A Visit From Kyle – MiniTour

When we heard our friend Jeff Fowle needed volunteers for a project, we were eager to have a visit from ‘Flat Kyle’ and show a little bit about what we do. We’d hosted Flat Stanley some time ago, and some things have changed since then! Come on and join us for the tour!

We started with meeting Missy and Diva, two of our dogs here at SlowMoneyFarm.

 

 

 

 

 

First stop was out to check the layers – a Dominique and a Speckled Sussex came up to greet Kyle. The Dominique has been maintained as a farm chicken for over 110 years! That’s the one with the black and white feathers. She looks similar to the barred Rock, except for having a different kind of comb  – that’s the ‘hat’ on top of her head!

 

 

 

The Dominique pecked Kyle’s hand! Chickens don’t have teeth, so it didn’t hurt, but can scare people when it happens so quickly!

 

 

 

We then stopped to see the Buckeyes – that’s another breed of chicken that is over 100 years in history! The Buckeye is known as the only breed of livestock developed by a woman, and they originated in the state of Ohio.

Then we saw a Cornish chicken – this is a pullet, a young female, and is another very old breed. Cornish crosses are one of the most popular meat chickens because they gain weight fast and are heavy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a Maran breed of chicken. Isn’t he pretty? He is a rooster – that’s what they call adult male chickens! He crows in the morning to let us know it’s time to eat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what chickens here eat! This is layer pellets. They also sometimes get corn. The turkeys and other birds eat the same thing. They also pick up small rocks outside to help grind their food.

 

 

 

This is some of the other birds – these are Muscovy. They have a funny looking mask on their faces, and are very large birds. They can fly and have claws! They’re often called a duck, but are more of a cousin to our domestic ducks.

 

Look! Bunnies!

These are young doe rabbits that will soon get their own cages. Doe is a female rabbit – males are called bucks. That metal box that Kyle is stepping in is where the food goes – there is a part that funnels it into the cage so the rabbits can eat.

 

This is Twisty – she is a Giant Chinchilla doe (female!). Notice her ear – when she was just a couple of days old her mother hurt the ears of the babies. One of her ears is twisted so we called her Twisty! Look how big she is with Kyle standing next to her!

 

This is a Giant Chinchilla buck – his name is SMF Storm Cat. He is the daddy of some of the babies that will be born this year, including from Twisty’s sister, Mistletoe.

The Giant Chinchilla can be up to 16 pounds! They have been a breed for over 100 years, and once were called the Million Dollar Rabbit.

 

 

 

This is another very old breed, called the Champagne d”Argent. They are very different in that they are born all black, and get lighter. This doe (that’s female!) is two years old now. She has had several litters of babies, and is a very good mommy rabbit for us. She’s not too sure about Kyle though!

 

This is a different kind of rabbit breed! She is a Silver Fox – she is similar in color, but her head is dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyle takes a break in the rabbit feed! These are rabbit pellets – they have all the nutrition our big rabbits need. They also get hay, and we add different things sometimes. They might get sunflower seeds if we’re getting some ready for a show, and even eat cereal for people like Cheerios! They also get oats – the extra fiber is good for a thick coat of fur on the rabbits that are going to shows.

 

They also sometimes get shredded beet pulp. This is a small part of their diet, because it can swell up and make them sick if they eat too much. We mix some in with their pellets.

 

 

 

 

We stop by to say goodbye to Storm Cat before going back in the front for a treat. What do you think it might be?

A hint – many people eat it for breakfast, and we have it right here!

 

 

 

 

 

Eggs! Yum! We have lots of eggs from our chickens! What’s your favorite way to have eggs?

We like French toast, fried eggs and scrambled eggs.

During the summer we also have gardens, but right now we don’t have anything growing because it’s too cold here. Soon!

Thanks for visiting! We’ve enjoyed showing Kyle – and you! – around our little place.

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