They sprayed the corn field behind us yesterday using a helicopter. If that wasn't cool enough for my boy, they used our cement slab as a landing zone.
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Or should I say down? I do believe I learned my first lesson on why you should never buy an already impregnated animal. You really have no clue as to who the father is, no matter what the seller tells you. Not sure if this little guy is going to turn out part lop or simply a mutated bunny, but one thing for sure, he is not a purebred French Angora as we were told they would be.
Late last night, Odette finally had her babies. This birth was particularly special to us as Odette was our first rabbit and we came to love the breed through her. Out of all the rabbits, Odette is the only one that is officially mine, so I'm feeling like a proud momma. On Tuesday she began building her nest. And by yesterday, she was adding fur. By 10pm she had all seven babies. We are keeping our fingers crossed for this lot after Lacey had lost so many of her kits. Fingers are also crossed those little pink fellas are fawn coloured. Lacey's fawn has received the most interest. He/She is also my favourite as well. We'll probably keep her for our breeding program.
After noticing how badly neglected our poor horses were, I made a point of going out to visit them today. They were so badly covered in flies it must have been a pain for them. Their fly masks had been removed (by themselves) and lost out in the pasture so I had to go trekking through tall weeds and grass to find them. We have extra's but they have long been lost to the field. While scowering for them I thought of our wonderful ducks and how they keep our pond virtually bug free, I thought what wonders they could do for the horses. Though they were anywhere between 20-30 flies per horse, my muscovies would have them eaten in no time flat. If only Chase didn't have a fear of ducks. You see when we first brought home the call ducks they had accidently wandered into the horse's pasture where Chase promptly went berserk and tried to stamp them all to death. Taking a chance that the muscovies are much bigger and noticeable then the call ducks, I decided to test the horses with our two guinea pigs. Sir Quacksalot and Mrs. Quacksalot. With a little help from the hubs. I thought it would do him good to get involved, it had nothing to do with the fact adult muscovies have very big and sharp claws. :) Though I did make him take precautions and wrap the ducks up in a large towel. Covering their faces so that they would remain calm, he carried them down to the watering hole out in the horse's pasture which at the moment is all dried up, but, thanks to, I found one of our missing fly masks caked into the bottom. The first to be brought down was the Mrs. She looked so lost. Then Sir Quacksalot joined her and they were so happy to be reunited. You swear they had been parted for weeks. They looked like a scene straight out of a romantic move. If they had arms, they would have collapsed into each others. They weren't to be in reunion bliss for long, however, as the test was about to begin. Chase had noticed the white critters in his field and went over to investigate. Then promptly ignored them. Cowboy, however, wanted to ensure the new tenants of the pasture knew where he stood in the pecking order and gave them chase just to prove his point. So yay about that! Glad to know the muscovies and horses can cohabitate nicely, which of course got the wheels in my head going. How was I going to encourage the ducks to stay down there. Of course, one major enticement would be a source of water. However, this one is dependent on a wet season. So I was thinking of laying a pond liner over the bottom with the hopes of trying to retain some water. And maybe I could add a summer residence down by the watering hole for the muscovies in the form of a raised hut complete with porch for the duckies to enjoy the scenery. Not sure about predators though. However I have heard that big animals like horses can help keep away the kind of predators that feast on ducks. I know they keep our little Duke safe out there at night. And with the new muscovies growing quickly, the pond is getting slightly congested. I think they would prefer the new summer retreat anyway. The dogs don't like to hang out in the pasture. Anway, wanted to share this adorable photo of one of our baby bunnies. His/her ears have turned down at the tips. Too cute! And one more thing. My oldest comes home tonight after working a late shift and says to me, "Where did you get the flowers?". "From around the farm", I tell her. "Really, I've never seen them before." Sometimes, stopping to smell the flowers isn't enough. Sometimes you need to stop and at least notice them.
We brought the horses in from the field today in preparation for the ferrier's visit, and only then did we realize what a sorry state they were all in. They were all nice and plump and healthy, but their manes and tails were covered in burs and the walls of their hooves were so badly damaged. We gave them all a good brushing so they looked half decent for the ferrier. Actually, we do it for them. They like to look nice for the ferrier. Who wouldn't when your ferrier looks like this. Never mind they are all boys. You should see how they drool over him when he's giving them a pedicure. And yes, I do realize how lucky I am to have a ferrier who looks like this. Alas, if only I were twenty years younger, twenty pounds lighter and twenty-something years less married. I guess I'll leave him to the youngin's whom the oldest continually found excuses to wander into the barn to admire his backside. They aren't the only ones to enjoy his visits. These two were more than happy to clean up after him. The kitten wasn't eating hoof droppings (at least I don't think so), she is just so nosy and wants to make sure she isn't missing out on some delicious delicacy.
I have lost a chicken here on the farm. It was upsetting. We love all our chickens. Some admittedly more than others, but we still love and cherish each and every one. It is more upsetting when you loose one due to your own stupid mistake. The heat here was reaching scorching heights. On this particular day it had reached a record breaking of 38 degrees, with a humidex of 45. The animals were suffering horribly. I couldn't keep the water containers filled fast enough. So I filled a feed bucket from one of the horses stalls with water and left it out for the chickens. In the afternoon when I went to feed them, I found Minnie Mae floating dead in the bucket. Being so small I think when she somehow got on top of the bucket to drink, she either fell or got pushed in by one of the other chickens. In my brilliant idea to keep up with the water intake, I completely forgot about Minnie Mae who was the same size of week old chicks. All the other chickens had far outgrown her and she was often overlooked. Including by me. I am so so sorry, Minnie Mae. I should have done a better job at looking after you. I should have separated you from the others as I had done once before when they had pecked her beautifully forming crown off so bad she was left bleading and scalped. Poor litte Minnie Mae. I am heartbroken. Angry at myself for such a careless mistake. And so so disappointed not to be able to watch this little chick grow into the beautiful chicken she would have become. So please watch during these hot summer days and particularly during this extreme heat wave we seem to be all suffering through, to watch your animals around the water and to make sure all water containers are not too tall for your critters and are at heights that they can easily climb out of if they do accidently fall in.
That would be Emma's native american name if she had one. Retrievers are bred to retrieve, but Emma would rather befriend the little ducks. And they enjoy her in the pond just as much. Maybe because there she is in their own turf...and moves considerably slower.
Hard to believe my boys looked like this two months ago. This is how they look today. Complete with curly tail feather, putting any doubts of their gender aside. Not that their green heads didn't already give it away, lol. They were our first ducks and still our favourites. Ben is king duck (even though he is the smallest) and rules over all the ducks and is by far our most handsome duck. And the most loved by my boy. Though Sir Quacksalot is coming up a close contender. I mean, really, how cool is a duck that can catch frogs?!
My first attempt at growing produce in a greenhouse had been a big disappoint. I thought I had lost everything. But I moved some of the boxed plants outside and I'm happy to report we have a survivor. They are still young and aways from being edible but they are further along then I anticipated. The strawberry plants did not make it mainly on account of a wild rabbit that came and ate them to the stem. But my boy's sunflowers are growing and one is actually starting to bloom. There is some minor growth in the greenhouse, a few potato plants and the odd beginnings of a plant but even if they eventually started growing not sure how good the plant will be since it's been sitting in the ground so long.
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