Silly Billy Farm

04/09/2024

Seriously girls 🤔 how much longer are you going to incubate them?

04/09/2024

The first ducklings have hatched for the season. I will have limited numbers each week if anyone is interested. These guys are uns*xed, unless you are clever enough to vent s*x.

30/08/2024

Check out Ash's belly moving last night.. before she had dinner 🥰

29/08/2024

Our beautiful Cosy Acres Rousanne decided she was ready to become a mumma.. a little sooner than I'd hoped, but she is doing well.

I have separated her from Resi and Pixie so i can start to increase her feed, but unfortunately, she doesn't like eating alone, so I have a new baby-sitting job 🥰

And for those interested, the other girls are still carrying and getting bigger by the day. I walked out this morning to see Ash's enormous belly rolling around as she sat uncomfortably. I do hope they are getting into position and not turning themselves upside down 😫

28/08/2024

The guinea fowl have started laying and in random spots no less. The yearlings pen, the septic paddock, and now in a bunch of stinging nettle (not sure I'm getting that one, Colin?)

I have placed a few rubber eggs in a couple of locations where I found them hoping they will continue to use those spots and not make me wander for days like the barnevelders do. I found some eggs next to the wood pile 🤦‍♂️

I lost my 2nd barnevelder rooster to a fox this week, so it would be lovely if I could incubate them while they are still in the fertilised window.

The clutch I found last month is starting to hatch, with 5 currently in the brooder, with hopefully a few more to come.

25/08/2024

Hatching season has begun!

With our first chickens coming out of the incubator today, we have been taking advantage of the wet weather to make a new outside brooder box for the little guys.

I think Hubby has done a fine job of repurposing an old laundry cupboard and other bits of scrap. A few items to be bought, but a very cost effective solution.

Light Suss*x, Dark Brahma and Plymouth Rock x available for purchase uns*xed.

Gold Laced Barnevelder hatching this week. And then the duckies ! !

*x

17/08/2024

Meet my new boy Greg. He is a Cream legbar and is perfect for my gal's.
They lay blue eggs and are auto s*xing. So I will be able to easily tell the girls from boys when they hatch. Hopefully 🤞

16/08/2024

It's that time of the year again when I start watching udders and feeling ligaments for pending baby nubs 🥰

Any guesses on when and how many?

15/08/2024

Hopefully, this will keep Melon happy 😊 and Colin too ☺️

14/08/2024

Finally one of the has worked out the correct laying option, however the continue to surprise me 😩

09/08/2024

You know there is a full trough in your own paddock, Melon.. there is no need to ruin Col's fence 🤦‍♂️

07/08/2024

Cheeky little free ranging gal's.

I have been searching everywhere, certain that these little rose combed chickens MUST be laying somewhere!
Today, I checked one more place in hope. And yep! Found 15 eggs 🤣🤣 not sure who laid the random bottle, though 🤔

Unlike the Brahma, who are more like the runner ducks and just lay anywhere 😩

03/08/2024

I had some fun cooking Nelson yesterday. Egg mince burgers for breakfast and twice cooked chilli bean brisket and brisket and gravy.

27/07/2024

Last weekend we brought home a new boyfriend for Melon and Pippa. This little guy is full of character and loves a brush. He will be available in approximately 2 months once he has done the job.

09/07/2024

Wet wet and more wet! Another 30mm this month that even the old dam that mate tried to fill in is holding water. We had to makeshift platforms for the goats to get to their sheds. Good thing they are goats and don't mind an obstacle course 🤪

We lost 2 hens and a rooster from the caravan, so we moved the caravan back closer to the house.. dirty little fox 😢 needs some lead in his ass

28/06/2024

28/06/2024

What to do on a sunny winter afternoon? Hang out with the Coco Nub Chivas

09/06/2024

You have to love the afternoon sky at this time of the year. It is quite chilly around 5pm feeding time, but this view makes it somewhat pleasurable 💕

08/06/2024

Ham and cheese toastie.
Our farmhouse cheddar, our butter, and our ham.

08/06/2024

Knocking of a few to-do things off the list and enjoying some downtime while we are at it.
Smoked pickled pork leg from our pigs. Yes, we have been holding on to this one 😋
Smoked quail for entree and 6 more in the freezer.
And toasted marshmallows because we can 🤣

25/05/2024

Grinning because she is so fat I suspect🤔 or that she has it all over her sister. Either way, Dante is certainly the hardest to manage. She still hasn't warmed to me yet 😔

07/05/2024

The water is still rising, but fingers crossed for some sunny weather before the temps drop for winter

07/05/2024

The little girls certainly do like to get out of the mud, but then any excuse to play the goat on a sunny day 😍

05/05/2024

I was very impressed with the big girls tonight. Delta, Dante, Dayja, Rosie and little Brookie. They are not enjoying the squishy mud between their toes, so I opted to feed them on higher ground.. but I imagined it would be chaos.

They must've been hungry because no one moved. They just ate 😊

27/04/2024

Let's see you get out of this one, Delta 🤣🤣

25/04/2024

The guinea fowl like to roost in the mulberry at night. Which is nice that they have somewhere to secure. But all chickens are dumb and blind at night so any predator to scare them from their perch will easily feast.
It is a lovely site to see them up in the trees though 😀

24/04/2024

The water that likes to cover our back 2 acres is rising still after the weekend rains. You can see the pelican sitting on the tyre that once was.

Hopefully we will still have some nice sunny days and get some grass growth before winter arrives.

22/04/2024

I was lucky enough to get 3 duck eggs this morning including one little pullet duck egg *if that's what it's called.

So I figured I should probably have some for breakfast.

These are 2 eggs from last week.. It seems someone dropped me a double yolker! Well done girls 😋

22/04/2024

Little Ester needs to learn not to be afraid of me. I need to get these little ladies halter trained so that they can become future house cows.
Having Melon as a solo cow when we first got her wasn't the nicest of choices for a herd animal, but it did really allow her to bond with us and be really well trained.

I do like that they have friends now, though, so some yard work is needed.

22/04/2024

Little Esther likes hanging out with the big kids while Mum is getting milked and doing her own thing. It would be nice to have them altogether but I'm unsure that these big kids won't go back to nursing and leave nothing for Esther. I think I will wait another month or so to be sure 👍 we'll.. more confident anyway 🤔