Signs of Spring

Today my middle son and I started mucking out the chicken coop. We got about 1/4 of it done and will wait until it warms up a little more this week. The chickens and ducks were so happy to be outside for awhile. My son was a little

grossed out I was mucking it out in sandals instead of my boots. I did not want to take the time to go switch shoes after dropping my teens off at the mall.
I will be sure to post a pic of a freshly clean barn once i get it done. I need to completely clean the perches and duck area as well. I need to figure out something better for their water as the ducks love muddying it up.
Here are some pics of the memory garden. My crocus are blossomed already. Now I just need to rake out the beds this week when it warms up.

I love the flowers coming up. It's a true sign of winter going away!! 

I also filled some of my 🐦 feeders today. I have 2 more out back to fill. Then next week I plan on changing the corn on the squirrel feeder.

I need to get back to watching Battle of the Badges in Hampden. 

Have a good evening.

Homemade Broccoli & Cheese Soup

Tonight for supper I made my grandmother's Soup. It is pretty simple to make and very delicious!! Next time I make it though I just need to sift the flour so it mixes easier. 

I am happy to say by moving our heat lamp I have not lost any more chicks!!! It's been 2 days in a row they have been going strong so Im hoping we will not lose anymore. Out of 21 I lost 7 birds!!!

Mr. Krabs died this week too so this week I give myself an F as a homesteader!

Ladies Homestead Gathering &Illness

We had our informational meeting of Ladies Homestead Gathering. There were 4 of us that gathered here at the farm. We made a list of subjects we would like to further our knowledge on and also discussed Back To Eden Gardening.
We have decided while our group is small we will rotate meeting locations so we can see how different women run their farms. Our next meeting we are going to a farm that is offgrid.
We are waiting for our official membership to be approved for our chapter. Then we will start advertising and putting flyers out.
Out of our 21 chicks we have lost 4. I have 1 barred rock left. Our meat birds are growing so fast!! They are so nuch bigger than the laying birds it makes me laugh when I see them. I will end up seperating them soon.  Next year I'm hoping to have a separate section in the barn for meat birds and possibly get a few more than 6.
I did find out we need to get our male goat disbudded again. I'm on the search for someone who can do that. Poor guy. I cant imagine that will be pleasant!
I'm off to bring my daughter to her appointment. We have had influenza A hit through our children and chest cold. I will be glad to get rid of the bugs and santize this house for the last time!!

Adding to the Farm

Here are some new additions to the Farm:
3 Barred Rock, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 3 White Leghorn, 3 Araucana, 3 Buff Orpington.

We are raising 6 meat birds for the first time too. If it is successful this year than next year I will plan on raising more!

This year we went to Tractor Supply and bought some chicken wire on sale to improve what we use as a brooder. The last 2 years we have put them in an XL dog kennel. But the holes in the cage are large enough for the cat to get his arm through so we put chicken wire all the way around the kennel. I am even using the same heat bulb that I have the past couple of years!

This weekend I was able to get 8 free Ball canning jars from an ad on Craigslist. They look like jam jars which is an impressive score for me!

Here are all the chicks in our homemade brooder.♡

Jordan doesn't know what to think of the peeping.

Here is our fat cat Sylvester eating and keeping an eye on the chicks.

The timer on the oven is going off the Shepherd's Pie is done for the family.

Farm photos

Tonight my son helped me put fresh shavings in the barn. Our goats have grown so much and I love Oreo's goatee.  They are so cute!! Both of them were very interested in my phone. They like to give you some lovin when you go to feed them.

Here are my ducks and chickens at feeding time. They all have survived the winter weather. I'm so happy I did not lose more than 1 this year!!

Last but not least here are our inside fur babies.

I can't wait for the weather to finish warming up so we can fix some fencing for the goats and the chickens. 

I'm also getting excited for our first Ladies Homestead Gathering on the 25th!

This weekend I need to get caught up on my Homestead Skills of the Month Club assignments.  I have not had a lot of time in the last month to myself but hopefully this weekend I will. 

RIP Popcorn

Tonight our rooster popcorn died. He was fine this morning and my son found him dead this evening. I would say the goats accidentally stepped on him.

Dog Photos, Sign and Broken Window

Today has been a productive day and a crazy day wrapped into one.
I was able to spend some quality time with my 2 high school aged sons.
On my way back home tonight I got a call our living room storm window cracked. It had a BB Hole in it from a person that lived here before. I think the combination of wind and very cold weather it just cracked.
Here are some cute pics of our dogs all cuddled in bed. Copper usually does not like Minnie near him, but tonight he didn't mind.

We added a chicken sign to the house that is advertised in Country Sampler magazine. I just need to have my husband drill it in better as I'm not good at drilling.

They also make pieces for all of the holidays.
I'm finally ordering my seeds this week. I can NOT wait to start gardening. My son's girlfriend's mom has already started her seeds. She puts hers in a big bow window.

21 more days until our first Ladies home Gathering Meeting!