Washingtonians

[PitterPatterPalace]

Welcome, rainwolf

Mites are transmitted through a variety of sources. One way can be from wildlife birds. Another can be close contact with infected poultry- think shows, swaps, auctions, bringing in new birds, etc. Of course these aren't all ways but usually are. Bringing infected bedding, clothing, other inanimate objects too are of lesser varieties.

 

[Rainwolf]

7th one just hatched.. and yes I'm hoping the black one grows pretty since I'm hoping to get a good looking male/female for breeding new babies :}
The best looking one of this hatch will be mated with the best looking one of next hatching ... might keep 2 pairs but the rest are going to be sold

 

[ByN8ureHomstead]

Quote:
if you can get some Diatomaceous Earth (DE) for their 'dust bathes' your birds will love you.

 

[justbugged]

I have been using DE every since I got my first batch of chicks. I have recently dusted the run rather heavily with it. So I am a little concerned that one of the girls might have mites or something. I also use DE every time I clean the coop. I think that last time I cleaned I used less DE, and more Stall Dry though. So maybe that made a difference. I do know that I am going to need to get a straight story of the kid. As much as I like the kid she isn't the brightest bulb in the box. So I am hoping to talk to her parents and see what they know. I still need to find out where Miss Inky is this morning, and ask what kind of ribbons she may have won.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Quote:
Your mom is mainly right. DE in their dust bath (what we do) is an organic treatment for mites. They still can come in contact with mites but dust baths in general (with DE added specifically) can help control an infestation.

Have fun hatching those babies.

 

[Greg Richardson]

Fresh off the farm: Customers seek Snohomish family's pasture-raised poultry, pork

By Sarah Jackson
Herald Writer

Paul Johnson knew there was a demand for local meat when he and his wife, Shawndra, started a chicken farm in 2008 in rural Snohomish.

But when they started taking orders for their first crop of chickens, about 300 birds in all, they sold out faster than they'd ever imagined.

"That winter, we had to buy chicken at the grocery store," said Paul Johnson, 41.

Buyers came from around the region.

"You'd be amazed how many people will drive from Seattle for the right chicken," said Johnson, whose farm is halfway between Snohomish and Monroe on U.S. 2.

This year the farm, Pastured Sensations, is selling 900 chickens as well as 100 turkeys and 10 pigs. Though many of Johnson's chickens and turkeys are still being fattened in the fields, they're going fast.

What exactly makes the Johnsons' meats so attractive at a premium $4 to $5 a pound?

They're pastured, which means the animals spend most of their time on pasture grass.

Custom-made mobile pens allow the chickens and turkeys to eat bugs, grass and grit, in addition to grain, while they fertilize the land underneath their feet.

Every day they're moved to a fresh pasture.

The Johnsons give their animals feed that does not contain corn, soy or any genetically modified grain.

In fact, Johnson grinds and mixes his own feed blends using local grains, including field peas from Washington's Palouse region for protein (instead of soy) and state-grown wheat, barley and triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid. Fish meal from Alaska adds extra protein.

Johnson's custom feed blends are such a novelty that he's selling about 2,000 pounds a week to local hobby farmers.

Johnson formulated his mixes after consulting with animal nutritionists and reading endlessly about animal husbandry.

"I know more about animal feed than I ever thought I'd have to," he said.

Johnson objects to the growing popularity of genetically modified corn and soy crops, especially varieties that are genetically engineered to resist herbicides, such as Roundup-Ready corn from Monsanto, the maker of the commonly used herbicide Roundup.

"It's creepy," Johnson said. "I don't want to be a part of it."

That's not talk from a Seattle liberal elitist.

The Johnsons came to Snohomish with their three sons, Nick, 18, Austin, 16, and Ryan, 12, from Fort Worth, Texas, where they founded a mailing service.

They started it out of their home and eventually grew into a 10-employee company in a 6,000-square-foot office space.

Their successful enterprise gave Johnson, who had previously worked at hardware stores, a knack for small business.

When the family moved into the top level of Shawndra Johnson's parents' home overlooking the Snohomish River valley, self-taught farming seemed like a logical choice.



"I looked at the assets I had: 23 acres, a shop, all the tools, a tractor," said Johnson, who had, until then, spent most of his life in urban environments.

Shawndra Johnson, who was unsure about getting into commercial farming with so little experience, said her fears subsided the first year they raised chickens for meat.

In one bite, she was on board. "It was eye-opening," Shawndra Johnson, 40, said of the delicious flavor that far surpassed her previous chicken-eating experiences. "I said, 'If people will buy it. Let's do it.'"

The Johnsons' customers come from varied backgrounds, from Seattle gourmets who want feel-good meat from local farms, to staunch conservatives returning to old, more independent food ways.

"Those two people meet in my parking lot. They agree over a good chicken," Johnson said. "Raising food like this can bring different sides of the table together."

All the animals are killed on the farm.

Customers come to the farm to pick up fresh, not frozen, chickens and turkeys. Meat from the pigs must be cut and wrapped at local butcher shops.

Though the farm made a small profit in 2009, the Johnsons hope the operation will someday support the whole family.

Right now, because of the cold spring that slowed their operation dramatically, that's not possible.

Shawndra Johnson works as the charitable giving administrator for Imagine Children's Museum in Everett. Paul Johnson recently started a part-time job in addition to tending the farm with the couple's three sons.

Johnson said he hopes to eventually raise 3,000 chickens, 1,000 turkeys and 40 pigs every year.

The Johnsons don't have plans to grow heritage-breed birds. They take longer to grow and require more feed and that would drive up their prices, already at $18 to $20 per chicken and sometimes as much as $100 per turkey.

Johnson sells the same type of birds sold at grocery stores: Cornish cross chickens and broad-breasted white turkeys.

"It's not just economics that puts us to that," he said. "It's a better value for a customer."

He's not using organic feed either, partly because of sourcing and partly because of cost.

"Part of sustainability is it can sustain the farmer who raises it," Johnson said. "It has to be sustainable financially."

Johnson sets his meat apart by putting his animals on pasture and giving them special feed. He says the flavor difference is striking.

Grocery store chicken seems flabby to him now in terms of texture.

How does his taste?

"It's tastes like chicken, but only more so," he said. "It's tender, but it's firmer."

Johnson said the flavor effect is the same, but even more striking, with their turkeys.

If flavor isn't enough, Johnson is betting that the openness and transparency of his farm will give them a boost, especially in an age when large food corporations avoid questions from journalists and won't open up their facilities to the public.

"Here I am," Paul Johnson said. "You can come meet me and see everything we've got."

Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, [email protected].

Pastured Sensations

This Snohomish farm, at 14226 U.S. 2, sells a variety of meats, including whole chickens and turkeys, and pigs that are available by the whole or half hog.

To order, e-mail [email protected], see [URL='http://www.pasturedsensations.com']www.pasturedsensations.com;http://www.pasturedsensations.comor call 360-568-5208.

Life on the farm

See a video made by Herald Reporter Simon Boas about the Johnson family and their farm by going to this story at www.heraldnet.com;http://www.heraldnet.com.

 

[Rainwolf]

We have 34 new quail babies now.

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Those are very cute fart eggs.

We got another this morning shaped like a torpedoe, about 2 1/2" long and as big around as your index finger...thight fit there !

 

[Chickielady]

Quote:
Seriously ?
I have never seen a mite on a free range chicken in the summer months as they can find dry dirt to bathe in everywhere !
My vet said to worm every 30 days for 3 times, to kill the worms in various life stages.
The worms live in different parts of the body, gross, huh ?
You got me itching now, so I will go out and check all my chicken butts now !!!

 

[justbugged]

I don't understand why the would have mites either. The girls have been running around the yard very nearly every day now. I have seen them taking dust baths too. When it's warm like this I sit out on the patio and can read posts on BYC, and watch the girls so that the dogs don't get them. I have to lock one of the puppies in the house while the girls are out. He just doesn't seem to understand that he has to leave them alone.