Duck eggs!

I don't remember when the ducks started laying, but their eggs are coming in steadily now.  Really nice sized and they're good layers too!  Egg is in my DD10's hand, so not as big as it looks in the picture.

Spring time bursting forth at the seams

Hills with watermelons and summer squash

 We're trying hills for our squash this year.  Our sons have planted a large watermelon/melon garden this year, it involved a lot of hilling, but they cheerfully got the work done.

Various crops coming along nicely

Sharing a cool drink of water

Sheer beauty

Very protective!  We found they had nested inside a hole in the fence pole.  So sweet.

Dairy Cow Milk Stanchion & Random Photos

That's what we've been busy with this weekend.  Relatively easy, it's not finished yet, we want to concrete the floor.

Ping decided to model it for us:

She's quite photogenic don't you think?  (Seriously, who thought I'd love goats so much!?)

Poor Poppet.  She has to be locked up for the night and doesn't enjoy it.  Working on a pen for her so she can be separated from mom 24/7.

The ducks are getting big.. and beautiful!

We have a nice variety. Three Pekins, two Rouens, three Ancona and two Welsh Harlequins.

Goodnight!

Of ducks and poop...

On Good Friday morning we decided to do a major cleaning of the mudroom.  With the ducks and kittens living in there it was getting a little hectic.  When everything was all nice and clean smelling and neatly re-packed I decided I didn't want the ducks back in there.  They are getting so big and they are MESSY and STINKY, even though they spend the majority of the day outdoors.

So when DH got home from work we went to work on building a temporary duck house in the dog run attached to the chicken coop.  We used hay bales, a section of a cattle panel for the roof support and a tarp.  It actually makes a pretty nice little shelter!

Ducks in the run

Duck shelter

Time for bed!

Nice and cozy :)

It's actually surprising warm in there.  Nice and protected and as long as we keep their water OUT of their shelter area it should stay relatively dry.

Once we have our big chicken coop built, the current chicken coop will become the duck house.  That's not too far off now, so this will do nicely until then.

Oh.. and the ducks are starting to QUACK!  Love it!

Terrific Tuesday

Photos around the farm taken by my DD16 :)

The ducklings have been growing.. again!

This is where they sleep at night, in our mudroom. They sure do go through their food and water FAST!

In the morning we put them outside, which they love. Oldest DS cut off one side of a mouse chewed water container and turned it into a little mini pond which they love to swim around in. It is clean for about the first 5 seconds after getting filled. People are not exaggerating when they say ducks are dirty! We love them though, they hang out in a group in the backyard and go everywhere together.

Exploring their new world.


I added a little video of the ducklings for your viewing pleasure :)

Tomato seeds have arrived

Today we finally received our tomato seed order from Seven Acre Seeds. I placed the order towards the end of March and they shipped in a timely manner, and I waited.. and waited... Finally after about 10 days from the shipment date I wrote and asked if I should be concerned that my order hadn't arrived yet. They very quickly shipped out a new order, which arrived today! I should add that we currently have temporary mail carriers and the mail delivery has been.. interesting. I am left wondering who got the original order of tomato seeds.

Unfortunately I had decided that it was getting too late, so last week I started tomato seedlings with seeds I already had on hand, so these will probably have to wait 'til next year. I specifically ordered crack free/resistant tomato varieties since so many of our tomatoes cracked last year. Some of the varieties I already had on hand we never planted last year, and they're said to be crack resistant, so I think we'll be okay. We planted out 105 tomato seedlings. According to MO's extension site that should be enough for our family for eating fresh and processing.


Tomatoes should be planted out about May 10th in our area so I'm off to a bit of a late start this year.

Kudos to Seven Acre Seeds for their excellent customer service, as well as for the free seed packet (Golden Egg) which was included in the order :)

Today is a really gloomy day, the ducklings are outside and loving it though! Tomorrow we hope to get Pasture 2 electric fenced so we can get the pigs in there and out of Pasture 1. We will have to move their shed, but that's relatively easy. Right now they have taken over Butterbelle's shed and we need to have that available to her when she calves at the end of May. We still need to get the milk stanchion made and get her used to it before she calves.. so much to do!!!

I also got another package today.. watch our Etsy store for new arrivals happening soon!

The ducks are growing... and growing!

The ducks got to enjoy their first swim... in our bathtub! They *loved* it! They sure do dirty up the water real fast though.


And we took them outside for the first time in a little enclosure. I don't know what they enjoyed more.. the swim or the outside time?!

With a quack quack here...

Ducks have joined the WildernesFamily Farm! We have two Mallard/Rouen (not sure yet) three Pekin, three possibly Ancona and two which we have no idea.. but they may be runner ducks! We'd like to have them for meat and eggs, excited to see what the future holds for us in our duck endeavors.