4.30.2011

Great Opportunities.....

Jason has gotten an amazing opportunity to raise up close to 300 chicks, 40 turkeys, and dozens of Boer goats. We decided that would definitely be too much for the little ol' acre to handle and he will solely be tending to the new HUGE farm responsibilities and I am going to continue on with the acre - I will just have a smaller more manageable garden. This is a really exciting turn of events and I can't wait to keep up with the growth of all those birds and baby Boers. Hopefully I can be successful at growing a few things in my first ever garden! Here are some photos of the new herd of little creatures Jason is taking over:

The goats are so cute and just a little bit bigger than Misty and Milly. Boer goats are meat goats and raised for  - well, meat. They will be raised in the pasture by all natural means and then bred. The Boers at Jason's are from a great bloodline and will be the stock animals for future breeding of meat goats. Maybe by this time next year or even sooner, we can see some little kids from these!
The chicks are almost overwhelming to someone like me - too much responsibility for a beginner like myself, but I will be happy to watch the progress from afar!



The turkey chicks should be ready by Thanskgiving and will be 100% naturally raised in a pasture with no antibiotics or hormones - I know where my turkey is gonna come from!
Eli is all better and soon will be reunited with Ellie and he will meet Ellen for the first time ever! I called the veterinarian yesterday to get some advice on how to handle putting him back in the field with Ellie, Ellen, and Misty and Milly. Eli is getting neutured the end of May and I just wanted to be sure of some things before I put them all in the same field. Dr. Mike Dzimianski has been a lifesaver in helping me out with these goats. I know I ask too many questions, but I just don't want to do anything wrong with these babies!

I will also be reducing my chicken flock so that it will be more manageable for one person - Jason will keep the ones I don't put on the acre, which means I will be building a smaller coop - possibly getting the 'About An Acre' carpenters to build me one like they built for their own mini flock.
All in all I am a little anxious about the move in this direction and a little scared not to have Jason's help with all this farming stuff, and I am sure he will be giving me advice daily! The best way to learn is to jump in head first, right?? The new space for the acre needs a little work - some fencing, the new coop, and setting up my smaller garden space - photos soon to come! Ellie is very excited to be reunited with her best buddy, Eli!!


4.27.2011

Yay!!! I may be a little behind for the season, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE PLANTS!!!


I actually DID it!! I am so proud of these little baby plants and for the first time ever, instead of going to Lowes or Home Depot to buy them, I grew them from seeds! Right now there are purple bell peppers, broccoli (although the grasshoppers seem to be enjoying it too much, and any advice would be greatly appreciated), heirloom tomatoes, okra, cantaloupes, sugar baby watermelons, oregano, and golden beets. So exciting!!

On another note, the baby girls, Misty and Milly are thoroughly enjoying using me as a human jungle gym after their nighttime feeding. It is truly a therapeutic and stress relieving experience. No matter what kind of day I am having, when I feed these girls and spend a little time playing with them, I always feel completely relaxed (and a bit bruised - ha!).


Eli is 100% back to his old self and has even been showing me his ol' ugly gums . The vet said he probably wouldn't go back into rut again until later in the year, but he must be making up for lost time when he was sick and unable to get his friskiness on...


4.25.2011

Rise & Shine.....NOW!!

I was about 15 minutes late getting down to the acre this morning and you would have thought I was hours late! Those ladies were talking up a storm until I opened that little door. At 7:15am I opened it and by 7:16am, all were out except for a few that still haven't quite figured out how the door and ramp work....







Eli has his pink nose back and is 100% healed, so the middle of May, he's gonna go from a buck to a wether - that is when the vet will have an opening to do the snip....ahhh! Maybe that will keep him from peeing on his face! This weekend I started a ton of seeds - you see, the garden is no where near ready for planting yet and all of the seeds that were started in February went to waste unfortunately. Not really so sure about the gardening part of this venture just yet - it seems we should be way ahead of where we are right now, but the vacant, overgrown lot has been a real task to clear out and there is still a good bit to be done. Jason plowed the ground a few weeks ago, but it still needs to be clear of rocks, roots, grass clumps, etc., and then the manure and compost tilled in. At this point, it may be easier to find a spot that we can get started on immediately rather than waste anymore time cleaning and clearing...I will keep you posted and should have more info on our plans by the end of the week!

4.20.2011

Princess Day For New Momma - Ellie, and the Baby Girls On May 7th - Mother's Day Weekend!!

About An Acre is having a princess day for the new momma, Ellie and the baby girls on May 7, 2011 - Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. Jason will not be involved, so don't mention this to him - he already thinks I am coo-coo for the animals out here and he will find out soon enough....this is a GIRLS ONLY princess day and we would love to have girls of all ages come out on May 7th to participate in pampering the new baby goat girlies Ellen, Milly, and Misty as well as Ellie. The first princess session will be at 9am. It will begin promptly at 9am with a morning bottle-feeding for Misty and Milly and Ellie will let Ellen nurse. After the feedings, we will play with and spoil all the goat girlies and maybe comb them, brush them, put ribbons in their hair, etc....the second princess session will start promptly at 2pm the same day and will include the same things as it will be their feeding time again. This is an open invitation for ladies of all ages; mothers, daughters, sisters, girlfriends, etc. Please email me with questions or to let me know you are coming. 

Thanks!
-Sandice
sandice@aboutanacre.com

4.16.2011

Same Ol', Same Ol'.....

So Eli is steadily getting better and even seems more energized than before. 
He will be getting the snippity snip soon - he has been feeling so good, his buck nature is coming out and he has been head-butting Jason and the 'About An Acre' carpenters (who came into the fence to get an idea of what to build for the little booger to climb on, and where to build it). It is a GREAT sign that he is feeling so good, but not good that he is behaving this way and the manhood of Eli will be leaving us as soon as his face is completely healed....
On another note, he is climbing anything and everything and has an appetite that I haven't seen in him in a long time.
The cows out there have gotten wind that I like to give treats, so they decided Saturday morning to wait for my arrival down to the acre. These cows were the most evasive creatures a couple of weeks ago, and after the black and white cow got snacks last weekend, I am pretty sure she spread the word to her little herd. Funny but a little scary that they are totally unafraid of me in the least bit.
All of the chickens now know to use the ramp to come and go, and most of the girls are laying where they should - in their nesting boxes. 
I walk around the field everyday to gather the few eggs that are scattered here and there and usually find only about four - and they are all blue....hmmm....wonder which chickens those are coming from....those Americaunas....they make me feel like I'm on an Easter egg hunt every day.......
The babies (Milly, Misty, and Ellen) are getting bigger everyday and so cuddly. This morning I held little Milly for about thirty minutes while Misty tried to eat my hair and Ellen did spinning jumps around me and Taco was using my knee as a scratching post. I will post pics soon of the little ones - I left my camera hanging on the chicken coop down in Eli's field...

4.13.2011

Eli is doing AWESOME and the chickens are learning how to go up and down the ramp!!

Every day Eli is getting more back to his old self. His personality is coming back, his face is healing great, and he is back to hogging all the sweet feed that I leave out for him and Sugar. He still has some scabs, but he should heal completely very soon and hopefully he will have no scarring from this awful bout of soremouth.
The chickens are also getting better at learning to use the ramp into and out of their new cool coop. I am only having to chase one or two in the evenings at roosting time.
I am loving this new coop more and more everyday - except I have learned to NEVER leave the big door open.....Sugar jumped in there and it wasn't very fun trying to convince her to come out.... 



I brought my new truck home and am in total love with it. I have driven it all over Commerce, Watkinsville, Monroe, and Athens already and she runs like a dream. I even found a toolbox for it on Craigslist for $15!! So exciting!! 

The babies' fame is growing....so far we have had at least six different people come out and visit or feed them and we have only had them a week! 



 Hey - there is a line forming for kisses!! Suh-WEET!

We already had baby Ellen, and then last Friday we got Milly and Misty from the Brownings at the "In Dea Manibus Farm". These people were getting rid of their flock of Buff Orpingtons and I wanted to get their flock. When I went out there and saw the goats, and the babies and that they had been disbudded, it was perfect timing. They referred me to Dr. Mike Dzimianski and I was able to get Ellen done and luckily The Dr. was able to come out and help me with Eli as well. Things do happen for a reason and there is no doubt in my mind that I was meant to have the Brownings as a great resource for the Saanens. Thanks so much, guys!!