Tag Archives: livestock

Duck – Duck – Goose Feb 2018

Last month we hatched five Pekin ducks and one Embden gosling.  The baby goose had splayed legs, which we tied together at the knees.  That seems to correct the problem in about 5 days.  She is fine now.

The 6 friends went to live in the Pigeon Coop in the Blue Hen Henyard.  In about two weeks they had outgrown the Coop and went to live outside, still in the Henyard.  The ducks feathered out first and the the goose is feathering out now after about 6 weeks.

Ducks and geese do best when allowed to free range. They travel around together in a pack, and are quite fun to watch roam the farm.  Geese make great watchdogs, and will let you know when anything is about.

They should be returned to the safety of a penned yard in the evening to protect against possum and other predators.  They can be easily trained to return to the pen with a little supplemental grain.  We give them high protein Chick Starter (16%) because of their large bone structure.

In the Hatchery this month we had three more geese hatch. They are so cute when first born. They won’t be small for long.   Contact us at Bent Pine Farm if you would like a goose for your yard…or if you would like to just come for a visit!

Email  or Text  727-481-2012

Happy Homesteading,

T.

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Hogs at Home – Feb 2018

On Sunday Feb 4, 2018 Sweetie welcomed her second litter to the Bent Pine Farm Barnyard. One red and three black piglets joined the gang in the shady woodlot.

The hogs from Sweetie’s first litter are now six months old. Time to separate the girls from the boys. Adding two more hog panels gave us 5 pens, enough for now.

We kid ourselves that we are enclosing the little piglets, who root and dig their way out, squeezing under the fences. Running circles around the older more sophisticated geese, ducks, goats and their Dad, who likes to leisurely forage in the cool shade, they manage to squeeze back under the fence just in time for dinner.

Happy Homesteading,
T.

feather with pig
Happy Homesteading
Alex settling in

Pigs for Rachel Fall 2017

Rachel had 9 piglets in Oct 2017, her first litter.   They are typical American Guinea Hog colors – mostly black ones with some pink with black spots.   Those are called “red” – go figure.    They like to squeeze through the hog panel fencing and run around in the woods with Jack the Goat.   Sadly, the smallest one was crushed while feeding. The Mom Pig has to roll over every 45 minutes when she nurses, to keep from going lop-sided.  Rachel may have rolled over on the little one.  Here are the rest:  “Pigs at Home with Mom Rachel”

American Guinea Hogs are perfect for the small homestead. Full grown they usually top out at 150 – 200 lbs, not as heavy as regular hog breeds. They are quite easy to socialize. Even our “Big Daddy”, Alexander Behemoth, is quite docile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pigs are for sale, $40 each.  We have males and females in two sizes – small and medium.  Come by and visit … take a pig home!

Happy Homesteading,

T.

feather with pig
Happy Homesteading