Marking 10 years of shearing

It was up and at 'em early this morning, shearing at 8:00 a.m. meant we had to get set up, harness up the boys and be prepared. Shearing can go quick if you are organized and ready. The boys and girls knew something was up! The looks on their faces tells you they have been here before! Could it be time for haircuts already?

Autumn watched and made sure no one got out of hand.

Our 2 Angora goats relaxed and let it happen. They got manicures too! We counld't do it without these two guys from Twist of Fate, Rick (left) and Jeremiah (right). They have been our shearers for the past 10 years, always a superior job well done!

The boys did well but of course, but we had a screamer! You would figure after 10 years of  shearing they'd be use to it, but no! So that's a wrap! Now on to getting some fleeces processed and spun!

Chick graduation day

Our first patch of chicks have graduated to the outdoor starter coop! Autumn is checking out her new chargers that she will watch over. 

The girls took to their new home, scratched and pecked around. These breeds are Golden Laced Wyandottes, a single Buff Orphingto and Americanas.

This chick is a Blue Americana. A dream chicken for us.

Another Americana with Blue tints, just beautiful. It`s great to have them as chicks but when they grow so fast, its great to get them out. We have other new breeds that will be heading out soon too!

In search of the Queen

Since acquiring our bees a few weeks ago, Hive #4 has been struggling. During routine inspections I noted that the Queen was just walking around, no eggs,  no baby bees and the bees didn't seem to be interested in attending to her. To save the hive, which would have perished without a Queen, I borrowed a frame from each of the stronger hives. The frames had eggs and bee larvae. This was done in hope that they would grab a few and create a Queen. If you look at the above picture (which is upside down) that is a queen cell that is capped. Note the little white worm looking things in the cells, those are baby bees under 10 days old.

On this frame there are a couple queen cells and more baby bees!

If you look in the 2 larger cells visible on this frame, especially the one on the left, in there is a baby Queen! So there is  hope for this hive after all! Fingers crossed that they are successful in rearing a Queen!

Solving Life's problems one step at a time

I was in a local department store and I saw it, the beacon, a ray of hope, the solution to one of my biggest issues, sweating in my bee suit. Last year I bought a vented bee suit and that helped but the veil still can be so hot. But then I found this mini fan! 

Today for the first time, I anchored it on a part of the bee suit and it fit perfect! 

I them turned it on, and oh my! I went to work in the bee yard and didn't sweat once! I was in pure heaven! Who knew? A simple $3.00 mini fan could solve one of my biggest issues with keeping my bees!

And while I was toiling away in the bee yard, Tim here was enjoying himself a cocktail! Well I guess we are both happy!

Failure to Thrive

Failure to thrive in chicks can have many under lying causes. The issue can range from nutrition, proper heat, parasite issues, bacterial issues, or a lack of proper organ development. These 2 chicks were the same exact age. The larger one grew, was healthy and thrived. She began to develop feathers. These two chicks were over 2 weeks old here. The smaller one struggled and did not thrive. I had made a decision to cull the smaller one but she passed within an hour of this picture. This is the sad reality of raising chickens. 

The Flock, ever expanding...

This year and probably our final year, we are adding new breeds to the flock. 

We added some of my dream breeds to the flock and I can't wait to see them grow!

These Golden Wyandottes are just the cutest! 

I made them dig for this Blue Americana! I'm just in love! We also added Buff Orpingtons, Cuckoo Marans, Speckled Sussex, Laced Wyandottes, Welsummers, Olive Easter Eggers, Blue Andalusian and my favorite, Lavender Orpingtons! 

This year we also invested in this chick warmer. It's safe and adjustable. A friend recommended it to me and I just love it. As the chicks grow, it grows with them. I love the dome on it, they can't sit on it and poop all over it!

With 30 new little peeps on board, our brooder is full. My grandfather would be proud, WE are using his old stainless steel tub. It has come into good use.