Well, since the last post, many things have happened here on the farm....
First of all, Joe the duck which was brutally attacked by the snapping turtle is getting ready to return to the usual duck world by spending a few days to a week in the bunny brothel with just a cling wrap on his foot to help keep it clean until it has a little more time to heal. Below is a picture of the progress and extent of injury this duck has endured. It is lucky to be with us after such a vicious attack. Thank God we keep an emergency medical kit here with blood stop compound, bandages, disinfectants, an injectable epinephrine and a Pen-G, which is an antibiotic. These things are a must once you have a lot of animals that all live and browse together. We use a vet when we need one, but you cannot afford to utilize a vet for everything that occurs on the farm, so you must be prepared to handle most incidents, reserving the vet for the intricate ones where you just aren’t sure...or you don’t have the expertise to handle what comes up. Anyway, Joe is doing well and will be out running with the rest and swimming once again in the pond, where that turtle was eradicated! Here is Joe’s foot and a picture of Doodles....a tame Canadian Wild Goose that was dropped off here a while ago. He is like a little puppy, following us around and coming in at night with the other ducks. Also I added a picture of Percifer, our king of the chicken world rooster.
We have again begun sinking fence posts and have closed off the northern most section of the back yard, returning the Wilson house and storage area behind to our yard again. Previously we had chicken wire running to the one side and from the other, continuing across the yard, removing access to the sides and back of the building. Now the permanent fencing runs along behind the Wilson house....not touching it, allowing a ten foot area behind it.
Soon, we will have then entire north end of the property closed off from the woods and back fields, removing the possibility of a fox or coyote to dash into the yard and grab our chickens and ducks. After that, the threat will be hawks and owls....which are not much of a problem, compared to the foxes and coyotes. Below is a picture of a deer which was killed by a car along the road a few hundred yards from our house late in the evening and what was left by daylight.
The coyotes got to it during the night and were as efficient as a butcher with a sharp knife, leaving the bones and stomach.... They are very efficient predators, yet get blamed for much more damage than they really do. Many times feral dogs, running in packs are mistaken for loose pets or a pack of coyotes, but there are tell-tale signs at a kill site which will tell you what killed the animal. A lot of times a coyote or coyotes, are only cleaning up the remains of what a pack of feral dogs or a single dog has killed. Anyway, we have the section on the left side of the pond to finish....and then the right side to do, before moving to the west side of the property and finishing that to join to the existing north border, which will then completely enclose the property where our animals live and browse. It will be such a relief if we are a little late getting home in the evening, knowing that the fence is there, possibly keeping the predators at bay, until we get here to close our animals in for the night. Now, we worry until we get here and see that everything is okay and no one is hurt or gone.
On the creative side of things...Vick just purchased another spinning wheel from a really nice lady down the road that is moving and has little space for everything she now has in her house. It was a really good deal, including the wheel, a Lazy Kate and two sets of hand carders. We couldn’t pass this up, because it was a good deal and Vick has had so many people that stop by to see the farm and gift shop and while here, expressed the desire to learn how to spin wool. Vick now has three wheels...her new Kromski traveler, an Ashford traditional and this one she just bought, which will now allow her to teach at least two people while spinning with them. What a good way to spend the winter evenings, with two friends, teaching them something they will enjoy. Here are some pictures of the new wheel and accessories....
First of all, Joe the duck which was brutally attacked by the snapping turtle is getting ready to return to the usual duck world by spending a few days to a week in the bunny brothel with just a cling wrap on his foot to help keep it clean until it has a little more time to heal. Below is a picture of the progress and extent of injury this duck has endured. It is lucky to be with us after such a vicious attack. Thank God we keep an emergency medical kit here with blood stop compound, bandages, disinfectants, an injectable epinephrine and a Pen-G, which is an antibiotic. These things are a must once you have a lot of animals that all live and browse together. We use a vet when we need one, but you cannot afford to utilize a vet for everything that occurs on the farm, so you must be prepared to handle most incidents, reserving the vet for the intricate ones where you just aren’t sure...or you don’t have the expertise to handle what comes up. Anyway, Joe is doing well and will be out running with the rest and swimming once again in the pond, where that turtle was eradicated! Here is Joe’s foot and a picture of Doodles....a tame Canadian Wild Goose that was dropped off here a while ago. He is like a little puppy, following us around and coming in at night with the other ducks. Also I added a picture of Percifer, our king of the chicken world rooster.
We have again begun sinking fence posts and have closed off the northern most section of the back yard, returning the Wilson house and storage area behind to our yard again. Previously we had chicken wire running to the one side and from the other, continuing across the yard, removing access to the sides and back of the building. Now the permanent fencing runs along behind the Wilson house....not touching it, allowing a ten foot area behind it.
Soon, we will have then entire north end of the property closed off from the woods and back fields, removing the possibility of a fox or coyote to dash into the yard and grab our chickens and ducks. After that, the threat will be hawks and owls....which are not much of a problem, compared to the foxes and coyotes. Below is a picture of a deer which was killed by a car along the road a few hundred yards from our house late in the evening and what was left by daylight.
The coyotes got to it during the night and were as efficient as a butcher with a sharp knife, leaving the bones and stomach.... They are very efficient predators, yet get blamed for much more damage than they really do. Many times feral dogs, running in packs are mistaken for loose pets or a pack of coyotes, but there are tell-tale signs at a kill site which will tell you what killed the animal. A lot of times a coyote or coyotes, are only cleaning up the remains of what a pack of feral dogs or a single dog has killed. Anyway, we have the section on the left side of the pond to finish....and then the right side to do, before moving to the west side of the property and finishing that to join to the existing north border, which will then completely enclose the property where our animals live and browse. It will be such a relief if we are a little late getting home in the evening, knowing that the fence is there, possibly keeping the predators at bay, until we get here to close our animals in for the night. Now, we worry until we get here and see that everything is okay and no one is hurt or gone.
On the creative side of things...Vick just purchased another spinning wheel from a really nice lady down the road that is moving and has little space for everything she now has in her house. It was a really good deal, including the wheel, a Lazy Kate and two sets of hand carders. We couldn’t pass this up, because it was a good deal and Vick has had so many people that stop by to see the farm and gift shop and while here, expressed the desire to learn how to spin wool. Vick now has three wheels...her new Kromski traveler, an Ashford traditional and this one she just bought, which will now allow her to teach at least two people while spinning with them. What a good way to spend the winter evenings, with two friends, teaching them something they will enjoy. Here are some pictures of the new wheel and accessories....
Finally, on Saturday, we are attending the sheep and wool festival in Washington County with Isabelle and Ralph, our friends from Alpacas-4-Pets, in Coxsackie. (We will also attend the Rhinebeck, Dutchess County sheep & Wool festival on Oct. 15-16)
On Sunday, we are all going to the Garlic festival in Saugerties, NY to enjoy the day with Ralph & Isabelle, listening to music, seeing different events and tasting garlic flavored foods....We will also buy some garlic for planting. Ralph does great garlic beds on their farm.
042855Cluckin' "A" Critter Farm, LLC
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