For the Ewes, Hens, and Whatever Girl Llamas Are Called

I was looking through my recent pictures and saw some pictures for the ladies....the farm animal ladies, that is.

For the hens, there's Oklahoma and Colonel Brandon #1.  (Although the hens here don't particularly like them, and I don't blame them.  But that's another story.)

Oklahoma: Flashy Feathers

Colonel Brandon #1: Classically Handsome

 Oklahoma protecting his girls.  It's probably the chicken equivalent of hunky firefighters.

And he's tough!

 For the ewes, there's Pecan.  There's the brooding eyes.  The luxuriant fleece.  The broken horn that gives him an air of danger. Sorry to tell you, ewes, but he's a wether.  (Although he can be appreciated by humans as well--his fleece feels even more amazing than it looks.)

Pecan

 And, finally, for the llamas...we have Barack O'Llama in the shower!

You might notice that two of our boys are missing: Colonel Brandon #2 and Almond.  Colonel Brandon #2 is still growing his comb and wattle, and he feels a little sensitive about it.  Almond is ....  well, silly.  He still acts like a baby, chewing on people's clothes, jumping up on people, and sproinging around the pasture like a crazy little sheepie. 

The View From Here

I'm hobbling around a bit better, but I still am not able to do too much roaming in the pasture.  (And I don't really want to when I remember stepping into that hole...*)  Last night, the mobile chicken coop was upgraded, and my chair was placed so that I could see the action.  (Some of the action is not publishable as some individuals were not wearing belts.)

I finally got a chance to get a picture of the artwork on the side of the coop.

Evidence that we basically let the boys do whatever they want.

Barack O'Llama wonders when Scott will install a llama-sized door.

It is my new shade shelter, isn't it?

Cashew came over for an unprecedented scratch.

Cashew.  Only one more shy lamb to convert to friendliness.

Speaking of shy sheep, Hazel and Filly looked like a scene of mother-daughter love...

Excuse me, I have a mouth full of grass.

...and Elsie nursed Pecan and Pistachio, although I really don't think she was feeling the love.

Poor Elsie.

The big roosters, Oklahoma and Colonel Brandon #1, seem to get along.  (I did see them both pick on wee little Colonel Brandon #2 -- something I'll take into consideration when deciding who goes into the pot!)

No cockfighting here.

Finally, because she is too cute not to share:

Acorn.

*The hole has been filled.  Scott and Colonel Brandon #2 filled it over the weekend.  They also attempted to rid the pasture of horse nettle.

Little rooster...

...big helper.

Shock

I never thought that Barack O'Llama would go into the hoop house.  I was shocked when I looked out the window and saw him hanging out with a few sheep in there.  He's been here for four months and through snow, rain, and hot weather he's stayed out of the hoop house.  Today is not rainy or very hot, and Barack has decided to try it out.

He doesn't look too happy to be there.

Quality time with Calico, Hazel, & their lambs.

He's also started letting other animals near him while he eats. 

Allowing Peanut to eat his scraps--gasp!

And while we are on the topic of shocking things, Pistachio has decided to be friendly.

Pistachio seems to enjoy being petted these days.

Peanut, Pecan, & Pistachio: the big lambs.

Most surprising of all, the new chicken coop is done.  It's a little behind schedule, but at least it's done in time for the new hens to start laying eggs.

Moving the new coop to the pasture.

When Pastures Attack

The pasture grabbed my ankle and flung me to the ground last weekend.  I've spent all this week looking at this:

At least I have pretty socks.

rather than this:

Peanut.  I think she's pining for me.

I think they missed me.  Barack O'Llama sent me llama kisses....

Smooch.

...and the sheep reenacted their lunchtime greeting.

The lunch rush at Sleepy Acres.

While I was incapacitated, Iris, one of our Black Australorps died.  She and her "sister" Violet have always been inseparable.  And in the backyard when they were not supposed to be.

Violet & Iris, enjoying a dust bath together.

Mysteries, Solved and Unsolved

 Usually, my posts are filled with Peanut, Almond, and Macadamia.  They frolic in front of the camera, practically begging to have their pictures taken.  (Peanut often gets a little too close to the camera.)  Pistachio, on the other hand, is the shyest sheep in the flock.  She is usually as far as she can get from any people.  A rare sighting:

Pistachio, sheep of mystery

When I began this blog post, I thought I had a picture of Cashew.   Cashew, unlike Pistachio, gets close to people sometimes...But usually when she does, she takes off in the other direction as fast as she can go.  However, quite a few of my pictures I thought I had are very blurry.  Peanut was licking the camera lens yet again.  Acorn, unlike her twin Cashew, is starting to attack people get a bit friendlier.

Acorn

Pecan used to eat peanuts from my hand, and suddenly, he's stopped.  When we were in the pasture this morning, he ran to Scott.  Scott shelled the peanut for him and he gobbled it up.  One mystery solved: Pecan is spoiled!

Pecan

There's been an intruder in the creep feeder (a feeder that only the lambs can get into, although it's getting to be a tight fit for Pecan and Peanut).  Almond tried to remove the chicken via chewing on its tail; he apparently doesn't realize that his horns might be useful in this situation.  Acorn, however, knew exactly what to do.

She's supposed to be in the other pasture.

Acorn: the only thing the white chickens fear.

Pansy would like me to mention that not all chickens are badly behaved.  (And she does not know who ate all the strawberries.)

Pansy, looking quite innocent