Couple Week Farm Wrap Cold Snaps, New Chicks, and Winter Prep at Loki Farms

Rabbitry Update: Cages Finished & Does Re-Bred

Last post we mentioned that we were hoping our Mini Rex girls would kindle soon. Well… they had other plans.

Both does ended up skipping this cycle, which isn’t unheard of for this time of season. So we re-bred them this week along with two others, and all were very receptive, a great sign. If they settle this time, we’ll be expecting kits December 15th.

On the bright side, the cage project we started last post is coming along beautifully. We now have four new cages completed and in use, and the rabbits seem to be thriving in the larger, sturdier setups. More cages are on the list, but it already feels good to see the row filling out. We had to take a pause when the hay got here, but will be back at it soon.

Chicks, Ducklings & Incubation Round Two

Our first shipment of Bresse chicks sadly didn’t survive after getting stuck in transit, unfortunately. That was a bit of a rough week watching the tracking and seeing it not move.

Thankfully, our replacement order from North Star Farms arrived in fantastic shape. After multiple attempts at counting (they never stop moving!), it looks like we have 63 energetic chicks in the brooder.

On the duck side of things, we hatched nine Welsh Harlequin ducklings, with three confirmed girls. They’re doing great under the heat lamp and already showing those adorable little personalities.

We also loaded the new incubator with 31 more duck eggs and have it running as our first test. Hopefully the outcome is much better.

The Goat Girls: Looking Rounder Every Week

We’re officially about 7.5 weeks from kidding season, and several of the girls are definitely starting to look the part. Some bellies are rounding out faster than others, but overall everyone looks healthy and comfortable.

We're just about all stocked and ready for kidding season, just waiting for some of the bedding to get here for the kidding stalls.

All herd testing results are now in, complete panel clear across the board and the website has been updated with our yearly biosecurity status. Herd Health.

Cold Weather & Winter Prep

That brief freeze earlier had us hustling:

· We protected all frost-sensitive trees

· Returned the goats to their pens and bedded them down for warmth

· And started juggling hay storage

Speaking of hay we had 29 round bales delivered, and we're still rolling the last three into place. With no tractor, hay day tends to be… athletic. But the winter feed is now mostly tucked away and ready.

Getting Market-Ready

Market season will be here before we know it, and we’re planning to attend the one up in Waycross, GA once, maybe twice a week. So, we’ve been finishing the organizing we started weeks ago. Most of the setup is now done:

The only big task left: soap-making. We’re aiming to rebuild inventory well before the season opens.

More updates soon! Especially as we inch closer to kidding season.