Chickencloud

In an effort to improve the natural rate of increase of our flock of chickens, we have invested in some bantam chickens.  As things turned out, we obtained a couple of dozen, but we have had the first dozen for a while now.  Since they are a fancy breed, they are quite attractive.  Here is a picture of them settling down for the evening.

Do not be alarmed by their glowing eyes. The photographer was clumsy and the lighting was poor, but the picture does illustrate the variety of feathers which they display.  They are quite good at scratching and turning over hay scraps, so we are looking forward to constructing a chicken tractor, all the better to improve our land.

Our patience has also been blessed by a positive outcome.  Our first bantam chick has put in an appearance, and the mother (the buff lady at the head of the picture) is teaching it all the finer points of chickening.

We have a tiny flock of fourteen tiny sheep, lambs who have survived the journey into this world.  Murphy's Law is alive and well for us, since only two of them are ewe lambs, but that ensures a bountiful harvest of meat in Autumn.

The ewes are patchy as they shed their wool.  Fortunately the weather is warming up, despite a few frosty nights, and they are glad to fill their bellies with fresh grass.

 The lambs delight in their usual sport of forming a flock and racing around as a group.  Some of the more excitable ewes occasionally join them, but on the whole the ewes are more interested in the grains we have taken to feeding them by way of supplementation.

After all the trials and tribulations of the last year, we hope to return some balance to our flock at last.  In the mean time, we continue to wrestle regulation so that we can finally sell the hundreds of bottles of wine we have ready and waiting.