This week on the farm 2/9

Early in the week we had a snow storm bring us our largest snow total this winter! By the time it was done 10 inches had fallen adding to the 4 inches we already had on the ground! There was wind with it so the snow drifted a lot too. The deep snow makes it really tough to carry water buckets to the animals. I guess I should be grateful that the snow had been relatively shallow up until this point. I am itching for spring! After the snow yet another cold spell was bringing us down into the single digits at night. I put the heat lamps back on for the chickens and ducks.

We received our seed order from Johnny's for the hoop house and garden! (strange after just talking about snow, I know)  My goal is to have produce ready to sell at our stand for 4th of July weekend. There are a lot of summer homes in our area and that weekend brings in a lot of people. We'll be starting seedling in our new garden window in the next couple of weeks (I'll post about that soon) and then we'll be able to move them into the hoop house as soon as it stays warm enough for the plants, maybe some time in April.

Being stuck inside did give me an opportunity to do some sewing! I enjoy the instant gratification of smaller projects that I can complete in under an hour. (I'm lazy like that) Pinterest has given me a whole list of things to try and I made some bowl covers, a hand bag, a pocket belt, and an apron out of an old shirt. My daughter has been learning to use a sewing machine, both at home and in Home Ec at school. I was proud that she already knew most of what the teacher was showing them and was even helping her classmates learn! At home she made me a pin cushion that straps onto my machine!

On Thursday I thought one of the goats were going into labor. (it was really cold out so of course that's when she would be kidding) I'm thinking it was false labor because she was showing all the early signs: not acting like herself, refusing to eat, pawing at the ground, laying down a lot. But, within two days she was back to herself and eating like normal. Her udder is starting to bag up so I don't think she has much longer to go. It would be nice if it warmed up a little first.

I received some soap making supplies that I ordered from Brambleberry! I'd like to have some soap made and ready to sell at our stand this summer. It's also nice for gifts for family. Hubby is going to make me some new soap mold and then I'll be ready to go! I have a Chocolate Espresso fragrance oil that I can't wait to try!

Have a good week!

Meet the goat herd!

I finally got a chance to get photos of all the goats so I could show you the group! Of course none of them wanted to sit still so excuse the blurry pictures.

This is Big Momma. She's and 8 year old nubian/ red boar cross. She one of the first goats we bought when she was only 6 weeks old. I rode home with her on my lap! With her is her boy who was the first kid born this year just after Thanksgiving. We'll keep him for our back-up buck.

This is Peanut. (if you saw her when she was born you would understand the name) A nubian/ alpine/ lamancha cross, daughter of Skinny, granddaughter of Big Momma. She's about 4 years old now, last year was her first year milking and after getting her trained to the stanchion she did quite well.

This is Skinny, a nubian/ alpine cross, daughter of Big Momma, mother of Peanut. She's about 6 now. Her name was more fitting in previous years but she has really filled out this past year and is probably in the best shape she's ever been. She's the most friendly goat we have and loves being pet. When we're out in the pasture with the goats she's know to sneak up behind you and nudge your arm so you can pet her.

This is Red, daughter of Big Momma, she's just two this winter. I'm still working on getting her use to being touched, she always runs from me. I find that if I keep her in the barn she much more relaxed with me coming near her.

These two cuties are Missy and Dottie. They were born to Peanut just after Thanksgiving. Dottie is the one I had to keep in the kitchen and bottle feed because mom rejected her. Her feet were also bent and I had to splint her legs for over a week until her ankle strengthened. 

The white goat is our buck. So far he's been one of the nicest bucks we've had and doesn't give me too much trouble. However he is fond of ignoring his shock collar and walking through the boundary. That might become and problem and he may have to go to auction when the little boy is old enough to replace him.

The girl behind him is a three year old, alpine/ nubian free loading doe. :P No babies from her yet but hubby thinks he feels babies so maybe this year will finally be her first.

The PA Farm Show

Thursday we attended the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg. It's the largest indoor farm show in the country and, according to the web site, has "nearly 6,000 animals, 10,000 competitive exhibits and 300 commercial exhibits"! We hadn't gone in a few years but I always watch the week long coverage on PCN. It's so nice to have something like this to break up the winter, I really look forward to it each year!

Each year, in the main hall, they have a giant butter sculpture. It's made with nearly 1000 pounds of butter!  This years sculpture featured people drinking milk shakes and a couple of dancing cows! It's kept in a refrigerated glass case to keep the butter cold.

Also in the main hall is tons of exhibits from bee keepers, wood carvers, maple producers (we saw a really nice sap boiler), wool weavers, painters, pottery makers, the list goes on and on. I got to talk to a lady from the PA Gourd Society and found out that my gourds that I thought I ruined because they froze in the garage are actually fine and should dry perfectly! In fact she told me that often the gourds are left in the garden and harvested the following spring! I didn't know that!

You can also see displays from all the contests from fruit and vegetable growers, hand sewn cloths, pies and cakes, canned goods, bread, honey, photography, maple syrup, etc! For many of them, locals enter their county fair and the winners are then eligible to enter here at the state level.

Of course the kids love seeing the animals, I think that's their favorite part, that and the carousel. The cows are fun to see. I've thought many times about getting a Jersey instead of the goats we have. Mainly because my daughter does not like goats milk and refuses to drink it,  I would have more cream for butter, and my mozzarella cheese would come out better. I just don't know if I could handle to amount of milk I would get from her. But I do love the sweet faces that those Jerseys have!

Over in the poultry room I got to check out the polish chickens. I look for them any time we go to any agricultural fair, I absolutely love those poofy heads! One day I will have some...one day.

Over at the ducks I saw this little breed called bantam call ducks. They are the cutest things I've ever seen! It's seems they're only bred for pets and showing so I can't really justify getting any, but man were they cute!

Unfortunately most of the pigs had already left, but we did get to see a sow and her piglets!

Hubby has talked about raising geese for years now. The grey toulouse geese in the back really caught his eye and I think we may be starting a flock in the spring time. We have a shed near the garden that can be their house and the pasture would provide most of their food in spring and summer.

An incubator in the poultry room lets the kids see chicks hatching. They even have them spaced out so that some are hatching each day throughout the week!

There's another room full of commercial exhibits. Tractors, fence supply companies, trailers, solar products, green houses, all kinds of farming equipment is on display.

There are three arenas in the complex that have various events going on throughout the week. Horse pulls, barrel racing, rodeo, sheep herding, animal judging, tractor square dance, people square dance, tractor pulls, all kinds of events! 

On Wednesday there's the Sheep-to-shawl contest. Groups have three hours to sheer a sheep, spin it into yarn and then weave it on a loom into a shawl. They are judged on all three aspects of the event and afterward winners are announced and the shawls are auctioned off.

There's a lot to see in the 24 acres that the building covers! Everything is inside! But it's worth the 3 hour drive each way for us to see it! 

Babies, babies, babies!!

Well, not as many babies as I was hoping for...
This spring my chickens got creative in the places they would hide their eggs around our property. Once I found these nests (and couldn't save the eggs to eat because I didn't know how old they were) I figured I'd put them in my incubator and see what happens.

Now, first, I have one if these Hovabators with the wafer thermostat.

This thing drives me crazy. The thermostat is not very accurate, the temperature will fluctuate if the room temperature (or barometric pressure) fluctuates. Very frustrating. One day I will switch to a digital thermostat. If you're going to get an incubator make sure it is not a wafer thermostat! 

Moving on.

Three weeks later a couple eggs started to pip! yay! 

see the little crack on the middle egg!?

At the same time, my ducks were sitting on nests of their own. The day my incubator started hatching the first duck started hatching little ducklings! Ok, one duckling. Strange really, I've had ducks hatch over a dozen.  I'm hoping she'll continue sitting on the remaining eggs and hatch more.

One chick hatched in the incubator fine, one didn't survive to finish hatching, and one hatched with spraddle legs. (one leg wants to go straight back, the other doesn't seem to know where to go) I wrapped the legs with a bandaid like the Poultryhelp.com site recommends. I am holding him occasionally to tuck his legs underneath where they should be, hoping his leg muscles will train to turn the right way. He doesn't mind cuddling with me for a little while, and will even tuck his head into my sweater.

 *sigh* see, I told you I hate that incubator.

Here is the one duckling and chick that I have under a heat lamp and doing quite well. Two ducks are still sitting on their nests,, I hope they have better luck than me.

*update 8/27/13 The same duck who hatched the little one above succeeded in hatching twelve little ones! She was determined all summer to sit on those eggs!