Porkchop48 - Long overdue LONG update

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Goats will totally drive you to drink.


Yesterday one of mine (they won't say who) managed to eat through the bungee that holds the gate on the milking stall. They then proceeded to knock the gate down on top of the two babies I had to pull back in early March and since the buck is now a wether I can't get those genetics anymore. After the babes were well pinned the big ones then STOOD on the gate and tried to smoosh them. Seriously?? THIS is what you needed to do with your spare time? The twins are banged up and sore but ok. I'm not sure I'm done shooting death glares at the big girls though.

 

[porkchop48]

Glad to hear the babies are ok now. I would have been a frantic mess.

This weekend should be fun at my house.

The rest of the fields need cut. The actual yard needs cut and weed eated. The small tiller need runs through the garden rows. Pick the rest of the radish patch and get some sun flowers and the rest of the corn planted. The planting and gardening should not take too long.

Saturday my parents are coming to visit. They are being kind enough to pick up 21 new pekins that I bought. That will save me 4 hours of driving. After the ducks get here I will seperate the boys from the girls. Take the girls down to the lower barn by the pond and lock them up for a few days. The boys will be butchered that afternoon as well as a few of my boys. Thankfully the duck plucker should be done this weekend.

The chicken plucker is fixed again after its run in with the tractor. So the meaty bird and a few extra roos with be butchered this weekend. We will also be butchering my friends meaties and her extra roos.

So saturday will be a little full. Oh and at some point in time Saturday we have to go pick up the trailer so we can pick up the pig on Sunday.

So sunday will be pick up pig, kill pig, skin and gut pig, hang pig, return trailer.


Last night the 3 boer does got their Bo-se shots. I hope that will help with their kiddings coming up soon. I really hope I do not have to deal with the weak kid thing any time soon again.

Ever one also got wormed with Ivormec. Even the cow. They all hate me now. Hate me.

Geeze... what can I get into tonight?

 

[porkchop48]

What a freaking weekend.

Came home friday to a new litter of bunnies. No clue how many as I am scared to go near them. I think I will try and check on them today and see how they are doing.

Also found a clutch of axololts eggs.. Woo hoo. All white eggs so I plan to sell off a few and raise up the rest to sell when they hit a few inches.

Also found one of my crested pekin ducklings missing... But I do know where it went and it was replaced by 4 Easter egger chicks You have to love when you have awesome friends like that

Had 21 peking ducks delivered on Saturday. Got them over the hill and set up by the pond. I think i will let them out tomorrow. Three days should be plenty of time for them to know where home is. I plan to butcher off most of the males..


Waiting on anything to hatch out of the POS incubator sitting in the dining room. If nothing hatches from this batch, I am getting a fan for it. I have much better luck with my one with the fan. Speaking of the other incubator.. It is packed with 42 guinea eggs Few more weeks to go on them.


Slaughtered a 400 lb sow this weekend. That was fun. She is currently quartered and chilling in the walk in. The actual cutting and grinding will be done in the next few days.


And on a great note.... Mini Me is building an udder and getting wider She is my paint boer that should have been bred to a all black buck. Depending on when she decides to tap out will let me know if she was bred to the black boer or to my apline. Fingers crossed that she kids before the end of june.

 

[porkchop48]

Sleep I needs it.


After I managed to get the rest of the pig cut up, ground, seasoned and packed all by last night at 9:30ish. Not to bad I do not think. We ended up with 225 lbs of sausage and 50 lbs of brats.

I did finally let the pekings out of the lower barn last night too. herding 16 ducks to the pond was not fun. I do hope they found their way back to the barn last night. This is the lower barn so we can not really see all of it from the top of the hill. The 5 duckling that remain up here were let out yesterday as well. Today will be their first full day of free ranging. FIngers crossed they do ok.

6 more pekins and one Kahki Campbell hatched yesterday. They got moved to a mini brooder until I can get the turkeys outside.

Tonight we will be butchering 2 or 3 snapping turtles. Never done that before. It should be fun.

And some how managed to cook a breakfast casserole for work today, pack up some orders and send out some tracking numbers.

Off to work I go and to try and find my darn frogs..The post office lost them yesterday.

 

[porkchop48]

I finally decided to check out the nest today. 5 little kits all furring up and looking good. FINALLY.

On a sadder note my brown and white dutch had 4 kits on the wire. All dead. I am not sure if she has any in the box as I am scared to check. I may check on my next trip out and if there is none I am putting her directly back in with the male. I want babies from her. She has such cool colors, nice size and a friendly rabbit.


Bailey is being delivered today. She is 8 weeks old today. I have not seen her since she was 4 weeks. I can not wait to see how well she has grown.

A few more pekins hatched out over night. Guess I get to move them too. Almost time to move the turkeys to the coop and hope to get a new batch of chickens in in the next 3 days to hatch out before the show....

 

[porkchop48]

Busy is an understatment....

But I found 5 minutes to work on updating this here journal.

Ditto had joined the family. She looks just like my little Nubian Bailey so she got named ditto. She is the one I think was starting to bloat Thursday evening after attacking my raised beds and finding the food bins. She seems to be doing much better today.

I traded some pekin ducks for a 4-5 month old Boer buck. He is fitting right in with the herd nicely. Got a new angus steer. A few more turkeys.



Mini Me finally managed to kid. For as big as the poor girl was I thought for sure twins. Nope just one hefty blacked headed boer buck. IT was a rough kidding. About 3:30 when DH went out the door I heard her making a bunch of noise. Grabbed an energy drink and headed out. She seemed very uncomfortable. Lay down, get up, lay down, get up. She started pushing about a bag about 4ish. BY 5 panic had set in. Mini me was still doing good. She was even eating throughout the whole thing.

By 5:30 I was calling for help. She would push and push and only one foot was showing. Reinforcments arrived and we established the feet were crossed and the head stuck. The feet had to be tied and pulled apart to let the head out come. As soon as the feet were fixed, out her came. Mama took right too him and both are doing great.

Moore updates and pics coming soon.

 

[elevan]

Busy is right! Glad to hear things (while crazy) are good. Congrats on the new additions!

 

[jodief100]

That is wonderful you were able to help and get him out!

 

[porkchop48]

The little buckling is doing great. His name is Squatch. He has big feet. I think it is the perfect name. Still trying to figure out if he will be kept or not.

I am ready to plow the garden under. So far I have canned 20 qts of pickles, 10 qts of saurkraut, 12 qts of green beans, 7 qts of bananna peppers stuffed with kraut, 28 qts of potatoes ( and still have 3 5 gal buckets left, plus more to dig up). Have enough vacuum sealed bags to do over 40 loafs of zucchini bread. Not to mention the 12 loafs we took to work the other day. Been sending DH with boxes of zucchinis to work. We have had corn on the cob on the grill almost daily for the past few weeks. Been giving it away to every neighor that stops. Put up 60 cabbage rolls in the freezer ( stuff green peppers will be tomorrow). I am whooped.

I did a chicken trade today. I took 5 pekin ducks. I came home with 2 peacocks, 4 turkens, 4 guineas, 6 buff orphingtons, 2 polish mixes, 4 odd ball easter egg mixes, 2 female sumantra and a clutch of 5 sumantra babies, 3 other baby chicks and 7 bourbon red turkeys. Oh oh and a pair of east india ducks and a hatchling. Most of the chickens are hens about 3-4 months old so I am a happy camper.

Work agreed to give me 8 extra hours a week due to extra work with the census almost doubling so that is a good thing.

Bought a training lease for the dog. 30 ft. I hope working with him and the lease will teach him to come when called. Also a spiked collar. At over a year old and 100 lbs it is way past time he knew how to walk on a lease without dragging me all over the place. If I want him to stay he needs to learn some manners.

We did managed to get a bunch mroe trees cleared today and more fencing put up. This storm whooped my hiney. SO much stuff needs fixed but SOOOO hot out.


I'm whooped.

 

[bjjohns]

I am ready to plow the garden under. So far I have canned 20 qts of pickles, 10 qts of saurkraut, 12 qts of green beans, 7 qts of bananna peppers stuffed with kraut, 28 qts of potatoes ( and still have 3 5 gal buckets left, plus more to dig up). Have enough vacuum sealed bags to do over 40 loafs of zucchini bread. Not to mention the 12 loafs we took to work the other day. Been sending DH with boxes of zucchinis to work. We have had corn on the cob on the grill almost daily for the past few weeks. Been giving it away to every neighor that stops. Put up 60 cabbage rolls in the freezer ( stuff green peppers will be tomorrow). I am whooped.

I did a chicken trade today. I took 5 pekin ducks. I came home with 2 peacocks, 4 turkens, 4 guineas, 6 buff orphingtons, 2 polish mixes, 4 odd ball easter egg mixes, 2 female sumantra and a clutch of 5 sumantra babies, 3 other baby chicks and 7 bourbon red turkeys. Oh oh and a pair of east india ducks and a hatchling. Most of the chickens are hens about 3-4 months old so I am a happy camper.

This storm whooped my hiney. SO much stuff needs fixed but SOOOO hot out.

I wished we lived closer for two reasons - I'd come take your extra harvest, and I -REALLLY- want to know where you trade, that was an amazing deal.

I agree, storm whooped us too.