Lancelot Acres

Farm life...Bucks are stinky, Tog due to freshen?

I love having animals.  There is never a dull moment around here.

We currently have our bucks in our front field.  This is a fenced, mostly wooded area between our house and our road.  We can sit out on the deck and see the bucks straight out, or look to the side to the other three fields (One smaller field has our 2 Holstein steers, upper field has our 2 Jersey steers, and the lower field has our does/kids). 

Anyway, our bucks are in rut.  They are sure getting stinky.  I can smell them everytime I walk outside (and they are not that close to the house).  DH says it's my pregnancy nose and that they really aren't that bad...yet.

LOL.

We have a Tog doe that we think is going to freshen soon.  It was one of those rare off season visits with the bucks (gate left open from one field to another).  We aren't SURE she is going to freshen, but the signs are there.  Her udders definitely look full of milk and she does look a little bigger around the belly.  We moved her (and her year old doeling for company) up to the field with the Holstein steers (they are very gentle) just in case she gives birth before we notice what is happening. 

We worry about little kids being in the lower field (where we keep the does and their 2/3 month old kids).  We have neighbor dogs and coyotes and don't like to take the chance with itty bitties.  We have not had any trouble in any of our fields, but with little ones, we usually move them up closer to the house.  We have a huge 4-stall wood shed that has been converted into a 4 stall barn type building.  Two stalls are used for hay/straw/feed storage, and the other two stalls were divided into 2 stalls each to hold 'does in waiting' and new kids, or sometimes sick or injured critters.  Two of these stalls open into a large yard area where the kids/moms can play and exercise.  The other two stalls don't have access to a yard, so we switch them around if they are all full (they've never been all full for more than a week or so at a time).

We don't currently have an animals up in the 'barn'.  We'll bring Lucy up if she does kid, just so we can watch her and make sure all is well.

Our back stall is currently being used as a playpen for our kittens.  They are getting so cute.  They are mobile now and they are all over the place.  I open the door in the mornings so that they can come out and explore throughout the day.  I've been locking them back in at night (the mom is very sweet and lets me do what I want...).  I worry that something might get them if we leave them out all night.  The stall is not critter proof, so something could get them in there, but they can't get out yet, so I figure it's a pretty safe place to be.

The chickens.  My Malarki (rooster who hasn't been able to crow for over a year) is crowing!  I can't believe it.  He has his voice back!  I thought he was dying a couple weeks ago, as he didn't meet me at my car when I got home and when I went looking for him I found him laying in the shade.  He let me pick him up and hold him a bit, and then he perked up and started walking again.  I expected to find him dead at some point in the following days.  He has surprised me though!  2 days after that he started crowing again!  Maybe he is feeling better and will spend another several years running his 'harem' on our farm!

Malarki was a 'gag' gift for our wedding...in November of 1999.  I don't know how long roosters live, but Malarki is definitely getting up there in age, as we don't even know how old he was when he was given to us.  He is a part of our family and he will be missed terribly when he's gone.

I currently have a little black banty sitting on a few eggs.  It will be fun to see what we get for color variation, as we do have several different breeds of chickens right now (one barred rock, several RIR, several Auracanas, a few mixes from last year...).

Our 2 Jerseys are about ready for the freezer.  Looks like late September or October for that event.

Our 2 Holsteins will not be ready until next year sometime.

Oh...we sold a goat to a lady the other day...she wanted our Dala, but DD and I wouldn't let DH sell our Dala (we love our Dala, she is a bottle baby from last year, Nubian, and she can't be bred as she has 'fish teats'.  She is the sweetest thing ever). 

Anyway, the lady wanted Dala, but she had to settle for a little wether we had.  She wanted him for a companion to her horses.  So off she went. 

Well, she called DH yesterday and she was crying.  Her dogs got into the field and mangled the little wether up pretty bad.  She took him to the vet but there was nothing they could do, he had to be put down :( 

She was very upset and had her dog put to sleep, and made her daughter take her dog away. 

She called to ask for another goat, but we don't currently have any to sell. 

DH referred her to a goat farmer about 20 miles away. 

That about covers our farm these days.  I love having critters!

Untitled Comment

{ 08:13, 2006-Aug-9 } { Posted by Kitty }

I too love having animals. I was very excited to find my 5 month old hens are starting to lay now. I have gotten 2 eggs in the last 3 days. lol. I cant wait to pick up more.
Have a great day.
Kitty