Motley Helps Himself to a Snack

While I was feeding the quails this morning Motley helps himself to a snack.

Saying Good Morning to Bing

Today Bing was being well behaved so I was able to pick him up to say Good Morning.

Bing's Babies are Growing Up

Bing is my Polish Rooster who lives on the farm and this is one of his three babies.

Fixing the Fence

This was another beautiful weekend on the Dancing Goat Farm and all the animals are doing very well. I feed, cleaned and gathered the eggs from all the chickens and quails as well as shared a snack with the farms horse Missy. I also took the time to play with the five kittens which are now starting to be adopted I wanted to make sure I saw them before they moved on to their forever homes. Then on Sunday morning while I was doing my work I noticed that one of the outside goat enclosures was empty so I went and told Pam. It turns out the the goats in that enclosure had pushed out a few of the wood fence panels creating an opening for five curious young adult goats to get out and start exploring the farm. Pam, Stephanie and I took a few minutes to round up the escaped goats and get them back into their enclosure. I then went into the barn and got a large piece of wood to use to cover the opening that was letting the goats get out. When we got the wood into the enclosure the goats became very curious and they all wanted to help Pam as she was securing the wood to the opening in the fence. It was a very funny scene to see Pam trying to work around the goats but after a little while and a little patience we where able to get the wood into place safely and the goats went back to their normal activities. Well I will be back at the farm on Tuesday so check back soon for more pictures, stories and information from the City Boy on the Farm.

Muffa whacks Lily

Muffa thinks he is the boss of the farm here he is whacking Lily who just takes it in stride.

Who could Resist this Face

I was greeted this morning by Moonbeam looking for a snack...Who could Resist this Face.

Chicks Resting Together

Here is a picture of a few chicks this morning resting together in their fresh hay.

Motley Protecting the Quails

At the Dancing Goat Farm the chickens are housed in many cages that are located throughout the property. The quails are all housed in a separate area that has about 100 quails that produce eggs which are sold at the local markets. The quail area is an open air enclosure that offers the quails protection from the weather but still allows them to be outside. The quails are delicate and vulnerable to small animals that are looking for a quick snack and it is hard to watch them all the time. Well about a year ago one of the roosters who name is Motley injured his leg with his own spur and had to be separated from the other chickens to give his wound time to heal. Pam decided to put Motley in the enclosure with the quails because it would be a quiet place for him. As time went by Motleys leg got better but Pam also noticed that Motley had started to act very protective of the quails and their enclosure. If anything entered the quails enclosure Motley would crow as well as protect his territory. Since Motley has been in the enclosure there have been very few incidents or attach's. Also when it is time for me to clean, feed and gather the eggs Motley always welcomes me with a friendly chatter and allows me to do my work without any incidents he is a true gentleman. At one time Motley was a just another rooster on the Dancing Goat Farm but he has found his true purpose and that is Protecting the Quails. Well check back soon for more photos and stories from the City Boy on the Farm.

Sharing my Lunch

Sharing my lunch with one of the many lucky cats at the Dancing Goat Farm.

Chicks enjoying the Morning

This is a picture I took this morning of the chicks at the farm with their feathers filling in.

Goats and Chickens Hanging Out

This morning was nice and cool on the farm and all the animals were alert and active when I arrived. I cleaned, feed and gathered the eggs from the chickens and quails and then changed all of their hay. I also took time to show the farm to my friend Tony and his son Chris. While they were at the farm Chris helped me clean out a few of the chicken enclosures and Tony took pictures of the animals. After they left I went back into the barn to do some more work. As I began working I heard chickens chattering loudly somewhere in the barn so I decided to go and investigate. I went from stall to stall and finally came upon the source of the disturbance, it was Tex and a few of the other free roaming chickens. The chickens were interacting with the goats in their stall and scratching through their hay while chattering loudly. I stood there and watched all of them for a little while but I still could not believe it Goats and Chickens Hanging Out. Well I will be back again tomorrow morning so check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for more interesting stories, information and pictures.

Memo showing off this morning

Here is a picture of Memo showing off and trying to get my attention this morning.

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Mothers Day Babies

This is one of the two baby goats born on Mothers Day morning.

New Kittens on the Farm

Here is a picture of the New Kittens on the Farm. Contact the National Humane Society www.nationalhumane.com for adoption information.

Bing's first Babies

I have been helping out at the Dancing Goat Farm for about five month's now. I was lead to the farm by my polish rooster Bing after I rescued him from my neighborhood. Bing is about a year old now and he lives in a nice large enclosure on the farm with three polish hens. Three weeks ago I gathered three fertilized eggs from their nest box and placed them in a special nesting cage along with a broody chicken named Sweet Sally. Sweet Sally sat on and protected those three eggs for twenty one days and nights and on Friday three baby chicks hatched. I could not wait to get to the farm this morning and meet the new baby chicks and when I arrived I went right to see them. When I opened the door to their cage they all ran over to Sweet Sally for protection but after taking some time to talk to them softly and along with getting Sweet Sally's approval they started to let me pick them up and hold them it was a very special morning. After spending some time with the chicks I decided to bring one of them over to meet Bing and his three hens. When Bing saw us approaching his enclosure he came right up to the door and just stared at the chick quietly for a few moments and then he started to dance around in circles crowing loudly as if he was celebrating the birth of his babies. Well check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for new updates on Bing's first Babies as well as all the other animals on the farm.

Bings Chick Up Close

My rooster Bing is a Dad for the first time this is one of his day old chicks.

Close Up of Chico

This is a close up of Chico the Man he is a fancy rooster that lives at the farm.

The Chickens of Ybor City

I was visiting Ybor City in Tampa on Monday afternoon with my best friend Judy when to our surprise we saw a flock of chickens roaming the back streets of the city. There were two Roosters, three hens, four young adults as well as ten baby chicks who were following their mother around. We could not believe that the chicks were born out in the streets of Ybor City now that is truly Urban Farming. At one point the hen and her chicks went and crossed the street stopping the local traffic it was an amazing scene. I tried to get a picture of the hen and the chicks but they would not stay still long enough but I did get a picture of one of the roosters and two of the hens in front the the history museum. It turns out in Ybor City these chickens are protected animals because they are part of the heriatge of the city. Well it has been a beautiful beginning to the week so check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm for more stories and pictures.

Bing and the Dancing Goat Farm

I always like to share my story of how I met Pam and how I became a part of the Dancing Goat Farm. I currently live in Safety Harbor but I am originally from New York City. My business allows me to work from my home and since I live across the street from the Bay and my yard is full of trees and plants all kinds of wildlife live there or visit and to be honest I feed them all because my home and yard will always be a safe haven for all animals. One day I came home from the bank and in my yard there was a young lost polish rooster pecking around. I got out and greeted him and he immediately came up to me like a long lost friend. After a day or two of getting to know him I decided to name him Bing for his attitude because he is like a little gangster that says Ba Da Bing and he ruled our neighborhood and much to my surprise Bing was accepted with open arms. Bing is a very resourceful rooster as well as a survivor and he decided to start perching in a small tree right next to my screened porch every night. Right before the sun would set he would return home from his day of adventures and perch safety in that tree until the next morning. Bing came into my life on the afternoon of July 15 2013 and he stayed at my home until December 5 2013. I had come home on December 4 2013 and noticed a police cruiser along with a paramedic just down the road from my house there also was a frantic lady who was claiming she was attached by a wild chicken that had jumped out of the bushes. I quietly stayed at my house until the lady, paramedics and police had finally left. So now Bing was a fugitive chicken and I knew that I needed to act very quickly. So the first thing I did was to call my friend Karl because he has extensive experience with chickens and he also knew Bings whole story. After I told him about Bing both he and Mary opened their home to Bing and allowed me to bring him to stay in their garage until the next morning but my job was to round Bing up which was very easy to do because he came back to his tree that night right before the sun went down. As luck would have it I had also gone that Saturday to the Saturday Morning Market in downtown St. Petersburg and had a chance to meet Pam face to face and after promising her my help on the farm she said I could bring Bing to the farm that Monday morning if he had no where else to go. Well fugitive Bing had nowhere else to go so when Monday morning came Bing, Karl and I went to the Dancing Goat Farm and now it is five months later and Bing has a nice place to live, three beautiful wives and I am part of a wonderful group of people who call the Dancing Goat Farm their second home. Thanks for reading Bing's story and please check back soon with the City Boy on the Farm.

Looking for their Snack

As soon as I get to the farm in the morning I am always greeted by chickens looking for their snack.

New Baby Chicks at the Farm

This is a few of the new baby chicks at the farm they are currently staying in the barn.