Farmer Friday

putting in a ground rod

This week I put electric fence on the *inside* of this 20x20 pen.... Why? That's a secret! Find out in my next post!

blurry sunset

 We've had some cold, cloudy, windy days but no rain yet. But a few pretty sunsets.

low tunnel with fava beans on the left and red mustard 

red mustard

I picked red mustard for market but I pick even more for the chickens. They love it!

low tunnel with baby pak choi on the left, spinach sprouts on the right

baby pak choi

It's so warm the pak choi is trying to flower; they are good though, fresh, green, crispy, juicy.

eggs from the youngest black Ameraucana pullets

Several young pullets have begun to lay and some of the older girls also. By March everyone should be in full swing.

more pak choi ready to go to the garden

I have 4 trays each of pak choi, beets and lettuce ready to go to the garden. This week I also seeded 4 trays of leeks.

me and my .22

I lost about 5 chickens at my house in the big wooden coop in a week. I've never had anything get in there before. It was a skunk, which I trapped and dispatched. Peeee  eeeeeeeeeeeew! I'll be watching for signs it wasn't alone. For now things seem to be OK. for those that don't know, skunks are related to weasels and will eat eggs and chickens. They tend to just eat the heads and necks.

Another Skunk! November 8, 2009

Another Skunk!

November 8, 2009 at 2:15 pm

After shooting the first skunk the other day, there was evidence of a second one digging holes all over the garden and trying to get into the chicken pen. Well I have been trying to catch it out and shoot it and this morning I did. I discovered it was living under the house and shot it as it was going to go down it’s hole. So now the house is a bit smelly, but at least I don’t have to worry about the skunk.
Because it was digging all over the garden I hadn’t bothered planting any more seeds, now that it’s gone I’ll be planting up a storm to make up for lost time,
I also need to work on the greenhouse and finish the fence around the back garden. I also have to get busy and fix things so the rabbit & chickies in the house can go ahead and live outside. I’m hoping to get that done today.

SKUNK! November 4, 2009

SKUNK!

November 4, 2009 at 2:53 am

Well, I put up some chicken wire and made the hens enclosure bigger, including the rabbit cages and space for the little chicks. Well I know it won’t stop a dog but at least it will slow them down a couple of minutes.
Tonight I heard the little chicks squaking out there and there was a !@#@#!! skunk in there, with a chick by the head. I shone my flash light on it and it went out and I brought the chicks in. The hurt one probably won’t live the night. The others seem ok, just excited.
A few minutes later I was in the kitchen and could see that the skunk had returned to the scene of the crime, so I got my gun and shot it. yeah, one less skunk in the world.