Piggies and More New Residents

Greetings all!  I hope you are enjoying this fine three day weekend and also remembering and thanking those who have served our county.  Kevin and the Scouts of Troop 52 will be participating in Memorial Day ceremonies at our local VFW tomorrow and will follow-up by planting a lot of pumpkin plants here at the farm. 

In last week's post we had a brief introduction to our seven new feeder pigs.  They were pretty leery of us for the first several days, but have now decided that Kevin - the bringer of water, feed, and treats is just a fine fellow after all. 

They love the mud hole he makes for them to cool off in.

They race around excitedly when he approaches, then line up by the fence.

Even though there are two feed troughs, they all try to eat out of the same one - silly piggies!

Even more exciting (to me) is the long awaited hatching of Penelope and Peanut's poults.  It takes twenty-eight days to incubate turkey eggs - these hens are so patient.  Anyway, yesterday I got just a glimpse of one of them nestled in with the moms... see it there? 

All day today I periodically checked on them, and finally this evening they were out - there are only three of them.  The low number is pretty disappointing - with two hens sitting on the eggs you would think there would be more... on the other hand, hey, we have three baby turkeys!

Not the greatest picture but it was the best we could do before their mama covered them up again. Next week I should have better pictures of these little ones and maybe more bits of fluff as I believe that Mama Hen II's eggs should be hatching anytime now.  There may be another hen that wants to set also - we will see how that goes.  Until next week, be well friends.

Welcome Pigs!

What a morning!

I include a view from the milking stand frequently in this blog; I hope it’ not too boring for you but I love it.  Every day is different, and today at 6:15 it was especially beautiful to me and just filled me up with positive emotions – joy and contentedness; knowledge that right here, right now – this is the place I need to be.  (That's Echo's tail there in the corner - I really was milking at the time!)

This morning was a wee bit chilly – 31 degrees.  I apologized to the does when I put my icy fingers on their warm udders, but they did not seem to mind.  

An update from the Winter Coop.  Mama Hen has lost one of her three chicks.  It just vanished – I have no clue what happened to it.  It may have just died and been buried in the bedding. We removed the brooder ring that contained the older chicks.  Mama Hen got a little crazy and started attacking the poor things so she and her two little ones were moved over to the bigger room which they now share with the tom and non-setting hen turkeys, and the broody hen.   She is constantly digging in the bedding – today she went all around the walls.  The problem is she keep burying the water container!

The "big" chicks are getting to that awkward looking stage.
 

Kids will be kids - and they have no awkward stage!

Today we picked up our new feeder pigs.  There are seven of them but I think you can only see six in the photo.  They are pretty skittish about us at the moment – their first night away from their former home but they’ll soon be friendlier.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to win back some of the garden from the wilderness it had become last summer and fall.  Roye kept me company some of the time. Now if she will just take care of that darn gopher!

We will be having a very busy week as we get ready for the first Farmer’s Market of the season.  I’ll let you know how it goes next week.  Until then, be well friends!

Happy Mother's Day 2018!

We had a lovely day here on the farm for our traditional Mother's Day wagon ride and picnic.  We do this most years and for me the best part was just sitting still in the warm sunshine for a while.

Our world is many shades of green these days - some spring flowers are beginning to bloom but mostly it's green out there and it is beautiful.

The chicks that hatched last weekend are doing very well, and the broody hen who has been patiently doing time in the Summer Coop has been rewarded with three little ones to care for.  It's amazing how little they are compared to the ones that are just a week older!

We moved Julio and then hens out to the Summer Coop Friday night but left behind one hen who had decided it's her turn to brood.  

The kids are growing fast too, and enjoy climbing n this mound of dirt and old brush.

From left to right, that's Snow, Periwinkle, and Soot.

Next week we should have some pig news to share and maybe can catch you up on what's happening with the field work.  Until then, be well friends!

About The Birds

It was an eventful week in the poultry department. 


Penelope and/or Peanut have started setting under the hog hut that is on the north side of the Winter Coop.  There is a platform under there and the turkeys had been laying there on the bare, poo-encrusted wood.  I put a nice layer of old hay there for them and they continued to leave eggs until the time was right.  At first it was just one of them, Penelope I think, and then the other one joined in.  Hopefully they will be cooperative about the poult rearing when they hatch!

In the Summer Coop, the broody hen continues her patient setting too - just a week to go for her.  Indoors, the chicken eggs in the incubator started to hatch on Thursday morning and finished up on Saturday morning.  There is no option to put them in the bathtub anymore with the bathroom remodel so they went out to the chick room of the Winter Coop with both heater and heat lamp.  Seventeen hatched and sixteen survived.  Here is a little dose of cuteness for you!

And speaking of cute, I have to include an updated picture of the kids.

Oh, you gotta love spring!  Nature throws off winter and kicks into high gear at last.  The fields are greening up quickly now and out in the garden the rhubarb is close to big enough to pick and the garlic is up!

Thank you for visiting the Ole Lake Farm Blog - until next week, be well friends.