SA Farm's journal

[SA Farm]

What do you have for a spinning wheel? I used an old Louet for years, upgraded to a Schacht Sidekick when someone gifted it to me, and then bought an Electric Eel Wheel 6 recently when I was having trouble spinning due to my knee/back issues.

I have several drop spindles Here are a few I made of various sizes/weights. I also have a few I bought and painted. The biggest one is great for plying.

The guild has a wheel or two I can try out, but I think spindles or maybe an electric wheel eventually will be best for me. I have back and knee issues too and can’t stand or sit comfortably for any real length of time in very many positions.

@Ridgetop I think I will continue to blend the alpaca with wool for just those reasons! I will probably experiment with different ratios until I find what works best for me

@Baymule yes! It’s great to have others with similar interests to connect with in person! Especially with fibre since it is so tactile.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Dreaming Robots - Electic Eel Wheel

This is the e-spinner I have. The 6 is a work horse. Lots of people love the Nano, but I feel like it’s too small for my needs.

 

[Finnie]

If the lamps did die, I might go for those brooder plate things instead of the lamps. We’ll see

I LOVE my brooder plates!

I used homemade ones (Mama Heating Pads) for years. Then I shelled out for some boughten ones, and I really like that I don’t have to rebuild the homemade ones every year now. I did not buy expensive Brinsea ones. If I remember correctly, I bought one from Incubator Warehouse and a cheaper one from Amazon. Both are great.

I still have a couple of heat lamps that I use in a pinch, but I way prefer the plates.

Edit: I forgot I was going to say, one of my heat plates is a square, with a cut out area in the middle. Kind of cool that if any get crowded to the middle, they can jump out if they want.

 

[Finnie]

Found it. Picture explains it better than I did.

 

[Baymule]

@Finnie How does a heat plate work? Is it up on legs as shown?

 

[Mini Horses]

Yes...and chicks huddle under. Closer heat than lamp, probably a "softer" heat. Add feathers and you have a hen

 

[SA Farm]

Thanks for the recommendation @Finnie
I think I’ll get that one, actually. I like the escape option. Are the legs sturdier than they look?

My latest ply. I started off the usual way, then ended up trying a different holding technique that makes it look more wavy and adds some texture. Kind of cool. I might try doing it again now that I think I have a hang of it!

We had a beautiful sunny day the other day. Windy, but so warm it didn’t matter. I took advantage and spent some time with the girls. I’m considering trying to get Dingo shorn this week…anything to kill time while I wait for lambs
Doll was doing her best to keep Coy from taking all the attention that she felt belonged to HER! Such a suck lol

And some wide sheep rear ends lol

And the chickens as a palate cleanser

 

[Baymule]

Those sweet sheepies faces! Gotta love them.

 

[Finnie]

@Finnie How does a heat plate work? Is it up on legs as shown?

Yes...and chicks huddle under. Closer heat than lamp, probably a "softer" heat. Add feathers and you have a hen

@SA Farm and Baymule, yes, the legs are sturdy enough. They have little screws that you can loosen, move the plate up or down to your liking, and then tighten the screws again. So when the chicks are little, you can have it shorter, and when they are bigger, you can make it taller. And if you have chicks of different ages/sizes, you can make it slant to accommodate different chick heights.

Mini Horses, yes, it’s a softer heat, because the chicks are meant to actually touch it. So it’s not hot enough to burn them or start a fire.

I did find that since I like to let my brooder litter pile up, the wiry legs will poke down into the bedding quite a ways, so I usually keep the plate at its highest level. And, I often find one or more screws loose, so then I have to raise the plate back up on those corners and re-tighten the screws. But none of that stops me from being happy with it.

@SA Farm I love Love LOVE that wavy yarn!

 

[SA Farm]

I just spent 40 minutes working on Dingo and got one leg hand sheared.
One
His fleece is super thick and his skin is slightly more elastic/loose compared to the girls, making it really hard to know where to cut without cutting him.
It’s going to take me several days to get him done. Good thing I started now I plan to continue to just take it slow and steady until he’s done…no matter how long it takes me!

Picked up a couple more bantams for my bantam collection. A dark Brahma rooster, light Brahma hen, and a Serama hen. The mutt roosters I have will be disposed of once the Brahma proves his fertility, making a fun mixed pen of 5…eventually. The new birds are obviously going to be in quarantine for a while anyway.


I’m way too excited to try out all these bantams I did put three of the mutt bantam eggs in the incubator and 2/3 are developing, so that’s exciting. It’s going to be a ridiculously small hatch, but still exciting