Another good mother and freedom!

Well, I have so much good news!

This morning Cross Wind Bea, gave me a white ram lamb and a natural colored ewe with loads of 'white' on her face. It'll be fun to see how that changes as she ages. This is the fourth and final ewe bred to Kirkdale for purebred lambs. Notice Bea was sheared and see how light her 'saddle' is? Its nearly her whole body at this point. Its a beautiful color.

Nubia actually called to her lamb as I was putting the elastrator band on his tail tonight. I nearly hugged her. I think she's SLOWLY coming around, but I have her jugged yet nonetheless. Her natural colored ram lamb was caught jumping around and running around yesterday and today so he must be getting enough to eat. I've increased her grain to make sure she makes enough milk for the boys.

I am sick.and.tired. of the GUINEAS! They have had spring fever so I let them out a few days ago. The OEGB's (Old English Game Bantams) went out just yesterday. I have three yearling Silver duckwing roosters and about 12 Silver or Fawn Silver Duckwing hens too. I can't keep them all. Anyone wanna trade for something? I love my 2 year old Fawn Silver Duckwing rooster. He's busy courting the ladies.
Unfortunately I think ALL of the NINE guineas are HENS. I can't believe my luck! Two of them were inside the barn eating their grain when I took this photo. I could HEAR them, that's how I know! These dreary days are real downers. Come on sun!!

where is my camera and poultry issues

I have to stop living out of my vehicles...i can't ever find the right thing i need, i.e. my phone charger, my sunglasses and now my camera. ugh. i could have used it tonight!

I put the pair of white faced Black Spanish bantams in with my OEGB and their chicks. I also put my 10, eight week old Guinea keets in the pen and closed the doors/windows for a few weeks to acclimate everyone. My OEGB rooster was nearly taking out the feathers of the WFBS so i threw him outside (ok ok placed him gently). THEN the two yearling Guinea Hens that I was able to trapt kept harassing the younger keets. *sigh*

I was reading Michelle's blog about her chicken problems and it IS safer to just walk away. So I kept checking back hourly and all of a sudden I could NOT find EIGHT of the keets! Apparently they got IN the wall and I had to break the wall apart to get them out. Not once, not twice. But THREE times (they are slow learners). *sigh*

On a note...when I returned from my 12 day stint I was missing FOUR OEGB chicks.....so now I'm down to 10, and it looks like four roosters and 6 hens. It is amazing that they can fly up and over a 5 foot wall when they are so tiny yet (size of a baseball or smaller)

WHEN and IF I find my camera I'll be taking new photos :) I promise!

Newest Additions

I just *HAD* to have more loud and annoying Guinea Hens added to my 4 females running around the farm. With Lyme's disease way up in dogs and cats here in Minnesota, I thought what better natural way to defend them by tick/bug/frog/snake/rodent eater/killer. And don't forget alarm clock, intruder alerter and just all around noisy but beautiful birds!
I ended up getting 9 keets but lost one over night. The remaining colors are:
2 Pearls
1 Pearl Pied
2 Royal Purple
2 Coral Blue
1 Lavender

Keep checking back for new photos as they grow up!

A few flock photos

I had a brief chance today to take new photos of some of the sheep. I moved them into another pasture for a few hours before I brought them in for the night.

Below here you will see Tilly and her BLACK daugther Terah. She has a krunet on her head and super crimpy fleece. Notice how Tilly is now getting side dusting after her first fleece.
Here is a shot for my fellow BFL breeders :) Kacy is really growing up already! To her right is "Ears" aka Sheltering Pines Morovia, and Kacy's mom Beechtree Kershope.

A little big bigger photo of some of the flock before I moved them to their new pasture.

here is part of the flock in their new pasture. Click to biggify!

Below is Winter Sky Layla AI, who is my F1 Orion ewe. She is moving to Michigan in August. Her fleece is the most beautiful mioget color and very single coated. I think she is 67% UK but would have to double check.

WhitePine Lydia is out of Layla (above) and Wintertime Jazz. She is 76% UK.

Here are my F1 Orion Boys out of Rachildas. My early favorite was the one on the left (Rhodes) but Roman is really coming into himself. I can't keep them both, so one will be for sale later, but I'm just not certain which. To reserve the other white boy, do let me know. They are 56.5% UK and carry moorit, modfied and possibly spots (from their mother)Here is my last lamb of the year, a full sister to Sedalia. This girls name is Selah, meaning 'the end'. She isn't as crazy spotted but spotted nontheless. Under that baby hair she has tight crimpy fleece like her sister so I'm cautiously optimistic she will be as soft as Sedalia is.

Below is a photo of my two gray katmoget F1 rams. Wintertime Jazz is F1 Jericho F2 Drum Ram and 87.5% UK. FifthofFifth Barish is an F1 Timothy and is 53% UK. Notice how much darker Barish is (and he has those eye flashes Michelle and Juliann that his daughter has). Jazz's face is spotted so you can see the markings much clearer. Barish carries spots and modifier producing both last year and this year.

All the boys are in a newly constructed movable pasture. I took the idea from Gail Vonbargen and modified it a little. It beats mowing that grass when something could be eating it! They were gorged today...not even cud chewing....just laying there rather full....LOL. Silly boys.
And I couldn't get rid of the Guineas after all. Being such good tick eaters I just had to keep them. That and I think they are very pretty. But man are they LOUD! They never shut up! Thankfully I am away from the barn most of the time now LOL

Above is a normal Pearl guinea. They are all hens. Below is a lavender guinea. So handy around the farm :)