Farm News

Buff Orpington

It is still cold here. I think I have to resolve myself to the fact that my 50 F winter days are just not going to happen here. On a warm day, we might get up to freezing, but mostly we stay in the 20's. No new snow either...just the same old snow from way back in November.

But, the chickens are laying pretty good again. The light in their coop must have done it. We have more eggs than we know what to do with in our fridge, backing up. Sometimes we trade eggs with folks in town for other things we might need, but we are only getting to Taos once every two weeks now, so the egg supply is building.

The three ducks have been living with the rabbits and turkeys in the passive solar coop for a couple of weeks now. One less light in one less coop. Richard has been storing hay in the old chicken coop. It's the one that was here when we moved in. I think they had pigs in the building. It's really drafty, but with the new roof Richard put on way back when we got here, it doesn't leak. A rat had moved under the tarped hay behind the turkey house, so Richard moved the hay, hoping the rat would move on.

And, Richard finished the milking parlor in the goat barn, and put in a section for the chickens who like to lay eggs in the barn. He put up nest boxes too, but they won't have anything to do with them. They either lay in their little coop, the middle of the barn floor, or in the milking parlor behind the feed storage can. One silly old hen was back there, trying desperately to roll a stuck egg back into the nest under her. Except the "egg" was a rock, half buried in the ground. I removed the rock. I hope she's not out in the field, trying to figure out how to roll that rock all the way back to the nest. There are a lot of rocks out there.

The poultry on our farmstead does not appear to be big in the brains department. The turkeys are so freaked out when anyone enters their coop, they fly into the walls and rabbit cages, trying to escape. Richard has a method to get in and out, which involves stopping and playing statue with each step he takes, so the crazy birds can maneuver around him without breaking their necks. I don't know that game.

We are trying to downsize our goat herd too. Those girls eat a lot of hay. Plus the billy, Molet, just creeps me out. I guess he's okay for a male goat, but still, he can move on to greener pastures now. We think we can get ample milk from four goats, and are trying to re-home three....Pinky, her daughter, Aspen, and Jewell, the large Alpine. Plus Molet. That's a nice size goat herd for anyone wanting to get started in milk goats. Plus, those girls may all be pregnant, and if not, Molet can take care of it.

Found out Alfonso, the white alpaca, is really Alonzo, but still the same white alpaca. No wonder he won't come when we call. Actually, all of the camelids avoid human contact if at all possible, so Alonzo is in keeping with his character. He did find offense when we let Molet out to visit with the female goats, and chased him, trying to bite at his ears. I thought he was protecting his herd, and maybe he is, but it turns out he might be a little too fond of the female goats. Now, when Molet is out, Alonzo is in Molet's pen.

The male rabbit chewed through his plastic water bottle. (What is it with males?) We have been trying to find glass bottles that will fit the tops of the rabbit water bottles.

And, we are still searching for a warmer place to go, but my hopes diminish with each passing cold day. Winter sure brings on a depressive mood for me. I feel like I just have to get away from this cold! I feel trapped in it. But, is there any safe, clean, warm, affordable place to go? I feel the sticky fingers of doubt reaching for my warm fantasies of land and a bigger house. I am so done with winter. Only 3 and a half months to go.