Duck Day

Well we have 8 less ducks roaming the farm after yesterdays processing. All the young Pekins have been processed leaving us with 4 adult Pekin, 4 adolescent Ancona and 2 adolescent Indian Runners. The processing itself went pretty well. A HUGE thanks to Sue and Crendell for coming to help again! We started the event with the plan of plucking half to leave the skins on for roasting and skinning half since we don't actually eat the skins anyway. In my freezer there is one bird with skin on and 7 without. The whole scalding in wax water all sounds great on the internet but we just can't get it to work well. Hopefully, they'll still be delicious cooked without the skin. I'll find out Thursday, since that's going to be one of my contributions to Thanksgiving at Mom's.

I actually took a more hands on role yesterday- instead of just being the bird catcher, hose holder and general gopher, I skinned some! It wasn't too bad- the snapping off the feet and cutting through the joint was the worst part. There's something about that sound. I'm still not ready to do the dispatching, but Chuck handles that very well.

No new plans for the fowl. We'll be in a holding pattern through winter. The only possible change is in chickens- somebody was hiding eggs in the goat pen again so I gave them to the broody Jersey to set. There's only five so we'll see what happens.

Pekin Adults

Our mascots had a birthday! Bo and Luke turned five last Thursday- It's hard to believe they're middle aged now. I still refer to them as "the puppies". They celebrated their day doing their favorite things- napping and eating. Happy Birthday, boys!

Luke

Bo

Also in dog news, I'm going to seek the help of a professional for Rupert. I currently have some calls out to a few trainers to see what they have to offer as far as behavioral modification and keeping him from chasing the livestock. Not sure if Chuck's going to be comfortable with him staying even after being trained but at least it would give him a better chance making it elsewhere. Fingers crossed for Rupert.

Petunia and Rosemary continue to do well. Petunia has started sticking her nose up at some of her bottles, so she's getting full elsewhere. Woo-hoo! Let the weaning begin!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving full of happy, healthy, local food!

Happy Herd

The goat herd is complete and happy. Well, except maybe Roscoe who would prefer to be sharing quarters with his girls. He'll just have to be happy knowing he has 3 girls waiting for him.

This bank gets the most sun, the girls lounged here enjoying the warmth.

Petunia is fitting in very well. The older girls tolerate her and her kid antics. She's growing fast and will be 3 weeks old tomorrow- only 5 more weeks to bottle feed. Whew! Rosemary is awesome; still so laid back! It's like she's been here forever, nothing phases her. Chuck worked on the fence some and (fingers crossed) the goats are staying in!

"Where my wimmens?"

Duck processing will be next Sunday. We're planning to skin some (easier) and pluck some (tastier). We'll be processing all the 10 week old Pekins. Probably one or both the older Pekin females, and one male Ancona. Madison is lobbying hard to keep both Ancona males but there's starting to be dominance drama there.

Anconas and Cheese( Indian Runner)

We're still waiting on the arrival of baby bunnies. Here is Cleopatra in her super duper nest box. We moved her back to her own quarters after being with Isaac for almost a month, so it could be anytime now. Willow is looking forward to more bunny nuggets, and I also have had an inquiry from a guy interested in live rabbits. Woo-hoo!

Things are continuing to slow down for winter. After processing next weekend and Petunia coming off the bottle, chores will be a breeze! I'm really hoping we have a milder winter than last year- all that snow that took forever to go away, and below normal temperatures really makes for grumpy livestock and farmer.

Goat Update- Day 2

The goat transitioning is going very well. Scarlet and Rosemary hung out in the paddock yesterday with no trouble. Rosemary is ridiculously adorable and is so calm! She did get excited this morning to be let out and tried to jump the water pail- she's agile for an end table. Scarlet is adjusting, she hangs out near Rosemary, but is missing the affection from her sister. Hopefully, they'll continue to bond. Scarlet has to be confused about last weekends events.

Mellow Goat is Mellow

Rosemary hanging out in the woods

Petunia has been a darling little addition to Lazy Danes. She's eating well, has figured out I'm mom and follows me all around. Yesterday was a beautiful day so after a nap on my lap in front of the computer we took a romp around outside. She stays right with me and hollers if she can't see me. She met the chickens and ducks and nibbled some grass in the field.

Pretty Petunia

What are those?

On to more bad news. Rupert needs a new home. He needs a home without small children, with out livestock or small animals, and where he can be the dominant or only dog. Since the drama of last weekend he is relentless in his desire to get at the livestock, and he has been in an altercation (no damage to either, thank goodness) with Bo. Rupert is an incredibly sweet, submissive and gentle dog to me and Chuck and I would love to find him a good home where he can't get himself into the kind of trouble he is determined to find on the farm. I have been in touch with a rescue group, but if anyone is interested or can help find a home for him, please let me know. He will be a year old at the end of the year, neutered, microchipped, up-to-date on shots, house-trained, and would be a great running buddy. I love Rupert, I just can't give him what he needs.

Look at that sweet face!

Sad News From the Farm

Friday was a very sad day at Lazy Danes Farm. Due to a very stupid mistake with herd management the goats and the dogs ended up in the back yard together. Sparing the readers the details, we lost MerryWeather. I can not begin to express how sad and horrible I feel. MerryWeather and her sister, Scarlet, were the first farm animals for Lazy Danes. We brought them home at 2 weeks old to bottle feed and dote on so they would be friendly. They played in our living room and followed us around the farm. We didn't just lose a farm animal , we lost a family member.

Moving on with heavy hearts, Chuck and I looked for goats available to fill the milk production gap. This time of year it is much harder to find what you're after. I was excited to find some Nigerian Dwarf goats about 45 minutes from here that had already been exposed to a buck for kidding in the early part of 2011. There were several available and we promised Willow she could choose since Merry had been her goat. We piled into the van today complete with the Great Dane sized crate and headed to Buffalo Creek Farm in Germanton.

Well, we had lots of questions for them and so many possible solutions. In great Herrin style, instead of just coming home with 1 goat, we bought 2. Plus, one is most likely pregnant and usually throws twins or triplets. Eek! So here are some coming home pictures of our new additions...

First, we have Rosemary. She is a 5 year old Nigerian Dwarf.

And really, how could we leave behind the 2 week old Nubian, now named Petunia?

After a quick stop at Tractor Supply for milk replacer - I had no plans to buy a goat I needed to bottle feed- we made it back to the farm with just enough daylight to get everyone settled in.

Scarlet greeted the new girls cordially. Her and Rosemary will be sharing one side of the shed with Petunia being tucked all cozy under a heat lamp on the other side. So far no goat drama; they're usually pretty easy going animals.

Scarlet watching Rosemary "who are you exactly?"

Rosemary "what the hell is going on?"

Yes, Rosemary is shaped like an end table. Nigerians have very short legs and her roundness really accentuates this trait. They keep more weight on than other breeds and she's starting to store it up more for winter. I can't imagine how round she'll be when she's ready to deliver! Nigerians also have a higher fat content in their milk than other dairy breeds so her milk will be good for separating into cream and making butter. I'm excited to have a different breed on the farm.

Petunia

Petunia is an brown, almost cinnamon, colored doe with little splashes of white. I ADORE the long Nubian ears. So cute! She has already been on the bottle because her mom was sold a few days ago. The girls both fell in love with her and that's who Willow wanted. She even used puppy dog eyes on us. After much discussion on logistics we agreed to get Petunia as well. What's one more goat? She is well on her way to being spoiled, too. When I went out to snap theses pictures she was curled up in the far corner, shivering- she hasn't figured out to get near the heat lamp yet. So, now, she's sleeping on my lap as I type. After her bedtime bottle, I'll settle her into the warm corner for the night.

Welcome home new does!

In closing, lesson learned. The goats do not go in the backyard ever again. It is dogs only. Even if I have to replace every piece of fence on this property with chain link to contain Scarlet, there will be no more "just for today". Ever.

I'm sorry MerryWeather.