Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[TanksHill]

The little coop and run look great. I have this idea rolling around in my head about turning an old wood bunk bed into a chicken run. I drew it out and showed my husband. he just shook his head at me, something he does when he thinks I am crazy.

I also love the black and whites. I have several pictures I took in Yosemite hanging in black and white. Kinda my version of Ansel Adams.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

So I started the day off the way I like to start every day...making money

Had a repeat customer pick up her order of guinea keets this morning...she paid me $5 a keet!

Before she had left, she asked me about bantams, said she'd like to have about 6 or 8. I told her the only pures I have at this time laying are my Buff Brahmas. I showed her a rooster, she said that'd be fine. So I'm putting Buff Brahma Bantams in the incubator to hatch out for her. I told her they'll be $5 each, because she wants me to raise them until they are old enough to sex, because she only wants 1-2 roos. I said that was fine, I get more money out of them that way.

This should work out well enough as any that she doesn't buy, I'll add to my own flock.

After I'm done collecting up these next few eggs from my Buff Brahma, I'm going to give Greta a break. I'll move her and Eric out of the pen they are currently in, and move probably the Mille Fleurs in. See if I can sell some of their eggs and hatch some out for myself while I'm at it.

Last year I said I wouldn't be hatching after June...hasn't worked out that way...guess I'll be hatching for as long as I have customers wanting to buy what I'm hatching!

I really need to fix up some kind of coop/barn type area outside that will allow me to brood new hatchlings outside with heat, instead of in my livingroom. The small pen I have the Brahmas in now is fine for month old chicks, but not for new hatchlings.

My pheonix hen, Pheobe, has been setting a nest of 7 eggs. I thought it was 8, but I must have miscounted. Today, 5 of the 7 eggs pipped! tomorrow should have some babies out there! I am pretty sure she was mated to my Black Sumatra rooster, as the two of them hang out and run together all the time.

Went over to Becky's house today with a friend and took care of all of Becky's poultry so her mom wouldn't have to. She has a guinea egg pipped, but her mom was worried about it so asked us to look in at it. The humidity was only 29%, so I told her it wouldn't be able to hatch with humidity that low. We helped her get the humidity up, so I hope it hatches OK now. I can't wait for Thursday when Becky gets home. I've missed her!

Plan to work on the new pen some more this evening, and hopefully have it completed. Only a little more to do and it's good to go.

 

[lorihadams]

Cute pics Aly! Don't you just love cake icing up the nose? I made DS an elmo cake for his first.....ugh, red icing....so hard to get off everything! For my daughter I made a regular cake for us and used some of the batter in a mini loaf pan and made hers chocolate cake with white frosting and pastel sprinkles all over the whole cake! She dove right in!

Looks like you guys are staying busy. Sharon's duck eggs were a bust....only got one to hatch out of the whole lot so it looks like we may order a different breed from a hatchery.....I don't know, it's just irritating cause we worked so hard to get everything done and now nuthin!

I love the black and white pics too....our beach pics always look better when we redo them in black and white.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

aww Lori! I'm sorry the duck eggs were a no go. I was so hoping you'd get your Appleyards.

Didn't get the last few touches on the pen done like I wanted. Instead, my step dad and 13 yo brother came over and helped me move 5 fence posts from the back of our property and up the hill. Tomorrow I will try to manuever the truck over there, back up to the posts, and load them into the truck. I really need to expand the cow pasture, so the goal is to get that done in the next 2 weeks. I need 10 fence posts total to finish the fence line and then the wire can go up. I had a total of 8 posts over the hill. Have three more to bring up tomorrow.

Is it ok if I brag and say my step dad was very impressed that I was able to lift and walk the fence posts end over end? While he and my brother worked together and each carried one end of a fence post, I was flipping posts up the hill by myself. Not little posts, either. I'm talking big fat locusts posts that Ernie had cut down last fall. By the time the two of them got one post up the hill, I'd have another one half way up. They'd meet me in the middle, and carry it the rest of the way. I'd go back down and started flipping the next one up. Step dad kept saying, "I'm impressed!" to which I replied, "And you thought all my muscles were in my jaws!" We all had a huge laugh.

After we were done getting out the fence posts, Ernie and I decided to go visit my friend who lives over the hill. It's her teens that watch the kids while we are at Ernie's appointments, and she's the same friend who went with me today to help Becky's mom with feeding/watering. We had a really nice visit. She has 2 litters of lop rabbits. I asked Ernie if he thought we could do lops, and he said sure So, she let me choose 4 lop kits. I chose 1 boy and 3 girls. The boy and 2 of the girls are calico colored, white, brown, and blue/grey. Very cutesie! The third girls is a nice chocolate brown. She's adorable! They won't be ready for a couple weeks, and she's wanting some hatching eggs from me, so we might be bartering lop kits for hatching eggs.

On top of that, her husband built her this really cool brooder box. He said he can do one for me as well, and we might be able to barter for that, too. I'm super excited about that, because this will be a brooder that I can winter chicks over in...and it won't be in the house! Which is super cool!

Also, this same friend has plans to come over on Thursday and help me to build a big on the ground rabbit pen. She has one and her rabbits have access to grass and stuff, plus rabbit feed/water or course. She said we'll have to dig around and down to do the pen because the rabbits will dig down, so we have to fix up the pen to deter them from digging out. Still, I'm excited!

Finally, we head home and when I get home I run out to the pasture where my pheonix is sitting on her eggs...and she has one completely hatched chick! I cannot wait for tomorrow when I get to run back out there and check for more chicks! I am going to have to fix her up in a small pen with her chicks, though, as I don't want her to lose any.

It's pretty late now, and I think Ernie has headed to bed without me. Tomorrow is more working on the new chicken pen (finishing it I hope) and working on fence line for expanding the cow pasture, and then therapy for Ernie in the afternoon.

I think I need a vacation

 

[punkin]

But, Aly, what would you do on your vacation. Like 2Dream, you would just wear yourself out with all the fishing, hiking, napping, eating and reading.

Better stay home where you can rest.

 

[keljonma]

I agree with punkin!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Well if you did go on vacation - might I suggest the Agriculture Hall of Fame near ME in Bonner Springs KS! If you come after Labor Day weekend you can also go to the KC Renaissance Festival also in Bonner!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

But, Aly, what would you do on your vacation. Like 2Dream, you would just wear yourself out with all the fishing, hiking, napping, eating and reading.

Better stay home where you can rest.

That's true, but on top of that, a vacation wouldn't be enjoyable because I'd be worried sick about my critters at home...are they being fed right? are they OK? did anything happen and I lose anybody?

Ernie and I are thinking of going camping for one night with the kids at the local forest. Harrison County State Forest, it's about 6 miles from us, has completely free camping, and fishing if you have a fishing license. So, we'll get the proper fishing license, and plan to take the kids down for a one night campout. It should be fun.

We don't have tents, or a camper, but my parents do, and I'm sure they'll be nice and let us borrow them for one night We can pack a cooler for lunch, and if they have a good catch of fish, we can cook fish on our campfire.

We've never taken the kids camping before, so I think they would really enjoy the experience. The best part is it's free!

We haven't picked a day to do this yet. The nice thing about only having the farm and no outside jobs, and homeschooling the kids, we don't have to wait for the weekend to do it! We can go for a weeknight if we want.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well if you did go on vacation - might I suggest the Agriculture Hall of Fame near ME in Bonner Springs KS! If you come after Labor Day weekend you can also go to the KC Renaissance Festival also in Bonner!

OK that is soooooooo tempting! I've always wanted to go to a Renaissance Festival!

Hmm...wonder if I couldn't find friends/family to watch kiddos for a week and make it a trip for two-Ernie and me! LOL Been married for almost 11 years, and we never did get a honeymoon (not that they are a necessity, right?)

Wonder if a trip to Missouri/Kansas could count as a late honeymoon/anniversary trip.......

 

[Farmfresh]

Then it is about time to treat yourselves!