I know it's only Wednesday, but I'm already trying to plan out my weekend. I think, weather permitting, that it's gonna be a bird processing weekend. I'm gonna really cut down the chicken flock - don't need to feed them all over the winter. I'm giving up on the Black Copper Marans. I think I've got 3 hens and a roo. The hens were old when I bought em and they lay sporadically at best. They'll make good stew hens as they are full-bodied and heavy. If nothing else, I'll can some broth.... which kinda means I needa pluck 'em, cuz in my opinion the skin really helps the flavor.
After that, it's time to process some quail. The grow-out pen is full and I noticed one or two of the extra males in there are missing some feathers - so I needa get on it. I'm not very fast at chicken processing, but I'm thinking/hoping the quail will be lots easier and faster. And, I'm anxious to cook some of 'em up! After that I need to really consider what I want to keep. Right now I've got 4 breeding pens set up. Two of them have quads in 'em, and two of 'em in smaller pens have trios. I've got another pen ready to go, so I'll set up two more sets of breeders in there. After that, I could keep another couple trios or quads in the brooder pens - but they have solid floors instead of wire and are more trouble to keep clean. I need to think on that one.
Every stinking goat on my place is sick. Most of 'em just get a runny nose for a day or two and bounce back on their own - but I put a young wether and a young buck on antibiotics and they're doing lots better. They were baaaaaad - didn't eat and didn't move for a day or so. Didn't really have much choice - it was medicate them or let 'em die and I'm not good at giving up! This morning I noticed that two other young bucks haven't cleaned up their feed for a couple days now - so they might be next in the pin cushion line up. I hate to give antibiotics when I think that their immune system can handle it - but with the big weather change that might be asking too much.
We were in the 30's this morning and I know that a lot of ya'll are much colder than that - but for us - brrrrrrrrrrr! Poor critters - around here it's usually summer one day - winter the next, lol. Not so much this year though - we had a more gradual change...almost like a real fall season. However, our high today is 20 degrees below normal for this time of year. What's going on here????
Milking is slowing down, but I'm not quitting. It takes three of the gals that are still in milk to give me 2 quarts combined at one milking. Now, it's still over three quarts a day, but it's time for me to make Christmas cajeta - so they need to quit slacking, lol. Wonder when I'll have time to do that. I'm gonna have to get on it though, can't let that milk sit in the fridge too long - even though I routinely drink milk that is two weeks old and it's still good! I looooove me some raw milk. The other day I came home from work and saw the morning's milk still sitting in the bucket. Dang it - I forgot to put it in the fridge. No loss though, cuz it makes great clabber. That is some tasty stuff - even though at first I was afraid to try it. You can use it like sour cream - or you can drizzle it over berries and sprinkle a little brown sugar on top (my dad taught me that one!) Pure yumaliciousness!
I'll tell you like I tell the kids..."Have a nice trip, see ya next Fall" 
I have yet to have a quail with cross beak. Bad legs here and there, and a few other minor issues, but never cross beak. Poor lil guy, at least he can eat apparently. I would cull him too. Are they really just 4 weeks? wow...it does seem like it has been longer.
