Homestead happenings

  SO, Mr.Type A has been bothered by the fences we put up when we first moved to the farm.  The horse fencing was electric tape, which worked just fine, but the deer repeatedly knocked it down when attempting to jump over or through it.  The Dog run fence was, well it was just plain ugly.  Since it was the main entrance everyone used to get in and out of the house, it drove the husband nutz. Things don’t stay around for long if they’re aggravating him…..  (it’s a wonder I’m still here.)

Lacey and Coady out in the lower field…
time to come in, so I clap my hands and pretend I’m going to chase them.
Coady knows I mean business and won’t quit till he’s where he’s supposed to be,
back in their grassless paddock.
Minis get very fat very easily, and these two are chubby as it is.
Grass time is only an hour or so every few days.

Lacey waits till Coady is in the paddock and clearly not coming back out…
and then she panics, running as fast as she can to get to him.
She has Separation Anxiety.
Reunited after that agonizing three minute separation,
they get a drink of water in their stall
and then come back out….
…and stare wistfully at the big boys,
who are allowed longer periods of grass time
in the new upper grazing field.
Today was Opie and Max’s first day out in this new pasture..
we needed to make another for rotation purposes…
they’ve been eating down the one pasture we had fenced in.
The back side of a subdivision that abuts one side of our farm can be seen here…

Keeping the boys blankets clean has been a chore this year..
the ground has not frozen and so there is quite a bit of mud.  And rolling.  
Ma, how many more times are you gonna stitch up this blanket
before you call it a day and buy me a new one?
Now let’s talk chickens.
I have not gotten more than one egg every other day or so for about two months now.
My husband was all in a lather, saying…your chickens are defective!
You spoiled them and now they don’t lay eggs!
The new ones you brought home were really old ones, not young ones…
and they don’t lay anymore!
After 24 years he hasn’t quite gotten it through his head that I always have been
and always will be the animal authority in this house.
He’s the Home Builder, I’m the Dog, horse and chicken whisperer,
as it was and ever shall be.
I told him they were all freaked out by the
new flock addition and it threw them right into a molt.
They looked like featherless hell for about four weeks,
until the new feathers began to fill in.
While chickens are molting, they don’t lay eggs.
The NEW chickens weren’t laying eggs, because they were just five months old.
They needed time to mature.
Plus, the shortening of daylight hours slows down egg production.
He wasn’t having any of it.
This mindless chicken banter went on for weeks and weeks…
until….
Lo and behold….
… all re-feathered and flock frackas finished…

They’ve begun laying again, old..and new.
…and that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

28 thoughts on “Homestead happenings”

  3. your notes about your hubby totally crack me up….i sometimes wonder how i've managed to stay around so long myself….LOL !!

  4. Everything looks so pretty and well kept! And look at all of those brown eggs. I only buy brown eggs…I think they taste better! Did you have snow at this time last year? It sure seems like you did! Sweet hugs!

  5. Karen, your header is gorgeous as is your entire blog. I want your life. I covet your adorable ponies and every one of your chickens. Bless me father for I have sinned. Also, love your blog! Amen.

  6. Erik was taking dozens of eggs to his office for months. Then the molt started and some girls got too old to lay, and suddenly he was short on his commitments for FREE eggs. He kept telling me he needed more! What do you want me to do, Dear? Silly man.

  8. You had me chuckling at your type A hubby and wondering why you were still around!

    Love those silly mini horses. They're beautiful.

    Kudos to maintaining the animal authority figure of the family, heehee! Will they ever learn…

  9. Seeing that view of your house makes me realize how Huge your house is.
    Damn girl, you need help to clean that house.
    Want me to send Tammy over?

  10. Hi Karen,

    I'm only getting two eggs a day right now and it's been that way for a while. Things will pick up soon.

    Loved your previous post – it's so true and perfectly written.

  13. Love the new fencing and arbor! Kudos to hubby's handiwork and we all know you have extremely fortunate animals, to have you, as well as a fantastic place to live. Does hubby ever admit when you're right, or does he sulk silently?

  14. Featherless hell! That is funny stuff! You know your babies! I forgot you had minis. Oh my gosh, they are so darn cute! Love your new fencing and I love how you decorated it for the holidays!

  16. LOL, dog,horse and chicken whisperer. And those minis. how they act, separation anxiety, thats hilarious. But those poor guys looking longingly at the big guys chowing down, awwww.
    Loved this post, not to mention those stone walls, amazing.

  19. 'Flock frackas' is now my new favorite word! I think I can use it in a whole LOT of different circumstances around this old house of ours.

    I love peeking into your world!

  23. I do not have a blog but absolutely love reading This Old House 2. I must tell you that your header with the horses is phenominal—I LOVVE it. What gorgeous animals.
    Thanks for alwyas having an interesting post.

  24. in all of my life I have never seen a horse look wistfully at anything. I've seen drunks look wistfully at guys with liquor, but never a horse. Love the fence and let's have them non-producing chickens for dinner.

  25. Oh I love it, you are too funny.
    Fences look great, so do your animals.
    I love brown eggs, ever since I first had them in England. My sister won't eat them…she says they taste too eggy. Ha!

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