So, after weeks of just plain cold, we finally got snow. in fact it snowed twice this week! it is even snowing out there right now, if you can call the the slop that is falling out of the sky snow. It is really more of a slush. Earlier today it was rain. That made the ducks happy, although the chickens and the goats did not care to go out in it at all. It will all probably freeze over night.
Let’s get on with it then. I thought it would be better to do more than just an egg count every week, so I kept track of some of the things that happened this week to fill up the space. I won’t promise that it will be interesting, so, if you just want to know the weekly egg count skip to the end.
Monday: supposedly the worst day of the new year. I guess because it is the first Monday after holidays for most people. I spent the day doing my usual chores. It goes like this….
The dog wakes me up between 6:00am and 6:30 am. I take her out and then come back in for a cup of coffee (or two). I check email and surf the web for a bit, then at 8:00 I go feed the goats. This is mostly giving them grain, making sure they have a full water bucket. I check the girls first and then the boys, then go release the quackens. The ducks usually have to tell me all about their night while we walk together out of their pen and into the “forest”. Then I go “wake up” the chickens which involves turning on their lights, opening their door to the yard, making sure they have food and water (that is not frozen), and collect eggs. every day except Monday I go across the road and get the morning paper (no paper on Monday) and then tally and put the eggs away.
This Monday I also had the plumber out to check out the failing shower/bath drain. He came out early and told us it was an easy fix, but not until Tuesday morning.
I spent the rest of the day gathering eggs, checking on the goats, walking the dog etc….
Milking at 3:00, I think we went out to dinner, feeding and corralling goats, ducks and chickens at 8:00pm
Tuesday:
before
before
after
after
The plumber came out at 8:30, and by 10:30 we had a fully functioning bathtub/shower. They even found a wrench that had been under the tub for who knows how long.
I had to weigh Rusty goat to determine how much tetanus vaccine to give him, I called the Vet. to make sure I had the right vaccine and amount.
Rusty weighs 35 pounds, he was 3 months old on Jan 1st. It is time to band him.
At the end of the day we noticed that the refrigerator on the front porch had died. The milk was still cool, but the stuff in the freezer was beginning to melt. So we did a frantic shuffle to get all of the stuff from there into our other fridge and freezer. Time to shop for a new one.
Wednesday: We finally got snow instead of just cold. I vaccinated Rusty in preparation for banding on the 18th. a goat that small is harder to hang onto when you try to stick him with a needle.
When my wife got home we went shopping for a new fridge. We decided on the one at Lowes. It has to fit into a very specific space, and they deliver and haul the old one away for free.
Thursday:
I took the dog with me into town and she stayed in the truck while I went into the store and purchased the new fridge. They will deliver Friday morning.
As I was going out to milk, two ambulances and a fire truck went racing down the road toward the reservation. I turns out a small plane crashed two miles up the road in a field taking out a power pole and knocking out the power here for about 3 hours.
Friday: Lowes delivered the new fridge. took the old one away. While they had the room clear I took the opportunity to vacuum the floor. The 2 cats living out there really make a mess over time.
On one of my watering runs I noticed that the ducks pen was quite filthy and so I cleaned off the top layer of straw, dumped and cleaned and refilled their water bowls. It takes longer than you would think for such a small space, but most of it was frozen solid and I had to chip it apart in order to shovel it out.
Saturday: Today it rained, .17 inches for the day. I think the temp got up to 50. Other than that I mostly stayed in when I could.
Egg count for the week 1/5 thru 1/11:
Eggs – 71
cartons filled – 6
Sold – 10 dozen