Tag: hobby farming

Posted on

Friends!

In the middle of July I had a hen who was sitting on some eggs. Two of the eggs hatched. She sat on the chicks for a day, then took them out of the nest. While she was gone, showing her two newbies life in the big chicken house, a third egg hatched. If left to her own devises, she probably would have died. Mom didn’t want her, she couldn’t keep up and the other hens were starting to peck on her. I tried a surrogate mom, a broody hen sitting on eggs, but she pushed the babe out of the nest. So, I brought her into the house, set up a small plastic tub with a heat lamp and a feather duster (her faux mom – an idea mentioned in a Fresh Eggs Daily with Lisa Steele blog post), and left her to rest and warm up. I honestly thought that she would not make it. 

Baby chick
Read full post
Posted on

Going on Vacation!

I struggle leaving home to go on a vacation. Seems like nobody takes care of my animals like I do…except my sister-in-law. She gets 5 stars for her efforts‼  When we go away, even if it’s only for a few days, I worry that something might go wrong. I consider my substitute caregiver successful if all my animals survive, whether the caregiver does all the right things…or not. 

chicken standing on bird house
Read full post
Posted on

Keeping Your Goats Warm

My very first goats were sibling Pygmy goats, Bonnie and Clyde. We lived in Arizona at the time, so I never really worried about keeping them warm during the winter. I think they actually enjoyed the coolness of a season that wasn’t hot! When my boys were young we moved to a rural town in central Utah where the winters were a little colder and included snow! Our neighbors showed dairy goats in 4-H and my oldest son enjoyed helping them bottle feed the kids, and get the goats ready for shows. That’s when our goat herd expansion began. Daisy, a Saanen yearling was first, followed by Spring and Jasmine, Nubian sisters who were bottle babies. Rose was two days old when we got her and then we got a buck to try our hand at breeding. And so the adventure continued. Now, the boys are grown, the goats are old, and the winters are still cold.

Boy with young goat (kid)
Read full post
Posted on

Geese, the Great Protectors!

Some years ago, when looking at a potential new home, the owners had geese on the property. Every time we would try to go outside the house to look around, we were chased by the geese. We were strangers in their territory and they didn’t like it! I think they probably cheered and gave each other high fives when we finally drove away! Shortly after we found a house and moved in, a neighbor said he had to go to California for work and he had some young chickens and geese that he wanted to give my boys. (I think that was a ploy so that I wouldn’t say no.) I was a little wary based on my previous experience, but we took them in. Thirteen years later we still have the geese and I am happy to report, I have not once regretted the decision!

two geese, one bathing
Read full post
Posted on

Why Raise Chickens?

Have you been thinking about raising chickens? Have you sat down at the kitchen table and started a pros and cons list?  Maybe the cons list is longer than the pros list. Perhaps you are wondering if its really worth the time, effort, and cost. Well here are some of my thoughts; maybe a little different perspective will help you make up your mind.

(pullets) young chicks with new feathers
Read full post
Posted on

Boredom Busters!

Chickens are busy, active little creatures. Free range chickens have the advantage of finding their own entertainment and getting into their own trouble: finding seeds, bugs, and worms, sneaking into gardens, going for rides atop a goat… The list goes on. Penned up chickens on the other hand, don’t have the luxury of finding a lot of interesting activities to occupy their time day in and day out. Often this can cause them to pick on one another. A happy chicken is a busy chicken. Here are a few ideas to help you provide some entertainment for your chickens.

Rooster with two pumpkins
Read full post
Posted on

Cleaning Day

With the onset of fall and cooler weather, I know that it is time to give all my animal housing a good clean out and get my animals ready for winter. Last year we had a pretty mild winter, we didn’t get much snow or severe cold, so I’m thinking that Mother Nature might want to make up for it this year. We have experienced some pretty crazy weather across the U.S. just this month, so my animal housecleaning and winter preparation has begun! Sometimes with helpers!

Chicken in wheelbarrow
Read full post
Posted on

Bunnies Provide Great Fertilizer!

Bunnies are the best! They are soft and have the sweetest faces! My experience with bunnies began several winters ago when three rabbits came to visit and stayed. They shared grain with the chickens and found a barn full of hay! What could be better?

pair of white spotted rabbits in hutch
Read full post
Posted on

Frozen!

Grapes were a favorite fruit of my boys as they were growing up. We always had grapes. About 6 years ago I decided to plant a couple of vines and grow my own grapes! I did my research and selected two seedless table grape varieties. They were dormant, bare-root vines that I planted in the early spring after I could work the ground. To support my vines I put up four green T-posts and strung welded wire fencing. My grape trellis is about 5’6” tall and about 8’ long.  I didn’t really expect any grapes the first year, but I didn’t expect one of the plants to die either! The following spring I planted a champagne table grape. It is a smaller grape and pretty sweet. They make very tasty raisins.
 
image1.jpeg
 

Read full post

Proudly powered by WordPress