Still in the dark

I'm sitting at what Don likes to call a "chick place to eat where they serve mini meals" because we are still without internet. Surprisingly, no one has spontaneously combusted from the situation. Anyway, here's a quick recap...

We had our first snow on October 10th (pretty early this year). Everything is harvested and the garlic and strawberries are in to await the Spring. We are about a fourth of the way done on the retaining wall. We've hired an Amish crew to install the roofing, but not much is happening right now while we sit in the mud and wait for the rain to stop. Meagan's pet rabbit Riley has died which was hard for the kids to take. But, along with death, life comes to the farm. We expect Caroline to calve anytime now. She was due on the 18th and things are looking good for tonight or tomorrow.

That's all I can think of at the moment. We get internet back on November 3rd, so until then, I'll still be scarce. Thanks for the well wishes and prayers!

April 2009 Farm Production

This has been a big month for our chickens around here. We've been getting a really good number of eggs per day from our flock. Our newest batch of layers (Buff Orpingtons) arrived on April 5th and they are now out in the big coop outside, which means our older layers have moved out into their movable coop out on the pasture. It is always a bit traumatic for the hens to move homes, and their production dropped off there toward the end of the month because of the move, but it should be back up in a few days as they get used to their new home again.

Our rabbits also moved back outside after their winter in the barn. They are quite happy to get green grass every day.

And, our bees came and were installed on the 28th, so we are busy making sure they do better than last year's batch. So far, so good. One hive, in particular, is going exactly as it should. The second hive hasn't been as smooth, but at this point, I'm not expecting doom.

In other farm news, tick season is upon us. I know that for many of you, that means little to nothing. But for us, it means mandatory daily tick checks and the high probability that we'll find one or two. Meagan gets them especially bad. And, Caleb caught 10 possums in one night in his trap! Well, a mama with 9 babies in her pouch. Excitement, excitement. He couldn't wait to tell our neighbor boy who held the unofficial record of getting 3 possums in one night out of their chicken coop.

And now, the production stats.

Eggs collected: 557 (about 46.4 dozen) or about 18.5/day
Eggs sold: 15 dozen

Enjoying the harvest

We had to buy a second freezer. It is a good problem to have.

You see, over the summer, we raised about 125 chickens for meat and though they did not all make it to the freezer (we had trouble with the Cornish X Rocks), we still had lots and lots of birds that did. And my freezer was getting full. In fact, we had another 25 birds or so to do and I had absolutely no room. I was cooking them one right after another in my 2 crockpots, trying to save room since they take up less room cooked and deboned, but it just wasn't making enough of a dent.

So, we bought another freezer. A big one. Twenty-five cubic feet. We didn't mess around. And it is a good thing too, because we now have 2 nearly full freezers.

Mr. Big Boy, our 500 pound boar, took a little trip to the meat locker a few weeks ago and came home in 6 large bags full of nice little paper-wrapped packages. He filled up the smaller freezer completely on his own, with overflow into the other one. We were a little concerned about "boar taint." You see, it seems that boar meat can sometimes carry an "off" flavor because of the raging hormones in a boar. But, if it is there, it is faint. Faint enough that with some spices, you don't notice a thing. I wouldn't sell the meat, but for us, it's fine.

And then there are the rabbits. We've been steadily adding more and more rabbit to our freezer as well. I finally got up the nerve to cook a couple up yesterday and so last night, we had rabbit nachos! Not something you'd see on a menu, I'm guessing. But it was good. Just like chicken, and I'm not just saying that. We are having rabbit spaghetti today for lunch (rabbit in sauce over cooked spaghetti squash). I'm still not convinced that I want to continue to raise rabbits for meat. The processing is just not nearly as easy as chickens for us. But, while we've got them, what else are we going to do? I mean, the suckers multiply like...rabbits! And there are only so many people in small-town USA that need a pet rabbit. Believe me. We've tried.

It is nice to know that you have hundreds of pounds of meat in the basement, all from animals you raised yourself. I haven't bought meat from the grocery store in a long, long time. Of course, I'm getting short on beef (our last beef came from buying a half from another farm) and I'm starting to wonder how long it will be before Burt can take a trip to the meat locker, too. Until then, I do have plenty of chicken, pork and rabbit (and even some deer that was gifted to us) to keep us quite fed and happy.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Wittle Baby Bunnies

I finally got a few pictures of the baby bunnies. They've really grown so much already, though. They already have fur and are starting to open their eyes.
I always check on them several times a day to make sure that none have strayed to far from the nest. Mama rabbits don't move the kits and also usually won't sit for more than one feeding, so a kit who is out of reach is out of luck.
I also usually check them before a rain storm to make sure they are up off the ground and won't get too cold and wet. However, one morning after a particularly wild stormy night, I went out to find 3 of Erica's kits out of the nest and soaked. The were fairly cold, so I rubbed them with a towel and then blew them a little with the hair dryer.
For the record, I am perfectly aware that in the wild, rabbits do not have some crazy human lady to keep putting babies back in the nest or to give said babies a little warm-air fluffing. However, rabbits also have so many babies for a reason...survival is tough. And I'd rather keep these 16 babies alive. I don't care if that makes me look obsessive and over-protective. It wouldn't be the first time.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker...

We've had our first experience with young born right here on the farm. Well, except for the kittens. So, I guess I should say our first intended birth. Man, if there was only a market for farm cats. We could make a killing. Have I mentioned that Chief has been out prowling a lot recently?

Anyway, about a month ago, I bred the rabbits. I really was not sure at all if they were ready. I had been "checking" them daily for weeks with no discernible changes. Finally, I gave up and decided to try to breed them and see if it would work.

The rule of rabbitry is to take the doe to the buck. The does are very territorial and so it is better to avoid introducing the poor male into their territory. They are likely to defend it. So, I took each doe, in turn, and put them in with Riley. And then I sat back and watched.

I must admit that I felt a little like I was intruding. I felt like they might enjoy a little privacy, but then, I really needed to see what was going on. And, well, the 'ole boy didn't let me down.

If you've never seen a rabbit mate, it really is quite hilarious. I guess that's all I will say about that.

Anyway, Riley was up to the challenge and performed wonderfully. Both does seemed to accept his advances, which is a sign of readiness. Still unsure if it was actually successful, though, I marked the calendar for 28 days later and then we waited.

Several days ago, Erica started to pull out her hair. Does do this to make their nest, so signs were good. She literally covered the entire cage floor with fur. I gathered up most of it and put it in her nest box to encourage her to nest there. And we waited some more.

Yesterday, Annalise tore her fur out. She did manage to keep it in her nest box, though. Things were definitely looking good.

And this morning, I went out to feed and check them. When I popped up the door on Annalise's cage, I noticed a little movement in the midst of the fur. I pulled it back just a little and discovered the little hairless babies, all snuggled in there. I didn't count them, as I didn't want to disturb them, but I know there were at least 5 or 6. Annalise is Meagan's rabbit, so she was thrilled, of course. In fact, when I told her what I had seen, her mouth gaped open and she sat down!

Later today, I went back out to check again and found Erica had made her little nest and it was also moving a little. She had put her nest on the floor of the cage, though. I'm still a little concerned about it. I've heard that rabbits will reject babies that aren't born in a box. We'll see. I did carefully construct a little nest in the box and lined it with fur. We moved the babies (she had 8) into the new nest and covered them up with more fur. We didn't want to leave them on the ground as they would then be exposed to rain and dampness. I hope that Erica will take good care of them. I'd hate to lose the kits.

And so, all in all, we're thrilled with the results. Of course, I still don't know what to look for when deciding what the right time for breeding is, but apparently, I can wing it pretty well. Riley is ready to try again soon, of course. He's appreciated my matchmaking skills.

I'll post pictures in a few days. At this point, I still don't want to disturb the new families too much. They start to grow hair in just 3 days, though, so unfortunately, I won't get pictures of them right now in their hairless state. They are adorable, though...you'll just have to take my word for it.

Moving Day

We spent some time this morning moving the rabbits out of the barn and into their new homes on the grass.

This is where they lived in the barn. I built the cages and Don hung them on the wall so that they would be out of the way of the goats and their waste would fall through to the floor of the barn (instead of sitting just a few inches from their noses).

These are the new outdoor cages. They were constructed by using the info from this website. The cage is 2' x 4'. We used 2x4s to build the frame, with thin plywood for the roof and the sides. The cage is surrounded with 1"x 2" welded wire to keep out predators. There is also 2" x 4" welded wire covering the bottom to keep the rabbits from digging out, while still allowing them plenty of access to the grass below. The back foot of the cage is the nest box, with a floor so they can get up off the ground. There are 2 doors on the top: 1 above the main part of the cage and 1 above the nest box for easy access if needed. Each rabbit has their own.

On the way to their new summer homes, the rabbits got pedicures. It was all very posh, I assure you, though I don't know if they typically wear leather gloves when giving pedicures at the spa. I'll have to look into that.
Don't they look comfortable? They were requesting a massage while I was at it, but I put my foot down.
Oh man, that is gonna affect my tip, isn't it?

After the nail trimming, they got to check out their new homes. They seemed to enjoy it.

The cats also seemed to enjoy having them on the ground. Rosie, who happens to be smaller than the rabbits, was desperately trying to figure out how to get into the cages with them.
That's Annalise in her nest box.

The rabbits will be moved to a new patch of grass at least once a day. It will give them a constant source of fresh green food, as well as move their "fertilizer" around.

We are hoping that now that they will be in a lot more sunlight, that they will be ready for mating. The barn was quite dark most of the time and I am told that darkness can really affect a rabbit's "mood". We are ready to get these ladies bred and start getting some kits. In fact, Meagan was practicing opening the door over the nest box and pretending to find babies.

All in all it went very well, except for the unfortunate too-close nail trim. It did, however, take most of the morning when you include the other animal's chores. We haven't even started school yet. Good thing today is our "easy" day.

Umm, better make that Sew Nothing Friday

They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I'd could say that the road leads to not having a Sew Crafty Friday post yet again. I guess I could blame it on Leap Day...I thought there was a day between Thursday and Friday this week?

I've been working on dresses for my nieces this week, but wanted to finish the first one this morning. But when it is 50 degrees, sunny, and wind speeds of 10mph or less, you gotta get those outside chores done. Like they say, you better make hay while the sun is shining. I wasn't making hay, though. I was making a rabbit hutch.

We spent the morning picking up supplies for a 4-rabbit hutch to hang up in the barn. That, along with the 2 cages we already have, will be enough for winter housing for 6 rabbits. And after lunch, Meagan and I got to work building it. I've gotten the bottom and sides done and am now working on the partitions. I'm only inside now because Abby needed feeding. She spent the afternoon sleeping on a blanket outside in the sunshine. She loved it. The chickens, the cats, and the dog all came to check her out. Luckily, the 2 nasty Black Giant roosters stayed away. (They are scheduled for the chicken plucker tomorrow.)

Well, it's back to work I go. I've still got another hour and a half, at least, of sunshine. I will hopefully have time to work on the dresses tonight. Or at least get them finished by next Friday.

Growing by leaps and...well...tweets!

Our little homestead grew by 35 last night. We welcomed 2 female rabbits into our midst. First up is Annalise, the blond.
And then we have Erica, the brunette.
If you have a little girl who loves the Barbie movies, you may recognize the names. They are from the Princess and the Pauper. Right after these pictures, we gave them a little manicure. And decided then and there that we need a good pair of thick gloves to be working with these rascals. And then came in to dress my wounds.

I remember reading on Homesteading Today, one of my favorite forums, about raising rabbits for meat. Someone posed the question "How on earth could you raise those cute little furballs with their cute little noses and cute little tails for MEAT?" And the answer that amused me the most was "You change your attitude toward them when you have bloody scratches all up and down your arms from the cute little furballs." I now understand.

Next, we acquired 33 new chicks. We got 5 Bantams and 28 "fry pan specials". The fry pans are mixed random breeds just raised for meat. The Bantams are supposed to make really good mothers, so we got them for that reason.
Bantams are much smaller than standard sized chicks. You can see a little Bantam peeking out from behind another chick in this picture. They are really quite adorable.
In fact, they are so small that they just climb right into the feeder holes to eat.
This morning, we found 2 languishing chicks. The others are doing great, so I don't know what is going on. I'm going to have to see if the store has any sort of guarantee since one of them is the much more expensive Bantam. I'm hoping that is the extent of the mortalities. It is very disheartening to find them dying.

So, that was our excitement for last night. We came home from the store with these guys and then quickly set up the trough in the basement for the chicks and put together another cage for the rabbits. We'll eventually separate the does because they are very territorial, but for now, 2 cages was all we had. We hope to construct some sort of long divided cage that would be more economical than separate cages. Like we have nothing else to do.

Meet Riley

This is Riley. He is the newest member of the Underwood Homestead. We bought him for $6 from a girl in town.

At Christmas, my dad gave the older kids each a nice sum of money to buy critters with. Caleb had thought he'd get pigs, but ever since our neighbors' goats had kids, he's decided on goats. He'll be getting these Nubian girls in just a couple of weeks, if all goes well. Meagan chose rabbits. Obviously, the cost of goats is quite different from the cost of rabbits, so most of Meagan's money went toward caging, a feeder and waterer (heated), a brush, a nail clipper, and food. Caleb will end up using almost all of his money on just the goats.

Anyway, Riley is a little Dutch bunny. He's very cute. We eventually will breed rabbits for meat, mostly to feed the dogs (yet to come) and cats. But, Riley will be a good bunny to start with and learn on. He may end up being the breeding buck because I don't see Meagan allowing us to send Riley on to the great pasture in the sky.

Speaking of pastures, we are hoping to figure out by Spring how to put the bunnies on the pasture. Right now, he is hanging in a cage above the chickens in the coop. They like to dig through his droppings and the chickens help to create warmth for him. But, come Spring, the rabbits would be in a moveable cage, like the meat chickens, so that we can move them to fresh grass daily. However, unlike chickens, rabbits can dig. This means that the cage has to take that into consideration. We'll need to work on that soon. Spring must be coming. It must. This freezing weather can't last forever. Can it?