Whittaker Family Farm Life

07/11/2024

We managed to make it through the hurricane, but we might not survive THIS... 😱 Some of y'all may suggest we cut our losses and just burn it all down. 🤣

This dude is HUGE! This pic doesn't do him justice! He could wrap his legs around this big 'ole duck egg if he wanted to. He was so impressive!

07/11/2024

I am so grateful!!!

We made it through Hurricane Beryl without loss of life or loss of major structural damage. I wish I could say the same about our trees. Oh man! We've been working like crazy clearing tree debris. I know we've done so much, but I still see so much more to do.

We got very lucky! We got very close to losing our Joon to a tree falling, and James got very close to losing a finger to a chainsaw. Thank goodness he ALWAYS wears gloves! The glove is a goner, but his finger may only need a stitch or 2. He went to urgent care to see what's what. He's fine though. He even did animal chores before he left. What a trooper!

I'll update with pics and more info when I can. Also, we just got power back!!! (Knock on wood!)

07/08/2024

Hello Friends! I hope y'all are safe.

I dont know who can see this. We have shelf stable eggs. No need to open your fridge. They do not need to be refrigerated. If you'd like to order, please text me at 850-525-2870 with how many you want and when youd like to pick them up. Ill text back with a confirmation. Pick up is here. Our internet is too spotty to be reliable. $5/dz

07/08/2024

We're definitely feeling it now. I can't even see the houses across the street except the one with light on. (Still power. Knock on Wood!!!) Sweet baby King left the safety of the barn to plead his case at the back door. Sorry little guy, but there are plenty of dry and wind free spots out there. I can't put the others at risk.
I'm going to attempt sleep now. Too many sounds that make it seem like bad things are happening outside. Have I mentioned how much I hate hurricanes? Because I do. I really do.

07/08/2024

Well crud. Now we're going to get Beryl straight on. It looks like we can expect the eye to pass right over us. No bueno.

The animals are all sheltered except for the dumb ducks. They stay out as long as they can before finally going in. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Sweet baby Bear got his hugs and was tucked in safely inside his tote inside the barn. Hopefully King stays in the barn tonight also.

We're expecting to lose power for awhile which really sucks. Without power, we don't have water, and I'm sure we'll be at the bottom of the list for restoration. That always stresses me out. I also worry about trees damaging our barn, coops, pig houses, etc. I've seen so many horror stories from others it has happened to during just regular storms. Ugh, I was never this nervous until having livestock.

I pray our area does well, and our community remains safe. We should start seeing significant winds sometime in the next 5 hrs. I'll update y'all as this thing progresses. 🙏🤞

07/07/2024

And speaking of hurricanes, the alerts just started... Dang. 🫤

07/07/2024

I dont know who made this, but it is spot on!!! LOL! 🤣

Jokes aside, obviously use your best judgement, follow evacuation orders, and keep your family safe. Its hurricane season. Have a plan and try to have at least enough supplies to get you through the storm and the week following. If you evacuate, please make arrangements for your pets!

I've lived on the gulf coast for the past 24 years. I've been through a number of hurricanes, but I never really worried much about them until we owned livestock. The threat of severe weather hits a lot differently now.

Wherever you are, please be safe. 🙏

07/01/2024

When it's so hot out, there's a line at the "community pool." (aka. Cool Whip tub)
Mama duck showed them all of the various water areas so now the ducklings scatter in all directions. 🤦🏼‍♀️ We cant even keep track of them anymore. That's Mama's job.

I'm happily working on my inside to-do list, because the heat literally knocks me out. Poor James is out mowing and w**d whacking. I'm grateful he's so patent and understanding of my health limitations.

Summertime can be really difficult. The heat not only slows us down, it can be very hard on the animals. Thankfully we've got ways to help cool them down.

So, how do YOU handlle the summertime heat? Do you like to stay inside or do you go out to enjoy the (miserably humid) fresh air? What's your favorite way to cool down? (Maybe a dip in the Cool Whip tub? Ha!)
Also, if you've got any tips or tricks for staying cool when we HAVE to do outdoor work, please drop a comment to let us know!
James discovered a couple of gadgets online he loves. I'll post links in the comments.
Stay cool everyone!

07/01/2024

Is it weird to be jealous of a duck???

Kidding, kind of. 🤣 Though I do wish I could get my own children to follow directions this well!

06/28/2024

I check the weather constantly just so I know what we're facing for the day. I'm also a moderately superstitious person and believe in signs.... 🤔 So does this mean Sunday is going to be a real 💩 day??? Because I can't deal with any more 💩 right now. Or maybe it means I'll finally get some 💩 done? Or that I just wont give a 💩? Who really knows? Maybe I'll just take a big 💩?
This is just proof of how the weather can be SO UNPREDICTABLE!!!! Hahahahaba

# whittakerfamilyfarmlife #💩 #💩storm

06/22/2024

WE'VE GOT EGGS!

We have both chicken and duck in stock. Chicken is $5/dz, and duck is $8/dz. Pick up is here at the farm. We take Zelle, Venmo, and cash. Send us a PM to order.
It certainly isn't a money maker, but our girls' butt nuggets do help pay the feed bill. LOL.

06/22/2024

Bitter/Sweet Announcement...

I apologize everyone for being so distant lately. I've been trying to focus on my recovery and health and spending time with family.
Though we aren't doing tours at the moment (this heat and my heath stuff don't mix well), I did want to share some news and pictures of some farm happenings.

We made the very hard decision to sell over half of our goat herd. The cost of animal feed has just risen so high, and it was taking a toll on me physically to keep up with each of their routine care. The wonderful news is they all went together as whole complete starter herd to a lovely family in Angleton. They have 3 acres all to themselves, and the family is already experienced.
We ended up only keeping 3 adult does and 3 new doelings. (We also still have another pair of adorable kids, boy/girl, to sell.)
We kept our first 2 goats, Iris and Aster, and Aster's oldest daughter, Daisy. We also kept Iris's 3 new daughters, Basil, Fig, and Hoya. (with Hazel and Cashew to sell)
We said goodbye to Clover and her 2 gorgeous daughters, Willow and Birch. Sisters Primrose and Sunflower and sisters Fern and Cacao also went. Our beautiful little bucklings Walnut and Almond also got to go. I did my fair share of crying, and even still a little now, but I couldn't have asked for a better situation for them. I'm extremely grateful and happy for them.

We also had some surprise new additions. We have a new gosling waddling around. It is always surrounded by its very protective father and 2 older brothers.
We have 2 bigger ducklings that have recently started to fend for themselves. One was raised by 2 mothers who took turns. Now he mostly sits under the barrel feeder waiting for someone to come by and drop a piece. The other hatched and wasn't claimed by a mother. He's been our little baby in the barn. He's very people friendly and super spoiled. His name is Bear, and he loves to snuggle.
Then, this morning I checked on another ducky project they had going. Ugh! We don't need any more, but they ARE so cute! I can't wait to see them walk around in their single file line.

05/18/2024

I ❤️ speckles!

Hey, farm friends! Who's ready for a refill? $5/doz

05/16/2024

Take cover everyone!!!
The sky went from blue to black...

05/07/2024

Hey everyone! Though it may seem like we've fallen off the face of the earth, we haven't. We're still here. We had to suspend touring a while back, again, because of my health conditions. We hope to start doing it again soon. I haven't even been posting lately because I've been inside resting and recovering from surgery.
James has been an absolute ROCK STAR and has been so supportive by getting the boys up and off to early-morning seminary and school and taking care of the animals every day. His days have been starting before 5am, and he's let me sleep in every day and even take naps when needed. He never once griped or questioned it. I am SO GRATEFUL to have such a wonderful husband and partner in life!
BUT... I'm afraid we've fallen "out of sight, out of mind." No tours means no donations. Of course, that's to be expected. However, since I've mostly been inside resting, not posting, we haven't even sold our usual number of eggs. Neither of these things make money, not even close, but every little bit we can put toward the feed bill helps. Feed prices are more than double what they were just a few years ago and are consistently rising still.
I normally don't advertise, but next time you need eggs, please consider getting some from us. Don't comment here to order. Please just send us a private message with how many you'd like and what day & time you'd like to pick them up. I'll message back with a confirmation. $5/dz

04/21/2024

It's been one of those days that you start early in the morning, and then all of a sudden, it's dinnertime. You get so dirty that you have to undress in the garage, leave your clothing, and wipe off before you can even set one foot in the house. You work so long and so hard that you literally make yourself ill. Yes. It's been one of those days.

04/19/2024

Benny is moving! ❤️🐽

04/18/2024

Of course, my kiddo is obsessed with an arctic creature, not one you'd find on a small family farm in SE TX, but I thought I'd surprise him anyway with an encouraging lunch sack doodle.
Good luck to all Pearland ISD middle school students who are taking STAAR Tests tomorrow. You've got this!!!

04/16/2024

04/16/2024

Iris is in labor! She hasn't started pushing yet, but I'm sure it's in the near future. Wish us luck!!!

I'll be live streaming if you want to see it! 😉

04/16/2024

BABYWATCH: IRIS

I've got a pretty significant medical history, and I've been fighting some bad flares the past few weeks. Its left me very drained and foggy. Naturally, from anticipation, I totally thought today was yesterday and was SURE Iris was going to deliver, based on the date alone. It's kind of her thing. She's very timely. Well, yesterday was NOT today. I jumped the gun. TODAY is today, and I think today is THE day. It may not even be before the sun goes down, but I'm going to hold Iris to the crazy-accurate inner clock she's got.

Iris, you will do great. I know last time was a bit traumatic, but you're a supermom. I'll be right here with you cheering you on! I love you! Sssh, don't tell the others, but you're my favorite. 🤣

04/15/2024

We're trying to crank out a few projects before this upcoming Monday. One of them is fencing in and preparing a shelter and new shade area in the back for Benny. We're putting some distance between him and Joon for a few months. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Hopefully, it'll help them in the mating department once we reunite them again. 🙏🤞 At the very least, I know he will love grazing on all of the fresh grass.

04/15/2024

BABYWATCH: IRIS

Based on her size last month, I originally thought Iris was only going to have a single kid, possibly a set of twins if they were small. Now I'm thinking she's having at least 3. She has really filled out since then. I don't even have an official guess because I don't want to jinx it. Lol. Ideally, she'd have 4 healthy, beautiful, blue-eyed girls, but our luck isn't good enough for that. 🤪🤞

What do YOU think? How many kids? How many boys/girls? Let's manifest a really great outcome for her!

If she follows her usual trend, today 'should' should be the day. I'll keep you posted and hopefully catch hers on video. I'm excited to see what the babies look like since we did not breed her to her usual fella.

04/15/2024

So many people fail to realize what the "natural" diet of a chicken is. Well, this one is having a frog for dinner. Though still far down on the food chain, chickens DO hunt. They are omnivores, meaning they will eat small critters in addition to insects, seeds, and vegetation. If they can find small snakes, frogs, mice, or lizards, they will gobble them right up.

04/08/2024

What did the ROOSTERS do during the ECLIPSE?

(I'm supper bummed I didn't start recording much earlier. The nonstop crowing had been going on a good 10 min before I thought to record it. By then, it had already slowed down to just one of our boys instead of all 4, and the sirens had started.)

During a tour, we had a visitor ask us if we thought the roosters would start crowing during the eclipse. I told her that they crow periodically throughout the day, so I figured I'd hear the normal amount for mid-day. We're in Texas, but hours away from the path of totality.

But... our roosters actually sounded off much more than usual, along with several others in the area. Maybe the only other times they've done as much crowing mid-day is when we had horrible storms pop up out of nowhere. I can say with confidence that it wasn't because of the sirens because I heard them turn on.

So, were the roosters aware of the eclipse? I don't know. They were aware of something. I'm guessing they noticed the subtle change in brightness and treated it as if it were a storm coming. They gave their warning calls to take cover and then... womp womp... nothing happened... but I'd take an eclipse over a storm any day.

04/03/2024

Due to chronic health issues and upcoming surgery, I'm sad to say we will be temporarily suspending our farm tours. I am truly disappointed. As soon as we're able, we look forward to sharing our little farm with our community again. Thank you for your continued support!
Click that Like/Follow button on our page to meet Iris's babies later this month!

03/31/2024

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

(This one's for you, Ashley!)