Shades of Green Farm

From Steer to Beef-- the First Time

Well, we did it... we sent our two steer off to be slaughtered and turned into food for our family and the 5 other families that bought into the four sides of beef our 'boys' became. As with the first couple flocks of broilers, corralling them up then loading them into our friends' trailer, and saying goodbye was  not without some sorrow. Even though we refrained from calling them anything but 'the boys'  they became 'our boys' and when they ran up when I shook the pail with alfalfa pellets, it was a pleasure to watch them and to know that they knew good things would happen when they followed me or my voice. So, yes, some sadness and yet also great anticipation to taste the beef made from the soils and grasses of our farm, as well as our labor and attentive care. I trust the meat will be yummy indeed.

The story of talking with the locker plant that took our steer is a funny one. Background info: we know nothing about slaughter or butchering, so went by word of mouth when we chose Smithville... we were told by a number of sources that the 'old' managers were back and that they're great... good enough for us, from people we trust. With minor alterations, we used our friend Jeremiah's forms for marketing the steer and for ordering and tracking payment, which gave us a good start.

So, now our steer are sold, we have sent a message to the buyers that once the 'sides are hanging' we'll let them know the weight and the total due us, and re-iterate how to proceed with the locker plant. I call Smithville and tell the very pleasant womon who answers that I've got two steer there and need to know the weights. She asks my name and I hear pages flipping, then a pause... "Hmm, I don't see you here. Might it be under another name?" So I tell her I don't think so, but it might be under our farm name or my partner's name... I tell her the names and the pages flip again. Then she asks me if I am ready to pick them up and, after hesitating (because they're supposed to hang for 2-3 weeks before packaging and pick up) I just say 'no'.She tells me to hold on, she's going to look in the back.

Now, this whole time, the sounds of saws whirring and machinery clanging is loud in the background, and while she's off to 'the back', I am amazed at the noise... no wonder she's having a hard time finding me! She comes back, asks the farm name again; I tell her "Shades of Green Farm" and she says hold on, then I hear her call (I guess to 'the back') "It's Shady Glen Farm" and I yell pointlessly into my phone "No! No! It's Shades of Green!" Now I am becoming a bit concerned that our two fully organic steer have been switched for any two head of cattle fed who knows what... but I trust these people because people I trust, trust them... so I wait for her to get back on the phone while listening to the sounds of carnage.

Someone else picks up the phone-- "May I help you?" I explain what I am waiting for. "Oh! Hold on please." and the first womon is back on the line... "I just don't understand.. how many sides do you have? Have you chosen your cuts?" I say, beginning to get the picture, "Ma'am (yet, I talk that way, now that I live in rural Texas) "Ma'am, my friends brought two steer in by trailer last night. We had an appointment today-" "OH! That's why I can't find you!" and she apologizes and tells me that they're so busy and now she knows where they are, and she'll go get the hanging weight and be right back.

I held my tongue and did not ask her if she was sure they had the correct steer hanging there in our name... and then she commented on their size and supposed age and how good they looked... and I knew it was going to be alright... everyone who sees our cattle say they look good, so  they must have the right ones... how's that for pride of ownership? Can't wait to taste 'em!

Thank you to the Smithville Locker Plant for their patience and their appreciation of mine. Thanks to Renee, Barb, Kristi, Karen, Lorelei, Jennifer, Mark and Jennifer's family for buying our steer-- here's to good tasting beef raised in loving, sustainable fashion! Much gratitude goes out to Jeremiah, from whom we bought our South Poll cattle and who has helped in many ways as we learn how to raise happy and yummy grass-fed beef.

The Trouble with Chickens (Processing, that is)

Yum, our pastured, colored-ranger breed broilers are looking fat and just about ready to become food for us... however, due to the recent and  heavy rains our area has finally received, we are in a quandary. The new facility our friend and fellow farmer, Jason, has built awaits nothing except installation of the septic tanks, and his inspection visit... and the soil is too wet to install the tanks... and the visit cannot happen until the tanks are in.

For Jason, this means he cannot begin to recoup the investment he's put into building the facility. For us, it means we've got chickens ready for slaughter and customers eagerly waiting to buy... and we've got new labels to have made with the correct information on them, which we have to get from the inspector, who hasn't been able to complete the process yet.

Who would have thought we'd find the fact that we're getting rain in our corner of the world to be anything but pure pleasure?

No problems with the chickens but chicken trouble none the less... or is it all the same?

Stay tuned, all will unfold and turn out just fine. If you are interested in buying our chicken or eggs, and are in the Austin/Bastrop area, contact me; we will gladly serve you... barring trouble with chickens, of course.

Newsy Email Sent October 3, 2009

Greetings to our friends and supporters (those who didn't get this in an email; if you got the email,check out the new #3 listing)~

To ease your reading, I'm numbering and separating each topic... that way you can read only what you wish to or have time for.

1. Bastrop Farmers' Market and purchasing our goods

2.  New logo

3. Link to funny new YouTube video featuring Sue and our newest chick

4. Farm workings

5. Our wish list for materials and labor

1. Bastrop Farmers' Market and purchasing our goods
As of Saturday, October 3rd, the market hours return to 10-2; Friday hours remain 2:30-6, but we are there only on Saturdays, 10-2. We are often asked by regular customers if they'll see us Friday, so to clarify and explain... with all the work that needs to be done mostly by me alone, and Sue working at the mill, we are unable to attend on Fridays until further notice. We'll sure let you know if/when that changes.

We are about to run out of frozen chicken, only a few left. We will have fresh chickens for farm pick up in November and will send out the exact dates when we know them. We will also be raising pre-ordered chickens to a larger size for those who want them for Thanksgiving or just big birds for large gatherings. We'll soon have two order forms-- one to let us know how many chickens you would like to purchase fresh or frozen when they become available and another to order holiday/big chickens.

Should you be in Austin for breakfast and want an organic meal using our eggs, go to Terra Burger, on Guadalupe or Research; right now Guadalupe has a special on their breakfast tacos, too.

I deliver eggs every Tuesday in Austin and if you want to get together with other folks and arrange a drop-off of multiple chickens, let me know and we'll set it up. Many small farms are working with buying groups who do the work of organizing who wants what , where it will be dropped off by the farmer, and collecting the money to give to the farmer. I'd love to see that happen in Austin with our goods!

2. New logo and our gratitude and appreciation
We are in the final stage of developing our Shades of Green Farm logo! Gigantic hugs of gratitude to Andrea Weissenbuhler!!!! Andrea Feathers, as she may be called for her love of chickens and birds, came to us by chance in her search for chickens to photograph. She met Sue at Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill (where Sue works) because she'd learned there were chickens there. Sue told her she might also want to come to our place and once Andrea called me, we both knew we just had to meet. She's been here several times, taken wonderful pictures, painted a fabulous and funny chicken for my birthday, and decided she 'should' support our efforts. Andrea is a website designer, a graphic designer and a very good artist... and she has donated her time and prodigious talents to create our logo. Once complete, I will certainly post it on our website and send it to all of you... and get the word out about this talented woman. Thank you, thank you Andrea Feathers!

3. Funny new video on YouTube
It's a hoot, especially the surprise ending! I won't say any more about it.... take a 'peep'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE8UVCSiD4k

4. Farm workings
It's a busy and exciting time on the farm! With the recent rain, our farm is once again living up to its name, and we are most grateful. It's good to see the land rebound after being so dry so long and in some places, having had hard pressure on it from chicken pastures that stayed in place longer than usual. Our vacation gave us great rebounding, too, which comes in handy now with the larger work load... my energy and spirits are high as I go about the work of being a farmer and educator.

On the farm we currently have:
Two registered South Poll steer about to become food and once they're gone, our 2 cows, Pip and Penny, return pregnant from their stay at Coyote Creek, along with this year's calves, the heifers Phili and Bette. These four gals will be the basis of our herd, although we'll take on another heifer if they have one, cause Pip and Pen are not youngsters any more and we need to give time for the new breeding cows to become of age.

Our first flock of layers, now numbering about 180, in their pasture, and a second flock of 300 pullets just starting to lay, in their pasture which includes the new Egg Mobile we bought from Josh at Alexander Family Farm. This 2nd flock involved quite an investment for our farm and will mean we can once again fully meet Terra Burger's needs, as well as one or two additional small contracts, and our customers at the market, of course. That is, once their lay rate is up, their eggs are large enough,and we've figured out how to meet their lighting needs... now the lay is down with both flocks because the daylight period is too short. It's amazing- the endless learning involved in being a farmer... as, I suppose with most long term endeavors in life.

There's 150 5 week old broilers on pasture and another flock of 75 in the brooder. We're working with Jason over in Brenham and it looks like we'll have our chickens processed at his place starting this fall, although it's still not clear if it will be certified organic in time for this year's flocks. Barr Mansion in Austin is awaiting our having certified broilers, and as soon as that occurs, they will take 16 a month! This is such an important step for us, to know in advance that we have ongoing sales.

The two ducks left from our first little flock are both laying again, after one took a hiatus to sit a nest of unfertilized duck eggs and some fertilized chicken eggs we snuck under her. From this we had our first farm-hatched chick~ Trudy, who was named by the girls who gave the rooster to us... named, by the way, Gertrude. Many and big thanks to Casey who cared for our farm while we were on vacation, and allowed that duck to brood! He also brought 3 more ducklings to our farm, which look like will end up being one drake and two more ducks, although they're not mature yet. More folks at market want duck eggs, so we want to collect more than we can from our two gals laying now. We are also exploring interest in duck eggs at small stores, to see if it makes sense for us to start up a larger flock... and figure out how to make the details of pasture, swimming and cleanliness work at that scale.

Of course there's the 'home flock', consisting of Gertrude the silver wyandotte rooster and his array of chickens, two of which are broody now, so maybe we'll get more chicks. We still have Gail, our blind hen, and now Trudy lives with her and I've found them laying next to each other and seen Trudy try to wedge herself under Gail when they roost up at night. It's adorable! News flash!! Our second home hatched chick emerged before I could get this letter completed and sent. Andrea doesn't know it yet, but she has the honor of naming this little one.... gender unknown, as is Trudy's.

Last and certainly not least, I am teaching again! I've spoken to a few groups about food production and consumption choices and Thursday October 1st, I addressed the Austin Slow Food group to discuss our farm values and practices. Thanks to Betsy Levy for contacting my about that. Through the efforts of Michelle Hernandez, it looks like we'll be hosting the Austin Backyard Poultry Meet up group in November or in spring. And many thanks to Kathryn Henderson, who teaches at Texas A&M in Bryan; she will be bringing her Eco-feminism class here for a day of learning and work later in October. I am so eager for this chance to teach on the topic of alternative/healthy food production in our country! To top it all of, I will be facilitating an online community of early childhood educators from St. Louis as they work to achieve Bachelor degrees in their field. For 13 years, I worked  at the Child Day Care Association in St. Louis as a consultant and trainer for early childhood and youth programs. I am honored that they would ask me to teach for them again, and with the wonders of the internet, it is possible.

5. Our wish list for materials and labor
As you can see, we've got a lot going on, and along with that comes a bunch of stuff we wish we had or help we need. So, in that light, in no particular order, here's our wish list:

Materials needed:
Metal or Plastic roofing panels in good shape, at least 6' long
Good condition 2x4, 2x6 and 2x8 boards, as least 4 feet long
Plastic gutter lengths, 10 ft. being best but not necessary
Welded wire fencing-- we need 100s of feet
6' T-posts, also 4' or 5'
Barbed wire on roll
Pasture gates-- 4', 8', 12' and 14'.. almost any size-- could be hollow metal, or chain link, or other
Stone or ceramic tile to cover a 4' x 4' outside floor area
Hardiplank to skirt the house with- could be remnant pieces at least 3' wide
Working front-loader washer
Non-working but not rusted electric water heater tank... 30 or 50 gallons

We have a pickup and will pick up anything we can use.

Work to be done:
Replace tarp with roofing panels on several chicken houses
Help put in and fence around a small fall garden (or it'll be next spring's)
Help mulch and fence around the rest of the fruit and nut trees
Mow or shred the dove weed in the lower pasture area
Mow down dove weed around pond while water's still low
Repair barbed wire boundary fence in a few areas (got tools for the job? i don't know how and am eager to learn as well as get it done)
Cut down dead trees... you can have the fire wood or leave it, as you wish
Build small pole barn/shed for well pump house and temporary egg washing room
Help skirt around the house
Tile the 4' x4' "bathroom"
Artisan craft privacy fencing that will hold vines... using cedar branches cut from nearby
Pile up chicken litter wood chips and fence around (to keep chickens from re-scattering)
Help set up solar hot water collection system (done with Sue)

As you might imagine, there's an endless array of work that could be done. If you have time and interest, let me know what and when and we'll make it happen.

Enjoy the rain, the new growth, the cooler days... life in general,
jules

Update on chicks, pullets and who's living on the farm

First off, the broiler chicks that didn't come in the mail on Friday, arrived on Saturday morning. So far, on this Tuesday morning, they seem fine. We've been opening and closing windows as heat, chill and rain have come and gone. If they were too cold too long in the mail, they may yet get sick and die, but for now they seem quite alright.

Last night- because both of us are a bit low with viral gunk- we got a later start putting birds up... and looked over to see the 300 new pullets working their way up the ramp into their house- on their own; without our herding them in and singing "Hey Ho Hey Ho, it's in your house you go..." until hoarse! Oh yay for us, making the effort to establish the routines and find solutions! We put a night light in their house (connected to a rechargeable power dome) and turn it on around 6:30, when we close their nest boxes. (Thanks to April, who Sue found online and gave us that tip.) It seems to be working to guide them in at dusk... only one of us had to work with them last night. Now to figure out a system to close and secure their heavy ramp/door with one person (comparatively easy problem to solve) and we can go back to splitting the chores or taking turns and getting some evenings off.

Right now on our farm we have~ 2 steer soon to become beef (and then our two cows come back pregnant and with their calves, two heifers to fill out our tiny herd); 75 broiler chicks in the brooder, almost a week old; 150 broiler chicks out to pasture almost a month old and loving their big big world; about 180 layers just over a year old in one pastured flock; the new pullets-300- in their own pasture and house (soon to get a larger pasture, the reward for learning to go inside at night); about two dozen 'home flock' chickens with Gertrude the rooster who share their house with 4 ducks and a drake... and Gail the blind hen... and Trudy, our first farm-hatched chick, now living with Gail... and our two dogs, 5 yr old Jordan and 2 yr old Aubie, who we adopted after finding her by the dumpster down the road a little over a year ago.

And joy of joys, it's raining!!! Ten days after we got 5 and 1/2" in 3 days, we're getting another soaking... lovely! Our farm is living up to its name once again. (Of course, when I look over to the pullets, I see about a third of them clustered soaking wet under the tree... at least the others are in their house!)

Oh, Mercury is in retrograde~ that explains it!

Somewhere there are 105 baby broiler chicks that should be here on our farm. They may be lost in the mail, although both our small town Post Office and the lost and found folks at Austin's main PO have searched and could not find them. I have called and left 4 messages for the hatchery folks who have taken this weekend to take a break... mind you, I don't fault them for taking the time, but they've left without giving us a tracking number and still have not called me back, now 6 hours later. The brooder was ready at 6 a.m., with the heat lamps on and warm water in the drinkers... and now it just sits there, sadly awaiting the arrival of our chicks.

A couple hours ago I heard that Mercury is in retrograde. Now, I'm not knowledgeable about astrology, but I do know that when Mercury does that, it isn't good for smoothness, progress, and mechanical things working well. Perhaps it's why the hatchery folks haven't called... perhaps they didn't get the messages or their phone is broken. My phone went on the fritz for several minutes this morning when I tried to call Sue to tell her that the broken oven wasn't acting broken any more, and that the repair folks arrived with a replacement part that wasn't needed but no thermometer to gauge if the temp showing was true. Sigh, it's gotta be Mercury. Here's hoping the oven continues to work and will actually bake the next potatoes I put in it.

And then there's the 300 pullets-ready-to-lay that arrived a week ago and still don't know how to go in their house at dusk. Perhaps it's because on the day they arrived here, it rained and rained, something the little indoor-brooded gals had never experienced before. Perhaps it's because their new egg mobile house wasn't ready yet and didn't arrive until the following afternoon... meaning that the first night was spent in a temporary house, after being moved there in late afternoon by Sue and I and 5 Fine Young Men who came to help. (Two hours of solid work later and the birds were asleep and we were all exhausted. What would we have done without them?!) Perhaps it was being moved yet again the next evening after their new home did arrive, moved one, two or three at a time by Sue and I and one of the fine young men, Cameron, who came back and loves our chickens so much that he would like to be paid in hens... so that even though they woke up in their correct new and permanent home, it's just not sticking. Perhaps it's just Mercury messing  with their sense of order, and let me tell you, chickens have quite the sense of order, and the start of their lives here has not been supportive of order and routine. Still, it's been 5 days and nights and we're still herding them into their house and rearranging them so they don't pile up and suffocate.

It must be Mercury... that explains it!

A Reflection Posted on Austin Permaculture (improved :-)

The message below is an edited version of something I shared on Austin’s permaculture group in a discussion about food and eating, where folks ‘confessed’ to eating meat and other ‘bad’ food. Because it gives you a bit of background regarding where I, jules, come from when it comes to food and farming, I thought I’d share it…..

In 2003 I became so ill I couldn't work for two months; after trying western medicine (upper and lower GIs, colonoscopy followed by no diagnosis and a recommendation to "give it a couple months"), I found out I had celiac spru (gluten intolerance), and eventually also learned I couldn't eat soy or corn. Now, that a challenging set of food sensitivities that gets in the way of easily making a meal for me and there’s lots of things I can’t enjoy any more without paying a stiff price in digestive and general health… i don't eat out often or to many places because it's so hard to avoid this list of ingredients, especially corn, which is in almost everything (watch the movie King Corn). However, life is much better... I am not sick any more either and surprise surprise, my arthritis and fibromyalgia magically disappeared too. To preserve my health and well-being, knowing where my food comes from and eating unprocessed or minimally processed food is critical.

I am now a small farmer outside Bastrop TX; we’re certified organic and raise chickens for meat and eggs and have a few head of beef cattle as well. As you may know, our farm is located in the center of an area experiencing crisis-level drought.  Our water consumption went through the roof this summer as we strive to keep the dozen fruit and nut trees and bushes alive, and most of our ornamentals are gone. Yes, the water for animals takes a lot, but less than I thought, compared to the spike we took when we began regular drip watering of trees. Our biggest waste with the animals is leaks, and that's an on-going struggle to keep hoses and float valves in best condition. We also use misters and/or spray the hose once or twice a day to cool the air and ground where the chickens pasture. And yet the 1100 gallons we used during the heat last month is not as much as a great many people here use to shower, wash laundry and fill their pools. Is our water use helping or hurting our planet? Would it be different if we raised more plants and fewer animals?

Now I never thought my main focus in raising food would be meat, yet that's what it is right now... and I do know there are places on this earth where animals are the better match for the environment, when raised sustainably. It’s not clear if the flora or the fauna is using more water on a daily basis. Someone suggested that raising bison is much better for the land in Texas than cattle. I'm not sure if our cattle are harder on our small acreage than bison would be... I believe bison require more space to feed their bulk, so I'm thinking our smaller breed is better in this droughty time of limited forage.

What I know for sure is that we are working hard and doing our best to produce food that is humane and healthy/ sustainable... and that we will and do make mistakes as we go, but our values are clear and they are what guides us. We're organic not as a marketing tool (we're not big enough) but because we know the grains used in feed will not contain chemicals and GMO's and so that our customers know we have not used chemical meds or hormones. USDA organic does nothing to guarantee humane treatment, sadly, as many believe it does. We approach our farming keeping our values front and center and assess and adjust our methods according to what works, what the situation is and how well it fits our values of being sustainable, humane, organic and local.

Most folks aware of the food production reality are all doing our best. I eat sugar, especially chocolate. I drink coffee (fair trade and organic) and I eat meat, the most direct way for me to get protein in my diet... and i love it. Those who do not yet know about the issues surrounding food production need education and support, not condemnation. We will make it as a whole or we will not make it at all.

Okay, my rant is over.... thanks for listening. By the way, EatWild.com and LocalHarvest.com are two resources for finding good food.

In health, as I go to check on my 150 day old broiler chicks,
jules

Moving Right Along—The Art of Hen House Mobility

On Sundays we move our Layer House to a new location… the better to spread the wealth (of poop, that is) across the pasture, and reduce the stress on the earth, since inside their house is the hardest hit areas on the land. (It’s one of the reasons we move it, as well as chicken health and happiness and our health and happiness.)

What we move is a 10’ x 20’ portable garage built on a base comprised of six 4” by 4” x 10’ lumber… add the wire that protects them and the doors in their frames that give us access and them egress , plus the nest boxes and roosts and the whole thing weighs around 300 pounds. Moving such an object across fields with the classic small bumps and dips, roots and rocks found in our area (to say nothing of the slight gradient that runs along our entire land and which we are now moving along uphill)… well, you can imagine it takes some effort and ingenuity. Effort we’re willing to apply (obviously, given our lives here) and ingenuity we also have in decent measure~ our own, not too shabby, and the contributions of others I will now name.

The Bowmans, from whose farm we purchased a bunch of used material from when we first started and who had a clever lever system to raise and lower a metal framed 10’ x 10’ pasture pen for broilers. (While I believe it was a neighbor of the Bowmans, I don’t know that person’s name and I believe it was the Bowmans’ idea.) We didn’t purchase the very heavy and too small frame, but we did take pictures and a movie of its workings.

Sue, who found these swing- into- place trailer jack wheels that we attached to the base. Jules, who figured out how to lever the house up with a dolly in order to swing the wheel into place.

Tony, who welded a jack onto a triangular frame that allowed us to raise and lower the wheel by using the crank only… and then Tony and Wesley (his son) who came in their church clothes last Sunday to check out the problem and ended up spending hours removing the set-ups, repairing and re-installing them for greater strength, then attempted to roll it along to its new location.

Conclusion at this point, as stated by Wesley “Hard wheels for hard surfaces and soft (pneumatic) wheels for soft surfaces.” After much effort and strain, the house rolled to a new spot, barely one width from the old one. [Now some of you regular readers may recall that we had been inching the house along in order to avoid chickens wanting to bed down in their house’s previous location… to avoid another tragic pile-up. After many weeks/several months of such incrementally farther moves, we’ve reached a place where we can move the house a reasonable distance for nicely-spaced placement.] The wheels on their mounts were stressed to the max, as would the chickens have been with all this activity, except that Sue moved the pasture as well, so the gals were out and about while this was being done… we gather them back in once the fence is up by banging buckets of feed and calling~ they have their priorities, you know.

So, that move was last week and we weren’t looking forward to this week’s relocation. Tony is working on another prototype but he lives in upper Illinois and is often quite busy building feed mills so didn’t have new wheels to us in time. John is another prototype wheel developer working on the problem. Sue's father is yet another contributor to the engineering input of our effort to relatively effortlessly move these big houses around the land.

But I digress... back to this week's work. To the rescue comes first our new neighbors David and Kim, with their tractor and their heavy duty moving strap and their willingness to keep trying to maneuver the tractor and play with the chickens (David and Kim, respectively) as it proved not simple to simply pull the house along the ground.

Enter Bernie, visitor and handy gal extraordinaire… who commented that the pyramids were built with gigantic rocks being pulled only wooden slats, then commenced to collect a couple of nearby 2” by 6” boards. David lifted the house, we placed the boards under the front end, he lowered the house and backed up and the house slid (easily!) along the boards until it came off them. We repeated that once and had moved the house two lengths- perfect!

Sue and I can work this system on our own by using the dolly levering to fit the boards under each side, and using the truck to pull it along… at least until our fancy wheel assemblies are done and work.

Someday we’ll have a tractor… ahhhh, the dreams of a small and low income farmer.

We thank everyone who has helped over the past year to move our houses and our farming efforts along!

The Price of Eggs

Our next step with the pullets is preparing for the onset of laying~ this means setting up systems to collect, clean, carton, case (box) and cool them (refrigeration)... it also means establishing our sales contracts which will be the means for dispersing the majority of the 90+ dozen our gals will generate. Don't worry, though, we will have eggs for sale by the carton for individual customers as well!

That raises an interesting question about the cost of our eggs... of organic, pastured, free-range eggs raised on a small sustainable farm such as ours. We know that 'yard eggs' are relished by many of the people who come to our community farmers' markets~ fresh eggs from chickens that get to forage are simply far better tasting and better for you, nutritionally and spiritually. The differences among all of us who sell yard eggs Include: diet, housing specifics, range, marketing and of course, price-- all of which reflect the focus of the individuals who raise and sell those eggs. When I think and write or talk about our values, it helps me understand why our approach results in the cost of the eggs we sell (which will run between $4.50 and $5.00 a dozen.... a bunch, isn't it?). Read on as I examine each aspect of egg production and share our orientation and approach... not to convince you to buy ours but to provide education about what's involved in our decisions about how to go about it.

First, food~ some folks feed only 'scratch' (typically cracked corn) and the chickens get this and whatever they find to forage; some feed pellets or 'mash' and some of these use organic feed, most do not; some add house scraps such as peelings from veggies, apple cores, etc.; some feed bread, donut and other 'junk food' type scraps. We feed a full-nutrition ration of organic feed and the hens get this plus whatever greens and bugs they find in their pasture. This is where our major expense comes in~ organic grains simply cost much more and we're providing virtually all of their nutrition through their feed; this may change in years of good pasturage, which this drought as not resulted in.

Housing varies from living in barns to chicken houses to movable coops to making do outdoors-- all sizes and configurations of chicken houses exist.. most of us cobble together good, solid housing from whatever we have available or invent for the purpose. As long as there is adequate protection from predation (not easy to achieve around these parts) and weather extremes, and there's enough room for comfortable living and laying, likely life is pretty good for the birds. When housing is really filthy, as from long-built-up manure, disease or pests can set in, reducing the quality of life for the chickens and maybe the production rate as well. Our layer house is a 10' x 20' portable garage thing built onto a base made of 4" x 4" timbers and reinforced so it doesn't break when we move it. The main difference here is that we do move the house, so that the impact of having a bunch of birds living on the ground gets spread out~ chicken poop as fertilizer is a benefit if it's not too thick; moving on allows the land to regrow using that fertilizer, rather than having to heal from a major hit to the soil, which can take years following years of having chickens in the same spot. Moving chickens off their old poop keeps them healthier.

Then there is the range, the space chickens have to move around and forage in. For some, the chicken yard is tiny and unchanging; for many more, yards are provided that may change or be renewed in ways that keep greens and bugs available when it's seasonal (and some even garden and water to make a rich lawn-pasture in dry years like this one has been-- most of us don't have or choose to use water that way). Some folks allow their chicken to roam all around, like our home flock; this gets pretty nasty if you've got more than a couple dozen, since wherever the chickens roam, poop is deposited. Here, we set up large pastures using solar-powered electric fences that we move the house within until it's 'used', then we move the fence to start a new pasture area. We make sure there's a couple trees in each pasture, for shade and entertainment (never thought a chicken would get bored? oh, they do, and misbehavior ensures when you've got a bunch of bored chickens-- pecking eat other, pecking and scratching the soil to death, destroying property-- yep). Moving the pasture works like moving the house-- better for chicken health and earth health, too.

Marketing really comes into play based on how much of your income needs you plan to/ hope to meet from selling eggs. Most vendors selling eggs at the market do the good service of taking and reusing egg cartons from their customers; as long as the cartons are clean and germ-free, it's a great contribution to reduce trash waste this way and if you know who your eggs come from, you don't need a label to tell you. When you sell eggs in stores, the cartons must be new and the label is your way to tell consumers about your farm and eggs; this increases cost and is necessary for this type of sales. Selling to restaurants requires packing eggs in new flats and boxes but no label. Selling to institutions requires invoicing, delivery and related financial management. We'll sell our eggs to both individuals and institutions and don't yet know if we'll re-use cartons or not; if we have to buy new in any case, storing old ones  and making sure they're clean may be much harder than simply using new. We choose cardboard over plastic or styrofoam to minimize negative environmental impact, but we know the benefit of reusing the less environmentally friendly cartons.

So, there are many considerations in choosing your eggs for their good value... only you can decide what that means for you and it is not for me or anyone else to judge your decisions. If you want those eggs because they're tastier and fresh, or because if feels good to eat from happy chickens, the added expense of our eggs won't make sense to you. It's worth it to buy our eggs if you value, in addition, eating organic foods (no chemicals or GMO's and possible a reduction in digestion problems) and/or an approach to raising chickens that is sustainable for the long stretch, balancing the impacts of raising the chickens to benefit soil and bird alike. It's these values that shape our approaches... good taste, happy chickens, sustainable and healthy.

Up Before Dawn~ Work with Pullets Continues

It’s just before dawn… being up at this time is something I only infrequently imagined would become an event heralded without the blare of an alarm and groans of dismay… I am grateful for this change in the patterns of my life, grateful to see the wonders of dawn arriving.

The sky moves through changes—sometimes rapid, something creeping-- which begin with a barely perceptible lightening from almost black to iron-gray… then the iron shifts to steel, to overcast, to pale gray to almost white (when compared to the dark).. right about then the first blush of bright apricot tints the point on the horizon that marks where the sun will emerge… and dawn seems to hesitate, hangs there in slow motion, with the apricot smudge spreading out and becoming less vivid, becoming peach and yellow, spreading pale yellow north and south as the western skies begin the change from dark through ever-lighter shades of gray. Is it dawn now, when the yellow encircles to include the north in pale peach and violet and even the west is light? Or is not fully dawn until the blaze of the sun peeks through the dense branches of the wood that lies east and southeast of where I perch on my chair? The ducks tell me it is time now~ “Don’t wait for the sun, we can see and we are up and talking and want out of our house.” The crows begin cawing and then the hoarse sound of a young cockerel just beginning to find his voice, an almost-crow that was at first alarming and now amuses me and calls me to find out which young lad is trying to cock-a-doodle to the dawn. The sky is beginning to blue, it is light and I’m off to tend to critters on the farm… and more than an hour after the process began, the sun has yet to make its dramatic appearance.

Dramatic it was not, today; rather I looked up and saw the glittering light of the sun already half way up. Ah well, it is now a bit before 8 a.m. and I’m back in the house, typing as Sue makes us some scrabbled eggs (from Golda and Violet) mixed with pork sausage (from Rose’s Berkshire pasture-raised pigs). Another significant and truly awesome (as in awe inspiring vs. generic exclamation) change in life~ I know where much more of my food comes from and am aware of when I do not!

When it comes to the pullets, our efforts continue, as do our losses, although greatly diminished~ 4 more have died as we work to address the situation. First, we let the chicks back out for a couple days after the pile-up, and they ended up sleeping on their old spot. When we moved the fence to block them from the spot, they slept piled up against the fence~ no deaths but not a solution. We asked around and found out that once chickens are moved from their first location, they may never sleep in their house again, or it is difficult to get them re-patterned to do so; in some cases, birds die in bad weather because they don’t go inside.

We installed 2”x 2” perches inside their house (and realized we would be wise to add little perches in the brooder, acclimating subsequent flocks to perching immediately); the pullets went inside and perched during the day and slept against the fence at night. So we put their feed and water troughs inside their house in late afternoon, leaving the doors open; then, after full dark, we carried them into their house crate-full by crate-full, carefully setting each bird onto a perch, side by side, tightly packed as they like it, and closed the door. We had already stopped trying to limit the feed rations to what the ‘chart’ told us; our birds acted like they were starving and were in a constant state of panic to eat… so right or wrong, we changed back to feeding enough so that a little bit of feed is left at the end of the day. This decision was confirmed by a very large egg production farm’s nutrition expert, who agreed with making sure they had plenty of feed during their growing period; he said if a restricted diet were necessary later, that could be managed by changing high calorie feed components to lower ones.

The next morning, Sue checked on them right at dawn, and filled feed and water; there were no dead birds which is what we expected given that they’d been moved when they were already in their dark-time stupor. Sue closed the cover to the side that faces their old location, so they couldn’t see where they might want to go and we kept them in food and water constantly, moving slowly and steadily; the pullets were very calm all day. That night Sue watched them settle for the night and they piled up along one long side, where the perches run the entire length; the birds still climbed and jumped on each other as they settled in, but were not frantic and in the morning, none were dead. Good start. Later in the morning, Sue opened the cover to the end and while we kept them in steady food and water and the pullets were calm, they did cluster at that end. That night they piled up more than the previous night, at that end of the house and not on the perches; the next morning there was one dead at dawn and another one found and taken to our hospital pen died later that day.

Still, we left the end open because they have to learn; we also kept up the steady stream of food and water, and kept them inside for the morning while Sue put up a very small chicken wire yard that opened only from the far end of their house and did not let them see their old location. They were outside and inside, with food and water left inside; at night (last night) they all went in and, unfortunately, piled up at the same end as before… not too much, though, since we had no more losses, at least so far. Today we enlarge the yard and move the troughs outside again… I worry about the degree of filth in the water, even though I know it’s still cleaner than many others keep it on a regular basis. I want to get the troughs outside and cleaned; also, the pullets have to learn to eat and drink outside and still go in at night… the next step in what we hope will result in a stable pattern of going in to perch and sleep and not pile up too much.

We have to move the house again and can’t wait much longer, but will slide it over not even a full width this time, using the fence to keep them from seeing or getting to the other half-width. We think we may have to use the chicken wire fence arrangement in an ongoing fashion, allowing the birds no access to where their house sat previously (and as much visual block as possible) and only moving the house to right next to where it just was. I’m praying this will work, along with foregoing the limited feed rations, to keep our gals calm and safe, healthy and happy.

I'll keep you posted, as we learn and grow our farm.

The Pile-Up~ Sadness, Loss and Learning

Well, it happened… we had a pile-up in the layer house and lost 37 young chickens. I’ve heard about how chickens will pile up if they’re too cold or get frightened and that the ones on the bottom will smother. I’ve heard about keeping building corners from being too tight for young chicks, curving the corners with wood or cardboard, which I’ve done in the brooder and which I also did in the layer house when they were babies, since we brooded them in the same house. They had always clustered together in clumps and after being concerned about it early on, it seemed like they found a good safe way to lay, since we’d never lost one before. Before now, I felt like I was doing a really good job on the raising of chickens… might not keep track of every detail, might not be so great at marketing and sales, but I raised birds up into healthy and seemingly happy birds.

It’s hard not to take this on as failure, even though Sue was very gentle in her telling when she found them last night, too many in one area and too quiet. She reminded me that we knew things like this can happen and now it had and it was no one’s fault. Really, I know this and while I am indeed very sad, I’m not incapacitated with guilt, nor with grief. (I am a bit incapacitated with a virus, but that’s another story.) Today I woke up pre-dawn and knew that I had to immediately get up and get those dead birds out of the layer house and let the other ones out before the living could defile the dead… a nasty notion and one which can lead to truly problematic behaviors for a flock of chickens to develop. I had everything ready, with gloves and wheelbarrow for the dead and feed in buckets for the living. Open the doors, wade through the streams of chickens and pour feed into troughs, then check the water trough and back to the house. I counted as I lifted each body and was amazed that 37 pullets could even fit into the corner they had crammed themselves into…and that doesn’t count the living ones on top of that pile. So sad, this loss of life… somehow it must be avoidable… somehow, not just to save the money we lost in our investment of time and food, but to prevent suffering.

Why did it happen? As I noted previously, we brooded these gals in the same house they will live in their entire lives. We brought the chicks (hatched the same day we picked them up) and put them into their house, under the two hovers I’d built to ensure adequate space under a range of heated areas. Their home was a circle of cardboard that expanded as they grew until only the corners were lined and the heat lights were turned off and then the door opened into a bigger world in a small yard, then into an even bigger world in their large fenced-in yard. Life was good and they were a happy clambering clatter of chicks… until the time came to move their house to a new location. This is necessary if you want to pasture chickens in a way that is sustainable and humane~ that maximizes the pasture for the birds (grass and bugs) and minimizes the impact on the soil and plants. Our pullet chicks had lived their whole 3 weeks worth of life in one place and we knew it could be traumatic to move them.

So, we put the house up on wheels and pulled it with the truck into a new spot about 50 feet away. We moved the feed and water troughs near the new location before moving it, since food and water are the most important items in their lives and are what they fix their attention on most of the time. By the time the first move was over, it was afternoon… the chicks were hanging out, eating and drinking, scratching and pecking and we thought fine. Then a tornado and thunderstorm warning came along at the same time as evening and when we went to close up these gals, they were huddled together in their old house spot! We tried ‘herding’ them, luring them with food, and scaring them… each time they would run back to their original spot…. An hour later Sue and I are wearing hard hats (in case it hails) and miner’s lights (to see in the dark), running back and forth with crates we fill with pullets from the old spot and empty into the new house… all 300 of them. The next day I kept them in their house with food and water and after that they were fine. Just perfect, no piling up, no panic, just getting out in the morning and being closed in at night after they walk themselves into their nice house.

Well, this time, we were sure to have the move done in the morning, giving them plenty of time to adjust. No difference. This time we decided to risk predation and give them a couple days to make the move (with a 4000-6000 volt electric fence on and the dogs out all night, not too much to worry about)~ nope, still sleeping on the previous location. So on day three, I put their food troughs in their house in late afternoon and lured them with food… they went happily in and ate and settled on the crates we were using as roosts until we put in the wooden ones. I though all was well, until Sue went and checked and was going to move the ones that hadn’t yet gone in (yep, they were lying in their old spot)…. And found the pile-up.

So we know why it happened but not why it happened this time and not the last time. And we don’t know how to move the layer house without making a crisis for the birds. We have had what many farmers would consider minor or moderate loss, significant sadness, and some learning… but not the key piece. This we haven’t read anywhere and don’t yet know. How do we move our birds in a way that works for us all? Stay tuned, friends, because we will figure it out and then we can help others avoid this sad event.

Here’s the PS to this entry… I just checked the pullets—after dark—and found that those who were inside last night are insight tonight, and the ones clustered in their old location last night are there again tonight. All seems calm and I’ll check in the morning for their condition… and pray there’s no pile-up or predation or any other loss of these or any of our other animals.