So I took a month long hiatus because the plans for my garden and farm will still in the works due to snowy weather and cold temperatures. When the ground is frozen its hard to drive a t-post or dig a trench to put up a fence!
But now it is time for growing things!! My seeds have arrived so my flats will be set up soon with seedlings. I have my fenceposts set around the garden to put up a temporary fence and a garden gate. All of this because....
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| Huddled under the heat lamp. |
When these little guys get out in the yard I don't want them to EAT my garden!! We are putting in a temporary deer fence that can be rolled up yearly for storage. That way we can move the horses back on the garden plot in the fall after it dies out and let them fertilize the best way possible.
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| A large space in preparation for the inevitability that they will GROW! |
My husband had created a large reptile cage that we really had no use for anymore and he told me I could use it. We tipped it on it's back and now the door is a hatch! Two lamps are installed for heat. I have two waterers on pie pans and two large chick feeders on a nice soft bed of shavings. We have decided to increase our flock because I have been getting more egg orders than I can possibly fill anymore. I will expand the coop to hold about 10 more birds. Then we are moving on to the meat bird world. I am starting a second run this week which will hold a large garden shed that can hold 30 birds easily. Since I don't need nesting boxes, it should be a simple build.
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| One of the Brahma chicks posing. |
I also picked up a straight run of 20 egg laying birds. 10 Brahmas with feathered feet and 9 Red Leghorns.Then one tiny little Bantam with an attitude that my son named Chicken Casserole.
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| Peep Peep Peep! |
Since I got straight run chicks I will have some roosters. Unfortunately for them, they will be eaten along with the Cornish Rocks once they plump up. Its hard to believe however, that the Cornish Rocks will be ready to cull in 8 - 10 short weeks.
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| Chicken Casserole. The Littlest casserole. |
But today the entire mess of 38 babies are eating and drinking ans pooping now that they are warm and snuggled together. Peeping happily.
Great lots of chook for the freezer, and roast chook and fried chook. The bigger they get the more poop and food. But it all is so worth the effort. Whay I used to do is sell a few to cover the feed bill and keep the rest for myself. I got 12 silky eggs in the incubator but am struggling to keep the humidity right. so it could be a waste of time, who knows.
ReplyDeleteThis is my experimental run. I want to see how hard they are to keep and how expensive. Then, if all keeps going so well, I will order two more shipments a year of 30 chicks each. I have many friends wanting to chip in and learn how it's done on processing day so we will make quick work of it!
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