Goat update...
Goat fence is almost up... The solar battery is charging and most of the wire is up. We have to get two more grounding rods today and string up a bit more wire, and it will be done. I can't wait to see them frolicking in the pasture. There's nobody quite so masterful at the art of sheer enjoyment and frolicking as a young goat. They're a delight to watch. What a racket early in the morning though. Unless we're up at dawn to let them out, there will be a chorus of squawking and Maaa-ing until we do.
Next we have to extend the rabbit area and do a major restructuring of their living quarters so they have things to climb on and hide in. I also want to make a rabbit run so they can have time running around in a grassy meadow patch each day.
Then there are the chickens out in the big garden that are slowly eating all the bugs and scratching up the dirt so we can actually go in there and plant something without getting ticks. We have to finish up their coop and run - they're getting too big for that little tractor at this point.
We did an experiment with letting several of the chickens set on eggs instead of using the incubator. Only 3 of the eggs hatched into chicks - but it was worth it to see "mother hens" in action. I've never actually seen that before. Everything is so artificial anymore - chickens are raised in a brooder and never see the light of day, etc. Seeing a mother hen with three chicks, and watching her teach them how to scratch for bugs, and hearing her various "words" that she uses only with them to make sure they're safe, and watching her herd them into safety if they don't listen... I know this is the simplest of things, but I've never witnessed it before.
Next we have to extend the rabbit area and do a major restructuring of their living quarters so they have things to climb on and hide in. I also want to make a rabbit run so they can have time running around in a grassy meadow patch each day.
Then there are the chickens out in the big garden that are slowly eating all the bugs and scratching up the dirt so we can actually go in there and plant something without getting ticks. We have to finish up their coop and run - they're getting too big for that little tractor at this point.
We did an experiment with letting several of the chickens set on eggs instead of using the incubator. Only 3 of the eggs hatched into chicks - but it was worth it to see "mother hens" in action. I've never actually seen that before. Everything is so artificial anymore - chickens are raised in a brooder and never see the light of day, etc. Seeing a mother hen with three chicks, and watching her teach them how to scratch for bugs, and hearing her various "words" that she uses only with them to make sure they're safe, and watching her herd them into safety if they don't listen... I know this is the simplest of things, but I've never witnessed it before.