Messybun’s Small starts big dreams

[SA Farm]

I have no idea if there’s a living history place around here. I suppose I could see if I can find a fibre group on FB or something, but I think the work involved with actually getting raw wool useable is just too much for me to do and invest in to be honest.
I might use it for insulation or give it away if I do join one of those groups

 

[Baymule]

There is a spinners guild in the county next to us. While I admire it, I know what would happen........I would buy wool sheep, learn to shear, then I'd have to learn to process the raw wool, all the necessary steps to prepare it for spinning. Then I'd have to buy a spinning wheel and find somewhere to put it in this house, I dunno, cover it with velcro and throw it at the ceiling and hope it sticks when not in use? Learn to knit and crochet, make an ugly sweater and my penance would be to have to wear it!

 

[messybun]

There is a spinners guild in the county next to us. While I admire it, I know what would happen........I would buy wool sheep, learn to shear, then I'd have to learn to process the raw wool, all the necessary steps to prepare it for spinning. Then I'd have to buy a spinning wheel and find somewhere to put it in this house, I dunno, cover it with velcro and throw it at the ceiling and hope it sticks when not in use? Learn to knit and crochet, make an ugly sweater and my penance would be to have to wear it!

You could win ugly Christmas sweater competitions; that would totally make all the work worth it! Don’t knock ceiling space. In the olden days they’d have a giant quilting frame that was hung from the ceiling, almost like a chandelier. When it was time to bring everyone together for a quilting bee they’d just unhook the ropes and lower it.

 

[Baymule]

You could win ugly Christmas sweater competitions; that would totally make all the work worth it! Don’t knock ceiling space. In the olden days they’d have a giant quilting frame that was hung from the ceiling, almost like a chandelier. When it was time to bring everyone together for a quilting bee they’d just unhook the ropes and lower it.

I have actually had a quilt frame up at the ceiling, then lowered it to quilt. LOL LOL Then I used a huge embroidery hoop on another quilt and then had a quilting frame that used modified sawhorses to clamp two long 2"x2" to.

 

[messybun]

Day before yesterday it was almost warm and super sunny, today it smells like snow! Phew, that will be interesting. My welshie x drake who ignored my Muscovy hen no matter what has now started grabbing everything that moves, including my new Muscovy drake. .
Well, it is time to put eggs in again. I have a bunch of duck eggs that my hen was sitting on last night, and have been kinda under a heat lamp kinda not. I don’t think their safe for eating and kinda want to toss them in the bator just to check; but I’d rather do chickens because they’re a more reliable hatch. I also have a broody hen, her mom has hatched babies before so she might have a shot at seeing this through. Which reminds me, I need to add nest boxes to the big coop. I was thinking a 5 gallon bucket on its side? Honestly not sure what would be cheapest/easiest. But I did have someone ask for chicken manure, which the coop needs cleaned anyway so great timing. What else? Oh yeah, I need to get a setup for quail. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some in the summer, but I keep forgetting which type doesn’t fly. Anyway, I’ll double check that before getting them. The great news is I have almost any type of quail imaginable at my fingertips; they are super popular. I’m also thinking about getting about 50/100 sexed chicks and selling as pullets or even laying hens. I don’t have infrastructure for it, but I think it would be a great profit. I might have enough scraps laying around to build something for them, hopefully at least lol.
I also found what looked like worms in chicken scat, what do y’all use to worm your chickens, or if you do?

 

[SA Farm]

I give my chickens a bit of dried cayenne pepper and garlic. Not sure if it specifically deworms them, but it seems to at least boost their immune systems.

 

[Mini Horses]

The pepper & garlic make the digestive tract less inviting for worms, so less reproduction of them and same with some of the other high tannin foods eaten, such as acorn. Things like oregano, wormwood and chicory perform similarly for animals big and small. I use a dewormer called Strike, bought at tractor supply, about once a year, after a couple hard frosts, for chickens. Pellets, add to feed. Free range chickens generally eat what they need to keep things under control....if they have pasture forage!

 

[messybun]

The pepper & garlic make the digestive tract less inviting for worms, so less reproduction of them and same with some of the other high tannin foods eaten, such as acorn. Things like oregano, wormwood and chicory perform similarly for animals big and small. I use a dewormer called Strike, bought at tractor supply, about once a year, after a couple hard frosts, for chickens. Pellets, add to feed. Free range chickens generally eat what they need to keep things under control....if they have pasture forage!

I have Molly’s herbals for the goats, it has basically everything in it lol, wormwood garlic and the like. I just didn’t know if it would be effective. I’ll go ahead and add some of it in. My birds are free ranged in the day and locked up at night, but being the middle of January there isn’t much of anything to eat for them.

 

[Mini Horses]

Well, when winter temps hit, it kills larvae on ground, so worm after that and your done until just before warm up. Then they have herbals and the free range. for most, it keeps things on track. Goats, they have issues if not field rotated as they like to graze close for the weeds. That's another reason for browse...higher up and various chems from plants. Plus the very act of birthing kicks hormones that will increase worm activity for any in body already.
I only use herbals during milking season...unless some horrible levels show up.

 

[messybun]

Hello all. Let’s begin. Right before our first actual snow of the year(we were promised a few but this is the first actual one) I had a little mama hen come out with four babies, totally unexpected! This morning I only saw three and they are all thin and sleepy. I decided to put them with mom in the brooder bit with food and water, with a bit of acv too. Hopefully they do well, the only problem is I used a cardboard box to line the box and the goats are obsessed!
Next, I’ve had a little chicken brooding for a while, two days ago I noticed a Brahma decided to go broody too, no big deal, they’ll help each other. Then this...

I have two Brahmas on top of the first bantam broody, and I have a Brahma mix sitting right outside the box, waiting to get in. What would y’all do? Because the box is way too full lol. Maybe if I set up several nests around the outside? It’s my first chicken coop, so it’s a small box, prefab style with a coop up top and run on the bottom. But I can’t keep it closed because of the goats’ destructive nature. I just don’t know if the other hens would go for other nests lol. The first gal has already done most of the work!
Oh, and my duck went broody, yay! But other birds keep laying under her, last night she was over full capacity lol, but now I have a chicken “helping” by sitting on one of the clutches. They are actually in a dog kennel already, should I close the door? I’m a little worried about blocking them in there, but I don’t know how to stop others from laying there.
Oh, and do you know what I did during the snow? I was outside in the flurries in my jammies and galoshes dragging a goat across the yard into the heated chicken coop to get the chill off. The first time I had to run and get her corn, so I had to drag her back a second time . Then I stood outside so she’d eat instead of being scared of the other goats. It was pretty though! And not nearly as cold as the next day surprisingly enough. Cold humidity is so much colder lol. Anyways, hope y’all are having a great first month of 2021.