Pictures from the Farm

 I know I have been MIA lately....  So I am giving you a few pictures from the last week.  We have been so busy (despite the chillier temps) with weeding garden, strawberries, we even sheered ONE of our sheep...

We are busy, but I am enjoying it.  It is rewarding!  Having those berries in the freezer, knowing that the garden is producing when the grocery bill is tight.  And the harvest, Mmmm mmmm mmmm!!!  Delicious! 

On to the pictures!

Our beef cattle

Our ducks by the pond

Some of our goat babies

Our Jacob Sheep Mommy, Lindsay

Lindsay's daughter, Charlotte

Puck- Before Haircut

Puck- After Haircut

My Jacob Sheep Girls

 Two of our ducks hatched their own babies...  And they are super cute.  So are the boys in these pictures... :)

Boys and Baby Ducks

Koen & Baby Duck

Caden & Baby Duck

Hope you enjoyed these for now...  I WILL be back soon.  I want to hear how the Clothesline Challenge has gone for each of you!  That will come up in the next few days...  Get your electric (or gas) bills out and be ready to share on Monday!  Also, how is your garden doing???  I can't wait to hear AND to show you ours also...

More later!

Chickens, Bees, Gardens and Spring

Deklyn and his baby girl Leia

 
Oh!  I can't even believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted last....  I usually enjoy more time in front of the computer (down time!).  But my computer needs worked on in a BAD way.... it needs a total cleaning.  Like everything needs to be wiped off of the hard drive then things need to be reinstalled....  When I type, it's extremely difficult because it won't move for several seconds and then everything you typed will just appear on the screen....  So there are so many mistakes and to go back and correct them takes forever too...  But enough of my crazy computer, just a note though....  I will HOPEFULLY have a friend work on that his week...  But that means I will be without a computer for a day or two...

We got rid of a few chickens last week.  I put an ad on Craig's List and we sold some of our Rhode Island Reds and some of the Golden Comets that we bought last year.  We kept about 10 RIR and got rid of all of our Golden Comets.  We also have some of our 2-3 year old Buff's and Americaunas.  We also have a few mutt chickens that we hatched last year, plus our banty chickens.  So, we are down to about 30 or less chickens.  Corn prices have just been getting so high, we can't do as many chickens!  We were getting about 20 eggs a day with the 80+ chickens, and now we got rid of all of the chickens BUT our NEW layers started laying this week too and we are still getting about the same amount with 30!  Good news!  :)

We also got our new bees yesterday!  Last years bees, we had got 2 hives.  One hive swarmed (up and left us!) and the other seemed a little weak.  So we left them with all of their honey.  And we didn't expect them to make it through the winter.  But to our surprise, we found them alive and thriving a few weeks ago!  We had already ordered 2 new batches of bees, so we actually had to buy a new set of brooders and other things.  But hopefully, we will have the one hive making honey like crazy since they are seasoned veterans and then we will have another 2 hives with a little less...  I am hoping to have some honey this year then!  Maybe enough to last me all year long.  I would probably use about 8+ gallons of honey a year, maybe more if I had it around instead of sugar!  I am excited to have those going.

It has literally been raining like CRAZY here.  Our pond is flooded and everything is SO muddy.  We finally have our tiller up and running, and it is SO wet, that hubby couldn't even get the garden all tilled.  So for me to plant anything is not possible!  I have seed potatoes (red and Kennebec) ready to go into the ground any day.  I also have all of the cold weather things to go into the ground yet too...  I HAVE to get this stuff in the ground soon, grocery prices are already going NUTS and I have to be able to feed 4 boys with crazy appetites! 

All of the other animals are doing good.  Baby goats and sheep are getting bigger and enjoying being outside.  I love watching them frolic and play in the pasture.  It's so funny!  :)  But we are finally done with baby season.  Our last Jacob sheep had a baby last week and we weren't around all day... It ended up dying.  He was just so big, my hubby thinks she probably had some difficulty...  I gues life on the farm brings those sad things sometimes though. 

So much going on right now!  How about you?  I need to get around and visit some of your blogs also!  I miss spending my down time on the computer and getting some reading in! 

Population Explosion

 We have had SO many things happening the last few days, it's been hard to keep up!  We have went from 5 goats to 11 goats, and from 3 female sheep, to 6 female sheep!

First, on Friday night we had a new baby goat!  Padme, my son's goat, is the mother.  We weren't even sure she was really pregnant.  But she surprised us all when we saw some little hooves sticking out her back side!  She had a little trouble, but when I helped pull as she was pushing, her new little addition came out and was fine!  She had a little girl!  YAY! 

Here she is.  My son named her Leia.  If you are a Star Wars fan, you will understand...

Padme is a very attentive mother, however she has YET to produce any milk....  Have been trying to figure out what to do, but don't know anything yet.... So she is another bottle fed baby!

 Then on Monday night, we were surprised to find Myst, our Jacob, had a baby also!  She was out in the pasture and my hubby came home from Boyscouts and found Myst and baby running around in the pasture! 

She ALSO had a girl!  And she is a tiny little thing!  SO cute!  She doesn't have a name yet....  I haven't had time to THINK about it yet!  Plus, with all of the babies, I might be out of names!!  Ha!

Here is one of our other babies, Daisy (Iris's baby).  The babies are now 5 weeks old! 

 For the last week or more, Lindsay has been trying to get out of her pen in the barn to get out and be in the pasture again.  Well, today I finally let her.  She ran into the pasture and was very protective for her little ones against all of the other animals.  Including her baby from last year, Charlotte.  Charlotte came up to her mother all happy to see her, but Lindsay pushed her away thinking she was going to hurt the babies.  So right now Charlotte is a little sad at this situation.  BUT, hopefully Charlotte will be our last momma on the farm to have some babies.  And I think she has only a few weeks left!  So hopefully she will soon have a family of her own. 

Charlotte top left, Lindsay and babies

On Saturday, we FINALLY got the horns burnt (disbudded) on our goats.  They might have scurs, but hopefully it's not too bad.  We waited too long... The boys (the only 2 boys we have so far out of all of the babies!) were also banded.  Because they will be taken to 4H.  Along with some shots!

I also started Padme on some shots to hopefully get milk going for her, so we can at least MILK her and bottle feed her baby...  We will see!

I hope this gives you SOME ideas of what has been happening around here!  Hope you are having some fun with all of your new babies also!  :)

**Sorry if these photos aren't the best, they were all taken with my cell phone...

This Year's FIRST Jacob Babies!

It finally happened!  We have our first Jacob babies of 2011!  Lindsay gave birth to 2 baby girls yesterday afternoon, and we discovered them about 20-30 minutes later! 

This was pretty exciting because this is the first time we actually PAIRED the male, Puck, and Lindsay together last Fall.  This is the first time we have ever been involved in the whole process.

We were "rewarded" with 2 precious little baby girls!  YAY!

Check out some of the photos of our sweet little girls!!!

They are SUPER cute and are already running.  Lindsay is being a good mother as usual, being very attentive to them.  What do you think about the names Faith and Hope?   Now, how to tell them apart.... hmmm...

I also have some pictures of our little goats who are now 3 weeks old!  They will be coming soon!

Have a beautiful day!

No Babies Yet...

I didn't realize I had been gone so long!  More days than I would like!  I have been busy planning new things with our Women's Ministry at our church and a few days helping out at our church, so I guess I lost track of days!  I will get the names for our seed drawing up soon. 

But, in all my busyness, I guess it's good we haven't had any babies yet!  Though, the one mommy (Sophie) is looking pretty ready, she was acting pretty strange when I went down this morning also.  So we will see if we have babies soon or not!  She is quite a bit bigger than the other female who is due in another week...

Our sheep are needing some attention before they have their babies at the end of the month too...  I need to shave around their bottoms and their utter. It makes it a lot easier for birthing and for babies then to find mommy's milk! 

 So much to do, but looking forward to those babies!!!  Do you have any babies yet???

Preparing for Babies

Within the week, we should start seeing the baby activity from our goats!  I am so excited!  I LOVE babies.  Love, love, love! 

Last year, when our sheep were pregnant, I was NOT prepared.  I knew they were going to be having their babies any day, but I didn't really have anything to prepare MYSELF.  God created animals with a motherly instinct, and most mother animals do just fine on their own to deliver and take care of their young ones.  But having animals on my farm, I feel that we have taken them out of that "natural" element , and making them more dependent on humans.  So, we need to be prepared to assist if necessary. 

Plus, when I went down for the first time last Spring and found that my sheep was in FULL labor, I freaked!  I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to gather things and to call my friend who was more experienced in animal births.

So this year, I am determined to be more prepared.  Each year, I will probably discover more of what I want and don't want, maybe some better ways to do things, but for now I am sharing what I am doing.  For you personally, it has to fit what you like and what you don't like.  It all comes with experience.

So here is what I am going to have on hand for the birth of our new goats/ sheep:

• Heat Lamp-  This is a MUST in Indiana weather.  Especially the stuff that we have right now!  Make sure even if you already have a heat lamp and bulb, that you buy a NEW bulb, just in case.  You MAY just want to replace it right away so you can be sure that it won't burn out after a few hours then your baby is chilled to the point of being sick...
• This isn't something to have on hand, but your pen should be cleaned out well.  OR you should have a separate pen to put your mommy in right before she is to give birth.  That way, she has a clean pen, and less stress.  She may need a friend if in a new pen.  Make sure it isn't someone she will fight with!
• Scissors (cleaned).  This can be for any number of things...  I always need them in the barn anyways, and never have them!  You don't want to be running to the house in the middle of the birth!
• Betadine-  You can use this for the dip for a placenta after the baby is born.  it helps it dry up a little fast.  Or for any wounds, this is good to have around on the farm.
• Garbage bag (or old feed bag)- For any trash from cleaning up a baby, cleaning up placenta, etc.
• Paper towels, Puppy Potty Mats, old CLEAN towels-  These are for clean-up.  When the baby comes out, it helps if you can dry the baby of right away.  You can lay down a potty mat to keep the baby clean while it lays on the ground.  Then you can clean off all of the goo! 
• Baby bottles or special bottle for baby goats or sheep- These are "just in case". 
• Milk Supplement- This is just in case also.  It is SUPER important that the baby gets the colostrum from the mother though. But if it comes to life or death, we need to get milk into the baby.  Make sure the milk is approved for goats or sheep.
• Special treat for mommy-  Make sure you have some sweet feed or molasses or honey and water for her after all of her hard work!

Now, mentally prepare yourself for the birth!  And know that not every birth is perfect.  There could be problems.  But I believe that God is in control of everything.   So if a goat is having some issues and you try to help and it dies, it is difficult! But that is what was supposed to happen.  This part is difficult for me. But knowing that God is all knowing and always in control helps me out a lot.

Hopefully this helps someone out there!  Maybe showing you that you CAN have a baby on your farm!  You don't have to be afraid!  If I can do it, you DEFINITELY can!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Like I said I am an amateur, but have been through it twice! I can point you in the way of an answer or help you out if I can!

Winter is Officially Here!

Hi Friends!  Today has been the first day that I haven't had a bunch of running to do during the day, so I am going to get some blogging in today!  And what a beautiful wintery day to stay in.... Well, kind of.  Of course, I need to go and get some chores done yet... which will be C-C-COOOOLLLLDD!  But it sure is pretty to look at.  I suppose I will enoy it when I get back into the house, standing in front of our corn burner...

So, all week here in Indiana, we have gotten snow!  Everyday it drops a little more.  And this weekend is supposed to be even more!  I love to look at the beautiful snow, and I even enjoy the snow at Christmas time.  But I am DEFINITELY not a cold weather person.  I am very much a warm weather gal.  So when I go out, I freeze quickly, and I take forever to thaw out!

But enough complaining!  I have been getting quite a bit done, for Christmas anyways.  There are still a few things I would like to accomplish before the big day, but am glad to have MOST gifts done, and planning getting done for get togethers...

I finally have some pictures today!  Here are 2 from putting our tree up:

Boys all ready to decorate the tree!

Koen, the little ham in the front, wanted HIS picture taken!

And here are some pics from our farm this week...

This was taken at the end of last week.  We got a bunch of rain! 

Our first BIG snow day Monday.  The animals weren't sure WHAT to do!

Turkey (yes, she is still around!) hiding out in the barn!

After Monday's snow, I broke out the cover-alls, and went to work doing my chores...

Our Jacob pair, Myst and Calvin, scarfing on some hay.

The sun coming up this morning, over a snowy farm.

Our finished tree this morning, with a beautiful backdrop!

In store for me today is running to the mill (one of Koen's favorite trips!), and staying home, making Christmas cookies and MAYBE some noodles.  I also need to catch up on some laundry, I started last night, but it NEVER seems to end!  Can I hear an AMEN!?

I also want to share with you all about our vacation that is coming up in about 7 weeks!  Yep, we are going somewhere warm!  I will share real soon!  Until then, have a beautiful day!  I need to go bundle up and get outside to do some chores!  See ya later!

Farm Goin's Ons...

I know it has been almost a week since I posted, which I try not to do!  But things around our home have been busy and around the farm have been slow.... Not much to report.  Also, not much time to report it.  I am STILL working on information that I got from the Purdue Extension office on Goats and Sheep, the classes I took a few weeks ago.  I'm sorry it is all taking so long, but life takes a front seat!

So! What has been going on?  Well, a few things, I guess.  We sold our two little Jacob rams, which I was hoping we'd be able to do instead of having to butcher them.  I know that we will do that on our farm, but I wasn't ready for these sheep to be butchered.  I guess I was just hoping to be able to have these not only as a business, but also as a conservation of these animals.  I hope we succeeded in that in this past week. 

Our front pasture now seems pretty empty.  But not for long.  We have little Max and Annie in the front pasture, and they will soon be joined by 3 other ladies!  Which should be here any day. 

Our little layers, we moved outside and they are getting along just fine!  The temps have been getting to freezing during the night, and they are all staying cozy and warm in their little hut. 

They are also sharing the hut with our broilers.  Each with their own side.  The broilers have about 2 weeks to go, I can't believe how the time has flown...  I am SO very thankful for being able to raise them and to have that meat this winter. 

Speaking of meat, it is quickly approaching Thanksgiving, and many months ago I had purchased 7 turkeys.  Today though, I only have one of them, thanks to a wild barn cat.  Now "Turkey" is like a pet.  She loves us, and we love her.  The boys all say that they won't eat any if we butcher her for Thanksgiving...  And they are kind of right, it's hard to have ONE animal, and to not get attached...  So, as much as it pains me to say it, she will probably be going to the big pan someday soon... 

 On a lighter note, my little lettuce is still growing well in the kitchen window!  It is 1+ inches now, and getting bigger!  You can tell it LOVES the sunlight!  It's all leaning in that direction.  I will maybe have to rotate the pot...  I cannot WAIT to have fresh lettuce again!

I also just got my seed catalog that I sent for.  I am already circling all of the things that interest me, and hopefully I will be ready to order the first of January!  Ooooh!  I can't wait! 

How are you all doing???

Frosty, Cold Morning on the Farm...

Cold morning

Well, now that it's November, I guess I need to get a new mindset.  It WILL be cold when I do chores in the morning, afternoon and evening.  I WILL need to wear gloves so my fingers don't freeze off, and a winter coat is a must!  I cannot be late anymore to the barn, because this time of year, our grass fed animals need to have some hay too....   And if they don't get their adequate amount of hay, they MAY just escape on you.  I found THAT out on Thursday morning with our cows! 

Frost on the Grass

But there is still so much going on, on our farm right now! 

First, you may remember I told you last Thursday I went about 2 1/2 hours away and got a new ram Jacob!  Well, here he is!  Calvin!

Calvin

He is a very pretty boy, he is still very scared.  But I think he is getting more used to me and my incessant talking and hanging over his gate, trying to be friends!  :)  Yesterday, we moved our little female, Myst, in with him.  It was love at first site for him, but for her, I still think she needs to get to know him more... maybe a ring on her finger  hoof.

Speaking of which, we also moved the other 2 female Jacobs in with our other ram.  It is that time of year!  And this is our FIRST time of putting together pairs to breed.  So we are totally hoping nature takes it's course.  Because we would LOVE to have some pretty little Jacob babies in March/ April! 

Our 2 females moved in with our male Jacob

We also moved out little broiler chicks outside again, just in time for the frost!  We moved them into a little hut that we had out for the animals in one pasture that never got used.  We lined it with straw and some pine shavings, and got a heat lamp.  They are getting so large, so fast that they needed more room than I could give them in our basement!  They seemed to be pretty warm when I went down at 8 am this morning, and there was one under the lamp but the rest were away from it a bit, and they seemed pretty warm in there.  I am going to keep sprinkling it with the pine shavings so they keep nice and toasty.

Our baby broilers in their new outside home.

Cows peeking into the broiler chicks home, trying to figure out how they can get that grain!

This week (or maybe the coming weekend) we are going to be getting our 3 female goats back.  SO we should be expecting babies from them in February or March!  We will also be getting more additions to our farm this week!  I will tell you all about that tomorrow!  Until then, have a beautiful day, and stay warm!

Sunrise this morning

ANOTHER ADDITION to our Farm Family??? AND Farm Tally!

OK, I admit, reading this, I am beginning to think I have an illness...  One year ago last summer, all we had were chickens.  Like 20.  Now, well, I can't even tell you how many animals we have... 

SO the addition, well, we are going to make a 5 hour round trip to Michigan to get a new male Jacob sheep.  I KNOW we already have more males than we need here, BUT in order to keep some "clean" bloodlines, we needed to get a male that wasn't related to our girls...  We knew a year ago that this Fall we would have to get another male.  So, we are!  His name is Calvin.  And he is a 4 horned, beautiful ram. 

So I have a call in to a dear friend to see if I can borrow their livestock trailer, and I have my sister set-up to take a road trip with me!  I am hoping to get it done during the day when the boys are gone at school... Hubby is too busy this time of year with work, that he cannot go either, so 2 gals and 2- 2 year olds taking a road trip!  Sounds crazy like an adventure, RIGHT?

I will keep you updated!

Until then, I am going to count all of my animals here... because, like I said, I have no idea exactly HOW MANY animals we have...  Plus I myself, am a little curious! 

Here goes...

• 30 layer hens and 1 rooster = 31
• 19 broiler chicks = 19
• 2 silkies (chickens) = 2
• 5 mille fleur chickens = 5
• 1 turkey = 1
• cows = 2
• sheep, 3 females, 4 males (counting our new guy) = 7
• Goats, 1 wether, 4 females = 5
• Ducks = 9
• Dogs = 2
• Cats (outside, barns- GREAT mousers!) = 4
• Bees ( I don't know we can really call this an animal, plus how MANY would I count???)

OK, I THINK that's all we have!  For now!  Remember November 2nd, we are getting MORE!  :)  I will share what's coming next week...  And I just gave friend one of my goats (NOT counted in the total) and she is trading me a baby animal from HER farm...  I will share that when the time gets closer to bringing it home.

So, for now we have 57 chickens (of different types), and a total of 87 animals on our farm!  AH!  That number freaks me out a bit, BUT it doesn't seem like that much when you are here, at least to me...  :)

Well, crazy or not, we love having animals.  We love not only what healthy products they produce for our family, BUT their companionship also.  I LOVE going to the barn.  I love talking to them, and hear them "talking" back.... 

Are there any more "crazy" animals people out there???  Or  anyone on the "road to crazy"????   Don't you love it?!  :)

Fall is Settling In...

Though I wasn't ready for a DROP in temps like has happened here in Indiana lately, I DO love the Fall.  We love the changing leaves and apples, apple cider, apple crisp, caramel apples, well pretty much anything apple...  We are also getting ready for a trip "Up North".  You will hear more about that next week! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Fall!

But for now, things have slowed down on the Homestead. 

Sophie munching on some food...

I have stopped milking Sophie.  She wasn't giving a great deal of milk (as the seller had told me) when we purchased her, and her milk continued to decrease to the point where it wasn't worth my time to go out there and milk her daily!  So, after I give her a good "worming" (nothing crazy- just giving her an "organic herb" wormer from Fias Co. Farm and Molly's Herbals.), hopefully she will be ready to breed!  Then end of February beginning of March we should have our first batch of babies on the Farm!  :)  Don't worry, we have a nice warm place to be at that time!  :)

Speaking of goats,we will be not only taking Sophie to be bred in the next week, but also having our new goat (maybe 2!) bred as well.  The new goat's name is Iris, and we were going to go and pick her up but figured since we have to take her back in a few weeks, we should just leave her there and have her bred early...  And my son also might be purchasing a goat to breed for 4H...  I will let you know!  :)

Here are the boys!  Goats and sheep!

 We have been having a time with our layers...  trying to get them to lay eggs.  But I think I found a pretty good recipe for them to try out...  I will let you know if it works!  It is INSTEAD of the commercial bags of feed...

Waiting to bust out!

Chow time!

 Our bulls are getting bigger!  So far as I can tell anyways...  Looking to butcher them sometime next year!

It's tough being a bull...

 We will be looking to breed our little Jacob ladies in mid-October!  So we could expect babies from them any where from the end of March to beginning of April!  Can't wait!  These guys are the CUTEST when they are born!  We also got them a new little "hut" (as well as the boys, in their pasture).  So far they just haven't figured out what it's for!  They may just think that is where I drop off treats for them!  :)

Our little Charlotte born this Spring.

Our female Jacobs and their new home...

Puck... he's a big boy!

 Like I said the seasons are changing quickly around here, and before we know it, it's gonna do the "S" word.... (snow) I'm NOT ready for THAT!

Changing colors!

Pond is still dry..

 Ah, hot apple cider while I "work"... 

What's happening on YOUR homestead?