Aggieterpkatie-Pics of my new rabbit-Page 38 !!!!!

[aggieterpkatie]

I took off early from work (have to use up some furlough hours) and came home to take advantage of the "warm" day! I cleaned out the barn. There was a lot of old bedding left from chickens, sheep, goats, etc. I piled it in a huge pile and just need to use the mower and wagon to take everything to the compost pile. It's gonna take several loads!

Then I re-bedded all the animals and took a while just sitting with the sheep (and June). I love doing that. I just laid down in their shelter and listened to them munching away. The ram tried to get me to pet him non-stop. He's a sweetie. While I was in the shelter, the leftover broiler girl that got a reprieve last year was laying an egg. It's a good sized brown egg!

Finally after I got everything done I boosted everyone's CD/T vaccination. I've got lambs due on the 13th. It seems like it's coming up quick. I was supposed to give Purl her CD/T 2 weeks ago but put it off. I don't quite feel ready for lambs yet. I think I will feel really ready when the barn is totally cleaned out and re-bedded and I have a jug in there for her. I really would love for her to be able to lamb outside, but it's just so nasty and mucky there's no way I'm going to risk it. It'll be nice to have her in the barn so I can check on her easily.

I've got to make an appointment for the ram to be processed. I was thinking about taking him on Monday. It's going to be a sad day, but I have to do it. It's been the plan since the day he was born. I can't afford to keep him, and I need to make room for a natural colored ewe lamb (because hopefully Purl will have one this year!).

 

[Icu4dzs]

I'm in MD! On the Eastern Shore!

I spent a good bit of time in the Eastern Shore earlier in my life back in the early 1970's.(yes, I AM that old) The best time was when I was a student at the hospital in Salisbury. I had a nice little 5 acre spot with a 400 SF house ( across from a construction company. It had a little living room, a tiny kitchen, a bathroom for one and a bedroom only big enough for a small double bed (that I built myself) but no other furniture.I had one neighbor who was a wonderful older gent named Jimmy. I was dead-broke though...LOL

At the time, my landlord gave me 5 leghorn hens because all my biddies had died in an unexpected freeze. (it does freeze in Salisbury!)

I remember that the soil was quite accomodating for a garden as was the weather (most of the time.) But you needed an eight foot fence post to stand 4 feet out of the ground because the water table was so high.

However, I was not smart enough to realize that the construction company had a dog that was able to get out at night. One night he got out and destroyed all my beautiful hens. I told the construction company owner about it and he told me "it wasn't his dog". So I told him if I shot someone elses dog, he wouldn't mind, right?" He told me "not to shoot that dog...I told him to replace my hens or I would take care of any intruder. He never put that dog back inside that fence again. Funny how that works.

I've heard thunder before a snow storm once in my life. Don't know why I thought very little about it at the time but it seems that this was a rather odd event according to you all.

Of course when I was teaching school, if it was supposed to snow I'd wake up early in the morning to hear the weather report. If they said "schools were closed" I'd rejoice loudly and pull the covers back over my head. Now, I have to get up anyway...Boo hoo!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'm in MD! On the Eastern Shore!

I spent a good bit of time in the Eastern Shore earlier in my life back in the early 1970's.(yes, I AM that old) The best time was when I was a student at the hospital in Salisbury. I had a nice little 5 acre spot with a 400 SF house ( across from a construction company. It had a little living room, a tiny kitchen, a bathroom for one and a bedroom only big enough for a small double bed (that I built myself) but no other furniture.I had one neighbor who was a wonderful older gent named Jimmy. I was dead-broke though...LOL

At the time, my landlord gave me 5 leghorn hens because all my biddies had died in an unexpected freeze. (it does freeze in Salisbury!)

I remember that the soil was quite accomodating for a garden as was the weather (most of the time.) But you needed an eight foot fence post to stand 4 feet out of the ground because the water table was so high.

However, I was not smart enough to realize that the construction company had a dog that was able to get out at night. One night he got out and destroyed all my beautiful hens. I told the construction company owner about it and he told me "it wasn't his dog". So I told him if I shot someone elses dog, he wouldn't mind, right?" He told me "not to shoot that dog...I told him to replace my hens or I would take care of any intruder. He never put that dog back inside that fence again. Funny how that works.

I've heard thunder before a snow storm once in my life. Don't know why I thought very little about it at the time but it seems that this was a rather odd event according to you all.

Of course when I was teaching school, if it was supposed to snow I'd wake up early in the morning to hear the weather report. If they said "schools were closed" I'd rejoice loudly and pull the covers back over my head. Now, I have to get up anyway...Boo hoo!

Hey Icu! I'm a bit north of Salisbury now, but I did live there for a year in college before I transferred to a different school.

I'm sorry to hear that dog got your chickens, and shame on the owner for trying to lie about it!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

We got our pen in the barn made Sunday and last night! We made it totally of things we already had on hand- pallets and hardware we had already, so it was totally free! I'm really excited to have it. NOW I feel ready for lambs. I would love to let her lamb out in the pasture, but I'm not going to risk it since it's been so cold and nasty and wet lately, plus we're getting more snow later this week some time. Purl is officially due on the 13th.

I'll be bringing Purl and June (my doe, due March 14th) in the barn to stay until the lambs are born. Plus, my coworker let me borrow her baby monitor, so I'm pretty set for now. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to buy a wireless web cam to set up in the barn, but I can't afford the $80 to get one right now. I am planning on listing some more stuff on my Etsy site to hopefully raise enough money to buy one before June kids. I really want to be able to keep an eye on them while I'm at work!!

So here are the pics of the pen. I also blogged about it.

Pic of the gate from the outside of the pen:

Pic from the front of the pen facing back:

Pic from the back of the pen facing front:

Eventually I'd like to cut a hole through the back wall of the barn because I have a small pen out there. I'd like the animals to have access to the pen outside and the pen in the barn.

Now I wait!!

 

[ksalvagno]

Nice kidding stall. Good luck with your kidding.

 

[glenolam]

Looks awesome!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thanks gals!!

 

[aggieterpkatie]

June (doe) and Purl (ewe) are in the barn now! They like it.

Here's a pic of them in the barn.

And I crutched Purl so I could easily see her vulva and udder to keep an eye on it.

I put a hay bag in their stall with them...it's one of those small hole ones so it slow feeds, but damn it was too slow! They couldn't get any hay out of it, so I had to pull a hay feeder from their pasture and put it up yesterday and they like it much better.

I have been using the baby monitor the past couple nights to listen in case anything starts happening. This morning around 4 AM I heard lots of rustling around in the straw. I listened for a while but they settled down again so I went back to sleep. I dreamed she lambed and I got exactly what I wanted....a natural colored ewe lamb and a white ewe lamb.

3 days till her due date. I'm getting antsy!

 

[TanksHill]

The stall looks great. They look like best buddies!!

 

[Dace]

Wow, is there anyone out there NOT expecting babies?

Nice set up and pretty girls

Good luck!