Cockeyed Homesteading

This week everything is cockeyed. Quite literally. It's a good thing we named ourselves the Cockeyed Homestead.

Chicks at 2 weeks

Our chicks that we purchased from Tractor Supply Co are growing and feathering out nicely. They are about doubled in size since we got them. They are still deathly afraid of us. They are so cute that we want to squeeze them, hold them, love them, and call them all George. No, not really. Georgette maybe. They are rarely staying under the heat lamp except at night, which are cooler (50s). We haven't lost a single one. Although, we expected to. During the day they run around the brooder box, eat about a pound of crumble and grit every couple of days.

Jersey Woolie-Ebony

The weather has been cockeyed. I work up a sweat after the sun rises literally. I can't see at times because it's in my eyes. I've been revamping the rabbitry. We are building new cages for our six English Angoras. The cages will be bigger. 24x36x24 to give them more room to romp and play. Although I am still considering 30x36x18 cages for the females.They are miserable in the smaller cages before they blow their coats. With 3-5 inches of fur all over their body, even a 3 1/2 pound rabbit gets huge.The 18x30x18 cages won't go to waste though. We still have the tiny, two-pound Jersey Woolies to house in them. We have five of them. They are in the outdoor hutches which are 36x30x24. It's almost too much room for them.

Fodder

I moved one of the fodder racks into the rabbitry in preparation for hotter weather. Fodder grows best at under 75 degrees. Even in our 100+ temperature summers, the rabbitry is air conditioned so it will continue to grow. A hole in one corner of the rabbitry floor makes draining the pan easy, instead of lifting a tote of smelly water. The lower temperature should also lessen fruit flies and mold which loves the fodder. This year, I'm trying a different mixture of seeds than I usually do. I'm sprouting 1 part hard wheat, 1 part barley, and 1/2 a part black oil sunflower seeds. It's all sprouting well with no signs of mold. The rabbits are get their first taste of spring fodder as I type. The beginning of their slow (1 month) transition to a complete fodder diet. They will continue on this for the rest of their life. I may still have to buy pellets for babies.

Meanwhile, it's been too wet to till the garden for spring planting. It has stormed, including hail, every day for weeks. Usually it rains at night. It will take most of the day to dry off, or at least have the puddles gone. So, I've got seeds and plants ready to go into the ground but can't put them in. 

Broody on the porch

Broody, our wounded hen, has been out and about. For a while she stayed in the dog crate. She now just stays in it at night. The other hens do pick at her, but she has figured how to get away from them in the yard. She does have a separate area for food and water. Broody still hasn't laid an egg though so culling her is becoming a real possibility. But we have time.

Everything is all cockeyed, or should I say things are happening normally around here. At least for this week

As always,

Have a blessed day.