It's been a busy couple weeks. Pups are growing like crazy and getting BIG! The remaining older pups go in for their 2nd shots next week and I have a feeling Argyll and Aulay are over 25#. We're down to 14 with more leaving in the next week or so.

It's with mixed feelings that we send them on to their new homes. I completely understand the "it's time you leave" sentiment! But we sure do miss their personalities. Each one has touched us differently and made an impact. But, we can't keep them all (I'd be looking for a new home if I tried...!).

They are at the stage where anything can be a good toy. So when Aulay found a pop can, it was THE thing to have! The chase was on.

And the lambs are getting big. A couple of the bottle babies will hopefully be heading to their new home this weekend. Love them dearly and I wouldn't mind keeping them, but with my upcoming trip for work, I really need to reduce the chores around here. So DD will keep her fair lambs and we'll work on getting the flock numbers where we want them. Her Lincoln x Oxford ewe lamb is HUGE. We're up to almost 4 gallons of milk a day! She will make a great commercial ewe.

AWOL goose....

So the way our winter had been going with things dying, disappearing, etc- I got a little concerned when our Pilgrim goose went missing. The gander was still in the pasture, but she was no where to be found. The two of them had been wandering further in the pastures from their normal spots. I figured the coyotes had finally wandered close enough to nab her or a stray dog had found her- you know all the terrible things that go through your head...

So imagine my pleasant surprise when I was starting to clean up one of the winter shelters- to find her sitting on a nest and NONE too happy to see me!

We've come to an understanding- I bring her some corn and water and she doesn't bite too hard...

I figure she's been setting a week- so a couple more and we'll hopefully have some babies around.

Time to reinforce the perimeter fencing....

No words needed

New puppy pictures

As you can imagine- getting clear pictures of 21 puppies on any given day is a task all by itself! After taking almost 300 pictures with 3 different cameras this weekend, we got a few that are pretty much in focus! I haven't had a chance to ID the photos yet but their markings make them identifiable (at least to us!).

We set up a makeshift balance beam outside for them. After about 5 minutes of checking it out, it became one of THE things to do!

Our entire yard near the house is an obstacle course since we had some grading done last fall. The pups have plenty of things to explore, climb on/under/over, and have mastered the deck ramp. The braver pups are venturing out to try to hunt mice with the big dogs. They have met some of our poultry (turkeys are scary!) but they weren't phased by the goose.

They've also been getting the all important submission lesson from the big dogs! It's interesting to see how long it takes for some of the pups to get the message.

Some of the older pups will be heading to their new homes next week.

Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/asylumfarm/Pups04Apr09#



Goochland Acres English Shepherds