The New Chicken Coop 09/04/2009
Even with Thor's help we are still loosing the odd bird. Time to stop putting off building the chicken coop! Using only items we could find on the old farm we put together a coop that should do the job.  Straw Bales plus...  a Roof...  Some Supervision...  and Anticipation, creates.... A Cozy Straw Bale Chicken Coop!          Thor 08/27/2009
 Thor is our young Akbash Livestock Guardian Dog. After loosing our turkey hen and some chickens to coyotes we decided we had better 'hire' a livestock guardian. There are a few options available when it comes to guarding livestock, such as llamas, donkeys, and dogs. Llamas were a definate no as they hate Neil (so he says). I would love a donkey but with close neighbors and the very close proximity of the sheep pen to our bedroom window that was out as well. So it came down to finding the right Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD). We spent time researching the different breeds that have been bred for hundreds, and some cases thousands, of years for this specialized job. It was a tough decision but from the information available online we choose the Akbash. Now even tougher was finding one! By happenchance there was an old ad online for Akbash pups in the Kootenays. We called the number and although they had sold the pups long ago they did have an 8 month old male pup that the breeder had kept for himself. Thor was born in a chicken barn and raised with poultry and sheep, as well as children and other dogs. To our great luck and fortune he decided to let us purchase Thor...and he just happened to be coming over to Creston in a few days! We have had Thor for a couple of months now and he is just perfect for us. He is very friendly to people, but raises all heck if a coyote comes near. Every day he gets better at his job, and we are amazed at his intelligence. Thor knows his job, needs minimal guidance from us, and has a pure gold heart. He spends his nights patrolling the field around our farmyard, and sleeps nearly all day.  Today is Freezercamp Day 07/05/2009
Our fryer rabbits are already 12 weeks old and ready to be processed. We are still new to this part of farming and find it emotionally challenging though it is something that must be dealt with in order to provide ethically raised healthy food for ourselves.  Our friend Tom is an apprenticed meatcutter. We are very fortunate to have his help on these days. If fact we have a few great friends who are willing to come out and help. The day goes by so much smoother with so many hands. Thank you.  Some of our chicks are now reaching fryer size as well, I think we may do the cockrels today along with a couple of old hens that are no longer laying. I just have to try to catch them! New sheep... they shed! 05/14/2009
 I have decided to change my flock over to Katahdin hair sheep instead of the Suffolks. My number one reason is I find shearing so time consuming and difficult. I really love my girls and Warfy too, and they all had twins so they are very productive - but I think the Katahdins will be better suited to our homestead. Hershey's bred and I found a great deal! 01/24/2009
 A day to celebrate and cross fingers! For the first time Hershey was bred...to TATER! It is also the first time he has done his manly duties since getting him in June. I think he is a newbie at the whole business, but hopefully has things figured out now. Fingers crossed for new buns on or about February 24! Oh oh... Coyotes! 01/20/2009
We lost our Road Island Red hen yesterday to a darn coyote! The scarey thing is the coop is in our front yard, only feet from both the rabbits and the sheep pen. I followed the trail of feathers and blood to find that the coyotes are trotting right along the sheep fence! Time to put up some hotwire and figure out some security measures. The first lambs are due in March. Goodbye Jance 01/19/2009
 With great sadness we said goodbye to Jance, Neil's wonderful horse, on Monday January 12.  Happy New Year! 01/01/2009
To finish off 2008... I sold my horse trailer just a couple weeks after setting it up to be a cozy rabbit barn...figures! But really it is a good thing - the same day I sold it I found another one for the same price but in better condition! We made a nice little rabbit area under the cedar trees using tarps for windbreaks. So far so good, and it is so pretty under there. 3 of the bunnies have made it to 8 weeks old, though they are not weighing as much as expected by their age. We are going to let them grow a bit more, hoping to reach the target weight of 5lbs. I sexed them and we have 2 girls and a boy. Of course the one I was hoping to keep as a breeder is the boy...but the largest is a girl so fair enough. We are still working on a name for her (she is black and white like ma and pa if anybody has any suggestions) The sheep are doing very well, all of them have been bred by Warf during their first heat in with him. We put a marking harness on with an orange crayon in order to record who was bred when. After 17 days we changed the crayon to blue, however nobody has yet been marked! BG is due in March, as she was bred prior to bringing her home, and everybody else is due in the beginning of May. I am excited but apprehensive - expecting around 12 lambs - I really hope we don't have any problems! Rei, Uli, Jance, and Delphine are wintering well. We almost lost Jance in a snow storm, he laid down and couldn't get back up again. Luckly he had a good blanket on. When we found him in the morning we made a stall in the haybarn for him to relax in (Jance LOVES stalls) for a week, being turned out during the day if the weather wasn't too harsh. This was during a super cold freeze last month. I am happy to report that he is now back to his normal self - but we check on him quite often (they are right outside the house). Rei is good as usual - you can hear him at night galloping as he scouts out strange noises or movement. He is forever watching over his little herd. Delphine is being boarded at a friends farm where she can be in with some other mares and just relax. When the weather clears up I will be bringing her home to join the group here. Karma and Shambhala had a good xmas, they got sheep stuffies and some bones in their own stocking. Shambhala should be coming into heat this month, still looking for a suitable boy to meet her. And as for Neil and I, well things are good! 2009 should be an interesting year and we are both excited for so Bunny update, Rabbit Barn & SNOW 11/06/2008
Checked in on the little bunnies today to find that one had died since yesterday. I am not surprised, it just was not thriving. It wasn't the runt, I am not sure why it didn't make it but I think all the rest will be ok. There are two great big kits and three various sized smaller ones. I will try to take a picture tomorrow - their eyes should be opening soon!  New digs for the sheep! 11/06/2008
Well we finally did it... the new sheep pen near the house is complete, along with a fancy two room sheep condo! I've gotta send out much love and a huge hug to Neil for all of his help - as he said today "I didn't sign up for this!!" However we succeeded and can have a few days of rest (well from fencing).  The funnest part of it all was moving in - the sheep had a bit of a treck from the barn to the new pen, but I don't think they even realised they were going somewhere! Neil had the famous yellow bucket of grain and I followed behind. Boy I wish I had a camera, Neil had to run as the ewes were nearly tackeling him for the grain! All I had to do was run to catch up.  The pen and shelter are a recycling project - the only things we bought were the gate hinges and the fencing staples, and a few used metal T-Posts. The wire, wood posts, most of the T-Posts, gates, roofing tin, cool grain trough, and wood for the shelter were all scrounged from my landlord's farm. The wood pallets are from the hardware store in town, where they offer them for free. All of the gates are made from pallets, and the shelter walls are made from pallets. I also made the sheep and the horses wonderful feeders using the wonderously versatile slatted wood pallets! I love pallets.... :) | Empty Cup Ranch
The trials and tribulations of learning to live simply on a small farm. One day at a time. ArchivesSeptember 2009 CategoriesAll |
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