Introducing Frankie!
We have a real gopher tortoise living on our property! His name is Francesco! Frankie for short. He's actually lived here since before we moved in, over 4 years ago.
Oh wait… one of the mamas here recently works as a biologist at UCF and was kind enough to let us know Frankie is a girl! So her name will still be Frankie, but it turns out it is short for Francesca instead of Francesco.
Baby chicks moved to barn
We moved the baby chicks to the barn, more specifically, the bunny zen room. Through our local free Facebook group, we found an old playpen and after a few modifications, we moved the chicks in! My lovely friend is letting us borrow a chick warmer, it is like of like a pancake skillet, but the heat comes out of the bottom of the plate. I ❤️ the bunny zen room (now aka the chirping baby chick room)
Me, napping in the bunny zen room to the lovely (loud) sound of chirping baby chicks
Handsome boys
We have such beautiful sunsets, the entire sky turns a million shades of pink. While I was giving some guests a tour, we saw the incredible sky while Evan cleaned the run out and spent some time with Lujen. Such handsome boys
Baby chicks are here!
My local chick supplier had no chicks for me to buy this year. So… we ordered baby chicks through the MAIL for the first time this year. The United States Postal Service has been mailing day-old chicks since 1917 over 100 years! The place that started it, Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa is still around and is still mailing chicks! We actually purchased our chicks through a place called Meyer Hatchery. I liked how we could choose assortments of chicks with a specific purpose. Otherwise I was likely to spend hours, weeks, probably months researching the best breeds and never reaching a decision. I ordered 5 pullets (baby hens) from the “Rainbow” assortment” and we are guaranteed to get 5 different breeds of pullets who grow into very colorful hens, because, why not? When the little squawking poop machines go on an egg laying strike, at least I can enjoy their varied colors and patterns. I ordered another 10 pullets from the “egg laying” assortment (both white and brown eggs) to keep my reputation of egg-pusher relevant. Interestingly, they offered to add 1 mystery chicken for free, with the idea that if it is a hen, I will donate the eggs, or if it is a rooster, I will donate the meat to someone in need. Sounds reasonable given my need to feed, so I clicked yes on that box.
The video below is Anna and I unboxing the baby chicks and attempting to count them.
We have them on our patio for now, they didn’t last long in the house. They are so LOUD. We have a random plastic thing for the top of the plastic bin.
Sophia attempting to have Cameron hold a baby chicks. He wasn't into that. He did name one though, he named her Rage. As in a wrestler on TV. Or as in my feelings about the school science fair.
Egg My Yard
A special group of young adults hold 1 fundraiser each year - they bring plastic eggs stuffed with treats and hide them in your yard! I just signed my household up for this (shhhhh…. don’t tell my cranky teenagers or 2 pre-teen kids). It is a super fun way to donate to a great cause. <3
Find out more at: https://floridaincludesme.org/
Good-bye February
February was a busy month at Cheyne Ranch and March is looking even more busy! We are so lucky to spend time with our amazing animals and share all this with our community!
Birthday Party visit
We brought 3 of our ponies to visit a birthday party at Green Acres Farm today. The ponies had fun and were so good. The Cheyne kids were a big help too.
