Chick-Chick-chicken Time!

It is the time of year that we should be ordering our broiler chickens.  I have to be honest here-my heart does not seem to be into raising these chickens.  Oh we're going to do it, but I, kinda, don't want to.  I think I'm getting lazy in my old age.

Joking aside, what really has me bumfuzled is the cost of feed.  We sell many of the birds, keeping enough for ourselves, but it is getting harder to turn a profit.  We buy a ton of feed at a time, supplemented with grass in chicken tractors.  Last year, when I went to buy feed it cost $400 for a ton.  It's still cheaper using our custom mix than buying Purina junk, so it worked out, but I haven't checked on the price of things yet-so I'm dreading it.

In the end, I need to quit lollygagging and get the order in for the birds.  No matter what, they are still the best tasting, best for you chickens around.

Update

Brother, it's hot!  'Tis summer, I guess.  The ground is parched and so are we. 

I am working on a chicken coop made with cattle panels hooped up on a frame.  i will try to remember to post pictures of the completed project.  I have some friends and relatives that use these and I am impressed with the durability of them.  Some have hung rabbit hutches in them, others have put egg boxes in them.  They all use hanging waterers and feeders.  I didn't like them at first, I thought they would act like a parachute in the wind and we get some stiff winds here.  Typically, they are covered with tarps, so I thought the wind would get under them and carry it away.  Our one friend leaves enough of the panels open that the wind passes through and she has not had a problem-yet.  But, I am warming up to this style of coop and may use this design for other things-who knows?

Other than temps that could bake a potato, that's all I have going on right now.  I still have my laundry list of tasks, but I am sure I always will.  I am going to await a little cooler weather.

Feathers For Oil?

Scientists have discovered a way for chicken feathers to be substituted for petroleum in the making of plastics.  This could greatly reduce the US dependency on foreign oil, that could be a good thing.  Maybe all us chicken farmers should start saving and selling the feathers at butcher time?  Read more...

New Food Bill Moves Forward

Hear me Washington, we do not need this food safety bill and more government regulation!  This is a travesty that will not only hurt small farms in America, but basically disallow homesteaders from producing their own food, wheather they sell it or not.  From a consumer stand point, if you love to eat real food, grown naturally, without chemicals, non-injected, hormone free, anti biotic free, then you need to make your voices heard>  Get on the phone and protect your right to eat the food YOU choose to eat.  The government has no business telling you what you can, and cannot eat.  Not only that, the producers that have had problems, making people sick, ARE ALREADY INSPECTED.  How is more government going to solve this?

New Study Proves The Health Benefits Of Grass Fed Animals

Once again, science has determined that eating grass fed beef and dairy products is actually healthy for you.  This is what God has been saying all along, you see cows were meant to eat grass that is the way they are designed.  It is an unnatural state for them to be in a confined area being fed GMO grain.  Now we have even more scientific proof that God's design is perfect.  You might want to keep this article to use for reference when answering question for your customers.

So I was looking around for a hanging feeder for the chicken tractors.  I need three of them.  I looked at all the typical poultry supply companies and found plenty to choose from.  I ended up buying one from the local feed store and found that it is a piece of junk, the worst $15 dollars I've spent in a long time.  I got a bit discouraged.  The prices on hanging feeders of good quality are outrageous.  But, thank God for the internet.  My wife did a search and found a neat hanging feeder made out of a bucket.  So, I thought I 'd share it with you. I made two of them this evening and will make the third tomorrow, after I purchase acouple of nuts, bolts and washers.  They only took about 15 minutes to make and went really fast after I figured out just how I wanted it done.  I haven't taken a picture of the ones I made, but have a picture of the one I copied from the internet.  To read more about it, click here.

Chicken Tractor Additions Going Slowly

Yesterday, I learned the importance of setting the corner posts on the fence-good and tight.  I have a few "leaners" that I , apparently, didn't get the dirt packed tight enough around.  You know how it is, you dig the hole, among many, and you are ready to get on with it.  You stick the post in the ground, kick the dirt back in, pack it down and move on.  The key, or lesson, here is to make sure the dirt gets packed tight.  Trust me, fixing a leaner on a corner brace is hard with the fence all in place.  Take the time and do it right.  Learn from me, the world's biggest knucklehead.

On another note, the broilers are in week two in the brooder and are very ready to come out.  I am working on a set of waterers for the chicken tractors and keep getting waylayed by other things.  Today was the weather.  There have been intermittent showers and storms, most of the day.  It goes like this:

Take all my tools out, cut a couple of pieces of wood.
Gather all the tools up, disconnect the electric fence (lightning protection), head to the house.
Take out all the tools, fasten a couple of boards with screws, cut one more piece of wood.
Gather all the tools, head to the house.
Take out tools and finish the first project.
Gather all the tools and head to the house.
Go out side, look for scrap lumber for the next project, get wet.
Head to the house.
Go outside and begin making necessary repairs to the chicken tractors because I don't feel like taking all the tools out again.  Hearing thunder after two screws and a couple of zip ties.
Head to the house, severe thunderstorm warning.
Storm passes in 30 minutes, go back outside.
Now I am tired of the whole thing and just do my regular chores.
The sun is now shinning and I am sitting here at the computer, go figure.

In between all of that we ate lunch.  I did manage to get one of the watering stands done, nothing facy but it will work.  I will take some pictures to show what I am talking about. 

I wanted the chicks out on grass today, but I think I will wait until the weather gets a bit better.  Tomorrow might be a good time to do it, after church.

The chicks are past due as we tend to get them out on grass in about a week and a half.  They will be fine, for now, but the sooner we get them out the better.  After all, as I've said many times before, grass is the key, not only for the birds but for us.  All those Omega 3's come from the grass.

As an update on the cows my partner and I were going to buy, we decided that now is not the time.  Neither of us are ready for them, fence wise, and we cannot find a place to lease.  So, we will wait a bit.  My mom still needs to sell her dexters, if you know anyone that might be interested, let me know.

On the one hand, I am relieved that we are not getting the cows.  There was a lot of stress trying to find a place to put them in a short period of time.  On the other hand, the plans of grass finished beef have been put on hold, and that makes me bummed.  We have to wait on God and it just wasn't His time.

I am now looking into plans for a home made trailer for the garden tractor.  I have been looking on the internet but haven't come up with what I am looking for.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

That's what's happening here.  I'm sorry it's not very informative.  We haven't really done much that is new, just trying to get good at what we are doing.  I hate to add new segments to our homestead income without it fitting into the already existing things we do.  We don't want to add labor, but to compliment what we already do.  For now, we want to be the best at pastured poultry and meat rabbits and eggs that we can be.  All the while providing good food for ourselves, first, then our neighbors and prepare for the comming melt down of the USA. 

Keep in touch and thanks for stopping by.

A Long Week On The Homestead

This has been an icredibly long week.  I apologizr for the lack of new material here, but, well, you know how it is on a homestead.

Some big weight has been taken off my shoulders.  For the first time since we started homesteading, 12 years ago, I have next winter's fire wood supply put up.  Yes, this is a first.  I can't stress the importance of this.  Putting up your winter's wood well in advance of the season, is not only a load off your mind, but smart.  Freshly cut wood needs several months to cure (dry).  If you cut a green tree, it will need a year to cure.  Double that if you don't split it.  Trust me, I have taken storm damaged, fallen trees, that have been down for a year and still had trouble burning it because it was still very moist on the inside.  Here's a tip, if you cut green wood, take the time to split it.  Do this at least a year in advance of the burning season.  On downed trees split it 6-8 months in advance.  For dead fall, you should split it a couple of months in advance, depending on how long it had been down.  Now I can go into winter knowing that I do not have to scape the bottom of the barrel for fire wood.  I will not have to feel rushed to cut more and anything I do cut, from here on out, is for the next winter.  This is a good feeling.

Another thing that happened this week is that we bought a garden/yard tractor.  We bought it used but in great working condition at a very reasonable price.  It is 20 horses of power and big enough to do some pulling with a 46" cut.  I had been cutting quite a bit of land with a push mower that took me, on average, three hours with another 1.5 hours for trimming.  With this new machine, I cut the same grass in 45 minutes.  It still takes me an hour, or so, to do the trimming, but what a time saver!

Then there are the animals.  My partner and I are looking to bring in some new cattle.  We are going to purchase two Dexter cows (pregnant) and one bull (for the butcher).  We are struggling with where to put them as my land is not enough and his is not fenced.  I have the use of some land but, it too, needs fence.  Other circumstances prevent me from placing them on the in-law's land, so we are contemplating a lease of a few acres, until we can get some fence done.  But, these animals will give us a head start on some plans we have for beef.  We are excited and nervous at the same time.  God will work it out, I'm sure.

This, on top of my full time job has kept me away from the computer.  That is not all bad.  I have a big week ahead of me, as well.  I have a couple of shop jobs (sharpening) i have to get done to begin the week.  Then there are some repairs that need to be made on the chicken tractors along with additions to them.  Ugh!

Tell me what is going on on your homestead, I want to hear from you.  Thanks for stopping by!

Still Slow On The Homestead

Things are still pretty slow around the homestead.  We were awaiting to order broiler chicks, but found out we don't have to wait now.  We have taken orders for this spring batch and are looking forward to that.  I have been thinking on how to deliver water inside the tractors better.  I may have a solution, but it will be dificult as the chicken tractors are made of PVC.  It is one of the draw backs of the pipe design that it is hard to build anything onto them.  They have a wooden base, so that is a place to start.

My plan is to build a platform on the back of the tractor to set a bucket on.  From there, I can hang a bell waterer inside the tractor and, hopefully, gravity will take over.

My beautiful wife will be speaking at an herb gardening club tomorrow.  She was invited to do this last fall and she has been planing it since.  She will be promoting Fertrell and selling some salves and tinctures she has made.  I think she is a bit nervous, but she will do fine.

Plans are also in the works for additional fence and a re-stocking.  We are looking at a couple of pigs for the freezer and some beef to fatten on grass, utilizing some mob grazing techniques I have learned.  Lots to do and very little time.

In keeping with out preparedness plans, we bought a new safe.  We really like it and if you don't have one, get one.  You will need to keep your firearms out of the hands of evil doers.

That is all, for now.  We are all just looking forward to warmer weather and the flea market.  Until next time...

Count Your Blessings

With so many very dumb things coming out of the federal government these days, it is hard to stay positive. Sometimes you just want to throw up your arms and yell, what are you people thinking?

With battles being waged on so many fronts it is difficult to remain on top of them all. In times like this, I am reminded to count my blessings.

One of those blessings is the fact that we have been receiving much needed rain. This has allowed me back into my pasture rotation that I thought I would have to abandon during the dry summer months. As it turns out, I only had to back off from the rotation for the week we were on vacation. The grass has recovered enough that I can fore go the hay, for a time. That is good news. We have to buy all of our hay as the hay around us has been taken.

This gives me comfort. However, our fine government is forcing the NAIS through the back door, with little awareness, and that causes angst. More on that later, as I get full details.

On another positive note, we will be placing our order for the fall crop of broiler chickens soon. We have received enough orders to fill our chicken tractors and our own freezer. We have found that these birds really sell themselves. People just love real food, and it is a blessing to do a small part to provide some to them.

One thing we are working toward getting a handle on is our rabbit program. We have stuck to it as it is a holon enterprise and has the potential of providing another salary. We, quite frankly, have been terrible with the rabbits. We have struggled to have a plan and breeding program in place that would be labor effective. We are working on this but time has become a scarce commodity these days.

Once we get that going the way we want it, we can then concentrate on getting good at it. The side benefit is that our family loves the meat. So, even if we don't sell a whole bunch, we can put them into our own freezer.

If anyone has ideas of suggestions on rabbits, or anything else, let me know by leaving a comment. I love to hear from you. Thanks for stopping by.

Chicka-Boom!

The following article was written by my favorite grass farmer, Alan Nation. Full credit goes to him. You can read more farm related information at Alan's blog.



Backyard Chicken Boom

Tuesday, 23 June 2009
According to The Economist magazine, backyard chickens are "having a moment" in the USA. Hatcheries that deliver chicks by mail have reported backlogs. Rob Ludlow, the owner of BackyardChickens.com, told the magazine that his forum has 35,000 members and have 100 new people sign up everyday. Currently, backyard chicken enthusiasts meet in at least two dozen cities, from Seattle to Tallahassee to discuss the how-to’s of small-scale poultry production. Recently, Austin, Texas, had 637 people go on its first Funky Chicken Coop Tour. Due to public pressure, many cities are relaxing their ordinances against backyard hens as long as no crowing roosters are included. Some cities that haven’t yet relaxed regulations are finding protesters on their City Hall steps wearing "I Love Chickens" T-shirts. The Economist credits this new interest in chicken raising to the poor economy. Currently, more Americans are growing gardens than anytime since World War II due to today’s economic pressures.

Dumb Chicken?

Consumers Pay Billions For Salt Water in Chickens

Friday, 15 May 2009
The Truthful Labeling Coalition estimates that American consumers annually spend an estimated $2 billion for added salt water in commercial grade chickens, The Wall Street Journal reported. Currently, roughly one-third of fresh chicken sold in the USA is "plumped" with water, salt and sometimes a seaweed extract that helps the meat retain the water. And, the USDA allows such chickens to be marketed as "all natural" or "100% natural." This is hardly the case. Untreated chicken has about 45 to 60 mgs of sodium per four-ounce serving whereas "plumped" chicken has between 200 to 400 mgs of sodium per serving. This is almost as much as a serving of fast food French fries. Chicken companies say their private surveys show that consumers prefer the salty taste of the plumped chicken and said the practice was forced upon them by the large discount chain stores that wanted a uniform weight and price for each chicken. A recent telephone survey of 1000 West Coast consumers found that 63% were unaware of the practice and 82% believe that salt-water injected chicken shouldn’t carry the all-natural label.

You can find more informative articles like this one, written by Alan Nation of the Stockman GrassFarmer, by logging on to his blog.

Pastured Poultry, Our Centerpiece

I have observed a thing or two through our journey to the best tastin' chicken in Ozark County, Missouri. One of them is that the chicks seem to do best, growth and health wise, when they hit pasture after two weeks in the brooder. These photos are from the last bunch that actually sat in the brooder closer to three and a half weeks. They are not growing as fast and they don't seem to be as lively as the first group that had made it to pasture in two weeks.

This is the centerpiece to our homestead. You take this....

plus this....

and it equals this. I am still amazed at the effect the birds, in mob density fashion, have on the health of the grass.

I just had to throw these cute little critters in for fun. You can't even see the black ones, but they are there, along with momma.

From Chick Brooder To Precious Moment

I started out today to build a new chick brooder for tha chicks that are due to arrive in just over a week. Talk about cutting things close! I am well into the project, now, but have come to a point that I don't know how to proceed to the next step. Par for the course for me! Now I have to give this thing some serious thought. I am sure I will figure it out, the trouble is that I may end up re-designing the whole thing. (Bummer.)

While working, I got out a new box of screws that I bought for this project yesterday. Elisabeth, my youngest, came over to watch. Do you like the box of screws that I bought you for Christmas, daddy?

She actually bought me a box of chicken wire staples, but I didn't have the heart to say anything. She just recognised the color of the box.

I sure do, honey. Was my response, not knowing what to expect as I just lied to my daughter.

Then she looked at me and in the most tender, soft voice you can imagine, she replied, I sure love you daddy. You are the best daddy in the whole world.

If I am the best, in your eyes, then that is all that matters. I almost cried. Then she gave me a big hug, for a long time. I told her that I love her too, and she went off to play.

Folks, this kind of thing will brighten any man's day. I felt a bond, a "string" that had been tied at that very moment. A string that, God help me, I shall not sever. What a precious thing.

I thank God for that couple of minutes I shared with Elisabeth. If there is anything to "take home" from this, it is this: look out for these moments and grab them. I am sure that we both will remember that "precious moment" we shared while building the chick brooder.

Well, I almost hate to say this, but, news is slow on the farm these days. We are beginning the slowdown into the winter months, scaling back on just the bare essentials. We have around 40 broilers left to butcher, which should happen next week, unless we decide one group is not yet ready. This group of birds had an illness, early on, and their growth was stunted because of it. So, that group is about three weks behind. We have been pouring the food into them, hoping that they might catch up, somewhat, but they still seem to be lagging. They are healthy, for sure, and are growing again, they just lost so much time from the rest of the batch. We'll see.

I just read a good article on Alan Nation's blog about the grocery giant, Whole Foods. Apparently they are suffering from the economic catastrophe that so many are suffering from. This is one reason I believe, whole heartedly, in what is called "organic growth". This growth from within is a keyy element to your business, the principle is simple, you don't grow until your business can pay for it. It seems that Whole Foods has succomed to the ever fater pace of growth at all costs. Now, it appears, they are suffering for it. Feel free to click the link to Alan's blog and read the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to have something of more substance soon. In the meantime you can buy this "Bible Baby" for just $10.00. With a frame, it will add inspiration to any room. Contact us at sppowers@iglide.net to order.

One Down, One To Go

I think I am as pooped as pooped can be, right now. We spent our day butchering about 90 broilers. This is a family event with all of the extended family pitching in. In all, I'd say, there were 15 of us working our tails off. It sure is nice to have a mechanical picker, or we'd still be out there with lamplight.

Our biggest customer received the brunt of these birds (65-70) and are pleased. We look forward to working with them next year (Lord willing). But what a long day, we finished at 5:00 pm.

It is good to have the family together working like that. It is a great way to fellowship and enjoy each other's company. However, this task of butchering remains one of my least favorite things to do. Yet, the feeling that is received from all the hard work and the payoff at the end, seems to make it worth it. By next spring, we will be looking forward to the next batch of birds. Thank you to our customers. You are the reason we do this. Food fit to eat in the mouths of the local community is a blessing to us.

We now have around 40 broilers left to go, here on our farm. With the birds on the farms of the extended family, we should top 90 to butcher, once again. I have to admit that I will be glad for a break for a few months. Maybe I can get to all those fat rabbits that have been needing to be butchered.

So, in two weeks we will do it for the last time this year, whew! New ideas are springing to life in my mind, already. Ways to improve the feed delivery in the chicken tractors and minor repairs, things like that. I did manage to eek out a few minutes to look at my brother-in-law's chicken tractor and "scammed" some ideas.

One batch down, one to go. I'm going to bed and am seriously going to enjoy that extra hour of sleep. Don't forget to turn your clocks back. Thanks for stopping by.

OK, OK, I know I said weeks ago that I would have these posted for you to see. I have, truly, been very busy lately. Here they are anyway. This is the completed tractor. I used PVC 90's on the back of the tractor to serve as a kind of skid. My hope is that these will allow it to be moved easier. Our second tractor does not have these and dirt tends to pile up on the pipe ends, making it slightly harder to move than the first tractor. The first one has pipe along the bottom, as well as the wood. The reason for this is that the first one was not built with the wood frame, that was added later. On the last two versions, I was simply trying to cut material costs. It is undecided, at this time, if this was wise or not.

Here is a view from the side, with the flaps down. The cover is from an old billboard sign. These are cheap covering for many different applications on your farm. The only stipulation is that the advertising must always be placed down. Hey, it keeps the rain off. The covering is slit on both back corners. This allows the wind to pass right through, couple that with the squat design and they are pretty safe, even with their light weight. I was surprised to see that ours had not moved an inch even after Ike came barreling through.

This is a view from the backside, again, with the flaps down. On hotter days, I put the flaps up to allow more air circulation. There you have it, very simple and rather inexpensive. There are a few kinks I am going to improve on, but these have worked very well for us. I hope you enjoyed looking at these and thanks for stopping by.

Our First Fertrell Booth

We just finished, yesterday, a two day event promoting both our Fertrell dealership and the BJP Youth Ranch, where the event was held. The benefit was to promote and encourage support for the youth ranch and the Therapeutic Riding it offers to children with handicaps.

Sadly, I must report that the event was not a smashing success. I could see disappointment in those that attended, vendors, and the fine folks and volunteers of BJP Ranch. I must admit, that I, too, was disappointed. Perhaps not for the same reasons, however. I was disappointed in the lack of compassion in the community. The ranch does great things for kids who would not have that benefit anywhere else.

However, I am not totally down trodden, nor displeased. And, I think, neither are the maneging staff of the ranch. I talked with one of them afterward, and there was the sense of "pulling up the boots" and getting to work on next year and make it happen (this was the first year). I think they will learn from this event and apply those lessons to further the ranch and what they do. My family and I have signed on to volunteer at the ranch, in some small way,and help where we can. I am glad for that. I am glad for the connections we made with some fine people in those two days. Which leads me to the point of all of this.

While it was not extremely busy, some people did stop by. Of those people, we made a few very good contacts and built relationships. You'd be surprised how quickly a relationship can be built when you share common interests like, real foods, natural farming, stewardship, etc...

There was a woman there who owns an outdoor motorized sports dealership, promoting their line of ATV's (I won't mention their name without permission). Talk about an interesting person. In the Stockman Grass Farmer , I read all the time about rotational farming and grass farming practices in New Zealand. I read about seasonal dairying and open air milk barns, different grass species and such things. In other words, I read about farming practices that are old hat in other countries, but taboo here. Where do you think she was from? That's right, New Zealand! Where do you think she grew up? On a Dairy farm in New Zealand. I got to pick the brain, and listen to someone from there who lived it! That was great! (I really wanted one of those ATV's!)

We met a couple who are just getting started and knew a bit about Fertrell, who bought a bunch of product and now know where we are, as the local dealer. They were thankful to have met us and talk. Did you get that? They were thankful to talk to us. There was a relationship built right there in just a few minutes. Do you see where I'm going with all of this? When a need for a product comes up, who are the first people that come to mind? The ones with which you have a relationship. And it is that relationship that will keep them coming back to you, despite someone else's cheaper version or "better" product. For the relationships, I am thankful.

There were also some people who do not know a thing about Fertrell or building soil or healthy animals. But now they do, and it could be the beginning of an education. For that, I am thankful.

Thank you to BJP Youth Ranch, for an opportunity for all involved. I pray that it will be bigger and better next year, and we will be there again. I look forward to working with you all as a volunteer in the coming months as I am sure I can learn much from an operating ranch and help some kids.

On another note, I would like to begin a once a week tradition here on Cedar Cove Farm's blog. I would like to feature a Fertrell product, once a week, to help folks understand Fertrell and what they do. Yes, I may increase business for us, but that is not the whole reason as I know many of you don't live near me. But to get the word out about building soil and taking care of our animals. I believe that all of us want healthier animals and soil, but don't have the knowledge or resources to do it. I am just learning as I go, myself. So, in an effort to fill that gap the first product I will talk about is Fertrell's Poultry Nutribalancer . This product has come to mean so much to us that I don't envision us being without it, as long as we raise chickens. This product is made with specialty minerals, produced only for Fertrell. We went from a mortality of around 20-25% down to around 1-2%. For every chicken that lives, that's a few more dollars in profit. That is a huge gain in itself. The mixture of vitamins, minerals and pro-biotics is unmatched in the poultry industry. We can attest to the health of our flocks and the quality of the meat. Our customers have told us, after we started using this product full time, that they were the best tasting birds to date. That is quite a compliment. I am not going to suggest that Fertrell's Nutribalancers make the meat taste better, instead, I will suggest that the healthier the bird, the better it will taste. We have a custom blend that includes one 60# bag of Nutribalancer per ton. One half ton will feed 50 birds for 8 weeks, start to finish. With the decrease in mortality, we are making more money and the customers are eating healthier "food fit to eat" from pasture, not a confinement house. It is a win-win for all of us. Try some, you won't be sorry.

For more information, click the link to Fertrell's website found at the right, or you can email me, and I will try to help you out as much as I can. Thanks.

Here is a picture of the chicken tractor with the treated lumber box on the bottom. This is befor the wire is added.

This is a view of how I attached the pipe to the wood. I simply used plumber's tape and screws. This part of the process is under development. In other words, I am serching for a better way.

And now, it is time for the much anticipated web address that has the 3-way 90's for the corners of the chicken tractor! Click here for more info

Of Chicks And Cukes

This isn't the greatest picture in the world, I know, but these are the second half our our last batch of broilers for the season. Praise God, they are all sold. You will notice that there are some Rhode Island Reds mixed in with them, we needed to add to our layer flock as the chicks we got this past spring were mostly roosters. We have dubbed them the Narcoleptic chicks. When young, chicks are very funny to watch. They will walk around, very active, and drop over in sleep as if they were put into a sudden trance. It is hilarious! Have you ever noticed that?

I have some new cucumbers to show you. These are called Thai Cucumbers. We haven't tried them yet, so I can't say how they taste, but I am sure they will be wonderful. You can see the Lemon Cuke in the middle to give you an idea of the general size of the Thai Cukes. If any of you have any experience with these little fellas, let us know.