Daisy, one of our Haflingers

I think Buttercup's mom, Daisy, is such a pretty horse.  What do you think?

Above in front is Daisy and behind her you can see Duke.  Duke and Daisy are trained to pull carts and work together as a team.  Below, you can see Daisy on the left.  She's sticking out her tongue.  And baby Buttercup, Daisy's baby, is on the right.  Buttercup will be 2 in May, 2015.

And one last shot of pretty Daisy...

The Ducklings

I know I'm biased but these ducklings have grown up to be quite handsome!

A week in farm pictures!

We had an icy start to the week but overall a great week with beautiful sunsets!!

The Farm in pictures!

We had so much rain this week!  We're actually looking forward to some cold weather to freeze the ground.  Love all these animals!  Cherokee, our Naragansett Tom turkey found himself in a fight with his father.  They live separately and were separated before this fight could conclude.

Two of our Naragansett hen turkeys flew out of the coop and while exploring came across a ground hog who quickly disappeared.

The mulefoot piglets were moved from their enclosure where I have been fortunate to raise them from three week old piglets to 14 weeks and they met their family for the first time.  They are loving it- running, playing and exploring.  They love to sniff the other hogs through the fence.

And lastly, we took Traveler and Sassy, our Quarter Horses, riding in Blandy State Arboretum.

Piglet Tails

I love piglet tails.  Each time I go to feed the piglets I take a few minutes to scratch them behind their ears, pet them and pull on their tails.  Look at this cute little curled up tail!

I expected a pig tail to be round all the way down like a dog's tail.  I was surprised when I was touching a tail to find that in fact, the end is flattened....like a beaver tail or a fly swatter.  Maybe that is what a pig tail is for:  to swat flies.  What do you think?

 I was also surprised to see them wag their tails when they are happy or excited like a dog does.  (Click the link below to see the video of piglets eating breakfast.  Not alot of tail wagging but still cute little piglets!  I'll update with some tail wagging later!)

Tail wagging during breakfast

A November week on the farm in photos!

Fall is my favorite time of the year and so many beautiful moments at the farm this week!

Here is our big Tom turkey showing his stuff!

Momma hen on an outing with her quickly growing chick.  Notice how attentive the chick is to mom's instructions!

A big morning crow from the Big Red Rooster!

Muddy piglets!  We had quite a bit of rain this week!  The piglets don't mind and their house is warm, dry and filled with straw.

Narragansett turkey hens out for a stroll.

Our house cat, Seneca, posing.

One of our geese.  His head is titled a little as he turns one eye towards the sky to watch a hawk.

Showing the two chicks I'm in charge of the great outdoors.  Scary view of me.  lol.

Piglets shake it off!

Piglets shake like dogs when they find themselves wet or covered with mud.  Just add some rain to their world and you'll be covered in mud too!

The Minds of Birds

It's hard to tell what goes on in the minds of birds but there are a couple serious disputes going on today in the turkey yard.

I separated everyone once the commotion started.

A Week of Fall Farm Pictures!

Fall is so beautiful on the farm.  I feel like I can't take enough pictures!  Enjoy and have a great week!

Warm breakfast snacks with extra protein for the molting chickens.

Thankful for the lives we share

Dedicating this morning's rising sun and beautiful fall colors to my big lady turkey who passed away sometime last night.  Her passing was not unexpected.  I could see her declining in recent days but it still makes me sad to know her time has ended.  She was one of my three ladies- three meat producing turkeys that we purchased at the same time five years ago and I am sad to see her leave us.

The typical meat turkey has been changed over years by humans to gain weight in their breasts rapidly.  They are voracious eaters and peck at food as if they are starving.  The weight gain tends to cause many health problems in the turkeys that are allowed to live longer than the 16 weeks at which most of them are slaughtered for food.  They have leg problems from the weight and heart problems.  

This lady turkey did live a life worth living with a group of friends, and plenty of healthy food and snacks.  Although she never actually hatched any chicks (this is also difficult due to their weight as the tend to crush the eggs) she did spend time sitting on a nest with the other hens.  She was able to be free range on our farm much of her life.  A pretty good life for a turkey if you ask me.

Thankful today for her and for all the lives I share this world with who come and go or stay for a long time. 

 RIP pretty lady.  You will be missed.

Duke and Daisy, our draft horses

Have I introduced you to Duke and Daisy, our Haflingers that we use as draft horses?

Duke and Daisy are a team and they are trained to pull a wagon or things like plows to help us do farm work.  Here is Duke pulling Frank in a cart.

Daisy is the mother of baby Buttercup.  We didn't know Daisy was pregnant when we bought her and brought her home about seven months before Buttercup gave a surprise appearance.  This is a picture of Buttercup on her birthday, May 5th, 2013.  Could she be any cuter?  What a wonderful surprise!

Just a week later, Buttercup finally got her name.  As we weren't expecting her, we didn't have any names picked out for our new little lady.  On May 10th, I walked out into the field to see how she was doing and there she was with her mom in a field filled with Buttercups.  Our little Buttercup!  What a nice addition she's been to our world!  (I had to give momma Daisy a dish of grain to get her to stand still.)