New Farm Additions!

Last night my mom and I picked up three 3 week old Easter Eggers and six 1 week old Maran chickens!  They are all in the chicken tractor together and seem to be getting along well.  The little ones keep hiding under the bigger chicks and it's so sweet! 

We also received a trio of New Zealands!  We got a New Zealand Red pair (buck and doe) and a New Zealand White doe.  Very excited!  Now we just need to finish repairing the new hutch we got with them! 

Our new buck named Rory

Meet Coconut

Sweet Apple

Expanded Chicken Run!

We have some happy hens (and roosters)!  We tripled their run this weekend and they now have fres grass again and should still be safe from predators.  It's around 1,000 square feet for them to wander and play now. They are very happy scratching under the rabbit cages and finding all the bugs!

I am beat.  Mom and I ran nearly 80 feet of fencing while connecting the pens and it wasn't as simple as it sounds.  Have you ever tried to take down old fence and put new fence up all while trying to keep 30 odd chickens from escaping?  And while trying to keep an eye on two toddlers playing in the yard around you?  

The rabbit cages are still tarped and stapled with feed bags for the winter.  It stops the wind and keeps their hutches cozy. 

Happy chickens!

New Babies!

 New babies around the "farm"!   We had a broody hen and I left 8 eggs under her.  3 hatched!  Out of curiosity Claire and I checked the eggs that didn't hatch.  Four were gross and one was developed (feathers and all!) but not alive.  So a 50% fertility rate.  Not bad for 1 rooster and 36 hens!

And one picture of Dulci and her babies too!  Look at that roly-poly cuteness!

Meet Berry!

 Claire has a new pet bunny!  She is calling him Berry.  He's very sweet tempered.

 And just because it's stinkin' adorable.  Fiona carrying around our bantam, London.

My Day with a 6 month old, 2, 5, and 8 year old

Simple Homeschool has been posting their "Day in The Life" series which I love every year and invited everyone to post their own.  It sounded like a fun project and it would be interesting to see in the future.  Here is my day, it was a pretty normal one for us!

February 2, 2015

8:13am - Fiona (my 2 year old) wakes me up.  My husband gets up early for work so he has been gone for at least an hour or two.  I leave Declan (who will be 6 months tomorrow) sleeping and bring her downstairs.  Claire and Chandler (my 8 year old and 5 year old) are up and snuggled under blankets on the couch watching Netflix.  I put the water on to boil for my morning tea and fix Fiona breakfast.  She has become picky about what she wants in the morning and it takes a few minutes to get her to decide.  I also text my best friend to wish her a happy birthday.

8:30am - I sit down with my tea and check my email and Facebook. 

9:16am - I make myself some oatmeal and Claire and Chandler fix themselves some breakfast.

9:45am - I leave Claire to watch Fiona while go to take a shower.  When I go upstairs to get together I find Declan awake and content.  I bring him downstairs and tell the kids to get dressed. 

10:07am - I realize it's snowing outside while I am getting the littles dressed.  Whoops!  I need to get moving!

Nice warm water bottles for the rabbits in a bucket of clean water for the chickens.  Kitchen scraps for the chickens and strawberry tops for the rabbits. 

10:15am - I head outside to feed and water the animals.  The chickens are waiting for me at the gate and Kaylee and London are waiting outside as they have been lately.  I spread the kitchen scraps around the run and dump and fill their water with fresh.  I head to the rabbit pen and change out the rabbit's water bottles and fill their food dishes.  I give each of the rabbits a couple strawberry tops as a treat.  Then I head back to the chickens and fill their feeder with pellets and collect the eggs since Claire didn't yesterday due to the rain.  It is snowing and windy the entire time. 

We have the rabbit cages all covered with tarps and feed sacks in the winter to cut out the wind.  Between that and piles of straw it's nice and cozy in there for them. 

Can you see the rabbit in this picture?  Here's a hint, top left hand corner!

 

Me all windblown from taking care of the animals!

10:40am - I get back in and straighten the kitchen and dining room to get ready for schoolwork.  The kids are playing nicely so I take the opportunity to call our insurance to try to get a referral problem straightened out.  It takes longer then expected .....

11:18am - We finally sit down to do schoolwork.  Fiona is playing nicely with the Megablocks in the living room and Declan is on my lap. 

11:37am - Claire gets frustrated and goes to the living room to work. 

Yes, she put Daddy's noise reduction headphones on.

11:38am - I find out Fiona got into the lotion in the diaper bag when I thought she was playing.  Clean that up.

11:45am - Try nursing Declan at the table because he is fussing.  Not what he wants apparently.  He just nurses for a few minutes. 

12:03pm - Chandler, my kindergartener, zoomed through his math, reading, English and handwriting lessons and is done.  I let him play his Sonic wii game for a few minutes until lunch. 

12:06pm - Find out Fiona has taken all the plastic bags from my bag saver in the kitchen thrown them down the basement steps and made a nest in the kitchen floor with them.  Clean that up.

12:10pm - Claire has finished her math and English which included copywork today.  We break for lunch, she will do more this afternoon.  Make lunch to the sound of a crying baby.

12:23pm - Place lunch on the table.  I made the girls peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Chandler got a ham sandwich because he doesn't like peanut butter and jelly.  Everyone got some cut up strawberries and whole grain goldfishes with their sandwiches. 

12:26pm - Sit down to nurse Declan properly.  I check my email and Facebook while I am sitting and the 3 older kids are eating. 

12:44pm - Lay Declan in the swing to sleep and snuggle Fiona to get her ready for her nap. 

1:05pm - Lay Fiona down for her nap.  She's still awake, but calmed down.  Claire and Chandler are in their rooms for quiet time.  They can read or play quietly, but everyone gets a rest in the afternoon, except mama of course.  I take the opportunity for a quiet lunch - I have leftover homemade pizza.  I wash dishes while it's cooking and then sit at the computer to eat.  I grab a few more minutes of checking email and Facebook while I am eating.  I put on a load of laundry and take a whole cut up chicken from the fridge to boil for dinner and stock.  I sit at the computer to type up some of this.  

2:00pm - The older kids get up and ask to play outside.  I tell them to pick up their toys in the living room first.  They wake up Declan.

2:20pm - I help them get bundled to go outside.  It's sunny with flurries and really windy.  The temperature is actually dropping during the day.  

2:37pm - Fiona is awake from her nap and calling me.  She's super clingy and wants attention.  So we watch some fun song videos on Youtube.  I end up with both Declan and Fiona on my lap watching.  

2:55pm - Claire and Chandler come in because they are too cold.  They watch videos with us.  

3:13pm -  We stop wasting time and settle on the couch to read our history and science.  We read about the Roman Republic in history and begin learning about the planet Saturn in science.  

3:47pm - We finish reading and I ask Claire and Chandler to empty the dishwasher.  They run into the bedroom to hide.  This is real life, people. 

3:52pm - Fiona dumps the blocks in the hallway while I am changing Declan's diaper.  Clean that up.  The kids are finally starting to empty the dishwasher after a little yelling.  I start picking the chicken meat off the bones now that they are not boiling hot.  

4:04pm - I put the bones back in the pot for stock and put the chicken meat in the fridge for when I start dinner.  I pick up Declan who is now hysterical.  Claire, Chandler and Fiona are playing together very loudly but not fighting.  I set up Declan in the high chair for some millet.  He's not very interested in eating solid food today.  It's only been a few days so he's still getting used to the idea.  I nurse him again.  

4:29pm - Fiona is crying.  She tries to tell me something about Chandler but I can't understand very much of her toddler speak.  

4:40pm - Declan is asleep.  I get the laundry from downstairs to hang out.  I hang 95% of our laundry on the outside clothesline to dry.  I like how they dry and smell better than the dryer.  I send the kids to begin our "Daddy Clean Up".  We try to have the house straightened from any disaster when my husband gets home from work in the evening.  My mom gets home from work (she lives with us) while I am hanging laundry and she helps me finish.  We come inside to find Fiona has unrolled all the toilet paper and brought it into the living room.  Clean that up.  

Fiona tries to help.

5:11pm - I prewash the dishes before starting to make dinner.  Send Claire to the chicken coop to check for eggs. 

I made Poppyseed Chicken Casserole.  One of the few things that everyone likes.

5:19pm - Daddy gets home from work.  In the ensuing chaos Declan wakes up.  Daddy holds him and wrangles kids while I'm working on dinner.  Mom and I hang another load of laundry to air out and dry overnight.  It's COLD out there!  Clothes freeze as we hang them. 

5:53pm - Tell the kids to set the table.

6:20pm - Sit down to eat dinner.  We all sit and eat together as a family every night.  The adults get to sit and talk and laugh after dinner and the kids head to the living room.  

It's a full table!

6:55pm - Mom and I clear off the table and clean up the kitchen.  I wash the dishes.  Realize that while Fiona is innocently standing there looking at us she is carefully dumping the cat food with her foot.  Clean that up.  

7:10pm - The kids show me their "Doom Track" that they created for Chandler's remote control car.  Mom retreats to her quiet bedroom.  I get Declan ready for a bath.  

"Doom Track"

7:33pm - Claire and Fiona are watching Netflix.  Daddy and Chandler are watching video game walkthroughs on the computer and Declan and I settle down in the recliner to nurse with a book.  

8:02pm - We send the big kids to get their pajamas on and Daddy gets Fiona in her pajamas.  Fiona has a massive meltdown when we tell her to help pick up her blocks.  

8:11pm - Fiona calms down and snuggles with Daddy.  Claire and Chandler watch an episode of something on Netflix before bed.  

8:36pm - I put comfy pajamas on and trade Daddy to snuggle Fiona while he plays with Declan.  Fiona and I read a book together and Declan ends up joining us on my lap.

8:54pm - Claire and Chandler head to brush their teeth.  They come back for me to pray over them and Daddy puts them in bed and tucks them in.  

9:19pm - Declan nurses again (he likes to cluster feed in the evening) and Daddy settles Fiona for bed.  

9:29pm - After putting Fiona to bed Daddy puts on the kettle for us both to have some tea.  Then he holds Declan while I relax with my tea (I fixed a London Fog, yum), a bowl of ice cream, and Leverage reruns on Netflix.  

10:46pm - After nursing him again Declan is asleep and we are headed to bed.  Good night everyone!

2014 Rabbit Update!

The sad news first.  Some idiot neighbor let their dogs run free and they attacked and killed our sweet buck, Captain Jack.  It was just sickening. 

Our Jack

Nicholas came home and started working on a fence.  We now have all of our rabbit hutches inside a fence and we reenforced all the cages as well. 

An update on all our rabbits now:

 

This is Jack's last litter.  Aren't they a great selection of colors!  We decided to save one buck out of these. 

This is Jack's son.  We're going to keep him around - isn't he handsome?  We are calling him Gimli.  It just seemed to fit.  He is mostly New Zealand with a little Dutch thrown in. 

 

This is Gimli's mom, Dulci.  She is the sweetest and well mannered doe!  She is a NZ/Dutch mix.  

This is Rosette.  She is also a NZ/Dutch mix.  She was pregnant when Jack was killed, but none of her kits made it.  But it was her first kindle and that is common.  

 

This is Rosette's sister and litter mate, Suzette.  You can see the Dutch more in her.  She was also bred before Jack's death but didn't take.  It's possible she miscarried due to the stress of the dog attack.  

And the newest additions!  Last week Mom brought home this handsome boy to "replace" Jack as our Senior Buck (Gimli as the younger one will be the Junior Buck). 

 

 

He is a 4 month old Satin and we named him Thorin.  Yeah, we went with the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings theme for the boys this time.  You should always give rabbits a break in the worst of the summer in breeding.  Pregnant does are susceptible to heat stroke and bucks are frequently infertile in the heat.  So by the time the weather breaks he will be old enough for breeding. 

And today she brought home this little sweetie:

 

 This is Snickerdoodle.  She is a baby Flemish/Rex mix.  She's actually much younger then we thought, just old enough to leave mama.  We would have preferred for her to stay with mama longer, but the seller was ready to send her on.  She has all of the rabbits around her and lots of straw to burrow in.  She seems active and healthy.  And it looks like she may end up being Claire's special pet.  We told her she could keep one of her choice and she saw Snickerdoodle and adored her.  And she picked the name after her favorite cookie and her colors are cinnamon and sugar!  :)

Colorful Bunnies

Dulci's babies are growing up!  I love how colorful her kindle is - every one is a different color.  We have a black one, white one, a broken black like Captain Jack, a brown one and a pretty fawn colored one.  So cute!

Easter Bunnies!

It's our first kindle since the dog attack!  Five precious, little wigglers in the nest!

A Weekend of Devastation

This weekend a pack of dogs came into our backyard, ripped open our hutches and killed all of our rabbits.  Captain Jack was our only survivor. 

Six breeding does, one proven buck and seven baby kits were all over our yard.  Including my children's special pets.  We have all been crying.  I just kept walking in circles all day.  I couldn't focus on a thing.  Our poor bunnies. 

The animal control officer is coming today and will look at the damage.  If we can figure out who the owners are we may be able to get reimbursed monetarily.  But that won't really replace them.  And we need to repair all the cages. 

Daddy spent all day yesterday re-enforcing the chicken coop and run and we put Jack's hutch inside the chicken run.  If the dogs come back we don't want our chickens hurt too!  We are figuring out the best way to keep the bunnies safe when we start building our rabbitry back up.  Stronger cages and a fenced in area to keep them is the current plan.  But I just can't stop thinking about our poor bunnies last moments.  They didn't deserve that.

Chai

Innocent Babies

Susan

Mrs. Sugarfoot and babies

Ginger our sweet Flemish Giant