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12/30/2012

That time of year ...

"There was a time in my life (though it's getting harder and harder to remember)
when I bred purebred sheep and showed them at various shows around the country.
I do remember that it took a tremendous amount of energy and not a little
amount of money! I'm not interested in investing either of those things these
days. I love keeping my sheep here on the farm, out grazing in the fields
where they naturally belong. The North American is a prestigious show,
really considered the biggest of the big, so it's a great opportunity to see
lots of different breeds in a short amount of time......"

Read More at Sheep Dreams

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How To: Raise Chicks

12/29/2012

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Over the past couple of years, we have hatched chickens, raised chickens, and basically just had chickens, so I have gathered information from sites and from my brain to come up with this for anyone that is ready to get into these feathery little things:

Getting your Chicks:
We got our chicks from Estes Hatchery, in Springfield, MO. We ordered Barred Plymouth Rocks and Buff Orpingtons. The Rocks would sleep in your hand, but the Orpingtons were pretty stand-offish. They are now about 2 years old, and are very good egg producers. Some of the Rocks will walk up to you for you to pick them up, but like I said, the Orpingtons don't exactly want anything to do with you. The only problem was that we ordered all pullets, and got one rooster, which at the time seemed fine, until he got older and attacked every one he saw. We only lost one, to a condition that they call "pasty butt" that is caused by stress. I will explain how to deal with that later. Anyway, you might also choose to get your chicks from a farm store such as atwoods, but I don't usually think they are as healthy and well taken care of as the ones coming from local hatcheries.

Getting Started:
Of course, you are going to need something to put them in, like a plastic tub, or wooden box. We usually have the tub for 1-10 chicks, but you might want to nail a few peices of wood together to make your own box. If you are planning on using this for more that 3 weeks, I would recommend about 2 feet of height, because they more than likely will start to fly out once they get some adult feathers. The temperature for your chicks is going to vary on how old they are, but you can find special chick thermometers in farm stores that tell you the right temperatures. I do not recommend pans or trays for them, because they will always step in and poop right in their food, so why not just throw it on the ground? Because they will eat their poo. A wonderful thing to use is a chick feeder like this, because they won't go to the bathroom in it very much, and you probably won't have to fill it up every day, depending on your chicks. For water, we use one of these most of the time, but this works for up to 5 small chicks. The bases of both get this goopy stuff on them every once in a while so make sure to scrub them regularly. For the bedding, straw would probably be fine, but pine wood chips is what we use. Make sure you have chick food BEFORE you get the chicks (of course), but you do not need grit if your feeding JUST chick starter. For a fun little treat, you can get dried mealworms. The birds love them, and it's adorable to watch your babies scratch to find them, but they don't usually come at a cheap price. Those are pretty much the only things you will need at the beginning.

Preparing for your chicks:
Keep in mind that you REALLY should get these things done before you get your ckicks, so as soon as they get home, they have a place to go.  Two times in a row we have gotten un-prepared for birds, which is not a good idea, because they need warmth constantly when they are babies. Before you get them, find a place in your basement, barn, shop, etc. that has available outlets (for the heat lamp), and that you want your chicks to stink up for the next couple months (in other words, a place that not many people will be in).  Put your tub/wooden box in there, and fill with about 2 inches of wood chips and/or straw. Right before you get them, you will want to turn the heat lamp on, making sure it is pointed in a corner, and fill their food and water.

Bringing your fluffballs home:
A good idea (if they are being shipped to you) is to order at least 17, because they rely on each other for warmth. We actually ordered 25, because that was the fewest you could get (like I said in the last sentence, there needs to be a lot of them for them to keep warm), and they gave us 2 extras (in case one died.). If you are bringing them home, you don't want it to be more than 30 minutes without warmth, so the main rule is to keep these babies warm! Once they are home, dip each of their beaks in food and water, and put them down. You are going to need a special chick thermometer that tells you what temp it should be, so make sure to get one!
Problems we had:
"Pasty butt", which took one of our chicks. There really is no way to prevent this from happening, so don't feel bad if it does. You need some Q-tips and warm water to wipe them off. Take one hand, flip him upside down, and wipe him off ever so gently. It's fine if you don't get all of the poop off, but there can't be any plugging them up. You might need to do this several times a day, but remember, they CAN die from this, so keep them clean!

If you somehow end up with a mean rooster, do not deal with him.  Remove him from the flock, because you do not want to fight a rooster EVERY DAY.  We had one a long time ago, and trust me, it is a lot less stressful to have a nice, peaceful rooster!

You are on your way to eggs and/or your own meat, so don't give up! Good luck!

(If you have any questions, requests, answers, etc. feel free to comment!

Hope you find this useful!,
     Grace

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Pregnant Sheep

12/28/2012

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Does anyone have any easy way to tell if a sheep is pregnant? It would be more than 60 dollars for a vet to come and do an ultrasound, and the internet is not helping much. I might post some pictures of Beady to see if anyone thinke she looks pregnant. Really hoping she is!!

Thanks,
Grace

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Mayan Apocalypse

12/27/2012

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And it sure did. Oh, and my birthday just "happened" to be the day after. Yes, I am one of those people who freak out over silly things :) . Hey, at least I am 12 now!

Grace

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Hot Chocolate Recipes

12/26/2012

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Hershey's Favorite Hot Chocolate:

1/2 cup sugar                       1/3 cup water
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa     4 cups milk
Dash of salt                          3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

1. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan; stir in water. 2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes. 3. Stir in milk and heat. DO NOT BOIL. 4. Remove from heat; add vanilla and cinnamon.

So that's the recipe if you would like to make a lot. I have not tried this, but here is the smaller recipe that was also on there:

"Perfectly Chocolate" Hot Chocolate:

2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. HERSHEY'S Cocoa    1 cup milk
Dash of salt                        1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in large mug. 2. Heat milk in microwave at HIGH 1-1/2 minutes or until hot. 3. Gradually add milk to cocoa mixture; stir well. Stir in vanilla.

I hope these recipes are helpful!

Thanks for reading!,
                      Grace

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December 25th, 2012

12/25/2012

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Well, it's Christmas day, so there is a lot to be done here. First of all, the animals need to be taken care of, and then we have to cook and bake, and we always have to open all the presents, but I don't mind that. :) So far I have gotten this new laptop that I am using at this very moment, and lots of candy and things from my stocking. I have been wishing for a guinea pig, but I'm very happy with what I got. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
P.S. Would any of you like my favorite hot chocolate recipe? If you do, just comment below. :)

Thanks,
Grace

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Merry Christmas!

12/19/2012

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Premier 1 Crook

12/18/2012

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We have had one of these for about a year or so, and it is a great thing to use! Our sheep and animals always know what to do if it is in one of our hands. They know that if they charge us or anything like that, they will get hooked with this Premier One Aluminum Crook. So it works pretty well for showing your animals who's boss, and I highly recommend it. Also, you can check out their website to find almost any other thing you might need for a farm!

Grace

Here it is!

Use it as a baby picker-upper..

A herder..

Or to use it as a crook.

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Brrrrr!!!

12/10/2012

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It is getting colder and colder out here, and the water is frozen, meaning it's a lot more work to let all the animals in and out. My kind of weather is about 70 degrees, not 12. So, now that almost everything is frozen, it's is probably about time to sit inside for a while and knit, crochet, or just drink some hot chocolate. All of that is nice, but it is also stressful for some people, as they gather gifts and and pack for a Christmas vacation. The animals are the ones I feel bad for, as they adjust to the FREEZING cold. But the animals are all fine, and the bunnies are out in the shop with a heat lamp on them to keep them warm, so I suppose I shouldn't worry.

We also think that Beady might be pregnant, which is, to me, very exciting. The only thing that has every had babies here is a cat, which was awesome, but we can't have more kittens. Anyway, I'm really hoping she is. I hope you guys don't have this cold weather now, or later....

Grace

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hAVE A GREAT DAY!

This is where Caroline and I (Grace) like to write about things that will be done, have been done, or are being done on the farm. Enjoy!

Stories from the kids.

Sue said:....... Hi Grace,
There is just nothing cuter than a baby rabbit. I'll bet that you and Caroline will be camped out at the cage when the wee bunnies arrive. So, if
I wanted to purchase a bunny from you, what would I need to know about care and
feeding?

Sue also said:...... Grace, you are going to be Queen of the Blog with your laptop! I'm having fun
following your adventures.

Liz V. said:...... Hello -

We are from Alabama and my kids love reading your blog! Marley would like to try your hot chocolate recipe and wanted to let you know that she is a big fan of your farm. (She loves all animals and Taekwondo!)
Hope you and your family had a great Christmas!!

Sue said:...... Here's hoping for lots of bunnies! How many do you expect in a litter?

susan said:...... This is a charming blog and I would like to hear more from this kid!

Kay Thomas said:...... Hi Grace, I enjoy reading your blog! I'm sorry you lost all the red-bud trees. The little maples are beautiful. We always have a lot of little trees come up in our yard each year as well.

We GREATLY appreciate any comments!

Wonderful Blog to visit

How To: Raise Chicks

Pregnant Sheep

Mayan Apocalypse

Hot Chocolate Recipes

December 25th, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Premier 1 Crook

Brrrrr!!!

If you got a rabbit for Easter, what would you do with it?

This is where Caroline and I (Grace) like to write about things that will be done, have been done, or are being done on the farm. Enjoy!

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