Saturday Around the Farm

Today we were up early.  PH went out hunting with the help of our pup Duke.  We picked Duke up off the street thinking he was a Rott pup, but while he may have a smidge of Rott, he is more likely some kind of cow dog.  He is great at herding the goats.  We didn't even train him.  He's also a great tracker, and loves to follow PD#1 when she goes off on horseback.  He's kind of a fluffy looking short of Rott.  I'll try and take a picture and post it here, and if anyone can tell me what they think he might be that would be awesome!

Anyway, we basically hung around the house today.  I let the Freedom Rangers out of their tractor today (only 4 weeks left to butchering) to well...free range ;-)  They didn't like it too much, they stayed close to the barn, though a few followed me around most of the day, and I kept stepping on them.

The main flock of chickens, my egg layers, love to hang out around the pond.  I guess they find a lot of food there.  I took a few pictures of them today, and will post them below.

The Ladies Out for a Walk (the blonde ones are Buff Orps, and the others are Americaunas)

This is our BIG rooster Patton and his wife

 Patton is a Rhode Island Red (dad/Buff Orp X (Mama).  He is HUGE!  His daddy was HUGE, so he definitely took after his daddy, but he is odd man out.  All the girls like Napoleon.  He has way better manners when it comes to "courting".  Patton is more of an ambush kind of guy.  Patton only has one hen that likes him.  This one is a black sex link that we were given.  She had a sister, but she didn't make it.  This hen stays by his side, where the other hens RUN when they see him coming.  They hide behind Napoleon. 

Napoleon - our banty rooster - dad to Buff Jumper

Buff Jumper (Banty/Buff Orp X)

Buff Jumper is about the same size as his dad.  I guess the rooster genes are stronger in our chicks. We hatched out Patton and Buff Jumper in our incubator. 

Here is a picture of Molly, our Charloais heifer calf.  She follows me around at night when it's feeding time.  She is very quiet, and waits her turn.  Her best friends are the pigs.  It's like they are family or something.  If she is grazing and looks up and they are gone, she panics.  She calls them and they come running, or she runs to find them.  It's pretty hilarious to see a scared calf looking for her pigs.

Molly

PH began the next step of the house, and was able to purchase about 8 plywood boards for the roof. We'll need to save up more money to keep enough to finish the front slope.  Once that is done, PH will ask a friend to come help him, as heights are not PH's strong suit.

PS#2 "helping" Daddy unload the few boards we bought

 Nothing exciting going on today just cleaning and laundry.  Made Venison steak for dinner, and am off to make cookies now.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!