Well things have been very busy around here lately, but in a stop and go fashion as I’ve had 2 trips to BC for several weeks at a time each. It in general has been cold and wet during the periods I’ve been at home from April till now so only half of our fence poles have been installed due to 18″ of thick mud. We are now into the summer weather patterns which bring dryness only until about mid-late afternoon whereupon thunderstorms develop and get everything either soaked, hailed on, or blown around.
Darren, Maia, and Finbhar in the back pasture by the new pens we are fencing.
Despite the ever-changing weather, we’ve been building things in the woodshop and have: completed a 3-hole rabbit hutch, a 20-rabbit truck/show carrier, 90% of another 3-hole rabbit hutch, about 15 coffee-can feeders, 3 rabbit nestboxes, about 25% of another 4 nestboxes; upgraded the water bottles for 40% of the hutches; designed the new automatic watering system; designed the water inlets into the barn and are preparing to run the lines; designed the new poultry runs and now are procuring building materials; designed the new goat, sheep, and llama huts; stapled new fencing to a number of sections on our cross-fence; had the septic pumped out; procured and installed a new water trough; did a major 25% seasonal muck out of the barn and started a compost pile in the garden; have completed 75% of a folding wall desk in the rabbit area; built a chick brooder; designed weaner coops for the weanling rabbits and 25% complete the first one; procured another finished weaning coop and moved some weanlings into it. Whew, I’m sure there’s more stuff I missed as there’s lots of smaller projects going on mixed with bigger ones.
We have decided this year will focus on building as much as possible in the way of farm infrastructure and will grow a garden next year. This decision was made due to how slow the fences are being to put up. With the weather slow-downs and the split of hours available between the rabbits vs everything else, we realised we wouldn’t be able to get seeds into the ground in time this year to get a harvest. Annoying, but I’d rather not plant seeds just for the goats to be able to eat the seedlings as they come up! That being said, I’m going to start a few select plants to grow in our spare multi-purpose room in the house as indoor plants. I’m thinking about cherry tomatoes and an assortment of herbs.
Before winter arrives this year: we are finishing our goat, sheep, and calf pens with accompanying huts and feeders; hopefully we’ll get the garden fence posts pounded and fencing stapled, along with the fencing stapled up for the dog pen; Dog houses for the dog pen will be looked at once the outdoor poultry runs and winter coop have been completed; water run into the barn and the automatic system installed; separate power system for the pump-house installed; poultry butchering shed built; a whole bunch of food preserved; new hot water on demand system installed in the house; 30 more rabbit hutches made plus accompanying nestboxes, feeders and waterers; frame-in 4th wall and insulate the lean-to on the back of the house; continue insulating and dry-walling inside the barn; scavenge enough scrap roofing tin to build all of the garden raised beds and the flower beds up the north side of the driveway (which will also function as a snow-drift fence in winter); and finally build permanent winter insulating window coverings for both the outside and the inside of our windows in the house.
Here’s some pics of what we’ve been up to:
 Weanling rabbits at dinner time, these are 2 litters combined. |
 We know there is feed in the back of the truck, we wantz it! |
 A custom travel/show coop I made for the back of my truck, holds up to 20 small rabbits or 10 large flemish rabbits. |
 Darren holding Nickel the lamb at a friend's place |
 Davin with 3 small puppies at a friend's farm |
 Davin and Finbhar sleeping in the Truck |
 The day Maia and Finbhar met, they like each other. |
 Gordy and the goat baby a few seconds before they butt heads with each other. |
