Come with me as I do chores this fine winter morning.
First stop is the chicken coop. Where everyone is waiting anxiously for breakfast. They have been up for a while, as so have I, but the sun hasn't and won't until about 8 o'clock and since there is no light in the coop they have to wait for the sun to rise. That doesn't stop Frank from welcoming the morning with his cock-a-doodle doo's though.
I emerge from the coop to be greeted by Dakota, our night guard.
Together we head over to the big barn and make our first stop at the turkey's pen. They had gotten too big and were taking up far too much room in the chicken coop so had to finally get the boot. They are taking up residence in the old rabbit/rooster run while the rabbits or indoors for the winter and the roosters have moved in with the hens. I'm not happy with the turkey'sr new housing situation, though, so will probably make some type of accomodations inside the barn before the weather gets worse.
After I feed them, I head inside the barn and am immediately greeted by the welcoming party, aka the barn cats.
They get fed first if only to keep them from being underfoot. Chase is next to greet me with a good morning neigh.
But Miss Elizabeth is more pressing and demanding my attention first.
Once I fill her bowl, I grab Chase some hay and toss it into the corner of his stall and collect his and Lizzie's water buckets. Notice how muddy Chase is, he spent the last couple of days outdoors enjoying the mild weather. Farm Girl worked late last night and didn't get a chance to brush him down. If the weather is nice, I'll turn him out for the day, but I think I'll keep him indoors today.
On the opposite side of Chase's stall, Odette and Lacy believe the hay is for them as well and join Chase for breakfast.
Next I fill the water buckets and am grateful once again for running water in the barn.
Jadis and Faun say good morning from the opposite side.
I check their water and food situation.
Satisfied with what I see, I haul the full water buckets back to Chase and Lizzy, then check on the rabbits water and food.
And lastly, I let Damon out to roam for the day.
He's been keeping rez in the sick bay coop inside the big barn ever since we put him in there about a month ago. We thought he was dying so completely cleaned the coop with Javex and moved Damon inside, hoping he'd recover. He did, thankfully. But now he never wants to leave. We'll leave the barn door open for him to go out and venture but he's much happier inside the barn. Can't blame him. It's nice and warm in there and plenty of cat food to steal.
Back outside, Dakota heads for her dog run for the day.
I will be letting the ducks out to forage for the day and I can't have Dakota free as she has acquired a taste for duck. The greenhouse is my next stop.
Usually the ducks are very eager to leave the greenhouse but this morning they are hesitant at the appearance of snow on the opposite side of the door once again.
But they eventually do empty out of the greenhouse and some even dare a cold morning swim.
While others prefered to enjoy the pond from the edge, thank you very much.
That should be it for my morning chores, but I need to stop back at the chicken coop to grab their water bucket since the shed is without running water. It's not really an issue though since the coop is right next to the house. In the summer I can just take water from the hose outback which is only a step away from the door to the shed and in the winter I can carry water from the kitchen out to the chickens. So I make a quick stop into the house to fill their bucket and find the boy awake. I wish him good morning and he updates me on the latest hockey news.
I return to the coop with water in hand and collect any eggs before leaving.
While in the shed I load up on wood for the day.
I haul it inside and pile it next to the fireplace, and then, finally, morning chores are done and I can sit down to a morning tea. About that time, oldest gets up and lets the goldens outside and Farm Girl eventually crawls out of bed some time after that and heads out to the barn to complete all the mucking and cleaning that needs to be done. I say, I get the better half of farm chores.
I love these photos and seeing how you have your various residences set up for all the animals. I especially like the picture of the ducks drinking. We have to keep our dogs locked up in their dog area as well -- one of them has developed a taste for chicken.
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michaele
12/17/2011 05:02:16 am
I enjoyed this. Thanks for taking us along. Everyone looks so ready for winter.
Thanks for taking us a long. It was fun. I so love to see your ducks in the greenhouse. For me it is a trifecta as I love ducks, greenhouses, and ponds. You have a lovely place.
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I live a very simple life on a small hobby farm along with my husband, three kids, and an assortment of animals. Life may be simple but I love every minute of it.