farmyard animals & wildlife

The piglets get to know their new home. Their shed is a section of of an old poly water tank (not nearly as flimsy as it looks - did not budge in the recent storms).

Inside their shelter is their bed: a pallet piled up with hay.

the piggies go exploring

I put some of our pumpkin, still going from last autumn, in to give them something to chew on

oooooh! another water container! oooooooh! and some crushed grain!

... and they have industriously turned over a patch of dirt already

it was time to change the collar on our 15 month old steer Porterhouse. While he was in the crush we noticed he has 4 distinct teats. Do all steers have those? Or do we have a transgender cow-steer? It's hard to get that close to the underbelly of an adult steer to check them out. Must google...

Mr T-Bone: "is it true you're a transgender cow-steer, Porty?" Mr Porterhouse: "No! I've googled it, and we ALL have teats. Check out your own underbelly." Mr T-Bone: "...um...how?"

After an hour believing he was a transgender cow-steer, Porterhouse considers how he FEELS, rather than what his body is... but then forgets the question and chews cud instead.

Stroggy put up an almighty struggle, aided and abetted by his mother Martha, just outside the crush

...waddling wide legged back to mama Martha, and Auntie Halley

Found this huge moth in the paddock, looking a little seedy. (Antheraea polyphemus)

(Antheraea polyphemus) Fonzie gives a better background to the moth's colour. When I moved it, it squirted a stream of yellow-green liquid from its rear. Ew.

with their dad Manfred

This is the new renovation to the chook house, the addition of the separate area for chicks and broody hens, finally complete. The floor of it is concreted, and the slanted roof is simply to stop other chooks roosting on it and fouling (or maybe fowling?) it up

This section is just for chicks, once they are old enough to leave the more secure crate inside the house. This section has a "bedroom" area with ceramic heat lamp. (Doesn't yet have a proper front to it, just some boards leaning to close it off.) Also chick crumble, which the other hens are not allowed to eat, and water. Later we will make sliding doors on the side just big enough for chicks to go in and out, but not bigger chooks.