Weekly update

So no good pictures from the last week.  The whole family has been running around with softball, 4h, and the other things life throws at you.  LOL. We've had a few games going on.  I'm glad I've only got 1 kid playing instead of 2 or 3. I have friends who live at the ballpark.  We had a 4h meeting & are busy getting ready for show season.

Saturday found Fluffy Girl & I at MU vet school for state poultry day.  A good seminar on eggs including safety & nutrition and other information was presented. We learned about USDA grading on chicken carcasses. The rest of the morning was spent with junior & senior judging of eggs, live chickens, & carcasses. Fluffy Girl being a first year, spent that time learning about judging those things.  They provided a nice lunch followed by a quiz bowl. Fluffy Girl did compete on a junior team with 2 friends.  They lost,  but we were proud that they even tried.  I think they were the youngest team.  She also lost a tooth right before their turn.  LOL.

We spent Sunday at a family reunion for Camo Dad's grandfather's family.  Fluffy Girl enjoyed playing with her cousins until we had to go home to rest a bit before softball practice.

We've spent a lot of time trying to keep cool in this Missouri heat & humidity. It's so true when they say "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." I spent some time in Oklahoma when I was younger.  The temperatures were similar, but Missouri is sooo much more humid!  I, personally love heat but sweating through your shirt when you haven't done anything is hard.

My big concern has been the rabbits.  Angora rabbits are cold weather animals & can heat stroke  easily. They're in open cages & are in the shade all day and have plenty of water available.  The sheep are actually pretty ok as long as they have shade & plenty of water.

The heat wave continues this week.  We have 3 whole evenings at home this week before our next game on Friday. Hopefully I can get some ongoing projects finished.  LOL.

I almost forgot my other big news!  Stay Fluffed Farm is on Instagram as of yesterday! Don't forget to follow us for instant updates! Here's the few pictures I do have.

 Mama cat, Ruby continues to hold hunting lessons.  This is the 2nd bird & 2 frogs that have been brought to my porch. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to get rid of the leftovers.  LOL. 

 I cut the last of our heirloom lettuce.  It's so hot now that until fall lettuce tastes bitter.  

 Here's a good picture of the kids learning how to judge a class of post production hens. 

Additions To The Farm

We've had a few additions to the farm this week & 1 sad/happy goodbye.

 Here's a new English Angora doe.  Since she's an English, i decided she needed a very English name.  So she is now Elizabeth, also known as Betty. Betty needs some tlc so will be sheared over the next couple days. She's more than ready & has several matts in her coat.  I'm going to give her a little time to settle in & then will breed her to Buck. 

 Here's Buck, enjoying some time in the play yard & eating grass. He's  French angora and is pretty sweet. 

 Orschlens reduced the price of their half grown frying pan specials to $2 this week.  For those who don't know a frying pan special is a group of heavy breed chickens from the hatchery that are unsexed, but generally roosters.  However sometimes you get lucky & can get pullets, which are young females. These were big enough that with the help of a knowledgeable employee I picked out 7 that I THINK are pullets. Only time will tell if I choose wisely.  There are 3 barred rocks, 2 buff orpingtons, 1 production red & 1 rhode island red.  My general chicken coop is full of girls that are getting past production age & they aren't actually a production bred chickens anyway.  So these girls will be responsible in the future for our egg needs. 

 I was also able to acquire a 3 month old doe that's a mixed large breed. When older she will hopefully give us some meat rabbits.  We traded a rabbit we had bought last year that was supposed to be a young full sized doe. Both as a pet for Fluffy Girl & for meat rabbits, Fluffy Girl named her Connie.  

Connie turned out to be Conner & was a mini rex. Note the mini! Not at all what we needed! So we were lucky to find somebody willing to trade this new baby girl for Conner. He went to a home to have girlfriends & we are happy for him.  :)

On a sad & happy note, Fluffy Girl decided she was ready for grandma to sell her pony Diego. Diego was her 3rd birthday present from grandma & grandpa and has been a great pony.  However, Fluffy Girl outgrew Diego & was found a nice horse in 2014. Grandma promised that Diego didn't have to find a new home until Fluffy Girl was ready. Fast forward to last weekend. Grandma put the word out with horsey friends & quickly found somebody that would be a great home! Diego now belongs to another little girl that's almost 3, to teach to love & ride.  His new family knows that if he doesn't work out or when he's outgrown he's able to come back to retire.

Fluffy Girl was very sad, but acted very mature about Diego needing somebody else to get love from!  I am very proud of her making such an adult decision and her behavior during it! 

That's all for now and I can't wait to see what else this long weekend brings. On that note, we at Stay Fluffed Farm want to thank any service members for what they are doing or have done for our country!  Thank you to the family members who have lost a loved one in service! You are the reason for this long weekend and know that we appreciate your services & sacrifices all year round, not just 1 or 2 days a year! We take exceptional notice to this year round as we live about 1 mile away from a veterans cemetery and on any given day can see or hear a veteran laid to his final rest.  Hearing the salutes and bugle hit my heart every time, as i think about what they've done and who they've left behind. So if you are active military, a veteran, or a family member, we thank you again!