Problems, problems!

The past few days have been interesting to say the least. The other evening I received a phone call - the goats were out!

Russ had just moved them to a back field at a friends house. However, they decided to ignore the fence in the back of the new field and go site seeing. They didn't go too far and I, with the help of our friends, got them back in the front field. I felt bad that Russell had to drop what he was doing and drive 30 miles to find that all was ok. He did try to call me but I was playing goat wrangler and didn't answer. 

The next morning, he called me from the farm to say that rabbits were out. Oh no! The bottom wire on one of the grazer pens was not doing its job. I had seen that it needed some attention the night before. I should have taken care of it right then, but I didn't think that they would get out. Ha!

We did manage to get them all back, it just took a day. They really just want to be with the rest of the gang so they didn't go far. I am grateful that nothing made them into a meal!

The grass at the farm is lovely. So thick and long, but it has gotten almost impossible for Russ to move the chicken pens and the Feathernet. He hopes to borrow a bush hog in the next few days to get that problem solved.

The past few days has been hot. I have fans for all the rabbits in the Raken Port and we moved the buck rabbits under the house to the 'worm room' to keep them cool. (The bucks can go sterile if they get to hot. It is only temporary, but may last a few months.)

A fox has been trying to get the chickens here at the house. Even with our dogs around, the fox are very brave to come so close. I am sure it is trying to feed its young. We have to be diligent to close the chickens up every evening. 

So we do have problems but nothing that we can't deal with!

The First Home Hatched Chick!

The little Silkie hen, Moe, has been setting for a long time. When I saw that she was collecting her eggs and not going out to forage with the other chickens much, I shut her in her little coop. She was setting on 4 eggs for a week but was begging to be let out for a while so on April 16, I opened her door. 

I was puttering around the Raken port and noticed that there was only 1 egg left. Oh no! Some dog that had a very guilty look about him, walked away. 

Needless to say, I felt very bad. So I shut little Moe in her cage again. I took 4 eggs from the layers boxes and hoped that they were fertile. The chances of that were good as my Cornish rooster likes his time with the hens!

Today the long wait is almost over! Little Moe had one little yellow chick under her wings this morning. I noticed a piece of blue egg shell so I knew that at least one had hatched. It was one that I had taken from the layer box. So this little one is half Americauna and half Cornish. Moe is still sitting on the others so hopefully soon there will be a nice little flock for her. 

I really like the Silkie chickens. Their eggs are small but not so small that you feel silly using them. They are so people friendly and they don't travel too far. And they can't fly over the fence!

Some days are just quiet, thank goodness!

For the last few days, things have been quiet at the farm. The horses have been grazing nicely and staying on the correct side of the fence. The Barred Rocks are almost full size and seem happy. The Rhode Island Reds are laying, picking and plundering. 

The next group of meat birds are doing great with the daily move. Sometimes they sneak out in tiny little gaps under the pens or when they are being moved but are easily caught. They want to go back with their buddies!

The rabbits are growing like weeds on pasture grasses. They are so excited to eat new grass that they will graze and then eat pellets. A week ago it was just the opposite. I would walk up to move and feed them and they would scurry to hide. Now they can't seem to wait for the move to fresh forage. 

At the house, the garden has survived the huge rain of last week. The chickens are happy to roam the pasture instead of sitting in clusters in the 'Raken Port' during the days of rain. (Former carport that now holds RAbbits and chicKENs)

The brooder is holding the next group of meat chicks. It is amazing to see the daily changes in them.

Our little Silkie hen has been sitting on eggs but I am not sure that they will hatch. She is doing a great job though! We might have to try again with her. 

Farmer Russ is about to put up a garage/tent to be the processing room at the farm. He found a double sink at the local thrift store and it has a lot of counter space. It will work great for him!

Here he is proudly wearing his Polyface 'lunatic' shirt, along with shorts and rubber boots, a true fashion hound!

New Rabbits, Processed Chicken & More!

After our great trip to tour Polyface, we went to pick-up the new Silver Fox does. A doe is a female rabbit, with a buck being a male, just like deer and goats. The Silver Fox breed is a heritage breed and is on the threatened list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

I had been studying all the breeds of rabbits that are the best for meat. The Silver Fox is one of the top breeds. While I like my two breeds of rabbits (New Zealand Whites and Californians) I just couldn't stop thinking about the Silver Fox breed.

When I saw that Skyview Acres had Silver Fox does, I immediately contacted them about acquiring some. Since we would be in at Polyface in Virginia, it seemed like it was meant to be to go a bit further to pick them up. Arrangements were made and everything worked out!

We now have three lovely does. I have to admit that it took me a long time to name my other rabbits but these girls were named immediately. The two older sisters are Brie and Heather. They are named after the two girls that we met at the Polyface store. The other little doe is named Poly!

Whippoorwill Farm in Maine was making a big trip delivering his good stock of Silver Fox rabbits. I had contacted Jeff when I saw his trip plans and met him in Greer, SC.That is where I picked up Gilbert, my new Silver Fox buck.

The Silver Fox are still in quarantine for a few weeks. They are just lovely, friendly rabbits! I am excited to have my first litters!

Also talking rabbits, it was time to process some of the growouts last week. We loaded them into the chicken transport cages. They happen to work perfect for rabbits too! I felt a bit sad as we drove to the Foothills Processing Plant. But I just kept telling myself that I gave the rabbits a good life, I appreciated them and this is what I was raising them for. I still felt sad. As we waited for ours to be processed that day, I watched a few videos on my phone that had to do with processing. I did feel better after I watched them.

The plant is clean as a whistle, well run and very proud of the job that they do. I had decided to have my rabbits cut up, it costs a bit more but I think that is the best way to package them. After we brought them home, I put them in the refrigerator for 48 hours to age. Then I took some up to the Mill Spring Farm Store to sell. While I had eaten rabbit alot, it had been a while. Russell didn't remember eating it at all. So I cooked one up for us and we had it for dinner and it was delicious! Thank you rabbits!

A few weeks ago, Russell borrowed all the processing equipment for chickens. He set it up at the house as he still doesn't have the electric service at the farm (soon I hope!). He processed the first batch of Cornish X for the 2013 year. I even helped out, he showed me how to eviscerate and I did an ok job.

He now has 100 or so birds out on pasture and 100 or so in the brooder right now. The weather has been so cold and wet that he has lost some in the past few days. Hopefully they will grow enough so they will not smother each other to stay warm. And hopefully the weather will change!

So right now there are meat birds and rabbits at the farm in growout pens. The layers at the farm are safe in the feathernet fence and the Barred Rocks pullets will join the layers soon. The horses are doing well and respecting the electric fence too.

We have gotten some of the garden in between rain storms. Time will tell if some of what we put in will have to be replanted do to too much rain. However the blueberry bushes are doing great!