Today in the Barnyard

I can't stop taking pictures of these adorable stuffies!

 

 

Our surprise ewe born last night is doing great!

 

Awwwww...

 

The bottle babies are hungry!!!

I don't think this is the way you are supposed to do it!

Goat Families.

In this photo there are two mothers, three sons, two brothers, 
one daughter, three half brothers, one grandmother, one grandson,
  one half sister, two uncles, and one nephew. 
(I'll sort that out for you. The two adults are mother and daughter. 
Two boys belong to the mother, one boy belongs to the daughter.
All the boys have the same father. )  

Yearling sisters, Angelina (left) and Jolie (right)

 

 

 

 

ClaireAnna has had runner ducks for a couple of years now, and only just acquired her first male recently.  We are very hopeful that we will soon have our first purebred runner ducklings.  However, runners are not known for their broodiness or good setting skills.  They are a duck breed that has been developed specifically for two purposes, exhibition and egg production, and like egg producing chickens, they often have no clue how to set a clutch.  But right now, in the runner pen, all five of our ducks have decided to set.  The one standing up only did so when I entered the shed.  Whether or not all or some of these ducks will successfully finish the job and provide us with ducklings remains to be seen.  We are giving them the chance to try! Two are nest sharing on the left, and three are nest sharing on the right.  FYI: Female duck = duck, male duck = drake.

 

 

 We only have the one male runner and since all his ladies are trying to be good mamas, he spends his time wondering the pen alone. 

 

Now Ancona ducks are a different story. 

 They are awesome setters and mamas!

 

What's under this blue thing?

A boat load of Ancona eggs!

These two girls are nest sharing that beautiful pile of eggs. 
They are both dedicated setters. 
They only leave this nest box when I come into their pen to take a photo!  

This is another ancona duck setting on a nest of runner eggs,
just in case the runners don't come through for us!

Sadly, we found a dead chicken in the barnyard today.  This Brahma hen was one of the free range chickens that we don't collect eggs from.  The good news is that we found her body in a location that Sniper could not possibly have been!  He didn't do it!  It is also clear that she was not killed by something , but rather died on her own.  I do not know why, but since egg production just started up heavy again, she could have been egg bound and since she was free range, there is no way we could have known.  


 

We expect a big storm late tonight, and so a few things had to be done to prepare for it.....

The Bobsy Twins will spend the storm safe and sound in a stall in the barn.

Sniper too! Since his dog kennel is outside with
 only a small dog house for shelter, he'll spend the night in a goat pen.

I put up a new wind and rain block tarp in the Ancona pen
to protect my setting mamas.

ClaireAnna stuffed the goat's hay rack with hay.

 

And our resident psychotic has been chained to her dog house
and drugged with benadryl as per her vet's instructions!
I hope it works!