C&D Farming..oh what a life!

Duckfarmerpa1

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So, today was actually a slow day around here, which was kind of nice after the rush it’s been for the past few weeks. I got to enjoy my afternoon playing in the barn with my goat babies. We named the boys. The big one is Willy, the small one is Walter. Silly is a snuggler. He will sit on my lap for long time periods and let me rub him and rock him...he just loves it! Today we were rocking away, and he was sleeping...I noticed his eyes were flickering funny...then they were rollong backwards to the top of his eyes...then he started to cry....Willy was dreaming!!! :). It was sooo cute and my heart just filled even more with love for these little guys. As usual, the little brown girly loves to paw at me and jump 9n my head. She wants all of my attention. Now, Stormy’s little ones are starting to want to snuggle with me and I’m thrilled!! I was worried that I haven’t been spending near as much time with them due to the whole nursing issue. Anyways, the one with the pink nose sat in my lap, with Willy and the brown girly too, for a good hour. The6 were so sweet. It’s heaven. Rabbits are good, ducks good, etc. we have 37 laying hens. I don’t count two of them right now because they are not in my coop exposed to the lights on a timer, and not laying well. We average about 24 eggs a day. I giving the, All flock food, about 60% of the time....layer pellets..28% protein the rest...mixed with some beer grain from a Chris when he thinks I’m not looking. :lol: they love it though. What can I do to get my egg numbers up? I have my lights on a timer so the6 are getting about 14 hours of daylight. They get oyster shells and veggies. We don’t really sell the eggs much yet...but, as soon as it’s warm I plan to put a fridge up by our one garage with a lockbox. Chris and I don’t want foot traffic to the door.
Been looking all over the net for a male mini pig so I can get my girls mated!! The closest, and best looker is 6 hours away. Not doable. It did get warmer today...up to 30*..which was great! I didn5 have to worr6 about everyones water freezing, etc. Busty’s temp came up to 102.2* so I think the heat lamp, etc is helping. Not sure why she’s limping. The hoove is fine. Perhaps the udder just puts pressure on the leg nerve...poor girl

ok, goodnight. Thanks for reading :)
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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Well, we we’re selling them at first...we had tons of orders and couldn’t keep up!! Before Thanksgiving and Christmas it was crazy! Now, in the last three weeks, it slowed down. Not sure why? Perhaps people quit their New Years diets already? We are hoping things will pick back up, and want to be prepared if they do? I’m putting more signs up around town.
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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So, we decided to sell the other fainting goat. We really had too many goats at this point. I’m good with that. I have a very full work load. She was very shy. A very nice woman who loves fainter came and got her last night. She was soo excited about her. She’s going to breed her right away. I think she’ll be very happy at her new home. :). We are searching for a male mini pig to get our three bred, but can’t find any. Darn! Last night as I was getting the ducks in, my brave goat kid came a foot out of the barn, on the ramp..I had to hurry and scoot her back in. In the morning, when I was cleaning out bedding, she managed to go between my legs and take one step onto the stairs! She’s hard to keep an eye on! She’s crazy! No fear. Busty is still making too much milk and she leaks all over her bedding. So, I milk her down so the kids can latch on. My milking machine comes today. I suppose we are going to be milking her after all. She’s very sore and I’m hoping the machine will be much more gentler on her. She still has a limp from her thigh. Not sure what she did. Her temp is fine. But, I have to lift her on and off the milk stand, just to be gentle on her, and she is a very big goat. But, the kids come running like crazy the second I get her in the stand! I get a pile of babies in my lap. Some nursing, some just snuggling and sucking my hair. It’s so great. We named the two boys. The big guy is Willy, the other is Walter. Still need 5 girl names. The white 2minth old baby that we bought, we have an igloo dog house in the pen. She loves to play on it. She does this funny side kick when she hops off, like a donkey. She’s so fat! Round like a barrel! I make sure she’s not getting much grain. They hate alfalfa pellets. She likes to climb inside my feed bucket to see if there is a morsel left. She’s a stinker! :)
 

Duckfarmerpa1

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I got to take the new goats on two walks today! They are doing really well! I can’t believe how much better a goat walks on a leash than a puppy! :lol: They are very curious and they like to follow Chris. Our dog Grover came on the second walk, they weren’t quite sure what to think of him yet. :). Well, Chris and I have a big, scary opportunity on Saturday. We have been scouring the internet in our area..now we’re willing to go up to 3hours one way and pay $350 for a male mini pig, to breed with our 3 females. We had had no luck searching until today. we found a breeder, the only one in the area, who is willing to sell us her boar and 7 females, some are already bred. For one nice sum. It’s a really good deal. It is definitely more than we wanted. As the lady pointed out, we’d make our money back fast....and, we are very familiar with her farm. They do very well. She said she will refer all her business to us on Facebook, etc. So, this afternoon, we spent a few hours getting things set up...just in case we buy them all on Saturday. Knowing us, we probably will. There is definitely room in the barn for them. I’m selling ducks, so they don’t need as much space. The mini pig we owned over Christmas came from this Breeder, we got her from another person. Put the pig was perfect size and disposition. We did not keep her because she was spayed, and used to living in the house. So, while it seems like moving wayyy too fast...and I agree...this would be the third farm that we bought out their livestock. We’ve always made it work. So, we’ll see. I’m excited! I get to see pigs! I think I have a broody hen. Not sure. The past few days I’ve found her in the nest box....during the day and at night. I can get her to go out, but then she goes right back in....I think, from what I’ve seen. She’s not mean. I’ve been collecting the eggs. Chris said I should try to reason with her, that’s it’s just too cold for chicks. :lol: Do you think I need to you a broody breaker, or are we not there yet? Itd be perfect if she’d just wait a few weeks! My new milking machine came in today. It worked ok at times. I think we need to get the hang of it. When it was going good...it was really going fast! So, tonight we made a giant ball of farmers cheese. We threw all kinds of herbs in. It seems it tastes right before you refrigerate it, then, after it sits, it mellows out. Is that normal? Ok, hope everyone has a great night!
 
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