Sprouting grains for the hogs

Here is a shot of how we are handling the grain sprouting for the red wattle hogs. We simply fill 5 gallon buckets with grains and load them in the gator. Then drive them out to the hog feeding area. After unloading into pallets we fill each with water. In 3 to 4 days they have sprouted! Then we pour them... Water and all.. Into the feeders. Right now that lasts them about half week.

The recipe being used currently is:

8 buckets organic wheat
4 buckets organic rye
4 buckets organic peas

We are adding organic whole barley to the mix next week and about once a week add a couple bags of organic cracked corn.

Sprouting the grains allows the whole grain to be digestible and adds nutrition over what would be dry grains. We could use cracked or rolled grains but I feel that sprouted is ultimately healthier than dry.

We are still looking at ways to simplify this but for now it works well.

102 turkey eggs

Our new incubator came in today after a little delay with UPS. And it is just in time, the other temporary incubator and the little one from last year were overflowing with eggs! We went right to work setting it up and filling it.

The incubator we chose is the Brinsea OvaEasy 190.  It had all the features we wanted (settable temp, automatic humidity control, clear front door, hatching tray at the bottom)  and is lighter than the wooden models. I also like the ability to control the egg turning frequency.

Unfortunately the auto humidity control can't be connected yet because they apparently neglected to include the connectors for the piping in the shipping box.  It seems to work ok though for now by just filling the water reservoir and controlling the humidity with the vent. Our home stays fairly constant on humidity this time of year.

In the picture you see the old 24 egg incubator sitting on top. Hunter is using this to hatch some of his chicken eggs. The little unit on top right is the auto humidity control and water reservoir.

So far we have 102 Narraganset eggs incubating. The first are due to hatch in 2 weeks. Candling them tonight showed that so far 100% are fertile and growing. There is room for only 6 more eggs and it will be completely full. That will be by end of tomorrow. At that point I will let the hens start sitting and hatch some eggs in the field, while we incubate the first 108 eggs. Once the first set of 24 or so are ready to hatch in 2 weeks they are moved to the bottom and 24 more can be placed in, providing a constant rotation. Our goal is to hatch about 200 turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If we get more than we need, we will offer young birds for sale also. Time will tell!

The battle over extinction of Organic Foods

I ran across this great read about the battle raging behind the scenes over organic vs genetically modified foods. The battle lines are drawn, not specifically around safety, but rather around the future existence of organic crops. As this article explains, the fear is that with continued use and expansion of genetically modified crops, and nature's persistent spread of genetic material across the globe, organic crops (natural genetics) will in fact become extinct. We are seeing evidence of this already in America after only a few short years of genetic engineering. So the question is simple... if you want to be able to buy organic produce, and meats raised on organic feed, you should take a stand against genetic engineering now. Every day that goes by, brings organics a day closer to extinction. One of the Little Sprouts farm rules is this: "NEVER CHANGE what you don't yet fully understand". I think its a perfect fit in this war. HERE IS THE FULL ARTICLE EXPLAINING THE BATTLE IN MORE DETAIL

How to protect against radiation?

With the worldwide spread of radiation in the news daily.... How do we protect ourselves from the effects of exposure? There is one thing we can all do for our families health. Find a local family farm that is organic, and sustainable. Buy your food from them. And end the American standard junk food. Even the experts agree that this approach increases our body's protection against cancer. The radiation levels are so low today that there is no immediate risk.. But many people want to be as safe as possible. Changing our diet and food source today starts the process of rebuilding our bodies and boosting protection... Whether things get worse or not. There was never a better time to make the change to natural healthy food.


On a related note... how to protect your farm or animals from radiation? Actually its the same answer. Going 100% organic in feed and farming practices will lower the risks of any damage from radioactivity. The healthier the plants and animals are when exposed to radiation, the more likely they will not be affected. Any use of herbicides, pesticides, chemical parasite control, conventional fertilizers, hybrid or GMO seeds, or the like will lower the health of the crops and animals and make them more prone to problems.

Today is the day to start down a natural and healthy path for yourself, your family, your plants, and your animals. Every tiny step taken now increases the chance for healthy success tomorrow.

Farmers Sue Monsanto over unfair practices!

Finally people are striking back against the ridiculously unfair practices of Monsanto, condoned by the current government. Only time will tell if this initial effort will have any effect, but its definitely a step in the right direction.

Here is the news release about the lawsuit being filed against Monsanto. I found this through the new movement "Millions against Monsanto" which is a quickly growing grass roots effort to stop the madness in America.

It's so sad that this lawsuit is even necessary. Why do small struggling farms have to go to court to prevent this corporation from attacking them? Why is it possible for a large corporation to attack a small farmer, accusing him of doing something that he is fighting against ?

Let me explain... the basis of the Monsanto lawsuits is patent infringement. Monsanto owns the patent on genetically modified seeds. When these seeds are used in the real world, they spread just like all seeds do, to neighboring fields through wind, birds, etc. The genetic modification spread with them. All Monsanto has to do is to find traces of the genetic modification in the fields of a farmer who didn't buy the seeds and  Monsanto can sue that farmer for patten infringement. Monsanto doesn't have to prove that the farmer stole the seeds, nor that the farmer even wanted the seeds. In fact most farmers sued actually fought hard to keep the seeds OUT of their fields. The problem is , it is inevitable that the seeds will spread despite the best efforts to stop it. Still, the government lets Monsanto have this patent, release these uncontrollable changed to life, and then sue those that fall victim to natures whims.  Madness!

I like the analogy given. This is much like if you neighbor had  a car in their driveway. A tornado came through, picked up the car and dropped in into your yard. The neighbor than accuses you of grand theft auto and wins. You go to jail.  Madness? Many farmers have had this happen to them by Monsanto.  It is all public record, as unbelievable as it is.

Keep in mind here.. bad things often exist and simply because they are so bad that  common good natured people can't believe that something that bad exists. This... seems one of those cases. It is just too crazy for most people to grasp.

There is a facebook page for "Millions against Monsanto" that is quickly filling with story after story of the actions in the world of genetic modifications.  Its a great resource to learn about what is going on behind the scenes that was kept quiet for so long.

Little Sprouts does our best to stay away from GMO in every sense. In fact we don't even support the use of Hybrid seeds. We only use heirloom, traditional, naturally produced seeds for everything, and only buy certified organic nonGMO feed. As long as there is non-GMO available, we will find and use it, that is our promise to you.