SA Farm's journal

Well, she dumped her food dish, and proceeded to throw it around the cage, if that counts?
She was tired after...

dumping the food dish seems to be fun for them! We ended up using zip ties on some of our dishes (DH had to drill hole in them).

Hope all is well there with the cold going through- the temps started dropping here yesterday afternoon and will continue getting colder through Wed. Chickens didn't even go outside today- most stayed on the roost and just looked at me...

Hens and Roos said:

dumping the food dish seems to be fun for them! We ended up using zip ties on some of our dishes (DH had to drill hole in them).

Hope all is well there with the cold going through- the temps started dropping here yesterday afternoon and will continue getting colder through Wed. Chickens didn't even go outside today- most stayed on the roost and just looked at me...

Click to expand...

I usually have the dishes that bolt to the sides, but I still need DH to help me move her cage downstairs before I can get those out for her. Right now she's camped out in the middle of my kitchen

The cold is awful! I brought everybody warm water today and I swear it was all frozen before I got back to the house! Everybody got extra straw and the rabbits and goats got extra hay.
My birds all basically did the same thing! Just looking out the door, like, "You've got to be kidding me with this..."

Still better than last year though
Oh, the ducks are the exception...I think they actually like the cold weather. They waddle around in the snow without a care in the world. They don't even go into their enclosure willingly at night

we have those dishes too and really like them- just not enough of them at this point

thinking I will add some straw to the coop tomorrow- (I ran out of time today- had to go grocery shopping) it will at least give the chickens something to do for the next few days. We are suppose to get 2-4 inches of snow over night so DH will be out removing snow earlier tomorrow morning. Given how cold it is, hopefully the snow will be light and fluffy.

Friends of ours have ducks- the water is the first thing they head for when let out! It is comical to watch them.

Today was pretty uneventful. Still nothing new with Granny - which is a good thing
Every day while I do my chores, I have the goaties out to run around, play, and generally cause havoc and get in my way
Today, I had my camera with me and Clover had a total Bambi moment on a patch of ice. Unfortunately, by the time I turned on the camera and focused, she was already past it The patch of ice behind her - she was doing a back-end split - it was so cute! Kicked myself and am mad at my camera for missing it

Got a few new pictures of Jade. She's one of my favorites - great all-around producer

And a picture of my SS rooster, just because he's so handsome - and he knows it!

What a day! I couldn't sleep last night, so I woke up late, then I discovered at some point during the night/morning, the door on the turkey coop broke open, so all my turkeys were out and about!
So, I go out to round them up and I trip over a mostly buried chunk of fence and I land, basically face first in the snow, rip my jeans on the fence, and naturally my coat rides up when I raised my arms to break my fall, so my side/stomach is right against the snow.

All this on the coldest day yet!
Anyhow, the turkeys get to free range today, so they're happy at least - chilling around the pheasant run where one of my extra toms is currently living.


I also wanted to get updated pictures of Pickpocket and come to find out that she's gotten huge! What a gorgeous rabbit she is

My dear, dear husband has lost his mind. I am the enabler. We both need serious psychiatric help - or a bigger farm...
This spring we have ordered about 65 birds to add to our farm. Yes. I know.
We are now planning to build a brooder SHED. Past years we've just been brooding our assorted chicks, poults, ducklings, and goslings in the basement, but no longer! We have now officially outgrown the basement.
2 dozen turkey poults and 2 dozen chicks of various breeds of chickens and a handful of ducklings and goslings.
Never mind that we weren't going to even have any more ducks, we decide to keep a few 'just because', then, somehow, we order more - and not even the same breed that we already have.
I think I hate chicken math
DH had better get cracking on all the fencing and housing we're going to need, that's all I'm saying. I may be twisting his arm about that LGD too

We may need to hire help if this keeps up
And yet, there's this other part of me that is all

My name is SA Farm and I have a serious addiction problem. Not only do I have Goat Addiction Syndrome (GAS), but also CAS, TAS, RAS, DAS, and another type of GAS.
I have TWO types of GAS!

Somehow my Dh has been infected also... he actually helps on the farm now and builds stuff. He is really falling for the goats too. He has always liked all the animals but now he actually knows the names of most of the animals.

So, I asked my DH, "What is wrong with us? 65 birds. Seriously?"
He's like, "I know, we should've made it an even 70."

So when we went to pick up the new Am rooster, they had a couple of hens available, so we grabbed them too. Why not, right? What's a few more...
Now that they've finally settled in, I got two eggs from them today! I still haven't introduced my Am hens. Figure I'll give them a few weeks of quarantine just to be on the safe side. But they're looking good

Hi SA! I enjoyed browsing over your journal. When I saw the "SA", I thought maybe you were here in San Antonio...but you a long ways from me! I've never lived anywhere cold - I remember our water trough iced over once a few years back - It really must be a lot more work having so many animals where it is so cold.....Your Ameraucanas are really pretty and colorful. The ones we used to have were very plain looking and were the meanest hens in the flock. Hope you like eggs - sounds like you'll be having plenty very soon.