Of that huge batch of eggs I gathered from my flock, only 3 hatched, and then 2 of those survived. I think the incubator was to blame. The temperatures started fluctuating dramatically again, and we also lost power for half a day about halfway through incubation, so that surely didn't help either. I sold one of the babies as a young pullet, and I kept Lily, the daughter of my favorite hen, Padma. I wish I could say she's as sweet and fearless as her mother, but she's not. Maybe it will help her live longer than Padma did.
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| Miss Lily is in the middle. Left is Gertrude, right is Jasmine. |
I'm not sure when I'll incubate another batch. I sold Athena along with the rest of the roosters I got as part of a classroom hatching experiment. They were all fighting constantly and harassing my poor geriatric hens I took in as retired egg layers. Now all I have left are my girls, and things are much more peaceful. I spend much more time with them and don't have to worry about getting kicked in the back of the legs by an ornery rooster. They always came at me when my back was turned, the little cowards. If I do decide to incubate another batch, maybe I'll try to raise a tame rooster somehow...keep him away from the flock in his own enclosed area and dote on him. I have had tame cockerels before, but they never had their own flocks and were cage-raised. And if I do ever get roosters again, I may just let my old lady hens sit on the fertile eggs and raise their own babies. They've gone broody so many times already this summer, if I still had roosters, there would be oodles of chicks by now.
We're constantly working on the pasture, garden, and barns. We've got sheep now, and I love them all so much. Ewan is the sweetest one. I thought his curious and docile nature came because he was tame, but shearing him taught me otherwise. He's my brave, fearless, independent boy, and he will FIGHT you if you try to restrain him. Luckily, that's rarely an issue. Annabelle and Bebe, my two ewes, are loud and inquisitive, but still flighty. Violet is my big, shy boy, who used to be the smallest, a runty triplet. It took him months to finally let me even touch him, and now he tentatively takes treats from my hand. Ewan used to jump on me like he was a dog. We put a stop to that. Hooves don't feel great jammed into your thigh, even if it's done affectionately.
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| Annabelle 💜 |
We tried our hand at the local farmer's market last year, but didn't have much success. We stopped going about halfway through the season because I became pregnant early July and couldn't stomach the morning sickness. Now we just have too much to do repairing and upkeeping the farm and raising our sweet baby boy. I don't regret trying though. We named our farm and I made a logo design for it and a Facebook page that I update every now and again, so it was worth it.
My latest
Other than that, just working, reading, writing some, trying to stay afloat. Not much art lately. I'm thinking that's going to be a winter time activity. Loving on my baby, kitties, dogs, and my new pet Axolotl, Miss Vanjie.
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| Miss...Vaaaaaanjie |
Summer has been fun and busy. As much as I hate the heat, I have really enjoyed being outside more. I'm excited to finish the summer strong and ease into fall and winter and rest.