Chick with a Whistle Farms

Hard times to be small.

It has been a little hard lately with a couple of our bantams. We have been on a roller coaster with our bantam rooster Loki with his foot. Recently, it has progressively gotten worse. We have moved him back to the house to restrict his movement but we are pretty sure his has lost blood circulation in his foot. Here is an old picture of us working on his foot back in July.

The other sad news is I found my black bantam dead with only the carcass left in the field. Some THING ate it’s head and breast meat. I lock everyone up so it must have happened early morning. The neighbor also lost a hen a week ago.

The other random thing is Autumn, our Americana has decided to hide her eggs. I haven’t seen a blue egg in over 2 weeks. We have looked all over the yard with no luck. I am about to either follow her or stick a camera on her.
Here are some photos updates on the pigs and our haul from the hay auction- who have not been named.

[Uploading gallery…]

Home Sweet Home

With the long weekend we took advantage of an extra day to finish up the pig pen. They enjoyed wandering around the pastured and free ranging while we were doing finishing touches. They were quick to find the most mud.

Except for being a little skittish, everyone got along very well between the goats, chickens and the pigs. Here are some final pictures of their new home.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“Some Pigs”

20160904_185529 20160904_195515 20160904_151540

Dustin and I have recently started having conversations as we walk through the shopping center aisles about the cost of meat lately. I have also realized that I have been purchasing less and less due to trying to save some money. We have also been having some conversations with the kids around the care of farm animals. The kids have begun to learn that some animals are not treated as we treat our animals. From these conversations Dustin and I decided that it may be better for us to raise our own meat so we can control the intake and care of the animal and save some money.

So, if you are going to live, you might as well do what you want so we ended up heading to a pig breeder and picking up a couple of berkshire hogs. The kids are insistent on naming them but we are reminding them they will be butchered. After talking to the breeder we learned a few items.

Berkshires are considered premium meat and can cost more.
Berkshires take longer to grow and he recommended waiting to 6-9 months to butcher. You generally wait until they are approx. 250 lbs. beyond that you are not getting your money’s worth.
The mother weighed over 500-600 lbs.
Berkshires are very winter hardy and don’t need a lot in the cold winter months.
Barrows are castrated males and we selected them becasue they grow faster.

We had originally planned on getting pigs that were a little larger but ended up with two barrows only 2 1/2 months. They are pretty cute so we will see how this goes.

They slept the whole ride home from the breeder and settled in pretty good. We will finalize all their fencing tomorrow. Let the fun continue.

Farm Routines & Updates

As you settle into a new house it takes some time to really decide how to make it your own. We have gradually been adding little personal touches throughout the place.

In the backyard before the fenced in pasture, there were two raised flower beds. Since Dustin had added a mega garden we didn’t really use it. I tried a couple of times but it still ended up being a weed bed. This last weekend we finally decided to tear it out and turn it into lawn space. Of course you can’t do a job without the help of the hens. They had quite a feast with all the worms.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One other project I have been planning for months but finally took the plunge was to add some barn quilts. My ultimate goal is to add one giant one to the front of the barn but I thought I would start with some side doors. I headed to Lowe’s to figure out some colors of paint. I ended up chatting with the painting guy about his farm stories from his childhood. He grew up only a few miles away. I left Lowe’s with several gallons of exterior paint and ready to paint. Sadie and I designed the pattern and I love how it turned out. It is my plan to make several different designs with the same color scheme.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Baby Blue, state fair results, Ringo and other randomness.

We have been eagerly waiting to see what our ameraucana hen was going to lay and Eli had a hunch she had laid this week. He saw her up on a hay shelf and decided to investigate. He was right and we had a beautiful xs blue egg.

So far she is laying every other day.

We also received great news the kids photography placed at the state fair. Eli received 3rd and 5th and Sadie won 1st. Eli was some what disappointed since he has historically received 1st or 2nd but a good lesson to learn.
The other pretty huge change on the farm was the decision to get rid of Ringo. His agressive behavior has continued to escalate to the point of attacking everyone as they entered the barn. Unfortunately, Eli was the last injury before we finalized the decision. Dustin decided to pull out his rusty 20 year skills of turning Ringo into dinner. We discovered that leghorns are very lean and difficult to process. As much as I am glad we don’t have to deal with getting attacked each day the mornings are very quiet and some of the barn activity has become unusually quiet.

Other randomness:

Eli teaching Sadie how to drive the mower.

Starting to harvest the sunflowers and letting the girls dig for some snacks.

Discovering an amazing recipe for surplus summer squash. Pinter estate search for lemon blueberry cake.

Walking goats & state fair countdown.

Dustin continually let’s me know that over the past couple of months we have created spoiled goats, which I wouldn’t disagree with. The goats are pretty quiet until around 6 pm. They know that is when we head home from school and work and they expect to get some attention. They usually stand at the gate and cry. Lately, we have been taking family evening walks to get some exercise for the family and the babies. It is pretty entertaining to watch everyone’s head turn as they drive by us making sure they saw a goat and not a dog. The other entertaining thing is the goats know where the house is so if we walk by it and they are tired they lay down in the middle of the street and refuse to move.

They have also found a new toy when no one is looking. We have embraced the farm life by buying our first John deere.

Chicken Update:

The chickens are producing approximately 10 eggs a day and we are eagerly waiting for the bantams, cuckoo maran, and Americans to catch up with the rest of the flock and start laying. We are also trying to figure out what to name the 3 small bantams. There new favorite spot is in the rafters.

We have continued to be worried about Loki. We are thinking that he has lost all control of his foot and are now discussing putting him down. Everyone, except for Dustin are also ok with getting rid of Ringo. His new trick is to follow behind you and kick you when you are not looking. Beautiful, but a little stinker. Our first solution was to pick him up every time he would try to attack. Wasn’t a complete success so lately I just yell at him and he usually wanders away.

Finally, we are days away from the minnesota state fair and eventhough the kids can’t compete in 4-h, they can compete in the k-12 education division. They submitted photographs in their grade level and have had history of doing very well with both of them receiving multiple years of blue ribbons.

This reminds me that Eli received a check from winning reserved champion from the county fair and he was more concerned about where the ribbon was at. We thought it was pretty cute. Below is Eli using the chickens as models for his pictures.

Garden update and hot chickens.

We have definitely had our share of hot muggy August summer days lately and the poor chickens have been trying to find some relief. In case you have ever wondered what a hot chicken looks like, here is one of my hens demonstrating the necessary pose.

I also have a Loki update: He had been getting better over the past couple of weeks but yesterday he seemed to get worse again. Ironically we had another storm. Up to yesterday he was walking on his foot and even stretching out his toes. Today, however, he is not walking on his toes rather his leg. We’ll give him some time but not sure what happened.

Garden Update:

The garden has been larger than we ever anticipated. We have been enjoying the harvest. Dustin has been working on homemade Spagetti sauce and Sadie has become quite a pro with zucchini bread.

4 H Redemption

The 4 H journey has been a lot of work and a little bit of a downer if you would have checked in with me as of Tuesday but life is unpredictable. After I had received the call that this year was not an option for showing the goats at the county to fair, the family went through a grieving process. I accepted their decision but it was hard. Our club leader’s last words was let me dig into the issue. I didn’t hear from her the next day but Thursday morning she left a message for me to call her. I called her back and she told me that all the fair superintendents had a late meeting and discovered how many families this affected. After that meeting they decided to allow the families to participate this year.

So, the kids and I loaded up the pilot and headed out to the fair. We decided not to put them in a pen to cause more work but hung out in the goat barn with the goats on a leash. Once we got to the fair grounds everything seemed to settle. I began to see all the hard work and talented people that 4H has been know for.

The goats were a huge hit. Everyone wanted to talk about the goats. Even one lady wanted to know if I would be bredding them soon.

We left Charlie at home and only brought the girls. I was a little nervous but when Dustin checked on hom he was lounging with all the chickens.

Sadie was still a clover bud so just showed once at the fair and did an interview. Eli ended up showing several times and when asked if he wanted to do it again he eagerly said yes.

The first round was in showmanship. Eli did an amazing job and Aspen was wonderful. Eli was a little nervous but really put on a great show. We were initially nervous because the judge had switched sides and Eli didn’t see it and had his back to the judge. The judge walked over and talked to him. After that he remembered to put the goat first. He knew this but seemed to forget once he was in the ring.

He ended up receiving 4th out of 15 or 16 kids. What really topped his day was to receive reserve champion for Nigerian dwarf breed.

The kids had tons of support from friends and family and everyone did great- goat kids and human kids.

My big take away was finally seeing the unique community 4 H is and how special the experiences turned into for the kids. I watched my children proudly show their pets and educate fair goers around goat care. We were able to make better connections with our club and the support they gave us was wonderful. A true definition of community. A huge thanks to all for the comments and support through this journey. This has been a memorable one with a happy ending.

Barn Happiness

Things always seem to come back to perspective when you spend some time back in the barn. We have lots of little highlights that have been happening lately. Here are a few:

[Uploading gallery…]

The baby chick’s are as big as the rest of the hens. Ringo has plenty of action.
Bob attacks Ringo if he goes after Lahaina. The humorous part is Ringo is still scared of Bob.
Some of the baby chick’s or hens are beginning to lay. They are about 21 weeks. They have found a small area under the goat feeder to lay.
One of the chick’s laid one of the smallest eggs we have ever seen.
We have the neighborhood cat, Oliver, pretty much as a permanent fixture around the barn. We officially purchased cat food.
Marilyn is still broody. I have now begun to call her crazy lady since she growls at you if you come near her. Which we are going into months now.
The garden has been a big success. Sunflowers are blooming and sweet corn will be ready soon.
Ringo continues to be a stinker and try to kick you when you are not watching. We are trying hug therapy with little success. He may be heading to the dinner table soon.
The small bantams have found a new roost in the ceiling.

And lastly, Loki has continued to limp and ball up his feet but lately has begun to walk on his foot correctly.

Is 4 H worth it?

My experience with 4 H has been up and down this first year of membership. I feel like it is a secret society that has very little known rules. It is not willing to share the rewards until you prove yourself.

In the beginning when we had purchased the farm, we looked up our local chapter of 4 H. I made contact with the lrader and was excited how open they were to us visiting. After talking to some neighbors I discovered that our local county does not allow livestock showing. Ugh. So I found another club in a different county. It was a larger club so a little harder to meet people. I made a point to attend all activities to try and get to know as much as possible.

I learned to ask tons of questions to the point of annoyance. As we approached fair time, we discovered we needed to attend ethics class, register the animals, register for the dept. of health, learn to clip a goat, learn to listen to judges, learn dress code, etc.

All of this in different places of resources. So, this week was the big culmination of our learning with the county fair. We washed and trimmed the goats, purchased the right clothes ( which I will tell you it is pretty hard to find white pants in july), invited friends and family, took the week off of work and volunteered in the 4 H food stand. All to find out that we had registered wrong and now the kids would not be able to show. They admitted they had to turn away many first year families and that there is a huge learning curve. They encouraged to ask lots of questions and to call them directly. I responded I thought I was asking questions and it b is hard to call and ask for what you don’t know to ask.

I have mixed feelings on this whole year. I am feeling like this is a one way relationship and pretty much have to fail to have any idea of what is going on in this 4 H world. Well, 2016 -17 here we come, hopefully a little smarter and wiser.