Your farm?

[punk-a-doodle]

So, it seems like many with meaties have some acreage. What state or area is your farm located in? What do you like about the land, what don't you like? Does it get too hot, too cold? Is it green and overgrown or hard to get anything growing in the ground, and does that effect if you raise your birds in enclosures or out? Brag or rant, but photos are nice either way!

 

[Dogfish]

Washington State.

Likes: We cleared it and like it the way we made it.

Dislikes: Rain and 43 degrees gets old after 5 or 6 months. No dislikes about the property though. Dislike the Nanny state we live in.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

WV

We cleared and planted for deer and turkeys and grouse.....which just so happens to fit a meaties diet very well!

Rattlesnakes....dislike very much..can get heavy snow and some serious hot and cold weather...drought is common

Here is a gallery with some shots from around my place

http://kenhill.smugmug.com/Other/Chickens/16921736_vTqbJj#1278945929_XZ96Sdk

 

[fair weather chicken]

southwest lower mi

likes; being out in the country. raising chickens and pigs

dislikes; neighbors who build too close and then complain about your chickens


farm; still a work in progress after 22 years

farmers market; bringing good food to those who need and want it

 

[FeedYourself]

Quote:
Ditto.

NW WA as opposed to Dog's SWish WA. Great land, great neighbors, and LOTS of rain.

 

[GJ_Kate]

Western Colorado. Elevation is about 4500 feet, so we're high and dry. lol We get down to the teens, rarely below 0 at night in the winter. In the summer, we're normally around 90ish, maybe a few days around 100. We grow peaches, apples, wine grapes, sweet corn, although the soil is rather clayish.
We're right on I-70 so we're 4 hours to Denver or Salt Lake and 8 hours from Las Vegas. The mountains and blue skys are beautiful.
Dislike: high desert, lack of green, big trees, spring dry dusty wind

Chickens do great all year long here. We just did our first meat chickens here in the late spring in a tractor. I have a friend that does them as a side business all spring, summer and fall though.

fair weather chicken: My brother and family live in Jackson, MI. Are you near there? We were there last June for 2 weeks and when we decide to move from here, that's where we'll be!

 

[booker81]

Mid- MI

Not much "acreage" here - only one acre, but it's enough for a good sized garden, 14 layers and some meaties, and hopefully tomorrow, a couple pigs.

We don't really have land to clear, since it's all yard. The soil is decent, but I amend the garden with horse manure from the farm I grew up on and chicken litter. It's now nice soil for growing.

The weather in this state is insane. It can be beautiful ad sunny 70s, then tornadoes, then 40's, then 90s, in the space of a week, for weeks on end it seems. Winters run from being mild to a foot or two of snow at once and -10. I thought we were going to need an ark in May because of all the rain, and now it's all coming out of the ground making it humid as heck.

Likes: I love being out here, great neighbors.

Dislikes - it's a bit of a hike to drive to our jobs (I'm 30 miles one way, DH is 50miles one way). There is a pain in the butt kid/young adult on our road that has been stealing garbage bins to drag down the road (with trash in them), and just likes to cause general mayhem.

 

[fair weather chicken]

GJ-Kate we are 10 miles east of lake michigan, so not too close to jackson. also we have 4 labs and a german shepard puppy. some days yes the labs can be sooooo dumb. also how are your turkeys doing. have been trying to find some around here. thanks

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Wow! Thanks for sharing everyone. I have family up in Washington, and that's a lot of what they talk about, rain, rain, rain. XD But, it is such a pretty area with some pretty tasty water life...mmm, fried clams.

Two Creeks, beautiful photos! So much greenery, and your birds seem to love it.

Colorado sure has some gorgeous scenery. I live semi-nearish to you, and while I love desert areas, I do understand missing trees sometime.

Booker: Tornadoes scare the living snot out of me, I must say. Hurricanes I can do. Maybe I watched too much Wizard of Oz as a kid...
Hmm, I think it is time to smear something nasty on the handles of all the trash cans.

 

[myaussies]

south eastern Michigan.

L & B POULTRY
(naturally raised)

We are a free range fowl sanctuary on 5 acres on the edge of a marsh that provides local slow food choices for our customers.

We started a year ago last spring when we bought some Muscovy ducklings, Guinea keets, Australorp, Buckeye, and Dark Brahma chicks at our local Hillsdale Auction. In fact we were two of the customers in WGTE program titled Sale Barn when we purchased our Muscovy duckings last spring!

Last fall we purchased a used commercial incubator and then early spring this year we started collecting eggs from all the fowl on our farm. Right now, 6/11, we have over 200 fowl, our hatches have been very sucessful. We are finding the mixes are very hardy. We have chosen wonderful dual purpose climate hardy breeds. We were very surprised to have such good luck incubating Guinea keets as well.
We have now sucessfully incubated African goslings and Muscovy ducklings. Our hens, chicken and duck, are raising their own clutches as well. We hope to find Guinea clutches as the Guinea have paired now.

So far this spring we have encountered predators such as owl, raccoon, mink, and opossum which have taken a small toll on our flock.

So glad to be a part of The Backyard Chickens community, sincerely Becky