The Nesting Buckets that Jeremy Built

We've had a few days here and there when the rain has stopped and the mud has dried up. (But don't worry, the mud doesn't get so dry that it turns back into dirt before it starts raining again.) One night during a dry spell, I mentioned (for the 50th time) that we needed to get some kind of nesting boxes set up in the new coop to Jeremy.

Goat Ed.

Honestly y'all, I'm still trying to process what all happened today. And I'm trying to figure out how to tell about it. It was awful, terrifying, horrifying, and soooo embarrassing all at the same time.

We got the billy today.

Chickens in the Coop

Moving the pullets into the new coop was the fun part. They were getting quite cramped in their little box. We had added another kennel to give them more room during the day, but they needed a lot more space.

The News Around Here...

Ah-ha! (That was said triumphantly, not like I just found something. Just wanted to be clear.) I'm back! And I survived school starting. Woohoo! We had a great first full week, loved it all and now we're spending the weekend resting and doing whatever it is we want to do.

A Hen and Her Chicks

If you're a regular reader, you might already know this, but I need to explain something before I begin. Our chicken George is a hen. She was the largest chick, so we all thought she might be a rooster, but she's not. She was also the only one of her kind, which we now know is an Easter Egger, so the name just stuck. I always get funny looks when I say George had some babies. But she did!

Changing Flocks

So chickens. Our flock now has 4 Rhode Island Reds, one Easter Egger, and what I assume is a Buff Orpington, although I'm really not sure. And Sunny the rooster is some sort of bantam. It's a mixed flock and has done exceptionally well for us. They provide us with 6 eggs a day, Sunny is the best rooster I've ever seen, and they generally take care of themselves.

Chicks & Needs

I think I have a problem.

Collecting Eggs & Making Breakfast

First thing this particular morning, I put on some breakfast of soft-boiled eggs and grits. While they were cooking, I left Jeremy and the kids to go feed the animals. I put on my cute, new barn boots, (thanks to my in-laws!) and headed out across the front yard.

How to Deal with an Introvert Goat

Poor Pippy. She's an introvert goat.

Eowyn's Chicken Chores!

Eowyn needed something to do this weekend, so I sent her out to the chicken coop to clean out the nesting boxes and lay down some more hay. She was excited about making new nests for the hens, and she did a really good job.

Homesteading Goals for 2015

Jeremy and I had the talk. You know, the talk where I go on and on about the many things we need to do yesterday, and he calms me down and we logically come to a compromise on how we are going to grow our homestead next year.

Our First Egg!

The kids caught one of our chickens laying an egg! They have finally started giving back, and our homestead is producing some food. It's going to be so fun to add egg collecting to our daily chores. And even better to quit buying eggs.

Goat Wrangling

Twice in the past week, I've had to wrangle the goats back into their fence. Twice! They like to get out after they've eaten and while the chore person is looking the other way.

Around the farm in the fall

The other day, Jeremy and I (and Esmond) explored the property we live on. Jeremy was actually trying to walk me into labor, but that didn't work.

The older kids were running around too, but they have their own haunts to play in. We walked around taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Building some Walls

The weather is starting to cool off, and Jeremy had a couple days at home (when he was supposed to be helping deliver the baby, but we all know that's not happening!) so he decided to put up the walls to our goat room on our garage-turned-barn.

A Rooster!

We have a rooster! He started trying to crow this morning. If you can imagine a teenage boy whose voice hasn't changed yet trying to crow, that's what he sounds like. He keeps practicing though! And he seems to clear his throat quite often too. Jeremy and I got a kick out of watching him today. I couldn't get close enough for a great picture of him while he was crowing, but he was strutting and everything.

Who Done It?

This is the response I got from the chickens when I asked them. They look guilty to me!

Birds of a feather....

Our birds have begun calming down! At least, as far as 24 birds can calm down. They wander all over our front yard, and the guineas even wander in the horse pasture behind our house. But come evening time, when we walk out the front door, they all gather around and escort us to the garage-turned-barn. In the mornings, we let them out after the goats have finished eating. Otherwise, the chickens will jump on the goats' backs and try to get into their food bowl.

Chaos with Wings

All this talk about cooking and sourdough, we've been missing some of the animals!

Our goats are shiny and healthy, and growing! They have eaten so much of the brush in the fence that we can see through it to the other side now. We're planning on seeding the strip of grass with an alfalfa mix I read about somewhere....oh dear, I need to find that again. They still yell anytime they hear us outside. When I'm hanging laundry on the clothesline, I try to be as quiet as possible but inevitably they hear or see me and start yelling. They are so loud!

On the farm this week

Here's what we've been doing.

We feed the animals, twice a day. And we did have a set back with our brilliant chicken plans. You know, how the chickens were coming in to eat at night and it was all working out so nicely? Well, the kids threw a loop in our perfection.