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Love, babies and bunnies

By on May 15, 2013 in Farm and Garden

Our first little of kits is now 4 weeks old!! We have had so much fun with them and thankfully we never lost even one (all thanks to Erica who stayed up for the first 2 weeks and forced the momma to feed the little white one she refused to care for).

These bunnies will be our fiber bunnies and at first we had planned on selling all but one but alas we have fallen in love with all of them and the kids would probably chain themselves to the rabbit hutch if I attempted it.

These bunnies have been the center focus of my childrens days as of late.  I will often find bunnies being pushed around in dolly prams, carried in baskets and being cuddled all the time.  That is good because they are used to us and being handled which will make them easy to care for.  They have not yet left their nesting box which has a solid wood floor so their little feet get stained but at least I know that they can be be harmed in there by a wire bottom.  They are old enough now to hop out of the nest and eat their momma’s food but its still the place they like the best and are usually just one big clump of bunnies all nestled on top of each other.

We are most certainly enjoying all the babies on the farm right now.  They grow fast so it seems that soaking up every minute of love is our best and most important job right now.

As I mentioned there will be no more Stash Bash on Thursdays for a while or forever.  I am really loving the feeling that I do not have to blog about anything and it is actually helping me to come here more often and blog about everything 🙂

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

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Milking time

By on May 14, 2013 in Farm and Garden
Good morning!  Lots and lots to do here early in the day.  Come along with me to do the milking chores!

Disclaimer:  This is truth in advertising!!  I milk Matilda in my jammies haha.  Rather than get dressed to look decent in this picture, I am choosing to keep it real (even though my poor momma will probably cry) and let everyone see me in my Santa pajama pants.

Early morning, bringing Matilda from her pen where we keep her nice and safe at night.  She does try to go her own way sometimes but for the most part, she behaves.

We lock in her head so she can’t back out and she doesn’t mind because she is eating treats and alfalfa which she loves.  We feed only non-gmo grains at milking time.

Eddie and I each tie a back leg to a post so she will stay still and not kick the bucket.  I never knew what this meant until she actually did kick over the bucket full of milk and I wanted to…well you know.  Funny where many of or sayings come from.

Next, I clean her with warm soapy water a few times with 3 different rags.  Cows lay in all sorts of stuff and it is important to clean them off before milking obviously.  At this point she usually starts to let her milk down and it starts dripping all over.

We put coconut oil on our hands to make the milking easier and we milk and milk and milk.  This picture was taken when I was already done milking into the bucket and just getting the last of the milk out into a glass bowl.  My hands would be positioned differently if I was milking her. I am stripping the last of the milk out.  This is important so that she does not get mastitis.

once we are done with the milking, Erica will brush her all down to say thank you for giving us our milk for the day.  She also sprays her down with a fly spray that I make from essential oils.

I then send the milk up to the house and do to clean up her pen.  

she leaves lots and lots of cow patties everynight.  The cow manure mixes with hay and that helps it break down faster in the compost pile.  This will become my compost to grow food in for next season.  There is no waste on a farm

We then tether Tillie out somewhere to eat grass for the day.  We never tether her if we are not around and check on her throughout the day making sure she has enough water.  Erica especially likes to go out to her and take her veggies and lettuces from the garden.

Once it is all done, I will strain the milk, put it into the freezer for an hour to bring down the temp and then transfer it to the refrigerator.  If I am making butter then I will let it sit out for a bit for all the cream to rise to the top.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

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