Sadness

Sadness, that is the feeling around here today. Last night four guineas refused to sleep in the coop, preferring to remain outside, and that choice ultimately sealed their doom. This morning as the Commander was doing the normal feeding and watering he discovered their frozen headless bodies. It seems some predator took them one by one during the night, they just weren't smart enough to save themselves. We looked for tracks in the snow but couldn't find any, so we think it must have been an owl. Lost to us was the lone white guinea, two royals, and a lavender.

I am now worried that whatever dined here last night will return, I hope the remaining guineas all decide to spend their nights in the coop for a few days.


The remaining guineas haven't left the coop area today and were slow to leave the coop this morning. I am worried sick over their safety, and that of the chickens, but I can't make them get into the coop tonight.

They may be loud and they may chase the chickens but I love them, stay safe my guineas!

Changes

We want to put up our Christmas tree so it was time for Honey the House Chicken to transition outside. She has been laying an egg every other day and is only wearing a light wrap on her leg so it was time. When I checked on her today at the coop she had already laid an egg and seemed happy to be back among her own kind. Tonight will be her first night back in the coop, I hope she snuggles up warm with everyone else.


Killarney is the black ram on the top right of the picture, he was given the first opportunity to spend some quality time with the ewes. The seemed to like him and all, but it never seemed they liked him in a way more than a friend - if you know what I mean. Nothing ever seemed to happen. So Killarney was taken out and put back with the other rams.


After a suitable wait Alder was put in a pen in the ewe barn so they could take a look at him. He was not very nice, he even rammed the gate at one point.

When Alder was let out this morning he immediately gave chase to poor Gardenia and would not let up. She wanted to eat but he wanted other things, chasing after her and grunting and clicking his tongue. He "caught" her several times over the course of what seemed like an hour and finally let her eat in peace. The others had better watch out for him because Alder knows what he is supposed to do.


It was a little sad when we pulled Killarney out as Kia was the only ewe to follow us as we hauled him away. She followed us all the way to the gate and called to him, she was so sweet.

Pumpkin Pies

Last night it was -8 degrees F, so this morning it was too cold to do anything outside. Pictured are two pumpkin pies that I made, they were a big hit with Cool Whip. I will have to ask OFG is she makes a homemade version of Cool Whip with her goats milk.


This Winter has been hard on the trees. Several wet snowfalls followed by cold snaps have left the trees coated with frozen shells of ice, weighing many down beyond the breaking point. It makes for beautiful scenery but is hard on the trees.

Becca Boo and the sheep enjoy nibbling on fallen tree branches.

Surprise!

A few days ago I received a package from Cat over at Egg in My Pocket! Cat was kind enough to hold a contest over at her blog and I was one of the lucky winners!


When I opened the package I was very happy to find some fluff and some yarn.


The fluff was wonderfully soft and came in a yellow/red color. Cat wrote that it could be used for either spinning or felting. Since I currently do not know how to do either I am excited because I now have the materials to learn. I have an old spinning wheel and a friend that is willing to teach me - can't wait to give it a try.


The yarn is a "Mystery" blend that is very handsome and even has a few strands of glittery tinsel included. Cat tells me that she sent enough to make a scarf or a hat, so now I have to learn to knit too. I was planning on learning, and now I have the product to get me started.

This is my first post posted under the Wool label, the first of many to come.


One more surprise, last night we got another 8 inches of snow! The grand total for this Winter so far is 35 inches, looks like it is going to be a long one.

Honey the House Chicken

Honey the House Chicken has been acting crazy the past few days. The cabbage I hung yesterday was torn to shreds this morning, as was much of the newspaper lining the kennel. Honey would take turns either flapping her wings or tearing up MORE paper - constantly stomping around loudly with her limp, like some kind of wacky horror movie sound track. The constant noise would be occasionally broken up by a spasm of cackling that would drive the dogs from the room or under the table.


Turns out Honey was trying to build a nest and she produced her first egg, oops.


I got some spare hay that the sheep refused to eat and packed it into a box top to make a nest like container for her to lay in. She is quieter now, but she still likes to decorate the nest with more newspaper.

The shipping box in the hay is a gift from Cat. I will unveil the surprise tomorrow!

Water Trolley

Now that I have to replace frozen water buckets twice a day I needed to find a way to lug them through the snow. A snow sled works perfectly! I now have a "bobsled run" between the sheep, goats, and chickens.


Once the water is delivered the sled can be used for sledding with goats. Here is Gidget having fun with my daughter!

Honey the house chicken is now walking around and causing trouble. Whenever I open the kennel she tries to escape, and she actually has a few times. Water - spilled. Food - spilled. I tied up a hunk of cabbage from the top of the kennel to keep her occupied, I think she is getting bored. It won't be long till I take off her cast and then she will be off to the garage to begin the transition back to the coop.

Wish I had some Global Warming

Yesterday evening the temperature dropped to 2 degrees with a high of 9 degrees on Thanksgiving Day. Today the low was 5 degrees with a high of 19 degrees. The windchill was a brisk -15 degrees!

We have had 4 storms this November here in NE Minnesota that have dropped 4 inches of snow or more. For goodness sakes it isn't even December yet. I was worried about the animals making it through the Winter this year but this is ridiculous.

With this in mind I give you the following video, enjoy.




Sorry about Florida and Big Oaks Farm Mary but there will be plenty of room for you up here!