Photos from the Farm #13

Welcome back!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. I hope you had a fun with your family, too!

The chicks are 7 weeks old. They are starting to get their feathers. I thought this photo was funny even though the chick  in the front is a little bit fuzzy! This chick looked as if he was asking me what I was doing.

Here is a better photo of the chicks. It looks like one chick is a Buff Cochin, one is part Ameraucana, and two chicks are Barred Rock. What do you think?

We'll have to watch them grow over the next few months and see who they look like when they have all their feathers.

This is where the chicks are living since they don't have a mother hen to keep them warm. They don't need much space, they just need food, water, shelter, and warmth. Matt and I make sure they have water and chick food. We clean out their barrel when it gets dirty.
This is called a 'chick brooder.'

 Chick brooders come in many shapes and sizes. They all give the chicks a place to be safe from other animals, and a place to stay warm. We use a special light that keeps the chicks warm. The next time you are near a lamp at home, put your hand underneath it and see if you can feel how warm it is.

We cover most of the barrel with a towel and a warm blanket to make sure they stay warm. They are in a spot in the barn that is as warm as we can make it.

Are some of you asking your teacher why we don't keep the chicks in the house where it's warmer?

It wouldn't be a very good idea for the chicks.

They need to stay warm, but they also need to slowly get used to the cold and the outside. If we kept them in the house while they grow, we couldn't put them outside until May. They won't grow their winter feathers if they are kept some place really warm, like our house.

The other reason we don't keep them in the house is that they will keep growing, and we will have to put them in a bigger barrel. The last barrel we will put them in is very, very big and it wouldn't fit in our house!

I thought you would like to see what the goats eat their food out of.
They each have their own bucket.
The bucket on the left is for the cows. I dump that food in a bigger feeder outside.
The purple bucket is Clover's bucket.
The white bucket behind the purple bucket is Misty's bucket.
The blue bucket is Annie's bucket.
The green bucket is Sandy's bucket.

I fill everyone's bucket, then I put the buckets in the right spot. Do you have a spot at your kitchen counter? Does each person in your family have their own spot at the table for dinner? Do you have your own desk in the classroom?

The goats each have their own special spot, too!

After I put their buckets in the right spot, I open the stall door and the goats run in right to their special spot! 

Do you get upset if someone sits in your spot? 

The goats aren't happy when someone else starts to eat their food. They use their head to push the other goat out of the way. Do you get upset if someone starts eating your breakfast or your lunch?
 

This is where each of the goats eats their breakfast.
The brown one on the left is Clover.
Behind Clover's head is Annie. Annie is on a milk stand.
Sandy is standing to the right of Annie. She is on a milk stand, too.
Misty is the goat near the blue garbage pail.

After all the goats are in their places I take the other bucket of food out to the cows. Stew and Penny eat with the cows. As Penny grows up I'll bring her into the barn and give her a special spot to eat, too.

After I feed the cows I come back into the barn and milk the goats.

That's all for today! Are you sad that I don't have any new animals?

I'm not! I don't think I can take care of any more animals!

Next week I'll show you what we do to keep the animal's water from freezing. Animals need water to drink every day, just like you do. When the temperature drops below 32˚ we have to do something to keep their water from turning to ice.

Have a great week!