Category: Homesteading / Farming

The Year’s Last Duck Integration

~ Carrie

last_duck_integration_2016We’ve had many integrations this year: several groups of chicks as well as ducklings. Integration isn’t easy – the older animals aren’t nice to the younger ones (think freshman and seniors), and it’s new and stressful for the young ones. Eventually, though, it has to happen. The last group of ducklings has finally been integrated into the main group – hooray!

Phoebe’s 7 ducklings are the last to join the main group. They, like Coraline’s broody-raised ducklings, are more skittish than our incubated ducklings, but seemed to have a very easy assimilation into the group when we let them mingle during the day. They were quick to join in at feeding time and seemed to be subject to less “hazing” (feather grabbing by older ducks and drakes) than other juveniles we’ve integrated.  Continue reading “The Year’s Last Duck Integration” →

Summer In October

~ Carrie ~ 1 Comment

summer_in_octoberWhat’s wrong with this picture: sunshine, shorts and flip-flops, and jack-o’-lanterns? It’s mid-October and it’s in the 80s here. It’s fall! Pumpkin everything (lattes, beer, cookies…) is out now, and seems better suited to cooler weather.

Thankfully, the humidity is lower than it was in the summer, and the strong breezes are pleasant, but it just feels odd for it to be so warm now. The trees’ leaves didn’t turn the gorgeous autumn hues that they did last year; they just turned brown and dropped. They rest, shriveled, on the ground, crisply crunching underfoot. Fortunately, no raking is needed – the rabbits like to eat the leaves, withered or not.

We recently saw a squirrel knocking walnuts out of a tree – it’s working on its winter stores, but will winter come this year? And if it does, will it appear suddenly, shocking everything with its chill? Or will we being wearing shorts in December again?

The unpredictability of the weather is a challenge for farmers. Many projects are dependent on expectations of what weather will (should) be like, and unseasonable weather throws a wrench into those plans. Maybe the real question is what is “normal” weather now?

We’ll roll with it and hope this weather is just an anomaly, but it feeds the creeping suspicion that predictable weather may be a thing of the past.

I Spy…Something Praying?

~ Carrie

praying_mantisWe’ve seen a couple of Praying Mantises out here: one was bright green and on the outbuilding; the other was bright green and on a bin at the recycling center. Both were amazing.

Last night, as usual, we went to do the ducks’ and chickens’ evening feeding, pulling the cart with the food buckets loaded on it. When we reached the fence, we noticed something hanging on it. It was the color of the browning leaves that have begun to fall from the trees. A closer look revealed a well-camouflaged praying mantis. This one was brownish gray and larger than the bright green one we saw nearly two years ago.

Praying mantises are enthusiastic eaters of many garden pests. We’re glad to see one, and hope it will eat the bugs that have been eating our sunflowers. We eschew chemical pesticides, and the pastures and overall ecosystem are the better for it. The “good” bugs should eat the “bad”, and birds (including our poultry and waterfowl) will eat the bugs. Fostering this cycle is an important part of being a responsible steward of the land; in this paradigm, the “good” bugs are valued workers. And they are really cool looking!

Chicks’ Day Out

~ Carrie

Chicks and ChickensOur mixed group of 16 chicks went outside for the first time and enjoyed themselves immensely. The adult chickens and ducks were very curious about the scurrying fluffballs, and came closer to get a better look.

Outside, the chicks were contained in a folding wire exercise pen that had been carefully modified with an additional layer of plastic netting from the ground to about two feet up. We learned from a previous outing that small animals, like baby rabbits, will run right through the gaps in the wire. Yikes! In that case, the rabbits were recaptured without incident, but we really wanted to avoid that kind of excitement again. We also clipped shade cloth on top to ensure the chicks could always get out of the direct sun. Secure (for day use) and comfortable. Continue reading “Chicks’ Day Out” →

A Lesson About Beetles

~ Carrie

Sunflower with Leather Wing BeetleRecently, we shared the story of the sunflowers and oats that grew from the seeds that the roosters missed. It’s pretty amazing that they just grew where they fell, without tending, among the pasture plants.

The sunflowers are so cheery – you can’t really look at their big yellow faces without smiling. We check them every day, and were shocked to discover that some had been badly chewed up by bugs. What bugs would do this? We had seen Japanese beetles on the blackberry bushes, but none on the sunflowers. What was on them – in large numbers – was a different type of beetle. This one was longer in the body and had mostly orange and black markings. Continue reading “A Lesson About Beetles” →

New Silver Fox Rabbits Join The Herd

~ Carrie

Black Silver Fox Rabbit DoeWe recently acquired three new pedigreed Silver Fox rabbits for our breeding program. Two are the familiar black color – very pretty in its own right. The third is a new color for us: lilac. Silver Fox colors also include chocolate and blue. Silver Fox rabbits have beautiful coats, and actually are named for the similarity to the Silver Fox’s fur.

The black SF rabbits are junior does, with nice ticking (the white hairs) in their fur and good size. Though the does look very similar, personality differences are emerging: one is more gregarious than the other. Given time and treats, we expect both to become better socialized. Continue reading “New Silver Fox Rabbits Join The Herd” →