Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[aart]

I’ve put in (I think) an order for 100 more chicks (25 Barred Rocks of a heavy line, 25 ameraucanas, and 50 more meat birds) and am waiting for a reply on shipping costs.

Where will you put them?!
Glad the storm has passed <whew> tough situation, living with other people.

 

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

Glad to hear the good news

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning Kris. Good to know you did so well a market. Hopefully the issues with family will subside and you can get on with building your home. You are doing amazingly well under the current conditions. You rock!

 

[WhoDatChick]

Like you I would take any reptile over a spider. Unlike you I would not have relocated. I can't believe you did that. I am very impressed. I can guess how hard that was.

It's great to have you back. You were missed.

Spiders are da bomb!! Don’t ever kill them! Although my nephew got bitten by a brown recluse and almost lost his arm.. literally!! I would def kill those!

 

[Ribh]

Doing ok still...?

 

[rjohns39]

Morning Kris

 

[Kris5902]

Like you I would take any reptile over a spider. Unlike you I would not have relocated. I can't believe you did that. I am very impressed. I can guess how hard that was.

It's great to have you back. You were missed.

Mostly they eat other spiders and are non aggressive to humans and animals... so I try to leave well enough alone.

Spiders are da bomb!! Don’t ever kill them! Although my nephew got bitten by a brown recluse and almost lost his arm.. literally!! I would def kill those!

And that’s partially why I’m so terrified of them! Glad your nephew was ok, but that can’t have been a pleasant experience! You never need to worry about a diamondback or cottonmouth deciding to hole up in your bed and biting you in the night! Spiders though

 

[Kris5902]

Yesterday was good at the market $350 gross, and we had some new 100% local products... which was nice. I had a setback when dropping off the cash for the Farm’s portion of the sales though, and spent about an hour sitting with the yearlings and hugging my not so little anymore cows until I felt a bit better. Apparently due to “difficulties with the farms insurance” I can’t have more than 150 chickens! I think they need to find an insurance company that understands that “farming” includes “chickens”... so much for going forward (I think they are just spiteful that I am being successful with the project)

I have a plan b... we will see how it goes. I might arrange fostering of some of my chickens with neighbors for growing out, maybe a joint venture of sorts? 600 acres and only allowed 150 chickens? I can’t have a well paced out meat production when it takes 10-12 weeks for grow out and I need to maintain enough breeders and egg layers as well.

I’m going to do another hatch in a few weeks, for Wayne. He is building a better coop and ditching his current trailer set up, but is now down to less than 15 birds due to Raccoons and mink. A mink also took out his neighbors two geese in one night (the farmer I went in on the meat birds with). We need to get more traps out in that area of the island!

My roll away nest box design didn’t quite work so I added another section of wood to extend the protected “egg landing” area... turns out the chickens didn’t mind sticking their head under the fringe curtain and pecking and eating their eggs under it anyway! So no sellable eggs yesterday, but we did salvage three cracked ones for breakfast this morning.

Here is Sammy and his ladies “helping” with my rendering and cleaning out the truck on Friday, pretty soon these gals will be driving!

Also from Friday... my “roadwork” buckets. I fill these with gravel and hand fill the potholes in our road... it isn’t efficient, but it sort of works, An all-terrain cow, and the grass is always greener under the tarp, according to Fudgeeo!

And here is the second largest Dogwood tree in the country, surrounded by goats and deer. They are really “appreciating” my FIL’s alfalfa planting . There were 5 deer and about 50-60 goats, some are hiding in his taller grass that hadn’t been mowed yet, and a bunch more are out of frame!

 

[Kris5902]

Morning Kris

Morning Bob!

 

[rjohns39]

Kris, I don't know if they do it in Canada, but here it's quite common to rent pasture to run meat birds on. It improves the overall quality of the pasture and the soil so it's a win win. I know folks who move to a different pasture every year on the same farmer's land. One year chickens, the next hay.