Farm life in Northern Ontario. Farm Life in Northern Ontario.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Another Batch of Eggs
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Cluck, Cluck, Goose
The auction here is on Mondays. On holiday Mondays it's always busy. People who don't ordinarily come, bring their children, and the offerings from the sellers are always good. Yesterday it was nearly insane. This is the auction room, stuffed full of cages and boxes for Victoria Day.
Meanwhile, in the back room there were more boxes and more cages. Enough to fill the auction room at least three more times. It kept going and going and going!
The best deals tend to be in the very beginning, or towards the very end. I started early, hoping to bring home some new hens to fluff up my flock. The first few that I bid on went too high for my blood, and then I won a pair of medium sized white hens, for a very reasonable price of $8 each. Had I known what I was bidding on at the time, I'd have been willing to bid much higher, because, in my opinion, they turned out to be a steal at $8 each.
You see the two white ladies on either side of the rooster? They're Chanteclers! The most cold hardy breed available, that someone (Sue?) suggested I look into a while ago. I had found a breeder in southern Ontario who would ship chicks up here, but they're very pricey, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to make that sort of investment to trial them. Now I've got these two lovely ladies to test the weather, and in all likelihood, I know they can survive the weather within two hours of here.
The two reds in the photos above are probably Red Sex Link hens. They were also a steal at a mere $7 each, though they have had the snot beat out of them. The one girl is nearly featherless on her back right now, while the other seems to be in a better state of recovery. They're both underweight, the centre bone along the rib cage quite prominent, but in my lonely coop, I'm sure they'll gain quickly.
The two you can barely see, digging into the dirt along the fenceline, are Barred Rocks. They cost me the most at $11 each.
My meat girls were hiding out in the turkey shack, so no pics of them today.
My last purchase of the day...
You know I LOVE them!
It's kind of funny too, since I just stole Gackle's eggs yesterday. She was building herself a nice clutch, 6 eggs, and they aren't going to hatch without a gander. She'll be very confused about how nature works now, lose your eggs and receive two goslings. Pippi and Peppy have joined the flock.
Goats were not getting the prices that #1 wanted, so Sheila returned home with us. I will advertise her on the local kijiji for now, and see if she sells. If not, we'll take her back to the auction another day.
The best deals tend to be in the very beginning, or towards the very end. I started early, hoping to bring home some new hens to fluff up my flock. The first few that I bid on went too high for my blood, and then I won a pair of medium sized white hens, for a very reasonable price of $8 each. Had I known what I was bidding on at the time, I'd have been willing to bid much higher, because, in my opinion, they turned out to be a steal at $8 each.
You see the two white ladies on either side of the rooster? They're Chanteclers! The most cold hardy breed available, that someone (Sue?) suggested I look into a while ago. I had found a breeder in southern Ontario who would ship chicks up here, but they're very pricey, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to make that sort of investment to trial them. Now I've got these two lovely ladies to test the weather, and in all likelihood, I know they can survive the weather within two hours of here.
The two reds in the photos above are probably Red Sex Link hens. They were also a steal at a mere $7 each, though they have had the snot beat out of them. The one girl is nearly featherless on her back right now, while the other seems to be in a better state of recovery. They're both underweight, the centre bone along the rib cage quite prominent, but in my lonely coop, I'm sure they'll gain quickly.
The two you can barely see, digging into the dirt along the fenceline, are Barred Rocks. They cost me the most at $11 each.
My meat girls were hiding out in the turkey shack, so no pics of them today.
My last purchase of the day...
You know I LOVE them!
It's kind of funny too, since I just stole Gackle's eggs yesterday. She was building herself a nice clutch, 6 eggs, and they aren't going to hatch without a gander. She'll be very confused about how nature works now, lose your eggs and receive two goslings. Pippi and Peppy have joined the flock.
Goats were not getting the prices that #1 wanted, so Sheila returned home with us. I will advertise her on the local kijiji for now, and see if she sells. If not, we'll take her back to the auction another day.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Greenhouse Repairs
Just one beam snapped.
Leaving the roof sagging.
The boys put in another post to patch it back together for this year. I don't expect it will make it through next winter.
The plan for now is to build greenhouse #3 this summer, so it will be ready to plant next spring.
#1 started tilling along the fence line. I planted the peas yesterday, in the opposite direction of previous years. dad used to alternate the direction on the garden from year to year. I don't know if it'll make much difference, but I don't think it will hurt anything. We'll see.
Meanwhile-
- Goats are going to the auction today.
- Calves are doing well.
- Grass is starting to grow.
- Chickens and Gackle are living in the turkey pen.
- Firewood is under way.
- The snow is almost gone, just a bit in the plow piles, and along the edges of the woods.
- New closet in my room.
- The bug died. Cracked block.
- New roof over the wood window.
- Manure on the move...
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