Spring Is Here!

And that means it's time to mow the grass. LOTS of grass.  I both love and hate mowing.  It takes about 8 hours to do ALL the mowing here, and that's when things aren't overgrown.  Mowing is good exercise. Another benefit to mowing with a push mower is that you get to really observe the condition of the sod.  What grasses and weeds are growing?  Where does that boggy spot begin and end? 

Last year, when we were grazing two heifers, the grass was allowed to get LONG and lush.  Now that the cows are gone, we graze with an internal combustion engine on four tiny wheels.  Then there's the bush hog on the tractor, which we use to mow the pasture ahead of the chickens.  After two years of rotational grazing with chickens (and one year with cows) I must say that our grass is looking mighty fine. 

I must admit that although mowing every 10-14 days is no picnic in the summer heat, I do love how my place looks when it is freshly mowed.  There's a PEACEFUL feeling I get from gazing on a neat carpet o'green. 

And my neighbor actually said that the house "looks nice."  Wonders never cease!

Started Pullets Available NOW

Barred Rock

Rhode Island Red

Americana

Buff Orpington

Black Australrop

Black Sex Link

Golden Comet

They are no longer little fluff balls!  We have been caring for these chickens for 17 weeks now.   Quantities are limited.  Pickup at the farm only.  Call Jen at 828-three-two-one-2171 or 828-five-four-one-9393.  Or email  zackandjen2004 at yahoo.com

The following table shows the pricing schedule for 2013.

Price each	Monday	thru	Saturday
$17	January 28		February 2
$18	February 4		February 9
$19	February 11		February 16
$20	February 18		February 23
$21	February 25		March 2
$22	March 4		March 9
$23	March 11		March 16
$24	March 18		March 23
$25	March 25		March 30

Pug

No, we haven't got a dog.

"Pugging" is a term that describes the what happens to sodden pasture when it's stepped on by a heavy animal. The soil is compacted into a perfect hoof-shaped bowl.  Imagine thousands of these bowls creating "texture" over the field.  Now imagine trying to roll tiny wheels in and around these bowls as we move our broiler pens around this summer.  GROAN.

See the water collected in the hoofprint?

Because we had no way of getting the cows OFF the ground, into a barn or true "sacrifice" area, we have created this mess for ourselves.     

The reason you want to avoid putting animals on wet ground is the same reason you want to avoid working in the garden when the ground is wet: soil compaction.  When you have clay soils, as we do, avoiding soil compaction is extremely important.

Now that the cows are gone, there will be no further damage to the pasture.  I will have to research how to repair the pugging that has occurred.

Goodbye, Oinkers!

Pugging.  Yuck.

Janurary 2013 Update

We're on track for another mild winter.  This is not good for the bees, who should be staying inside keeping warm instead of burning more calories flying around looking for things to eat.  The only things blooming at present are a few dandelions and the biggest winter weeds, henbit and chickweed.  These plants are beneficial and we certainly harvest whatever we can find to toss to the birds. 

In this season of "no growth" of grass, the chickens have been extremely tough on the sod.  With the cows in the lower field we got really backed into a corner, pasture-wise.  We addressed this by parking the laying flock on a pad of 5 tons of rough-textured sawdust from the local chipper mill.  If we had a hoophouse over the area, it would be the same system that Polyface uses in the winter.  Unfortunately, the hoophouse will have to wait.  What this means from a management perspective is that we'll continue to add carbon to the pad to compensate for the moisture that will surely continue to fall over the winter.  In the spring will we plant a thick cover crop over the pad to smother weeds and build soil.  Eventually we should have both good soil there and a hoophouse. 

Third batch of broilers in the brooder

Our third batch of broilers is 2.5 weeks old and looking great.  We've had three losses so far out of 121.  For this batch we're feeding a non-medicated 20% protein commercial feed called "All-Grain Meat Bird Maker" by Southern States. 

I think there really is something to the idea of matching the feed to the genetics of the birds. These Ridgway birds are growing and gaining well and far more uniform in appearance than the two previous batches where we using an 18% protein broiler grower ration from Reedy Fork Farm.  We have changed our brooder management, too: nipple drinkers and daily muckout. 

If all goes as planned, this batch will be ready to harvest the second weekend of September!  We will be getting one final batch of broilers in this season once batch #3 goes out on pasture. 

The heifers are coming home tomorrow after their honeymoon with Calvin the Jersey bull.  Hopefully their pregnancies will proceed without complication.  

Second Batch of Broilers Harvested

We harvested our second batch of Cornish-Rock cross broilers on Friday, June 15.  We're freezing remaining inventory tonight.  Price is $4.25 per pound for whole birds, packaged with neck attached. 

I will be in Murphy this evening, Monday, June 18, between 4-6pm with UNFROZEN birds.  All you Murphy folks, call, email or Facebook me by 3pm to let me know what you want!

Renegade Pullet

Attention: Be on the lookout for an escaped pullet. Height: ~16", Weight: ~4 lbs, Feathers: (Rhode Island) Red, Eyes: Beady. Suspect has a history of escapes (this morning and this afternoon) and is believed to be searching for a private location in which to lay an egg. If spotted, approach with caution because she spooks easily. If caught please return to pullet pen.

So the pullets are really starting to lay. We are finding six or more eggs a day in the pullet pen. There are 94 hens in that group right now. Within a month we could be looking at six dozen or more eggs a day. Whoa!

One of our next big initiatives is constructing an "egg mobile" so we can move all of the pullets to the lower pasture and be able to easily move them every few days. We will build on the frame of an old single-wide trailer we bought a few weeks ago from a junk yard for very cheap. Although the interior decorating will not be much to talk about, it will still be quite an improvement from the chickens' current living quarters. Once the birds are more comfortable, they will be less likely to try to escape. We may also get our front yard back...