Spring is Coming!
It may not feel like it now, but spring is fast approaching! I can see it in the days that are getting progressively longer. Today we worked outside until 6:30pm, and it seems that not so long ago it was dark by 5pm. While we look forward to warmer weather, I know this spring and summer will be busy! I don’t know if I’m ready yet! We have so many amazing projects planned for this year, and we still have a lot to do in preparation. let’s share some of the fun homestead happenings from this week.
Rabbit Kits
Our rabbit doe Apple kindled (gave birth) to a litter of seven back in January. This week the rabbits started coming out of the nesting box, and now they’re hopping around the cage like crazy!
Rabbit kit, less than three weeks old
Goat on Deck!
Our new Alpine goat Annie is doing great! She has finished up her “quarantine” time and is now in a fenced paddock in our woods, with the pygmy goat wethers. Annie was by herself for the first week on our farm, during which we dewormed her. Then we fence-trained her in another paddock, where electric fencing is placed in front of a physical fence.
Harley with Annie
The physical fence behind the electric fence ensures that the shock when the goat touches the fence prompts her to back up, not to run through the electric fence.
Note the yellow electric wire with the cattle panels providing a physical barrier
Annie didn’t like being alone during this time, since goats are such herd animals. Apparently the chicken company wasn’t enough! She managed to escape her pen a couple times, I believe motivated by her desire to be with friends! During one of her escapee adventures, she investigated our deck! She has become so docile with us, it was easy to lead her back to her pen.
Annie stepping down the deck stairs
Duck Update
The Khaki Campbell ducks are about three months old now, and they’re doing great! We’re constantly impressed by how sturdy ducks are compared to chickens. We haven’t lost a single duck!
Ducks! Spot the drake….
This week we also were happy to see that one of our ducks is a male, called a drake. We wanted a male duck in the group! You can see the drake in the above picture. He’s the one smack dab in the middle of the photo, facing away from the camera, to the right of the PVC feeder. His feathers started changing color this week, from brown/khaki to a more olive colored head, with lighter colored variation on his underside. I’ll post a better picture of him next week!
Looking Ahead
We are busy planning and preparing for an exciting spring and summer! Our red sex link chicks are a week old now, and we are already looking forward to the delicious eggs they’ll give us in a few months time.
The red six link chicks, as soon as they arrived at the homestead
We have ordered Pekin ducklings to arrive in March, so look forward to duck meat at the beginning of May! We also have Easter Egger chicks coming at the end of March, order some now to add to your flock.
Have a great weekend, and check back next week for more updates! We’ll have more homestead projects to share, and updates on the animals.
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