Vermin

The hen got off the nest in the barn yesterday. She had only lost one chick that didn’t follow and died from the cold. When I checked on her last night she had 6 chicks. A little brown one and 5 black ones. We were worried about the cold but we should have been worried about something else.

 

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I found some feathers near the barn when I went up this morning. Thinking the worst I looked for the hen and chicks while I was feeding the animals.

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Found her and one little chick. She is missing a few feathers but other than that she is ok. The chick is keeping up with her fine so maybe they will be ok. If they stay close to the dog they should be fine. My guess is I have a raccoon slipping in looking for feed and found her. The dogs probably ran it off but not before it got the chicks and a mouth full of feathers.

 

Just some pictures from the last weekend in January

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I finally got the new gate up for the milking area. The old one was too big and will be used on a section of fence I am rerunning.

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Everyone is lounging around soaking up the sun before the coming rain.

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Bobbie Jo wondering if this muck is ever going to dry up.

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Calves watching to see if I am going to put ropes on them again.

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Lazy mouse catcher. Tux is catching a few rays like all the rest.

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Bobbie Jo getting a chin and nose scratch. She should be giving us a 1/2 Jersey calf this spring.

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Otis is still all puppy but he is also the biggest dog on the place.

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Bees sucking up some sugar water.

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Hen setting on a nest in the barn. She doesn’t know it is still January.

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Olive washing Billie Jo’s face. She’s a good mama.

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New batch of muscadine/ elderberry wine bubbling on the counter. The first batch went so fast I’ll have to ration this.

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Winnie letting me know her bowl is empty. She should be giving us a litter of puppies in late March.

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Even in January you need to watch where you put your hands. On this day the ground was frozen in the morning but the temperature had risen significantly by the time I found her. She was quite active and could have ruined my day had I not been paying attention.