I knew it. I knew the day would come when the 600 pound boar and sow, Duke and Penny got loose. Thank god we noticed before they stopped traffic on Doctor Bird Road. With apples, grain, and patience in hand we finally coaxed them into the top paddock with the sheep. At which point my old Romney ewe thought she'd tell Duke who was really the Duke and who the livestock run in belonged to. Oh boy. The ewe didn't know who she was up against. At this point I realized Duke could not have a slumber with the sheep and goats and my work was not complete. Time to gather more apples and patience and find a way to get him back to his own pen. Mission complete. Would have been nice if we could have had some beautiful, sunny weather for our mission. Instead the kids and I returned inside brown as old berries and ready to collapse. The kids sat in the barn afterwards and watched the barn swallows and gave the goats some scratches while I mused about all the projects to be completed! Oh mercy, farming is a lot of hard work.
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Who knew organizing the living quarters of our pigs, chickens, dogs, sheep, and goats would be such an exercise in creative thinking. I thought i had it all sorted out. The goats could get in and out under a door placed high enough to give them access but the sheep couldn't get to their grain. The chickens were safe in with the LGDs. We were one big happy family. Then the goats started sneaking up the chicken run and robbing them of their goods. The new dog started chasing the pullets so Ranger had to show her who was the man of the pack by finishing them off without a bite for her. The young gilt who I was told would be safe with the 600lb boar because he would know she was too small to mount, suddenly started flying high into the air from sniffs of male excitement. Oh no! There are constant adjustments that need to me made that I hadn't anticipated. So far I enjoy the challenge, the character of the animals and the work involved. I can see how one would not. Most of the answers to my problems lay in fencing and infrastructure. Sure if you can easily drop 15/20 grand for trailblazing and paddock systems, than no worries. But without that, creativity, learning minor carpentry for DIY projects and weekend work have become my life. Fencing, fencing and more fencing. currently, I need the chickens in the center of my property with the dogs able to surround their paddock but not share the exact same living space. But then i need my perimeter fencing complete so the dogs don't end up causing traffic jams on main roads. Luckily, they have no interest in going towards the street but rather take long hiatuses in the woods at the base of our property. Soon this will be inhabited by people enjoying their brand new homes. So this is where we get crafty, hone some new construction skills and commit our free time to improving the setting. New learning! What fun. Thank god for my MIL! Pictures to come of current creations and added adjustments! I am living for June when I can wake up and spend my days racking my brain on ways to clear land, how to design our paddock system and completing DIY waterers and feeders galore.
The rain continues to create a glorious mud pit in our pig pen and we are down to 15 small chickens and 6 big ones. The two adult ducks provide care and comfort for the 6 ducklings, down from 8. I’m wondering if the ornery male has chased off the two that may have been male. He is a male in charge of his business. Unfortunately, I know either Merry or Ranger are the culprits of 3 fowl deaths but the others simply vanished. I know that sounds like the work of a fox but I can’t figure out when he would have gotten to them. The poultry mortality rate is sky rocket but the ones that are able to survive live one happy life. Even the pigs are tired of the mud! Our DIY pig waterer which includes an old games barrel from our gracious neighbors the Keefes and sports a slow leak, created what amounts to a sink hole of quicksand-like mud. It's dreary, we're all dirty and muddy and ready for the sunshine. I wrestled with the barrel and moved to a spot a bit higher and drier but not without adding a head to toe addition of mud to my spandex farm clothing. Nonetheless, all are growing, especially the veggies. If you would like an order, get it in before it's gone! Use the contact link and tell us what you want. Drop off at gym or swing by the house! Of course, more is on its way!
I have been documenting our move through Facebook before and after shots but as I have trudged out in two feet snow drifts to break ice, sunken in mud pits from leaking home-made pig waterers, wrestled a pig with explosive diarrhea and a flock of chickens and ducks into a touring Honda odyssey, spackled and painted more walls than I would like to remember, I have often thought, "I need to be documenting all these wonderful learning experiences." None of this, could I be doing without the support of family and friends! So here goes! You can sift through pics of Facebook to see much of the journey but I will attempt to document the fun here. If anything, my children will be able to look back on this and have a sense as adults of this time in our lives. I know for certain as a mother who lost her own at a young age, that I just love reading the very few letters that I have that are actually written by her and putting myself back in time.
Last night in the gushing rain and sloshing mud, Madison and I went out to the barn to check in on our new livestock guardian dog (LGD), born 12/26/15 and named Merry accordingly. We sat on crates in the stall while Abby and Arlo (our Nigerian dwarf goats) nudged us begrudgingly with their noses looking for a nipple but alas we are on day 2 of weaning and Merry sat trembling at our feet. We peeked over in the livestock run attached to the back of the barn at our two female Gloucester Old Spot pigs snuggled in comfortably with our other LGD and 3 sheep. Our 3 rows of roosting chickens were working hard to get in the right spot for the night with a few small ones venturing to the top row only to get pecked down. The pecking order is real. Mom and Dad duck and 8 duckling snuggled in the corner of the coop in a mound of hay. Madison mused about sleeping in the barn or better yet having school in the barn! Wouldn't that be more exiting than "sitting and listening to the teacher talk ALL DAY!" God knows I think about this everyday and wonder if I couldn't find a way to link the two. It pains me to hear those words coming from my daughter and I know many of my students feel the same way. But here I drift to another subject entirely, the one I think about from 7-4. A different blog is needed for that subject. There's really nothing that I enjoy more than sitting surrounded by animals, watching a thunderstorm pound on and just chatting with all involved. |
AuthorCatherine Moy Archives
October 2020
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