Hi, Okie friends. I haven't updated much because we have been making a mental transition. What with my spider bite this last summer, a heart procedure this winter, and the overall outlook for continued excessive heat and drought during our Oklahoma summers, we have decided to hang it up on the farming thing. Too much work for someone in too poor health, with too many grim forecasts boding poor opportunities to farm successfully the way we want to farm.
I've avoided this site mostly because I knew it would influence our decision-making process. Y'all make this chicken thing look like too much fun, and I didn't want to be influenced by emotion. I wanted to approach it as rationally as possible. We are moving into town about 3 blocks from our respective work places.
We aren't completely giving up the farm or farming, though. My daughter and her husband are moving up from Texas and taking over the farm. I will likely work with them while they learn how to do the chicken thing, both eggs and (hopefully) meat. I gave them a copy of FRESH, the movie, several years ago and it has apparently sunk in. They will take over my young layer flock, and maybe do some farmers market sales. As a stay at home mom, it will allow my daughter to generate some income while working at home, raising their own food.
We will eventually get a few chickens for our place in town for our daily needs, but in the mean time, I will make frequent trips to the country to help them, train them, and help them plan for the future.
I wish I had stumbled onto all this 20 years ago when I still had the energy, but working full time and farming sustainably part time... just too much.
At least it is staying in the family, I get to dabble a bit, and will have my sweet daughter and wonderful grandchildren close at hand, to see them whenever I want. I'll keep my processing equipment with the dream of eventually building that MPU and sharing it with my chicken friends.
So, I won't be completely gone.