Moving Around on the Farm

It won't be long till snow covers the ground and limits the animals travel about the farm. It has been getting cooler over the last week. We have made some animal moves. The guineas went in with the hens to make room for the turkeys in the barn. It took a couple of days but the guineas finally made it outside. They were very excited about taking their first dust bath. They made it out ok, but had to have a little help getting back in at night.

The hens took it all in stride.

The goats took time out of their busy schedule to check out what was going on.

We cleaned the shavings and put up new green mesh between the turkeys and the hens. They can see each other but share completely different sections. So far no eggs. When do turkeys lay?

We opened their door and.......

out came a pug. No, Ivy was just there helping out. She thinks all of the animals are her babies. She never chases anything. She checks them all out to make sure they are okay. She still can't understand why we won't let her into the pasture to see the sheep. We truly don't know what Fuzzy the llama would do.

We finally know what our rooster Hawk is. He was a freebie with our last order of Cornish Rock X from Murray Mc Murray Hatchery. He is a Silver Laced Wyandott. At first we actually thought he was a she and named her Ladyhawk. Then Ladyhawk began to get friendly with the other hens and crow. Now, this is Hawk. Lord of the chicken yard. He has dethroned Samson our Partridge Plymouth Rock rooster.

We have had to work the last 2 nights so we have accomplished nothing besides milking and feeding animals. There is that sleep factor that gets in the way. We will have 6 nights off and plan to finish up alot of the last chores on our to do list. The weather is cooler, winter is near and time seems to slow a bit. Work on pastures and fences will halt till spring arrives. We will pay more attention to things like weather reports. Occasionally we get a weather report that will make us laugh out loud. Tell me where but Maine will you get the following from your local weatherman: "Well, it has been warmer than it's been". I love Maine. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Turkey Destination

Our turkeys were raised with a distinct purpose. We never intended for them to be pets. They were destined to be freezer birds from birth. Actually before birth. They have a finite number of days on this earth, just like we do, although their date of departure is known. October 9, 2009 was the day. They had a good life. Plenty of space to roam, an unlimited amount of fresh clean water, hormone and antibiotic free grain, green grass and garden clippings to munch, and a nice little house with clean shavings to spend time as they wanted. Not too shabby. Here is the group of sweet birds. We had 3 hens and 5 toms.

We had to work Thursday night so we got up early to put the topper on the truck and added a bag of fresh shavings to keep the birds comfy and cozy overnight. They didn't mind the new digs at all. Ted got up early Friday morning and drove them down to West Gardiner Beef for butchering.

We kept 2 hens and 1 tom in an attempt to overwinter and hopefully raise turkeys in the spring. We have Bronze Turkeys, we think. They were a Blue Seal purchase and we don't think they are the Broad Breasted Bronze breed. Evidently, the Broad Breasted have to be artificially inseminated in order to lay fertilized eggs. They are too big to breed naturally. We are very interested in possibly raising some turkeys next year to sell. We have received 2 different responses from co-workers. The first comes with a facial grimace and an eww.... followed by "how can you kill something you just raised from a baby?" The second is "how much do you want for them?" There are some who get the idea of farm raised in humane and healthy conditions opposed to raised in a small space with no perks. We get it too. We are very fortunate to be able to know what they ate and how they were treated. That is a plus in our book. I think more and more Americans are beginning to get it now. Here is a picture of our remaining flock. Is it a flock of turkeys? A gaggle of turkeys? A herd of turkeys? Not really sure! How can we tell the difference between the Broad Breasted and regular Bronze? So many questions.

This being our first attempt at turkey raising we are very proud of our dressed out birds. We had a 31# a 30#, 28#, and 2-20# birds. I have never seen a 30# turkey before. We had to borrow freezer space from our neighbors. We happily shared a bird with them. When they butcher a cow or pig they always bring over a gift. We appreciate that too. Neighbors are wonderful. Thank you.

We kept the necks, hearts, livers and gizzards. What a difference from our chicken gizzards. This thing was fist size and filled with rocks. They use the rocks to crush the grain for digestion. Turkeys don't have teeth. Thank goodness. I would hate to be chased by a 30+ bird with teeth.

Now that is an eww....

We will be going to Goat School today. They will have cadaver hooves for us to learn how to trim goatie hooves. No lame goaties wanted. We want to take good care of our small herd. I know that goats come in a herd. Don't they? Have a great and productive day. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Guinea's New Digs

Happy 09/09/09. I don't know why I find that a cool thing but I do. That out of the way, it seems like I have been away from blogland for ages. We are on our second vacation. I know that sounds strange but in nursing it is very difficult to get 2 weeks together. It has to do with seniority, school vacation days, etc.... I like it either way. We have been so busy working on the farm. The only trips we take are to Home Depot, Walmart and Tractor Supply. We have gone into high gear getting ready for winter. With the cooler days there is a constant reminder of winter soon to come. The guineas are growing and we have only lost one. That was when they first arrived. Maybe we are getting the hang of this. I certainly hope so. The guineas have outgrown their brooder. They still have room to roam but no flying space. They can't develop their wings in the brooder.

We have the room that the white Cornish X roosters were in before they went to the freezer. It will make a great guinea home until they are big enough to move in with the hens in the regular coop. At that time we will bring in the 2 hen and 1 tom turkeys from their summer home outside and they will have this new space separate from the chickens. The other turkeys will go into the freezer. (I am having sad thoughts about that. I have fallen in love with the turkeys. At least we get to keep 3.) After several comments on the blog from the wise ones, and reading more info we think we have made the wise decision to keep the turkeys and chickens separate. There seems to be research from both sides. Some say absolutely no they have to be kept separate, others seem to have raised the two together successfully for years. We don't want to take the chance in loosing turkeys to black head disease. We hauled several wheelbarrows of old dirty shavings out into the chicken yard. The hens had a blast scratching the piles flat. We wanted to start fresh for the ladies and gents (guineas). After all the shavings were out we spread lime over the area to kill anything left behind on the concrete. The temporary inside wall is ok for summer just not good for keeping winter cold out. Now this will be a permanent area in the barn.

We ripped out the old wall.

Put up a new wall which will add a dead air space for insulation and cut a door. The guineas will stay in until they are much bigger. The door is there so when the turkeys come in for winter they will be able to go out into their own yard.

My daughter Sue came up from New Hampshire to spend the weekend and she got into the fun by spreading the new shavings. Also know as free labor. She loves coming to the farm and hanging out with the animals. With us too, but she loves the animals.

Then it was time to start moving the guineas.

Ted was handing them to me 1 by 1 so we didn't loose any. They really love to fly.

Their first time out and about. They are still afraid of us and run like we are predators but they have so much fun being out in the big space.

One of the pearls flew to the top of the net that separates them from the hens.

They walk together in a flock and do everything as a unit. It didn't take long for them to discover their water. I grew up with the regular grey and black spotted guineas. The assorted kinds are so beautiful. My mother loves guineas and the noise they make.

They finally settle down and take a nap.

The guineas are happy in their new home. We added a heat lamp for the cooler nights. It says off during the day. In the evening we turn on the overhead light and give them white millet seed as a bedtime snack. We are attempting to train the guineas to return to the coop at night. The seed is suppose to be one of their favorite treats. Research is ongoing. We pull blades of grass and grass with seeds to put in their coop. Hopefully by next spring they will be out in the green fields eating grass seed and bugs to their hearts content. We have more projects to post on the next blog event. However, the computer is having issues. You know that aunt who is loony as a bed bug but no one wants to be rude and just call her crazy. She has issues. Well, the computer is in the shop getting an attitude adjustment. I'm on Alex's laptop right now. I kinda like it. Hmmm...... We hope everyone is well and happy. Much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Fall is in the Air

We awoke to temps in the low 50's this morning. I got up and ran around closing windows and turning fans off. Brrrr..... We didn't have summer until 3 weeks ago, then we hit the high 80's to 90's and thought we were going to die. Friday's lows in the 30's-40's. Who forcasted this weather? I want my money back. I feel like we were ripped off. Okay, so it's not so bad. Actually it made me want a cup of hot tea. Now that I think about it, I love fall weather. It was kind of nice being in the 70's today. I could wear jeans without feeling like I would melt. The cooler temps made us think about the things we needed to do to get ready for winter. Our chicken coop is in the barn. We had the door opening on the side last winter. We really realized what an error that was with the 3-4th snowfall. When the snow sheds off the barn it piles up in front of the door preventing us from being able to open it. This year we wanted to move the door to the end of the barn. Now we can use the snow blower so the girls can come out and get
some sunshine on warmer days.

Ted worked all morning opening up a door on the end and closing the existing door. It ain't pretty but you just wait till spring. The barn is on our to do list. Ted had plenty of company from the girls. They gathered around checking out his work.

The goats, sheep and llama are really coming together as a flock. They enjoy the pasture and all the new weeds that are available for grazing.

We are still giving Edward his meds. He hates the pill. I fight with him each morning to get that big honking tablet down his throat. He hates his Bio-Sponge paste, gags, slings his head from side to side and then runs to the water trough to drink. He loves the Pro-Bios. He will attack you for a taste of that. He is still having some diarrhea. We are waiting for goatie pellets any time now.

We have started giving the guineas a small amount of white millet seed. Hopefully, if all goes well, when they are adults they will be enticed to roost in the barn at night. That is the theory anyway. We will keep you posted. Evidently, guineas can't turn down the seed. So far they act like we will chop off their heads each time we walk by the brooder or speak to them. They are eating well and growing so fast. Just skittish.

The turkeys are growing and acting like turkeys. They are friendly and come whenever we go near the garden. I know they are destined for Thanksgiving dinner but I really like the turkeys. I have to keep telling myself they have a destiny. But we will keep 2 hens and 1 tom. Does anyone know if it is ok to keep split the chicken coop between the hens and turkeys. They will be kept separated by chicken wire. I don't want the turkeys to get black head disease from the chickens.

We tried to get a video of them fluffing up and gobbling. Whenever the camera was on they were quiet. Go figure. People say turkeys are "stupid" but I don't think so. They are cute. Awww.....

With the cool weather and work going on it just seemed like a good time to bake. The bananas were starting to go past and into getting brown. I hate to see them go to waste. This is my favorite recipe for Banana Carob muffins with pecans and flax meal. They taste so yummy. We even brought in several for our nursing unit. Tonight is our first night back from vacation. If you hear a thump tonight around 3am it is the sound of my head smacking the desk. Oh, I miss sleeping at night.

I guess since we can't halt the onslaught of fall we should just enjoy the cool days. At least it is good sleeping weather. Take care, much love and prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.

Kelly

Poults and Chicks 2009

This year we thought we would expand our learning experience and take on Turkeys. We ordered them from Blue Seal in Bangor, ME at the same time we bought Bella, Edward, and Sophie (the goats). We wanted to keep them in the coop with the other chickens since we opened up an additional stall in the barn for this winter. We had our two 6x6x2 brooders we built last spring. We got everything cleaned out, the water containers bleached, the heat lamps cleaned and checked for working bulbs. Put clean shavings in the brooders and waited with baited breath for our new additions. Finally, the call came that we could come in and pick up our 2 hens and 6 toms. All together now, awwwwww..... how cute. They came in a cake box with holes for air vents. We put the box in the brooder under the heat lamps so the poults wouldn't get chilled,

then opened the box carefully not to startle the little ones. They may not look like it now, but they are Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys. The will have a metallic sheen of the feathers which change from copper to bronze to burnished gold. They sound pretty impressive.

Imagine him being the Lord of the Barnyard?

How about these guys?

We had ordered our yearly Jumbo Cornish X Rocks from Murray McMurray Hatchery and the call came from the post office in Bradford to "come pick up your chicks" on Monday morning at 7am. I popped up and got ready, ok, I groaned, rolled over, pulled the covers up and thought, crap I have to get up. You see our animals are on our schedule on this farm. We generally get up and going by about 8am. We work nights and don't get home till 8am in the morning, so when we are home we try to keep the animals on that same schedule. I am truly impressed with the folks that are up by 6am. I just can't switch over to early mornings when I'm off. Hey, it would really confuse the animals! Yeah, that's it. Sounds good to me. Back on the subject, I did get up, put coffee on and head off the the Post Office and get the chicks. Boy were they noisy.

We always order Gro-Gel with the chicks. It reminds me of gut load for crickets. It has vitamins, minerals and absorbs water for the chicks to eat. It sounds good. It may be a rip off but the chicks seems to love it each time.

Izzy was interested in the small box of treats.

Again, we went through the same motions getting the chicks set.

A little dip of the beak in water.

Then they all get to sit on the feeder and eat gro-gel till their little gizzards are full.

What cute little faces.

This was our extra surprise chick. It has the sweetest eye liner on. Any ideas on what kind of chick this is?

So far we have lost 1 turkey and 2 of the chicks. They are staying warm and eating well. We have frames with chicken wire to keep any visitors out. That is chick week on Mainely Ewes Farm. Much love and prayers to all.

Kelly