We've had all sorts of problems with duck hatchings this year - I suspect partially because of the weather, it's been stinking hot and unbelievably dry in these parts.  Finally we resorted to some duck eggs under a clucky chook, and even though the… more »

Now that we finally have the breeding chooks that I've wanted, we're launching into breeding season.  Excess roosters notwithstanding... so far we have 6 hatched (5 surviving chicks) under one surrogate mother, and 4 hatched chicks, 2 eggs remaining… more »

Well it's official - Billie now has a sister Lillie (who really is her sister), but she's arrived, settled in and they both became rapidly very well bonded.  In fact apart from Lillie being a bit more twitchy about us - and slightly bigger than Billie… more »

Billie the Pig (think Billy the Kid to get the joke) arrived on Saturday. She's beautiful.  And as funny as.  Very chatty (well grunty), very tiny, and boy oh boy, would she eat if you let her.   Billie was supposed to come with her sister, but… more »

It's been a decidedly odd year - gardening wise I'm talking about this time. Last year we were battling heat and water concerns (too little). This year we're battling cool and water concerns (too much), to say nothing of locusts and rats and snail pla… more »