Just another day on the farm

Not much to talk about today. Most of the snow is gone.It was a short winter. I have put the sleds away for the year. Soon time to get out the patio furniture.

Farm & Barynyard Co-operation

 Barnyard farm co operation - chickens, guinea fowl, rabbits... BFF?

Christmas & Thanksgiving Turkeys

 Our last two turkeys, who we named Thanksgiving and Christmas, get a drink in the front garden. Everything runs free on our farm. We lost 13 turkeys in the woods, they wandered off, presumably realizing what was in store (pun intended!) for them?

A Bird in the Hand

 A bird in the hand.... our grandson with 4 day old chicken

Two Donkeys Ito & Burr on Farm

 Our donkeys (Mammoth Jacks) Ito and Burr, a few days after we rescued them. They are skin and bones here, but soon gained weight and developed a healthy glowing coat.

Chickens in the Barn

 Even the few chickens we have left share the guinea barn with the guineas and Mr. Duck in the winter

Guineas and Ducks on the Farm

 Mr. Duck shares a barn with the Guineas in the winter

Checking on the Christmas Trees

 Time to check the Christmas Trees now that snow is melting. That means time to boot up the skiddoo and go for a burn in the woods to get to the planted areas. We have 3000 Christmas Trees growing now. Visit Toad Tree Farm to see more animals, birds, and Christmas Trees.

Sheep in the Winter on the Farm

 We have two female sheep (ewes). A farmer who raises sheep for meat sold them to me for pets. I bought them to keep the donkey company (his brother donkey died suddenly) and to keep some of the grass in the field cut. I hoped the sheep would graze on a wide swatch of grass and keep it trimmed but that didn't happen. You can see the thick wool coat they grow for winter. I trim the wool in the spring and then let it grow so that in winter they are warm. The sheep spend most of the winter outside although they have a shelter they can go into if they want. They like to sleep in the snow so they rarely use the shelter I built. I used to keep the sheep with our donkey but he doesn't like them very much and can be quite mean, especially to the white sheep (Princess), so I keep them separated. Princess and her companion, Ewe-Lyses S. Grant, are about 3 years old.

Feeding Sheep on the Farm

 Feeding Sheep on the Farm

Wild Turkey Takes a Dust Bath

 Wild Turkey getting ready to take a dust bath. Birds like dust baths, it probably helps control pests and relieve some of the itching. They find a spot they like, then keep coming back to that same spot. We don't get too many wild turkeys on the farm as they like Sumacs for berries for food and we don't have a lot of Sumac on our farm.

Guineau Fowl

 At one point we had almost 40 Guinea Fowl. Now we are down to eight. Predators like foxes and coyotes, even a timber wolf one year, have picked them off. Some died of old age. Others, the females, died sitting on their eggs outside. They don't like to roots where other birds can see them so the barn is not their first choice

What's Up With Waffles?

Our donkey and sheep hate waffles. Donkey loves carbs -- bread, tea biscuits, crackers, Gerber's Baby Cookies... but put a waffle in front of him and he sniffs it then turns away.