Getting ready for chicks ☺

Most of the eggs the broodys are sitting on are bantams, so that means they could start hatching as early as tomorrow. The weather is warmer than it has been the last few days so I decided to tidy up the coop a bit. I crawled through the open air bottom area and popped my head up to the next level of nests. Oh my goodness! You would have thought a tiger crawled into the coop. The SCREAMING!!!! It was soo bad I actually started to wonder if something horrible was in the coop. I looked up, behind me, on the ground, to the sides. Nada, it was just me!!!! I got the platform in front of the nests swept up and doo doo free, cleaned all the ladders, added new straw to the bottom area, and placed food and water on the platforms next to the crazy ladies nests so they can stay put until the babies get a little bigger. I'm not as anxious as I am with incubating. I have confidence these girls will know what to do. I am excited to hear the little peeps from under the mamas. It will be so cute!!!!! I will post pics as soon as the first batch hatch. Have a great day ya'll!!!!

Weekend Update

No news on the goat yet. I had miscalculated her due date by a whole month so she isn't really due for a few more days. Won't be long now!!!! Miss Piggy went to live with my husbands uncle. The minute he got her he let her run around his living room with his dogs. She stayed the first night in the house. I think we found the perfect home for her! We couldn't justify spending so much on the feed to get her grown. The hubs is going to go hunting for some pork instead of raising it. Plus we were already getting attached to the little darling, so I'm sure butchering day would have never happened. I have FOUR broody's in the little coop. They have taken over all three nests. Two are sharing a nest. Not sure the exact number of eggs they are sitting on. The one in the left nest box has 10, they are due to hatch around Thursday :) The broody in the right has 8. I'm pretty sure the two in the middle have at least 10 if not more. They shove all eggs that are laid by anyone under them, as you can see in pic 1 there are three hens (aren't they cute) and in pic 2 the egg is being confiscated! So count that up folks! It's over two dozen possible chicks GASP!!!!! My seedlings are doing great, the last picture is of the strawberries progress slow but green :) The weather here is dreadful, rainy and cold but supposed to be beautiful by mid week into the weekend. If you need me I'll be digging in the dirt LOL!

Thanks A Million!!!!!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all you ladies for taking the time out of your busy day to answer my silly questions! I really appreciate every ounce of knowledge you all share! I have soo much going on and soo much I need to get done that I won't be posting for the next few days, unless of course the blessed event happens, then I will have to share the news ☺ As of right now, the hubs loves the piglet. I think it's a little wild and do not look forward to feeding it during the day :/ but it is cute! I have three broody hens sitting on eggs. This will be a first for me and I can't wait to watch the mamas care for the chicks ☺ We are building a big run for the chickens this week. Hopefully they will adjust to limited free ranging and it should keep them safer from coyotes and foxes. Lady seems to be in a happy place licking her big belly and just laying around sleeping. The anticipation is killing me so I'm going to busy myself around here. Maybe if I quit watching the pot it will boil ☺ Enjoy the weekend y'all!!!!

Googling Goat Stuff!

I'm so glad I came inside to search what a goats private area looks like before birth! First off I was unaware that a water bag comes out first! I could just imagine my horror at seeing an empty sack!!!! I have also stumbled upon some disturbing facts. Like some does don't have milk right away. My does udder is really small compared to others I've seen. Should I get some colostrum from the feed store just in case? Is there a healthier homemade concoction? Also I read that you should assist if there is no progress within 30 minutes. Is that true? I'm hoping and praying everything goes smoothly but I'm nervous!!!!! Okay I'm going back outside to stare at my goats butt LOL!!!!

A suprise is coming...... + pics!!!!!!!!!!

The hubs is bringing me a new baby. Not sure if we are keeping it or not yet. Will post pics and details in about an hour after he gets home and we meet the little girl!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She's a feral pig. The hubs friend went hunting last weekend and killed the mama. She had three babies with her and gave us one. Still not sure if we are going to keep her. She had a windy trip in the back of the work truck and was upset when they got home, think Tazmanian Devil!!! I'm hoping she settles down ☺

Butt Watch 2013 +UPDATE

My does getting puffier every day under her tail ☺ Her ligaments are loosening up ☺ And she is thirstier than normal, is that a sign of impending labor? I haven't heard or read that one before. Every time I give them water she dives in and doesn't come up for awhile. I'm going to take it as a sign but was just curious if any of my wise goat keeping friends had noticed the extra thirst with their does? UPDATE~~~~~~~~~ Went to check on the goats before leaving to pick up the wee child from school. Miss Lady was sitting in a spot not normal for her. She was panting with her tongue out and yelling Ma Ma nonstop. I immediately thought she's in labor. Lets just say I lost my wits, brains, and common sense for a little while. Rushed around like a crazy person getting everything ready until I realized even the buck was in labor Ha!!! They were hot it was 77* today!!!! This false alarm made me realize that I'm going to need back up LOL!!!!!

11 Little Blessings

I know in my last post I seemed ungrateful and down, but I'm really not! I have many blessings in my life and here is a picture of some of my baby chicks. The one I said was a rooster from day 1, well I'm still sticking with it! Look at the chick with the black around her eyes, isn't she beautiful! Her name is Cleo and see the white fluffy butt on the fuzzy chick under the perch. That's one of my giant Cochins and my little white Silkie is growing pretty good on the right! My gorgeous funny daughters, my hard working handsome husband, my two dogs, all my chickens, my goats, and my super loving baby bunny are just some of my many blessings! Life is good there are just some bumps along the way but I am Blessed! Have a great day ya'll!