Good Afternoon! And Happy Friday!
It’s been a very busy but exciting week here at Archie’s Acres! The last frost is upon us! And the 100+ tomato and pepper plants couldn’t be more excited. No wait, scratch that, Hanna and I couldn’t be more excited to get them out of our sun porch! They’re about 6 inches tall and clearly looking for more space to grow. And of course we’re all for that. We’re hoping for only one more week of a frost threat out here. Oh please…
In preparation for the big move, we’ve begun building a 150′ by 35′ deer/rabbit fence around our entire garden. It’s a lot of work, and really kills your hands, but it’s worth it. The deer, rabbits and raccoons are ferocious eaters out here!
Spring is the season for Baby Animals.
…and we have a couple around here.
Our baby chickens are growing and flourishing. They’re learning the rules of being a chicken. And believe it or not, there is a protocol and of course a pecking order. The 20+ babies that we got from the hatchery in Iowa (Hoover’s Hatchery: https://www.hoovershatchery.com/) are now about 2 months old and are living outside in a rabbit hutch that we converted to a chicken coop. They’re still unable to join the adults because they’re not even close in size so they won’t stand a chance with the adults, who tend to be bullies.
The 7 blue egg laying chicks that we hatched in the incubator earlier this month are happily in their brooder in the garage, growing and socializing and learning chicken things. They have about 2 more weeks until they have all of their feathers and can handle the outside temp changes. But we’ll most likely keep them in the brooder for another month since there is only 7 of them, and they won’t outgrow their current space as quickly.
Baby Quail!
We have also hatched 7 baby quail in the last week. They are Coturnix quail, which is a breed of Japanese quail; they are the easiest quail breed to start with, they are cold hardy, mild-mannered and prefer to hang out on the ground which makes egg collection easier. We will sell their eggs at farmers markets this summer.
At first we had only hatched 1 quail, who was alone for over a day, he/she was very lonely, so a new hatchling made him/her very happy. He/she was very concerned with the well-being of the new baby. It was very sweet to watch. Since then we’ve hatched 5 more. They are the tiniest creatures. And their growth rate is impressive. In just 2 weeks they have developed at a rate that would take a chicken over a month to reach. These quail will reach full maturity at around 2 months old, while a chicken will take 5-6 months.
Baby Lamb!
Annnnnd we now have a baby lamb! Her name is Tilly. She lives in our house currently, as newborns are prone to hypothermia. She is 1 week old today and follows us around like a puppy. We got her from our friend Mike, who is a hog/sheep farmer nearby (he was also our realtor). Tilly was a triplet and her mom was unable to make enough milk for all 3 babies, so she needed to be bottle-fed, and we volunteered. At first it was a tough process, she didn’t take to bottle feeding very well. But 2 days later, she was a maniac at feeding time. She hits the bottle like a tiny bass and inhales her food. She’s growing and getting stronger every day. She will be in charge of landscaping our 2+ acre fenced in pasture. It’ll be nice to not have to make the time to mow that.
Busy busy busy…
All of these baby plants and animals have kept us very busy. Please follow us on Instagram. @ArchiesAcres
I try to post at least once a day. And as Spring really kicks in, we’ll have more of a focus on our organic vegetables and herbs. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Really enjoying farm news. Any chance of deer or ???? burgalers in your garden ? Coons ? How did you know about the qual splints – vet ? Ducks back in pond? Did Hannah find a kitten immunization mail order ? Its easy n cheap. Theydont feel it really. Older cats have tougher skin to get thru. ????????????????????????????
We’re stringing mono-filament fishing line around the fence – several rows of it up to about 6ft. Supposedly it will deter the deer since they’ll run into it, not be able to see it and get scared. We definitely have seen raccoon prints in the dirt so we’re going to have to think of something to keep them away but I think deer and rabbits were our biggest problems last year.
The quail is doing much better; we’re removed the splint (the internet is a wonderful thing) and he/she is standing and walking normally now. Our ducks from last year have not returned though the duck house is still on the pond – no one seems interested.
I did find some immunizations for the kittens; I’ll order it and administer as soon as they’re old enough. 🙂
OK. A quail in braces. That is a first…never in my life seen or considered such a photo! YOU TWO AMAZE ME!
I’m sure the spectacle of us applying the braces was pretty entertaining. The quail is so tiny and fragile that it was pretty hard to get right. We both kept asking him/her to “be still” and “stop squirming” but the little bugger didn’t want to listen to us.