Monday, November 15, 2010

Next stop - Granny's farm

Right, now that I have unpacked and planted my Living Seeds I can tell you about the next farm. Let's call it "Granny's Farm" as my hostess for the weekend lives on a farm with her parents and brother's farms adjoining hers.

These three families are "lifestyle farmers" because they have chosen to leave the hustle and bustle of JHB behind and move out to the country to enjoy all that it can offer without having to be dependent on a farm for income.

Granny just loves her fowl and her farm and garden are flocking with different farmyard fowl.

Her turkeys breed naturally which according to her is normal practice! According to Barbara Kingsolver in her book: "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" it is not so normal as turkeys are so overbred that all female turkeys have to be AI for them to raise successful clutches because the gents have forgotten how to do it! Well not on Granny's farm! She has had five clutches (is that the right collective noun, I wonder?) already this year.

Here is a sitting turkey who decided the warm compost heap was just the place to sit!

Above is the last group of babies that hatched and they already respond to Granny's call.

Chickens flock around the place or are sitting on their eggs in the cleanest neatest coops I have seen! But there is one special mamma chicken called Lucy who is a Silkie and is their champion broode hen and wonderful mother. Lucy has one problem though - she likes to lay her eggs (and sit on them) on a cupboard inside the house!

Ducks and geese are also all over the place and so very very happy.

Granny's daughter in law, who lives next door, has bottle raised a little lamb and when we arrived home with Debbie (d-i-l) this sweet lamb greeted "mommy" like a pet dog who has missed her owner. Very special!

Tomorrow I will take you on a tour of my hostess's farm. See you then!

5 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

I'm enjoying your farm tours. Just love the little babies. And, that turkey is lucky he isn't anywhere near the States or he might find himself on a Thanksgiving table. ;)

Kids and Canning Jars said...

Such wonderful animals! Thanks for sharing.
Melissa

The Artsy Oils Girl said...

What a lovely place! My husband and I are working towards a place in the country of our own and I can't wait! For now I will just have to be content with being an Urban homesteader! LOL.

Chris said...

Fantastic! Thanks for posting the pics - I'm loving the turkey on the warm compost heap!!

Tania said...

I love seeing farm pictures, those animals are gorgeous.