New Hen is mean to my old hen...

[Kerilou]

15 acres isn't as big as you would think..at least around here it isn't a lot.. I grew up with just under 400 acres, so 15 is shouting distance! We do enjoy it, though. We have a river that borders our land on one side, and that is nice..
I have a blog that I publish several times a week, about our "country life" if you are interested...the link is under my chicken pic

www.a-country-life.blogspot.com


Hubby ended up partitioning off a section of the chicken yard tonight, for Bernice to stay in by herself for a while. Seems from my observation that more than one of the RIR's is picking at her, so she needs a break. We will see what happens!

Keri

 

[mboreham1]

I will defo read your blog, i have 0.23 of an acre, i try and use every last square foot, unfortunately nowhere near enough for livestock, i seriously would love to quit corporate america and become a farmer, i know it is a very very difficult life, but sometimes satisfaction is worth more that any amount of money one can earn! Here in CA 15 acres, even in this economy would be worth millions, so when i stumble across my millions i will join you.

I have noticed with my RIR's that the pecking is random, one starts and the others copy. Your birds realize that she was "top lady" and are probably having a gay old time showing her she is no longer up there. Give it a week "partitioned" off, if you can, let a few of them free range together, scratch around together and slowly add one more bird each day. Hopefully they will grow accustomed to each other. Like i said, our bantam is a beautiful bird, very docile and even though she knows she is the bottom of the pole the others take delight in reminding her on a daily basis. She learned that as long as she legs it, she is safe, she has learned her own "coping" mechanism. I introduced her to our 2, 3 week old barred rocks and first thing she did was peck them and grab a couple of their young feathers, so it seems like she is getting her place sorted before the others get a chance!

Do you milk your cows and use the others for meat? I will go read your blog, but what did you do with 400 acres?

 

[Kerilou]

Quote:
Thanks for the additional tips...I am sure Bernice will be glad to have a break today.

The heifers in our barn are not milkers yet. Once they are bred they can be sold as a bred heifer, or they can have their calf and then be sold as a milking cow. They are my cousin's heifers, there are 3 of them. He also has the set of large oxen, Red and Jacob. They are basically pets. They are HUGE. They are work animals, like you would see on TV. They can pull heavy loads of wood, skid logs out of the woods, etc. We have a small set of oxen, they are my son's. They are about 9 months old now. We also have one more 9 month old, Jersey steer, and he is for meat. Then we have the chickens!
When I grew up, the 400 acres consisted of woods, pasture land, and fields for hay. My father used to harvest corn, oats, and barley, but went all hay early on. It was a working dairy farm, started by my great great grandfather in 1865. We had cows, cows, and more cows. Probably milked about 75 head. When my father was a boy, they had chickens, pigs, and horses, too. There is not a better way in the WORLD to grow up. I am so glad to be able to raise our son in such an environment, it makes for a very responsible, well rounded human being. Sometimes THOSE are few and far between! Thanks for visiting my blog-- I have settings on the sidebar with different labels, hunting, country living, oxen, etc...so readers can weed out anything they are not interested in. I try to keep it versatile! Right now, it is sugaring time, and my son is sapping every afternoon, so that is just adding to the chaos at chore time. Hubby and I both work full time so we do the chores after he gets home, and my work leaves home at night! I am very fortunate to work from home, and steal a trip out to the coop every couple of hours!
Have a good one!
Keri

 

[mboreham1]

Hey, like i said, your life sounds idyllic, tough work but idyllic! I assume by sapping you have sugar maples? Do you sell the syrup? How long does it take for a cow to mature to milk?

Sorry for all the questions i am insanely jealous and intrigued!

 

[Kerilou]

Quote:
I wouldn't trade it for anything! We are surrounded by sugar maples. It isn't our business, but a neighbor up the road. She and my Dad are cousins. It is a generational business, going WAY back. They still hang the buckets on the trees and they empty them by hand all season. No pipeline, tanks, etc. That is where my teenage son and all the other help comes in. Backbreaking labor. They sell syrup in all kinds of sizes. We take our own canning jars over and have them fill them up, and we store our syrup in the freezer. We use nearly 2 gallons a year.

A heifer can be bred (I think) at 22 months old. She is then pregnant for about 9 months, and then she is ready to milk! These are approximate, I could be wrong..

No problem with all the questions, ask away!!
Have a good night!
Keri

 

[mboreham1]

2 gallons! Sounds like breakfast at your place then, i would say i would bring the eggs, but i think you have it covered!

On your blog i saw a picture of New York maple syrup, do they/you sell it? If so, can i buy some? Have you thought about pigs and sheep for your family farm? I looked into a mini pig for my back garden but at a cost of nearly a grand, well, it cost nearly a grand so decision made for me!

How are the chickens doing today?

 

[Kerilou]

Quote:
Yeah, we have breakfast for supper about once a week. Pancakes, french toast, or waffles...they all have their advantages. I brought home some soft sugar last night when I picked my son up....I know if I open it I am done for....

Yes, they sell the syrup, in all different sizes. Tell me what size you are interested in. I will look into prices and of course, depending on how much you want, shipping will vary. I have sent some to Tennessee before...I think they have from a gallon, down to a pint? I will call over there this morning and find out. You can send me a check or MO and I will send it on to you!
We have been pondering a pig-my brother raises both pigs and sheep, but there is always the idea from my son that he will get attached and not be able to eat it. He is 14, and it took us this long to get a beef steer into the barn. I would just love the fact that they are such garbage eaters!

Chickens did well today. Bernice did okay in her quarantine pen, the RIR's didn't like the fact that she had a whole spot with her own food..they seemed kind of jealous, and I enjoyed that!! We got all 11 eggs yesterday, with no breakage. Guess the fake easter eggs I put in are working! I also added hay in the nesting boxes instead of shavings, and they seem to like that better...I bet that is what they had at their old house...

I will get back to you with syrup prices! I do daycare for a 5 month old and an 8 month old, so bear with me...it may be a few minutes, or a few hours..one never knows around here!
Keri

 

[Kerilou]

Updated my blog with photos of the Red Stars!