If Your Fence Doesn't Hold Water....

 I've heard it said before that if your fence doesn't hold water, it won't hold goats. I am discovering this statement to be true. I put Rhode and one of the adult wethers back inside the fence three times this evening.

My Mom keeps saying she wants a trail cam set up so the family can see my crazy farming antics...they would have gotten a good show this evening - Rhode is easy to put away once I get hold of her collar, but putting the wether back involves lots of running, waving of the arms, and occasional hollering.

By the way, the trees are red not because we're moving into autumn, but because the goats stripped the bark off them this past winter and spring. Guess that means more firewood for me!!

Anyway, I hope the rest of you are having a more productive and peaceful evening than me!! :P 

The Two Bachelors

 I've been bringing both Thane and Henry with me to my parents' house when I am away from the property, as Breeze is right in the middle part of her heat now. Why separate Henry from Breeze too, you might ask? Well...little, 5-month old Henry nearly became a Daddy the other morning!!! I did NOT expect that at his age. I honestly don't know if his results would have...uh....born fruit...but just in case, he is not allowed alone with Breeze right now. I do plan to breed the two of them....but not for at least a year, lol.

Here are a bunch of pictures of my two bachelor boys in the backyard today. :)

Thane approves of the grass. 

Below is the face Thane makes when I tell him to "stay" and try to get a picture of him looking handsome. Sigh.

A slightly better "stay" photo. ;P

Happy Sunday!!!

General Happenings

 Life is continuing to rush past....I can't believe we're already almost done with the summer! I'm enjoying cooler days and nights...it's much nicer to sleep in the dome when it's 60 degrees than when it's 85. 

Nala has been in her trial home a little over two weeks, and it sounds like it's generally going very well. I love her and miss her....but I don't miss the barking. ;)

Breeze is in heat....I wish I could breed her now, but due to my work schedule and some other factors (stay tuned!), I will probably wait another 6 months and breed her on her spring heat. It's easier on my boss if I take time off then rather than in the fall.

My three young roosters are becoming quite glorious...and I got a batch of new chicks. I started out with 11, but had to put one down due to a severe leg injury. Here are the older chicks:

This boy went from being quite homely to really quite spectacular. I expect the red on his neck to continue to intensify as he keeps getting his longer adult feathers in. He is starting to crow - which is always hilarious at first. It does take a lot of practice for them to get up to full volume! :P

I like the tail feathers on the one below. He seems a little skittish, though, so he might be a candidate for the stew pot.

This is the one girl from that batch of chicks...I named her Tansy for her yellow coloring.

I love the variety of colors on this guy! He seems fairly docile, too. He might be a keeper...we'll see. ;)

The new chicks...they're already starting to look bigger and more upright than when they first arrived. They're around 2 weeks old. 

I tried to split them between Buffy and Snow White when they first arrived, but somehow the two mamas ended up co-parenting.

The ducks are doing well. All they really need to be happy is a bucket of water, so that works for me! :P

The goat situation has changed, and now I might be keeping the Rhode and her daughter, who I have named Razzle. The boys will either be processed this fall, or I may see if I can trade them for hay or other farm supplies. Dad and I spent a few hours yesterday working on putting up a pallet goat fence, since my electric fence doesn't seem to be too successful so far, lol. 

And here's Henry! He's almost 5 months old now, and is a BIG boy!! He's about 40 pounds already....for reference, his father is 48 pounds, and his mother is 52 pounds. He's still a real sweetheart...he tries to boss around the adult dogs, but is very sweet and friendly with people. He ended up way more chill than I expected him to, and doesn't seem to mind hanging out in the office all day at work.

I hope it's going well with all of you! :)

Just Ducky

Sorry for the lack of updates... work has kept me busy. 

The cottage is coming along bit by bit... the walls are mostly up, and Dad, Timothy and a couple guys from church have started on building the roof trusses. So hopefully the roof will go on in a couple weeks. 

Animal updates: 

1. I just dropped Nala off with a trial home today... I will be surprised if it doesn't work out. She was already attaching herself to the people's 20 year old son before I even left.

2. I can't remember if I said this in my last post, but I am giving my two female goats to a friend who will use the milk, and I will either sell or process the males this fall. I need to regroup and come up with a better pasture system before I get goats or sheep again. I thought I was prepared, but I really wasn't!! :P 

3. Right after I dropped Nala off today, I picked up a half dozen ducks! They've been on my list to try eventually, and these ones were free and past the duckling stage, so I figured I would go for it. The breed is Khaki Campbell, and apparently they're known as profuse egg layers. 

And in other exciting news, my brother, his wife, and their four little girls are visiting my parents... this will be the first time I've seen them since they moved to Pennsylvania 2 years ago! 

So I'm off to my parents' house... enjoy some duck photos! :)