Fall is a busy time here on Rainbow Gate Farm. Even though the goats are 'winding down' for the year, their swollen bellies tell us it won't be long before the barn is ringing with the sound of newborn babies. We're cleaning out barns, and hauling the manure on the surrounding fields to help fertilize next year's crops of corn, soybeans and hay.
In the first week of December, we will "dry-off" all the milking does -- or quit milking them. A lot of them beat us to it, by drying up by themselves.
Their bodies need the preparation time to concentrate on feeding the growing kids inside. Most goats have twins or triplets, and quadruplets are not unheard of. About the middle of January, the babies will begin arriving and then the whole year's process of raising babies and milking their dams begins once again.
My rare-breed chickens are done with their yearly moult. I turned the timers back on yesterday, so the chicken barn has swung into full summer hours, with the lights coming on at 5am and shutting off at 10pm. This tricks the 'girls' into thinking it is summer, and they will begin to lay eggs again. Although we eat some of these eggs, most of them will be collected for sale on eBay as 'hatching eggs'. You can check out our different rare breeds of chicken on our website at this address
http://www.rainbowgatefarm.com
Just navigate to the Rare-Breed Poultry page.
It's almost time to start evening chores. My helper, Renee, will be arriving in about an hour to help me prepare for milking.
Tomorrow I'll be working again with a yearling horse colt we are boarding here. He's a cremello Tennessee Walker and will be used for breeding in the future. When he arrived on the farm, he hadn't been handled much, and was nervous of people. Because he will remain a stallion, it's imperative we teach him manners, how to lead, and tie up, so he doesn't become dangerous or mean.
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chickens. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, November 2, 2007
Friday's Day On The Farm
Hi! Welcome to my Friday. It's been an interesting day, starting with a phone call early this morning to go collect two of our American Quarter horse mares who were loaned out for the summer to a family with teenage girls who like to ride. It's weaning time for foals anyway, and we have several "babies" in stalls in the barn.
We wean the babies slowly, taking their mama's away for short periods of time over a week, until both mare and foal are happy enough to leave each other.
The vet was here the other day to remove a cast from our dairy goat doe, Squatti's leg. Squatti panicked and jumped a gate five weeks ago, breaking her leg. The report was all good - a beautifully healed leg!
Milking the does this morning didn't take too long. We are down to 125 milking does, as the winter approaches and they "dry up" or stop milking. Goats are seasonal breeders which means they all come into "heat" for breeding in the fall, and then "kid" (have their babies) in the early months of the new year. This year we are expecting over 500 baby goat kids to be born! Half of those will be males and most of those will be sold as day old kids. The girls or "doelings" will be retained to expand our milking herd size next year.
A baby doe is called a doeling. Doelings only take eight months to reach maturity and will produce their first babies around the time of their own first birthday! Once a doeling has milked for one year, she is called a 'doe'.
Our chickens are also slowing down for the winter. During the summer months, we keep all the breeds separate and collect 'purebred' eggs from the different varieties. I sell hatching eggs on eBay of rare breeds such as Swiss Spitzhauben, Blue Silkie, Cream Brabanter and Barnavelder chickens.
This year we also raised Nargansett turkeys for the first time. Out of nine turkey chicks we only ended up with three hens. But we won't have to buy any turkeys to have Thanksgiving Dinner.
Of course, we also raise Muscovy ducks for the same reason - providing meat for the table. The Muscovy duck raised three clutches of ducklings this year, and not one of them has ever made it to the pot! So there is a good possibility the turkeys will be safe after all!
We wean the babies slowly, taking their mama's away for short periods of time over a week, until both mare and foal are happy enough to leave each other.
The vet was here the other day to remove a cast from our dairy goat doe, Squatti's leg. Squatti panicked and jumped a gate five weeks ago, breaking her leg. The report was all good - a beautifully healed leg!
Milking the does this morning didn't take too long. We are down to 125 milking does, as the winter approaches and they "dry up" or stop milking. Goats are seasonal breeders which means they all come into "heat" for breeding in the fall, and then "kid" (have their babies) in the early months of the new year. This year we are expecting over 500 baby goat kids to be born! Half of those will be males and most of those will be sold as day old kids. The girls or "doelings" will be retained to expand our milking herd size next year.
A baby doe is called a doeling. Doelings only take eight months to reach maturity and will produce their first babies around the time of their own first birthday! Once a doeling has milked for one year, she is called a 'doe'.
Our chickens are also slowing down for the winter. During the summer months, we keep all the breeds separate and collect 'purebred' eggs from the different varieties. I sell hatching eggs on eBay of rare breeds such as Swiss Spitzhauben, Blue Silkie, Cream Brabanter and Barnavelder chickens.
This year we also raised Nargansett turkeys for the first time. Out of nine turkey chicks we only ended up with three hens. But we won't have to buy any turkeys to have Thanksgiving Dinner.
Of course, we also raise Muscovy ducks for the same reason - providing meat for the table. The Muscovy duck raised three clutches of ducklings this year, and not one of them has ever made it to the pot! So there is a good possibility the turkeys will be safe after all!
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