INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

I rely on 4 different hay suppliers, and my last guy is out now too. Too much fresh spring growth can cause issues for goats and cows. My neighbor owes me 1 large round bale so I've called him. Hoping the other pastures growth matures quickly. Some of the underbrush shrubs are already green in the woods, so Its coming on quick. We have enough hay to get thru April, but makes me nervous to run out.
Had the furnace off today and opened the windows. Ahhh fresh spring smell! Took a short walk with Dad. He visited our little buckling, and wanted to see Belle and her goats. Daisy our little heifer calf really likes Dad, kept licking him.
Grapevines and blackberry bushes came so they are going in the ground this week. Got more strawberry plants last week they will be planted too. We have started putting trellis in, I want to get peas planted next. Tomatoes and pepper plants are booming upstairs can't wait to get them out!

 

[Nyla]

We had the same problem with stink bugs last summer! We got rid of them by putting small potted Lavender in all ceiling corners of our house, and spraying all outside crevices with Raid Ant & Roach Killer, Fragrance Free. Took about 2 weeks to get ride of all stink bugs!

Usually every fall we get a ton of the Asian lady beetles coming in the house. This past fall, we got a ton of stink bugs instead. That's when I realized there were no ladybugs. I wonder if the stink bugs killed them off or crowded them out.

I see several of them (stink bugs, brown kind) every day. The dogs want to eat them, but when they do, it must taste bad, cuz they spit them out. But that doesn't stop them from catching the next one they find.

I guess neither stink bugs or ladybugs bother me. They're better than spiders, flies or ants.

Nyla, that's so weird that the breeder didn't give you the flight info.

 

[Faraday40]

Last night DS asked me for a "penguin cake" for his birthday today. Here's my creation with the supplies I had on hand:

It's choc cake with a ganache glaze to make it look smooth. I used scissors to cut marshmallows since I didn't want to make another frosting..... and marshmallows are one of his fav sweets. DS was happy & said that it looked just like a penguin before I even decorated it.

Isn't it great being 9 when life is simple!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Last night DS asked me for a "penguin cake" for his birthday today. Here's my creation with the supplies I had on hand:
View attachment 1725192 View attachment 1725193

It's choc cake with a ganache glaze to make it look smooth. I used scissors to cut marshmallows since I didn't want to make another frosting..... and marshmallows are one of his fav sweets. DS was happy & said that it looked just like a penguin before I even decorated it.

Isn't it great being 9 when life is simple!

That is too cute!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Another nice day! I'm fighting temptation of planting a bunch of stuff lol. Looking at the 10 day forecast I'm going to wait to plant the grapes and blackberries. There's a lot of growth on them so I just put them with the veggies under the lights.
Maran and Leghorn babies are getting huge! All are around 10-12 weeks. Leghorn will start laying at 19 weeks, seems like Maran take longer from what I remember. Our first new chicken coop is nearly done. Going to be a huge relief to retire the old ones. Once the birds adjust to the new coops I'm looking forward to them being mobile. Will share pics once its done.
Little Daisy our heifer calf has been in with the goats a month to wean her. She walked right out of the electric netting this morning! Luckily my neighbor saw she was out and text right away. Put her back with the cow herd, first thing she did is run to her mom Pixie and nurse ! She's 8 months old! Pixie not only let her but started giving her a bath head to foot. I may move Pixie to my quarantine area, she's bred back so I want to dry her off and let her body rest.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Photos of the new coops, please

 

[oldrooster]

I rely on 4 different hay suppliers, and my last guy is out now too. Too much fresh spring growth can cause issues for goats and cows.

Dad grew up on a dairy farm, and mom's family always had a milk cow, along with beef cattle and I understand that you have to watch the tail to avoid getting in trouble from fresh greens. I'll leave it at that. lol I think if people didn't know what the problem was they know now... Mom's brother stood too close one time and had a brand new nice button up shirt ruined...

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Ok new coop pics! This is the chickshaw 2.0 I mentioned a while back. It will always be inside electric fence. Still need metal on the back, corner trim on sheet metal edges and paint doors. I will probably paint ramp too so it lasts longer. We used hardware cloth on all the openings.

Front showing handle to move it

side view Its tall enough to offer shade for chickens 5 gallon bucket on top for water supply.

Inside view nest box area

auto waterer with drain will be easier to clean.

Door doubles as a ramp

Top open to see nest box. If a hens broody just take the crate out with broody in it! I have extra crates for it.

waterers

Nest box external door.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Forgot to add the YouTube link. This fella is a permaculture guru like Joel Salatin.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Did you cut the crate for opening, or purchase them that way?