We finally got our fall cover crop seeded and into the ground over the weekend, just in time for the rain that came on Monday.  We planted organic seed of cayuse oats, beardless barley, red winter wheat and triticale, which we hope will grow well and provide nourishment for both the soil as well as grazing opportunities for the does come springtime.  We also overseeded the goat pasture with the same mix, with the addition of some raw organic crimson clover seed for perennial grazing during the summer months.

The Red Star and Ameraucana chicks are growing well and looking like smaller versions of the big girl hens, and they are starting to venture out further away from their coop, suddenly realizing that they can find good things to eat out in the big wide world of the farm!  Sometimes they seem a little fearful about being so far away from home base and run for cover under the nearest bush, but they are the healthiest batch of young hens we have raised so far.  I attribute this to getting them off the heat lamp after a few days and acclimating them to outdoor temperatures as soon as possible. 

In the goat department, the older does (Wildflower and Jasmine) are now two months into their pregnancy and are starting to show their condition ever so slightly, with a bit of slowness in their gait and their increased tendency to snooze in the warm sun instead of graze.  The three doelings (Daisy, Buttercup and Rose) have just passed the 30-day mark of their pregnancy and will go to be ultrasounded this weekend, to make sure they are bred as well as to see how many kids they are carrying.  If all goes well, we will have five does kidding, two in March and three in April.  I think Farmer Gary will have some work to do over the wintertime to ready the farm for the new arrivals :).  With each doe usually having two kids, that means ten new goat babies needing a warm, dry place to be with mom for a few weeks.

Farmer Cindy