Living in the “country” as we do, we look forward to seeing wild visitors. We see deer frequently and are amazed at how well-camouflaged they are: they typically appear at the back of our field at dusk, and in the low light, they blend right into the dry grass. In fact, it’s usually the movement of the white tail that draws the eye, at which time you realize there are three or four of them, a couple bedded down, watching us perform the evening chores. They’re not really afraid, even as our activities create noise and we chat. They live here, too. Continue reading “Saturday’s Wild Visitor – Turkey Tom”
Category: Homesteading / Farming
Rabbit Kits At One Month
The kits are a month old today. All 20 (!) survived, even though it was touch and go early on with the little white one we call “Waldo” (for his penchant for hiding among his dark-colored cousins). Loretta did a great job fostering Waldo, and now he’s nearly the same size as the others, though he does seem to have a problem with getting poop stuck in his fur…just guessing that’s what happens when you’re frequently at the bottom of a pile of kits. We’re not sure what Waldo’s gender is at this point, so he’s a “he” by default for now Continue reading “Rabbit Kits At One Month”
That’s Not A Slug…This Is A Slug
The Pacific Northwest is slug central. Ever seen a banana slug? They must be seen to be believed. We’ve spotted tiny slugs (baby slugs?) on the farm, but no monsters…which is a shame because ducks will eat slugs like they’re going out of style. Yeah – something actually does like to eat slugs!
Maybe larger ones will arrive with summer (probably in time to eat garden plants). Even when we overturn rocks and logs, there are no slugs to be seen. Plenty of earthworms, but no slugs.
We haven’t spotted any snails, either. Continue reading “That’s Not A Slug…This Is A Slug”
Who Needs A Lawnmower?
The grass has really greened up, and it seems only right to take advantage of it as forage. We haven’t built the rabbit tractors for the kits, who are nearly a month old now, but we repurposed a couple of large dog crates as temporary outdoor enclosures for the does.
The girls quickly get to work on the grass, but today they were a section that included some tiny white flowers, and they really liked those. They enjoy dandelion greens and flowers, too. They crop the grass down to a nice length without “scalping” it. Better than a lawnmower! Continue reading “Who Needs A Lawnmower?”
Duck Ostracism
Last night, when we put the ducks in their coop, we heard a commotion inside. We peeked in and saw Pru pulling on Phoebe’s feathers and generally being aggressive toward her. We tried to distract Pru, but she was determined to pick on Phoebe.
Hoping to facilitate an attitude adjustment, we removed Pru from the coop (neither fun nor easy – they have sharp claws and strong wings) and placed her in a rabbit cage, which we then put in the chicken coop. The chickens were not pleased. We could hear the hens complaining about the intruder from a distance away.
Chicken Coop Remodel
When we built the original roost in the coop for our chickens last year, we went with a two-tiered design with a poop board below. It turned out that all the chickens wanted to be on the higher – mind you, it was only a 3 1/2″ height difference – roost and they pretty much ignored the lower one.
Having learned from that experience, we used a single-roost design this time that runs along 3 of the 4 coop walls. Since the roost remains at the same height continuously, there shouldn’t be any fighting over the “prime” roost now. Continue reading “Chicken Coop Remodel”