Farm

Update On the Animals and Homestead Life

On January 31, 2022 by

It’s been a while since I posted a general update on our animals and the homestead, so here we go! I’ve included lots of pictures and juicy details on all things farm related.

The Chickens

Our chickens are staying healthy, getting big, and should be laying their first eggs very soon! We’re all eager for these months of waiting to pay off in the form of fresh, nutrient-packed eggs. As for the big ole white rooster pictured below… well, he ended up in our freezer this past weekend.

The Pigs

Our four piglets aren’t really piglets anymore! They are growing like crazy, and are at least double the size they were when we got them at Christmas. They’re less skittish around people than they used to be, and they love belly scratches. There isn’t really too much else to say about them- they’re just living their best lives and getting fat.

The Barn Cat

Some friends of ours recently needed to rehome their cat due to allergies, so now we have a barn cat! His green eyes, black coat, and huge ears quickly earned him the name “Toothless”. He’s quite affectionate, and loves being held. If you sit down, he’ll be on your lap before you know it. Hopefully he will be a good addition to our little homestead, and help keep the mice at bay in the barn for us.

The Dog

Odin has been doing okay, although he has been testing limits and wandering more lately. I think he has a bit of cabin fever, honestly. When he isn’t pushing the boundaries of our property, he enjoys laying as close as possible to the woodstove, or basking in the sunshine like a cat. He will be quite happy when the warm weather returns.

The Goat

Now, there’s one more animal I haven’t mentioned before: the goat. He was basically a local legend that our realtor told us about when we looked at this property last spring. Apparently he escaped from a livestock auction, then took up residence in the woods near us. We have seen him numerous times since moving here, wandering around and eating clover at the edge of our property. We named him “Will Feral” because he’s a wild billy goat.

Yesterday Odin decided that Will was too close for comfort, and took off after him. The goat tripped, and we weren’t sure whether Odin had bitten him, or if he’d otherwise gotten hurt. So Calvin tied him up while we checked him over. He wasn’t injured at all; just pathetic and scraggly looking, as you can imagine.

We discussed the pros and cons of keeping him and trying to tame him, but ultimately decided against it. He’s been living on his own in the woods for almost a year now, and we don’t really have a suitable spot for him to stay.

So we untied him. But instead of running into the woods, as we anticipated, Will moseyed right into the barn. He checked out the pigs for a few minutes, then parked himself in a corner. We left him alone and gave him space. He finally left the barn after a couple hours, and we figured that was that.

Oh, but it wasn’t! When I went out to feed the animals this morning, there he was, chilling in the barn. Apparently he likes it here. I’m really not sure what we’re going to do about him now. We just wanted to make sure our dog didn’t hurt him. Now we have a freeloading goat on our hands. We’ll see what happens, I guess! But if he continues to stick around, he’ll definitely be getting some deworming medication and proper feed.

Everything Else

Aside from all the animal shenanigans, we’ve been taking care of the property as time allows. Calvin pulled more stumps out and got electricity run down to the barn, and I’ve been making plans for this year’s vegetable garden.

That sums up the last few weeks here at Iveyshire! I’m so thankful for all the things we’re learning by taking care of these animals every day. They certainly bring a lot of life (and laughs) to our homestead.

To see more of the little tidbits of daily life- and some fun pictures that don’t make it into blog posts- be sure to follow my Instagram page! @iveyshireblog

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