Patch Of Heaven's Journal ***new pics pg 7***

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Here is my new topbar bee hive!!!

 

[lorihadams]

Very cool, sounds like you are on your way! With that many bunnies do you sell them for pets or raise them for meat or both? We have 3 that were gifts to my children (no, we didn't get them, grandma did) and we don't know what to do with them.

 

[PamsPride]

Wow! Very jealous!!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Very cool, sounds like you are on your way! With that many bunnies do you sell them for pets or raise them for meat or both? We have 3 that were gifts to my children (no, we didn't get them, grandma did) and we don't know what to do with them.

I will sell them for pets and we also have a rabbit processing plant that pays about a $1 a pound live weight. I try to make them earn thier keep but the fertilizer is a big +!

I have 7 does and 1 buck and the rest are this springs babies. I may keep a couple new Cali doe's out of them but most will be sold or my father will eat them. I don't have a problem eating them..I just can't process them and my dh won't. I know that sounds lame but it's the truth. We do process our chickens and I don't have a problem doing it. Maybe the cute lil bunnies :bun is just harder than the mean roos that wake us up all hours of the night?

Ethier way they make good fertilizer and I plan to make a worm bed under the cages.I usually sell enough for meat,pets and breeding stock to buy most of thier feed although I grow as much as possible and feed hay as well.

I know some people are raising them for meat for them and thier dogs. I think it is a great way to be SS. I am just not at the point I can do it. Maybe someday..................

 

[modern_pioneer]

Looks great, I have to read more of your journal now!!!

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

Today has been pretty nice outside. We got a good bit of housework done even though I was babysitting since 5 am this morning but the kids did thier chores like they were suppose to and we were through by lunch. They decided to try thier new kites out they bought with thier allowance and did a pretty good job getting them up.

I have been seperating bantys all afternoon and still have more to go. I am trying to get them in breeding pens so I can hatch out some pure eggs and sell a few as well. The only thing I hate is they are use to being free ranged and I hate to put them in pens. I think I am going to try to either let one pen a day out or all the roos one day and the hens the next. Will have to wait in see how it works.

I am going to keep them shut up a cpl wks so maybe when it gets dark they will go back to thier pen to roost and I can just put them in the coop. Anyone else have any ideas?? I love the fact they can roam around and be free and that it helps A LOT with feed costs.

I am getting some chukar,welsummer, and maybe a few duck eggs in a week or so to hatch!! I am excited!! I have never had chukar or any other kind of quail so I will see how I like them. I want to get some turkeys too.

Hopefully when I get some pure eggs I can trade for some different types that I want. I plan to get some dark cornish to start a meat flock and will get about a 100 freedom rangers and keep some of the hens and cross with the dark cornish. My goal is to have a self sustaining flock for meat.

Hoping to get my tiller today!! Then I can dbl the size of my garden!! It has been raining for a few days and boy how the plants are growing!! Hope to plant corn,peas,squash,tomatoes,peppers, and beans this week!

Well I got to go get some mason jars my mom has in her barn. There should be quite a few pints and quarts!! She doesn't want them anymore so I am going to clean them up and buy new lids! They will take some work to clean and sort but they are free!!!
I will let you know how many I salvaged later.

Here is some pics of the boys flying kites

Here is the newest members of the farm

Oh and BTW the date on my camera is wrong. I will change it when I get time which means it's not likely it will gt done.:/

 

[Beekissed]

Great pics! Love those sleepy babies! I kind of miss having rabbits for just that purpose....nothing sweeter than a baby bunny.

 

[lorihadams]

Cool! We may get into rabbits more later but for now we are focusing on the chickens and hubby wants to get meat goats! We have a little more researching to do before we take the plunge but a friend of ours raises chickens, quail and pheasants as well as meat rabbits and worms and his wife has tons of horses. He has EEs but we want to get some meat chickens next. I want to try a heritage breed hen, like Javas. What kind of chickens do you have?

 

[gettinaclue]

Wow! Beautiful farm!

I love the little bunnies. Sooo cute! The cuteness factor is why I decides to eventually go for fiber bunnies instead of meat bunnies. Just can't see butchering them...though they taste good.

I look forward to reading more of your journal.

 

[Patch of Heaven Farm]

gettinaclue
Today 4:06 pm Wow! Beautiful farm!

I love the little bunnies. Sooo cute! The cuteness factor is why I decides to eventually go for fiber bunnies instead of meat bunnies. Just can't see butchering them...though they taste good.

I look forward to reading more of your journal.

Thank you!
I would love to get into fiber rabbits as well. We don't eat the rabbits just sell them and use the poop for the garden. My dad does eat a few every now and then. Not a lot of fiber rabbits around here. Maybe it is too hot?

lorihadams
I want to try a heritage breed hen, like Javas. What kind of chickens do you have?

We have RIR for layers and several diff breeds and colors of bantys. I would like to get some heritage breeds as well.

Beekissed
....nothing sweeter than a baby bunny.

They are the sweetest lil things but the moma is a hissing ,spitting, growling ball of white fur if you even look in thier direction. One of the babies got out of the box and I reached in to put it back and received a bite for a thank you. If she wasn't one of my best momas she would be rabbit stew!! She is fostering another doe's babies and has always raised about 10 healthy and good weaning weight bunnies so for now she stays.


Well we have been working all afternoon on the jars and the latest count is 40+ pints,30+ quarts and 10+ jelly jars. I am sterilizing a few now and will hopefully finish the rest by tommorrow. But I will still need quite a few more. Some of these jars had corn in them from 1985 and still smelled and looked like fresh corn. I fed it to the pigs and they were in hog heaven.

I plan to put up 365 jars of corn,peas,beans,tomatoes and squash. About 50 of peppers and salsa. Maybe try pizza and spaghetti sauces too. I hope the spring garden will yield eough to put up a years worth of food and the fall/winter one I can store a lil more but mainly just cold weather veggies to help supplement our diet. I hope to have 3 yrs worth by next years garden. So a lot of jars still to be bought.