This Beautiful Boy...

... is heading to a new home. We love how amazing his feathers are but his personality is for the birds.

This beautiful rooster is a cross between a brown Americauna hen and an Australorp rooster. These pictures don't do him justice as they don't pick up the iridescent sheen of his feathers. Sissy hatched him a few years ago. He was part of her first attempt at using an incubator.

Unfortunately, has he matured, he became aggressive. He doesn't get along with the other rooster anymore, to the point of almost killing him. We really have no choice but to re-home him. We hope he does well.

Until next time,

May all your endeavors be a blessing!

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"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds."
  Proverbs 27:23

Fresh Eggs

Our hens have officially started laying again. Here are just a few of the gorgeous eggs that we are getting daily. It's time to start up the incubator. We only incubate the Orpington eggs and that leaves the other's to be used in cooking.

I'm hoping to get some pictures of our chickens. We currently have a buff Orpington rooster, a Ameraucana x Australorp rooster, a white Ameraucana hen, 6 buff Orpington hens, and 3 Australorp hens.

Until next time,

May all your endeavors be a blessing!

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"As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so [is] a man that wandereth from his place."
 Proverbs 27:8

PA Farm Show ~ Poultry & Rabbits

Today's post is a really fun one for me because I'm sharing a few of the pictures that we took at the Pa Farm Show of poultry and rabbits. After looking through my pictures, I'm seeing a trend; I'm always more attracted to heritage breeds. They are just more exciting to me because they are rarely plain.

African Goose at the PA Farm Show 2018

This large fellow is an African goose. You can find a lot of really good information from the Livestock Conservancy website (here) about this heritage breed goose. This is not my personal favorite breed of goose but this guy impressed me with his size, such a beautiful bird.

Toulouse Goose at the PA Farm Show 2018

I think this goose is absolutely gorgeous!! I fell in love with this breed, the Toulouse, after seeing on for the first time at our local fair. This breed is originally from France and is used for it's fatty liver. It's a huge breed that I think would do wonderfully on our property. However, purchasing a pair is quite expensive. We will have to wait and see if we are able to acquire some.

Sebastopol Geese at the PA Farm Show 2018

These fancy feathered geese always catch my attention. I love how they look but I'm sure they take a bit of care to keep them so clean. They are called Sebastopol geese and are another example of a heritage goose. More information is available (here) on the Livestock Conservancy website.

I have no idea what type of miniature chicken this is but it was so cute I had to snap a picture on my way past it. If you know what it is, please comment below. Thanks.

Peacocks at the PA Farm Show 2018

These beautiful Peacocks and Peafowl were on display as well. They are beautiful with their colorful feathers.

Peacocks at the PA Farm Show 2018

Giant Chinchilla Rabbit at the PA Farm Show 2018

Last but not least I'm including a picture of the Giant Chinchilla rabbit that was on display. There were row upon row of rabbits but I didn't take any other pictures besides this one. It seems that this was the only Giant Chin exhibited this year. Such a shame because they are an amazing breed of rabbit.

Until next time,

May all your endeavors be a blessing!

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 "I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field [are] mine.

" Psalms 50:11

Peaceful Mornings At The Cottage - June 2016

Spring is in full flow and we are off to a great start. Here are a few pictures that I captured over the course of the month and a video compilation. We've been so busy, I really don't have time for anything more. We've found that Instagram has been a lot of fun. Feel free to visit our page at https://www.instagram.com/myquaintcottage.

Two Week Old Giant Chinchilla Rabbit

Pretty Purple Wildflowers

Pretty White Wildflowers

Pretty Yellow Wildflowers

April at the Cottage

Smiling Bunny Playtime

A few eggs from today

Walking Onions

It was so nice this April. We typically get frost until the middle of the month and this year it was very mild. 

Geese at Sunset

Beautiful Birds

Picture update from the henhouse:

Little By Little

We are wrapping everything up in the vegetable garden.

It looks like a spring harvest but it isn't. Those little zucchini represent the last harvest from our zucchini bed. The spring onions came from the same bed and new onions have been planted to replace them. Onions will be the first thing up next spring.

We are in the process of going through the tomatoes and peppers as well. There are a lot left in those beds. Especially cherry tomatoes. I think we will be harvesting those for another week or two. 

The chicks we picked up this past spring have been laying well. It's always exciting to see how many eggs we will get each day. These hens will be staying with us over the winter. I'm interested to see how long they keep laying. 

It isn't a gourmet meal but it came from our own kitchen garden. A bowl of sautéed onions, zucchini, and peppers, topped with tomatoes and basil, and a hard fried egg on the side, make for a wonderful after gardening snack!!

We wish you the best in all of your gardening adventures!! 

Pretty Pastures

Here are some pictures from our pastures. 

I'm in love with the color of this blue swallow. So Pretty.  

A mix of chickens; Buff Orpington and Rhode Island Red.

Egg and meat chickens.

Flemish Giant rabbit

Wild geese and goslings

A pretty little swallow

Pretty red swallow

Spring Updates

In pictures

Mini Ponies

Buff Orpington Chicks

Wild Geese

Raspberry Leaves

Sprouting Peas - Tall Telephone Pole Peas

Our First Egg

We Have Chickens

More Peeps!

Around here there always seems to be more.....

more sun

more chores

more fun

and more peeps!

There are two sets of chicks, young ones and even younger ones. Here is Little Man holding one of the younger ones. I still can't believe that they just sit on his lap. You wouldn't believe how excited he still gets every time they do!

 Here are the young ones, also known as the "barn yard mix". Can you guess what breeds they are?


 

Bantam Chickens

Here are just a few of the free bantam chickens that a friend of mine has just picked up. The only question is what type are they? It doesn’t show in the picture but they have feathered feet. Very beautiful birds!

Another Day In The Country

Three eggs a day..... but how does that happen with only two hens?

Here is the mushroom village.... but where are the toads?

This is my favorite. Curly is pushing this content chick in a baby doll stroller. How cute!

The Typical Barnyard

Old Man Dean, he had a farm,

E, I, E, I, O

and on his farm he had some chicks,

E, I, E, I, O

 
How cute these little guys are. They were hatched by their broody mother a few days ago and she is tending to them every step of the way. There were two hens laying but only one setting so they managed to collect almost twenty eggs. This poor hen actually tried to set on all of them. Once these four little guys hatched, she was done setting. She had had enough.

I also wanted to show off this picture that I took of a wonderful little honey bee in a beautifully colored sunflower. Doesn't it make you think of spring and summer? I can smell the clean county air just looking at it!