Rabbits

Today my plan was to shear our Satin Angora rabbits.  But first I decided to check the fence to make sure the sheep hadn't found another way out.  So I went out back and walked the fence-line and didn't notice any breaches, but when I went back toward the gate noticed that there were only 12 sheep, and I hadn't noticed any in the wood where I was walking- there are supposed to be 19.  So I walked the entire back again- still no sheep but when I came back the missing sheep had appeared.  Not sure where they were but hopefully not at the neighbors!

I then decided to do a little gardening since I was near the garden anyway.  I pulled up some nettles and covered the potato plants coming up.  Besides potatoes we have carrots, peas, onions and beets sprouting.  It is cool and raining so I still cannot plant the other veggies.

I then decided to make a place in the feed shed for our brown Leghorn hen and her chick.  She stopped setting on the rest of the eggs so it looks like just one chick this year.  The pheasant eggs in the incubator aren't hatching either.  So I also tried to make some nests for the melanistic mutant pheasant hens in hopes they might start setting on their eggs.  I also made a duck nest that perhaps a duck will start setting, and we can slip some pheasant eggs under her. Maybe I can even slip some under the setting geese.  We sure don't need any more goslings or ducklings though!

After dilly dallying I finally got to the rabbits.  I sheared our four Satin Angora rabbits- Pepe, Louise, Susan and Geena.  Geena is in the photo- she has a gorgeous grey and red wool that I cannot wait to play with.  I usually blend the angora with my Shetland wool since Angora is so warm to wear.  I also sheared our black Jersey Wooly rabbit Rocky and trimmed all of the rabbits toe nails, including Foo- the mini- Rex we inherited when my adult step daughter found out that rabbits chew electrical cords.

I then did the rest of the animal chores.  Still no lambs- just 5 fat, lazy ewes.  I am quite sleep deprived at his point with the middle of the night barn checks and wishing lambing would get under way.