farmfowl

We got our first pair of ducks in 1991, Moma and Papa Duck. We hatched out 8 eggs and raised the ducklings in the chicken house until they were big enough to go to the little pond. By 1995, due to owls, turtles and racoons, we were reduced to 5 ducks. As the years went by we dropped to 3, Moma Duck, Papa Duck and Peepers our first hatchling. In the Summer of 2001, Moma Duck passed on due to old age. She was a beautiful white duck.

The chickens came the same year as the ducks and we have enjoyed them ever since. We've bought hatchlings as well as pullets and once we bought some fertile eggs to hatch out ourselves. Now that is a fun experience but lots of work.
We've slaughtered our own meat from them as well as the daily egg gathering. I wouldn't know what to do without chickens around to watch and laugh at.
For a few years we had Guinea fowl and loved the tick control they gave us but the noise was just a bit too irratating over the long run and that is one poultry breed we won't have again.

In 1994 we decided to try our hand at 'cattle raising' and started with a straggly little Holstein calf that we bottle fed. Now he was to go in the freezer but as the years went by he got so big and the nearby slaughter houses moved or went out of biz, so we finally had to call a local auction barn to come pick him up and 2 other cows that we had built our herd up to. It was fun and we hope to try it again in the future.

We started our goat herd with Bailey, a 5 month old Nubian buck in May 1992 and by the end of 1992, we had purchased 2 does, Nannie, a Nubian and Sadie of mixed Alpine background. Other than a pair given to us in 1995, all of our herd has come from the Bailey/Nannie/Sadie line.

In late Winter of 2001, we brought 2 baby goats into the house. To see that "adventure" click the picture to the left.