Bruce
Herd Master
You sure he wasn't asking for a cigarette?
Larsen Poultry Ranch - homesteading journey
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Larsen Poultry Ranch
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Lol! My buck started out very skittish but I've been trying to pet him every time I go by his cage and also pet him after his dates. He is definitely more friendly, especially after he figured out I was bringing his dates to him.
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Larsen Poultry Ranch
Herd Master
Trying to be better about taking notes on the rabbits and I can't for the life of me find where I had named Sage's daughter and Pepper's daughter. I know I liked the name Willow but couldn't remember who I assigned it to, so officially from this point forward Pepper's daughter is Willow and Sage's daughter is Parsley. These are the two due at the beginning of November.
Sage and Maple are due in just over two weeks.
Juniper, Nutmeg, Pepper, and Vanilla are planned to be bred on the 15/16 and the 29/30. Don't know which combo yet. Then Sage/Maple should be ready to be bred on Nov 12/13 when their kits are about 4 weeks old, and then weaned around 5 or 6 weeks.
I am going to need at least 4 grow out cages, ideally 2+ for each litter but if they can be butchered by 8-10 weeks it will free up cages. I currently have 5 empty cages with 1 of those needing light repair, the rest just need to be cleaned and set up. I have 4 more cages that need the floor replaced and 1 that needs the side wall repaired. I definitely need more sawhorses to put them on and a cover as well, unless hubby gets cracking on the bunny barn. I am going to need a lot of feed too...
I don't know if I will keep any from these first litters but I know I need a second buck and I would like more pure Rex does. Maybe if Willow throws a Rex fur doe... I need to write down my criteria and then stick to it. That will make it easier to stand firm and not waffle on a decision because the cute little bunnies get friendly. I need to do the punnett squares to figure out what colors I'm likely to get too.
Maple and Vanilla are the only purebred pedigreed Rex, and Vanilla is a non show able color (sable agouti). They are full siblings but different litters. I don't know if either one carries the self gene but it's possible because their mother did have a blue doe in one of the litters. Both could carry the dilute gene because both parents had it.
Sage, Juniper, Nutmeg, and Parsley are daughters/granddaughter of Paprika, my awesome Flemish mix doe and they are big. So I want to keep them, but only Sage has had kits before (she had a litter of 10!), so the others need to produce or they will be replaced.
Pepper was my first doe and Willow is huge. Pepper carries Vienna and I don't know if Willow has the gene. I really hope she produces good kits.
Sage and Maple are due in just over two weeks.
Juniper, Nutmeg, Pepper, and Vanilla are planned to be bred on the 15/16 and the 29/30. Don't know which combo yet. Then Sage/Maple should be ready to be bred on Nov 12/13 when their kits are about 4 weeks old, and then weaned around 5 or 6 weeks.
I am going to need at least 4 grow out cages, ideally 2+ for each litter but if they can be butchered by 8-10 weeks it will free up cages. I currently have 5 empty cages with 1 of those needing light repair, the rest just need to be cleaned and set up. I have 4 more cages that need the floor replaced and 1 that needs the side wall repaired. I definitely need more sawhorses to put them on and a cover as well, unless hubby gets cracking on the bunny barn. I am going to need a lot of feed too...
I don't know if I will keep any from these first litters but I know I need a second buck and I would like more pure Rex does. Maybe if Willow throws a Rex fur doe... I need to write down my criteria and then stick to it. That will make it easier to stand firm and not waffle on a decision because the cute little bunnies get friendly. I need to do the punnett squares to figure out what colors I'm likely to get too.
Maple and Vanilla are the only purebred pedigreed Rex, and Vanilla is a non show able color (sable agouti). They are full siblings but different litters. I don't know if either one carries the self gene but it's possible because their mother did have a blue doe in one of the litters. Both could carry the dilute gene because both parents had it.
Sage, Juniper, Nutmeg, and Parsley are daughters/granddaughter of Paprika, my awesome Flemish mix doe and they are big. So I want to keep them, but only Sage has had kits before (she had a litter of 10!), so the others need to produce or they will be replaced.
Pepper was my first doe and Willow is huge. Pepper carries Vienna and I don't know if Willow has the gene. I really hope she produces good kits.
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Baymule
Herd Master
That or a treat!
Baymule
Herd Master
I had a black satin buck so spoiled that if I didn't stop and pet him every time I went by, he sprayed me. Needless to say, he got moved from the front door to the back row.
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Larsen Poultry Ranch
Herd Master
First two does got nest boxes on Monday night. So far they haven't pottied in them but they did eat a lot of the hay, I keep having to refill. They should be due on Tues/Wed and I plan to try to breed two more does this weekend.
Still fighting rodents in the quail container and getting into the rabbit feeders. There's rat sized and mouse sized. The mouse traps don't kill the rats and the mice don't set off the rat traps. Except apparently, two mice size are the equivalent of one rat - I got two in the same rat trap one evening. I have killed at least 8 rodents in the last two weeks but only have rat sized traps so far. I set 12 mouse sized traps and two mid sized traps this morning.
All animals are drinking less water with the cooler weather so chores have been taking less time. Garden plants are doing well and I have two baby mango trees starting from seed, with possibly 3 more if they ever sprout. I bought a named variety of mango and guava for myself for my birthday. So far the deer have not discovered them.
We bought the supplies needed to try to make the concrete/aircrete raised bed panels. I will try to take pictures or videos as we make them in case it might help others. I'm excited to get progress on these so I can start the fall garden.
Hubby found a tree guy who is going to take down the four oaks which are very close to the house and power lines starting this weekend. One oak has a passion vine growing at the base and climbing up the trunk. I think it's just ornamental as I haven't seen any signs of fruiting. I don't know if it can be saved, or if it will come back from the roots. I have heard passion vine can be slightly invasive. We are going to have so much firewood I wonder if hubby might try to sell some, or use his chainsaw mill to make a few slabs from the oak. We don't really have a mantel for the fireplace yet...
Still fighting rodents in the quail container and getting into the rabbit feeders. There's rat sized and mouse sized. The mouse traps don't kill the rats and the mice don't set off the rat traps. Except apparently, two mice size are the equivalent of one rat - I got two in the same rat trap one evening. I have killed at least 8 rodents in the last two weeks but only have rat sized traps so far. I set 12 mouse sized traps and two mid sized traps this morning.
All animals are drinking less water with the cooler weather so chores have been taking less time. Garden plants are doing well and I have two baby mango trees starting from seed, with possibly 3 more if they ever sprout. I bought a named variety of mango and guava for myself for my birthday. So far the deer have not discovered them.
We bought the supplies needed to try to make the concrete/aircrete raised bed panels. I will try to take pictures or videos as we make them in case it might help others. I'm excited to get progress on these so I can start the fall garden.
Hubby found a tree guy who is going to take down the four oaks which are very close to the house and power lines starting this weekend. One oak has a passion vine growing at the base and climbing up the trunk. I think it's just ornamental as I haven't seen any signs of fruiting. I don't know if it can be saved, or if it will come back from the roots. I have heard passion vine can be slightly invasive. We are going to have so much firewood I wonder if hubby might try to sell some, or use his chainsaw mill to make a few slabs from the oak. We don't really have a mantel for the fireplace yet...
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- #1,437
Larsen Poultry Ranch
Herd Master
I am trying to make a diy inkle loom, and repurposed a dish rack thingy for the uprights and the dowels I took off were used in the body. I will try to get pictures tonight. It's been drying over 24 hours, I might be able to try to add the warp threads, but I need to find the tablets and fishing swivels so I can attach everything correctly. I am pretty excited I am finally making progress on this particular project.
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- #1,438
Larsen Poultry Ranch
Herd Master
Several family members and myself have been looking at our genealogy and family history. We have been able to track several branches back to the 1700s, and some even farther. Mom found a family bible from her father's side that is from the late 1800s hidden in her hope chest. I am going to see if I can get a box or something to protect it and then it will go into my hope chest. I want to make a tapestry or something I can hang on the wall showing the family tree once we get it figured out more.
My dad's side is mainly from Norway and mom's side is mainly Swedish and Irish/English. It's fun seeing the Norwegian and Swedish names from prior to entering the US, the last name was "xxx"son, or "xxx"dotter, meaning the son or daughter of "xxx". A lot of the time they would name their child their own parents' name so it would go back and forth for several generations as the first name and then last name.
My dad's side is mainly from Norway and mom's side is mainly Swedish and Irish/English. It's fun seeing the Norwegian and Swedish names from prior to entering the US, the last name was "xxx"son, or "xxx"dotter, meaning the son or daughter of "xxx". A lot of the time they would name their child their own parents' name so it would go back and forth for several generations as the first name and then last name.
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- #1,439
Larsen Poultry Ranch
Herd Master
Munchkin had his one year appointment this week, he's growing on the curves he was before and the doctor is happy. He is going to be tall! He's already 25 pounds. He has 8 teeth and is eating regular food. We are working on weaning off milk, or at least decreasing the amount, he's been on whole milk for about 3 weeks now. He walks really well and is babbling a lot. Sometimes it sounds like real words, but it's hard to tell. He loves playing with water. He can high five and clap, and sometimes waves. His hair is finally starting to thicken and get longer, we might have his first haircut before the end of the year.
Margali
Herd Master
Cool, let me know if you want to talk weaving. Are you setting up for inkle (2 rows of pattern) or card weaving (2+ rows)? The loomy bin has a neat online pattern generator, http://www.theloomybin.com/cw/index.html.
