I never did get my rabbits sorted today.  I had good intentions but only looked at them.  I, instead, helped Rich get the sheep unloaded as well as the sow.

We have named the sheep; Baby is the polypay and Daisy is the suffolk.  They are getting used to the other sheep but aren't too happy about that.  Our shetlands were very excited about the newcomers.  There was a lot of chasing and head butting as the hiarchy was established.  I'm not sure who won the top spot.

What did surprise me was Cooper, our Kaitadin Ram, didn't seem to care that there were 2 ladies in the pen.  He seemed more interested in the hay Rich had thrown in the pen to help the "adjustment" since everyone seemed so excited.  I suppose after 10 minutes, Cooper must have caught wind of the ladies as he started acting like a ram.  I think the wethered shetlands are going to appreciate the addition of Daisy and Baby as Cooper stops practicing on them .

Once things settled down with the sheep, it was on to the sow, Gertie, who was joining the goats and llamas.  She unloaded easy enuff and made her way into the barn which sent most of the goats and the llamas out of the barn.  We learned that llamas make an interesting hyenia like call when they are not happy.  They do not like Gertie.

Poor Ham, she just about chewed her way out of her pen once she saw another pig.  We let her out and she happily joined Gertie as they made their way around the barn and the yard. Well, at least Ham likes Gertie.

I'm a bit afraid that the llamas may attack Gertie.  They have attacked our cattle before and although Gertie's a big gal, she's not a highlander.  We'll just have to watch and see what happens.  So far, they just stay away from each other.

Besides the fact that Rich enjoyed 2 piggy back rides, curisity of Gertie, not too much more happened here.  I did move Madison's last chicks into the barn and they seem to be doing well.

GoodNight!
Carol

I promised to blog about our trip yesterday.  Now that I have rested and have a bit of time I shall share about our new critters.  Our trip down was fairly uneventful.  We Rich made only one wrong turn.  It took us just a couple of miles to realize it and he quickly had us back on track.

Anyhow,  D (lady we were getting the critters from) gave us a quick tour of the barn and Madison went off to catch rabbits, chickens or ducks as D hadn't caught everyone.  It was decided that Gertie (sow) was to be loaded first.  She's a big girl and wasn't afraid to push her weight around about after 10 minutes or so, D convinced (with food) Gertie that the trailer was a good place and in she went.

Phew!  The hard part is done, so we thought.  Next the 2 ewes, a polypay and suffolk, were to be loaded.  These girls were skiddish scared to death.  They ran everywhere in the barn except into the trailer.  I have no idea how long it took to load them but Rich ended up wrestling the suffolk into the trailer hoping the polypay would follow.  She was even more scared after losing her buddy and just ran in circles around us.  Rich decided to "catch" her as well.  Well, let's just say that didn't go as well as planned.  I found out that sheep can truly jump when frightened and Rich learned that you shouldn't butt heads with a scared sheep.  One fat lip later, Rich had her in the trailer.

D allowed her flemish giant rabbits to free range on her property and had managed to catch 9 of them.  We knew there were more running as we saw 3-4 rabbits in the yard when we pulled up.  Madison managed to catch one rabbit and a barred rock chicken.  She worked very hard on catching the ducks that were running around.  Her and Rich caught 1 but couldn't find the other.  So "Quackers" went into a box to travel in the truck cab. 

We loaded the chickens (9) and rabbits (10).  While Rich was putting a tarp over the truck box, D managed to find 3 baby bunnies and caught 2 of them.  They got to ride home with Quackers.  We couldn't find the 3rd.  I hope we have the mama here as I really don't know how old they are but I'm guessing they are about 3-4 weeks old.

So with the critters loaded, off we went again.  When I thought Rich made a wrong turn, Madison learned how to find and use the north star to locate which direction you are headed.  We were headed the right way.  We stopped at a Dairy Queen to have a bit to eat and nearly froze to death.  It felt like we were in a freezer.  We stopped to pick up hot chocolate at a C-store just to warm up!  We arrived home around 10 pm.

That's about it for yesterday.  I'm off to sort rabbits.  I'll write more later.
Carol

We welcomed 12 rabbits, 9 chickens, a duck, a sow, and 2 ewes to our farm home today tonight.  We left at 2:15 pm and returned home at 10 pm.  We made it home safely with all the critters in tow.  Everyone is unloaded except the sow and ewes who will spend the night in the trailer.  We didn't want to unload them in the dark into a home they didn't know.

I'm really tired so I will blog more tomorrow and hopefully have pictures as well.  It was an adventure to say the least.  I'll be busy tomorrow sexing rabbits and figuring out who is expecting.  Hopefully, in that proccess, I'll find the mama bunny to 2 baby bunnies we rescued from the cat.  But I'll save the story for tomorrow's blog.

GoodNight!
Carol

I spent some time in the kitchen canning 7 quarts of turkey broth.  I had one more quart to go but didn't want to start the pressure canner for just one quart so it is in the frig.  It will land in the freezer in cubes to use for gravy and such.

I have 2 large chickens roasting in my electric roaster that I plan to can tomorrow so I'll probably do chicken broth as well.  I'm going to try canning the meat.  I'd like to free up some freezer space and started reading about canning meat.  I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Rich spent some time getting the truck and trailer ready for tomorrow's trip.  I'll be busy tomorrow rounding up carriers/boxes top haul the rabbits and poultry.  We aren't sure exactly how many rabbits and poultry are coming so I'll worry about cages/pens once everyone is here on the farm.

I think that's it for today.
GoodNight!
Carol

Well, my broth simmered overnight and it smelled soo good in the kitchen this am.  It's now in the frig waiting for canning tomorrow.  I also froze 16 cups of leftover turkey.  I used 4 cups of turkey for the turkey noodle soup we had for supper.  I think we are turkeyed out for now so I think it's pork chops for tomorrow!  lol

We had a very nice gentleman stop by the house today.  He was looking for eggs for the "Mrs" and her Christmas baking.  He even asked if I needed egg cartons.  He had 7 cartons in this van .  What a sweet fellow.

It also looks like we will be having some new additions to the farm.  No, I'm not talking babies.   I have found a few rabbits, chickens, a pig and 2 sheep ewes who need a new home.  I'm lining up a time to pick them up.  Hopefully sometime this week.

The other project I worked on today was a hat for Madison.  She needs a green hat for the winter concert (yeah, they have to call it a winter concert and not a Christmas concert) at school.  We are unable to find one that Madison feels is acceptable, so I searched online and found a crochet pattern for a beret hat.

I almost finished it today but its too big so I ripped it up and started over.  Rich thinks I'm crazy starting over.  It also had a mistake, you couldn't really tell but I knew it was there.  It will only take a few hours to redo and I have until Thursday.  I have lots of time!!

Well, I better get back to Madison's hat.
Good Night!
Carol

I've been busy with Thanksgiving leftovers.  I took all the turkey bones, added some veggies/herbs with water and have that simmering away on the stove.  I'll have lovely turkey broth tomorrow morning.

I made BBQ'd turkey sandwiches with fries for supper.  So we have a little less turkey to eat later.  Most of the leftover turkey is headed to the freezer tomorrow.

We visited my mom and brother this afternoon.  Mom asked me to tend to her toes while my brother did some maintenance on my car.  It was a nice visit.  I received excellent reports on my chickens they had grilled.  So I guess I raised them right and hope to have more sales of them next year.

We are considering a trip to Arkansas to visit Rich's sister Amber for Christmas.  Austin has to work so he can care for the farm while we are gone but I hate for him to alone on Christmas.  I also need to cordinate care for Chas as she would not be traveling with us.  That is not always an easy task.  I need to find out if my sister is going to be around for Christmas, maybe Austin can go over to her place to celebrate. 

Well, that's it for today.
Good Night!
Carol

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

Carol

There wasn't much going on around here today.  I'm happy to report that Mary is doing great and has one more day of treatment left.  She's so silly, almost eats the syringe I have her vitamin in.  Apparently, it tastes pretty darn good.  The barred rock chicken that fell in the watering tank is out running with the rest of the poultry.

We delivered some treats to Mike and Karen tonight.  Karen was busy cutting a turkey in half and prepping for the big meal they are hosting tomorrow.  We chatted for a bit about turkeys and chicken.  I was happy to hear that they are happy with broiler chickens we raised for them.  Karen said the chicken was so flavorful.  Its always nice to hear from satisfied customers.

Madison made jello this afternoon for our meal tomorrow.  That's the only "day before" food we are making.  Everything else will be done tomorrow.

Here's my recipe for the mint fudge I made the other day.  I took the Fantasy Fudge recipe I grew up on and altered it.  I usually make a batch of chocolate putting it into a 9x13 inch pan.  I then make a batch of mint and spread it on top of the chocolate.  Oh so yummy!~

Mint Fudge:

3 cups sugar
5 ounces evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter
12 ounces white baking chips
7 ounces marshmallow cream
1 tsp mint extract
green food coloring

Melt butter.  Add milk and sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Add chips and marshmallow cream.  Stir well.  Add mint extract and food coloring.  Pour into a foil lined 8x8 inch pan.  Cut when cool.

Enjoy!
Carol

Chas had therapy early today so I was back home early in the afternoon.  I busied myself with completing the rabbit cage tags Madison had colored for me the other day.  Now we just need to get them on the cages.

We made a stop at the vet's office to pick up some vit B12 for Mary.  Mary is doing great.  Her gums and eyes are light pink and she loves her medicine.  She sucked it right out of the syringe, lol, and ran after me looking for more.

After the vet and picking Madison up from piano lessons, we stop at the house in town.  Rich had to check on his wine.  He thinks what was forgotten in the closet brewing, is still good.  He will head back tomorrow to bottle it.  I grabbed a few things I need for Thursday.

We attended Madison's 4H meeting this evening.  They only meet every other month so it was nice catching up with everyone.  There was discussion about the animal ID system for our county and whether it involves the NAIS.  It seems several people have the same concerns as us but we were reassured that this system is only for our county and nothing further.  I'm still not comfortable with the whole thing.

I thought I'd share a couple pictures:

The above picture was taken right before we processed one of these boys.

This is Ethel.  We could figured out what was knocking on the house until we found her on the railing and a tom flying down off the roof.

Well that's it for today.
GoodNight!
Carol

I was a bit worried with morning chores about Mary.  I noticed she was laying down.  Oh great, I hope she can stand up is what I thought.  I did noticed she was with her spring kids which was a good sign.  After completing the rest of the chores, Rich and I headed over to see if we could get her to stand up so I could check her temp.  We got her to stand up and then had to catch her, lol.  Good sign.  After a phone call from a friend, we caught her again and found her temp to be normal.  Her nose still isn't clean but she's breathing so much better.  A few minutes later and she was munching away on new hay.

Thanks Marilyn for the email.  I'll be picking up those items tomorrow.  We are continuing with the Penicillin since it seems to be working. 

I keep reading that you need to know your goats.  If you know how each one acts, you'll know right away when something is wrong.  That is so true.

The rest of the day was spent processing turkeys.  We processed our first Red Bourbon Tom.  What a beautifully dressed out bird. He weighed 17 pounds live and was 11 pounds when we were done.  I thought he'd be a wee bit bigger but was happy with his size.

We then moved on the the farm's only BBB that was left.  He looked just as big as the bourbons as they were parading around BUT on the scale, 39 pounds!  He was hard to handle due to his weight.  Friend Mike showed up to help with processing and took the 29 pound dressed bird home with him. 

We will definately be scalding all our turkeys and not try dry plucking again.  Scalding was so much easier.  We used the turkey fryer for scalding.. quick and easy!  I'm so happy I picked one up.  I read that turkeys have over 5000 feathers and we plucked every one by hand.  Our chicken plucker is a table top model so a 39 pound turkey is too hard to hold over the fingers.

Anyhow, after all of that (we were done by 2:30 pm) I was busy in the kitchen.  I perpared rabbit for supper, baked some bread and made mint fudge that I had promised Madsion a couple days ago.  Our turkey is thawing in the frig for Thursday's dinner.  Tomorrow, Chas has therapy so I will pick up the few ingredients I still need.  Most of our meal will be right here off the farm or locally grown.

Well, I best get off of here and ready myself for bed.
GoodNight!
Carol