Spending time with Princess Nocatee

There are many chickens, quails, goats and animals at the Dancing Goat Farm but their are a few that stand out from the rest. Of course their is my wild polish rooster Bing his personality adds a little spice to the mix. There is also Muffa the cat who thinks he is the farm foreman as well as Missy the farms independent thinking horse. I do not want to forget Chico the Man a feisty abandoned fancy rooster or my three wonderful and playful goats Moonbeam, Dumb and Salad Cube. I could continue for awhile because there are so many special animals at the farm but recently my heart was won over by the smallest of the baby goats Princess Nocatee. Princess Nocatee could be considered the runt of the group but her adventurous spirit makes her stand out from the rest. You can let her out of her enclosure and she will follow you around like a little puppy. Pam the owner of the farm has recently taken her to the local market and now there is talk of her visiting a few local elementary schools. When I came to the farm on Tuesday morning Pam asked me if I could give Princess Nocatee her bottle at about 8am. So a little after 8am I went into the barn to get Princess Nocatee and when I opened the door to her enclosure and called her name she came running out and started following me around the barn until I sat down on a rocking chair. While I was sitting in the rocking chair I offered her the bottle of milk while she was standing but she would not drink any of it but as soon as I picked her up and put her in my lap like the Princess that she is she started to drink from the bottle frantically. After she had drank about half of the bottle of milk she decided that she wanted to get down and explore so I decided to let her follow me around the farm while I finished my work for the day. When I was done I lead her back to her enclosure and we said goodbye for the day I must say she really did make the morning special. Well make sure to check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for more stories, pictures and information.

Rescue Kitty

Wanted to share this picture of one of the precious Rescue Kitty's on the farm.

Baby Chicks Update

Wanted to share this picture of the chicks they are getting big fast and more are on the way.

Baby Kittens

These are two of the four kittens that are being fostered at the farm. Leave a comment if interested in adoption information.

Sitting on Bing Eggs

I have been helping out at the Dancing Goat Farm for about five month's now. I was originally lead to the farm by my polish rooster Bing who I rescued from my neighborhood. When Pam the owner of the farm meet Bing and I she welcomed us both into her Dancing Goat Farm family. Bing is about a year old now and he lives in a nice large enclosure on the farm with three wives. I felt that it was time to have some Bing babies so on April 19th I gathered four fertilized eggs from Bing's wives and placed them in a special nesting cage. I then went into one of the big chicken enclosures in the front of the farm to try and find a hen that was broody. When a hen is broody it means the hen is ready to sit on her eggs and hatch them. A broody hen not only sits on and hatches her own eggs but will happily sit on and hatch other hens eggs as well. After looking for awhile I found a hen that I thought would be perfect for the job. I carried the broody hen to the special nesting cage and as soon as I put her in the cage she got very excited and started to rearrange the eggs putting them in a neat pile. When the hen felt the eggs were where she wanted them see settled down on top of them and made herself right at home. It has been about a week now and the hen is still sitting on the eggs doing a great job. I really look forward to seeing Bing's babies it takes about twenty one days for chicks to hatch so I will make sure to keep everyone posted on their progress. Well it's time for another weekend on the Dancing Goat Farm so check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for more stories, pictures and information.

Naked Neck Turkey

This is a Naked Neck Turkey nesting in one of the egg boxes this morning.

Moving the Coronation Sussex

There are many types of chickens at the Dancing Goat Farm but Pam's prized chickens are her Coronation Sussex. The Coronation Sussex is a popular backyard chicken in many countries and they originated in England around 43AD. There are many colors of Coronation Sussex some being buff, red, speckled and white which is the most rare. At the farm there are two roosters and eight hens and they are all white. These Coronation Sussex have won many awards for Pam at shows and fairs so when three new babies which were also all white were born it was a big thing. Watching the babies grow up was a lot of fun the Coronation Sussex are very cute. But after a few months the babies grew into chicks and it was time to introduce them to their flock. The enclosure that the Coronation Sussex live in is large and is about one hundred square feet. When I am in the enclosure I can stand straight up which makes it easier when cleaning and gather their eggs. Now that it was time to introduce the three new chicks to their new home I decided to take all of them in at once and stay in the enclosure with them for awhile to make sure everything was going to work out. I went and put the three chicks in a small crate and brought them into the enclosure and let them come out when they were ready. After a few moments all three chicks came dashing out of the crate and ran into the corner were they were meet with curious stares as well as a few loud crows from the roosters. But after about twenty minutes the chicks were eating next to the chickens so I left them alone in the enclosure. When I left for the day I noticed the three chicks were quietly nesting together they were now part of the Coronation Sussex flock. Some interesting information it takes about six months to tell the gender of a chick so please cross your fingers that the three chicks are hens. Well I will be at the farm again Thursday so check back soon for more pictures and stories from the City Boy on the Farm.

Muffa relaxing in the Sun

Here is a picture of Muffa relaxing in the sun thinking he is the king.

Emmaline visits the Farm

Today started off like any other day at the farm I was feeding and cleaning the chickens and quails when my friend Bob came to visit with his granddaughter Emmaline. Bob has been to the farm many times and helps out with things that need to be fixed but this was Emmaline's first visit. Emmaline had taken the time to read every post in my blog and was eager to meet the animals she had read about. I started her visit by taking them into the barn where Emmaline was able to meet all the goats she especially enjoyed meeting the babies and she even got to hold Isabella. She was very kind and gentle with the goats and even took the time to pet a few of the farm cats that hang around the barn. We then went outside and meet Bing the polish rooster and his three ladies as well as Motley and his flock of renegade chickens. We then went around the farm and collected the eggs from the egg boxes but Emmaline could not wait she wanted to meet the baby chickens and turkey. It was good timing on their part because today I was moving the babies into a larger cage and Emmaline was able to help me prepare their new cage as well as move the babies. Before Emmaline left she got to meet Missy the farms eighteen year old horse she even got to feed Missy some peanut butter and jelly sandwich they both were very happy. As we said good bye Emmaline told Bob and I that she wanted to be a veterinarian when she grew up and possibly a live stock vet it brought a big smile to my face I hope her dream comes true. Well I will be back at the farm again tomorrow so check back soon to see how the City Boy on the Farm is doing. The picture is Emmaline and I with the baby naked neck turkey.

Getting to know Isabella

This is the Dancing Goat Farms newest volunteer Emmaline getting to know Isabella.

Relaxing in the Sun

This picture was taken this morning of a happy goat Relaxing in the Sun.

Setting up the Playhouse

Today when I got to the farm Pam was outside working so we were able to talk together for awhile. She took the time to point out a few things to me that needed repair and she also mentioned that it would be nice if the goats playhouse located in one of the back stalls could be set up. So once I was done with my work of cleaning, feeding and gathering eggs from the chickens and quails I went to set up the goats playhouse. As soon as I entered the stall I was greeted by four excited young goats who were curious as to what I was going to do. The playhouse was in the stall but had been knocked over as well as flattened on the ground. I started to gather all the pieces of the playhouse and set them up against the fence of the stall but no sooner had I turned around to get another piece of the playhouse when one of the goats went and knocked down all the pieces I had already set up against the fence. They continued to knock over the fence for a while longer as well as offering me their assistance but with a little patience I was finally able to get the playhouse together. As a precaution Pam suggested that I zip tie the playhouse pieces together so the goats could not dismantle it again. After all the zip ties were in place and I got out of the way the goats all began to explore their new playhouse. Well you never know what will happen the next time I visit the Dancing Goat Farm so check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm.

Sweetie the Newest Addition

This is Sweetie she became the Newest Addition on Farm Day 2014 she was a rescue from the National Humane Society. www.nationalhumane.com

Looking inside the Egg Box

This is what it looked like this morning when I opened the first of several egg boxes.

Babies in a Box

Wanted to share this picture of the five new babies in their nesting box together.

Rounding up the Goats

I was the first one at the farm this morning and Pam was still resting after working late last night. I was surprised to see one of the adult goats wandering around the farm by herself eating spilled chicken feed. I slowly approached her but she took off running toward the back of the farm where there is no way out so at the time I was not worried. I put my snack bag down and got out my gloves and as I turned around there were now four goats wandering around the farm exploring and eating whatever they could find. Since I was on my own at the time I had to take a few minutes to come up with a plan to get the goats back in their stall. I decided to get a bucket which I filled with goat food and offered it to each of the goats letting them have just a few bites. I then started to lead each goat back to their stall with the food in the bucket by keeping it just out of their reach. It took me about fifteen minutes to get all the goats back into their stall where it turns out that the lock on their gate had been accidentally left unlocked. It was a very exciting start to the morning today and I cannot believe that I was Rounding up the Goats all by myself. Well it is almost time for the weekend again so please check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for more stories and pictures.

Beware of the Headbutt

Goats love to show affection but Beware of the Headbutt.

Baby Naked Neck Turkey

I wanted to share this special picture of our baby naked neck turkey.

Baby Chickens

This weekend the weather was beautiful on the Dancing Goat Farm and I was able to take my time and enjoy the animals after my work was done. I always like to visit with the baby goats as well as Philomena who is no longer little she has gotten very big and is larger than most of the other babies. I always make sure to visit with my rooster Bing who likes to welcome me with a very loud crow. I also like to spend time with several of my favorite adult goats as well as Missy the eighteen year old horse who is usually outside running around in her private enclosure. After visiting with all the animals today Pam asked me to set up a cage outside for five two week old chickens that had been living in the bunk house since they were born. I set up their new cage just outside the milking parlor in the barn and I made sure that the babies were going to be comfortable and that their new cage was secure. One by one I transfered the baby chicks into their new cage they were all a little scared at first but once I held them in my hands for a few moments they calmed down and went into their new cage quietly. When I was leaving for the day I went back to check in on the baby chicks one more time and they were all resting. Well I had another great weekend on the farm and I will be back again this week so check back soon for more pictures and stories from the City Boy on the Farm.

Farm Day Babies

The Farm Day twins are doing great here is Isabella saying good morning.

Feeding the Birds at Sunrise

I always stop at the Safety Harbor Marina to watch the Sunrise and to feed the birds.

Missy

Every time I go to the Dancing Goat Farm during and after doing my work I always interact with the animals to let them know they are loved and to also check on them to make sure they are doing well. Even though the farm is mostly chickens, quails and goats there are a few other special animals including an eighteen year old horse named Missy. Missy is a quarter horse with a free spirit who has been a part of the farm since 2001 and when the weather is nice she can be found outside running around in her private enclosure. When I visit with Missy I always make sure to bring her a special snack even though her favorite is apple she will pretty much eat anything. She also enjoys it when you stroke her neck as well as rub her ears it always adds to my day when I spend time with her. I will be going back to the farm on Thursday morning so check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm.

Mini Mountain Goat

The baby goats love to climb sometimes they look like Mini Mountain Goats.