Temperatures continue to rise here, it’s already too hot during the day to do much. (32c today)
I am dreading summer and this year will be a long one if we dont have an early break.
Perhaps we will have a wet summer, not always good as summer rain can ruin feed. However as we dont have much of that perhaps rain would be nice. Dams and tanks are already low so water will be needed sooner rather than later.
On the farm we are jetting lambs against flystrike and trying to sell older sheep.
We are also buying in as much feed as we can store, and find, and paying big prices already.
But we have to feed our hungry sheep on something.
The adult dogs are doing some work and the pups are just learning to come when called. Pups generally hit a really annoying stage from about 5 months until about 8 months or later. They can be very independent and when it comes time to be locked up after a run they simply ignore me and wander off, usually just out of reach. So patience and self control is required until they pass this stage, which they do eventually. Long ropes dont always work, they seem to know exactly how long the rope is and stay out of reach. So one must pretend not to really want them at all and walk away. Then they usually follow and can be grabbed.
Spice discovered the chooks yesterday and my daughter did a great tackle and caught her before she put all the chooks off the lay. She is a slippery little girl, very fast and excitable.
Spice, annoying a pregnant Yindi.
Still annoying.
Yindi has had enough and flattens her.
We now have 44 chickens which we hatched in the incubator. Anconas, Plymouth Rocks Wyandottes and some of our own Araucana’s. We had three broodies ready for mothering duties and as they hatched we put them under the hens at night time. They don’t seem to notice that from 2 eggs they now have about 15 chicks each.
All are doing well, and my next batch will be Barnvelders, which we will hand rear as they are quite a rare breed now and it was not too easy to source eggs.
Balto is getting to the stage where he is needing more excercise, so in an effort to keep him from becoming a crate potato, I have taken up running. So every second day we run together. He is still on a lead and still wears a plastic brace but can run along quite freely. In fact I am battling to keep up with him now. But he does motivate me to keep fit and I am actually enjoying the challenge of running , something I have never done before. I have struggled with a few injuries but I figure Balto has worse than me to contend with and I keep plugging away. I am a long way from running very far or fast yet though.
And I have a new dog.
The lovely kelpie Yarralonga Bella, (Ballysheehan Greg X Yarralonga Sophie) stolen from Richard Mcguire. Actually swapped for Rocky Blizzard. Richard liked Blizzards lines and I wanted Bellas bloodlines so we are both happy.
Bella will be ‘Introduced’ to Jake sometime soon.
Bella misses Richard and I have had to keep an eye on her. She gazes into the distance sometime, probably wondering about him.
Otherwise she has adapted very well and is starting to bond to me.
Bella enjoying a swim with Driftz.
We will soon be shearing, the near has flown, can't believe it.
Christmas looms already.
Just after I finished writing this we had 16mls of lovely steady rain.
A bit late really but our crop will benifit as will the pastures that are still green.
And our tanks appreicated it too.
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