Matua Ranch's First Ram Lamb and update

Our Ewe dropped her lamb last night.  It's a ram lamb.  Our first lamb for Matua Ranch.  I was hoping for twins or triplets, but a single is better than none.  Ewe and lamb are doing fine.  Both were out of the under the porch shed and into the pen most part of the day.  Haven't named the newborn Ram Lamb yet.  I'll wait for a couple of days or weeks before I decide.  He'll definitely be a great addition to our breeding stock.  I'm still acquiring another intact ram and ewes from the Santiago Ranch. 

I tied out both the goat doe and capone ram.  Didn't want to have both of them cause safety issues with the newborn ram lamb.  In a couple of days, I'll bring both back into the pen.  That should be long enough for mother and lamb to bond.  I'm pretty sure, the bond is strong between the two.  

I picked up a Muscovy duck from a former student of mine in Santa Rita.  It is all white with a patch of black on it's crown.  It's my first rescued duck. 

A week earlier, I acquired three new Muscovy ducklings to replace the first three ducklings that a rat killed.  They are now in the pen with the Barred Rock, Silver Laced, Rhode Island Red, and Easter Egger chicks and pullets.  All of them are doing really good. Unfortunately, we lost 18 chicks: Barred Rock and Silver Laced due to the weather, high humidity and heat after the passing typhoon.  Before and during the typhoon, they were all doing fine.  Two days after, whole bunch of them died.  We have three and three left of the Barred Rock and Silver Laced chicks.  Hopefully, I get a breeding pair out of both set of birds.  That I'll just breed my flock locally instead of flying them in from Hawaii or the mainland. 

The karabao herd started their second grazing rotation at the back ranch.  Amazing how fast the grass grows after it's been grazed over by the herd.  Finding nasty blood sucking bugs on the herd.  Pretty sure the feral dogs, wild pig, and deer have something to do bringing those ticks and fleas into the Back Ranch.  Definitely going to need Guinea Fowl to control the tick and flea population at the back ranch. 

We have some new livestock coming in, the next couple of weeks and months.  Twenty-four Buff Orpingtons and Americanas, Two goat does of Nubian/Boer Cross, an intact ram lamb, and two more karabaos...another toro and baka (bull and cow) to add to the herd.  

Slowly growing, one day at a time.  



Keep Smiling

2015 Ranch Update: Losses and Gains.

I've been busy since my last post, last year.  A lot has happened since October, I resigned from the former company due to professional differences.  Was teaching full time for awhile, then went on vacation to the Philippines in December 2014.  

We had some major set backs prior to me leaving on vacation, during my vacation, and upon my return.  We lost Lala, my karabao calf due to heat stress.  She went down the day prior to my departure and died the day I left.  A couple of days later, we lost the Ram.  He was my breeder.  Two of my free range Barred Rock hens went missing, not sure what happened to them.  Upon my return, we lost one capone ram.  My white drake was lost a couple of days after I returned.  Someone had shot him. 

Since I returned, I've been trying to get the rest of the animals healthy, including the dogs.  It's now two months and all the remaining animals are back to their optimum healthy selves and the dogs too.  We acquired some Muscovy ducklings and more Rhode Island Red, Easter Egger, Barred Rock, and Silver Laced Wyandotte Chicks.  We have ordered Buff Orpington and Americana  chicks from Hawaii, due on island in late April. I've ordered 4 more sheep, 1 ram and 3 ewes, from the sheep herder down south and purchasing more goats and another karabao cow. 

Since we moved the karabao herd to the Back Ranch.  They've been doing a lot better.  They've grazed down a lot of the sword grass and jungle.  That's helped me survey the ground a lot better.  It's sad that the family property was destroyed by a relative, over rocks.  The property can be rehabilitated with a lot of green and brown debris inputs.  Most of the loose rocks will be stock piled, and then used to make rock walls along the property border or to divide paddocks for future grazing. 

We have a lot of wildlife on the property.  Deer, wild pig, birds, and the occasional feral boonie dog pack.  I'll be harvesting some deer and wild pig soon.  Feral boonie dogs have the shoot on sight, target of opportunity priority, on the ranch.  I cannot risk transferring the sheep flock and goat herd to the Back Ranch until the feral dogs have been eliminated.  The boonie dogs don't bother the karabaos.  But you could hear them taking down a deer or wild pig deeper into the ranch.  

There are a lot of illegal dump sites on the property.  Haven't started to clean up, just surveying where they are at, as the karabaos eat the grass covering the trash.  I'm going to have to put up a fence and gate to keep people out of the property.  Once I get that done.  Then I'll clean up all the trash and get rid of it properly.  I'll have to inform the other families prior to putting up the fence and gate.  I know who dumped the trash at the deep end of the ranch.  The other trash along the ranch road was from the renters at the two houses at the front of the ranch.  Now that I go in to check the herd daily at random times.  They've stopped coming in.  

One day soon, I'll be ranching with my family here on island.  One day at a time. 


KEEP SMILING!