Busy summer

I love summer, but it sure is busy on a farm in summertime! So what have we been up to on the farm this summer? Well we really enjoyed raising the two pigs last year so we are doing that again. This year it is two male piglets. We picked them up in June, and here they are at about 12 weeks in age.

If you're wondering about raising a pig for meat here's what it will cost you. So far the costs have just been cost of piglet ($80 each), shavings ($6.50 per bag, so far only used 1 bag), and grain ($30 a bag because we feed them organic grain). We already had fencing, a feeder, and water tubs. In 5 weeks they have eaten 6 bags, or 300lbs of grain, and tripled in size. They are with us until late October, and I expect them to be a lot bigger than the girls we had last year if they continue this growth pattern!

We also now have 2 nigerian dwarf goats. They are three months old, and doing really well. We visited a friend, and just sort of fell in love with them. This is Starbuck (on the left) and Boomer (on the right). We are excited to watch them grow up, and eventually fit in with the sheep to help with the grazing. They are becoming quite friendly, although they actually prefer to stay inside, than to venture out, and spend most of their time asleep in the hay rack....a problem we hope to solve this weekend. Unlike the sheep who would rather spend all of their time outside whatever the weather.

Talking of the sheep. Edward...

And Eleanor are both doing very well. They have become very friendly this summer, and will come over to eat grain from my hand in the morning and evening. I think they are both adorable, I am just not sure what to do with this years fleeces. I guess I will try to put them on craigslist and see if I have any takers as I am too late to show them at the local fair.

The ducks are doing very well too. They are comical to watch and keep the whole family entertained. Jeremy still can't quack, but the three girls make up for it. No eggs yet, but they should start laying soon.

The chickens are enjoying being out on pasture, although every day is like an easter egg hunt as we try to find where they have stashed them!

August is a busy month for us, but I hope to keep you all better updated about life on the farm. I hope you all are enjoying your summer.

Spring has arrived

The flowers are starting to come up at Ridgeway farm and we now have daffodils and hyacinths enjoying moments of New England sunshine.

The ducklings are two weeks old and I have learnt some valuable lessons already.
1. Ducklings smell.
2. They poop a lot more than baby chickens.
3. They are messy (see above point).
And 4. Boy do they grow fast!
They are already about the size of 5-6 week old chicks. They do love their water, and have upgraded from the kitchen sink to the pig water tub outside.

My horse Muppet is doing well, and shedding like crazy. Someone please tell me why I have a grey and white paint? Our goal for the year is simple, try and stay sound.

The sheep are enjoying the start of the grass. We are in the middle of changing our fencing all to cattle panels, but hope they will be up soon so the sheep can go out in the bigger pasture. Edward is hoping the shearer will come and visit soon too!

I hope everyone is having a great spring so far. Now it's time to take a certain two dogs out for a walk!

If anyone lives close by and is in need of lambing supplies please contact me. I have a tub of things I will no longer need and would like to find them a home they will be needed at :-)

Time for something completely different

Happy spring everyone!

For me this is the time normally that lambs arriving and things are crazy. But as we just have Edward and Eleanor we don't have to go through that this year. Instead we had made the decision at about Christmas time to get ducklings delivered now instead. They arrived this morning, the post office actually called at 6:20am, and all 4 are healthy and doing very well.

This is our pair of Welsh Harlequins Jeremy and Jemima, we decided on Welsh Harlequins as they are supposed to be quite docile, and I think they look beautiful.

This is Jeremy...

and this one is Jemima.

And then we decided on a couple of female runner ducks because they make us laugh.

So this is Miranda....

and this is Stevie. They are named after characters in a British comedy show we enjoy.

We are excited to watch the ducklings grow, and will be busy for the next few weeks getting their shelter ready outside for them and getting them something to swim in. Sometimes being a novice on a breed is a little daunting, but we hope to do ok. Any duck tips are greatly received though!

The sheep are also both doing well, although poor Edward needs a shearer to come and give him a haircut very soon.

Eleanor is settling in great and will now eat out of my hand in the morning.

Happy start of spring everyone.

What's new?

Well a whole lot has changed.

We have decided to sell the Shetland flock and just keep Edward our Cotswold wether, and today we brought in Eleanor our new Cotswold ewe yearling. I very much adore Eleanor's ears!

The sheep are just going to be pets. No more crazy breeding and keeping of rams for us. We still have one Shetland ewe but she is due to leave very soon.

As you can tell by the layout change on the blog we are now going to focus this blog on our hobby farm. We have 5 older chickens (the retired group), and 7 younger chickens that are in their laying prime. We plan to raise two pigs organically again this year for meat, and have a few other animals joining us this year on our adventure.

My horse after a horrid year last year is finally on the mend! I'm sure I will continue to chronicle our adventures in dressage here too.

We also will talk a little about growing fruits and vegetables in the New England weather, and trying to start a garden.

It should be fun.

The good and the bad, but still here.

Sorry about my extreme lack of updates. I was very depressed over Binson's death and miss her terribly. Here's a list of things that have happened since then up to today.

Over Christmas we welcomed a new Jack Russell puppy into our family, we have called her Lily. She and Marcus get along like a house on fire which is great. Below is her a picture of her on the day we picked her up. I will dedicate a post to her soon. She has grown a lot!

Now the less than happy news...

We lost our other elderly dog Zorra in January. It wasn't sudden, and was almost a relief, but death is always sad.

We had to rehome our rabbits as my partner was having terrible allergic reactions to hay in the house all the time. They now both have great new homes and are very happy.

This week Eleanor (one of last years ewe lambs that we kept) became caught in the fencing overnight and was dead in the morning. Her pasture mate Eliza stayed by her side and wouldn't leave her side. It was all horrible and very upsetting for us and the flock. It does mean that this year I will be looking for gulmoget ewe lamb to add to my flock...and maybe a nice flecket.

Today everyone was sheared.

This is Vladamir our wether looking handsome.

And Horseradish our ram. I love him using his horns to scratch himself!

And never knew he had so many spots under his wool!

This is Eliza on the left, and Isabella on the right.

And a very pregnant Jewel, although my shearer thinks Isabella will lamb first. Any thoughts?

It is freakishly warm in New England at 68 degrees today where we are so I think everyone is enjoying their new haircuts and the sunshine. Here are some happy sheep pictures.

That's all. A mixed bag of ups and downs. But spring is here, and lambs will be here in a few more weeks. Happy spring everyone!

I've been busy

Very busy. Showing sheep and my horse, etc etc.

This past weekend was the Bolton Fair. Our very local country fair. I took along my ram and my two ewe lambs to show. My new ram Rad (Horseradish) did wonderfully winning his Junior ram lamb class, and then going on to win Champion Shetland ram at the show.

Eleanor and Eliza entered the ring, forgot their halter training, and promptly threw themselves down on the ground. My poor son had a terrible time keeping Eleanor on her feet, although even with this she did manage to second, and the smaller Eliza did alright and came fifth. Overall very nice and promising for next year. They're not standing well in this picture, but at least they are on their feet.

I did manage to squeeze in some time to watch events. I saw some very cute animals.

Oh, and we added 3 animals to our ever growing family. My son purchased a very young guinea pig (no picture yet) that he has called Teddy Bear. And my partner and I finally bought rabbits. So this is my rabbit Julius.

And my partners rabbit Octavian. We seem to have a Roman theme going on. A proper cage is on it's way.

I also managed to take my horse Muppet to NEDA's fall schooling show. Here's one of the proofs from the event. We also got Reserve High Score with a 68.75 which made me so proud of my horse. Time to start learning the Training level tests.

After all of this, I feel a little like Marcus my puppy.

So what have you been up to?

We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave

As I sit inside being blasted by a fan I thought I would post a quick update. We are suffering in a heat wave here in Massachusetts at 1oam it was already in the 90's. For my friends/family in England that translates at around 30+ degrees. Throw in some humidity and it's pretty yucky outside right now, and not much better inside with no A/C. In fact I am going to a movie theatre later today just to appreciate the cool for a few hours! The animals are doing ok, the fans are blasting in the sheep barn and there are buckets of water a plenty. The other night it was a little cooler (ok so there was a breeze), and I managed to get some halter work done on the lambs.

Eliza still isn't sure about it, but has started to eat animal crackers and I think this will help things progress.

Eleanor was even less unsure. But if a cookie happened to be dropped near her she might be tempted to eat it. Still a mommy's girl she has been the hardest to train, but still any progress is good right now (just realized the picture makes her look like she has 3 legs lol)

Rad is a delight to train. He has become friendly and curious about me and I can even play with his legs already.

My son Ian has taken over training and looking after our wether Vlad, the two of them get on very well, and I think it is sweet when Ian asks if we can "go and walk the lambs tonight?"

Fruit bushes are doing very well. We had so many strawberries this year that we made jam. I still have goosberries left to make jam from as well, when the weather cools down a little. Blueberries and raspberries have a little less fruit on them.

Wonder where the ripe berries have gone?

They are on the way to the pool, and might just get picked in passing on the way there and back again.

I also was busy doing another dressage show with my horse Muppet last weekend (sorry no pictures) and was so happy with him as we scored in the 60% in all 3 tests, he was also such a grown up and really listened.

That's all for now. I hope you (and your animals) are staying cool. Do you have any tips for how to beat the heat?

Happy 5th of July

I know it should be the 4th but yesterday I was busy falling off my horse (ouch), so I am a day late. Thankfully it is all just bruises and a little whiplash in my neck, which should all heal quickly. Things have been busy, with changes taking place. All the lambs that were being sold have left for their new homes, and we also made the tough decision to sell some of our ewes to decrease the flock. I was very happy to find such wonderful homes for everyone though.

We decided to keep the following sheep; Jewel, Isabella, Eleanor, Eliza and Vlad as a wether (he has an appointment next week with the vet poor dear).

That gives us 2 ewes to breed this fall.

Isabella

And Jewel

And 2 ewe lambs for breeding next year.

We have a ram lamb on his way and I will be picking him up on Sunday. I am excited to get him and think he will fit in very nicely here. Pictures will follow as soon as he arrives. This means I need to do more halter work with everyone, before I add another one to the mix.

I wanted to show you our black eyed susan. It appeared last summer in a crack in the asphalt driveway by the barn. I think it's rather amazing that it is thriving and flowering so beautifully. I hope to be able to transplant it in fall, and hope it does just as well in the garden. Isn't nature wonderful? We also have sunflowers that have sprung up around the chicken coop and one in a pot on the deck that the birds must have scattered. Does anyone else have plants that have just appeared in strange locations?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.