Around The Farm In December

Much of my focus is on hay these days, and it's fair to say that ALL of the herd's attention is on hay. How fresh it is (or is not), how much ice coats the bales, how much is left, when we will run out, is every animal getting what they need - plus storing it, moving it, unwrapping it - it's an all consuming subject these days (pun intended):

The sheep farmers up the road have been hauling the hay stems which their sheep ignored out to their field and dumping it, so this time they brought me a load to see if my animals would eat it:

The cows and Blue were afraid of the big, noisy truck and unknown people, but Remy got right in the way of everything:

The hay stuck in the bed and we had to move it with a pitch fork, but it turned out to be a considerable quantity. The next morning I went out to fork it into the bale feeder, only to discover it had mostly been consumed during the night. I guess my animals liked it:

I go out to do the chores when it is light out, but the sun is not yet risen over the horizon. The skies are beautiful and the sun is up by the time I'm finished:

The little hens seem happy and healthy:

They don't have much room, but they do have roosts and nest boxes - plus two screened windows which I open on mild days:

One of the elderly pigeons died yesterday, one of only three which have died since I began my flock years ago. I'd say they are long lived, healthy birds:

They eat the same layer pellets as the chickens. Now, if I could just keep the English Sparrows from getting in and eating it too:

I worry that the English Sparrows will spread diseases and parasites to my fantail pigeons, but so far they are looking healthy - and I am working hard to block the sparrows' entrances and to chase them out when I find the inside:

One day was devoted to spreading liquid manure on the corn field across the road from me. A giant tanker brought a big load and transferred it to two smaller tank trailers, pulled by tractors. It took many loads and all day to finish. You can see the darker colored swath which the first tanker load spread. Curiously, it didn't stink - probably because it was so cold:

Each new snow reveals fox tracks, so I know they come visit every night and circle my car, climb the stairs up to my porch, enter the barn and check out the hay bales. I think they are after the Cottontail Rabbits, whose tracks I also see each morning:

Springtime On The Farm - Part 3

A dead horse? No, a lazy horse. Remy likes to sleep inside the barn or, in this case, outside the barn on the soft, old hay wasted during the winter:

But most of the time, I can find the cattle and horses in the south field, grazing:

Jasmine has passed her due date so clearly was not pregnant. Nonetheless, she is so sweet and gentle that she's one of my favorites:

I bought these two odd perennials at Walmart and planted them. The roots did not look impressive, so I don't expect much from them. Nonetheless, they'll sure be eye catching if they do grow:

And speaking of growing, my new Tulips have blossomed so fully that the flowers look almost like Peonies. Their red color is so brilliant that the camera seemed unable to capture it:

And they were asking people to take home the leftover Easter Lilies at church. There were so many needing a home that I took two of them. Everyone assures me that they survive our rugged winters, but I'll believe that if and when I see it:

And wild Violets are in bloom everywhere in my lawn and gardens. My mother loved Violets so much that she had a small garden full of them just outside our back door. When we were kids, we used to buy fancy, domesticated varieties for her birthday or for Mother's Day - but it was always the wild violets which thrived and bloomed:

A neighbor told me that there were three baby foxes living in a collapsed shed, just a couple hundred feet down the road from me. He wisely suggested I drive down to see them as the car would be less likely to cause them to run away. I had to drive down multiple times, but I finally got to see two of the babies:

They were about the size of cats and incredibly cute. Now that I've given up on my war against them and committed to keeping my hens indoors, I hold no grudge against foxes:

One kit was shy and hid in the rubble, but the other continued to sit still:

And the curious kit watched me while its sibling peered out from the rubble:

I never saw the third kit, just the bold one in the front and the skittish one in the rubble. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful sight. By the way, they are still killing someone's chickens, for I saw the wing of a Rhode Island Red next to the kit in the foreground:

News And Drama On The Farm

With the arrival of warmer weather came graders to smooth out the gravel road. However, I still have huge piles of gravel on my lawn alongside the road. The town usually tries to clean that up so I won't mess with it until I see what they plan to do:

One morning I found my white hen dead in the coop. There were no injuries, so she must have died from being egg-bound or some other internal problem. I let the other hens out for the day and a fox killed one. Two in one day was too much, so I began locking them inside all day. I guess it's better to live in their coop than to be killed by foxes:

Remy is enjoying spring and covering a lot of ground each day while looking for grass or just playing:

He's also looking a little bit skinny, but I'll be worming him any day now. That's a twice per year job and it's just about time for the spring worming:

Blue, however, is definitely not looking skinny despite his drastically reduced rations:

He is getting less shy, though, and does run a lot while playing with Remy:

I thought all my cows were pregnant, but one morning I saw this - Rosella was mounting Scarlett and Scarlett was allowing it. That had to mean that Scarlett was in heat:

I called the artificial insemination man who promised to be out between 9:00 and 9:30, so I delayed feeding the cattle and then, when I got the three I wanted inside, I closed the barn door on them, trapping them:

I wanted the A.I. man to check Rosella since she was doing the humping, Scarlett, since she was standing when being humped, and Violet who he had said in January was carrying a calf but had never delivered:

The three of them were nervous while we waited, but I got to work herding them individually into the squeeze chute and separating them with sturdy boards, fore and aft:

The A.I. man declared Rosella to be most assuredly pregnant. Scarlett was most assuredly in heat, so he inseminated her. Her due date should be about January 16 of next year:

Violet was the mystery. I told him that I was beginning to fear a mummified calf inside her and he said that indeed, that's what it felt like. I decided to give her a bit more time and then call the vet. Violet needs to have the calf removed and re-bred if possible. If not, she may need to become hamburger:

Around The Farm

We've had confusing weather this year, with spring weather in February and winter weather in April. But the cattle were happy when the snow melted:

 Canada Geese and Snow Geese are returning to our area on their way north. Some of the skeins are mixed species, but mostly they have been Snow Geese:

 And speaking of Snow Geese, they have been stopping in corn fields near me, ideal for taking pictures:

 There are two color phases of Snow Geese, white and blue. The light gray birds are the immature blue phase:

 They are spectacular birds but more shy than Canada Geese. I always need my zoom lens to photograph them. Even if they're right next to the road when I see them, they are moving rapidly away by the time I stop and grab my camera:

 I saw this bold fox walking across my south field one morning when I was feeding the cattle. It turned in my direction when it arrived at the gravel road and began walking toward me, stopping only when I pointed a camera at it. I saw fox tracks every morning we had new snow. That is not good news for the chickens:

 The miniature horses seem immune to the cold and snow, but I'm sure they'll be happy to have green pastures once again where they can feed and play:

 We had one really nice day before the latest snowstorm, and I opened the door for hens to come outside:

 They had to cross a snow pile to get out, then ran down the driveway toward the bird feeders:

 They pecked around, looking for goodies:

 And then moved to the bird feeders (just to the left of this photo), where there was lots of spilled seed:

 I am almost out of bird seed and have a big rat which is feeding on spilled seed. I've been unable to trap the rat so far, but either way, I'll stop feeding the wild birds very soon:

Winter Arrives On The Farm

Autumn in the North Country was pleasant, and the new hens made friends with the old hens. They enjoyed their freedom together:

 They pecked and scratched for food in safety now that it appears the foxes are gone:

 Four of the new hens:

 All five of the new hens. As "Easter Egger bantams," they should lay blue and green eggs. They are smaller bodied than my Barred Rock bantams, however, so I suspect their eggs will be smaller:

 I ended the season with 21 white fantail pigeons:

 They too enjoyed the autumn as long as it lasted:

 The cattle and horses have been getting hay for some time now but they still found some grass to eat in the field. To my surprise, every big windstorm brought down more apples and the herd always got a treat the next day:

 And then one day it began to snow. The winds howled out of the west, driving snow through even the smallest cracks in the barn walls and causing the herd to shelter on the east side of the barn:

 And as the storm strengthened, I saw two foxes playing atop my hay bales. They ran when they saw me (you can see one behind the gate) but I was alarmed. Luckily, I'd had to lock up the birds for the winter because of the storm anyway. The calves chased the foxes playfully and it would have been cute except for my worries for the chickens and pigeons:

 My one yellow apple tree retained many apples up in its highest branches and they glistened like Christmas tree ornaments as the snow landed on them:

 The storm blew for two days and I spent many hours shoveling and plowing with the tractor:

 And of course I put out the bird feeders for the winter, much to Georgette's delight. Now she has birds to watch through the window to keep her entertained: