Baby it's cold outside!

Is anyone else cold? The polar vortex seems to have the whole country under a cold hold. Last time I checked I lived in the south so it shouldn't be 30 degrees in November. I do however know some animals who are not cold... the alpacas. The boys are enjoying this polar vortex that has taken over the country. Here's a peek of what is going on in the alpaca pasture...

Lately I have found the alpacas dotted across their pasture laying just like Raoul soaking up the sun. Their coats are getting long as they prepare for winter so they are not the least bit cold.Perfect for soaking up some rays in the middle of the day.

If they aren't laying in the sun they are searching for freshly fallen leaves. They are so cute hunting around for their favorite treat!

All of the boys seem happy and relaxed which makes me happy and relaxed. Wishing you a happy fall hummm from the alpacas. Did I mention they hum? I suppose that is for another post.

Operation pet the pigs

Well the pigs have now called Yankee Belle farm their home for 2 months and have settled in quite nicely. I often catch Monty walking over to the pig pen to check things out, I think they are beginning to understand each other. There is only one problem. We CAN NOT touch the pigs. Don't get me wrong, the pigs aren't mean, they just don't do touch. So I have decided to instate operation pet the pigs! Get excited people, this is an official mission. You may be wondering how I am going to do this, I have decided that food and proximity are the two key components to an official pig mission such as this one.

" You are going to do what?"

So I took my chair, book, and pig treats into the pen and planned to stay a while.

"Treats for me?!"

I started by throwing Cheerios to the guys to let them know I came in peace. After they ate some of the treats, I started throwing them closer and closer.

Nicholas even came over to see what was going on at one point.

" Can I play too?"

Sherman ended up almost eating Cheerios out of my hand. He wouldn't quite take it from my hand but he did eat the ones on the ground right next to my fingers.

" Yum!"

I consider operation part one a partial success. Hopefully lots of yummy treats will lead to some pig petting soon.

It's Fall Y'all! Fall on the farm

Alright y'all it's been a long time since I wrote a post, I wish I had a good excuse but I don't. Sorry! The weather has cooled down and the leaves have started to change since the last time we talked. Let me just tell you that I LOVE FALL! I love everything about it. Sweaters, cider, crisp breezes in the morning, you name it, I love it. Well come to find out the animals love fall too! I spent some time today just walking around watching all the animals enjoy the cooler fall weather.

Alpacas + Fall = bliss

Just layin' around

The alpacas especially love the fall. The low hum from their fan has finally turned off and they can rest a little cooler each day. They have been spending lots of time around their area basking in the warm sun.

The cooler weather also means that the boys are getting extra fluffy! Their fleece is growing thick to get them ready for winter. They look much different than they did when they came to us in April. I just want to squeeze them!

Oink, Oink, Yawn...

I have learned that pigs get cold easily. At night I find our piggys snuggled in their little hut. They burrow themselves in hay. Burrowing to the point that one day I thought they escaped because they were hiding so well. Melvin and Sherman can be found lazing the fall days rooting around in the cool dirt and laying in the sun.

I caught Melvin mid- yawn just after his 6th nap of the day. The pigs love fall too.

Cluck, peck, scratch

I have happy hens on the farm right now. They are loving scratching through the fallen leaves and finding hidden bugs everywhere.

The ladies on a lovely fall day.

I could watch the animals all day. I am so glad they love the fall as much as I do.

I promised Raoul I would put his close-up on the blog. :)



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Old Fashioned Friday

When the people are away the pigs will play.

Going out to do morning farm chores is one of my favorite things to do. I love greeting the animals in the morning and getting everyone what they need for the day. Well.... we got a surprise when we went out to the pig pen today.

Yep, they started breakfast without us. I assume Melvin was the strength behind this operation but I wouldn't be surprised if Sherman was the idea man here. I suppose we should have figured that this may be a possibility if we stored their feed inside their pen. We just thought that the metal can with a 50 lb bag of feed in it would keep them out, I guess we were wrong.

"Hurry, they see us!"

Well Melvin and Sherman I guess we learned our lesson and moved the food container. Mischief managed.

A change of the guard: There's a new rooster in town

Frodo Baggins was my first rooster. I love him. A lot. He is the scrappiest looking silkie I have ever seen which naturally makes him adorable.

Frodo has been in charge for a quite a while and his reign over the flock is finally over.

Meet Mrs. Frizzle. The new rooster in charge.

Yes I did say MRS. Frizzle. We named him before we figured out he was a boy and it kind of stuck. Anyway... He is small but he packs a lot of punch. He is the head rooster now. I am not sure how the dynamics of a chicken flock work but every now and again a new rooster heads to the top. The ladies accept that he is now in charge and listen to his special signals but all of the hens still love their Frodo.

The piggies settle into the farm.

Pigsy Hollow

Melvin and Sherman have already started to settle in and get comfortable at the farm. We spent all of the day after we got the boys building their new pig pen, Pigsy Hollow. One of the first things we added was a pig pool. Pig fact: pigs can't sweat so they need cool water or mud to roll in.

One hoof at a time

"Come on in, the water's great!"

Melvin seems very happy about his pig pool. Sherman however hasn't been able to get in the pool because Melvin has been hogging the pool, pun intended!

Piggy snack time!
In order to get our piggies comfortable with us we have been offering them pig safe snacks. So far we know they love cucumbers and popcorn. These pigs can put down some popcorn!

"Popcorn, where have you been all my life?"

"Thanks for the popcorn, I love my new people!"

With an oink oink here: New pigs on the farm.

Everyday on the farm is exciting in some way but when new animals arrive it is exciting in a special way. Everyone is alert. Chickens crowed around the fence, and the alpacas stand on high alert to find out what's up. 

Please let me introduce you to the latest members on the farm. Drum roll please......

"Where are we?" " I don't know, looks like a nice place."

Please meet Sherman (small black pig) and Melvin (big pig with spots). These two cuddly little oinkers are potbelly pigs that moved to the Yankee Belle Farm today. 

This seems pretty cozy

They even got a comfy ride in the new minivan. 

"Cheese!"

Melvin settled in with a little rooting and a nice nap. 

" Just a little deeper."

Sherman stuck with rooting for quite a while. 

We are so excited to have our new pig friends here and can't wait to see what sort of pig adventures Sherman and Melvin will have together. 

We're feeling hot hot hot!

Summer is in full swing here at Yankee Belle Farm and it is HOT. Humans and animals alike are trying to spend the day keeping cool.

Alpacas:
On a hot day you can find the alpacas getting their tan on in the sun. It seems silly that these furry guys wouldn't lay in the sun when it's hot, but they do! They kind of look dead when they lay like this but have no fear they are just soaking up the sun.

If the are not soaking up the sun they are waiting to be sprayed off with a cool hose.

Pacas enjoying the cool water

Ducks:
The ducks of the farm like to spend their time in the water when they are hot. They like it when I fill up a tub with fresh cold water for them.

3 ducks in one bin

Chickens:
Chickens on the farm can be found trying to drink out of the duck's water bin or dust bathing on a hot day. Chickens roll around in the dirt to keep themselves cool and clean.

Elvira pecking at the door on a hot day, maybe she wants lemonade!

Everyone gathering around the bin for a cool drink of water

Just trying to stay cool

Humans:
Last but not least you can find us humans of the farm sipping on a cool drink or trying to stay cool in the pool. Sometimes the chickens even sneak inside the fence for the pool. Luckily they haven't tried to take a dip yet.

Strawberry Shortcake is ready for the pool!

Batman is part fish I think

Well whether it's animal or human we spend our summer days staying cool and having fun. What do you do to beat the heat?

Little Monty turns 2!!!

We had our first alpaca birthday on the farm today, Monty turned 2! Naturally we had to celebrate in full Yankee Belle Farm style so we celebrated with Monty throughout the day.

The guys came right over to the fence in the morning ready to start the day of celebrating Monty.

I even got a few birthday kisses from the birthday paca. He had a great day with some extra grain and fresh leaves. Oh and of course the people celebrated too....

Special cupcakes for the paca's people.

Batman wanted to admire the cupcake before he ate it.

Strawberry Shortcake didn't waste any time diving in.

Happy Birthday Little Monty!

Spit Happens

Who me?

Well we've had the alpacas for a couple months now and we L O V E them! I can't even remember not having the boys in our backyard. At this point all of my friends know about the alpacas and several of them have met the guys. Most new people that I meet also know about the alpacas because it always somehow comes in conversation because, well, how could it not. I get three really common questions when I mention alpacas....

1. What is an alpaca?

2. Are you the alpaca farm on 64? ( a huge new farm on a big main road near us )

3. Do they spit on you?

Most people focus on #3... do they spit. Everyone has an opinion on alpaca spit. Even the people who ask what an alpaca is have an opinion on alpaca spit. My answer, yes alpacas spit. No the do not spit on me per say. 

Why alpacas spit:

Alpacas use spit as a defense mechanism. They have no top teeth so they can't bite, they have toe nails so their kick can't do too much damage, so they spit. Now I know you might be thinking, what could spit possible do? Well let me tell you the smell of alpaca spit will knock you over. This spit comes from the bottom of their gut and could clear a room, or barnyard. 

They typically don't spit ON people, well at least mine don't. They spit at each other and if you happen to be between two perturbed alpacas then you are out of luck. Mine usually spit over food or when they are playing, which looks more like fighting. 

I thought we were spit free because for the first 2 weeks there was no spit! Our lovely blue barn was in mint condition and they seemed to be getting along great. Then one day I noticed they had started spitting. 

See all that greenish hay looking stuff... spit. Let me give you a closer look.

It looks more like hay spatter to me. Bottom line, alpacas spit but it doesn't matter much to me. I just wipe it off, and go right on about my day because, well, spit happens.

A tale of two mother hens. An adventure in co-parenting.

Usually mother hens are fiercely protective of their chicks. One hen with her baby chicks. But as everyone who has animals knows, they don't always do what the books say. Sometimes they make their own rules. This is the case with our two little moms.

Meet the girls

One silkie bantam, Gandolf the White, and one brabanter, J Chicken,  found each other and became instant friends. These are two very different breeds of chickens and the first time I saw them together was on their nest.
21 Days on the nest
They decided to sit on the nest together from the very beginning. They had never really been chicken friends before but they sure decided that they were going to do this together. for 21 long days they sat on the nest side by side. When adoption day came I brought both chickens inside and separated them before I gave them their new chicks. You see, their eggs weren't hatching so I bought some day old chicks to slip under them so they would think their eggs had hatched. I wanted to separate them because I thought they might get violent and steel each others chicks or hurt each other. NOT. THE. CASE! The second I separated them they started going nuts clucking and flapping trying to get back to each other. Well this wild chicken show lasted about 5 minutes in my dinning room before I realized I had to put them back together. So back they went. When nighttime came I slipped into the coop and put two chicks under one chicken and two chicks under the other one and prayed that they would keep their chicks and there would be no hen fighting. Now I waited.

Protectors
Once the they came both moms they went into full protector mode. Protectors of their chicks and of one another. I almost couldn't stand the cuteness when I went into the coop to find the on mom with her wing over the other mom and chicks. I couldn't make this stuff up!

They have been teaching the chicks everything they need to know and doing it together, co-parenting. I guess sometimes you need a partner to help and in some cases a rooster just won't do.

I feel like these two are forever friends now and I love watching them lead their babies around the yard everyday. Only time will tell what their relationship will be in the future, but for now they are together forever.

A lesson in love. A mamma hen.

I have taken an unexpected blogging hiatus due to computer difficulties for about a month. I wanted my first post back to be full of energy and awesome animal stories from the farm. Unfortunately that is not the post I need to write.

Last night I lost one of my favorite chickens to a predator. Not only was she the cutest fluffiest silkie you have ever seen, she was the most friendly chicken around. She tolerated "Batman" picking her up and even taking her to show and tell at school. I know that having chickens means loosing chickens. It is part of keeping livestock. Just because it is inevitable does not make it easy.

Gandolf The Grey was a fierce mamma hen. She would do anything for her little chicks. She adopted 6 chicks without question. It is amazing to watch a mother hen with her chicks. Their protective instinct runs deep. They teach their chicks everything they need to know and protect them at the same time.

I noticed she and one of her chicks were missing when I was doing my nightly coop check. Every once and a while a chicken doesn't come back to the coop so I have to trudge through the woods with my flashlight until I find them hiding in a bush somewhere. This time I had a bad feeling. Gandolf the Grey always comes back. It was especially strange because her chicks were snug inside not under their mother's wing. One of her chicks was also missing. I searched and searched and could not find them. Eventually I had to call the search. I got up early in the morning to search again. This time my search ended in tears and feathers. My poor little chicken had been a victim to a raccoon (at least I think it was a raccoon. ) I assumed that the animal took the little chick.


Tonight when I went into the coop I noticed one little chick standing in the corner. After doing a count I realized it was the lost chick! The chick had survived.

Mamma Hen was just protecting her chick. She sacrificed herself for her baby. As I spent time holding the scared chick and comforting her I thought about a mother's love. Mother's will do anything for their babies, even chickens.

My little chicken had done what any mother would do, protect her baby. I will always be sad that she is gone but it makes my heart smile because she was doing what I would do, protecting her baby.