Weatherman, You Suck

It's been over a week, and we STILL haven't gotten the promised rain. I gave up on waiting, and have gone back to watering for a portion every nite. Bleh. It's so boring! I just keep thinking of all the other, better things I could be doing. Then again, I guess keeping the plants alive is a good thing;-)

Muscovy ducklings are doing well. They are growing like crazy. As soon as they are too big to fit through the bars on one of my ex-pens, I am going to put them into the field during the day. I can cover the pen with some plywood, so the ravens don't get them, and it will be so much better and healthier for the little guys. MamaDuck #2 is busy brooding her nest. Last I counted, there was at least 8 eggs in there, so hopefully I will have some more babies in a couple of weeks. I estimate they should be born sometime near the middle of July.

The goats are mostly doing well. Everyone should have a couple of goats! They are way too much fun. I love it when I call them, and they come running with their floppy ears bouncing away. It really is the cutest thing. Larry (the wether) is not doing as well as the others. The other three are fat and robust. Larry is not. I've dewormed him, as we think (hope) that is the problem. He is really skinny, and not very active. The others play and romp, while Larry just lays there chewing his cud. He is eating and drinking well, which is a good sign. They were all dewormed about 10 days ago. I will do it again in about another 10 days. Hopefully little Larry will perk up. Soon. I am worried about the little dude.

My meat chickens are doing well. They didn't grow as fast as they usually do. Turns out, I was ordering the wrong feed for them. Nothing bad, just not as much protien as they need. I changed the food about 5 days ago, and I can already see a difference in their size. I am taking half in this Tuesday, and half in next Tues. All are spoken for... Yay!! I am going to order another batch right away, and do a third the middle of August. Next year, I think I can work it so I do a batch about every 3-4 weeks, so I keep having that new crop coming up. I am being very serious about how to make more money from my farm now, and need to practice getting my timing down. I crunched a bunch of numbers, and I discovered I make no money whatsoever on my eggs. No wonder they sell so fast! The ravens have now gotten 16 of my laying hens this year. ALL of them are the hybrid layers. My Dorkings and other heritage mixes seem to have the intelligence they need to run when a bird comes a calling. So, as these hens go, I will not replace them. If I can't find a way to make money from the eggs, I will gradually reduce my layers to the point where I just get enough eggs for me, sell a doz or so a week to pay for the feed, and concentrate more on the meat birds. Look at me, being all businesswomany!!

I've been super busy the last couple of days getting all my fencing in for my new farmgate stand. It's mostly done now... I just need to hire someone to come and help me rehang the gates in their new places, then find a good used fridge, then I can open for real! It should be timed right, actually... for when my bumper crop of tomatoes are ready. The cherry tomatoes and my early girls should be starting in the next couple of weeks. Nothing better than a fresh tomato from the garden! Hopefully, I won't eat them ALL, and I will be able to save some for my CSA shares;-)