The new kids explore the great outdoors

The new kids are getting to spend some time outdoors now. Hoppy's kids are curious about the newbies, as they are probably eager for more playmates. Lily hasn't been so keen on it, though. Being a protective mom, she keeps pushing them away from her little ones. Hoppy's boys have grown so fast!


Both does have developed mastitis, which is an infection of the udder. One side of Lily's udder is swollen, and the teat on that side is inflamed and swollen. Hoppy has a milder form of it, in which only the udder is swollen on one side. We've given each of them some antibiotics, but that hasn't seemed to clear up the problem yet. So far, we haven't seen any blood in the milk. Thank goodness. We're trying to get in touch with the vet to see what to do next. We've got our fingers crossed that we can clear this stuff up before the infection causes much damage to the udders!

-Annie

New chicks are here!

The post office called at 6:15 AM Wednesday morning to let us know our chicks had arrived from Cackle Hatchery. I jumped in the car to get them and bring them to their new home. Luckily, they all survived the journey and arrived safe and sound. We got 4 different breeds of chicken and 7 chicks of each breed. One breed, the Australorp, is a tried and true one for Deerfield, and the rest are new to us, but all of them are supposed to be good egg layers.

We set up 2 brooders. The first contains the Black Australorps and Speckled Sussex, and the second one has Partridge Rocks and New Hampshire Reds (which are yellow as chicks).

Sleepy time!

Our other chickens seem to be doing well. Some of the girls that we hatched last fall have started laying. Hooray! The Marans are laying very dark brown eggs, which are quite striking. We've been getting 6-9 eggs per day recently. Jeff and I are planning to take a Candling Class soon so that we can begin to sell our eggs. In the meantime, we have been bartering the eggs for various things, including a painting by a local artist.

-Annie

Lily's twins were born!

Over the weekend, Lily began to display signs of impending labor: frequent low soft grunting and nesting. We checked on her frequently, and Jeff spent Sunday night down in the goat barn to keep watch. Unfortunately, it was a cold and stormy night, so it wasn't the most pleasant experience for Jeff - but what a trooper he is! Lily did not go into labor that night, but she must have the minute we left to attend the weekly work meeting Monday morning. When we returned, she had already birthed both kids and cleaned them up, and she was standing in the stall with a kid on each teat, nursing away. Lily had a girl and a boy, and they both look just like their mother, complete with the long and floppy Nubian ears. Very different from Hoppy's kids but just as adorable!

And now for something completely different

This blog update is way overdue. I was having some computer issues, but they appear to have been resolved now. Hooray! So...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!

Well, actually, the show took place back in mid-March. The Monty Python show, that is. Theater On Cedar produced an off-season performance of Monty Python skits, directed by Jeff. The living room of the Truth and Beauty Laboratory provided a nice intimate venue, and we were blessed with enthusiastic audiences for our three show run. Beth graciously captured some of the fun on film for me. Enjoy!

An obnoxious fellow visits a bookshop and torments its owner.
Rrrrrrip! No more nut hatches! Any other birds you don't like?!
The bookshop owner reads "Ethel the Aarvark" to the obnoxious customer who can't read.
That's not how mommy reads it!!















Girlie Lumberjacks-

but they're OK!







Adam is "ruining the show" by launching back into the Lumberjack song.
Well...always look on the bright side of life...
And, always look on the bright side of death...just before you draw your terminal breath...

THE END