Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[rjohns39]

Good morning Bob!

How are you doing today Kris? Hoping you have a great day.

 

[Don 27]

That is really cool! I love the history and traditions of farming and the rich past in so many states. And some of the old pole barns! Compared to that we are a relatively new farm. There’s a book on the family somewhere here, that was locally published, and it goes into some depth. If I can find one I’m going to read it. Of course it doesn’t cover the whole juicy family gossip that led to some of those decisions. It’s DH’s family farm, I’m just a silly city girl with a passion for farming and working with animals and gardening. They literally owned the entire south side of the island to start. Then his Grandmother’s brother had a disagreement with Grandmother’s husband, and sold off most of “his” share of the farm to an outside party. This became a vineyard and a housing strata. There aren’t many actual farms on our island, most just do the minimum to stay in the better property tax bracket.

There are a lot of vacation homes, many well to do retirees, and the permanent resident population is about 350, now heavily skewed to the baby boomer generation. I’ll be 38 this month, DH is 46 and a December baby. We are considered youngsters. Farming being such a glamourous lifestyle, his cousins are chomping at the bit to leave their careers and sign up for a retirement filled with hard labor. Everyone loves the pastoral beauty, but when it comes to a week of back breaking haying, culling a sick baby lamb (that could have been saved had someone called us in earlier ) or OMG... handling the bull?!? Suddenly the helpers aren’t so eager.

I really like the old style pull barns too. They were built around the time dairy farming was popular . The cool thing is They were built with no electricity or engine power at all just all hand tools usually on a low budget as well,this was one of a farmer's 's jobs in life was to build a pull barn. It wasn't a uncommon thing to see one of those barns on a farm. In fact it was almost an expected thing to see when visiting a farm.

A buddy of mine told me if I wanted to know the age of a tree count the growth rings. After working in the woods cutting many trees I started counting the growth rings and now I have a pretty good guess of how old a tree is by just looking at it. Taking that knowledge while driving down my street I've noticed there are a lot of newer growth woods near old style barns. Around 60 years of growth, my guess is these woods started growing around the time dairy farming took a hit and farmers stopped using their barns and pasture.although That makes me feel like I was born 100years too late. It would have been nice to see what the land looked like when it was all open and pasture....

It's a shame because the farmers put their whole lives into clearing virgin woods into working farms and building very durable barns with very little money, now to just let it all grow up with trees and rot because it's not economical any more. Instead we have "jobs " that keep us occupied. But we can't dwell on the past...



farming It is that way . People get into in it not knowing what it's like, and once they realize it's not all about snuggling with animals they want to quit. Though quitting wasn't always an option back in the day .

 

[Kris5902]

I really like the old style pull barns too. They were built around the time dairy farming was popular . The cool thing is They were built with no electricity or engine power at all just all hand tools usually on a low budget as well,this was one of a farmer's 's jobs in life was to build a pull barn. It wasn't a uncommon thing to see one of those barns on a farm. In fact it was almost an expected thing to see when visiting a farm.

A buddy of mine told me if I wanted to know the age of a tree count the growth rings. After working in the woods cutting many trees I started counting the growth rings and now I have a pretty good guess of how old a tree is by just looking at it. Taking that knowledge while driving down my street I've noticed there are a lot of newer growth woods near old style barns. Around 60 years of growth, my guess is these woods started growing around the time dairy farming took a hit and farmers stopped using their barns and pasture.although That makes me feel like I was born 100years too late. It would have been nice to see what the land looked like when it was all open and pasture....

It's a shame because the farmers put their whole lives into clearing virgin woods into working farms and building very durable barns with very little money, now to just let it all grow up with trees and rot because it's not economical any more. Instead we have "jobs " that keep us occupied. But we can't dwell on the past...



farming It is that way . People get into in it not knowing what it's like, and once they realize it's not all about snuggling with animals they want to quit. Though quitting wasn't always an option back in the day .

So true! Though I do love my cow and chicken cuddles, as much as the “true” backyard chicken keeper. Especially the cow hugs. It makes the 5 tons of 100+lb bales of alfalfa, 3000+ bales of hay (@ 50-60lbs) and chores 350 days a year (figuring in the “way too sick” or “my back is out”... see alfalfa, days) all worth while. And knowing my food. Growing my food. Growing food for our community. I’m quite passionate about local food, community, and when possible sustainability.

 

[Kris5902]

6/8 eggs fully hatched, and #7 is quite well pipped... looks good. This is stage 2 of the 3 part staggered hatch. Looking good for part 3 at the end of the month! Fertility issues seem to have improved (yay! Go Chickie Hawk!) pictures soon!

On the house build... FIL did stash the plans somewhere. Not that I searched his cabin while feeding his cat or anything. So it looks like I’m going to be shoveling more gravel again soon.
Keeping busy, building furniture for a friend, and starting the next paint job soon.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

6/8 eggs fully hatched, and #7 is quite well pipped... looks good. This is stage 2 of the 3 part staggered hatch. Looking good for part 3 at the end of the month! Fertility issues seem to have improved (yay! Go Chickie Hawk!) pictures soon!

On the house build... FIL did stash the plans somewhere. Not that I searched his cabin while feeding his cat or anything. So it looks like I’m going to be shoveling more gravel again soon.
Keeping busy, building furniture for a friend, and starting the next paint job soon.

Yay for the hatch!

On the FIL front, if you get hold of those plans, make a photocopy of them quick!

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning Kris

 

[drumstick diva]

Borrow a bloodhound to find the stashed blueprints. That so and so I wish I could write what my name for HIM would be.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I had a feeling he would do something like that. Have you tried to think of some place he is "sure" you would never look? Hang it there and keep on farming.

 

[Kris5902]

I really can’t be bothered to toss his cabin looking for them... it’s a disaster in there. The time before last when he went to Cuba we cleaned it up for him... scrubbed all the grime encrusted surfaces, mopped, picked up all the trash and recycling, hauled his dishes down to a proper sink and washed everything. It is just as bad as it was before now.

We’ve had a power outage and now I’m worried about my eggs! They are on day 5. 7/8 of the second batch I put into lockdown hatched just before the outage, everyone is hooked up to my inverter and some batteries but it’s so cold in the room my incubator won’t get up past 85! It’s been two hours now.

 

[rjohns39]

Kris, I'm hoping for you. I've gone 8 hours without power during a hatch and didn't do badly. your babies in lockdown are highest risk... They may delay hatching as its safe in the egg. if they hatch they're going to need supplemental heat. Here's hoping it comes back on quickly and these are for you