March Farm Update

Since I didn't post much (if at all?) in March, I thought I'd give a rundown of some of the farm activities. It was certainly a busy month, and it seems as if we had no spare time at all... which is understandable considering the season. So much to do in spring...

Chickens and quail alike have started laying really well.

We bought the first purebred chicks we've had in years:

Lavender Orpington and Black Copper Marans.

We did a major cleanup around the farm. And I mean MAJOR.

Started lots and lots of veggies from seeds in my wonderful greenhouse.

Tested our brand new incubator (more on that coming up in a future post).

Started preparing our garden plot. It'll be the biggest garden we've ever had- a quarter acre!

More eggs.

We planted some grape vines, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

Worked on replacing the horse barn roof (more on that in a future post).

Repainted one of the upstairs, kids' rooms.

Did I mention lots of eggs????

Snakes are coming out!



And last but not least, we are incubating more eggs. :)



Porch Lights!

After living in our house for almost five years, with virtually no light in the front of the house at all, we now have porch lights and security lights. It is so nice to no longer have to stumble around in the darkness! 

Update on the Quail

Check out the latest update on the quail:

A Barn with No Purpose

Our beautiful old barn is about 90% empty. I have yet to figure out a good use for it. Inside the all-wood structure are some "stalls" which would indicate to me that they were originally used to house some sort of animals... but what? I'm using a small corner of this barn for my chickens, but they rarely go in because it's so dark. 

I may use one of these stalls as a brooding area when I get my chick order in.

The kids like playing up in the amazing loft.

So.... any suggestions?

Quail Pen Complete

We finished the quail pen. The indoor part is about 10x10, while the outdoor area is around 8x8. It's fully enclosed with chicken wire, and we put a little "natural habitat" area for them to hide in. So far they've been too scared to come outside, but we're supposed to have some nice weather the next few days and I'm hoping they'll start to venture outside more.

The Quest for Quail

Handy Husband has a new hobby! In our desire to become more self sufficient and grow a large part of our food supply, we decided to add quail to the menagerie.

We found these little cuties on Craigslist. They are 3 week old Jumbo Coturnix quail. We're not sure how many are males/females yet, but they are all healthy and doing well. 

After moving Griffin in with the other goats, we started remodeling his temporary space to use for the quail. It will have a nice, fully enclosed outside pen attached to a room in our shop building. 

The outside portion of their pen isn't finished just yet, but the inside part, which is about 10x10 is nice and cozy. 

 

Above, the chickens seem to think the quail's new outdoor pen-in-progress is a fun place to hang out. Are they trying to tell me something?

Rabbits in Winter

This morning, the temperature outside was a crisp 14 degrees, but inside the greenhouse, where the rabbits are being kept, it was 27 degrees. Not too bad, really. I gave the buns some more hay, as I do every couple of days, and they love burrowing through it and finding tasty bits to nibble on.

Kids at Play

We had a beautiful day yesterday and the human kids hung out with Griffin for awhile. He's so sweet and follows them around. 

The Bunnies are Home!

We picked up our new rabbits today. They're 10 week old New Zealand cross. There are 5 males and 4 females. Now the tough part will be deciding which ones we'll keep for breeding, and which ones will end up in the freezer. 

Little Climbers

The two little guys love to spend a large part of their day looking out our big bedroom window. They watch for passing trucks and tractors, and any of our farm critters wandering by. 

The View

Handy Husband snapped this beautiful picture while on the greenhouse roof the other day.

PS. That IS our trampoline lying next to the horse barn. We had some of the strongest winds I've ever heard out here one night, and thankfully, the trampoline was the only thing damaged... well, that, and a bit of the horse barn roof, but that's on schedule to be re-roofed soon.

Meet Griffin!

We picked up our new Pygmy buckling, Griffin, today. He's 14 weeks old and very sweet. I'm hoping he'll grow a bit more, as I'd like him to be able to breed our does in the future. I've read that the Pygmy/Nubian cross creates a nice dual purpose animal. 

New Animal Additions to the Farm

In an effort to revamp our farm's food production, we are acquiring several new rabbits and a Pygmy goat buckling. We'll pick up the young rabbits Saturday, and getting the buckling later today. 

We have the buckling's temporary home ready, where he'll stay for a while until we can slowly integrate him into the herd. 

The rabbits will be housed in the greenhouse over the winter, and I've been working on coming up with a good layout for their large pens. It's not finished yet, but I still have a couple of days before they get here. 

Greenhouse Roof Finished

We have had some nice, mild weather lately, so Handy Husband took the opportunity to finish the back portion of the greenhouse roof.