what late winter looks like on the farm

to be quite fucking honest, i have no idea when winter is ending for us. now, before i even begin, its not hard core winter in texas. but for texas, this season is KICKING the states butt. i mean last week, it seemed like 85% of the roads were iced over and the majority of the driving map was just gray. it’s quite insane. lucky for us, our ducks decided to start hatching the week the freeze hit and piper evicted her sweet kids. FUN. all jokes aside, im so very grateful this happened prior to the freeze and not during. in this blog, we’re gonna catch up and explain how we have continued navigating this roller coaster season.

starters: we decided against the straw for our bucks because they just eat it. our girls though are smart enough not to. in fact, they just don’t care about it at all. they lay anywhere but where they should. we hadn’t set up a full shelter for our ducks or goats yet since we moved them. we had two days to prepare for the freeze and worked with what we had. janky? yes. efficient? also yes. our farm is the furthest things from an aesthetic farm. it’s lived in, used, short on time and chaotic. it’s the perfect example of playing the cards you’re dealt in that exact moment.

one shelter went over a playground that the goats favored and the second shelter was a much bigger area with a heat lamp, some hemp bedding and a wall of stacked straw to block wind. the kids got a tote and two small blankets near a heat lamp on the concrete porch and they shared that area with the ducks often. our chickens stayed warm by huddling with our ducks and occasionally miss piper. ironically, rosemary was trying to go broody throughout the freeze like the queen she is. two days after the freeze, ellie, our newest doeling, somehow escaped and went missing for four hours or so. thankfully we found her and milo, our buckling, was so happy to have her back. oreo, winston and the kids are all so close, it’s the most adorable thing. they all ran up sniffin’ her and ensuring she was okay. that was the day my husband said we could keep them both. { he tells me every other day no more animals. IRONIC. i should tell you how much he loves oakley, the cat he swore we weren’t keeping. this is the man that goes out of his way to ensure these animals are comfortable } this is exactly how we ended up where i’m searching for more drakes {male ducks} and more goats. he swore no more. BUT he was the one who said it should be done. let’s dive in.

while winter is supposed to last longer, we plan to start the actual shelters for the ducks and goats. we also plan to set up the areas for spring breeding. late winter is a mixture of getting the animals we need for spring breeding with the goats. this winter, we are adding ducks to the flock so we can offer more breeds of ducklings. alex mentioned how we should add some lighter colored ducks to our flock so we didn’t just have black ducklings. so obviously, full send to two of the breeds i already wanted. his idea, drop excess females and add another male. here’s how that conversation went:

him: if you like those breeds, search for those

me: awesome, okay! let me set up who i’d put with each drake.

him: wait, does this mean you’re offloading excess females…or, wait, are you just gonna add more males and we keep all of them? *the shortest long pause* you’re just gonna add and keep everyone huh? that’s what you’re planning…?

me: yeahbsolutely…

this conversation ended in laughter and that turned into nervous laughter because we had to discuss goats next. LOL. obviously on the search for a new buck and a few more does. we sold smores the night before the freeze. she went to a herd that was so similar to our original herd it was so funny. a mixture of myotonic and nigerian dwarfs. she settled right in and i’m so thankful. dusty is still set for freezer camp and sully is undetermined. he’s got such a pretty cashmere coat and the prettiest blue eyes. i wanna try to breed mama oreo with him and see what we get. the goal is an assortment of tricolored with blue eyes. naturally polled and horned. we don’t discriminate by horns here. {& if you ever plan to buy from us, we will never offer disbudding as a heads up}

overall, the tail end of winter is major behind the scenes spring prep and dealing with whatever the weather throws. wether it be swapping/adding animals, and maintaining the farm overall. we embrace the winters. there’s less bugs, unfortunately more feed, NO mosquitoes, few flys and cooler days. it gives a well deserved break to our girls who lay with the shorter amount of light in the day and they get to lounge more. AS THEY SHOULD. we want our animals to be happy and follow their natural instincts. they deserve rest, just like we do. {we just don’t get to use it all up because we gotta provide for them}