September 9, 2010

All is well at Liberty Farm. Lambs are growing, calf is growing (like mad) and Sugar appears to be bred!

Sugar came into heat for the first time after Porterhouse went in with her on July 31st. He didn't get the job done and she came back into heat on August 19th. It's been 21 days and she hasn't come back in heat so we assume that she's bred. She's due in mid-May. Her heats were mostly uneventful before we introduced the bull but the two times she came in while he was with her were very obvious. She was trying to mount the calf, the bull and the rams. That probably seems odd to folks unfamiliar with cows, but the cows will mount other cows to get the bull's attention. We're really excited to have another calf b0rn here!

The pullets really look good and we haven't lost a single one. We ended up with one rooster which isn't bad out of twenty birds. He recently started crowing. It's kind of annoying at 4:00 in the morning but I love that sound.

Lamb butchering is scheduled for October 1st and we might have one left. If anyone is interested, email me at joe [at] realfoodfreedom [dot] com. I think we'll butcher Porter in late October. We'll have half a beef available then (can split into 2 quarters).

Be well.