Day started early for me as usual. Gave the goat herd some alfalfa hay this morning. They really like that stuff, just like our karabao, Gera. Got a 15 lb flake of hay for him, walked up to the North Side, gave him his hay, then commenced to untangling his lead from the tangantangan trees and banana trees. One of my uncles commented that the karabao is to close to the banana trees and he's eating it. I replied, better him eating all the banana trees then the saki's (thieves) that harvest its fruits.
We've never tasted the fruits from those trees. For as long as we've had this ranch, I don't remember ever tasting the fruits from those banana trees. We'll watch it flower, then fruit, then watch the numerous hands develop into full size bananas. But when it's time to harvest. The bunch is gone. Taken by the sakis.
Gera, our karabao, is doing a great job eating each banana stalk, one by one, day by day. He's done a great job clearing that area. We're slowly working him towards the backside of the Igloo/Egg House. I'm gonna turn that house into a barn. Just have to fence up the boundary by the road. After I get permission from the mayor since the house is abandoned. Wonder if I can get it at auction. All in God's hands.
I moved the toron chibas (bucks) to the North Side just a ways from the karabao. They'll clean up that area behind the wall. I'm gonna make that a garden since my banana orchard is right there. These are a different set of trees from the ones, I've set Gera to eat up. We eat the fruits from these trees. I have to start inspecting them more often now. There are 3 bunches of bananas that have developed. Sometime this week, I'll cut the hearts off from the bunches to help the fruits grow bigger.
All the livestock are doing better the last couple of days. The fly strike from the last couple of weeks really did a number to our herds. The sheep rams fared better, but they were the first to get hit. The flies were different than from before. These species were more aggressive and their maggots were like screw worms. Had to apply medication topically to help the stocks fight off the flies. But today's morning checks assured me that the animals are doing a lot better than before. Can't dwell on the losses. Have to keep thinking positive and thank God for our blessings and challenges.
We're still upgrading and investing for the future of the ranch. A major investment this week, I agreed to buy out the chicken flock of another ranch North of here. So this week, we'll be getting a flock of Rhode Island Red chickens. They're a multi-purpose bird, both egg laying and meat production. We've been planning for years to get into egg production for the family's consumption. We'll definitely sell off surplus eggs. We plan to do a limited free range flock. We can't afford to leave the birds out at night by themselves. They'll have to protected in a coop at night with trained guard dogs outside. Then let out during the day to eat organics within the ranch area. The hens will be used for egg production. The roosters will be slaughtered for meat. I'll keep 2 sets of breeding pair and ordering from Hawaii every other year to upgrade the flock.
Larraine's Flock is growing, There are a number of hens with chicks to the flock. The birds were from 3 different flocks before. Now they've combined into one large flock of 15 birds. I'm going to have to cull them down to keep from competing with Rhode Island Reds coming in this week.
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
KEEP SMILING
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