August 26, 2014

Farm happenings

The. Chickens. Are. Hilarious.

They roam the yard like a pack of renegades looking to get into trouble. I just went out to check on the calves and saw that the side garage door was open. The white rooster was standing at the door as sentry and as I walked in they all stopped in their tracks to see the intruder. So I shooed them out and sent then on their way. Ronald has been dwarfed by the brown ones and the big brown rooster that Evan calls "fluffy" (I know...) is really taking over the show. We were going to butcher him next but he's doing a good job so far. We may wait until we get broilers specifically for butchering. He definitely needs a more pronounced name, like Brutus, or Big Guy. Doug is better with the witty names so we'll have to let him take that one.

Bethel is home and doing so well. I am amazed at how well she is doing with the tethering. She's been off of it for a week, free to roam in a pen. I thought for sure she'd be crazy town when she came back. But she's respected the line and done so well!!! We have three options for pregnancy checks.

1. If she goes into noticeable heat around September 12th we'll know she is NOT pregnant.
2. The vet can come around September 27th and do an ultrasound. This may be pricey.
3. The vet can come around October 18th for the ol arm up the you know what. This may be the cheaper option. Not sure yet.

So were keeping our fingers crossed for the time being.

Peace the calf is continuing to do well. Her leg is still draining and I'm changing her bandage often. Ideally we would keep it open to allow it to drain better but the flies are ATROCIOUS. She will get a few more shots of antibiotic, which I have become proficient at administering, and we'll see how she's doing. Harmony is well. They've begun nibbling on hay, and Lloyd will be bringing them down some oats or sweet flakes soon to supplement their diets.