Australorp Eggs have arrived!!!

It's my first time... First time buying eggs and having them sent in the mail. 

They were posted Tuesday and got here Thursday. Well done for coming from Victoria! The seller packed them incredibly well. Soooo impressed.

So now I have to wait... Love having them in the incubator as I haven't hatched out anything for a couple of years now... Been a while. Loving turning them gently each day...

20 days to go. Hehe

Blessings,

Never ending...

Russell on the tractor making mince meat of Thorn Valley...

In need of a clean...

Just about ready for the incubator :)

One thing I have found with having 8 acres that are not yet full of trees and shrubs is that there is always an awful lot of mowing... Thank goodness we have a tractor...

Russell was out there again today now that the ground was a little firmer. Thorn Valley, as the boys call it, being down the front near the recycle water hoses, was just wild... And amongst it all Russell mowed the nest of our Guinea Fowls... I still can't believe he didn't hit it with the blade or drove over it. They they were just in a big pile. They boys loved helping me get them inside :)

And I thought they weren't laying... When we picked up the 20 eggs there were imprints like they had been wet. I took them all inside and cleaned them off. Out came the incubator again... Didn't realise it would be out again so soon. :)

Here is hoping a couple will hatch at least... I am not too optimistic about the ones that have been there for three weeks but maybe ones laid since the rains might just make it??? And now I know that they do lay eggs. :) :) :)

So will update in a month or so with numbers. lol

Cheers Damaris

All settled in...

All chooks out doing their thing, eating :)

Well the new purebreds I got from Killarney from Michael not long ago are now all settled in. I was a little nervous to begin with about getting the Pit Game Hens but have had nothing to worry about at all... They have settled in beautifully... It took them only three nights to go to into the hen house by the time the boys shut it up at night fall. This has been great as it is not allot of fun chasing a chook as fast as these ones in the near dark, let me tell you. I did it once and left the other two nights to the boys. They coped fine. Last two night only two were out each time so that make it easy. They have started laying in the nesting boxes as well so that shows that they are truly settled as a chook that don't lay, ain't happy...

Four hens are sitting on eggs at the moment and tonight King Ralph and his two girls are let out of their rehoming cage...

Can't wait to see him and Bruce sort out their thing. Wonder who will be top dog so to speak... At least they have plenty of ground and girls to choose from and to go their own ways... Only at night time will they be in the one hen house. Am sure they will be alright. Bruce had five other roosters at one time to contend with, though that was a little too much. Too much crowing and too much competition for the girls. They did hound them a little. Not anymore though. Bruce has stepped up his job too which is just as well... I want some babies coming soon. :) Will be getting the incubator out again shortly.

The hens are now on average laying about 7-8 eggs a day which is nice. I like having a couple of dozen on hand at all times. Plenty to barter with and give them away for free. :)

Cheers Damaris

Our latest Babies... Keets

Our five keets...

OK one more quick post as they will be so big in a week by the time I get back and wanted to show you our new babies... They are keets. Baby Guinea fowl.

When I bought Guineafus our male his three ladies, they laid five eggs within the first three days of being here. I knew that there were males at their previous home so turned them for two days and then set them in the incubator. Did the same as chook eggs, turning twice a day, sometimes even forgetting.

We put five eggs in there and guess what??? We got five keets out of it. Woohoo. 100% hatching. Never had that before, ever... We left them in the incubator till they were dry and moved the first four to their new home with the light, food and water. They are soooo skittish that we could not even catch them to show them how to feed and drink... They taught themselves thank goodness. The last one, the light coloured one was out two days later and a little wobbly when we first put it in with the others as they had found their feet already. But now they are all happy together and there is no picking on anyone at all.

They are lovely to watch. So cute. Don't look like their grown up Mums at all... That will come with time.

Cheers Damaris

Updates from our place to yours...

New heifer calf relaxing while Lavender eats...

We have not had much happen around her in the last couple of days. One chick is still trying to get out of its shell after nearly 24 hours trying to get out. It is still chirping and doing its thing. I am determined to not help it but let me tell you it is hard.

Daisy is still sitting faithfully on her goose eggs. Getting more and more bantam eggs which is great as well. Four chicks are doing great in the bathroom as well... They are very quiet I must say. Not like the usual noisy lots that we have had before.

Guinea pig babies are growing fast and make as much noise now as mum. :)

Our newest calf is going great. She is jumping all over the place and keeping mum on her toes. She is feeding really well and Lavender's udder seems to be used well. Have still not decided on a name but Russell and I have agreed that heifers from now on we will not put in the freezer. We will either sell them or exchange with our breeder once weaned. The boys and I will get a name for her over the weekend and I will write about that next week.

Tomorrow we are off to Brissie as we have a wedding to go to. Russell's niece is getting married. Hope the rain holds off for her and visits us here in the country instead... That would be nice. We need it. There is so little feed for the cows at the moment and I hate having to always hand feed them. Much more natural for them to forage themselves...

Anyway that is me for the week. Will post about the wedding off course over the weekend. It is the first wedding that our whole family is going to which is rather exciting for us as parents. The boys love the clothes that they are wearing which is always a bonus I guess...

Cheers Damaris

More chickens...

First born was the bottom one, then the right and last the left...

Over the last three days we have had some chicks hatch. I am not helping them out of their shells this time as last time I did that and two didn't make it. Was rather sad. I am getting better at just letting nature take its course.

We have three little ones so far, another one is in the incubator drying off at the moment. All is well with the world here... they grow so quickly... Had an egg the other day for brekkie and had three yolks in it. Have never seen that before. Plenty with two but never with three. That was a new experience. Loved it...

Cheers Damaris