We love Babies!!

     All the babies at 2 Moore's Ranch are doing great.  The 3 litters of baby bunnies we have are growing so fast. Most have their eyes open and we are finding more and more out of the nesting boxes. I believe we have only lost one.  Jasmine had 11 so we took 2 of hers and put in with Duchess. One of those sadly died. All the rest are doing great.

Jasmines Babies

Duchess's babies

Bella's babies

     The 2 kitties are growing so fast.  Just about every time we go out to the barn they are running around and climbing on stuff.  We put some of the other bunnies on the floor the other day and they wanted to play with them.

Trampas and Betsey playing under a cage.

      Fred is trying to learn and do what he is suppose to He is hearing the word "No Fred" a lot.. The Shepard part of him has been herding the rabbits in the outside grow out pen.  Yesterday he had them all in a corner.  The only time he may chase one of them is when one of them runs. Then he starts running. He has yet hurt anyone.
       He does not seem to care about the ducks and even left the chickens alone when they were out yesterday.

Fred is in there relaxing with the rabbits.

Chilling in the rabbit barn.

      The flies are producing and we have even been able to feed the chickens a few.  The big ones are what we are shooting for.  The small ones are just regular flies.

     The baby ducklings are getting so big also.  They are running more and more with the big ducks.  They are getting really pretty also and starting to make grown up duck sounds.

     I have been picking Mulberries from one of our trees here.  I started putting them in Brent Juice first and then the other day decided to make a pie.  It was wonderful. Brent said it was one of the best pies he has had.

     We finally got all the hot wire down on our side of the fence and started putting up the stock fence.  We have one side completely up.  The back and the other side to go.  Then hopefully we wont have to worry about other dogs and animals coming in.  Plus then we wont have to worry about Robin going thru the barb wire.


     We did have a sad day the other day.  We lost one of our Rex grow outs  and dont really know what happened to her.  It was a warm day.  So we dont know if it was heat stroke or if there was something wrong with her.

Until next week,
The 2 Moore's Ranch

Just the Rabbits enjoying some greens!

Oh! What a Week it has Been!

     We have tried several ways to cut the greens that we feed the rabbits.  Weed eater, hand trimmer, Weed whacker and now the best yet.  Brent decided to buy a scythe.  It works great.  Cuts the greens in half the time and some times more than we need, lol.  This is the Scythe Master!

     Last week we had more rain and with all the rain we had before that it sure did flood here. Of course we were not the only ones with all the flooding rains and keep all the people in the flood areas in our prayers.

     Along with all the rain the weeds are sure growing fast.  Brent got out the other day and did some mowing.  But we have decided we may need a smaller mower to get up close to the house.  Especially after today, when he was mowing I was not a happy camper at all!!!  He was mowing and had just gone under a tree.  I looked up and saw something strange.  When I realized what it was I started yelling and spreading my arms opening wide to show how big it was. Only a Bull snake , but it could sure do some damage in the rabbit house. 

     The kitties are really getting along well.  This pic of the little kitties playing on the tree was taken right next to the tree where the snake was.  Sure glad I didnt see it that day. 
     They stayed out in the rabbit barn all day yesterday and last night.  They are just rolling around out there having a lot of fun.  They have even been caught sleeping with them. 

     We have another new addition to the farm.  One of our neighbors across the street had some puppies. Part Lab part Australian Shepherd's.  Hopefully he will make a really good Guard dog.  Fred as he is being called has been introduced to the Rabbits . one turkey and ducks so far.  The chickens in a day or so. 

     The baby ducks have been running around the yard now with the others. They love the little swimming hole and stay in it most of the time until the big ones run them out.  But they wait until the big guys leave and then go right back in.  

     We got 4 more hens from my parents when they came.  That puts us up to 30 hens.  Egg production even went up last night.  We got 20 eggs yesterday!!  Now if they will just keep it up.  

     Mean while out in the Rabbit Barn the old saying about rabbits multiplying has happened.  We went from around 42 to 70 something in about 2 days.  Three rabbits had 7, 10 and 11 babies!!!! No pics of the new babies yet.  Will have some on next blog.

Until next week ,
The 2 Moore's Ranch

Meow! Meow!

       We have been reading and talking about getting some cats to put in the barn with the rabbits.  We were told that if you get them while they are kittens and raise them up in the barn with the rabbits , chickens, ducks etc that they will kill mice and rats and hopefully any snakes and not harm the rabbits.  Well... I had to go to Ranchers Supply to get some feed and when I got out of the car I heard a small Meow.  I went looking and by the front door there was a box with 4 kittens in it.  I called Brent and told him about them . He said sure.  So I went inside to and asked. She said a customer had brought them in for barn cats.  We will be taking them out to the barn when we go so that they can get use to the rabbits and the rabbits use to them.  They will also be in the house with us for a few weeks getting use to us, Robin and maybe even Kanga. We will need to be finding some cute name for them. I forgot to check what they were when I picked them up.  The gray one looks to be a female and the yellow one looks to be a male.  Oh well.

       With all the rain we have been having , not only is everything green, but very tall also.  Brent got the brush hog out yesterday and cut down some of the area around the house and then got the weed eater out and worked and on a little bit more.  The mosquitoes sure have been loving the wet weeds!

     We did some work in the chicken house this week. the roosting poles were low and side by side. Finally talked him into stair stepping them.  He said the next morning we would probably go out and there would be chickens on the floor with broken necks.  As you can see they love it.  They fight to get up on the top one and it is always full.

     The Black Soldier Fly larva is coming right along.  ( If you have a weak stomach you will want to scroll past the next picture. )  The compost  is moving up and down in their box, which means they are doing what they are suppose to .   We have started to have them crawl out. Hopefully several of them will turn into flies and start the cycle all over.

     Brent has been walking the property when it rains looking for the low areas. He has been marking them with sticks and is hoping to start making swales in those areas  by chopping down the rest of the dead trees here and covering them up with dirt and start planting stuff on them and then letting them all go back into the soil.  If you look close in the pictures you will see where some of the sticks are.  That is just a small portion of the sticks that he has in the ground.

     Here are a few other random pics from this week.
             With the rain the last several days I have started a fire in the evenings.  It sure was nice.

     I have been seeing Barn Swallows flying around the house and was hoping they would build a nest here and help with the bugs.  The other day I noticed they had started building their nest. ( I have also asked Brent about building a Bat house to maybe attract bats here to help with the bugs)

     The turkeys just love getting up high.  Well, not any more.The other day they got their wings trimmed.

Until next week,
The 2 Moore's Ranch

A wet fun week.

     The Lord has blessed us all with a lot of rain the last few weeks.  With all the rain we have had, our place looks completely different.   It is so green and there are puddles,  lakes  and rivers everywhere.  We have also seen some very pretty cloud formations out here.  No the bottom pic is not a tornado. 

      When we moved out here there was a lot of different piles of stuff laying around.  In one area there was old wood fence panels stacked and thrown about.  We are using those that we can and making another enclosed area for the chickens to run in.  While moving panels last week we found an area where the hens had been laying. Plus they love to eat all the bugs!

     We have started another project here.  We are growing a kind of food for the chickens to eat.  They are called Black Soldier Flies.  You build a bin for them to live in and lay their eggs and then when the larva gets big they crawl up and then fall into a bucket.  From there they will be fed to the chickens.  This kind of fly is also suppose to chase away the nuisance flies.The pic below is Brent getting ready to put them in their new home.

     The rabbits nightly weed cuttings has really spoiled the grow outs that live on the floor.  We put it in our wagon and they have learned the sound of it and all meet us at the door now.  A few of them went to camp yesterday along with the one we called psycho.  I think there are 11 left on the floor now that are all girls.  There are 2 Rex grow outs that are in a large pen and one little guy that is going to be the mascot for a while that we call Billy.   Look close in the bottom pic and you will see white ears.

     The chickens are really enjoy their afternoon range time.  They just go everywhere.  As you can see , so do the turkeys. The older ducks and the baby ducks are doing just fine.  The babies have started going out in a little pen with water and having a great time.

Until next week.
The 2 Moore's Ranch