Plenitude Farm

10/16/2015

Love the way these folks raise their animals on a farm that is not only sustainable but gorgeous. And if you haven't been to the farm shop to try their meats, it's time! (But stay away from the apple muffins, chocolate cake and cinnamon buns--they are ADDICTIVE!)

07/19/2015

A heat advisory just went into effect where I live. (Expected heat index of 107.) If you have ANY animals, you can make electrolytes at home following the recipe at the bottom of the article. Electrolytes work like Gatorade to help your animals tolerate the effects of high heat better. Make sure your animals have shade. Also, ice in the water bowl is a great idea. I put the re-freezable ice packs in our waterers to help at times like this. They are easily washed and disinfected for other uses later on. Stay cool, friends, and keep your animals comfortable, too!

Heat takes its toll on chickens, but adding homemade electrolytes to their water can greatly reduce the negative effects.

06/20/2015

Hershey hatched all 13 of her eggs right on time. Muscovy hens leave the nest (upper right hand corner) relatively soon after the hatch to put their ducklings on clean ground. We are thrilled!

06/17/2015

Wild chicory grows throughout our pastures. Apparently, it thrives in clay soils and is a bio-accumulater, sending down deep roots to pull nutrients up through the soil. The bee just thinks it will help make some good honey!

06/17/2015

Ducklings are doing fine!

06/15/2015

Ducklings! Aguila's babies are a week old today and doing fine.

06/11/2015

First sunflower of the season! And very strange pink skies due to smoke plumes from fires burning in Canada that are caught on the jet stream and making their way down to Virginia. Ducklings were out and about in the grass today, but due to not wanting to disturb them, we have no photos to share today. But soon we will!

06/10/2015

The ducklings are moving around the coop, but the closer I get, the more Aguila protects them. I think you can see 5 in this little snippet of "Duck Cam." John and I are both expecting them to make it down the ramp and into the run (protected by hardware cloth) tomorrow. Resisting the urge to sneak one out and cuddle it!

06/09/2015

First day out of the nest for Aguila's clutch of ducklings. I have counted eight little heads. We know she hatched all the eggs, we're just not sure how many she had initially. Watch carefully and you'll see a little yellow head dart out! Looks like many of the babies are starting with a lot of gray coloration, which is why they're hard to see, all piled in a corner of the coop.