Farm chatter

[black_cat]

Good morning everyone!

 

[black_cat]

True, cost and time are huge factors, but there are so many ways to save on both! I don't use any bedding for the chickens, so that's a huge save. Sheep only need hay during winter and grain during lambing season, so they are pretty cost effective. They can sustain themselves on just grass during spring-fall. Selling eggs and chicks of course are great ways to earn back from the chickens.

I didn't believe in chicken math at first, until I kept getting chickens.... Then I realized it was 100% real. I would love to share some pictures of my pets! I mostly have bantam pictures and cat pictures, but I can get some sheep, Lf chicken, and turkey pictures if you want to see them.

Sage, my sweet Bantam Barred Cochin. Bantams cochins are the best roosters ever, he is my friendliest chicken and likes getting picked up.View attachment 2414155

Pet cats, Merc (short for Mercury), and Pie.
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Barn kittens, Ginger and Grayson.
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Amelia, a Holland Lop.
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Bantam Cochins Rhubarb and Basil, taking the first dust bath in a month. All my bantams had to be quarantined because of coccidiosis, so they weren't outside for a while.
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Never enough bantam cochins! 3 brown red cochin chicks and a silkie chick.View attachment 2414170

Ducks! Breeds left to right are: White Layer, Golden 300, Black Swedish, Golden 300, Blue Swedish, and Cayuga.
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Bantam cochins are soooo cute! You're lucky to have a sweet boy!
Your cats are beautiful- I LOVE their coloring, and they look so soft! How long have you had them?
Barn kittens are sO CUTE- how do barn cats work? Do they just....hang out in the barn? How's that work?
I"m sensing you have a lot of bantam cochins..what's your favorite coloring with them? I really like blue.
Your ducks are beautiful!!! I didn't know about black swedish....stunning. I've always loved the blue swedish, but the black ones are amazing.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Barn kittens are sO CUTE- how do barn cats work? Do they just....hang out in the barn? How's that work?

Barn cats are pretty awesome. Ours hang around, get into stuff, and occasionally leave a nice gift lying on the shop floor for you - of the songbird type. Not so much anymore, now that it's winter, but in the summer... Keeps you on your toes XD.

 

[black_cat]

Barn cats are pretty awesome. Ours hang around, get into stuff, and occasionally leave a nice gift lying on the shop floor for you - of the songbird type. Not so much anymore, now that it's winter, but in the summer... Keeps you on your toes XD.

Do barn cats just magically appear in whenever there's a barn, or do you put them there?
I"m used to nice gifts from the felines- my non barn cat loves to leave us chipmunks.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Do barn cats just magically appear in whenever there's a barn, or do you put them there?
I"m used to nice gifts from the felines- my non barn cat loves to leave us chipmunks.

Ours were there when we moved in, but the old owner had put them there . The story is that the neighbor's cats had kittens and that's where our cats came from. Both are neutered and both are male. If you do get barn cats, make sure they are spayed/neutered. It doesn't take long for one barn cat to find another... and then someone has kittens.

 

[Tre3hugger]

What an awesome opportunity @black_cat ! I spent my mid 20s WOOFing. World Organization of Organic Farmers. I volunteered\lived on some very nice farms and some not so nice ones. It is a great way to learn farming while travelling cheap! Now I have a 5 acre, 2nd year homestead! It will be a lifelong work in progress. Enjoy your experience. Be like a sponge! Even in bad situations, learn.what not to do. Thanks for documenting your experience with us.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Barn cats are pretty awesome. Ours hang around, get into stuff, and occasionally leave a nice gift lying on the shop floor for you - of the songbird type. Not so much anymore, now that it's winter, but in the summer... Keeps you on your toes XD.

A neighbor's Barn cat ate my mom's OEGB one early spring.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

A neighbor's Barn cat ate my mom's OEGB one early spring.

Oh man. That stinks. I was worried that our cats would eat our bantams, but two d'Anver roosters decided they were going to stalk and then attack the cats once. The cats have left the full-grown chickens again. I still keep them away from the chicks though.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Here's some pictures of Goober, & his sister's. The flash made their feathers look different. It was dark in the coop.

Topaz is the Buff Partridge. I haven't named the Wheaten yet. Her breast feathers are a lighter tone then the rest of her, & looks similar to the Wheaten Marans when they have an extension of red. Think of a New Hampshire hen?

 

[JadeFarms]

This is Inigo, one of our two Great pyrs. He's over 120 lbs, has a huge bark, barks all night long, and is a big fluffy baby XD

ETA: Forgot to mention. He's only a year old.

Next dog I get will either be Anatolian shepherd, Great Pyrenees or a mix of the 2.