This time of year when the babies start arriving, it can be very busy, but this year, the addition of being the general contractor for the renovations after the flood has been taking so much of my time. I am arranging the drywall repair, plumbing, electrical and flooring installation and after I paint, then a finishing carpenter will install new baseboards and door casings and new countertops in the kitchen. I will likely do some tile work in the bathroom downstairs and the kitchen upstairs. Just when things seemed to be progressing smoothly, a new problem arose. 

There was a lot of water down the hill at the house. At first I simply thought the ice was really melting, and then we had some pretty heavy rains for a week. But the sun came out and the water continued to be present. The only explanation was that there was a problem with the well. The plumber who was already here installing the shower downstairs took a look and sure enough, the water was coming up from the well. He shut off the pump and the water subsided. He believes that the T joint from the well to the house is compromised somehow and in order to see how, the area has to be excavated around it to 8 feet deep. OUch! I am shuddering to think what the backhoe will cost. In the meantime, the water to the farm is shut off because the pump has been switched off at the main breaker. I can turn it on if I require water, and I do once a day to water the critters. At that time I also collect 5 gallons of water, a kettle full for drinking and pot full for cooking, plus a sink full for washing. Hopefully this will be addressed soon. 

Then the plumber was installing the shower and the drain had to be busted out of the concrete and moved a little because the wall had pushed in by an inch or more from the top to the bottom of the shower. And the straw that broke the camel's back - the shower pieces were incorrect. The base and back matched, but the wrong sides were given. Now I have to go to Edmonton to exchange the sides IF they even have them. Grrrr! That is a 6 hour drive for a mistake by some employee. 

The sheep and goats are a little staggered in breeding this year. Some lambed in February and some in March and others in April, but there are more to come in May. The ram that was in with the majority of the girls did not mate with any of them, so Quinn, the Blue Faced Leicester, who was out visiting some other girls, came home and did the job. The Romney ram was likely too young and will do a better job next year, hopefully. There are still 3 goats left to kid and about a dozen sheep, though some may be very late. Today they got new bales of hay, as did the rams and the ewes have started on a grain supplement because they are very thin. Enya does not have enough milk for her little guy. He is doing OK, but stealing some milk from unsuspecting moms when they are nursing singles. As long as he is stealing, I won't intervene. I checked him over today and he was still round so he is not starving. Enya does feed him some. If he becomes lethargic I may have to bottle feed him and I sure do not want to do that. 

So, times are crazy busy. That is sometimes how life goes. It will get better. I am still thankful for all I have and am grateful that there will be money to take care of the flood damage. The well, I guess is a wait and see. Hopefully we don't need a new one. That is a 25 thousand I don't have to spend. Fingers are crossed...yours too?

The little chicks are just over a week old and are developing their feathers. They had outgrown their big cardboard box in the porch, where they initially were kept so I could watch them closely. 

Today they went to the new place, the livestock trough brooder. There are two heat lamps in the trough, in case one bulb burns out. There is real hay on the floor of the trough, a big chunk of moist sod, food and some water, though the tray on the chick waterer cracked so tomorrow a new one or two will be in order. The sod is for dirt. They need the soil bacteria to help culture their digestive system and the grit in it to grind the whole organic grain they are being fed. I have ground the grain for the first week and will do so for a bit longer, but they are starting to pick at the whole grains too. 

I observe the little chicks cared for by the mother hens. The day they are hatched she calls them outside and they jump, walk, hop and manage to get to where she wants them to be, sometimes with a great deal of effort, but they do get there, nonetheless. They scratch the dirt, pick up the odd piece of grain and bits of grass and the chicks are exposed to wind, sun, rain and even snow recently. When they are cold, they peep loudly and mother hen warms them until they are calm. She warms them less and less as they develop their feathers and can begin to regulate their own temperature better. 

I have had great success with the livestock trough brooder.This old trough was free because it has rusted through in two places. I posted an ad looking for one and the gent was pleased to have it gone, as it was no longer useful to him for his cows. It is large. I have a smaller one too, and this year it is set up beside the bigger one, for goslings and ducklings when they hatch in the mom's nests. I cannot allow them to free range with their parents because the ravens eat them. There are three geese on about 30 eggs. 

After the chicks are out of the brooder, they go into a hoop coop with a heat lamp still in case of a chill. The hoop coop is 8 x 10 feet to provide ample growing room and it is movable, but the chicks all have to be caught and caged for moving. The geese and ducklings follow a similar path. 

These chicks are top of the line Ameraucanas, Cream legbars (and both those breeds lay blue eggs) and there are 3 white Chanteclers too. I am going to mix them with my existing chickens of those breeds, plus the Partridge Chanteclers I already have.  My aim is to create a wonderful, hardy, foraging flock that will lay eggs and raise chicks from year to year. I think this will be my last influx of new chicks for some time and from now on, just a new rooster will likely be added. 

And to think, upon moving here, I suffered a true bird phobia and was deathly afraid of chicks and chickens, well, all birds to be exact. It took 3 years to fight that phobia and I can finally say, it is gone. Now...back to check on the chicks. 

Today was shearing day. It has been raining and snowing for a week with well over 2 inches of rain and the sheep were quite wet through to the skin the day before yesterday. Wool, even when wet, provides warmth, so they didn't mind, but it is not really easy to shear a wet sheep. Fortunately the weather cooperated and the sun came out yesterday so it was dry enough to get the shearing done. 

I ran to the grocery store this morning since the crew was going to be here for supper and the shearers were also staying overnight. I keep a slim pantry usually, but needed some things I do not normally buy, like bread and milk. As it turns out, the shearers do not eat white bread or drink store bought milk and my guests preferred coffee. I will freeze the bread and buns. The shearers are leaving at 6 am and I am not getting up to cook them breakfast. They will pop in to pick up some items stashed in my tiny fridge prior to leaving. Robbie will bard so I will get up to say good bye and go back to sleep. 

The shearing took most of the day. There was only one shearer this year, but I was graced by the presence of 5 adult helpers, one grandbaby and two Mormon elders, who came by to continue assisting with the yard clean up. To top that off, the plumber, drywall team and electrician were working in the bed and breakfast house too. We had gone over their work the previous day, so my presence was not required there thank goodness. 

The skirting tables were grid systems from a store closeout and they panels were set on what we had, feeders and barrels to elevate them enough to work on. My new friend and business partner, Vicki, was in charge of skirting the fleece along with her friend Janet. They took off the manure tags and any very dirty wool. The wool is loosely packed in grain totes and is in the barn for now until I can unwrap the bundles and ensure they are 100% dry prior to packing away. The two men in kilts were a father and son and Janet was the mom/wife and Vicki and her partner Gord were there helping too. I feel very honoured they would take a midweek day off, drive 2.5 hours each way from Edmonton and come out to help. I am grateful to say the least. 

The shearing went fine, the skirting went well, the sheep were not happy though because they had to be off feed and water for 18 hours. The girls were given some alfalfa and lots of hay and fresh water and after finishing the rest of the necessary chores, I called it a night. I am tired, but content and it was indeed a very good day thanks to these wonderful people. Thank you to all who were present, for your presence was my present. (corny?) I really and truly appreciated each one of you. The job is done for this year and summer is on its way. 

Some new additions for the Fat Ewe Farm have arrived. They are true Ameraucanas, Cream legbars and 3 white Chantelcers. Ameraucana chickens are my favourite breed. They are hardy, forage well, eat less than many breeds, lay consistently, but not through the winter and have pretty blue eggs. They are not overly friendly, but also not overly flighty. I can easily walk amongst them without causing a panic situation and they do not mind if I enter the coop. They simply look up as if to say, "Oh, it's only you!" and go back to doing whatever they were doing. 

These Ameraucanas originate from two different lines in Ontario and one from southern Alberta.  I am not interested in showing chickens, but I do prefer true breeds to start with, then I mix them up. The best breed so far are the Chantacaunas, or Chantecler and Ameraucana crosses. The birds are larger than Ameraucanas, better setters and brooder and better foragers than the Chanteclers, plus are very winter hardy. 

The cream legbar is a sort of leghorn chicken and the males and females look different at hatching, so they can be sexed right from the start. Unfortunately, I have 7 roosters and only 5 hens then. The chickens lay blue eggs very similar to the Ameraucana in colour, but they are better layers. So to increase the number of eggs per year and hopefully through winter I thought I would bring this breed into the flock. For my set up, which is an insulated coop without additional heat or light in the winter, the birds need to be hardy. They are fed and watered outside, not matter the weather and they do have a larger hoop shelter, which I call the day spa, to hang out in. It has a south facing low window where the chickens congregate to absorb some vitamin d and the warmth of the sun. 

In the fall I plan to sell, if I can, a bunch of chickens. These new additions should be grown up by then and I can decide which ones to keep and which ones to sell. The problem is that people do not want to bother with winter chickens around here, so fall sales are pretty much non existent. I would hate to butcher them, especially since they already cost a pretty penny for these pure lines, so may have to wait until spring. But the cost of organic grain is currently 40 cents a pound and feeding chickens that I plan to sell may mean they won't even bring enough money to pay for their winter keep. 

Tonight the babies are in the porch in a rather small container with a heat lamp for observation. I ran the regular feed of wheat, peas, flax and barley through the grinder and they are gobbling it up. Tomorrow they will go into the large old livestock trough outside with a second heat lamp. There is an old door covering the trough and they can see the sun. In warm weather I remove the door and put a wire over the trough to prevent cats and other birds (ravens, owls) from taking the babies. Then they can feel the wind on their faces and the sun on their backs, and when they feel cold, run under the heat lamp to warm up, just as they would with their mammas. 

I have observed the mother hens with their newly hatched chicks often. They are not in a building. The chicks run after the mothers, over straw and hay, through mud and on uneven ground. The wind blows their little downy feathers and the sunshine and rain falls on their backs. I do not agree with brooding chicks in buildings where there is no sunshine. Vitamin D is necessary for birds as it is for humans. Coddled birds that do not get fresh air, get respiratory problems. Outdoor chicks raised with their mothers seldom get anything. So my set up mimics natural chick rearing as much as possible. When they are big enough to go into a hoop coop, they will grow up there, protected from the owls and ravens, but still very much outside. They get fresh green grass picked twice daily and their organic feed too. 

So, welcome the newest little ones to the farm please if you will. And stay tuned to watch them grow with posts from time to time. Thanks for being with us. 

Over the years I have had some problems with an owl eating the little things on the farm. He loves duck though, and that is his favourite of all the tasty bits here. 

Two winters ago, the owl came every morning for his meal, a tasty duck, but only ate the crop and left the rest. Ducks are defenseless at best, which is why they have so many babies. They fall prey to many predators, including ariel ones like owls. But I do not want the owl to come to the farm. It is prohibited to destroy an owl, because they are becoming endangered, sot the only option is to protect the fowl by penning them in with a wire over the top. I could try to get a dog that is trained to keep ariel predators away, but would the dog also eat the birds at first? 

I had to leave the farm today to drive to Edmonton to pick up a shower for the replacement of the one in the bed and breakfast house as a result of the flood. I called ahead to make sure they had the stock ready so I could basically just pick it up and leave since it was paid for by phone order. But it would not fit into the truck canopy no matter which way we tried, and so we took it out of the box and tried again. I had to be refunded for the 60 inch shower and purchase the 48 inch model instead so it would fit into the truck. They were not able to courier the item out due to the large size. So I was there for a longer time than I needed to be really. 

I was concerned that one of the sheep or goats may need assistance, though I only had to help one first time mom with her large lamb this year. Thank goodness. There was nothing amiss on the farm when I returned 8 hours from departing, except a bunch of feathers in the sheep pen around the water bowl where the ducks like to hang out. Judging by the feathers it was a drake that was taken. I will have to mentally inventory the ducks tomorrow. The owl is back! 

The only way to prevent this from happening is to lock the birds in a pen with a wire. They will no longer be able to forage through the grass and catch flies, which is part of why I keep them. The owl does not seem to prefer chickens, only the ducks and often the drakes. He does not usually eat the entire duck either, but this time the only part left was the trachea and some feathers. He may have carried it away. 

A few years back the pot belly pigs were on the east side, which is the forest side and the piglets went missing, one at a time. There were claw marks on the boar and sow and I knew it was an owl that was after them then. I moved the pigs, but the piglets were all gone. The ravens got the next litter on the other side of the barn. The owl took one duck a day in the winter until I locked them up until 10 am every day, by which time he had gone to feed elsewhere and he did not come back. Then he was back once and did not return, but that time was 3 pm in broad daylight. I left at 10 am this morning so the attack was in broad daylight again. At the moment I do not have a way to lock the  ducks up other than their winter coop. In the winter they do not mind because they are just eating and trying to stay warm, but now they want to be out roaming the field and eating the grass and bugs. I cannot blame them. 

So, will it be no ducks? I don't know. I guess I will see what happens tomorrow and the next day. Got any ideas:?

One of the dogs had begun to dig a hole in the manure pile, not where the Mamma bunny had her burrow, but to the east of that. There was quite a hole already. It is not unusual for the livestock guardian dogs to dig huge holes when it is hot and crawl in them to keep cooler. 
Robbie saw the hole and thought he would investigate, only he seemed very interested in the hole. He began to dig in earnest. It did not occur to me that there was any reason for him to be digging, only that another dog started and he was going to continue. But I was wrong. 
Robbie dug out a rabbit den and one of the baby rabbits. He mouthed it but did not hurt it. It was wet with saliva and covered with dirt and was hopping away. The llama ,Karin , was curious as usual and was careful, but a sheep almost stepped on the little bunny. I picked it up and it screamed . I would too, out of the burrow for the first time ever with no mother around for instructions or safety, hopping over to where huge creatures were and then a predator picking it up (in its mind). Now wonder it screamed. 
I tried to put it back in the burrow but I think Robbie caved most of it in. Mamma rabbit will fix that , however the little bunny may not live. I had absolutely no idea there were 2 burrows in the old manure pile. 2! I felt so awful that Robbie disrupted the rabbit nest. That little one that escaped will have little chance of survival. It was too young for me to take away from its mother and too small to survive on its own. The ravens or the dogs would take care of it, though the dogs have not hurt any of the rabbits that live in the yard. This weekend they will be caught, but what do I do about the two rabbit dens and these mothers who obviously have baby bunnies? I have to try to catch them all somehow or soon the Fat Ewe  Farm will be the Over Run with Rabbits Farm. I do not want to even think about my garden! 
I scolded Robbie for digging up the rabbit den. I was watching him and even intrigued, unknowing he was digging something alive out. Poor Mamma Bunny. Poor Baby Bunny. I will try to catch the mother rabbits once the babies are out if the ravens don't get them first. 
The cycle of life goes on whether we know it or not or are aware of it or not. Robbie was doing what dogs do. He felt bad when he was scolded and he left with me. Tomorrow I will go and see what the mamma rabbit did to repair the burrow and the entrance. The dirti is very soft there (3 year old manure, well composted, actually). Good luck Mamma Bunny, Sorry. 

Llamas are really interesting creatures. I love them. They not only look different , they have traits that are unlike most domestic animals in North America. Llamas are related to camels, another animal I find interesting. Camels can survive in extreme cold or extreme heat. 

Llama behaviour shows they are curious animals and somewhat shy. That is, unless they were born on the Fat Ewe Farm and loved from the moment they arrived. Karin was born here and as a baby, I hugged her and held her close. When she was a little bigger, it took strength to hold onto the little girl since it is their natural instinct to move away from humans. Karin loves to go meet any new people and will be right there smelling their faces to see who they are. Most people have heard horror stories of spitting llamas, and believe me, after having been spit on by a male we were trying to load in a trailer, there isn't a lot much grosser. Llama spit is actually vomit from the stomach and it stinks like puke. That is the only time I have ever been spit on. Karin has not once ever spit on anyone or anything that I have witnessed. She is a sweetheart. 

Llamas do not like dogs usually, but she had no choice since they were here mostly before she was. Mike and Joe live in the same pen as she does and they all get along wonderfully. If Karin hears something such as a coyote or fox, her ears go back and move around listening. I am hoping she is bonded enough to want to protect the sheep and stomp the crap out of a predator, which llamas can do.

Karin loves to be present at the birth of every lamb. She waits patiently near the mother and leans right in to inspect the newborns, but she never interferes. Kaon had twins this evening, a boy and a girl, purebred Shetlands and Karin was there. I picked a twin up to take a photo and guess who photobombed? Karin! 

Karin fur can be spun into yarn or felted for fibre. It is very silky and soft. Llamas do not need to be shorn yearly and some have short fibre that does not need to be shorn at all. Others have dreadlocks, like on a Suri Llama and the fibre grows 10 to 20 inches long! I wish I had one of those! But I am happy with Karin. Soon she will have a friend, a little white alpaca female with blue eyes. 

I am happy to have Karin on the Fat Ewe Farm and think her presence here makes the farm so much more pleasant than it would be without her. She was named after my dear sweet cousin Karin, whom I also love very much. I don't know what will happen to Karin Llama when I retire. Maybe she will go to your farm?

Rabbits are easy to raise and the meat is amazing. But raising rabbits for meat takes a hard heart. It is not so bad when I have no contact with the babies and the mom rears them, then I put them in pens until they are ready to butcher. Even then I feel a terrible pang of guilt knowing that I am raising a living creature for food. It reminds me of a science fiction movie called The Time Machine (I think) where after a nuclear war, the people above the ground were raised to feed those living in the caves below. 
Hopefully we have evolved beyond that caveman mentality and raising animals for meat will one day be a thing of the distant past. I foresee humankind living on plant proteins and fibres one day in the not so far future and raising animals a passing phase of evolution.
But back to the rabbits. I started with  3 Flemish Giants from Holland, two does and a buck. The does were sprung out by the young dogs I had then and were killed, and I still have the buck. I acquired an excellent doe from another breeder and since then, a third doe and a different buck. I was planning to raise the rabbits for sale as breeding livestock for others,though so few people are interested in raising rabbits for meat here. If it ain't beef, chicken or pork, in that order, then these locals ain't interested. Most have not eaten rabbit. 
So, along with the cutbacks of many animals due to the high cost of feed and medicines and such, the rabbits are going too. I do have 4 Angora rabbits as well and was thinking of dual purpose rabbits instead. If the Angoras don't sell as future breeding stock, then they can be kept until adults, the fiber harvested and then butchered for the meat. They grow faster than the Flemish Giants, which take a good 6 months to be of a size and quality for butcher. That is a lot of time invested in the rabbits, though the hay, alfalfa and grain is not that much. I use organic grain and a large bale of alfalfa.
What I do not enjoy is cleaning the cages. Rabbits stink! I had a mother rabbit in the porch with her litter of 5. She kindled in the chicken coop in March and the babies would have frozen or been dinner for the chickens so I caught the mamm and moved the group to a kennel in the porch. I did not have to do much except to feed and water the mother and later the babies, but in just a few days, the porch was stinky. Gross.
So, the Flemish Giants will be departing. I have been trying to sell them for breeding stock and have sold some, plus some of the babies born in the chicken coop too. Some babies got out through the small wire and have been yard bunnies all winter. Now that gardening season is here, those bunnies have to go for sure. I will catch them with the net slowly and when I have them all, they are going to the butcher shop. The  original doe and buck will go the critter sale in May and then just the Angora bunnies will be left. That is enough for this farmer! 

One mother rabbit reverted to her wild nature and dug a burrow in the 3 year old manure pile in the sheep pen. She is smart. The burrow is on the sunny side of the pile and there is inherent warmth because it is still composting, so the little ones will be toasty. She completely covers the entrance to the burrow after she feeds the babies,but she watches from afar. I uncovered the burrow and moved away and she came and covered it back up, then moved off to watch some more. Smart cute bunnies. Hard to raise these furry sweet natured little bunnies to eat. Yup, it is, so it isn't anymore.  

I employed a friend to come and shoot some of the ravens, finally. I was so worried they will kill a lamb, or baby goat as they were being born, as they did once before with the potbelly piglets. There were only a few when I came here 5 years ago, but I counted 21 in the sheep pen a few weeks ago. They are very bold and fly 10 feet over my head with no fear. Last year they cleaned up 60 newly hatching ducklings in one day. They have eaten a Mamma hen's chicks this year too. 

So, almost in desperation, I needed to somehow ensure they were not continuing to dine at the Fat Ewe Farm. The man is a goose hunter, a very good shot and hunts large game too. He managed to kill 4 ravens, 3 smaller ones and one quite large, at least over 2 feet long with a very huge wingspan. 

Now, don't get me wrong. These are magnificent birds, the most acrobatic flyers you will ever see and very social. They protect each other and are in constant communication. I am sure they told the rest of the raven that the area was unsafe today and they should stay away. Finally, there was some peace on the farm, and it came just in time, because a set of twin baby goats were born this evening. The only other predators I worry about are the owls and the foxes. The dogs will not let anything else come near, thank goodness. 

It was disheartening and somewhat sad to see the slain magnificent birds. Their waxy black beaks now closed forever and their wings silenced the final silence we all will find one day, their carcasses were hung around the sheep pen as a warning to the rest of the ravens. A group of ravens is called an 'unkindness' according to many long years ago. Today we hardly know that term as applied to ravens, but being the subject of their unwanted attentions for some years now, I can see how the name for the collective came by. 

Still, I honour the ravens, their spirits, and thank them for their lives. I feel there was little choice in this matter, but to protect the life on the farm with the loss of lives of a few of the unkindness of ravens here. If this does not work, the hunter will return. So long, dear ravens. 

Sitting on the throne of judgement is really a matter of perspective. 

Is a person fat? Well, how fat? When compared to another who may be 100 pounds heavier, a few pounds overweight doesn't seem so much. 

Is that much money enough? Again, look at the alternatives. When there is a lot of money, a lot of money is spent. When there is less, less must be spent. Compared to what you used to make, perhaps you are a lot poorer, but compared to those who do not have homes or jobs, you are still rich. 

Wanting what we have and having what we want are almost the same thing, IF the perspective is also in balance. 

My farm life is very wonderful. I have more than enough of everything except time and money, but I have enough money because I have the power to earn more when I need it. There is not much I can do about time, or is there? I can sell some more animals until the time that I have is enough for the work I have to create that balance. Then there will also be some time for recreation and fun, though at present that does not happen.  Again, it is a matter of balance. 

Loving what we have and having what we love are related. There are some not so great aspects of owning a farm and being alone in a foreign province where the locals are very cliquish and unfriendly. And for every bleak side there is that silver lining. I have a farm. I have followed my passion, again. I have made another dream come true and am living the life I created, my own reality. 

Really, whether we judge ourselves, others, our lives, our wealth, our poverty, or anything else at all, it is just a matter of perspective and changing how we are looking at things. I am choosing to be filled with joy and be happy. I am the master of my own destiny. You can be that empowered too. You can if you allow yourself to be. You can.