goat housing

So I made my portable goat shelter finally.  It is pure redneck but hopefully will do the job.  Savaged wood and a 30 dollar tarp pretty much make up the material list.

I am hoping Miss gets bred soon but I am not holding out hope much longer.  Camo just doesn't seem to be up to the job since he is so small and she keeps running away.  I may end up selling them both and trying to reinvest in a new doe.

I am trying to decide if I should try with rabbits again or just spend my time and money with chickens since right now they are the only thing being productive here.  I do want to try a rabbit again, just to prove it was a fluke.  Just not sure I can find a market to sell the rabbits.  The meat is good, kind of like chicken and is very lean.

I need to get the chicken tractor repaired.  All the moving and winter weather did a number on it.  I also want to build a grow-out pen for meat birds and I am thinking about getting some more layers since people are interested in eggs.

Big Storms

My work on outside projects is at a stand still while Mother Nature waters the world.  I had thought the goats might like some outside time yesterday while it was between showers but the interval between the rain was much shorter than I had expected.  Goat wash complete.

Still waiting to see signs of life from the early garden seeds.  I hope by the end of this week something will crop up.  (ha ha get it? (ok that was uncalled for))

Once I get another chicken tractor made I will order some meat birds.  This tractor will just be a grow out pen so no need for it to be as big, or near as heavy as the original.  The goats need a traveling pen too so we can have the garage back.  But all of this is outside work.

We grow grass here

And by growing grass, we also grow chickens, rabbits and goats.  And the occasional dog indigestion.

The lawn has turned back to a wonderful green and all the critters are doing a great job of mowing it for me.  Now that it has started to dry up I can get back to cutting down trees to expand my grass growing business.

My lettuce is starting to come up but not much else.  I will plant some more in a week or so if nothing else shows and hope that it takes this time.  Since, you know, it won't snow the day after planting.

Production!

Well we are up to four eggs a day, but this morning one was broken so the dogs got it.  Also the chickens I had in the freezer are gone.  Rob has been selling them at work and I need to order some more so we can grow them out and have them ready.  Maybe I should ask if any of them want turkeys.  I was planning on raising three anyways.

The farm is looking good, but the St. Louis house is having issues.  Mostly grounds for electric.  But that can be fixed with enough help from fatherly people.  So hopefully that will all turn around soon.

grr

There is snow on the ground.

That is all.

vernal equinox

I planted some of my garden today.  I kept to the cold hardy plants like lettuce and peas.  In mid-April I will be putting in the warmer weather plants like tomatoes and peppers.  The weather is great for the garden today, a nice mid-60s with a slight breeze.

I have two more roosters ready to cull.  I think I have a naked neck chicken that is also a rooster though, so need to get rid of him.  That will leave the only rooster a barred rock (although I think this picture is of a hen).

There was another egg today but the shell wasn't formed so the chickens ate it.  I am going to be adding oyster shell to their diet so that hopefully won't happen again.

In April I hope to get another female rabbit and see if my rabbit production will happen.  Also in breeding news I will try and help Camo get up on the back stairs so he has a chance of breeding Miss.  Once I know she is bred he will be leaving ... one way or another.

EGGS

Not one but two eggs!

SPRING!!

Put them in with our last batch of store bought eggs.