Spring Farm News, April Part 1

Waiting

 

So the pussy willows are doing their thing and the robins & Sandhill cranes are back.  Out in the goat pen it's still a waiting game.  Vinca is so wide that it's a squeeze for her to move through the little goat doors.  Echo, not so much.  I've been re-reading up on kid deliveries getting excited and anxiety filled by turns.  And yes, I'm getting up nightly in the small hours to check on the ladies.  Kori is hoping they will be born on her Birthday, which is coming up this week.

The eggs in the incubator just have a few days left to go... I hope that at least some of them hatch.  I did miss a couple of turnings early on, and my work schedule doesn't allow me to get them turned as every 8 hours like I am supposed to, but we'll see.  Check back next week to find out how many of the 36 hatch. Meanwhile, out in the Winter Coop, the hens have really stepped up production... plenty of eggs around here but no broody hens yet.

The big thing this weekend is the arrival of six cute porkers.  These little ones are Red Wattles from the Christian and Jessy McShane farm.  Red Waddles are a heritage breed that is slower growing that what comes out of Big pig operations.  They are the same breed that we had last year and are enjoying as pork chops tonight.  It's fun to have piggies again, and these are the smallest we've ever had.

unlike some young pigs we've had, these are not afraid of us

Kori had to visit this weekend to help "bring home the bacon"

The little 6-pack settled into temporary housing in the "chick room" of the Winter Coop.

We brought them home in the back of the Suburban in dog crates.  Kori and I were not fans of the smell, but Kevin says he has smelled worse after a weekend of camping with the Boy Scouts.  

There has been some planting going on around here too.  I have a bunch of flats in the basement; peppers, herbs, and tomatoes.  The lettuce out in the greenhouse is looking pretty good.  Kevin and Rollie got out the planter and planted a small field of hull-less oats.  Oats grows pretty well for us, but due to a lack of de-hulling equipment on a smaller-than-factory scale, we can't eat it ourselves.  It's great for animal feed of course, but I do love eating and baking with oatmeal.  So, we are trying the hull-less variety.  Hopefully that will be the answer.

The cutting of firewood has stopped now that it's wet in the woods, but Rollie and Kevin did go out and cut down a couple white oak trees that they will saw up into boards to replace the decks on the hay wagons.  The can't get in with a tractor yet, its just too wet, so pictures of that will be coming when they can.

So, stop in next week folks, hopefully we will have some more baby critters to show you! 

Be well.