Thursday 15 October 2015

Baby Chickens and Ducks

We've not planned it but we've had a brown Japanese duck and a naked neck chicken sit and successfully hatch out eggs. We've got 9 baby ducks (5 yellow, 4 brown) and about 9 naked neck chickens and two Brahma chickens. We've left the poultry to do their own things, just making sure they are dry and fed with ground corn and water.
Cue the cute photos









Thursday 17 September 2015

176 days later

Today, I've managed to do my first piece of real farm work this year. It has been 176 days since I completely snapped my Achilles tendon in my right leg and it still isn't 100%

Today, I ventured into the garden with the Stihl strimmer and spent three hours hacking down Weeds, fast-shooting Weedy trees(grow fast but don't give out much heat when burnt) and long grass.
It looks like next year we will have to get a piggy or two to go through the orchard and dig up all the roots of these pesky plants and eat all the grass. This requires careful planning and some new fences or some of our beloved departed pets may make a return from the grave


Friday 3 July 2015

End of an Era

Today marks the end of another era on the farm. We've butchered the three goats and have temporarily suspended raising rabbits.
The Goats were proving more hassle than worth. They were destroying fences and vegetation whilst not producing much milk and the offspring were dying too young and weak. They were burning money whilst not providing anything. The butcher came and we now have a freezer full of goat meat all expertly chopped for  £20.
We've been slimming down our rabbit collection since Andy broke his Achilles and today we swapped out our remain 3 rabbits for a new set in September. It gives a us time to repair the hutches; makes our animal sitters lives a little easier and reduces our grain purchasing as the remain animals can live off the grass and things growing on the farm


Friday 29 May 2015

Goodbye to the Goats

Like the English buses, there have been no posts for a while and up come two! Life has been rather crazy and Andy has only just started to be able to walk after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
The season of change is blowing through the farm, we are currently having the house renovated and it's been time we've reassessed how the farm is working and doing.

The poultry has been an amazing success this year - All traditional breeds of Chickens, Ducks and turkeys have laid and hatched babies. Some have been more successful than others at keeping their offspring alive but it has been a joy to see them grow. In the dodgy picture below, there are a couple of the 14 baby turkeys.


The problem has been the rabbits and the goats. Andy's increased working hours have put pressure on the number of animals that need direct feeding. The sheep and poultry, to a large extent,  look after themselves and only need the occasional bucket of grain. We've already purged the rabbits down to 4 bunnies and we've made the tough choice to butcher the goats. The goats have not been the healthiest animals, due to genetic problems, the off-spring haven't lived and they require feeding or being tethered in a safe place. The mounting vet's bill aren't off-set by the amount of milk produced. Also, the rabbits are more maintainable especially if we need some guest feeders. A rabbit is quite easy and quick to dispatch, process and eat .

We are currently trying to fatten the two non-milking goats and when the other dries up, we butcher her too.  It is a bit sad but this is farm life, you have to make hard but right choices.
It might not be the end of Goats on our farm, we know two other farms so we could repopulate but until our livestyles change, we will be a sheep and poultry farm.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Rats

Whilst topping up our animal feeds, we found this monster dead rat. Though it is scary that there are monstrous rats on the farm. It seems that one of the cats(probably Hobbes or the ghost of Jess) took it out. Another reason Why  we'll always have farm cats

Sunday 8 March 2015

Baby Turkeys

Good News - After a winter of death (see the last four posts), We have life!!!! We discovered 3 baby turkeys have hatched :) They are being very cute and hopefully their mummy will be ultra-protect and they will survive!






Thursday 19 February 2015

Crunchy

Crunchy passed away in the night from liver failure.

She was a lovely,friendly dog who always loved to hug (aka lean on you) and was always hungry and never looking where she was running .

She never had it easy, she had a dodgy womb which was removed, eyelid trouble and many other scrapes and issues.

In her time, she killed a sheep, a snake and numerous chickens and cats but in the end death got her.
Another reason why this world needs to be renewed and restored.

Goodbye old friend

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Weathering the Storm?

So far this year, we have sick rabbits, goats,dogs and cats and it isn't march yet! I've had to bury more dead animals then I can remember, the Vet is a frequent visitor and it become draining.

Are we weathering the storm or trying to hard to  make something happen? I just don't know

Thursday 8 January 2015

Mr Brown

With a sad heart, I am sad to say Mr Brown passed away. He survived 3 years, myxomatosis, the clap and produced loads of children. He was always polite, gentle and friendly and had the nicest fur in the world - He will be missed

Monday 5 January 2015

Wethered

We came home from a long day out from playing guitar at two church services and preaching to find that Wethered goat was lying on the floor and bleating sadly. We tried to revive him but by the time the Vet had come, his nervous system had collapsed and he was slowly dying. We made the sad decision to have him put down and he just fade away without a struggle.
It isn't a pleasant start to the year but we are grateful that the ground wasn't frozen and we could dig a big hole in the moonlight relatively easily.
Looking back, he wasn't putting weight on and wanting to eat grain - there could be many  factors which could have hindered his growth but this is one of those sad things which sometimes happen on a farm.