Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[TTs Chicks]

sorry bout the attack Love your pics especially the duckling I ordered the waterfowl special from Cackle - cause I really couldn't afford the minimum orders for ducks and geese everywhere else, this way a get a few of each for much better price Just don't know what breeds I'll get. They won't be coming til April 5

 

[keljonma]

Hope you & family and your many critters are enjoying this sunny weather!! TR and I are doing the sun bathe position this morning..

Come on spring!!!!

 

[TanksHill]

Glad you got some sun Aly. It does wonders for your spirits!!!

 

[The Vail Benton's]

Just getting around to seeing the pics... the duck is quite adorable! What kind is it? Makes me want to hatch a couple of my own... but I promised DH I wouldn't until we build a pond.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Well, the ducklings are a mix of either Welsh Harlequin, Fawn and white runner, or Khaki Campbell...with the possibility of having a pure Welsh or two.

I have had 7 ducklings total hatch. I originally set 12 eggs. One never developed, 2 died early on with bloodrings, 1 died a week before hatch date. Another one pipped the air cell, but not the egg shell, and died. The remaining 7 have hatched, but one is pretty weak and has not been moved from the 'bator yet because we do not think he'll make it.

I'm thrilled with the new ducklings. I plan to raise them up to roughly around 3 months, and only keep the girls. The rest will be sold probably at auction in May or June. That's the idea anyway.

I picked up 4 chicks from Becca today, for a total of 21 chicks in my 'bator. All of the chicks will be sold at Monday auctions in March. I plan to take the first 6 chicks on March 1, and then 6 chicks each week following.

Tomorrow afternoon the 'bator will be scrubbed and bleached and dried out for the next setting of eggs.

We also have someone coming to see Bella the pig tomorrow. We had put her on Craigslist 2 days ago, and so far have two people interested in her.

I'll be glad to see her go. Next time, if there is a next time, we're only going to raise 2 pigs. I don't think I even want to raise 2 pigs.

I think next time, we'll sucker someone else into raising our pig.

So far, we haven't seen the coyote back around. We have seen a lot of dead rabbits on the road since we started thawing out - so we're hoping that's keeping the doggie wannabe's fed and busy.

We have had two wonderful days of 40* and the white crap has finally started to melt. whoohoo!!

On the downside, another storm is supposed to move in on Monday. Ick. And it's going to stick around until Wednesday. Double Ick.

I'm really looking forward to our thawing out period, but at the same time, I realize that while relief from all this snow and a good melt is going to be great, it's also going to bring another whole problem - spring flooding.

While our immediate place doesn't flood, the two small towns and pretty much all access roads around us do flood. Which means, we'll be spending a good portion of March pittering and pattering around our farm. Which I can deal with if it means there's no snow.

But, I'll be sludging through mud. Mud sucks, but not near as bad as snow sucks, IMO.

E says he'd not mind being stuck at home so much if he had DirecTV Sorry, not a bill I want, so he's going to suffer. Poor man. (I don't feel that badly for him.)

I see us using March, since we'll still be stuck, as time to clean out the house, finish up some small woodworking projects, and tearing out the old kitchen sink and cabinets.

And of course, hatching chicks!

 

[TanksHill]

Aly, congratulations on the successful hatching's!!!!

What happened with Bella? I must have missed it. Pig raising not all you though it would be? Fill me in I would love to hear the details.

March sounds like you will be getting a lot done around the house. Sounds kinds nice to me.

gina

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

What happened with Bella? I must have missed it. Pig raising not all you though it would be? Fill me in I would love to hear the details.


gina

I HATE PIGS.

They are smelly. They are so smart that it's stupid.
My set up sucks, too. Keeping them in a kennel was a super bad idea because I have to go in the kennel to feed them - meanwhile, they run out the door...but they instantly run back in because they recognize their feed bucket.

They are not cuddly. They don't want you to pet them. They are not like a dog or a cat or even a chicken.

They are a thousand times worse.

I hate them.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I hate pigs. Really hate them.

I hate washing dishes, too. I hate washing dishes so much that I washed three sinkfuls this morning - just to put off going out to those pigs.

If we should have a total economic collapse tomorrow, I'd be totally ok with having to eat grass fed steak from my own grass fed beef every night.

And we'd still have my poultry. So, we could mix things up with the occassional drumstick and eggs.

Seriously. The pigs are not worth the trouble.....I mean, really, I don't love bacon that much. And, for now, I'm ok with buying it. I guess.

I had two clear A-Ha moments in the last couple days.

1 - we really do not eat enough pork in a week to justify torturing ourselves by raising a pig.
2 - just because we have the knowledge and the space to raise some of everything doesn't mean we have to raise everything.

So those grubby, smelly, ungrateful awful pigs need to go.

Mom said I should sell all 4 pigs, but I kind of didn't like that idea, because if I am going to the trouble of feeding them, I should be allowed to enact revenge by eating at least ONE of them.

So, the tentative plan is to sell 2 piggies ASAP and we're going to roast Hambone Easter Weekend. My Uncle has a pig roaster, and we're going to see if we can borrow it.

Bacon's future demise is still undecided. E said if I want to keep one to roast, I have to keep 2 because one will try to escape all the time.

I have a guy maybe coming tomorrow for one pig, and he said he could bring his ring kit and put rings in noses...I am going to go for that!

But, hopefully, after the first week in April...no more pigs.

I will not say I'll never have pigs again, I just don't want to do it again this year...or at least not until we have a fully pig proofed pen built with a solid trough so I don't have to go in the pen to feed them.

We'll see.

Pigs suck.

I hate them.

 

[Farmfresh]

Quail. It is my personal opinion that you should stop bottling up your emotions and just simply tell us HOW you REALLY feel about pigs.

Is it fair then to say you are not enamored with them?

 

[big brown horse]

Join the club Quail! (Farm Fresh, you are too funny!)

Theoretically speaking, you could keep one, but then you would have to build your own FORT KNOX (aka FORT PORK)...but it is probably not even worth the trouble if you don't eat much pork. (The dilemma I'm currently in. )

What does a "pig roaster" look like?

Let us know how good your Easter Piggy is.