Guinea Hens!

This spring our order of Guinea fowl chicks arrived. The original shipment contained 30 healthy babies, the minimum number which the hatchery would ship.  Though we only really needed a few, we decided that 30 was better than none, since we'd been dealing with ticks on the dogs and had read that guineas are great at decimating ticks and other unsavory insect type creatures.  They grew wonderfully in our brooder inside the barn and after about a month and a half, when they were almost full grown, we set them up with food and water and a place to roost in one of the outdoor buildings, where they would have access to wander around outside and eat all the bugs they could hold.  The first few nights went as we had hoped, with them free ranging during the day and returning to the shed at night to roost and keep out of the way of potential predators.  On the fourth morning, however, when we went to check on them, only five remained.  There were no signs of a forced entry or any sort of predatory catastrophe, no feathers or blood, etc.  We assume that something must have spooked them in the night and, being rather excitable creatures by nature, the 25 over reacted and flew the coop, literally.  After looking high and low (and on the neighbors' land) for several days, we found no sign and still have no idea where the rogue 25 ended up, though on occasion we think we may hear their distant squeaky door squawking somewhere in the wilds of West Pawlet.

The remaining five have become guardians of the barn and spend their days skittering around the barnyard in unison, eating tons of bugs and shrieking at the cows or Oscar or nothing.  They seem to exalt in their own voices and their ability to change them from clucking to some otherworldly, nondescript cacophonous screeching.  We quite love them!  I am especially fond of their visits to the milking parlor, where they insist on setting up shop right in front of the cows, who seem to find them mildly annoying.

Four of the five, all a-dither because one of their brethren has ventured into the barn
on its own.....Didn't he know the cow parade has started and the judging needs to be done?

Cautiously, the four venture in.....there his is, the fifth!  Oh, thank heavens he is safe

amidst these savage beasts!   Who knows what would have happened had they not braved the

depths of the cow barn!

"Hurry! There are cows to harass, people to screech at and bugs to terrorize!"

Call Ducks!

I couldn't resist posting about Jill's Call Ducks.  They arrived as 2 day old chicks on June 9 of this year, a late birthday present for Jill, who'd been wanting Call Ducks for some time.  We ordered the mixed assortment of 6 from efowl.com and they were a nice healthy little package.  We have all had so much fun watching them and they were all swimming about so happily, enjoying the late summer sunshine yesterday that I just had to take the camera and try to convey what a pleasant experience it is to just sit in their presence.

Call Ducks are a bantam breed of domestic duck.  They only average about 1.5 lbs and have plump little bodies, tiny little bills, short legs and round heads.  They are very vocal and very energetic and were first used in Europe to lure wild ducks within range of hunters' guns.  Now they are mostly just enjoyed as pets, thank heavens!!  As you can see, they are compact enough that they can all fit in their little galvanized tub, which they enjoy immensely!  They especially love tipping their fat little backsides up into the air while they pretend to catch fish, which of course is impossible.

Jill and Dan had lots of fun building their little house and making their pen under a scrubby pine in the yard.  And we get to watch their antics from the kitchen window.  A few weeks ago they discovered that they could fly and Jill found them frolicking outside their pen so their wings had to be clipped.  Now they stay put!

Here is another short video clip for your viewing pleasure!

Cow of the Day - Janet!

This is Janet, our Cow of the Day.  Janet, or Otter Morr Magna Janet as she is known to the American Jersey Cattle Association, is 2 years old but has the mien of a much older lady. She likes to meander along at her own pace and disdains being rushed.  In fact, anyone not acquainted with her sweet disposition might be tempted to call her "lazy"!  Heavens no, she is not lazy!  She merely likes to take in her surroundings at great length. After all, one never knows where one might find a tasty morsel to eat!  And Janet does like to eat!  Sometimes, as we are gathering up the girls for milking, we will break off a thin branch with leaves on it to help herd them in.  The leaves make a slight noise as you wave the branch about and it encourages the cows to move a little faster.  Not Janet. She just turns around and takes a bite at the branch, munching the leaves as she stares you in the face, as if to say "Thanks!  I was feeling a bit peckish!"  She is a good milker and very calm and never confrontational.  Whether we are bringing the cows into the barn for milking, or turning them out afterwards, if there is anyone lagging behind, you can be sure it is Janet.

Henceforth, I will be posting the Cow of the Day here and then archiving them in the Cow of the Day page with the previous nominees.  That way they will always stay fresh and ready for viewing without having to fumble through the posts looking for them.

Pages from Laurie's "Milking Time" sketchbook, vol. 2

Here are some more images from my milking sketch book.  Apparently there is an unintended theme going on here..... the rear view of cows.

Jackee's tail, on a good day.

Geri, or at least her rump.

The back end of someone.... don't remember who but it looks like Hoda.

Cheese tour & "the winner is..."

This past weekend, the Washington County Cheese Tour came to West Pawlet!  Consider Bardwell, our partner farm, participated so we all did our part to help.  Dan grilled corn, Laurie and Jill worked in the cafe serving hundreds of Pawlettis; we even brought 2 of our Jersey calves to the event to represent Wayward Goose Farm.  Lots of people came out to taste Consider Bardwell's award winning cheeses and tour the cheese making facilities.  Since Ainsley's calf still needed a name we thought it would be fun to have a "name the calf" contest.  We made a display with Jersey facts and left a box for suggestions.  We promised to post the winning name here.

Ainsley's calf and Emerald's calf, visiting Consider Bardwell for the cheese tour.

We had lots of great name suggestions and it was a difficult decision to make. However, after much discussion we finally agreed on one.  Actually, we agreed on two, so we put them together to make one. Wanda Willoughby.  Wanda was suggested by Laura Galley of Niskayuna, NY and Willoughby was an anonymous suggestion.

The cheese tour was a big success and Consider Bardwell did a wonderful job attracting people to beautiful West Pawlet.

Cheesemaker Chris Gray beginning a tour of the cheese making facilities, cheese caves and milking parlor.

Dan, readying the grill for roasting corn.

Maynard does not make a very good doorman.

Even the Consider Bardwell geese made an appearance!

Emerald Freshens!

This is Emerald. As you can see, she looks quite pensive.  She has been expecting her first calf for quite

some time and it looks as though that time has come.  She is 3 years old, a little old for a first calf, but she is a big girl and should have no problems.

We left Emerald alone for a while to let nature takes its course......

........after a while though, it looked like she was going to need a little bit of help.

With a few bale strings, and slow, steady pulling...........

..... a few pushes from Emerald and a little assistance from Dr. Dan..........

............the new baby slipped right out!

As Emerald begins to clean off her new baby, Dan took a quick peek.....

.......it's a boy!!

Since he's a boy, obviously we cannot milk him.  So for the next 4 months he will live a

grand life, eating all the mother's milk he wants and getting lots of exercise in his

outdoor pen.  Then he will become veal.  This is a much better alternative than

sending him off to auction at 2 days old, where many Jersey calves are not even

accepted since they are generally much smaller than other breeds. Some farms even

put them down at birth to avoid the cost and labor of raising them.  This way,

he leads a good life which has an end purpose.

Here is a short video of the little guy as he stands up for the first time, 

only 10 minutes after his birth.

(please excuse the poor quality.... our camera is old and tired)

Milking Time

Our brilliant son in law Micah Phillips, videographer extraordinaire, filmed this beautiful video of our farm. Isn't it amazing?

New Arrival!

Ainsley freshened yesterday afternoon.  Since she is an experienced cow, she had no problems whatsoever.  In fact, while in the midst of calving, with front feet protruding from her, she calmly lay chewing her cud.  A few moments later with a push or two, the nice new little heifer slid right out and Ainsley got to work cleaning her off.  Now we need to think of a name.  Feel free to offer suggestions!!

Jane Doe, about 15 minutes old!

A short video of the new mother talking to her baby.