The chicks are now due. I rushed to the chook house tonight to find one egg with a small hole in it, and a cheeping chicken 'stuck' inside. I carefully helped the chick get free of the shell, but when I saw blood on my hands I knew something must be wrong. I put the chick back under the hen and jumped onto the Internet. I am now more educated and have discovered that you should almost never help a chick hatch, and that the hatching process from that first hole can take 24 hours. Unfortunately the blood vessels seal over in the last few hours, and I was clearly too early with the chick.
I'm upset that I jumped in to 'help' and ended up killing our first chick. I can hear cheeping from another egg right now and will definitely be leaving these ones to their own devices.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Growing the family
We may be recently married, but a larger family of the human variety is not on the agenda yet! However, whilst we were away for the week on our mini honeymoon, Henrietta took it upon herself to start growing our family.
She is sitting on 7 eggs, and the 'torch test' showed me that there are at least 2 embryos. Fingers crossed we have some chicks in another 2 weeks.
She is sitting on 7 eggs, and the 'torch test' showed me that there are at least 2 embryos. Fingers crossed we have some chicks in another 2 weeks.
Spring!
It has been a long time since my last post, and a lot has happened since then. The biggest news being that I am now a wife!
The farm has continued to develop. A bare rooted apricot and black currant tree along with a ruby red grapefruit and lime are new additions. Although the lime dropped its leaves not long after being planted, new growth is proving that it is still alive (see photo).
With wedding preparations taking priority recently, the herb garden has been neglected. The recent sunshine forced me into action on the weekend. Although there is still some more harvesting to be done, I thought I should take a photo of the herb garden with my coriander that is over 1 meter tall! The parsley was a similar height, but is now chopped and living in my freezer.
The farm has continued to develop. A bare rooted apricot and black currant tree along with a ruby red grapefruit and lime are new additions. Although the lime dropped its leaves not long after being planted, new growth is proving that it is still alive (see photo).
With wedding preparations taking priority recently, the herb garden has been neglected. The recent sunshine forced me into action on the weekend. Although there is still some more harvesting to be done, I thought I should take a photo of the herb garden with my coriander that is over 1 meter tall! The parsley was a similar height, but is now chopped and living in my freezer.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Last calf before the Wedding!
Yesterday, Chloe had her Nielsen French sired bull calf. The bull calf will be the last one until November.
Although there will be a break from calving, Tom is now busy with artificial insemination.
The calf was quick to get his first drink and Chloe is looking after him well.
Chloe is a good mother, and was very patient when Tom picked up the calf to weigh him yesterday. Tom wasn't too impressed with my delay in reading the scales because I was taking a photo! Holding all 43kg of the calf, I think he had a valid point when he told me to hurry up!
Although there will be a break from calving, Tom is now busy with artificial insemination.
The calf was quick to get his first drink and Chloe is looking after him well.
Chloe is a good mother, and was very patient when Tom picked up the calf to weigh him yesterday. Tom wasn't too impressed with my delay in reading the scales because I was taking a photo! Holding all 43kg of the calf, I think he had a valid point when he told me to hurry up!
Best Mates
A few weekends ago we had 'I'm a real Kelpie' Tera come to visit. Buck and T-Dog are best mates, and I think Tera enjoys being a 'real' Kelpie on the farm. 
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