Busy Busy Busy

Last weekend was a busy one.  We started the weekend by going to Houlton on Saturday to pick up grain from Aroostook Milling Company and a couple automatic watering systems from Tractor Supply.  

We really like the quality of the grain that Aroostook Milling produces.  Our chickens seem to like it as well. :)  They turn up the heat on egg production when we have the grain from Aroostook Milling.

Having the automatic watering systems will help with the spilling of water.  We have one cow, Olive, who loves nothing more than drinking her fill and then tipping her bucket over.  Installing these new systems will help to keep the floor dry and keep water available for her as well.

Upon returning from a nice ride, we completed the daily chores and called it a night.

On Sunday there was much to be done.  In order to install the watering system, a goat pen had to be moved to the other side of the barn and the cow stalls built.  Good thing my husband is so handy!  He often tells me that when I 'think' it means he has to work.  He may have something there.  Once this was all completed, and it took a while, we did manage to get one of the watering systems set up.  Then again we completed the daily chores and called it a night.

Monday morning meant going back to work which meant getting only small tasks accomplished.  Since the kids had basketball games on both Monday and Tuesday night. 

My husband did manage to install the other watering system however.  One is working great and the other seems to be leaking and we are still trouble shooting to figure out why.  So lots of work and money spent and we still have water on the floor... AHHHHHHH  We think we may have found the problem but we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

On Thursday we received a call from a Tide Mill Farm with news that they had a male calf born that was for sale.  So we left work on Thursday night and went to the feed store to purchase a bag of milk re-placer and then went and picked up the newest addition to the farm.  We have purchased several calves from Tide Mill.  Here is a picture of the little fellow. 

 Not real sure what to name this little guy yet...  We have a tradition of naming after movie stars.  Let us know if you have any ideas.

Lots more work to do so off I go!

Lucy's Arrival

Slowly we are expanding the farm and moving toward our ultimate goal. 

This weekend we expanded our farm by adding a new heifer.  She is a Hereford/Jersey/Holstein Cross.  This will give us the multipurpose cow we are looking for.  We are hoping the milking lines will give us the ability to milk her while her beef lines will hold true in any male calves in order to produce a hearty beef critter.

Lucy

We have been raising our own beef critters for a while now, however the breeds we have raised have had mainly dairy bloodlines.  By making the change to beef bloodlines we hope to get a better feed to weight ratio.

There are many advantages to raising your own beef or if you are not in a position to raise your own, purchasing it from a farm that you are familiar with.  Our beef is incredibly tender.  I find our steaks to be far more tender than the same cuts bought in the grocery store.  It also makes me feel good knowing that my beef has no added hormones or chemicals. The beef we eat is truly fresh.  Raising our own beef allows us to eat the tender, more expensive cuts of steaks for the same price the hamburger costs. 

  

Waiting for the Kids

We are currently waiting for the kids to arrive.  We have three does who are bred.  Kidding should start here on the farm mid April. 

Katie (Sanaan/Alpine Cross)

Last spring we doubled our Goat herd when we had three does kid.  Vivien, our Lamancha, had triplets, two does and one buck.  Faith, our Toggenburg/Alpine cross, had twins does.  Precious, our Nubian, had a single doe.  That took our herd of four does to a herd of nine does and one buck.  We lost the buck within a few days and later in the winter lost one of the Lamancha cross does to a hay crib accident.  Now we still have twice as many does as we had at the beginning of kidding last spring.  We purchased Leo, a 1/4 Sanaan, 1/4 Alpine, 1/2 Oberhasli buck, from another local farm.  That gives us a total of eight does and one buck for the start of this kidding season.  Like I said previously we have three bred for this spring.  We will breed the four does who were born last spring this spring along with Vivien.   This is in an effort to create two breeding groups and have fresh goats milk and cheese year round.  I have read that this can be done and I am hoping to be successful with it.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for news of kidding and pictures of baby goats!

Thanks to all who are reading my blog and please let me know what you would like to hear about.