Spring 2021 Farm Update

It’s springtime in Oklahoma, which means it’s the rainy season. I’m not really sure we’ll ever see the sun again at this point. Honestly, I know that by mid-summer, we’ll be begging for rain, but right now it’s just so wet.

There have been lots of changes on our little farm! Here are the highlights of the past few months…

There have been a lot of changes with my flock this year. We started the year with some major issues, including a brutal cold snap, a prolapsed hen, feather picking, and an aggressive rooster.

Chickens

In February, we had a near record breaking cold snap, getting to -10 F one night, with 8 inches of snow. We managed to keep the chickens pretty cozy with water heaters, wind breaks, and heat lamps.

After twelve years on the Gulf Coast, I’m not used to snow. It’s been a long time since in saw this much!

Our coop setup allowed us to put a heat lamp outside, shining in. I was glad we had a safe way to keep them warm!

During the cold, we had one hen who prolapsed. After a vet helped us, we spent days nursing her back, but she prolapsed again as soon as she laid another egg, and we had to cull her.

Move forward a few weeks, and we were struggling with aggressive feather picking from several hens and a rooster who started attacking people. After a lot of research and trying multiple things to stop the picking, I finally decided to cull my flock down to my four best hens. It was the right call, because my remaining hens are so happy. They get along well, they’re laying great, and their feathers are growing back in.

Pigs

This is the most fun change to our farm – we got pigs! We bought two Hampshire/Yorkshire/Duroc mix males, who are brothers. Y’all – pigs are so fun! They may become my favorite farm animal. They love attention. One in particular likes to have his belly scratched.

The day we brought the pigs home – they were so little!

My husband had the idea to get an old bowling ball for them. They love it! It’s hilarious to watch them roll it around and play.

We will only have these pigs until October, when we’ll butcher them. Then we’ll start over in spring with new piglets.

Landscaping

Thank goodness most of my landscaping bushes (that we just planted in the fall) survived our sub-zero February temperatures. I have six bushes in the back that I thought were gone, but are maybe beginning to come out of it and start growing again. All my front bushes (there are a lot!) not only survived but are doing extremely well. We’ve added several more accent bushes to add color.

Best of all, my husband and boys surprised me for Mother’s Day with the perfect front porch! I’d been saying for months that I wanted rocking chairs, so they got my chairs, an antique sewing machine table, and flowers. I love it!

It’s been a challenging year, but I’m happy with how things are going. I have to admit, though, I’m a fall girl. I’m already counting the days until the leaves start turning and the days get cooler. What about you? What season is your favorite?

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