Category: Other Animals
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Irrigation System Trout
Every year, we have to take the irrigation pipes apart before winter sets in. We drain them out so they don’t freeze and crack. This year, Ken caught a small trout that was in the pipes. He brought him down to the big pond and set him free there. We’ve rescued several trout this way.… Continue reading
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Hunting Season
Ken got a deer tag this year, and today, he got a nice buck out back in the cedars. We nicknamed the buck Trevor. It’s a rather long story, but it started after Bob and Carolyn shared the Australian poet Bill Kearns and his poem Entrapment with us. You can watch it here, but I’m… Continue reading
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Sofia Meets the Other Dogs
Sofia has arrived and is settling in nicely. She is small enough to get out of every pen, and she can crawl through welded wire panels. She’s so excited that she’ll run the pregnant sheep a bit too much, so we’re keeping her separate but adjacent to them. She’s meeting Teasel for the first time… Continue reading
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Meet Sofia, Our New Guard Dog Puppy
It’s time for us to get another guard dog puppy. We need to raise and train dogs relatively frequently to be sure we have enough to guard our sheep. This time, we’ve selected a Karakachan puppy. We’re eagerly awaiting Hopping Acres Sofia’s arrival! Continue reading
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Chicken Butcher Day
This past Saturday was chicken butcher day. We rented a trailer and hired additional help to process all of our birds. It went very well. We scalded the chickens first, then plucked them. Next, we went inside for gutting, chilling, and finally, packaging. We also hosted another person who had about 25 of their own… Continue reading
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New Chicken Feeders
We’ve been looking for a better way to put food and oyster shell in the chicken tractor. Our existing feeders don’t do well, and dishes waste a lot of feed as the chickens scratch it out. I looked at a number of online DIY PVC pipe feeders, and here are the results. It’s a relatively… Continue reading
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Guests Visiting, Sheep, and Chickens on Summer Days
We had a lovely visit from our friend Alan. He’s a much better photographer than I am, so I’ve included a few of his shots here. All of his photos are from his Flickr and are shared under Creative Commons. Continue reading
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Meat Chickens
Every year, we raise one batch of meat chickens for us and a few select customers who order them in advance. This year is no exception. We get just-hatched Label Rouge birds from a local hatchery. They are in our chicken barn and doing well. Continue reading
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Wildlife
We had to make a trip today, and we saw two different herds of Pronghorn Antelope on the road. I couldn’t get a picture, but we did come home and see some bucks in the side yard. Continue reading
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Dry and Delivering Hay
Our dry weather continues. While the East Coast is getting bombarded with snow, we remain in a drought. Without snow, we have no irrigation water, so the lack of decent winter storms is worrying. Meanwhile, we’re continuing to feed out hay. We move the sheep from pen to pen so we can get in with… Continue reading