Lancelot Acres

Dala, Rosie's doe from two years ago, and Sonic, Zeus's doe from last year are in the barn / barnyard.  Dala was born with disfigured teats, so she can't be bred, and Sonic isn't quite big enough PLUS she's Zeus's doe, so she needs to breed to our other buck (DD5 calls him Woody), and he isn't quite big enough either.  Dala and Sonic (and usually Rosie) get a flake of hay per day and grain once or twice per week.

Woody and our two Great Pyr puppies are in the front wooded field and DH gives Woody (Zeus is usually with him) a flake of hay per day, and no grain.

The Great Pyr puppies are getting big and eat quite a bit.  They go through about 50# of dog food per week.  Their names are Max and Zig and we really like them.  When we leave the house, they run with the car down the driveway.  Their fenceline runs along the drive, so they are in their fence. 

They like to bark.  A lot.  At everything.  Well, not at cars pulling in the driveway (go figure), but at everything else.  LOL.  The birds, the trees, the grass, the goats...you get the idea.  They do bark if we are outside after dark, but they don't bark at the cars coming and going from the driveway.  Ah well.

The upper field is currently empty.

The chickens.  I've slacked on the chickens.  DH has been caring for them for me and they get about a can/bucket of food per day.  Usually laying mash, but occasionally scratch grains.  They go through a 50# bag of feed every two weeks or so.  They also get peelings and such from inside our house.  They have a covered pen attached to their (very old) coop.  They are let out to free range about 2 or 3 times per week if the weather permits...it's been a very warm December/January so far.

The cats.  We currently have 4 cats.  3 boys that were born this last August, and a momma cat that coincidentally isn't the boys' mom.  She goes out prowling quite often, but the boys stay pretty close to home and can often be seen in the hayloft, or on our porch railing.  They also like to lay on the hood of our cars.  LOL.

They go through about a 20# bag of cat food every two weeks...they were going though more, but we found a very happy and obese oppossum living in our hay stall.  Apparently he had become very good friends with our cats and they liked to share their food with him.  LOL

The Garden:

January also means the arrival of seed catalogs.  We have already placed our first order...seeds that can be planted the first of April.  We are using the book '5 Acres and Independence' as a guide for our planting.  We love to go through the catalogs and think about what we want to order.  We are always very eager this time of the year, and then in late July when our garden has been overtaken by weeds from another planet, our enthusiasm drops...to zero.  LOL. 

We plan to build a root cellar in our basement this year (using plans from one of our magazines..Countryside or Backwoods Home, I can't remember).  We hope to can and freeze everything else.

Our first seed order: (to be planted April 1st)

beets

cabbage

carrots

kohlrabi

lettuce

onion

peas

turnips

potatoes (to be planted on April 15)

parsnip (April 15)

kale (April 15)

We ordered from Shumways this time, I'm not sure where we'll order from next...whichever catalog looks the best I guess.

We also hope to plant some fruit this year.  I'd like to plant Honeycrisp apple trees (4 or 8 trees to start with).  DH wants red raspberry bushes and we both want some blueberry bushes.  We'll have to see if this actually happens...we don't currently have any fruit on our property, unless we count the two small mulberry trees that the birds raid every year before we can get any berries from.

January also means the arrival of the McMurray hatchery book.  That is who we order our meat chickens from each year.  Jumbo Cornish X usually, and usually we order 50 of them.  McMurray sends 1 free 'mystery chick' with every order, and they send an extra chick or two of the breed you order.  We've always been very happy with the chicks from them.

This year DD5 is ordering a few of her very own to raise.  She has marked X's by several breeds so we'll have to see what we end up with.  She is very excited about it and keeps asking when we'll get them.  LOL. 

We'll order them to arrive in April I believe.  It's too cold right now...we usually keep them in the basement (brooder) for 2 or 3 weeks before moving them outside to the chicken tractor(s)..and if we order too soon, they'll have to stay in the basement longer than the 3 weeks.  We don't like them to be in the basement very long...it's a lot of work down there...at first we clean their brooders once a day, then twice a day as they get older and that just adds up to a lot of work. 

We use extra large totes with straw in the bottom for their 'brooder'.  We hang a heat light from the ceiling so it is just above the tote and then we have feeders and waterers in each tote.  To clean them we pick them up and put them in a clean tote...clean the tote they were in, and move the next batch to that clean tote.  It takes about 20 minutes or so usually and they get fed two or three times per day...we like them to have feed available at all times.  We usually order a batch of 50 at a time...we've been eating a lot of chicken though, so we may do another batch in the late summer.

Once they are in the tractor outside, then we just move it to fresh grass once a day and feed and water them.  The last 3 weeks we have to feed/water twice a day usually.

They only take 8 weeks to be ready for the processor...I think we went 10 weeks last year and our chickens were HUGE.  You do have to be careful though, if keeping them longer you can't let them have feed around the clock.  Something about dying of a heart attack (it's never happened to us). I believe that is when you have them on the high protein feed 24 hours a day.  We usually let them run out of feed during the day...feeding only once a day if they still have feed in the evening (so they run out during the night), and twice a day if they run out during the day.  We keep a light on them all the time.  DH built our tractor using a plan from the book 'the chicken tractor'.  Go figure.  LOL. 

We also have a smaller tractor that he had built before that and we use that for any other chicks we get through the year...sometimes our little banties hatch out babies, or this year DD5 will raise her babies in there, so she can care for them herself.  I like this tractor because it is completely predator proof..with wire across the bottom too...our other tractor has no bottom, so the chickens have easier access to the grass.

On the processing...we have it done for us.  We take our chickens to an amish processor (sp) in Indiana.  We are very happy with them...they charge $1.25 per bird, so that is very reasonable and worth the drive to us. 

The Family:

DH is currently working in a town just 12 miles from home...he will start a new job in February that is about 30 miles from home.  His summer is mostly planned for him as well, and it looks like he might be working overtime quite a bit when the schools let out for the summer.  This is quite normal for him and while it's nice to get the extra money, it's also hard because that is when he'd like to be doing extra projects around home.

He is currently doing some work at his aunt's house and spends 2 or 3 nights per week over there after work and usually one day on the weekend.  I'll be glad when he gets that done, we miss seeing him.

He has about 15-20 minutes worth of chores in the evening time.  He checks on everybody and makes sure they have water.  He feeds the chickens, and the goats in the barn and front wooded field (one flake each), the dogs and the cats. 

DD5 is currently on break from school.  She finished standard Kindergarten just before Thanksgiving and we've been on break since then.  I'm glad for the break, with the baby and all, but we are ready to start her next curriculum now.  I placed the order before Christmas but haven't heard anything yet...they take 2 weeks off for the holidays.  We use Christian Liberty and DD will start Advanced Kindergarten as soon as it arrives.  We hope to finish that and start 1st grade in the fall.  I don't want to school all summer, but I don't want to take the whole summer off either.  We've had almost 2 months off now and DD has forgotten a lot of things already.  I'm glad that the advanced K is a review of the standard K...I think we need it at this point, and at the same time, it shouldn't be too difficult for her either, since it's a review.

Baby is 10 weeks now and no where near sleeping through the night.  She was sleeping 6 hours per night consistently before the holidays and her vaccines, but now we are lucky to get 4 hours straight.  In her defense, I think she may be teething already...I see her moving her mouth like DD5 used to do and Baby is drooling excessively while gnawing on her fists.  I think it's normal to some degree, but it sure seems excessive.  If she is teething, that could be the root of our sleep troubles.

She eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day, and our nights are no where near normal...she might sleep 3 or 4 hours, or she might sleep an hour and a half...she is a bit congested, but she has been since birth, so I don't think it's anything to be concerned about.  She can still nurse, so her breathing isn't too bad.  I do use saline drops if it gets really bad at night, but that isn't very often.  We use a vaporizer every night as well.

My time is spent with DD and Baby and housework.  I can't keep up with the housework, so you wouldn't think that's how I spend my time, but it really is.  Laundry, dishes and supper along with the baby care really does me in these days.  I think if I was getting sleep it might help a bit, but maybe not.  LOL

Ok, so there is our January review.  LOL.  I'm sure I forgot something but that covers most of it.  Let me know if you do a monthly review on your blog, I love reading about everybody's homes/critters/ lives...

Hugs,
Lisa