30 Mar
Macie, our doeling, doing her best impression of a helicopter:
A bit faster, and she might get enough lift to take off!
As the snow melted in this glorious sunny day, she and her brothers ventured out of the barn to frolic. More pictures are on our facebook page.
They’re 11 days old today and growing quickly – the largest buck is 17.4 lbs, while the smallest is 14.8.
24 Mar
The baby goats are now 5 days old and growing quickly, already skipping around the barn (they’re saving their pasture skipping for when the snow melts). We’ve posted more pics on our facebook page, but here are a couple of them:
19 Mar
This is just a quick post (you can check out our Facebook page for more photos) to announce that in the middle of this huge snowstorm, we took a break from other subjects for a biology lesson. We now have four brand new baby Boer Goats – 3 bucklings and a doeling.
We’re busy making sure they are all settled for a cold night, and will post more later!
Blessings to all,
The Flying T
24 Feb
The snow doesn’t slow down the kids or the horses too much. This is in the middle of our snowstorm today – probably 6-8″ at the time of the walk, and now we’re approaching one foot. Now it’s time to go sledding!
13 Feb
The kids made snowmen after Nemo last weekend… and decided it would be appropriate to add a snow goat.
8 Feb
Winter storm Nemo is just starting to arrive. The ducks don’t seem to mind.
Like Snow off a Duck’s Back
Well, one of them might mind a little bit…
Captions are welcome in the comments section below.
17 Jan
All the chicks are starting to get their wing and tail feathers, and we’re getting a bit more convinced of what breeds our 3 mystery birds might be. Here are some new photos. If you think you’ve got an answer (or your answer has changed), post a comment on the contest page.
Chick A – I can’t help but think of the Looney Tunes “Chickenhawk” character when I look at her.
Chick B (in the middle of the photo surrounded by Barred Rocks)
Chick C. Color is really coming in on her.
Any new guesses?
10 Jan
The chicks are doing well for the most part. We lost two barred rock chicks in the first few days, but the others are thriving. We’ve already removed 2 sides of the smaller enclosure to allow the chicks a bit more room. They grow pretty quickly, and for those of you participating (or desiring) to compete in the contest, here are some updated photos. Feel free to change your answers at any time as the chicks become more recognizable.
Chick A – 10 days
Chick B – 10 days
Chick C – 10 days
Feel free to join in! Just click here to read the details and submit an entry.
5 Jan
Our first contest… Be the first to identify (correctly) the breeds and genders of our mystery chicks and win our grand prize!
As a surprise for David, we added 3 hatchery-choice “mystery chicks” to his order of Barred Rocks without his knowing it. They are supposed to be 3 different breeds of brown egg layers. The kids have made guesses on their breeds, and I think they’re definitely right on two of the three, but I’ll keep their guesses secret for now.
Rules:
1) To enter, simply post a comment with ONE guess for each chick’s identity. Something like:
2) We’ll keep the blog posted with pics as the chicks mature, and announce our findings when we’re really sure.
3) Any disagreements on the breed will be settled by Judy, “the Chicken Lady,” at Clark’s Grain Store.
4) Winner will be the first (based on the time/date stamp of the comment) with all three breeds and genders correctly identified.
5) Make sure there’s some way for me to get in touch with you – if your sign-in name doesn’t have a way to do that, you can shoot us an email (our contact info is on our farm website: http://www.flyingtnh.com). Just make sure to identify yourself and your post.
The prize? Public recognition on our blog, bragging rights, and (if you desire) a guest-post on your blog acknowledging your chicken identification expertise!
Three hints:
1) They should all be breeds that lay brown eggs.
2) They are supposed to be females.
3) Hatcheries make mistakes from time to time, so the above hints might not apply.
So, without further ado, I present the lineup of our dastardly suspects:
Chick A: Wanted for possession of an unlicensed peeper
Chick B: Accused of appearing in public with an indecent hairdo
Chick C: Wanted for grain rustling
4 Jan
David’s original hens are approaching 2 years old and starting to slow down in production, and a skunk took out the eggs our broody hen was sitting on that were planned to be replacement layers.
So David used some of his profits to buy more chicks. This morning, just after 6, the nice woman who runs the local post office called to tell us they had arrived. So we hopped into the car and drove down the hill.
The early boy gets the birds
You may think the post office is only open from 9-5, but the work starts a lot earlier.
Lots of peeping going on in that box!
Time to go home!
David ordered 25 barred rock hens, plus 2 roosters. We also added an additional free chick the hatchery calls a “meal-maker” – in return, David promises to give the eggs she produces to needy people. Then, as a surprise for David, we added 3 “hatchery choice” mystery hens (the brown ones in the photo). The kids are trying to figure out what kind they are. The hatchery also added a couple extras just in case there were losses.
All of them made it safely!
Transfering the chicks to the brooder… please excuse the messy garage – I just finished making the brooder, and I tend to make a mess when I work.
Chicks in the their new home. The brooder is 4×4, but I put in a smaller divider for the first few weeks to keep them warmer.
The family spent a few minutes monitoring the chicks to make sure they were happy and not indicating any distress.
They should be laying by May!
A Joyful Birth
The Flying T Ranch Blog 