One Year Anniversary at the Farm

One Year ago we got the keys for the farm.  It has been a wonderful year with many blessings.  We have learned many things and I have recently been thinking about the things I have learned this year.

I have really come to appreciate my family. Our new farmhouse is very peaceful.  The children have learned a lot of new skills both in animal husbandry and carpentry as well as machinery and landscaping.  My husband has worked very hard getting this house and my office ready to be moved into and then turned his energy to getting the old house ready to sell.  He has been working a lot of 80 hour weeks.  We praise God for the good health we have enjoyed.

Our animal menagerie  now includes pigs. We have realized that if you move the pigs daily that there is no odor.  You also don't have to shovel out manure as it doesn't build up.  Pigs love to munch on the salad of a mixed pasture field.  We have learned that if you pasture the chickens after the pigs the chickens clean up the feed and you don't have rodent issues. We learned to our great sadness that small young pigs don't do well in cold wet weather.  They can quickly develop pneumonia and die.  Pigs are friendly and like to have their heads scratched.

I have learned that turkeys stick together.  They will stand and defend their weakest members against attackers.  They are also very friendly and will follow you around.  They like to visit the other animals on the farm.  We also learned to our sadness that it is very important to label your feed bags from the mill.  It is very bad to mix up pullet grower (16% protein) with turkey grower (28% protein). They are definitely not the same and will result in dead turkeys (At least half of them) .  Otherwise we had good success in raising our turkey poults.  The bourbon reds are a heritage breed that free range nicely and are healthy.

We have learned a lot about chickens this year.  We currently have about 220 birds, including 99 broilers, on the farm.  By the end of November there should only be about 85.  Yes, this year we have learned how to butcher birds.  We have also learned that our free range, raised on pasture birds taste delicious!  We have learned that different breeds of birds have different temperments. We have seen good roosters and stupid roosters.  The stupid ones don't last long, but they taste just as good.  We are learning to see that you have to choose whether you are going to be a city farmer or whether you are running a business. We have made some good decisions and learned lessons from the mistakes.  

Animal confab- Chickens, turkeys and pigs

It has been good to learn the responsibility and discipline needed to raise animals.  We have learned that neither plants or animals wait until it is convenient for you to meet their needs.  One can't be lazy or too busy to meet their needs as bad things happen when you do.  We have also learned that taking care of animals is enjoyable!

We have learned that starting a garden from scratch takes time!  That a lot of the ideas in permaculture work great and will be pursued even more vigorously by us in the future.  We love our herb spiral!  We like having very little weeding to do!  We have learned that you never have enough mulch or manure!

We enjoyed the rewards of our labors! 

The kids have learned that a farm is a great place to bring friends.  There is a lot of room to run and many different backgrounds for dress-up photo shoots!  A pond is a wonderful thing to have as well, whether it is used for fishing, swimming, ice skating or just relaxing.

We have learned that having good neighbors is worth a lot, but having great neighbors is priceless! We have great neighbors.  They are willing to pitch in and help in a crises or to give us newbies advice.  They have loaned us tools and tractors.  They have made this first year so much easier.

We have learned to always take time and enjoy a sunset!  I think they are God's way of saying good-night and that He loves us!  We are looking forward to many more years here on the farm.

Farm Update

It has been awhile since I updated what is going on here at the farm.

Things here are going well. The critters are all happy and healthy and the tomatoes are FINALLY ripening in the garden.

Our bourbon red turkeys are happily free ranging.  When they take their afternoon nap, the tom keeps a watchful eye out for predators.  They stick together and it is all for one and one for all. You always see them together.

 Here is what the field looks like. It is full of grazing sunflowers and many other plants.  It is really pretty and it is feeding our soil.

The chickens in the back are also totally free ranging.  They sleep in the chicken tractor and then run around the rest of the day.

Here is the alpha black jersey giant rooster.  He is a big boy and is still sweet.  The other rooster decided to take on the smallest turkey hen.  He huffed and puffed - out his feathers, and got in her face.  She puffed out her feathers, and just kind of looked at him, Like " What is your problem, son?" Then he really went into overdrive and puffed his feathers even more and started to chest bump her.  Within seconds the big toms came over and stood on either side of her, the other turkeys lined up behind them.  The rooster took a look at them and took off running.  The turkeys chased him around the chicken tractor and he kept running until he got out to the pig pen.  Now he takes his little harem out by the pig pen every morning and does what he can to avoid the turkeys.

This is the big feeder in the tractor.  We fill it up only occasionally as it stays full a long time.

The water supply is collected off the roof as it runs into the gutter and then down into the water barrel.  The tube then has the little nipple waterers for the chickens.  The kids like it as they have not needed to fill it up as we have had regular rain.

Our pullets are starting to lay.  They are still trying to figure out where to lay.  The nesting boxes have not been the most popular choice. They even lay them on the edge of the feeder.  Talented birds.  Not sure how they did that.

The chickens do most of their drinking from the pond.  The rooster supervises and protects them as they drink.

We have currently got all the roosters isolated.  They were bothering the hens and the result of that is that the hens lay less and the roosters are slow to gain weight.

Paul repurposed the rest of the old awning as a rooster shelter.  He put it on skids so it was easy to move.  on the inside there are some roosting poles and a hanging feeder.  We have an electric fence around them to keep them contained.

Here is what the back of the barn looks like.  There is a mobile hoop coop back there and a fence that gets moved to keep all the chickens contained.  The old hens still reside in the run-in coop.  They will be moving on to the freezer in a couple weeks.  They have stopped earning their keep.

The white broad breasted turkeys are now free ranging as well.  They are growing fast.  They stay close to the outbuildings and don't go near as far as the bourbon reds, but I am happy to see them eating bugs and grass.

I forgot to get a pig picture on here, but they are doing well.

The garden is coming along well.  Here you see the kale, some eggplants and ground cherries.

I really like my herb spiral.  The herbs are doing well.  They have established and are growing.  Almost all the herbs in here are perennials except for the cilantro, parsley, and dill, which are really good at self seeding.

Here are the sweet potato beds. and the boxes in the back have our white potatoes.  They seem to be doing OK, but the proof will be in the digging.

The tomatoes look fabulous and haven't started dying back at all.  They must not realize that it is September!!!  I didn't pick my first ripe tomato until the last week in August.  It is September now and the tomatoes are coming on like it is July.  We haven't had any problem with wilt or other disease for which  we are grateful.

Our cabbages have done terrible!  The bugs have destroyed them.  Such a bummer.  We have gobs of eggplants and basil.  We have been enjoying our pesto! Pesto and tomato are such a wonderful combination. Got to go and make a batch of Nanna's chili sauce.  Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Farm Update... Finally!!!

I have been so busy with working on the farm that I haven't had time to write many blogposts.  This post is about how I totally disregarded my brother's advice re pigs.  LOL! We shall see if it works out.

The turkeys are the most fun and curious of creatures.  They like to roost out and about.  They go and visit all the other creatures on the farm. They follow us around and are easy to herd.  So much easier than chickens!

The turkeys spend time running around the fields and eating bugs and plants.  The field is getting so high that now we can't really see them if they move away from the edge of the field.

The turkeys don't go back to their coop at night.  They usually roost on the swing set until someone comes out and herds them to bed.  They really know where to go and hop off and run to the coop.  There they fly to the roosting poles and spend the night.  The turkeys are given free range over the farm.  They only occasionally find their way to the neighbors or into my garden.

We have built a mobile pig pen.  We used hog panels and wood.  We repurposed the awning from our old house and used it as the shade and shelter for the pig pen. We wrapped a tarp across the back to make it protected.

There is barb wire around the top to discourage any wandering coyotes to move along. We move the pen every day and will have to make it twice a day when the pigs get larger.

The turkeys cam out to inspect the setting up of the pig pen.  It is real handy now, as the turkeys come out every morning after we move the pen and clean up any feed the pigs have spilt.  Team work that results in hardly any wasted feed!

The pigs eat the salad before they hit the feed.  They really seem to enjoy the fresh greens every day.  We are thinking that moving the sty daily will prevent the pigs from trying to escape.

The pigs do eat their feed though.

Our pigs do stay pretty clean as they are on clean dirt every day.  Doesn't this guy look like Babe?  So cute.

We have five pigs.  A couple are for us, the rest will be sold.  The sty moves through the fields so that they are not close to the house so that smell is not an issue.  The pigs have become T-Bob's project.  He is responsible to move the sty and make sure they have food and water.

Ir's not just the critters that are happy on the farm.  Elizabeth and a friend were leaping and dancing.

They also wandered across the fields.  

 The sunsets are beautiful and almost every day we stop and watch the sun go down.  Life is good!!