Small Farm Life Archives

Runaway Scottish Piglet Adopts Neighbor’s Sheep

Posted on 2016-03-19 by Andrea

In Scotland, “a runaway pet pig named Babe who thinks she is a sheep has set up home with a fleecy flock next door – evading capture for almost two weeks. Little Babe fled from her new home just moments after her owners’ trailer parked up at the smallholding they’d just moved to. This little piggy does not want to go home, living a life “on the lam with the sheep in a neighboring field, despite capture attempts by her owners.” Read the full story and short video at the Telegraph.

11-week old Babe, who thinks she is a sheep, hanging out with sheep and lambs on Miefield Farm, Twynholm, Dumfrieshire (Photo: SWNS) – included in the Telegraph article (By Claire Lomas, 4:35PM GMT 17 Mar 2016).

Addicted to Sheep

Posted on 2016-02-29 by Andrea

Would love to see the movie Addicted to Sheep. Not often there’s a move about a small family sheep farm not to mention that they keep Swaledale sheep!!! Love the look of Swaledales with their black mask. Here’s the synopsis:

“In the North Pennines, tenant farmers Tom and Kay spend their days looking after their flock of prized sheep, and hoping that this will be the year they breed the perfect one. Director Magali Pettier, herself a farmer’s daughter, follows a year in their lives, capturing both the stark, stunning beauty of the landscape, and the brutally hard graft it takes just to survive. Their three children are growing up close to the land, attending a school entirely comprised of farmers’ children, thoroughly immersed in their remote rural world. As the seasons change the couple help birth, groom, nurture and sell their sheep – even when the odds often seems stacked against them. A treat for the senses, Addicted to Sheep allows us to experience life on a hill farm – without having to get mucked in ourselves. – Carol Nahra – See more at: https://www.addictedtosheep.com/home/aboutthefilm/#sthash.s6SqcBlR.dpuf” Copied from the film’s website.

Here’s the trailer and the blog.

If you want to know more about Swaledale sheep take a look at the association web site.
The are a local breed so not often seen out of the Swaledale area (Yorkshire, England). They are beautiful and well adapted to living in a rough environment.

Photo: Kreuzschnabel/ Wikimedia Commons, Licence

Tiny

Posted on 2016-02-19 by Andrea

Tiny, an under sized 3 year old Australorp hen, has been under the weather so I brought her in for some TLC. She is only 2 pounds 9 ounces! Jasper is enjoying the new play friend and is being respectful, watching her intently but no prodding. Can’t say the same for her dry food as he keeps sticking his paws into her cage and extracting food from the dish. She is loving the shredded carrots, apples and small bits of bread in a Greek yogurt base I made for her. Photo below show signs of a recent yogurt snack on her beak and feathers!

Tiny, Australorp Hen

Not sure how things will turn out as she was always under sized and last year spent a few weeks in the house with an impacted crop. Often with under sized animals their organs can’t support them long term as they haven’t developed properly. It’s nearly always heart breaking as these are the animals that have the sweetest nature, as if it is their defense plan to get the extra help they need to survive. She is the sweetest thing, allowing me to pick her up and do anything to her without a complaint or attempt to escape. She takes blow drying her after washing off a poopy rear end in stride as if every chicken receives these beauty treatments on a regular basis.

The other hens were literally walking over (on) her and she wasn’t moving around much. It has also been quite cold this last week (3 degrees on Sunday), so I felt it was time for an intervention. She likes to perch on her food dish so I’m swapping out an empty one after I feed her. She’s also sleeping a lot but when I take her out for some fresh air she runs around for at least 30 minutes before settling down and looking like she needs to come in out of the cold. She’s unusually thirsty so I’m wondering if it’s kidney failure. I’ve put her in front of the patio windows so she can watch the wild bird activity at the bird feeder.

Feb. 22 Update: Tiny stopped eating after feeding herself a good breakfast on Feb. 21, passing away during the evening/early morning Feb. 21-22. She had picked up a few ounces but was only 2 pounds 12 oz. when she passed. In these situations I always wonder if there was more that I could have done. Sadly none of us is all knowing and I did the best I could do for her. She appeared to enjoy life up to the end without complaint or bad temper and peacefully drifted off to sleep. A good lesson on aging and passing for all of us.

30 Inch Snow Storm

Posted on 2016-02-05 by Andrea

After a warm Fall and early Winter painting, installing pavers and digging drainage ditches which I hadn’t gotten to during the Summer, Mother Nature sent a whopper of a snowstorm to keep things interesting.

In mid-December I had tried to start the snow blower bought towards the end of last March and only used twice, but it wouldn’t start. Since it was still under warranty, I had it picked up and repaired. The snow blower wouldn’t start because a wasp nest completely filled the carburetor! Surprised and yet not (since wasps build nests everywhere here, including in the door hinges of vehicles if they are parked outside), at least I was prepared one day ahead of the snow storm.

It snowed for over 24 hours (Jan. 23-24), and at times the snow fall rate was over 2 inches per hour. Despite the awesome snow blower (24 inches high and 30 inches wide), I had to do the driveway and animal paths twice because of the large amount of snow piling up. By 6AM Saturday morning there was already over a foot of snow in the driveway. It was perfect snow, light and fluffy and easy to shovel. Usually the snow here is wet and very heavy so it was a delight to be out in this gorgeous snow. Good thing since it took days to get everything cleared! It was also good luck that the wind wasn’t nearly as bad as originally predicted since the snow fall amount was much greater than predicted.

The driveway itself only took 4 hours (two hours each time). Since there are a lot of small buildings (run in shelters, hen houses, hay shed, hay feeders, etc.) it takes a lot of time to clear the roofs so they don’t collapse under a large snowfall and some areas have to be hand shoveled. As a precaution I had packed the hay feeders with hay in advance so I wouldn’t need to move hay up to the barn or run in shelters for several days.

James on the Way to the Hay Feeder

Jessie at the Hay Feeder

After spending over 8 hours getting the snow cleared on Saturday, the whole job had to be done again on Sunday as if nothing had been done. By the time the driveway was done the first time, there was already over a foot re-accumulated in the “clean” driveway. All day Monday and Tuesday were spent moving piles from areas that had to be hand dug as the snow only throws so far and making some of the paths wider. Quite a nice view standing on the wether’s shelter and tossing snow off the roof as far as it would go.

The whole farm is on a slope that runs down to the pond and creeks so drainage is always an issue once the snow melts. This snow storm was perfect, with sunny days and close to freezing temps so that the snow mostly sublimed rather than melting and creating ice every day. Of course it came to an end with 2 inches of rain a week later, turning the whole farm into mud with the consistency of quick sand.

TyDye Going to the Barn in Snow Chasm

TyDye Eating Grass Through the Snow

None of the animals like snow removal implements of any kind, neither human nor machine powered but approve of the end result. When the snow is this deep they wait for paths to be dug for them. This snow was a good 4 inches above my knee and thus exhausting for me to walk in it. I can only imagine how hard it would be for a shorter animal such as the goats or for deer. The chickens don’t like snow but will go out in it for short periods of time if it’s not very deep. Like the goats and sheep they will eat snow to get a quick “drink” while they are out and about. I bring my animals warm water several times a day as I think it’s better for them to drink water that’s closer to body temperature when the outside temperature is cold. They do appreciate it and will drink large amounts of warm water.

Rabbits raced through the paths and at times they would jump out and skim across the snow with their built-in snow shoe feet while all the other local wildlife were in hiding for several days.

2015 Year in Pictures

Gallery

Pond at Sunset with Geese and Mallard Ducks

Girls Going Out to Graze

Leaves on Creek at Sunset

Breakfast in Bed

Spring Wild Flowers

Fritillaria on Milkweed

Monarch on Butterfly Bush

Hoar Frost on Sage

Hoar Frost on Puddle

Snapping Turtles Resting Between Battles

Young Geese with Parents

Spring Wild Flowers

Ms. Cluck – Ameraucana hen

TyDye (Shetland Sheep) in the Snow

Foggy Sunrise

11 Inch Bear Print in March Snow

It’s a Goat Thing

Posted on 2015-03-14 by Andrea

Reader warning: photos show blood/ skulls and the text discusses medical details.

Mid February 2015, Roberto broke his left horn whacking the hay feeder. Whacking the hay feeder was one of Roberto’s greatest pleasures in life and he could often be heard throughout the night giving it an adjustment so that he could reach the most tasty hay morsels. He also constantly whacked the side of the barn and the doors, so that I couldn’t keep a coat of paint on any object he could reach. I can only explain the need to whack as “it’s a goat thing”.

The fracture was small and clean so I opted to leave it alone since chances were good that it would heal on it’s own. In 10 days it wasn’t bothering him anymore but he broke it again. The break was larger but still looked like it would heal without intervention. But as a goat must do, Roberto began whacking the hay feeder again since the horn was no longer bothering him. This time he made a real mess of it and I knew it was going to have to be removed. Roberto was 9 years old so a horn removal at his age was going to be a major, messy job.

Roberto During Bandage Change Before Horn Removal

Goat owners often remove horns from newborn kids by burning the horn buds off their heads which keeps the horns from growing. It’s extremely painful, which is why goat producers normally do this within a day or two of birth, before the nervous system is completely wired and thus the kid is not completely aware of the pain. If you remove the horn, immediately below it is the sinuses and the brain, no skull to protect them. Interestingly for cows, if a horn is removed it is normally left open to the elements to heal.

There are several fairly large blood vessels in the horn as well, so removal involves a fair amount of blood loss unless it is cauterized, which is why burning is often used to close off the vessels. Needless to say, this is not a procedure I would ever do without sedation and/or pain blocking medicine.

Drs. Bergmann & Wilson After Removing Roberto’s Horn

Despite having two great vets come out to the farm to do the horn removal, I was uneasy in advance of the operation. Thankfully, the procedure went very well with the vets putting him out and then applying the equivalent of Novocaine at strategic nerves around his head and horn. Roberto lost a fair amount of blood but not enough to need a transfusion. Once his horn was bandaged and he was given a shot for any after the fact pain, he was given a shot to awaken him. After about 10 minutes he was up and we were able to help him back up to the barn for some rest.

Roberto Day After Horn Removal

Roberto was a bit groggy (as any one having surgery would have been) the rest of the day but was alert and eating, nearly his old self by evening. This was March 9, 2015. The photo above shows Roberto with his new bandage the day after his operation. The plan was to keep the bandage on for a couple of weeks so that it could completely heal before exposing it to all the hay and dirt that comes with living outside.

The bandage was removed successfully after 2 weeks but I didn’t like the looks of the wound. I emailed pictures to his main vet and she thought it looked as good as could be expected. I kept changing the bandages regularly and it was a cool Spring so there were no issues with flies attacking the wound. Full recovery for this procedure is typically 6 weeks.

On April 28th 2015, I noticed Roberto running around the pasture shaking his head continually with blood flying everywhere. Flies were being attracted to the wound so I got him into the garage (the only totally enclosed, fly free area readily available) and after 40 minutes finally got the bleeding stopped. I called the vet and she was able to make a visit within the hour. After a quick exam and a discussion we decided to put him down. After he was gone we explored the wound and found that a scalpel could cut right through the skull. Roberto most likely had osteoscarcoma which is why the horn broke. Ending his suffering was what needed to be done.

After 6 months composting (the best method for handling livestock losses), I dug out his skull and found a fairly large hole in his skull right above his left eye socket. Normally the bone is a bit thinner in that area (see photo of right side for comparison) but there should not have been a hole completely through the skull. This helped me feel better about the tough decision to let him go.

Right Side of Roberto’s Skull

Left Side of Roberto’s Skull

Roberto was a gentle giant with gorgeous fiber who is greatly missed. He always looked out for his twin sister, Ingrid, who was much smaller than him. Roberto is also the goat pictured on my original blog’s home page. My learning for the future is to question why a horn would have broken in an adult goat with no prior history of illness or injury to the horn.

Spring Happenings

Posted on 2014-05-28 by Andrea

Spring is in full swing and I’ve been feverishly planting seeds before it turns hot and dry. Since it was a cold, wet Spring the plants are off “normal” schedules and bloom times are compressed. All the daffodils bloomed at the same time vs over a month as they usually do. The lilacs were only open during a torrential rainy period so their odor never perfumed the air. The iris have just opened and the peonies are poised to open any day, they just need a bit more moisture. Don’t think we’ll get it soon, and it has been nearly 90 degrees for a few days so all the plants are looking for a nice drink of water. This is the new weather pattern – all or nothing, without moderation. We get no rain or 5 inches of rain and it is 15 degrees below “normal” or 15 degrees above “normal”. Both extremes being tough for living things to handle.

Bleeding Hearts and Ferns Taking Over the Deck

Lavender and White Iris

My two surviving strawberry plants are blooming. The only way to keep them alive it to completely enclose them with hardware cloth. Otherwise the chipmunks destroy both the berries and the plants themselves. I had not realized how much damage these cute little rascals cause until I caught them climbing the (deer prevention) cages around my roses to reach through and eat fully bloomed roses! There is a pair roaming around on the back porch so it looks like a population increase is in the making.

Only Way to Grow Strawberries in the Wilds of Central NJ

There is a baby bunny running around in the chicken area, but much fewer rabbits overall then last year. Surprising, since last year was the year the coyotes took out two of my adult goats and there was also a bumper crop of bunnies! You would have thought the coyotes would have been eating bunnies versus a 100+ pound goat. Coyote choices are fewer this year (fingers crossed!) since the goats and sheep are now locked into overnight corrals. More work for me, but hopefully creating less domestic livestock options for coyote meals.

The new chicks are 4 weeks old as of Monday. They are nearly fully feathered and really beautiful! The transformation is always amazing. Since I’m trying two new breeds this year I’ve been trying to pictorially document their change into adult plumage. Not an easy task as they move around like bullets, trying out their wings and exploring. Yesterday I got them outside in their permanent “teenage” area instead of in the smaller cage I’ve been using and moving around on the grass up near the house.

Australorp Hen Meets Salmon Favorelle Chick 4 Weeks Old

They are still too small (not fully feathered so unable to fully regulate their temperature) to stay out overnight or in cold, wet weather so they move back and forth to their cage in the basement in a cat carrier. They are amazingly smart. They learned to go into the carrier when I go out late in the day, all crowding in so I can take them inside. It only took them a few days to figure this out! It is their natural inclination to seek shelter when it starts to get dark which I’m sure helps, but often I’m moving them well before dusk due to the cool temperature or rainy weather. Chicks feather out more quickly when the temperature is low versus when they are raised in warmer ambient temperatures. They have a light in their cage that allows them to warm up if they get cold, but the basement ambient temperature is about 60-65 degrees. That’s why they are almost fully feathered at 4 weeks instead of the more typical 6 weeks.

The difference in their personalities is obvious even at a very young age. The Salmon Favorelles are much calmer and peaceful than the Chanteclers which are calmer than the Ameraucanas in general. There is one Chantecler that gets upset about being handled as well as two of the Ameraucana chicks. They are all getting better with the twice daily routine of being lifted in and out of their cage and being taken outside. Nothing like a little treat of white bread once they are out to make it an overall positive experience! I also try to pick them up slowly and respectfully, trying to get them to come to me so I can pick them up versus grabbing at them.

Baby Chicks 3 Weeks Old

Above is a group picture at 3 weeks of age showing a Salmon Favorelle in the front, Ameraucanas on each side and a Chantecler in the far back. They love to crowd into a box and peck at the box sides which makes an interesting noise (to a chicken!) .

April Showers

Posted on 2014-05-06 by Andrea

30 something degrees and 6 inches of rain the last Wed. in April! However, nothing like the 22 inches of rain in FL nor the tornadoes in the South so no complaints here. The poor geese were watching their island nearly disappear as the pond could not discharge water fast enough to stay within it’s banks. 6 goslings had hatched out just earlier in the week, all survived the flood but one seems to be missing this week.

Flooding on Mulhokaway Tributary Bordering East Side of the Farm

Geese on Island in Flooded Pond

Bad week for adult chickens. Chocolate (an Ameraucana hen) was found dead one morning under the perches. A necropsy revealed internal tumors and 4 fully formed eggs without shells in her intestinal cavity! Several days later at dusk, Placido (the lone rooster, also an Ameraucana) was found face down in the drainage ditch near the hen house. He had been seen walking the territory and crowing very shortly before he was found dead. Had seemed in good health, was a good weight and had not a mark on him. Best guess is that he had a heart attack or an aneurysm to go so suddenly. It’s much quieter on the Farm without his cheerful crowing. On the positive side, this year’s chicks arrived in good health!

Amerauncas, Chanteclers, Salmon Favorelles Chicks

Ameraucanas, Chanteclers, Salmon Faverolles Chicks

I’m trying some new varieties this year, Chanteclers and Salmon Faverolles. Both were bred to lay well in the winter, and are very cold hardy. The Chantecler was developed in Canada and the Favorelle has 4 toes (vs the “normal” three) and their toes are more flattened (vs completely round) with some feathers but not completely feathered. I’m trying to get pictures of their legs but it’s not easy as they are not too fond of posing for the camera while held in the air (easiest way to see the legs clearly).

Both are rare breeds. The Chantecler is listed on the Livestock Conservancy Conservation Priority Poultry Breeds 2014 Critical list and the Faverolle is listed on the Threatened list. They join the Dominiques ((Watch) and Delawares (Threatened) that I’ve raised for over 15 years. I always have Ameraucanas too as many of my customers love the green eggs they lay. Last year I added 3 Australorp hens as they are great egg layers. One was a runt (although she is doing well, just tiny) and another, sadly, has developed a neck twitch which means she won’t last long. They are friendly and productive but have big combs which make them susceptible to frostbite. I’ll post notes comparing the breeds as they get older.

I’ve finished another Inkle and like the pattern so much I think I’ll do another using some of my dyed yarn.

Black and White Inkle with Warping Pattern

The picture above shows the warping pattern as well as the pattern as it is woven, and the finished Inkle is shown below. I really love weaving Inkles as they provide a great sense of accomplishment very quickly! I’ve been putting off starting on a set of tapestries I have designed and warped since I know it will take a long time to compete them. It’s time to start washing fleeces since the Spring shearing was successfully done in between major rain storms!

Finished Black and White Inkle

Mixed Bag

Posted on 2014-04-10 by Andrea

Spring is trying to make a return. Still some hard frosts at night but the days are reaching the 60’s some days which is a welcome change. Boot removing mud is everywhere as is typical for Spring. The wetness makes it impossible to do much of the cleanup needed as just walking makes huge ruts in what one hopes will someday return to grass. This is my eternal battle, trying to keep grass growing and yet continually losing it a section at a time. Around here pasture once lost is almost never regained due to traffic, preferential eating of the newly emerging plant life or the mysterious compunction to sleep on bare or newly seeded ground. As I do every year, I am contemplating installing french drains near the barn and more permanent paving than gravel for the path up the hill to the chicken yard and barn. Maybe this will be the year! Spring is so beautiful and yet there is always a period in which I am over whelmed thinking about all the work needed to cleanup from the winter. Maybe that’s why so many people move south!

Roberto Wonders What I’m Up To

One of my one year old laying hens prolapsed and I decided to put her down. I could have pushed her insides back in and tried to tie it up to see if it would hold until it had repaired itself, but thought it unlikely since a chicken is programmed to push eggs out every day. Several days later I lost a very old hen to reproductive system tumors, so the farm is down 4 laying hens in 2014. However, new chicks are coming in several weeks! This year I’m trying several new (to me) varieties that are bred to hatch well during the winter: Faverolles (French) and Chanteclers (Canadian). Tried to get Faverolles last year but they didn’t hatch at the right time for the rest of my order. The Australorps from last year are doing well despite the cold winter and their huge combs. I was afraid they might get badly frost bitten (knowing from personal experience how painful frostbite is) but they have only a few very small spots of damage and they seem happy and are laying well. I love the way they run to me when I call them – just like groupies at a rock concert, running with their wings outstretched and screaming (“wait I’m coming too!!!!) if one gets too far behind the rest of the group.

On April Fool’s Day I rescued a middle age cat that had been trapped by animal control and was being held by a vet I often use. No one had showed up to claim her in 4 weeks and I thought an older cat would be hard for the vet to place so I took her home. After a few days my current cat Ozzie was getting used to her and found her very intriguing, and she was settling in but still unnerved by his fixed stare and the way he would pounce up to the fence that separated them if she started eating. On day four the vet calls and tells me the owner has shown up and is looking for the cat! I take her back of course, glad that she could be returned to her original home but it was sad too. She was very sweet and well behaved, and think she would have made a nice playmate for Ozzie. He had a great evening checking out all the toys she had used during her visit.

Foxes are showing up on the game camera almost every night the last several weeks after no signs of them most of the winter. Racoons have returned to view as well. A neighboring farm has seen tracks of a pack of 5 coyotes and has been finding deer they took down. Last April I lost 2 of my oldest goats (>100 pounds each) to coyotes, the first time in almost 20 years here at the farm that I had ever lost a goat/sheep to a four legged predator. Since then I’ve been locking them into corrals at night which is a bit of a challenge with goats as they are programmed to whack things with their heads/horns and need a fair amount of space or they beat each other up as part of their social hierarchy maintenance. After several months of putting up the corrals and making adjustments the arrangement is working well, other than the extra work it entails (letting them out, locking them in and daily cleanup). A bit of extra works certainly beats finding mostly eaten carcasses in the pasture!

Had to reschedule shearing due to rain, but since it has been so much colder than normal think overall it was a good thing. Will try again on Good Friday. Poor egan stepped on something and really messed up her foot. Have been cleaning and re-bandaging it for about 3 weeks now as of course the barn area is 4 inches deep in mud. I’ve perfected the art of duct tape booties through the years and hers goes all the way to her knee. It keeps her foot clean and dry over the bandage and it’s loose enough to allow some air to enter from around the top. She is finally walking normally so I’m hoping to stop bandaging her next week. She’ll be happy as she is tired of my cornering her in the barn to con her into eating Ibuprofen for the pain and changing the bandages!

Megan Looking for a Treat

Waiting for Spring

Posted on 2014-03-27 by Andrea

This will likely be a year where there is no Spring at all. Instead Winter will move right into Summer. 19 degrees this morning, but at least the wind has dropped from the howling all day yesterday and last night. Lucked out and didn’t get any of the snow predicted. Already past the normal time of year to plant peas, but wouldn’t think of putting them in yet this year. Shearing is scheduled for tomorrow but the weather forecasts are saying rain and it won’t be a bad thing to postpone since it will be continuing to be below average temperatures for a few more weeks yet. The goats can generally handle temperatures down to about 32 degrees after a new haircut. I can put t-shirts on any that are cold for a few weeks until their hair grows out. Angora goats are hair growing machines with fiber growth of about an inch a month. They need about an inch of fiber to tolerate very cold temperatures.

Finally got the large evergreen trees in front of the house taken down. They had been on my to do list since Hurricane Sandy took one of them down, luckily falling away from the house although not as good for the fence it hit. The trees had gotten too big to be so close to the house. It made an enormous difference to the look of the farmstead and now there is room for a big garden close to the house. I’ll have to put a tall fence up to keep out the deer with chicken wire around the bottom to keep out the rabbits and woodchucks. It’s a relentless battle where the fencing seems to keep me out better than the wildlife! This year it will be a compost pile for the barn so that the soil can be built up. Right now it is too wet and low with large tree stumps to readily grow much. I will probably plant pumpkins on top though to keep the compost neatly covered while it does it’s job. A side benefit of the tree removal project is that the goats are having a feast on the branches. This will get them through until it warms up and the pastures come back to life. The sheep like the evergreen branches too, a nice change from hay I guess. Now I need to get out there and chop off the smaller branches so I can use the long branches for fence poles. Never a dull moment!

Goat Heaven