Holly & Ivy's big adventure!

Today was the first day that the piglets got to go outside.

They were so cute.  Followed me right out of the garage and had a blast exploring the snow.

Of course, Sable was there to supervise...

Holly (poor, starving creature that she is!),

discovered the chicken food bucket.

A good time was had by all!

And, then it was time for a nap!

Talk about "Chickens"!

Meet "Holly" & "Ivy".

They're American Guinea Hogs.

Well, they're just babies right now...

and they're big CHICKENS!

;-)

They're afraid of everything.

Especially "Holly"

She's very shy.

She squeals and runs if I touch her!

We're working on that though.

I sit next to the feed dish and if she wants to eat, she has to let me pet her.

It's working.

Holly's about 9 weeks old and I would guess that she weighs about 15 to 20 pounds.

But, that is SOLID as a ROCK!

"Ivy" is a little bit more confident.

Her breeder spent time handling all of her piglets, daily, and Ivy already likes being petted and scratched.  But NOT picked up!

Good Lord, these girls can make a racket!!!

;-)

Ivy's about the same size as Holly but not quite as heavy. 

So, Holly tends to push her away from the food dish.  I of course, intervene and give Ivy her own dish of food.

They really are fascinating little critters!

Heading into their kennel for a nap!

We at Bluff Country Shetlands and Backyard Chickens and American Guinea Hogs wish YOU a very Merry Christmas ~ filled with Joy and Love!



Chickens in the Snow...

You might be wondering why there aren't any pictures of my chickens in the snow.  Everyone knows how much I like taking and sharing photographs of my animals.  And winter in the Bluff Country of SE Minnesota ~ with it's crisp, lovely white-ness, makes for such a lovely background.

There's only one problem.  My chickens will NOT go out into the snow.

Uh-uh.  No way.  NOT  going to happen.

Chicken in the barn photos just aren't as fun....

Do your chickens venture outside during the winter months?  How do you lure them out?

Maybe my chickens are just wimps!

If you can watch this and not smile...You're no friend of mine!

Baby it's COLD outside!

I just had to share this picture of one of my "big-blue" roosters.  He's resting on a roost in my big barn.  Nobody's venturing outside much since we got a foot of snow.  The big barn is  where I keep the bachelor boys who are destined for the freezer.  :-(   I hate the thought of having some of these guys processed but I can't feed fifty roosters all winter long!

My cochin hens are laying up a storm!  I have fifteen hens and pullets and am getting seven or eight eggs a day.  Apparently, they didn't read the part of the poultry manual that says chickens stop laying eggs during the winter months...

Stay warm and enjoy the Holiday Season!

Some things just HAVE to be shared...

Enjoy!



If you didn't smile, you're not human!

~ Happy Winter ~