Spring is slowly arriving

First lambs born on our farm

First litter out of our new buck

Moving On

This weekend we will be saying goodbye to most of our herd.  They will be moving to greener pastures, literally.  Their new owner has an overabundance of growth that he is hoping they will take care of in typical cow fashion.  So, it is with no small amount of sadness, that we say goodbye to this chapter of our farm life.

Cows For Sale!!!

$9,500

We are selling our herd of Dexter cattle.

3 bred cows

1 bred heifer

1 yearling heifer

1 yearling bull

Please check out the Auction Barn for information on each animal.

Also have a few lionhead bunnies for sale.

Almost All Up to Date

You can now check out Our Herd, New Calves, and Our Rabbits to see updated pictures of all the animals on the farm.  Dear Daughter also requested a chicken page.  And since she was so nice as to go out in the cold and take photos of some of the chickens, I granted her request.  So now we also feature a Chickens page.  Enjoy!

Wishing all a blessed New Year with good health and much happiness! 

A little morning fun

I looked out the kitchen window this morning to see one calf looking a bit curious.  After getting the binoculars, I realized that the fence was on the wrong side of her.  She, of course, was just were she wanted to be. So, instead of a shower and breakfast, I spent the next hour out with the cows.  It is a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, but that does not change the fact that it is in the 20s.  Though enough work will keep you warm regardless of the thermometer reading.

Anyway, back to the escapees.  Yes, plural.  Two of the three new calves were on the wrong side this morning.  Luckily, it was the one heifer and the bull calf we bottle fed (a whole nother story).  So it was not to difficult to get them to follow the fence to the gate.  Of course, being a bull, he turned the wrong way while she pranced right through the gate.  But as soon as he saw her hightailing it to her mama, he fixed the error of his ways and ta da, both calves back where they belong.

The next 45 minutes were devoted to some patching of fence that had heaved up and some picture taking.  Notice I did not say fence repair.  My lovely patch job will not be featured on this blog, but to give you an idea, picture logs and limbs and sticks blocking a hole.  Whatever works.

Now for the good part - pictures:

The escapees back with mom (no, they are not twins, the bull calf belongs with this cow).

All 3 new calves with part of the herd.  Amazing how all 3 will be black in just another month or so.

Back Again

Welcome back!  It has been a long, cold winter round these parts.  I know many throughout the country have uttered that same statement, but now we can start to revive (and for some start to thaw) with the coming spring.  Daffodils are sprinkled around the homestead.  They are like little rays of yellow sunshine reminding us that warmer weather is around the corner.

You will notice some improvements to the page.  Along the top are tabs for the different animals.  This is under construction and a work in progress, so bear with me for a little longer.  There may even be a website to go with this blog someday soon (but lets not hold our breath).

Just last evening started our journey down the rabbit hole.  We brought home three American Chinchilla rabbits.  One bred doe, another younger doe, and a young buck.  The pedigrees are in the mail and the rabbits are in their cages.  Granted, due to rain and more rain, the rabbits and cages are currently residing in an unused section of the cattle barn.  There is hope that more progress will be made to the rabbit barn this weekend. 

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest.
The soul, uneasy, and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”

― Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

 

 

Summer Time = Busy Time

Our fair time is fast approaching and the days are full.  The sheep are now slick looking, thanks to our wonderful sheep shearer.  They have to feel a lot cooler.

I am lobbying to change their names to black and white.  When we first got them, they were wooly and white and one was much bigger than the other.  So I called them the big one and the little one.  Then after the first shearing, we found they were the same size under all that wool but different colors.  Hence, now black and white.  I am all for the descriptive names.  We still call our cows by their ear tag numbers.

Unfortunately, our 'fox in the hen house' is back.  Fox being whatever animal is raiding the chicken coop.  Prior to the start of this blog, we had a raccoon that took out the entire meat pen chicken flock.  All 10 chicks, dwindling 1 or 2 a day till we had none.  Now, something else is out there getting the young hens.  We are trying to keep the last exhibition chicken alive and well till fair time.  This is not her, but maybe she should take some pointers.

And just because I finally got a decent picture of the guinea, here it is.  No idea if this is a girl or boy.  There is a sound difference to their call, but I could not tell you how to recognize it.

And now to our star attraction, Libertybelle.

I know the second picture is a little fuzzy, but she was not coming any closer and I had to use the zoom.  Still, each day I go back and forth on the color.  More red, not so much, just cannot make up my mind.  Need to get a color test done.

They thought I was coming to feed even though it was early afternoon.  Of course, you see where Liberty is with her mama.  Though this evening, she came up with the big girls for dinner time.  And wouldn't you know it, I left my camera at the house.