Our Freedom Rangers have been given an extended life! we had scheduling issues trying to get three of us who are processing all there on the same day, so they are now scheduled for May 29, so will be included in my final paper with all their statistics and end results. It is quite amazing how much they did actually grow this last week, Laura upped their food intake, to fatten them up some as they were feeling a little scrawny, and its amazing what a difference the week made. I did some more reading on different blogs and most people process them anywhere from 11-13 weeks, so we are still in range, and they seem to be enjoying being out of the tractor and free ranging some, and getting lots of sunshine for a change.
This guy was very curious, when I was in giving them fresh hay to lay on, and kept inspecting me, so I picked him up and took a selfie, much to his delights, its been really interesting observing all the animals on the farm and their different dispositions and how they change from being very skittish early on, to more confident and curious as they get older. I have really enjoyed raising the meat and egg birds, and learning how to raise them differently with different feeds and tractor vs free range.
The egg layers are settling in, Laura lost a few this week, there was bad rain the second night they were out, and a few got over the fence and into the bigger birds area, but mostly they're all there and getting used to the outdoors. Laura has mixed batch, as she wanted to have different colored eggs for sale, as they look pretty, so it has been interesting to learn the different breeds, and watch as they develop their colors.
This is the regular hen house for the older girls. I have done a lot of research over the past year into different housing for birds, this one that Laura started with was a kit house, that she modified and made more permanent with board siding and roosting areas and nesting boxes. Personally I like either a permanent henhouse, with a concrete foundation, that can have different stalls almost like a barn. Harvey Ussery in his book The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Growing Chickens and Other Fowl For Home and Market Growers, has a wonderful henhouse, that I would consider longer term if we do eventually get into larger scale breeding and raising for meat and eggs. The design I like for now is the Chicksaw design that Justin Rhodes has made available, its a great versatile, and extremely sturdy design, and we plan to build one this summer - the smaller design that can house up to 16 birds (https://abundantpermaculture.com/mobile-chicken-coop/). This is part of the reason I would like to have dual purpose birds initially till we are able to have a larger space to breed and raise different kinds of birds.
The baby lamb we have now named Spring, is just the most precious thing ever!! I am having to rethink my love for eating lamb. Abby had to come up for the afternoon and help with some chores - the hard one like feeding the lamb!
It is a very timely arrival of this beautiful baby at the farm, around Easter, as we believe Jesus is the Passover Lamb that was slain for our sins. When you see a perfect little lamb like this, it is hard to think you would kill it later on. This really brought into perspective my faith and how Jesus, who was the sacrificial lamb who died on my behalf, to present me clean and blameless before God one day, was willing to offer up His life so I may have eternal life, makes me all the more thankful and steadfast in my belief.
He got lots of loving and carrying around like a baby.
Puppies are big and beautiful and had a photo shoot when we were there, so they can be put up for sale. I have been learning a lot about guardian dogs and their place on a farm, I know people use different types of animals, but Laura loves her dogs and has many of them. Laura choice is the Great Pyrenees (these have about 10% Anatolian in them) and they are very sweet and loving, yet seem to do their job really well, as she never has any issues with predators coming anywhere near any of her animals. I've read a few different articles and blogs on them but this one sums them up well: " e most well-known livestock guardian dog in the United States. The Great Pyrenees is a nocturnal breed that is very aggressive toward predators yet very gentle even with helpless and tiny animals." (https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/livestock/livestock-livestock/is-a-livestock-guardian-dog-the-right-choice/) the article sums up a lot of what Laura has been teaching me about them A Great Pyrenees may be them.
Nala is still as sweet as ever, but its obvious she is ready to be out with the dogs and her cows and get back to work, especially now as the puppies are agile and getting more independent. Laura will start taking them all out for little bits this week, to get them some outside time, and then in a few weeks, she will have them work a little with mom, before letting them leave the farm. She said its important to either sell them in pairs, after some training with mom, or to only let individuals go if they are going to be paired with another dog who will train them well.
Nala's beautiful puppies at their photoshoot!!
My afternoon task for the day was cleaning out the brooder box, so we could move the goslings in there for a few weeks, till they're ready to be outdoors. This was a much hated task we had to do every week, when we had the freedom rangers and ducks at the beginning of the semester. However, we learn as we go and we left this one a week to dry out some, so it was so much easier! I did some reading on different farm blogs and some talk threads on safety and health issues etc, as when Laura and I had been doing this a few months ago, we didn't wear masks and it was quite overwhelming with the smell and the dust it kicks up. There seem to be differing opinions on health and safety. So I went in prepared to wear a mask and gloves, but found that now that the weather is so much warmer in the days, I was able to completely open up the garage and because the box wasn't damp at all the smell wasn't there and it was quite easy to shovel out and truck down to the compost pile.
The three goslings were very happy (when I wasn't in plain view), they are very skittish, and terrified of you and also when they are separated at all.
Lastly the goats are entertaining as ever. Sadly one of the newer babies died this past week, Laura said is got sick fairly quickly and then died within three days. She was very saddened and seemed to take this death a lot harder than most others I have had to see her deal with. Its all part of learning curve and she said she learned a few hard lessons on this one. She was trying to get the babies used to a bottle so had them separated a few days, but it was a little long she thinks, as the mother rejected her two babies when brought back together, and then she realized that in the mother rejecting them, one of the other moms, was playing surrogate - so the baby was actually getting too much milk, which can cause them to. "Newborns and very young kids will nurse until they overeat on milk and die. Floppy Kid Syndrome is a very real possibility.", http://www.tennesseemeatgoats.com/articles2/overfeedingnewbo.html, this was a whole new reality to me, as this kid was bigger and very healthy, but obviously needed to have a close eye kept on him. It's very demanding being a small farm farmer, and you can get spread out in breeding season, with the best intentions , but nature has its way, and it was hard to see Laura be so hard on herself when she loves her animals so well.
Sugar and her two beautiful babies.
Heidi nursing her busy and not so little anymore baby.
Who thinks he is Houdini and still little enough to climb in and out the hay feeder!
