Birthday Party!

Look who turned 1 this week!

Tulio and Miguel’s birthdays were this past week. They both turned one. To celebrate we had a birthday party! The guys received yum yum’s and new halters. They went for a ride to a local park to go hiking.

Presents!

The llamas received new halters. Their original ones are getting too small. Tulio’s was on the last notch and even that seemed too tight. We ordered two medium – large, we thought they were fixed ring, halters online. When they came in it was obvious that these are just too large and we are unsure about the slip ring.

Now we found another site online with llama halters. This time we chose to order medium halters that state fixed ring in the description. We also decided on the color red over the original black halters. The halters fit great. Tulio and Miguel are very pleased with their new halters.

New grazing grounds

With the weather turning colder with hot days here and there. The grass is not growing as tall. We moved the guys to the front fenced in pond to allow them to have new grazing grounds and eat all the pond weeds. To my surprise the ducks did not mind Tulio and Miguel up there. I know the llamas enjoy it.

Field Trip!

We recently purchased a used two horse trailer so we may travel with our llamas. The trailer needs some work but it works for our use. We took the boys to a local park. There we hiked with them on the bridle trails. That was an adventure. The look on Tulio and Miguel’s faces when they seen the large horse walk by. They where stunned, Miguel more so than Tulio.

After a successful long hike they where ready to go home. They are difficult to load in the trailer but after that hike I think they went in easier. With their excitement Tulio and Miguel stayed standing instead of laying down as normal llamas do when traveling.

Stay up to date on Tulio and Miguel and their travels here.

September 25, 2017February 21, 2019

Ducklings Update

Ducklings are now adults and we have surprises!

Ducklings update is long over due but better now than later. All five ducklings are full grown and huge. Out of the five babies we have 4 hens and 1 drake. Thank goodness, anymore drakes we would have to re-home them. Actually the only drake of the hatch is the only one with a name. He was named Bubbles.

Surprise!

Two of the ducks look to be part wild mallard. One for sure as she has full blue/teal on her wing tips. The other duckling that I believe is part wild mallard is Bubbles, as he too has blue/teal on his wings. Also the strangest part is they are both huge ducks. By size alone you would think they are Jumbo Pekin but in reality they are Buff/Blonde/Wild Mallard.

Buff/Wild Mallard duckling It does seem odd that the two part wild ducks are the largest. But they are Beautiful. The ducklings do have a very nice set of feathers. The personalities are showing. All 5 of them stay in a group and the mommy ducks keep with them.

New Mommy

In the past weeks we have had three other ducks become broody. Two where looking real good but one of them lost their nest when we needed to keep the birds locked up for a day. I guess some ducks and chickens became restless and tore her nest apart. The duck tried to rebuild but she quickly found that the eggs have failed.

Luckily we have one hen who kept her nest and is doing a great job on sitting on it. She is a couple weeks into her brood. I am just hoping she is not wasting her time like a chicken we had, sat on a unfertilized nest for a month! Hope to bring good news next week!

September 25, 2017February 21, 2019

We received new Chickens!

New Chickens added to our flock

We received new chickens! There are now 13 new laying hens added to the flock. A friend of a relative informed us that they are looking to re-home their flock. So of course we agreed to take them in. Our coops still have plenty of room.

I was excited to find that the flock had multiple breeds. Since our current flock was mostly Red Cross and Rhode Island Reds, it is a pretty red flock. The new birds did have about half of a red breed, but it also had Barred Rock and Wyandotte. It is nice to see these white and black speckled hens running around.

Acclimation

In order to get the new hens acclimated to the existing flock we added them to the coop after dark. The next day we kept all the coops closed. We did not allow anyone to free range. Later that night I opened the coops to allow them to forage for about two hours. The new hens did not want to adventure far from the roosts. They stayed close in the barn/coop.

After the first day we felt it was comfortable to let them free range with the rest of the flock. The first week was a little difficult to put some of the new hens away. They would walk into the hardware cloth wall between coops when going in for the night. I little sad but I would just pick them up and move them to the correct coop. We plan on adding a door in the corner between the coops to allow the birds to venture between coops on days they are stuck inside.

Currently

We received new chickens and it is great. Currently all the hens are getting along with very little bullying. Yes, a pecking order is real and the hens tend to fight a little bit to establish the pecking order. Now they are all in line and get along fine. They do seem to enjoy the bean field and shy away from the llamas.

For more information on chickens please click here.

August 15, 2017February 21, 2019

Ducklings are 5 Weeks Old

Ducklings are 5 Weeks Old

The ducklings are 5 weeks old and oh have grown! They are almost the same size as their mother. This past two weeks have really been a joy to watch them. But with bigger ducklings comes bigger messes and stronger orders.

It has been two weeks since the last update. I thought they were big then. Now they are almost the size of their mother. They are eating a lot more and becoming more adventurous. Sometimes the ducklings will wonder around the pen away from their mothers. As well as let me clean the pen without being threaten by their mothers.

The ducklings love to swim in their kiddie pool. We have to change the water on this every other day as they are pooping in the pool. The pool water brings in a whole new world of smells. I wish to add a fan to keep the orders down. I currently do not have a drain system in place for the pool. So we have to empty it with buckets since I do not want to flood their pen with duck poop water.

I turn their bedding and add fresh every couple of days as to keep the ground elevated and the old soiled bedding turned in. I am maintaining the coop this way for two reasons. One the birds need to stay in fresh clean bedding and two so I may have good composted to removed and add to the garden this fall. The digging and scratching by the chickens and ducks turns this old bedding into great garden soil quickly. As the manure has not aged I cannot add to the garden while it is planted.

Freedom!!

Yesterday was the first day we allowed them to leave their pen to explore. The ducklings where very excited to waddle on grass and forge with their mothers. Surprisingly they did not want to swim in the pond. Instead they went around the barn eating bugs. Once the pen was cleaned out and the chickens turned up all the fresh straw, the two mommy ducks went back into the pen and left the little ones outside! Took a little bit for the ducklings to notice that they were along outside. But as soon as they did notice they waddled back into the pen.

Three more weeks until the ducklings are officially adult ducks. The ducklings will be fully feathered out and hopefully we can figure out the sex of each duck. We would like all hens but can accept if there is one drake.

August 2, 2017February 21, 2019

Ducklings are 3 Weeks Old

3 week old ducklings, with two mother ducklings

Ducklings are 3 Weeks Old

It has been another exciting week for the new baby ducklings. They have grown so large now. I can find personality differences in each duckling. Also this week we had no prison breakouts but someone did break into the prison! But over all it has been a wonderful week.

We have filled up the baby pool this week. It took a little while to convince all the ducks to go for a swim. The mother ducks hopped right in. They loved having a proper bath after all this time. The little ducklings used the ramp to get into the pool but wanted to try to hop in as their mothers do. That did not go so well. Some did copy the adults by dipping their head into the water without getting in.

A few of the kiddos could dive under the water and pop up at random locations. This scared the mothers as the ducklings would dive under them and chase the mothers out of the pool. I guess that is one way to get more room to swim.

One morning this past week I did find a chicken who broke into the prison. One of the Buffs decided it was nicer on that side of the fence. I guess it wasn’t all that nice as she was fine with me throwing her back to the right side of the fence. But at least the ducklings had their first face to face encounter with a chicken and not through a prison fence.

Finally the ducklings are starting to get used to us. They are not hiding behind their mothers as much. I can be in the pen to change the water and some of the ducklings will come close to me.

The ducklings are getting big! They seem to be about 1/3 the size of the mothers. The little fluff balls are now entering that awkward stage. Tail feathers are starting to come in. Next it will be the wing feathers. Soon they we will get to see the final color combinations. I still wonder about that black/yellow one. It must be mixed with a wild mallard.

July 27, 2017February 21, 2019

Ducklings are 2 weeks old!

Our Ducklings are now 2 weeks!

The ducklings are growing so fast. I feel that they triple in size over night. They have lived up to their nature and play with the water dish.

Two mommy ducks with their five ducklings. Ducklings are 2 weeks old — The prisoners 😉

We have had a few scares this past week. One of the ducklings had gotten its head stuck in the temporary fence. Luckily I found it in time to free the little thing. Another scare has been the two prison escapes.

The first escape happened in the afternoon and all 5 ducklings and the two mommy ducks where taking a stroll around the barn outside. What a surprise that was to come home to find. Luckily they were not spotted by a hawk! The second escape was one duckling. It left the prison and decided it rather take a stroll over the the chicken coop next door. Of course the mommy ducks were going crazy. We found the little duckling and returned it home.

After the escapes and the head getting stuck I lined the fencing with cardboard. This filled in the holes so no more stuck heads. Also this filled the gab under the fencing where they were getting out.

We introduced the baby ducks to swimming this week. We have filled up a baby pool with about an inch of water. Then we added a wooden ramp to allow them to get in and out of the pool. I hope this will help with keeping them from playing in their water dish.

The baby ducklings love swimming and playing in the pool. It is always so cute to watch them play. The mommy ducks also jump in and play in the pool with the little ones. Maybe later this week we will make the water deeper so they may actually swim. Who knows maybe they are born to swim. 😉 Ducklings are 2 weeks old are very entertaining to watch.

More information on ducks here

July 19, 2017February 21, 2019

4th of July

Photos of 2017 Independence day fireworks

July 18, 2017February 21, 2019

Ducklings are 1 week old

Week One!

The ducklings are 1 week old, and they have already doubled in size! The fuzzballs are extremely curious. They are very curious and have already escaped their pen twice. The other mommy duck has abandoned her nest, and she has taken on the mommy role for these cuties.

The two “mommies” are very protective of the ducklings. Changing out the water or replenishing the food they are wanting to charge us. The mommy ducks quacks have attracted some of the other birds. With their quack the other birds will come into the pen or near the pen and view what is happening.

The ducklings have been taught on how to forage for grubs. I catch them every now and then with their bills in the mud sifting through. Glad this round we have done the “natural” brooding. With the duck sitting and hatching the eggs. This allows us to keep the messy ducklings in the pen.

Previous times when we would brood ducks we have them under heat lamps in a stock tank or a brooding pen. But with ducks they like to play with the water more than drinking it. This caused us having to change the bedding at least twice a day. Luckily now they are outside and it is hot out and the ducklings cannot make such a big mess. I still have to refill the waterier three times a day but I am fine with that, anything to keep them out of the basement. 😉

All in all this has been one of the best if not thee best first week brooding we have had. They are healthy, strong, active, and just the cutest. Hoping that the second “mommy” duck will hatch our her eggs this week but I can share this secret that we have a chicken hen sitting on a nest that she will hatch.

July 15, 2017February 21, 2019

Sunsets on the Farm

Sunsets

We are lucky enough to view this most nights. I have always enjoyed seeing the sunset’s refection in the pond.

July 15, 2017February 21, 2019

Tulio and Miguel

Tulio and Miguel are enjoying the summer!

They recently had their first shearing. Also they have been getting much more friendly and have been allowing us to pet them. It since has been a joy watching them grow!

See more here!