*CYGChickies' HWC Journal* I Want Goats!

CYGChickies

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Well Roosty finally believed our threats and convinced the girls to start laying! Found two little brown eggs this morning in the coop, only one in the nest box. I'm so excited! EGGS!

In some less-than-exciting news, we only made $4 on Black Friday and only $11 at the eight hour craft fair--less than fifty people all day and nobody wanted my craft. People bought $30 dollar jewelry then had a stroke when my soap was $5. Kinda worried and trying to figure out what I can do different at the table. I've been cheery and I've ignored them. I've told jokes, been informative, done demonstrative work, tried everything other than juggling fire beside the table. I have read dozens of books and articles and I'm following the rules of selling. Oh well thus begins my search for answers!

Lola's kits are out of the nest box and she's not quite so happy to have the demanding little kits free but she's very patient and only hops away never growls or protests. Strawberry's and Angel's litters are doing well and Dutchess is due on the 8th. She already has two babies spoken for since she's bred to Samwise our blue ribbon boy, very popular. Their kits will be adorable!

CYG
 

CYGChickies

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Quite a bit to say I suppose since I've been gone so long.

The hens are really getting with it, 2-4 eggs a day! The silkie Roos are finally discovering the silkie hens and so I'm thinking they'll be laying soon--Roosty mounting the Aus girls signalled egg approach about a week later. Loch Ness has been relocated to the middle of our chicken coop--ARGH--despite our best tarp efforts. Time to get some gravel, stall-dri and straw and drain the lake! The turkey pen remains only slightly moist despite no tarp! Our farm must be on the Hellmouth as much crazy stuff as we witness.

In Rabbitry news, Lola's litter have been sexes and will be for sale starting Friday. Her only buck was the harlequin kitten and the rest--two magpies, broken harlequin or tort, and diamond-marked brown--were all does. Strawberry the NZ had three does--both reds and solid gray--and a buck, the broken. Angel's babies were two bucks and a doe--the REW white buck looks just like mama! The blue buck and black doe must be recessive on mama's side because daddy is a Vienna. Lionhead Duchess' breeding didn't take so we're waiting til Spring for her. Same for Victoria our French Angora who had eight dead babies her first time. Isis our Dwarf Hotot was rebred and will kindle in January.

Thoth had a case of malocclusion--major eek--and under advisement we trimmed the incisors ourselves. It was easy since only one top tooth and one bottom were long. Since it showed up so late we're not thinking hereditary, hopefully! He's has a vet appointment for Thursday to make sure his molars don't need filed or anything as sometimes that can cause incisors to go wonky. All other rabbits showed good teeth with no sign of trouble and we will continue monthly checks--more often on Thoth. I'm eager to hear the vet's opinion.

I ordered my package of honeybees for early April and we have begun purchasing seeds and doing extensive planning for the garden. It's gonna be crazy I hope it grows! We've been picking out ****aki mushroom "spawn" and looking for a place to get decent logs to grow it all on. Also, I am going to learn archery to protect the birds and buns from predators. Hopefully I'll be bowhunting deer next season. I decided nobody was gonna bring me any venison so I'd have to go get it for myself. Really excited to get a bow--I got to shoot one at an archery store and it was super comfortable for me and something I can picture myself doing long term and for hunting. Wish me luck!

CYG
 

Ms. Research

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Well sounds like you have been busy. And really sounds like the ball is rolling.

Congratulations on your success with your chickens and rabbits. Hope Thoth doesn't have problems with his molars and it's just his front teeth. Is it hard to trim teeth? My hats off for you even trying. I'd have been a bit nervous.


Good Luck with the Bees and Archery. Wishing you all the luck with both. Please let us know how it goes. Both interesting hobbies.

K
 

CYGChickies

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Ms. Research said:
Well sounds like you have been busy. And really sounds like the ball is rolling.

Congratulations on your success with your chickens and rabbits. Hope Thoth doesn't have problems with his molars and it's just his front teeth. Is it hard to trim teeth? My hats off for you even trying. I'd have been a bit nervous.


Good Luck with the Bees and Archery. Wishing you all the luck with both. Please let us know how it goes. Both interesting hobbies.

K
We purchased a good pair of side-cutting pliers at the hardware store, 4-inch ones and trimmed the teeth flush with the normal length ones. It was like clipping thick nails except he didn't even feel a thing. Other than not wanting us in his mouth he did great. Five minutes after the trimming he was eating pellets again and seemed quite content. I actually hope he does have a spur on his molar so that it explains the malocclusion away so it's not hereditary. I hope it's not! If you ever need to trim teeth just remember it seems a lot worse than it is and they don't feel pain from it. The quicker and calmer the better.

CYG
 

Ms. Research

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CYGChickies said:
Ms. Research said:
Well sounds like you have been busy. And really sounds like the ball is rolling.

Congratulations on your success with your chickens and rabbits. Hope Thoth doesn't have problems with his molars and it's just his front teeth. Is it hard to trim teeth? My hats off for you even trying. I'd have been a bit nervous.


Good Luck with the Bees and Archery. Wishing you all the luck with both. Please let us know how it goes. Both interesting hobbies.

K
We purchased a good pair of side-cutting pliers at the hardware store, 4-inch ones and trimmed the teeth flush with the normal length ones. It was like clipping thick nails except he didn't even feel a thing. Other than not wanting us in his mouth he did great. Five minutes after the trimming he was eating pellets again and seemed quite content. I actually hope he does have a spur on his molar so that it explains the malocclusion away so it's not hereditary. I hope it's not! If you ever need to trim teeth just remember it seems a lot worse than it is and they don't feel pain from it. The quicker and calmer the better.

CYG
Good Luck today with your Vet appointment for Thoth. Hope Vet does find spur on his molar. Would hate to see this as hereditary. Wishing you luck. Hope you post the vet's finding.

K
 

elevan

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CYGChickies

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Well it's the New Year! I didn't make a resolution on New Year but I did on Christmas morning. I've been obsessing about some negative things in the past that worry me and I'm trying to let them go one piece at a time. I'm also planning a huge kickstart to the farm with bees, a giant garden and lots of babies.

I am also going to start bowhunting and using a bow to defend against predators. It's pink camo and should be in in two weeks-ish. I want to be more in shape for this Spring when I get started hunting--wild turkeys in April--and I (like some others) could stand to lose a person. I'd like to almost half my weight but being six feet tall with a bigger frame I think 150 would be the skinniest I'd want to go. I'm also severely pigeon-chested so I don't want to be so skinny that I look crazy. It'll be a long time before I'll be able to call myself skinny!

Diets are my worst enemy! I've done Atkins, low cal, low fat and Slim Fast all at some point since I was 14. Diets stress me out and make me crave whatever food I can't have! I don't really like sweets, so that's not my issue. I need to ditch diets and get into exercise. I have done a few videos in highschool and I liked "The Firm" aerobics and also enjoyed mild Pilates. I think I'm going to start with The Firm and a Pilates DVD for beginners. Then I'm gonna try to work up to that P90X I've heard about. Maybe Zumba its popular but I'm not proud enough of my body to dance around in front of people. Those are just some of my options. I've always hated dieting but I live exploring city streets and the woods on foot. I don't get lonely and actually prefer a lot more alone time than I usually get so exercising alone will suit me fine. I plan to go hunting alone--with a cell and telling everyone where I'll be of course, nothing stupid. I can't wait to be alone in the peace and quiet of nature whether I bag a gobbler or not.

Out garden so far will contain at least 20 different plants including all the staples and loofa and giant pumpkins. I am excited to grow produce that I can enjoy as well as share with others.

Wish me luck!

CYG
 

CYGChickies

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Hey everybody just putting up a teeny update. Still no how--I'm soooo eager but been busy enough to avoid insanity over the wait. Garden plans have been sketched, discussed and--after some reluctance and bee hysteria from my friend--approved. It's going to be huge, beautiful and just perfect. Even if all it does is turn green it'll be like my little paradise. To be able to walk through the gate and see the guineas picking through the rows, smell the Missouri spring breeze and hear my hive of Italians hard at work, to watch my turkey Rene dance for his ladies, hear Roosty crow and know that we did it, we made paradise for ourselves all while Wagon Wheel plays soft on my iPod? Well folks I'll have to check my pulse because there's nothing in the world that sounds more like Heaven to me.

Poetics aside, I've gathered about half of my seeds, peat pots and starter trays; I ordered a two-tier growlight shelf and I feel good about it. We're getting four trees, two apricot and two cherry that polinate eachother. It's gonna be so cool in a year to see the trees with fruit on them--and the smell of cherry blossoms! I also have to get someone to cut me some small oak trees for the ****ake and finally finish that crazy silkie pen. The silkie boys are losing their gentlemanly reputations with the Australorp ladies.

Put the nestbox in with Isis today and we're expecting baby Hotots Saturday, when we're out of town all morning--yikes! At least she's inside with heat and has been fed the customary raw bacon to avoid any unsightly complications as much as they can be avoided. She's quite ready to have them out and is either self-conscious about weight gain or the kick-happy fetuses have worn out their welcome because the poor girl is a little grouchy lately. Anubis (renamed from Thoth) the ever-nosy daddy has suffered no ill effects other than jealousy over Isis' big fancy box.

So that's it, my teeny update and my own little farm prose. Hope you enjoyed my hillbilly ramble!

CYG
 
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