Back to blogging

Well after a few months of what I call microblogging...ie Facebook fan page and Twitter, I finally decided to go back to my blogging, but switched to blogger instead of the homesteadblogger site. You can still view my old blog at homesteadblogger, but I won't be adding to it, just follow the continuation here.



We should start kidding in March. I did end up selling quite a few bred does to LaNita Flanary at Flanary Keepsake Farm in KY and can't wait to see what she ends up with. We have reserved the right to buy back the buck she bought from us "Critterhaven's Court Jester" a gorgeous paint buckling, and one of Zorro's offspring, but I'm glad he is getting use on another farm. Too many mouths to feed here, and with hubby working 2 jobs it was a little hard to do it all myself.

So plans for the 2010 year here at the farm. Garden plans...Yay!! I love planning out a garden. Last year we moved the garden to a permanent spot in what was the old buck pen. It did extremely well and this year we plan on doing the same. Right now this winter it is housing the pot bellied pigs, and both Cheetah and Butterball are doing their part in 'donating' to the fertilizer cause as well as rooting up all the weeds that were there. This year I'm debating on some raised beds, but will definately redo the rows. Last year I did about 6 long rows, but this year I'm going to do the opposite and have many short rows. I think it will be easier to control the weeds that way. And I can rotate the veggies a little better.

The Egyptian geese should start laying this year according to the man I purchased them from last year. The plan is to make a more suitable and realistic habitat for them in their pen, which from what I can read will consist of a rocky bluff, old trees for crevices, and a sunken water hole for them to use as a 'pond'. It should be interesting to see how that will progress.

The silkies are OH so ready for their new pen! With the cold and then the rain, it was hard to decide where to put them and then when to move them. I decided to relocate them to the pen up front which held the young kids for awhile, but now they are at the barn so that pen sits empty. My biggest concern were the hawks which frequently fly overhead. I am looking for some netting to solve that problem now. They are divided into 2 pens now, and I'm debating on putting them all together to get the lovely splash color I keep ending up with now, or to put the white pair together and get a few more pure whites before something happens to my one white hen and roo. But that splash is oh so pretty!! I hope to be able to show one day at the state fair. They usually have so few entries in the silky category. I'll take new pics of the pen once we get it up and going.

Lancelot was after Auralia this morning, and that should be a very nice pairing. She has never been bred to him, and he is polled, so I'm hoping for some lovely babies. Seeing as how she is 7 years old we will probably retain any offspring she has from this point on, as she is our herdqueen and a beloved goat in these parts. Her daughter has the same wonderful temperament as she does, and is bred to Hot Spot who is now gone, so we'll be retaining her offspring also.



We are holding a contest on our Critterhaven Farm Facebook Fan page. Our new venture this year is opening up the farm to school groups and kids for a learning center of sorts. So we are having a contest to name our new venture. The winner will receive a prize of some sort. I'm leaning toward some good old cookbooks and some goats milk soap. Entry deadline is Jan. 31st and you can submit your entries via our facebook fan page. Or direct message us at twitter. While you are there follow us...we LOVE our followers!


Our newest addition to the farm is Koti. We were fortunate to be able to add him to our growing family. Small at less than 4lbs. at 4 1/2 months old, now at 6 months old he is up to about 10lbs. now and growing every day. He has a bad habit of sucking the end of his tail when he stressed or antsy, but we're hoping to cure that little quirk too. His main diet is fruit of any kind, but bananas are his all time favorite. He is also partial to canteloupe and watermelon, but we add in grapes, mealworms, granola, fig bars, and little handfuls of alpo along the way. Right now his cage consists of a 3 story Marshall ferret cage, but this summer we'll be building him an outdoor 'coatimundiary' off the back deck, complete with a swinging bridge and a LOTS of toys. He sulks when I take his stuffed animals to wash them, then rejoices when I bring them back like they are all new. He will be a big hit with the kids during our educational ventures.

Time to head out and feed before it gets dark. The chickens are calling, and I have miles to go before I sleep. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for the quickest updates on the happenings around here, but I'll be sure to blog a little more each day now that I have the template set the way I want it.

Til then...happy tails from here at Critterhaven!

Susan