Getting used to the youngsters

So we have been keeping the Mama Chickens separated from the teenagers, we had to wait for the little ones to get big enough to hold their own. 

So recently we have been slowly introducing Reba and Marie to their new friends two at a time. Reba has been sitting on eggs so she has been really agitated lately, however we put these two in the coop with them for 10 or 15 min and they all did really well together. Hopefully this means that when we get the bigger coop in the back yard and we move everyone in together we won't have any big fights. At least that is the goal.

A Broody Chicken

Well our hens were losing feathers due to the number of roosters that we had so we separated them. The ladies went in the coop. 

We got eggs really well for the first week or so. After a little while Reba started to get a little broody and we stopped getting eggs she stopped laying as many and wouldn't let us anywhere near them. It didn't matter if she or Marie laid the eggs Reba sat on them.

I was beginning to wonder if there was anyway they could even be fertile since they hadn't been with the gents in so long, but we marked the eggs anyway just to see what would happen. Then yesterday when we came home all the waiting paid off! :) She hatched an egg!

Meet our new chick!

New additions to the farm!

We got two turkey poults today.

they like to cuddle.

Farm Dog

Meet our newest member of the family! This is Boone. 

He is a Bernese Mountain Dog. He is little now but he wont be for long.

The boys love him and he has been doing really well with the chickens and the ducks. They aren't to sure about having a dog around but he just likes to sniff them. I think he is going to be a very good farm dog.

Front yard

We have been working on making the yard look better so we got some mulch and some flowers and a few bulbs and just started with out much of a plan. 

We bought some citronella and lemon grass, we had quite the problem with getting bitten last year sadly the chickens don't really attack the Mosquitos the way they do the ticks, so this year we decided to fight. We put the citronella in pots so we can take our bug repellant with us from the front porch if we need to. We also planted the lemon grass next to the stairs.

We spread out the Lilly's in the front and planted some bulbs in the middle hopefully we will have flowers all the way across soon. The Lilly's will come back every year so we won't have to worry about always buying more plus the are probably my favorite flower.

We put the hibiscus in the corner next to the stairs, we need a third. I think it's all coming together rather nicely.

Our new flocks

Well this was a big weekend for us we took all 17 chicks and 5 ducks outside. The ducks have officially moved outside but the little chickens just went on an outing. 

The big chickens don't seem to mind the ducks but they are not happy with our little chicken friends, so I am still in protective mommy mode. I would like for them to get used to each other but they seem to have different ideas.

The ducks can't seem to figure out how tho get back and forth from home to the pond we have been trying to show them the way (which really isn't very far) but they don't seem to get it. Having ducks is such a different experience from chickens, they are lovers. We introduced them all to each other and they were immediately inseparable they get attached fast. If one gets separated for any reason they all freak out trying to get back together again it's really a cool thing to watch.

Garden

We have been working on our garden trying to get all the grass out of the beds and getting stuff planted.

Wesson & Gabe were excited to help weed the garden! Wesson loves dirt and worms so he dug right in Gabe dug up the roots with a shovel.

Our Apple tree is blooming :)

We have planted several different things and we aren't done yet.

Artichokes

Spinach & Peppers

 Tomatoes

Okra

Strawberries & Dill

Cucumbers

I have also planted Corn, Green Beans and Onions, all though you can't see them yet.

Gabe keeps checking on the strawberries to see if they are ready to eat yet, lol.