These are the meat chickens, we thankfully haven't lost any more, but the two that are in the infirmary are not doing well, neither can walk much and they do not seem to be putting on a lot of weight, so probably won't be to size for slaughtering in 2 weeks, so we will probably have to put them down before then. The other egg layers that were in the infirmary and getting bigger but don't seem to be getting past their issues, so it is not looking good for them either. Daniel, my oldest who is going to be helping on slaughter day, will probably go up one day this week with Laura and have to put them down. Laura has neighbor who she bought all the chicken processing equipment from, and he is able to come over and help and give Daniel a lesson on now to do it. Otherwise, all the meat chickens that are outside are doing really well, and look like their are fattening up nicely for slaughter day on April 17th.
This is one of the mature egg layers, that got herself into the duck pen, she was posing nicely for a good photo shoot.
This is Beau, another 11 month old guardian livestock dog, who Laura adopted this week. He was living with a family who didn't have adequate fencing to keep him in, and he was in the house most of the time, which wasn't good for him either, so the family called Laura and asked if he could come live at the farm. He is a very sweet dog and this was his second day and he was making friends with Thomas, one of the barn cats. He has never been around livestock before, but seems to be adjusting well.
These three baby goats, who also aren't so little anymore, and are getting listed to be sold, still like their morning bottles. They got moved out of the barn and this was the day after their second night outside with the big girls. They seem to be doing well, but are definitely still much smaller than the girls they are in the outside pen with, and are having to learn to stand up for themselves a little, as the girls will just butt them out of the way if they are in their way.
This was while I was putting hay out for the goats, one of the cows decided fresh hay was more appetizing than the food in the feeding trough and she wandered over to give it a taste. I am getting more comfortable around the large cows, I am little intimidated by their size as I am not used to being around such large animals, but Laura is teaching me how to handle them and be safe. She said the younger cows are the ones you have to watch out for more as they are jumpy and can easily buck you if you get behind them.
Laura is gearing up from greater egg production in a few months, when the new egg layers start laying. She is going to be going to the Farmers Market this year, which is new for her, and she wanted to have a lot to offer, so she can also promote interest in her farm, and ultimately her herdshare program, which she is looking to expand. She has been working on a new system and collecting, washing and boxing up eggs. She has a varied flock of hens, which produce such beautiful looking eggs.
This is Laura taking the two milkers back out to pasture, the ground is finally showing signs of grass, and the walkways are much drier and its so much easier for us and the animals to get around without being in mud all the time.
