Alice Acres ~ new (human) grandbaby!

[Four Winds Ranch]

You have beautiful dogs!!!! I have never gotten into show anything, but have always wanted to! Well, I guess my daughter goes to shows with her Shorthorn steers, but according to the rules, I am not allowed to help her with anything!
Good luck with you up and coming lambs!!!! I have a while to wait for mine (March). Lambing is such a exciting time of year, ohhhh but oh so sleepless too! Mmmmm....I wonder how much cameras would be to set up at the barn?

 

[Alice Acres]

You have beautiful dogs!!!! I have never gotten into show anything, but have always wanted to! Well, I guess my daughter goes to shows with her Shorthorn steers, but according to the rules, I am not allowed to help her with anything!
Good luck with you up and coming lambs!!!! I have a while to wait for mine (March). Lambing is such a exciting time of year, ohhhh but oh so sleepless too! Mmmmm....I wonder how much cameras would be to set up at the barn?

Thanks Four Winds
I do love my dogs. I grew up with dogs 1st - Brittanies. We showed, hunted, field trialed them. Then when I was in 3rd grade my parents bought a 40 acre farm and we moved from suburbia to a small farm...it was great!

My sisters and I showed our animals in 4-H, great learning of life skills.

 

[Alice Acres]

I was surfing on the internet tonight after work. Reading through my friends' facebook pages to catch up on stuff (I worked 12 hour shifts yesterday and today)...and I see the MN Hooved Animal Rescue is looking for a home for 5 young peacocks.

So I emailed and asked for details, and saying we were interested.

A little history: Todd's dad used to raise peafowl. We had 3 of them for many years. All eight kids and the nearly 30 grandkids associate peafowl with grandma and grandpa - who have since both passed away. Most of us have something "peacock" in our homes in remembrance. We have a stained glass artwork in one kitchen window, a vase full of peacock tailfeathers, and a small blown glass peacock on our Christmas tree.

So, we are getting them! Need to get a pen built in the barn for them - we are going to get them Thursday or Friday!!

ps - the rescue is a wonderful group. We had our 2 horses from them, and our pony Teddy is from there as well. We also had a rescue sheep from them. We fostered 2 emaciated Arabian mares (mother/daughter) for them too. Right now they need the space, as they just got in 55 starved horses from one humane case.

 

[Bridgemoof]

That's great Alice! And a nice reminder of your grandparents. We had a couple peacocks for a while, I loved them. We let them free range and sadly they crossed the street one day into the wilds and were attacked by a predator right away. We decided peacocks were probably not for us since we like our animals to run wild, so to speak.

 

[Alice Acres]

That's great Alice! And a nice reminder of your grandparents. We had a couple peacocks for a while, I loved them. We let them free range and sadly they crossed the street one day into the wilds and were attacked by a predator right away. We decided peacocks were probably not for us since we like our animals to run wild, so to speak.

When we had our 1st peacocks, we initially had them penned, but they graduated to being free range. They hung out in the yard and pasture. Our original OES preferred to herd them and keep them in the pasture, not the yard! He was so funny - we would pull in the yard and he'd quick go herd them up and make them fly over the pasture fence.
Ours never crossed the road, but my FIL had issues with his wandering at times.

These new ones are from a late summer hatch, so are about half grown. They will be penned all winter, then come spring we will see how they are.

 

[Alice Acres]

We finally got some snow!

It came in the form of a storm, but it wasn't too bad. We had about 4 inches of heavy wet snow. Then a break for a couple hours. It was just slightly above freezing, so quite nice. I was at work. Then it dropped off (temps), switched to dry sparkly snow and the wind came in. North winds, 25-35mph....brrr!

I had to drive home from work last night in it....this is out on the big 4 lane highway:

It was a slow drive home.

It really is quite nice now. West winds about 12, but our windbreak stops most of it. It's right about at zero, but all sparkly and sunny. Very pretty. I got a photo of the barn, but it was when the lingering last snow clouds were passing over.

 

[Bridgemoof]

I just your barn. I know you guys love it too. It's so pretty!

 

[jodief100]

That is a wonderful barn!

We ahd peacocks as a kid. I couldn't stand the noise they made. Worse than the Gunieas. They sure are pretty. I have a friend with a dairy who had a peacock roost on the milk truck during pick up one day- and drove off witht he peacock clinging for dear life on top! Her husband was upset when it foudn it's way home.

 

[Alice Acres]

The peafowl are here!

I was supposed to drive up and get them Friday, but was totally wiped out with a migraine.
But it worked really well to get them today. My 2 oldest grandkids do Jr Roller Derby (they are 10 and 4 yrs old), and they had a scrimmage in Minneapolis this afternoon. I drove the 1.5 hours to their scrimmage, and got to cheer them on. Then I drove the 45 minutes to the hooved animal rescue and picked up the peafowl. They are cute, in a homely, half-grown way! Looks like 3 are males, 2 females. They were from a late summer hatch. The peahen (mom) is about 40 years old! She's white colored - maybe silver pied - and quite the matriarch. Dad is a black shoulder (regular color, that most think of when they see a peacock). The chicks are a white based speckled color...so far!
I will try and get pictures tomorrow, as it was dark when I got home and we just wanted them to settle and go to sleep when I put them in their pen in the barn.

 

[SheepGirl]

40 years old?! I didn't know poultry could live so long! Wow!