Lorihadams-- hi guys...been busy!

[TanksHill]

Lori believe it or not your life sounds grand to me. It is so great hearing about the progress you are making on the new place and hearing about Chad's reactions .

The incubator looks great. I don't know much about them. Will you need to turn the eggs by hand? I saw an old incubator about that size on my CL the other day. They wanted 200 bucks for it. I know yous cost a lot less to build but would that be a good price? I will have to check the link again.

I can't wait to see pictures.

gina

 

[lorihadams]

Awww thanks Tankshill.....

No, we don't have to turn the eggs by hand. Hubby rigged up a dowel rod attached to the shelves so I just have to raise and lower the dowel to turn the eggs! He's so smart! We are having some temp regulation problems so we may have to tweak the thermostat a bit, there's a thread on a hot water heater thermostat modification on BYC so we may do that if this batch of eggs doesn't work out. We'll see.

I think $200 is reasonable depending on how many eggs it holds. I just couldn't see spending $150 for a styrofoam incubator that my kids would probably pick apart. Hubby wanted something that looked like furniture so that we could keep an eye on things. You can make one out of lots of things.....check out BYC's homemade incubator page, there's some really good ideas on there.

We probably could have done it cheaper but hubby wanted to buy all new materials

 

[lorihadams]

Sunday

Well, everyone is here to help with the fence construction.....sooooo, I'm waiting in line for the beauty salon for church. Currently my DD is having her hair done by Great-granny. We don't have to leave for church for another hour or so so I should be able to pretty myself up a little.

After much debate, we are going with a six strand electric fence (thanks to BIL and his fencing asthetics issues). He wants his home (he lives above a garage, btw, he hasn't got a house yet) to be like an estate. He doesn't want to look out and have his view spoiled by an ugly fence. We'll see what he says when my goats are on top of his precious truck.

Anyway, the men are skipping church this morning to try to get the fence posts set so they can have some time to set up this week. The footers will be done Monday or Tuesday and once they are inspected we can move the house!

The incubator is doing well, the temps are holding between 98 and 100 degrees as long as the temps in the house remain pretty constant. Humidity is holding around 30 percent. Granny was pretty impressed by it!

I have been fuming for the last couple of days.....my BIL is really pissing me off. He is a spoiled rotten little brat that runs to mommy and daddy when he doesn't get his way and his fiance is just like him. I'm about to tell him to put up a big old privacy fence along his property line (our lines don't touch) so that he doesn't have to look at our farm. Why did he move to the country if he didn't want to experience it? He says that he just didn't expect someone to move a trailer in next door and turn the property into a goat farm. If I see him any time soon I will really have to control myself to not give him an earfull.

Well, off to church in a little while, gotta go get the stink off....I changed the water in the duck ponds this morning

Oh, and my favorite pair of flip flops broke yesterday, dang it.....had to go spend a dollar for another pair.....

Happy Sunday everyone!

 

[Dace]

my favorite pair of flip flops broke yesterday, dang it.....had to go spend a dollar for another pair.....

I love my cheapie flips!

One day I was teaching an art lesson for my DD7's class and as I was assembling the supplies and preparing to haul them all to the classroom, my flip flop broke. So there I was at school shoeless. I had to walk halfway across the campus barefoot and teach the lesson barefoot...which was all fine. But when we were done, school was out so I had to walk barefoot infront of all the parents there to pick up there kids....thru the school and nearly 2 blocks to my car

Sheesh, talk about embarrassed!

Congrats on the bator....it looks awesome!

And for what it is worth, I would take you and your *goat farm* as my neighbor any old day!

 

[lorihadams]

awwwww....thanks Dace! He'll change his mind when he sees all the pip poppin' cuteness next door!

 

[keljonma]

You could grow a hedgerow fence. Put up the electric now and then start planting, as a good hedgerow fence will take some years to get established and grown enough to keep critters in and predators out.

 

[lorihadams]

Monday.....well bad news this morning, the contractor that was going to dig our footers tomorrow has to go out of town so it will be next week before he can get it done.

Good news, the men got up most of the fence posts. Bad news, I'm worried that the electric isn't going to hold the goats.

Today, my son got into his mega cardboard box and gave me the weather report......"cloudy with a chance of rainbows".... Makes the rain sound a little better doesn't it?

In honor of spring our morning art project was painting birdhouses. Tyler painted his blue and Maddie's is light pink, dark pink, orange, lilac, and deep purple with a hint of leftover blue from Tylers. They are gorgeous! Last night they attacked the incubator with crayons and now my lovely $140 cabinet incubator looks like a rainbow threw up on it.....Oh, well, I can always paint over it later, right?

I was going to do laundry today but with the rain it will have to wait til tomorrow. The library has started up their reading program again so I will be taking the kids every thursday to listen to a book and do some sort of related craft and then get new books.

I'm adjusting to having Maddie back again....it was so QUIET without her....

Got a bunch of stuff posted on craigslist today, we are cleaning out the attic in preparation for the move. Fun stuff!

 

[Farmfresh]

lori - check out the company Premier 1 . They sell electric net fencing for all kinds of animals. I use the poultry net for my broilers and it works well. Also their catalog is VERY full of useful info. I would recommend EVERYONE order on of those catalogs.

 

[lorihadams]

Well, let's see, today is Friday. Chicken swap tomorrow.....gotta see if I can sneak that one in somehow. My hubby and my kids are leaving tomorrow to go to granny's house to pick up the anchors for the house as we need them when they pour the concrete Monday for the footers.

I get to stay here, for mother's day, by MYSELF.

I'm gonna do some work.....while the kids are gone I am doing a serious clean out of all the toys in this house. If it's broken or missing pieces or parts then it's GONE. If they don't play with it.....buh bye. So gonna have a big ol donation to Goodwill. After the cleaning is done, I am getting in the tub with a glass of wine and a library book!

We sold my DD's old crib and mattress tonight for $200, I'm happy it's out of my attic. I got some seed for the field plot for the deer/turkey at the farm (right by my tree stand!) and I got some seed for the pasture too. I'm gonna put out some ladino clover, red clover, rye grass, and alfalfa. I'm not going to totally replant the pasture but throw some of this in to supplement the mix of whatever it is in the pasture now.

The footers are getting done Monday, our deck is being delivered monday, and we are meeting with ANOTHER builder for the barn. Chad has to take off Monday, gonna be a busy day for us. I'll take pics, I'm sure it will be interesting to watch.

 

[Mackay]

I sure enjoyed looking at your photos!

I hope you realize how lucky you are to have young kids out in the country raising animals and all.\and I'm sure you do! Just don't forget it for a second. It was my dream that I didn't get to have. Now the kids are grown here we are out in the middle of the country doing it and even though I am enjoying itI had hoped to do it with them when they were small.

You are going go have such a great time on your little farm and you wil create the very best memories..