Here's a picture from one of my favorites from last year...

The Birds, The Bees and the ... Bunnies?

Our week this week has focused on three things (mainly). The Birds, the bees and bunnies. The birds- the chickens are developing like crazy. The chicks are huge! We are planning a massive coop redesign for the up and coming chicks. The bees- Our bees are scheduled to come next week. Up until yesterday, our hives still had not arrived. Me, being the self appointed stresser of all things, was worrying my head off. What am I supposed to do with a hive of bees, and no hive to put them in? I lost sleep over this one. Finally, they came in the mail. Today I rushed out to Home Depot to buy paint. The paint is fittingly named Araucana Blue. Which I take as a sign, since today we got our first blue egg from our Araucana hen. See? It all focuses on the birds and bees. You are wondering where the bunnies come into play? No new births or deaths in the bunny world. An angora did manage to escape but Hubby found/caught it. Bunnies make it on the blog because they are too darn cute. See pictures for any explanation.

Colors of Spring

sadness

It seems like death has been the theme around here recently. This morning I discovered my favorite chick, Little Guy, was dead. Little Guy, the chick that I saved and spent so much time caring for. I was extremely sad to see him go, but having no choice, scooped him up with the shovel and disposed of his body. In the past two weeks we have lost 10 chicks and a bunny. Not a good 2 week record. However on the farm, it seems when there is death, there is also birth. I posted last night about the baby bunnies who are thriving. If Marshmallow did impregnate the 2 angora ladies, they will be due this week. I am not sure how well he "worked", but we are giving the girls until next week before we put them in with Fluffy the new angora stud. Today we are also reintroducing the first mama bunny back with her baby daddy. Its a circle of life and I understand it. we would be completely overrun with animals if they never died. It doesnt make it any easier though... Poor Little Guy.

Thunderboomers

So people around here refer to thunderstorms as thunderboomers. A phrase I hadn't heard until we moved here, but I think is quite fitting. A thunderboomer doesnt allow one to sleep, unless you are Hubby who can sleep through anything. A thunderboomer shakes the house so that the glasses on the kitchen shelves rattle. A thunderboomer is amazing and what I am witnessing right now. Today was a normal enough day. It was slightly cloudy as we worked outside all day. Hubby emptied out the little red coop completely, down to the bare floor. We moved it across the yard (moving a 400+lb chicken coop is not easy) to be near the playhouse coop. We set it up with new bedding and moved all the chicks over. This time we put a heat lamp in "just in case". Today would never qualify as a warm day, but it was nice enough to turn off the heater. Tomorrow is supposed to be 81 at the highest temp. No wonder we are having thunderboomers tonight! Since we were home all day today, the chickens enjoyed free ranging. As we would move the little coop slowly, they would bring up the rear, pecking at anything they thought might be food. This includes my shoelaces. We moved the ducks into the goat pen so that their pen can dry out from all the mud. Their blue kiddie pool moved with them and they are quite happy. They are not too sure what the goats intentions are. Jackie, just wants to play and she jumps about. If she jumps too near the ducks they all quack and run. Jackie will stand still for a moment trying to figure out where all her new friends went. She gives up eventually and leaves them be. When I checked on them all this afternoon I wished I had my camera (which by the way is on vacation until I find the charger). Jackie, Billy and Kisses were all basking in the sun together. Billy's head was on Kisses' tummy and Jackies was on Billy. Super cute! Even the ducks were laying down enjoying the sun, and having peace of mind that the goats werent going to do anything as long as they were sleeping. On a sad note, Marshmallow the angora is not looking well at all. In fact, we expect he will pass any day now. He was old when we got him, complete with a broken back healed wrong. We figured we would just let him live out his days. He did see the vet about 2 weeks ago for his eye. Friday night he started acting super lethargic. He would fall on his side and couldnt right himself. He was still interested in his food and water, especially his hay. Today he doesnt even open his eyes. We know he is alive because his nose twitches. Poor guy. There is no point in taking him to the vet because he is a really old bunny. When we visited the vet last week even the vet admited that he was old, and no matter what tests we do, he is still going to be old. I explained to the vet that I wanted Marshmallow to be healthy, even if he is old. So the vet gave us medicine for his eye and gave Marshmallow a haircut. I am not sure if Marshmallow is reacting to the meds, or if he would be sick anyways. It is sad to watch him like this and we are doing our best to keep him as comfortable as possible. I will not be surprised if he doesnt make it through the night. Speaking of angoras, and to lighten the mood, we did adopt another angora, Fluffy on Sat. Fluffy came to us from another knitter who is moving and cant take him with her. Fluffy is 2 years old, litter box trained and loves playing with the cats. He had the longest nails I have ever seen on a bunny. They were so long that they would lay sideways . I trimmed them (at least 1/2 inch on each nail) so that he is comfortable and can walk. Each week we will trim them a little more, so that the nail and the quick return to normal size. Other than that, fluffy is extremely healthy and as handsome as can be. We intend to breed Fluffy with the two girls so we can have more fiber animals (or sell the offspring). I am so thankfully that Hubby lets me indulge in them, as they are not very practical. But Hubby puts up with me, and I love him dearly. Hubby and I witnessed Mittens, the cat, jump from the second story balcony to the ground below and run away. We have been wondering how in the world he gets off the deck. Now we know. Mittens was our troubled cat, who would pee on inappropriate places. Mainly the bed. Especially the bed with fresh sheets. So Mittens gained outside privedelges. On nice days we open the french doors and let the cats on the deck. Buttons hasnt figured out how to escape (yet). Mittens always escapes and returns later, sometimes a week later, sometimes days, or like tonight, sometimes hours. Mittens returned tonight just as it started to rain. Smart cat he is! This week will be a busy one here at Victory Garden Farm. We are hoping our tax return comes so we can put up more fencing for the goats. We have one roll of fencing up, and are waiting the funds to finish the real pen. For now they are in a chain link pen composed of many dog pens put together. While it works, its not very permanent. Hopefully we can get the fencing up next weekend. I have the next two days off, and am having fun planning knitting projects. If tomorrow is as warm as its supposed to be I might take my knitting outside for a spell. Hopefully I will find the camera charger tomorrow...

Dont count your chicks before....

As we flip the calander page to April, we are not starting out on a great note. Yesterday we discovered a dead chick in the chick coop. We didnt think much of it. Hubby cleaned it up, we put fresh bedding down and left it at that. This morning on my rounds, I opened up the coop and pee-eww! it stunk. All the chicks went running out to fill their bellies with food and water. All but the pile in the back corner. I counted at least 6 dead, together in the corner. There was no way I could clean up the dead, clean the coop, and move the chicks back in all by myself in the rain. Just wasnt going to happen. Their old brooder box was available, so I transferred all living chicks to the brooder, inspecting each one as I did. They dont look sick. Hubby's thinks they froze to death, which would explain why they were all huddled together. To say the least, the brooder is small, has a heat lamp and they should be warm. This weekend will call for some cleaning out of the little red coop. Just covering our bases in case it was a virus or something. We have 42 chicks left. Out of 51. There is a saying that goes something like "dont count your eggs before they hatch". well I am ammending it to say "dont count your chicks until they are grown...and not even then" Speaking of grown chickens, we have 19 hens in the big coop. 2 additional hens are completely free. Two Rhode Island Reds we named Rosie and Josie. They were molting when they came to live with us and we kept them in a seperate coop since the other hens would peck them bloody. Rosie and Josie had never laid eggs as they were molting. While hubby and I were cleaning out the barn last weekend, we found 3 eggs. They had to have come from Rosie or Josie, since they are the only true free range not caged hens. Rosie and Josie never bonded with the flock, and refuse to go in the coop with the others. Instead they sleep with the ducks. Yesterday Hubby and I went in the barn to get some straw. Inside a Rubbermaid container Rosie or Josie had made a nest of straw and there sat 4 eggs. I guess now we are going to play find-the-egg game. I am super excited that they are laying now. In a few months we will need to cull out the flock, and they were on my list to go, since they werent laying. Now I can remove them and they have secured their future with us. Every morning I open the back door to do my rounds. Rosie and Josie come running to me. They follow me to the big coop and wait outside while I go in. They follow me into the goat pen, paying no mind to the goats. They follow me to the shed, to the geese, to the chicks. And they follow me into the duck pen where they take their breakfast with the waterfowl. At night its the same routine so you can see why they are some of my favorites. I can pick them up, they eat out of my hand, and I have to admit I like having an entourage following me about. Everything else is going smoothly about the farm. We got snow two nights in a row (which I think is the cause for the deaths around here). Tonight's forecasst doesnt look any different. Hubby and I checked in on the baby bunnies last night. One is incredibly fat, and the others look like they are starving. Normally I dont like to interfere with nature, but I am not about to lose baby bunnies too. We fed them all (except fatty) on Mama. It is incredible to watch them suckle and latch on. They squirm and do acrobatic movements but never let go of the teat. There is a runt, who I doubt will make it. I am hoping she does, but I have learned not to count my baby bunnies either... A pot of coffee is brewing and a hot shower is calling before I have to go to work. I am going to snuggle on the couch with my coffee and lastest book. Just for an hour before I leave... PS

I had to add some happy pictures..check out the bean and pea seeds we started...

And our 6 meat birds who are living in the laundry room until thier brooder is available again....

Seeds, Sunburn and Snow

Within the past 24 hours, I have planted seeds. got a sunburn and watched it snow...welcome to spring! Yesterday was on the nicer side of cold. Temperatures hovered in the low 50s, which was enough to get me out and going. Luckily I had the day off and was able to get a lot done around the house. I planted more seeds, but instead of veggies, these were of the flower variety. They will be started indoors since spring is so moody here. When we bought the house last summer, all of our efforts went into working on the inside. We didnt have time or the means to clean up the leaves on the lawn that fell in the fall. When we finally had time to devote to the outside, it was winter and either snowy or wet. So the leaves just sat there all winter, thankfully not damaging the lawn. Now that the weather is warming up and the snow has melted it is time to deal with the lawn. I raked up the leaves on the front lawn. When Hubby got home from work he brought huge lawn bags from Home Depot. We bagged up all the leaves and burned them. We stayed out working on the yard until it got chilly. Only then did I realize I had a slight sunburn...oops. I am so not used to this nice weather.

Apparently I shouldnt get too used to it. As I type, big flakes of snow are floating down. So far, they are melting when they hit the ground, and I can only hope they dont decide to stick around. I like snow- in the winter. Not at the end of march, when it should be 60. No, I dont like snow today, not at all. Rain I can deal with. Rain is good for the garden I am trying to convince to grow. Snow is just cold...

On a happier note, my pullets have a new trick. If you remember we have 4 pullets- chickens who are not old enough to lay, but older than the chicks. When they see me coming they fly through the air and land on my shoulder/head/any body part higher than my waist. THey will then sit on my shoulders until I force them to get down (this usually involves feeding them). I think they think I am their personal perch. I love it! Who wouldnt love walking around with 4 chickens on her shoulders? Ok, maybe dont answer that. Sorry about the bad photo quality. The pictures are from my phone.

Tonight calls for cuddling with the hubby watching the 4th and final season of The Good Life, which my Mamaw sent me in the mail today. Thanks Mamaw and Papaw for thinking of me! Leftover chili with cornbread muffins for dinner when Hubby gets home.... I am going to go put on some handknit socks and a sweatshirt!

Hello and Goodbye

This week there are a lot of changes going on around the farm. The chicks said hello to their new coop. Mama Bunny said hello to her babies. And the farm will say goodbye to Meanie. Today Meanie has her date with the butcher. In just a few hours I will load her into the truck and she will say goodbye to her home. Sad? yes. Part of life? yes. It may be her last day with us, but that doesnt mean she is neglected. In fact, this morning she had got herself tied up and couldnt stand. I dropped everything I was doing to go untangle her. She may only have a few hours left, but by golly, they will be good hours. Hubby gave the goats extra hay last night, and they got extra rations this morning. I dont think Meanie knows what is going to happen later, and maybe its better that way.

On a happier note, Mama Bunny is doing well. All 7 babies are alive so far. I realized last time that I can't count them as alive until after a week or so. If Mama bunny feels that one or two are weaklings, she will take care of it. And by that, I mean she will eat them, dispose of the evidence. I always thought it was horrible that a rabbit could and will eat their young. I guess if I look at it from the rabbits perspective, she is doing it to save the others. If she were in the wild, a predator could sense the weak babies and would be drawn to the nest. So perhaps that one weak runt would be the death of the whole litter. The mama would just be trying to put the best interests of the rest of the babies ahead of one baby. So far, all our babies look fat and healthy. I am hoping they all live and will keep you updated.

Today is another cold dreary day. I dont think its supposed to heat up much. I am layered in my farm clothes, drinking my coffee, with the heater turned down. Tonight Hubby and I are hopefully doing our taxes. It will be our first year owning a home, and I am hoping to get a tax break. Last year we barely got a refund, and this year we could really use it. We are still not using credit cards, and while its hard!, its also sooo much better. There isnt the stress hanging over us while we wait for the bill to come. If we dont have the money, we dont buy it. This is teaching us restraint, but also to be content with what we have. I have been knitting from my stash and realizing how much yarn I do have. We are cooking "from the pantry". We go grocery shopping for fresh veggies and fruits as well as coffee and milk. Other than that we are trying to clean out the pantry. We have a ton of frozen meat in the chest freezer and are going to try to thin it out. We are learning to adapt and use what we have. We are loving it! Once Kisses has babies (if she is pregnant), we wont have to buy milk at the store. We havent bought eggs since I cant remember when. We will have even more meat, after Meanie's date. The baby bunnies will fill the freezer too. When the chicks are old enough to lay, we will thin out our flock. Our meat chicks will be ready in a month. I want to buy as little at the grocery store as possible.

This post is getting way off topic...and laundry is calling. We are looking forward to what other hellos and goodbyes will happen here on the farm. Stay tuned!

A day off

Working the farm is not a 9-5 job. You cant punch the timecard at 5 and leave it be until the next day. If an animal needs something at 2am, up we go. We are constantly checking on our animals and thinking about them. Mama Bunny still isnt officially a mama yet. We can see the wee babes moving in her tummy, but they refuse to enter the world. We are checking in with the mama to be every hour. We are always checking on the chicks, who yesterday moved out into the little red coop. The meat chicks are in a seperate coop but the 51 layers are in the red coop. Chicks require constant attention. They are always needing fresh water and food. We check on the big chickens in the big coop. We check for eggs. If we are not checking for "something" we are working on improving another. Yesterday while I was at work, Hubby put up fencing all around the garden. He is amazing, and such a hard worker. Not only did he get the garden fenced in, he used our goat fencing and nailed up a fence along the lane. To this fence we will attach the existing chain link, until we can afford to buy more real fencing. If I mention something, before I can blink Hubby has it done. Sometimes I take this for granted. So today, now that all the "checks" are done, the rabbit cages are moved, and the chicken brooder is cleaned, we are taking the "day" off. And by day I mean 3 hours. Ladies and Gentlemen, Hubby and I are going to the movies! Yes, this is a rare occasion. We hate how expensive it is to go to the movies. Luckily for us, I discovered two movie passes we were given two years ago. We will take our own snacks and drinks, and todays outing wont cost us anything (except the gas to get there). Todays date is much needed and will be much enjoyed. Hubby has a rough week coming up and I am hoping this will lighten the load. Off to the movies we go!

missing bunnies...

Today started off normal enough...well I will admit it was super hard to get out of bed at the normal hour since it was dark and rainy. I waited until the very last minute and got up to tend to the farm. Dont get me wrong, i am not getting up at 5 like hubby. I waited until about 730 before convincing myself I had to get up.

Farm chores go like this- check on the chickens (feed and water) in the big coop. Check the ducks, chickens in red coop, other ducks, and geese. Feed and water as necessary. Feed goats. Check on bunny in coop by the barn. Check on bunnies in stacked cages. Check on Mama bunny and babies... babies? This morning on my check, there was one baby in the cage with mama. Four were missing...the door was slightly ajar. Not open so Mama could get out, but just enough for four mischievious babies to escape. Hunting down 4 baby bunnies was not in my alloted time frame. Mama Bunny's cage just happens to be next to the huge woodpile. hmph! I spotted one bunn sitting on a log. She had nowhere to go and I caught her easily. A second bunn was under the stairs. I tried for 10 minutes to catch her, but she would run into the woodpile. I still had to feed the chicks, dogs, other chicks and cats. And get ready for work. I was headed in to the mudroom to get food and water to leave out for the babies, when I spotted the fourth baby sitting by the door. Scooped her up and she joined Mama and the first two. I set out food and water for the remaining babies. One I knew was under the wood pile, but the fifth I had not seen. I finished up with the farm chores, got ready for work and hit the road.

This afternoon, after work, my attention was focused on finding the baby bunnies. I knew there were 3 in the cage with Mama. How hard could it be to find the remaining 2? Ha...what a joke that was. In the cage with Mama was not the 3 I had expected, but just 1. The door again was ajar. What a day, what a day.... Long story short, all 5 babies are reunited with Mama. The wood pile is now in 2 piles. The super easy to open door is now tied shut. When Hubby gets home I will have him help me switch the bunnies to a non-escapable cage.

The rest of the afternoon was enjoyable. The rain has stopped. The chickens are enjoying the wet dirt and all the worms that come with it. The goats got an extra ration of cracked grain. I could spend all day surveying the backyard. The chickens alone are entertaining. Add in the bunnies, chicks, ducks, geese and goats? Its no wonder we dont have tv. Know what? I dont miss it...

wordless wednesday