This blog has been a long time in coming but here it is! It is hard to believe 2 years has already passed on this journey! We will try to post what has been missed over that time, but there is so much! Any posting that appear before this date are from "memory" and back dated as accurately as possible.
We will be using the website Pixel Pipes to make publishing pics and posts from mobile devices.
Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great. At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Baby Chicks Arrived!
This years shipment of baby chicks has arrived at Rainey's Farm and Feed !
Unfortunately there was a shipping issue that delayed delivery by a couple of days, and that was a little more than some of the babies could take in the shipping box. We lost our ducks and a few of the chicks. The rest of the babies are healthy and happy to be in their new home, our home built bird nursery.
The kids are very happy to be able to finally hold them and feed them. We are committed to holding them on a daily basis, to get them used to human contact and keep them tame when we work with them. All of these birds are egg layers (except for the one rooster of course) and will be with us for a long time providing fresh healthy eggs for our farm.
Once they are a few weeks old and become "teenagers" these birds will be moved to the old turkey pen, safe but within eyesight to the existing flock. Hopefully this will ease the acceptance problems that birds have to newcomers.Saturday, March 13, 2010
The little hummer that could
Ok, so sometimes things happen unexpectedly to those of us that don't really know what we are doing, but it ends up very fun!
We took delivery of the topsoil and compost for the new orchard. It arrived in a dump truck with an extra trailer, one full load of topsoil and one of compost. To save a lot of tractor time moving this stuff into position, I asked the driver to pull through the gate into the pasture and dump next to the new orchard site. The ground there is high and seemed firm enough. I stress "seemed".
First came the topsoil, he backed into the pasture with the full load and the ground shifted a bit under the weight, but not enough to be concerning. After dumping though... he tried to pull out to get the compost. As he pulled through the gate, the front wheels dug down deep into the dirt and stuck tight. Both axles were spinning trying to push forward, but no budging.
We considered our options, which were limited since there was no tow hook on the front of the truck. We decided that maybe we could pull it back into the pasture and take a faster run through the gate. To do this I grabbed a chain and attached between the tow hooks of the hummer and the truck. I managed to pull him back into the pasture about a foot but the truck stuck again, sinking even deeper. We decided to try to dig a "ramp" behind the front wheels to let them ease back up with an abrupt edge, and discovered a huge rock underground stuck behind the tire. That's what had prevented this first attempt from working. Unfortunately removing the rock didn't help, as the tires had sunk too deep by then and we were afraid any more attempts to go backwards would cause the front axle to dig into the ground.
At this point the driver called the office to ask for the front tow hooks to be sent out. That way we could pull it forward. While waiting for it to arrive, we dug ramps in the front of the front tires and filled in with gravel, making a sort of gravel road leading back to ground level. We also shoveled gravel under the rear tires to gain traction.
When the hooks arrived, we brought the hummer around to the front, attached the chain, and off we go! The first try was disappointing, but repositioning and setting the hummer in low 4wd, plus locked rear differential, and just flooring it.... worked. The big truck actually pulled up and out of the hole. I wish we had a video of this!
After the truck was out my 7 year old son climbed into the ruts. It was so deep that the ground level was above his waist!
To test fate a little more, we filled in the ruts with large river rocks and gravel, and actually succeeded in backing the trailer load of compost over the ruts to dump the compost right past the gate. The ground was so soft by then that it was heaving up several inches all around the truck. But it didn't get stuck! He was able to dump his second load and drive out with only a little slipping.
After it was over.. I asked the driver what the weight of that truck was. He replied 17,000 pounds EMPTY. I can't believe we succeeded in pulling it out of a nearly 3 foot rut with a lonely H2! It is very unfortunate we don't have pics or video of this experience.. it was certainly a fun afternoon and a challenging experience!
We took delivery of the topsoil and compost for the new orchard. It arrived in a dump truck with an extra trailer, one full load of topsoil and one of compost. To save a lot of tractor time moving this stuff into position, I asked the driver to pull through the gate into the pasture and dump next to the new orchard site. The ground there is high and seemed firm enough. I stress "seemed".
First came the topsoil, he backed into the pasture with the full load and the ground shifted a bit under the weight, but not enough to be concerning. After dumping though... he tried to pull out to get the compost. As he pulled through the gate, the front wheels dug down deep into the dirt and stuck tight. Both axles were spinning trying to push forward, but no budging.
We considered our options, which were limited since there was no tow hook on the front of the truck. We decided that maybe we could pull it back into the pasture and take a faster run through the gate. To do this I grabbed a chain and attached between the tow hooks of the hummer and the truck. I managed to pull him back into the pasture about a foot but the truck stuck again, sinking even deeper. We decided to try to dig a "ramp" behind the front wheels to let them ease back up with an abrupt edge, and discovered a huge rock underground stuck behind the tire. That's what had prevented this first attempt from working. Unfortunately removing the rock didn't help, as the tires had sunk too deep by then and we were afraid any more attempts to go backwards would cause the front axle to dig into the ground.
At this point the driver called the office to ask for the front tow hooks to be sent out. That way we could pull it forward. While waiting for it to arrive, we dug ramps in the front of the front tires and filled in with gravel, making a sort of gravel road leading back to ground level. We also shoveled gravel under the rear tires to gain traction.
When the hooks arrived, we brought the hummer around to the front, attached the chain, and off we go! The first try was disappointing, but repositioning and setting the hummer in low 4wd, plus locked rear differential, and just flooring it.... worked. The big truck actually pulled up and out of the hole. I wish we had a video of this!
After the truck was out my 7 year old son climbed into the ruts. It was so deep that the ground level was above his waist!
To test fate a little more, we filled in the ruts with large river rocks and gravel, and actually succeeded in backing the trailer load of compost over the ruts to dump the compost right past the gate. The ground was so soft by then that it was heaving up several inches all around the truck. But it didn't get stuck! He was able to dump his second load and drive out with only a little slipping.
After it was over.. I asked the driver what the weight of that truck was. He replied 17,000 pounds EMPTY. I can't believe we succeeded in pulling it out of a nearly 3 foot rut with a lonely H2! It is very unfortunate we don't have pics or video of this experience.. it was certainly a fun afternoon and a challenging experience!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The New Flock
The Breeder sent some pics of our soon to arrive flock of Jacob sheep. Most are newly born lambs this year who will arrive in mid april. The new flock consists of 2 nursing ewes, 6 lamb ewes, 1 lamb ram, and 1 wethered lamb.
Here they are!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Turkey Processing Day
Today was the day to process our third flock of turkeys. These birds were all hatched on our farm and spent a healthy and happy 9 months running around like they owned the place! These are the last of the mixed breed between the original Narragansett tom and the Bourbon Red hens. Since we have decided to settle on the Narragansett breed exclusively, it was best to process all of the remaining birds.
We ended up with 11 birds, toms ranging from 13 to 18 lbs, and hens all about 8 lbs. They are now packaged, aged, and frozen in the freezer. The total was just over 110 lbs of meat.
For the next flock, we hope to have a vacuum sealer to remove more air from the bag and keep the meat fresher longer in the freezer. Also, the processing equipment we use (belonging to the Southern Oregon Poultry Association) needs a sink somehow attached to the stainless steel table, and a foot valve to turn on and off the flow of water from the overhead sprinkler nozzle we built. The nozzle is nothing more than a short piece of hose with a garden nozzle with a gentle spray attached, and the whole thing hanging from a galvanized pipe extending from the top of a free standing pasture sprinkler. Ok, sounds weird but it was a last minute creation, and it surely did help! The foot valve and sink will be welcome additions for the next go round at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
We ended up with 11 birds, toms ranging from 13 to 18 lbs, and hens all about 8 lbs. They are now packaged, aged, and frozen in the freezer. The total was just over 110 lbs of meat.
For the next flock, we hope to have a vacuum sealer to remove more air from the bag and keep the meat fresher longer in the freezer. Also, the processing equipment we use (belonging to the Southern Oregon Poultry Association) needs a sink somehow attached to the stainless steel table, and a foot valve to turn on and off the flow of water from the overhead sprinkler nozzle we built. The nozzle is nothing more than a short piece of hose with a garden nozzle with a gentle spray attached, and the whole thing hanging from a galvanized pipe extending from the top of a free standing pasture sprinkler. Ok, sounds weird but it was a last minute creation, and it surely did help! The foot valve and sink will be welcome additions for the next go round at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
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