Another busy weekend on the farm. The mob of sheep had to be shorn and a couple of contractors were bought in for the job. The old man leaning on the fence "supervising" owns the business from what I could gather, and the younger fella does all the work. For $2 per sheep, it's a lot of hard work! Following the shearing we drenched the sheep. 
Also this weekend we killed, cleaned and butchered another sheep. This time I killed it. Whilst my hands were shaking at the end of the process, it was nowhere near as terrible as I thought it would be. I think my whole mind set has changed with the move to the country. Rachel and Hannah had a very interesting biology lesson with Sue. Whilst they were not present for the slaughter, they did come and watch as the sheep was skinned and cleaned. Internal organs were of special interest.
It was the weekend where I "docked" [or at least set in motion the docking process] the tails of the two lams that were born a couple of months ago. The process involves putting a very tight elastic ring around the base of the tail using a hand held device that stretches the band open. Boy those lambs are feisty!
We picked and ate our first button squash and zucchini. Along with our own onions, carrots, salad greens and herbs such as basil and mint, we enjoyed a gorgeously fresh dinner [with store bought chicken].
Speaking of chicken, the meat chicks are growing rapidly. They appear to be fully fledged now, although you can still see pink skin under their wings. I think that is because the feathers are still small.
To add to the menagerie of feathered folk we are taking delivery of some turkeys this week. This has necessitated building another coop adjacent to the chook shed. I've made this one a little smaller as we're only expecting to hold a half dozen turkeys at a time. Apparently the eggs are large, and as easy to eat as hen eggs and they are prone to going broody easily. Should have a freezer full of turkeys in no time!
The outside walls of the turkey house are complete, the structure for the roof is in place - we've only to add the sheeting for the roof, the front wall and the door to complete the house. The fence posts are in place with the fencing wire needing to be added and a gate made for access. Should be only another days work - although it is exam time [Individual Differences and Assesment exam is on Thursday] and I really should be studying.
9:00:42 AM 
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