Good evening from the farm! The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, which has prompted this new series, “Pasture Chronicles” where I’ll be updating y’all on the random happenings at Deer Creek Pastures, both the fails and the wins, and everything in between.
Piggie Illness: I recently dealt with my first bout of illness on the farm. Loretta showed signs of respiratory illness and pink eye and after consulting the internet, a vet, and the breeder, I treated her for worms with the guess of lung worm. She has subsequently bounced back and never lost her appetite. I was grateful to have caught it quickly and to have been able to problem solve without having a livestock vet make a farm visit – turns out to give pigs shots they have to first snare their snout which sounded traumatizing for all parties involved. I have now proactively increased the contents of my farm vet kit to include vitamins, electrolytes, multiple kinds of dewormer, and probiotics to be more prepared for the next time illness strikes. Though through rotational grazing, I’m doing my best to minimize risks.
Katahdin Hair Sheep: I recently welcomed 2 sheep to the farm, Stevie (Nicks, pictured here) and Whitney (Houston) – you can read more about my animals here. They have caused quite a ruckus (not gonna lie, I did not realize just how loud the “baaah” sound was until these 2 had settled onto the farm). They have quickly gone to work chowing down on the grass and excelling at their primary role of pasture maintenance. I specifically chose this breed for their parasite resistance and their lack of wool fiber, which means they do not need to be sheared. Right now, I have them on a weekly pasture rotation utilizing electric netting and a solar energizer and it’s been fascinating to see which plants and grasses they favor – they eat their favorite stuff first!
Heat Wave: Temperatures have been in the 90s here in Northeast Georgia, with a real feel greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and we have all been less than thrilled. Despite the catch phrase “sweating like a pig”, piggies don’t actually sweat, so I’ve been doing my best to keep them cool. Both the sheep and the piggies have their fenced in areas to include woods and tree cover, and the piggies also have a large shade shelter, water troughs and multiple mud pits to wallow in, but the hose has become a favorite mechanism for the piggies to cool off. Dolly and Loretta also have a tendency to sit in and/ or flip over their water bowls, so keeping them hydrated is constantly keeping me on my toes. Conversely, the sheep get most of their hydration from the grass they’re eating and only need a fresh bucket of water every 1-2 days.
Tractor Time: I’ve used the last week, including a day off of work on Wednesday, to catch up on some much needed bush hogging in my largest pasture. Some blackberry was trying to take over and musk thistle has been popping up everywhere. While the sheep will be keeping things in check going forward, I had to cut down some of the taller weeds to make it easier for them to get to work. I didn’t take an “After” picture but you can trust it now looks far less overgrown. Cutting down the weed cover stirred up some animal habitats – I spotted no fewer than 5 baby bunnies and 1 large snake (likely a hog nose but I opted not to get close enough to accurately identify it).
First Harvest: Back in April, I started multiple food plots from seed, plus a few pepper and tomato starts from the local nursery, and I am excited to start being able to eat from the garden. So far, I’ve had Spacemaster 80 cucumbers, Hungarian Yellow Wax peppers, and zucchini. Dragon Roll and habanero peppers are not far behind. I have an entire bed dedicated to melons and cannot wait for my first watermelon. In the meantime, I may need to learn to pickle as the cucumbers are coming in fast – if you have a good pickle recipe, please share!
Thank you for continuing to follow along! I look forward to sharing more Pasture Chronicles and updates as I do my best to keep the animals happy and healthy and the plants growing!
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