Week 21 - Dirty hands, happy heart...

The last week has been exhausting yet satisfying. We put a huge dent in #plant16 and if the weather cooperates next week the greenhouse will be empty. 

While there are some plants that we plant every few weeks, to
keep a fresh supply (lettuce, spinach, peas, beans), the first round of seeding is done and plant are popping up after this weeks' rain. Transplanting of broccoli, cauliflower, onions, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and cucumbers is done. 

We tackled the strawberry bed this week and moved over 400 plants.... pretty good as the bed started with 12 free plants we got from a neighbour a couple of years ago! Their original generosity was paid forward this week as we invited anyone who wanted to come and dig the remaining strawberries up to come and get them. Six or seven households will enjoy a taste of strawberries this year.... never under-estimate how much one simple kindness can multiply and touch many others! 

Mid-week we discovered that a skunk had killed almost a dozen of our young hens we hatched in early spring. The skunk dug under and into the chicken tractor that they were in. Put the temporary electric fence and set up the trap and caught him the following night.. but where there is one, there will be others.  

All the rest of the critters are doing well, our broiler chickens are almost ready to go out onto pasture and we are expecting another batch of broiler chicks and our turkeys to arrive this Friday! The geese are huge and act like godzilla among the smaller chicks. Oliver (the baby goat) continues to thrive and is now down to two bottles a day as he is eating more and more vegetation as he grows. Finally the piggies are doing very well. They are a riot to watch especially when they wrestle with each other. 

We end the week with dirty hands and happy hearts... we are truly blessed to live in a place so beautiful and nourishing. 

Week #18 - Farm by numbers

Endless potato planting..

Patty and her brood outside for the first time!

Oliver and Graceson cuddle each night

Caesar, the rooster

Over 900 potatoes planted, 65 tomatoes - all snug in their own kozy koat, 9 pigs moved to their new home, 100s of plants seeded and moved countless times around the greenhouse, three bottles a day for Oliver (the goat kid), 150 new broiler chicks picked up and settled into the brooder, 3 successful hatches of layer chicks, over 2500 feet of irrigation drip tape connected, tested and ready to go! 

It was another busy week but the sore muscles and exhaustion is worth it. We are feeling like we are on track and on schedule. Hope your week was as fruitful and satisfying! 

Week #17 - A busy week!

As we head into May, we are ramping up for our busiest time of year. This week was a busy one! 

We started the week with a bang when Patty, the pig gave birth to eight healthy piglets. As a first time mom, we weren't sure how she would do, but she did great! The piglets have almost doubled their weight in 6 days and are doing very well. Patty is a very attentive mother and we are planning on moving the crew outside to pasture shortly. 

This week we also rounded up some lovely new chicks from a lady near Dugald. While we are hatching our own, I wanted to explore a few new breeds and bring some new genetics into our flock. Looking forward to watching these little ones grow! 

Our third arrival this week, was Oliver! At a week and a half, he is a strapping young fellow. He and his twin sister are half Nubian/half Alpine. Their mother was struggling to feed both the twins so their owner decided to sell Oliver. We are bottle feeding him of course so back to regular feeding times we go! 

At the end of the week, we managed to get most of our field prep done. We plant in black, biodegradable plastic mulch which heats the soil, traps moisture (there is a drip tape hose running underneath) and keeps weeds away. This weekend we put the mulch down on both fields and smoothed, shovelled and hoed the rows to be sure that all are even and secure. We even got a few of our kozy koats filled up - we put our tomatoes in these waterfilled mini-shelters to give them an early head start. 

Just talking about the week leaves me satisfied and tired... definitely will sleep well! Sweet dreams!

Week #12 - How to do well with chicks!

Hail Caesar!

If you've come here for dating advice, I apologize if my title misleads... While lately we've had some success with chicks, they have only been of the feathered variety! 

This past summer we ended up with an errant rooster mixed in with our layer chicks ordered from a local hatchery. As he grew, it became clear that indeed one of these things was not like the other and we separated him from the main flock. In the warmer months, Caesar, as he came to be known, ranged in the back field with six or seven of his favorite gals and over winter we gave him a corner of the coop known as Caesar's Palace. 

We mark each egg with its due date
 eg. Feb. 11th

In mid January we began collecting the Palace eggs and tucking them into our incubator. Consistent heat of 99-100F and humidity between 50-55% is needed to successful hatch chicks. They like an increase to 65% humidity within the last 3 days before hatching. We maintain humidity by adding water to the bottom of the incubator every day. While many incubators have automatic egg turners, we do ours 'old school' and turn them by hand 3-4 times a day. As this releases humidity and heat, you need to be quick and I often spray the incubator with a water mister at the same time. 

Our chicks began hatching in February (21 days later) and we've had a steady stream of chicks ever since. We are hoping that our hatching efforts will be enough to avoid purchasing hatchery chicks in April and ready to lay chickens in June.... a savings of over $700 not to mention the gas and time out to Russell, Manitoba during the busy planting season. 

We keep our chicks in a large aquarium with a heat lamp until they are a couple of weeks old and then move them to a large area with less heat until they are about 6-8 weeks and fully feathered enough to join the rest of the flock outside. 

Happy Easter! Welcome Spring! Wishing you success with chicks!

Week six - Through the eyes of a child...

There is little more amazing to watch then a child learning... Our experience as leaders in our local 4H club has given us many opportunities to see this first hand. Whether its learning to cook, sew or fix an engine, how to take care of an animal or grow your own food... watching them learn and grow is pretty amazing to see! 

This month we've been hatching chicks and thus have had a number of visitors! 

A couple of the 4Hers have been following the chicks progress and have waited anxiously for their eventual arrival.

The kids have learned how the egg is formed inside the chicken and how often they lay eggs. We have also learned how long it will take for the chick to grow inside the egg (21 days) and finally they've watched them emerge and thrive. 

While they may not grow up to be chicken farmers, they have learned important lessons of life, natural selection and the responsibility of caring for another being. 

Hope they look back on these experiences as fondly as we do... 

Week #3 - A Valentine Chick!

This is our heart egg! 

Due to hatch on Valentine's Day it is just one of our many hatching eggs that we are incubating. This is a bit of new skill for us and we have predictably made a number of mistakes. 

Fertilized eggs needs just the right conditions to hatch... steady temperature between 99-100F, humidity between 60-65% and regular turning (3 times a day). We have a pretty basic incubator that can hatch out up to 60 chicks at a time. 

This year we have a couple of kids from our 4H Club who are following the progress of the eggs from laying to hatching. They are so excited to watch them emerge and are already dreaming up names for each one...

Fingers crossed! With some luck and learning we will see have some fluffy chicks in a few weeks. 

Chicks like our car....

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You know you live on a farm when you are greeted with messy chicken prints on the hood of your car in the morning! #chickslikeyourride

All Hail Caesar!

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Caesar, our accidental rooster, has moved to the back field with a select group of hens... We are hopeful that they may create some little ones for us, thus have given them some privacy! 

This morning I went back to check on him and the girls, and I think he has acquired a genuine swagger! 

There is always one...

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There is always one... each day when collecting eggs, there is always one hen (at least) in every coop that is broody - which essentially means that they want to sit on the eggs instead of you taking them away. 

We have discovered a errant rooster amongst our new batch of chicks which we are planning to pair up with our broody hens to see if we can raise our own chicks. #anewadventure

First night!

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Our latest batch of new birds (goslings, turkeys and chickens) were moved outside today. 

It is always so interesting to watch them experience grass, open sky and bugs for the first time. 

These birds come to us when only a day or so old and are kept in our greenhouse where it is snug and warm until they get their full feathers. 

Fowl days!

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The birds our growing fast! It's hard to believe that only two weeks ago they were tiny bundles of fluff.

As you can see they are starting to get their adult feathers and the goslings are almost twice the size of the turkeys! 

A couple more weeks and they will be out on grass. 

A light in the dark!

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Our regular followers know that our chicks share our greenhouse (underneath the plants). 

This creates a unique and interesting sight at night as the whole greenhouse glows red with the light of the heat lamps that keep the chicks warm. 

Thanks to Noel who snapped this great picture tonight!

Another batch of chicklets!

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Our second batch of chicklets moved in today. Geese, turkeys and more broilers (meat chickens) are exploring the greenhouse. 

It never seems to fail... we always get the chicks the day before a cold, clear night. The forecast indicates that we will dip down to minus 1C! 

Fingers crossed that all our preparations will keep them cozy! Now... to cover all the plants!

Preparing for more little ones...

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Part of today was spent hauling some gravel to refresh the bottom of the greenhouse/chick brooder in preparation for the goslings, turkey and broiler chicks that are coming on Friday. 

The experiment of using the greenhouse as a chick brooder on the bottom with seedlings growing on top worked well except for the part when our Plymouth Rocks (layer chicks) started nibbling on the seedlings! 

Definitely need to move them out before they become upwardly mobile! 

The grass is always greener!

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Today the chicks felt grass for the first time! 

Up until now, they've been in the greenhouse under heat lamps. Now that they have their full feathers and the weather appears to be cooperating.. they have moved outside! 

They all look a little bit stunned and stood in one spot for quite a while before beginning to explore! By evening they were running around grazing on weeds and grass, capturing small bugs and scavenging for seeds.   

Plants are in the Penthouse

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In previous posts, I've alluded to our plan to use our new greenhouse addition on the barn as a multi-level space. Chicks on the bottom and seedlings on top!

The birds need warmth which in turn heat the soil and roots of the seedlings speeding germination and growth. 

With our unseasonably warm spring days its taken a bit of adjustment to keep the temperatures even throughout a 24 hour period, however I think we have a system that is working well now and everyone (plants and birds) seem to be doing well in the space. 

Dose of cuteness

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Everyone need a dose of cute to start their week!?  

Our greenhouse experiment (housing the chicks and seedlings together) is working well but it has been hard to regulate the temperature with the outside temps vacillating 15-20 degrees every 24 hours! 

Everyone loves babies!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 116

Had a super day, which began with visitors to the farm to check out the babies. Chicks, piglets and goat baby were all a hit as usual.

Shared a meal with good friends and then worked hard, getting much accomplished! 

Signs of Spring!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 114

There are certain activities that are sure signs of spring. On the farm one of them is chick day! Chick day is the day in which we get our first batch of chicks from the hatchery each spring.

Today was chick day! All arrived healthy and frisky as you can see and seem to like their new digs in the greenhouse. 

Happy Chick Day everyone!