Life is on a changing course for us personally and at The Compound. But that's life, if we stayed stagnant we'd start to smell like a muddy pond or in our case the pig wallow. Appetizing right?
I don't have much to offer as an explanation at this point. I will be in and out periodically over the next couple of months. I just won't be posting very much. There are things God has put in our path that we need to give our full attention too.
So to those that follow along, and send me notes or phone calls to see what's up and why I've not posted, everything is fine. We just need to embrace the change in our lives and all that God springs forth. We are truly blessed.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
100K
In just a few short weeks we'll have owned The Compound for 5 years. We purchased the property in May 2010. I started the blog several months later, as a journal of our progress. In that amount of time, I've written 490 entries including this one, and I have now reached over 100,000 page views!
All I can say is thanks for following along! You are much appreciated! For those that have taken the time to comment, an extra big thank you!
All I can say is thanks for following along! You are much appreciated! For those that have taken the time to comment, an extra big thank you!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Springing New Life
We're going to be expecting new arrivals at The Compound in the next 4-6 weeks. We have two pigs ready to deliver in early May. Our best mom from last year, Pepper and a new mom to be, Queenie (my absolute favorite). Can you believe I don't have a readily available picture of Queenie! It must be because I don't take the time to get one, I'm too busy scratching her ears or her belly!
Since we're only a few weeks out, we separated them to the farrowing area, got their wallow filled up and fresh straw laid down. Now they won't have to share food with 10 very hungry teenage pigs. It leads to a lot of squabbling. Getting these two girls to the farrowing pen was easy work. They love to be loved, so they just followed us in to see what we were up to. They both get along very well, and we're eagerly waiting to see the new brood.
We did have two turkeys hatch in the past week, and 3 more hens sitting. We never did see the Toms covering the hens, but obviously they did at some point. Again, I didn't get any pictures. Although, the hens wouldn't let me get very close, or they'd start puffing up. Even the Tom's would get between me and the little chicks. Since this is my first foray into Turkey raising, it's all been interesting to watch.
We did catch a very large rat snake trying to make it's way into the Turkey pen. I'm sure after those little chicks. That immediate problem has been resolved.
We bred our Holland Lop Ear rabbits this past weekend, so we'll be looking for kits in early May. What have you used for nesting boxes? Anything extra I should be thinking about for the new moms?
We're debating on whether or not we start raising Quail. Anyone want to let me know the good, bad and ugly of raising them? Is it worth the endeavor? I'd like to get fertilized eggs and hatch my own.
We also have an incubator full of chicken eggs. We didn't raise any new chicks last year on our own, and some of our girls are getting up there in age. Although you'd hardly know it, we still get 4 dozen or so eggs each week out of about 30 hens. Too many for us to eat anyway, so we give them away. After the new chicks reach laying age, we'll need to cull the flock. Not something we look forward to, but the more animals we have, the more money it costs and the harder it will be to sustain them and us.
Well, that's it for now. Have a great week!
 |
| This was Pepper last year, a few days before delivering.
|
We did have two turkeys hatch in the past week, and 3 more hens sitting. We never did see the Toms covering the hens, but obviously they did at some point. Again, I didn't get any pictures. Although, the hens wouldn't let me get very close, or they'd start puffing up. Even the Tom's would get between me and the little chicks. Since this is my first foray into Turkey raising, it's all been interesting to watch.
We did catch a very large rat snake trying to make it's way into the Turkey pen. I'm sure after those little chicks. That immediate problem has been resolved.
We bred our Holland Lop Ear rabbits this past weekend, so we'll be looking for kits in early May. What have you used for nesting boxes? Anything extra I should be thinking about for the new moms?
 |
| Pickles on the left and Cupcake on the right. |
We're debating on whether or not we start raising Quail. Anyone want to let me know the good, bad and ugly of raising them? Is it worth the endeavor? I'd like to get fertilized eggs and hatch my own.
We also have an incubator full of chicken eggs. We didn't raise any new chicks last year on our own, and some of our girls are getting up there in age. Although you'd hardly know it, we still get 4 dozen or so eggs each week out of about 30 hens. Too many for us to eat anyway, so we give them away. After the new chicks reach laying age, we'll need to cull the flock. Not something we look forward to, but the more animals we have, the more money it costs and the harder it will be to sustain them and us.
Well, that's it for now. Have a great week!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
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