Monday, June 25, 2012

Brooders

So we really got down to business this weekend.  We got all of the supplies ready to build the flight pen and we built two new brooders for the chicks.  We also knocked down the old OLD chicken coop.  We tried to save as much of the original wood as possible to reuse, but it was pretty difficult with all the bug damage :(  I think we may only be able to save 1/4 of good reusable wood.. MAYBE 1/2 of it.

I took these while we were taking a break from building the brooders,





Look at those at those sad eyes!


 The Quail are getting big!

The bottom brooder we have the Chukar and the top brooder we have the Quail.  The Pheasants are still to little to be out from under the heat lamp.  So far we have lost 8 of our Pheasant :(  Next year we're getting all different kinds of chickens.  We wanted to get a white peacock, they're good for bug control (especially ticks!) but the place we're ordering from you have to buy in "bulk" and they can't guarantee you'd get a white one because they're mixed :\ darn!!  So if anyone knows a breeder that would want to sell one could you let us know? We'd appreciate it!

Want to see why we'd like a white Peacock besides the fact that they're good little bug hunters?


B-e-a-uuuutiful right?! Check this out...


Neat, right?

By the way for those of you who are unfamiliar with what Quail, Pheasant or Chukar are (I didn't have a clue what Quail looked like or what Chukar even were until we got ours) here are some pictures and a little info!

Quail - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quail

Pheasant - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant

Chukar Partridge (These are my favorite cause I love their coloring) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukar_Partridge

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Setting up a Program

I know it's been awhile since we brought home the horses, but with Athena getting hurt and then repairing the barns, mower, weed wacker, fencing, chopping down trees, hauling scrap metal and all kinds of left behind items (left by the previous owners), and painting the house we didn't have too much time to work with the horses and get them on a program.  So we had John, the horse and dog trainer, come out.  Funny thing is when I first met him he told me he grew up with the girl that we bought our horses from!  Crazy right? 

So setup with a nice program, some new information from Clint Anderson and a new friend (Thanks John!).
We are ready to get busy!

Just keep in mind though, all three horses are still "babies", they are not quite old enough yet that we want to ride them,  they are able to ride but we would like them to grow a little more first.  So we will be getting them ready for the saddle and riding but probably won't be riding them on a basis.


 Athena, you can see on her left leg you wouldn't even know she cut it all up the way she did and she walks like nothing happened!  We'll see how she fairs when she needs to trot/run.  Also, on the right leg you can see her gun shot wound is almost closed!!! YAY!!! Do you remember before?  How big it was?  It was bigger than my hand and in really poor shape.  She's even put on some healthy weight too!



Athena's first time training since we've brought her home.  She did soooo amazing!  Better than I would've thought!  We did find out her quirks working with her.  She was a little spooky at first but then she calmed right down.  She's going to need a lot more work than the boys but only because she was abused.  But who can blame her for getting upset?  Wouldn't you be scared a little bit if you were hit (not the good kind of reinforcement either) for doing things you thought were right?












































Downunder Horsemanship with Clint Anderson

We took a trip to the State Fairgrounds this weekend, Clint Anderson was in town.  We were only going to go for Saturday but it was such good information we ended up going both days.  There were a few things that I wanted to get but they were a  little bit too expensive.  So I got some materials to make my own!  I'll post up the DIY on that a little later once I get them finished.  I did get a few pictures, video recording wasn't allowed (which is understandable), but it was still good information all the same!  The trainer we've been working with just happened to be sitting a little way down from us and come to find out my niece was working the concession stand!  Iowa is a small place after all!


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pheasant, Quail, Partridges

Look Who's Arrived!!

We got some new additions to the family last night.
Check out the new babies!

A little slice of Iowa.


On our way to pick up the new Pheasant, Quail and Partridges.  I loved out the land looked and thought I would share a little piece of Iowa!
This is part of the Turbine Farms, they're so pretty! Don't you think?


Transformed our tack room in the barn into a brooder for the new babies soon to arrive! 



 Partridge Chicks


Quail/Pheasant

(The little guy sitting by the feeder on the left is the runt of the flock, he wasn't looking so good when we picked him up but he perked up this morning after getting to his new home! You can see another closer picture below)
Want to name a few for us?  We have a lot! About 50 birds total! 
Suggest some names and we'll post a picture of them for you.


 Here's the littlest of the Quail flock, he wasn't feeling too good when he got home :( 
We snuggled him up under the heat lamp and he was pretty perky in the morning!


 Here's the Quail hiding out in the corner.


Here are the Pheasant babies, they're only a few days old but they sure are spunky!


Don't forget to leave a comment and help us name some birdies!




Monday, June 4, 2012

American Flag and Flowers




 We have been pretty busy lately,  we bought a bunch of flowers and for our anniversary Josh bought us a flag for our yard!



I planted some flowers in front of the house along the walkway.


 Just after we finished planting flowers and setting up the flag for our yard.
I love this picture!  What do you think? Isn't that sunset amazing?



 Making our mark! This was Josh's idea, I thought it was cute!


 This is the bench and flower box that was left on the property when we bought the house.  
I put it to good use!!


This flower box was hiding among some items that were left behind.  It's a little old and warn but I love it's antique charm!


 Everything we got done in 1 day!



My dad held a Car Show recently and we also went to the Vet for Belle's shots.  She wasn't feeling very well afterwards :(  I felt so bad there wasn't anyway I could make her feel better so we snuggled with her most of the day to try and give her some comfort.

 Belle trying to see where we are headed. She didn't look long cause the car was upsetting her tummy so she slept most of the time.


Snuggled up with her teddy.


Just couldn't find a comfortable way to lay because her stomach was hurting :(


Well that's most of what's been going on lately.

I do have a surprise though!  I'm going to be sharing recipes from my recipe box!
I was given a recipe box for Christmas and my Mother and Grandmother stuffed it with recipes from our family.  I'll be posting those soon!