Alpacamundo Monday: Pre-Winter Chores

 We've had a gloriously long Autumn season... which is about to end later this week.

Over the last several weeks, I've been making sure the pre-winter chores are completed.  That means, the barn is now full with hay...

The sprinklers have been blown out.

The gutters have been emptied of leaves, but first I had to take in the view.  :-)

There are still some leaves to come down.  However, they are sufficiently far from the house, so I don't expect them to find their way into the gutters.

The de-icers have all been set out.  I generally don't feel fully comfortable with the de-icers until we've passed our first hard freeze.  Once that happens, they generally work for the entire season.

Happy Late Fall.  I hope you are enjoying this lovely time of year.

New Adventure: Chickens, part 4

At the end of August 2022, we embarked upon raising chickens from chicks.

Earlier this week, our chicks started laying eggs!

They are right around 6 months old, so the timing is right.

This is pretty exciting!  Though, it also means that it's time to make a decision about the second rooster. :-/

Alpacamundo Monday: Farm Improvements, Gutters

Last winter I talked about getting a pair of cleats to help with the ice that builds up on the sidewalk adjacent to the dog kennel and yard.

Once the glass house was removed and the exterior painted, we engaged the gutter supplier.  Our intent was to have the new gutters installed on the house and large out building prior to the snow falling, but scheduling was challenging.  I guess everyone wanted new gutters this year.  ;-)

This is the result of ~3 inches of snow melting on the roof, then running onto the sidewalk and re-freezing...

The install finally happened in mid-December 2022.  We've been through a couple of snow melts now and I'm happy to say there is no water running on our heads as we walk thru doorways, nor is snow falling, melting, and re-freezing on the sidewalks.

I'm so happy!

Alpacamundo Monday: Improving Barn Access

Over the summer, we removed most of the dead and mostly-dead trees from our new property.

One in particular was near the door to the Alpaca Barn.

I still need to remove the stump, but having this tree gone improves access to the barn for our Hay Supplier.

I had been told by the previous owner that the barn could store 150 bales.  So I ordered 147 bales last winter, which did not leave the aisle accessible.

  

So this fall, we also removed one of the cabinets the previous owner had installed.  The first being just inside, so it prevented the door from being fully opened, which made it difficult to bring in hay bales.

Hay Delivery occurred over the weekend and my Hay Supplier agreed that access was much easier this time.

After picking up the spilled hay near the entrance, we have a full barn (126 bales) and an accessible aisle.

Alpacamundo Monday: Winter Water

Keeping the water free from ice is always a concern for me, especially until we get past the first real test... which happened last week, Thursday-Friday.

We got both a little snow and a hard freeze.

In the morning, everyone's de-icer had worked.  Hooray!!

We have simple sinking de-icers for the alpacas and goats, that I put in place about a week earlier.  No one has pulled it out or messed with it, which often happens when I first put them in place.

Ruby, the barn cat, has an electric water bowl.  The dogs have access to everyone's water along with several buckets that are indoors.

The chickens got a completely new watering system.... I introduced this to them about 10 days earlier, using this method, in order to ensure they all understood how to get their water.

The six birds are drinking about a half-gallon daily, which is consistent with what they were consuming prior to the new waterer.

Hopefully this solution keeps the water both clean and flowing.

Happy Almost-Winter!!

New Adventure: Chickens, part 3

As with any farming adventure, once you claim a victory, you are swiftly dealt a failure.

Fluffy Face was taken from the coop this morning.

There is no obvious entry or exit point from the coop walls and all that's left is a pile of feathers near the water bowls.  Therefore the most likely predator is an owl.

I found the chicks hiding in their chicken house.  They are all ok and accounted for.

So I will be closing the doors to the chicken house in addition to the coop over night until we are able to get netting in place above the entire coop.

For those who may be wondering where our dogs are.  They are in the adjacent yard because the existing fencing in the chicken yard is not adequate for keeping the dogs in.  There is also a long process for LGDs and Chickens to trust each other

We do have plans to improve the fencing which has experienced delays.

New Adventure: Chickens, part 2

Well, we don't have the new adult chickens yet.  So it appears to have been a good move to get the 6 chicks to keep our lone surviving hen company.

They are growing fast.

They started to escape their trough last week, so I moved them out of it.

As of yesterday, they are exploring beyond their corner of the Chicken House and starting to run after little things that move.

I have not let them out into the larger coop yet.

Fluffy Face was crowing this morning.

I didn't know that hens crowed.  Apparently it's common and is related to claiming territory.  Since the chicks are getting larger and more interested in exploring, I think this makes sense.

The chicks are 3 weeks old as of yesterday.  I imagine another week or two and all of their baby fluff will have been replaced with feathers.

New Adventure: Chickens, part 1

As part of our new place, we inherited a flock of chickens.  Which means the Alpacamundo Farm currently has Alpaca, Tibetan Mastiffs, Nigerian Dwarf Goats, and Chickens.

The First Year with Chickens

There were 16.  Three of which were Roosters.

The ratio should be closer to 1 Rooster per 15 Hens.  So the laying hens had large bald spots due to being over-bred by too many roosters and the roosters had been fighting with each other.

With the help of a Chicken Farmer Friend we identified which Rooster to keep, and began making plans to cull the other two.   However, due to a series of predation events we lost 2 roosters, including the one we wanted to keep, and gave the third to our neighbor.

The good news is that this all happened in time for the remaining hen-flock to re-grow feathers before the cold weather of winter.

I spent the winter improving the health of the flock.... adding calcium, grit, and higher protein organic feed, as well as treating for mites.

By the time laying resumed in the spring, the egg shells were quite hard for all but one of the hens, and everyone was looking good.

We had a lovely summer with the flock of 8 hens.  They did a great job of keeping the grass hopper and other bug populations under control.  As well as pooping all over the sidewalk and being a great source of entertainment.  :-)

Making Plans for the Future Flock

A couple of weeks ago, Hubba and I started talking about adding birds to the flock.  We began studying the Livestock Conservancy's Priority List to start figuring out which breeds would be good for our area and goals.  The plan was to add chicks in November/December so they would be old enough to start laying in the spring.

Then due to a mistake on my part, we lost all but one of our flock to predation just before dawn, on Monday.  FYI, this is a terrible way to be woken up.  :-(

Clearly we needed to make some process changes, and get a small flock together ASAP.  The one remaining chicken, Fluffy Face, was stressed being by herself.

Another friend offered to give us a few older-adult hens, but it would be a week before we could get together  So for the intervening week.... I found and purchased live chicks from a local ranch-supply store on Monday afternoon, and dove head first into caring for baby chickens.  ack.

Baby Chickens

My hope is that the chicks, while in their own area inside the coop, will be enough for Fluffy Face to feel more comfortable until the adults arrive next weekend.

Monday was a stressful day for her, with a lot of changes.  So she was suspicious of the new equipment in the coop.

I decided to watch the coop from the house, in order to give Fluffy Face some time and space.  Then went into the coop around dusk to turn the Heat Lamp on, and do my evening check.  I found Fluffy Face thinking about roosting, but still cautious of the new residents.... baby steps, but they are in the right direction.  :-)

For the Tuesday morning check, the Heat Lamp kept the chicks warm overnight, and everyone was vocal and active.  WooHoo!  Everyone survived the first night!!

At the midday Tuesday (yesterday) checks, Miss Fluffy Face was watching the chicks.  All of the chicks are eating and drinking.... and Miss Fluffy Face seems a bit more relaxed now too.

Day 3

Today is Wednesday and we have two nights under our belt.... Fluffy Face is becoming more interested in spending time with the chicks.

I've been handling the chicks a little each time I go out to the coop.  This is to encourage them to trust me and eventually be easy to catch and vet when needed.

As of today, the chicks are officially 1 week + 2 days old!

They are Rhode Island Red, which are on the Livestock Conservancy's Priority List.  Though, I suspect these are "industrially" produced.

At this point I don't know if I have hens, roosters, or a combination.  The producer endeavors to provide only hens, but it is not guaranteed.  According to what I've read, I should have a good idea by about 6-14 weeks.

Next time I, hopefully, will be able to talk about successfully introducing a flock of adult chickens.  *fingers crossed.*

Alpacamundo Monday: Shearing Day, 2022

Normally we shear in early-mid May.  I was not ready due to the move and the weather can be questionable in May, so I had been wanting to push it to later date anyway.

Therefore in looking at my calendar, we chose Saturday, June 18th.  But with things already scheduled for the two weekends prior, I needed to get the barn and supplies ready by the end of May.

At our last place, preparing for Shearing Day was a matter of just ensuring our hay stores were out of the way and hooking the rig up to the already established points.

Here, at the new place, I had to choose and set up a new location.

After scouting about, I figured one of the stalls would work best.  We have power and places to tie off.  However, stalls being stalls, I'm concerned it will be a bit narrow for a large crew.  We will also need more shade in the morning.

The good news is that our new place makes it much easier to corral the herd for shearing, so I didn't need a lot of extra hands, or to take a break from shearing to help catch animals.  I penned them in the night before, then we let them into the pasture after each was shorn.

I sorted my tools and sent a supply of combs, cutters, and shears out for sharpening.

I created the check sheets, labeled the fleece bags, and ensured the rig would work in the selected location.  I also set out my folding table to ensure we have the traffic flow figured out.

The previous owner left a large amount of horse manure behind.  Much of it was frozen to the ground by the time I was able to get to it last fall.  So barn prep included mucking for horses that I am not responsible for, ground leveling, and placing stall mats for padding.

I am happy to report that our first shearing day at our new farm was successful!  We identified a few kinks that should be relatively simple to remedy before next year.

Lot's of sunbathing and rolling in dirt occurred after each haircut.

Everyone is happy in their summer do.

Skirting of fleeces is next on the agenda.

As always, we couldn't do this work without the help of a few great friends.  I'm grateful to them.

Fiber Arts Friday: Milestone

Now that we are closer to the end than the beginning of our moving process, I want to highlight an important milestone here...

The last of my raw and skirted alpaca fleeces have been moved to our new house.

It's going to be some time before I have the next batch ready for the mill, but wow.... I am excited about this!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Criss Cross Canine Cardigan, part 2 - Swatching

With the Copperbranch going into timeout, I was struggling with choosing which to focus on next.

I'm not ready to face my Box o" Unfinished Projects... because most of these either need to be ripped out or need special, focused attention.  None of which I am ready to do right now.... although, I did open the box and look inside... but I did not take a picture of it.  ;-)

So, while I only have one skein of yarn spun so far, this is going to be a very long-term project.  So I figured it's a good time to start knitting on my Criss Cross Canine Cardigan.

The pattern calls for a heavier yarn than I am spinning, which means the first step is Swatching, and I made several.

There are swatches on US3, US4, and US7 and US7 with the prescribed yarn.  None have been blocked.

In comparing the TM swatches (brown) with the prescribed swatch (white), I felt the US4 produced the most similar fabric.  So the bulk of the sweater will be worked on US4, with the button band on US3.

Progress is going slow, and it's already been ripped out once... mostly because I was confusing the leaning increases.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!