Llama Corral

On Friday we went to Liberty to pick up some gates. We also picked up a set of panels for the llama corral. We got them at the Tarter Gate Company's factory second store. They all have dents or missing pieces but still work. We picked up a few more sheep panels while we were down there. They were at Floyd Gates which isn't as high-end as Tarter but they are the only one that has the sheep panels. We spent about $300 on gates and panels but it would have been over $900 retail. We had a trailer load.

  We sold the old horse trailer a few weeks ago. We got this trailer from a guy in Waco, KY. It is a 12' livestock trailer.

 Livestock trailers are better suited for hauling a large steer to the meat packers. Charlie goes next month. He's large, really large. We didn't think he would fit in the old trailer. This one doesn't have a post in the middle, the door swings all the way open. And it has a working escape door so Lisa can get out after she leads him in there.

 We got another one of Edith's bottle lambs.

  This one is Shelby.

 Notice in this picture that Abbey is flying.

  Abbey sniffing noses with her neighbor Carly.


 It still gets chilly at night so they have the heat lamp. It is supposed to be in the 30s tonight so they have two lamps now.

 The small birds here are the Silver Laced Wyandottes.

 The ducks can get in the sheep water tank now. yay.

 Speedy in his new cage. He lost his halter so we knew we would have trouble catching him again.

 Molly was trying to get at Speedy's food. She was bumping at the latch and might have eventually got it open. We'll have to put a clip in the latch.

 Just a picture of Duane and Lulu.

Bottle Lambs

Edith called Lisa on Wednesday with a lamb that had been rejected by its mother. That was Abby. She called back on Friday with another lamb that got stepped on and rejected. That's Libby. Edith doesn't like to do the bottle lambs and she knows Lisa is good at it. It gives the lambs a good shot at survival sending them here.

  The Angus cross heifer didn't survive, she died Monday or Tuesday. Meantime, Corey White brought over this bottle calf. As you recall , Corey is Edith's long time ranch hand and trusted friend. This calf came from the same farm out on Comb's Ferry road where Lucy and Little Larry came from. Meet Carly. The Hereford cross bull calf is still hanging in there. That's him behind her. His name is Red.

 This is Abby on her first day. It is warm enough now for them to go directly to the barn. She still gets a heat-lamp.

 Abby got to run around in the barnyard for a while.

 We let the girls out in the barnyard to meet Abby. All Satin and Paris cared about was the assorted poop. Piper and Luna liked the lamb.

 This is Libby with her leg in a cast. Edith had taken her to the vet before Lisa picked her up. You may have noticed the white faces. These are katahdin - dorper crosses.




 Two of the eggs hatched. We had left ten eggs with the broody hens but only two lived. This one and another black one with a white chest.

 We moved the old rabbit hutch to the rabbit area. It doesn't fit under the bunny port.

 We moved the last roll of hay out to the tractor port. It should be fine out there until next winter.

 We're having rabbit for dinner tonight.

 Doesn't it look delicious? We're having Brussels sprouts and rice with it.

The New Calves

Lisa and Andy went up to Aberdeen Ohio to pick up some bottle calves.

 The one with the white face is a Hereford bull. The black one is an Angus cross heifer, we hope to breed her in a couple of years. Nelson has bulls. The Hereford won't be keeping his bull parts. They don't have names yet. Any ideas?

 Speedy noticed the activity.

 Andy and I carried them across the back yard to the barnyard.

 Lisa was getting the stall ready for the calves. The ducks followed her.

 Lisa was getting the water ready for the calves. The ducks followed her.

 Lisa was getting hay out for the calves. The ducks followed her.

 It was warm and sunny in the barnyard.

 Calf dinner time.

 Hereford was slower eating his, the heifer was trying to find a nipple on the other end of the bottle. I guess I could have been helping but I was too busy laughing and taking pictures.

  The chicks are getting bigger.

  Lisa catches them with her net at the end of the day. They still have to go inside the garage at night.

 Lisa painted the post tops while I serviced the tractor. I changed the oil, greased it, replaced the shut off cable and cleaned the bird's nest out from behind the steering wheel. I still need to change the fuel filter.

 She got them all painted.

 We moved the forsythia out to their planting area. They wouldn't stand up where we intend to plant them. It is too steep there. The plan is to have a mass of yellow flowers in the spring and plenty of coverage so we don't have to mow the slope.

 We got some Miss Kim Lilac today at Lowe's.

 The finished post tops.

Fence Post Trimming

We cut all the fence posts on the driveway fence to be the same height above the wire.

 We didn't get any pictures of the actual trimming, we had our hands full. Lisa drove the 4-wheeler with the generator on the trailer and I walked along with the electric chainsaw. We picked up the tops on the way back up.

 Tillie and her daughter Kim. You can see the family resemblance. The little bantam hen is named "Bird".


 The ducks are doing well. We're having fun with them. They like to play in the mud. We're trying to walk them out into the pasture every day toward the pond. They still aren't interested in going very far.

 Luna loves the ducks.

 We lit the burn barrel for the first time this morning. It isn't green any more.

 It worked. Everything got burned up.

 The transplanted strawberries are blooming.

 We were worried the transplant would be too traumatic for them to bear fruit this year. It looks like we might get some from them after all.

 The onions are coming up too. These are large sweet onions.

 Onion closeup.