Spring Flowers

Farm Update for August 2nd, 2020

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First and foremost, Cow Cow is doing great! He has come so far from where he started! He is eating great, gaining weight, and enjoying the pasture. CJ even taught him how to drink his milk from the bucket instead of nursing with the nipple. This makes his milk feeding much faster, he slurps it up in no time! It is kind of funny watching CJ go in. If he has the milk bucket, Cow Cow will almost knock it out of his hands trying to get to it. CJ has to do a little dance and spin around, blocking Cow Cow before he can set it on the ground for him.

I have not been going inside the pasture because, and I cannot stress this enough, dying via cow does not appeal to me. However, my time has come, and I must overcome my fears. CJ has drill this weekend so it is up to me to care for all of the animals. I went in yesterday with CJ to see how Cow Cow reacted to me and he did fine. Of course, he has gotten used to CJ feeding him, so he mainly harassed him (which is fine by me). I went in to feed him his grain at lunch, but I took Lil CJ with me. He stays outside of the fence though. I do not know what I expect Lil CJ to do should Cow Cow come after me, but at least there will be someone there to hear me scream and alert someone of my demise. Lil CJ being outside the fence distracted Cow Cow long enough for me to sneak by like a ninja, dump the feed, and sneak back out. I had to go in again this evening, but he was further down in the pasture and could not see me. I opted to climb through the fence as it was closer to his feeding area and the sound of the gate opening would have alerted him to my presence. So, I climb in, tiptoe over to his shed, dump the feed, then run back to the fence as fast as I can and climb through trying not to fall or get hung up! I may have done a little ”Woohoo” upon my successful, unnoticed, escape. I can do this, even if I must do it ninja-style!

The egg laying chickens seemed to have taken a break in laying eggs. I think the heat is just getting to them. I can hardly blame them! I would not want to give birth daily in this heat either! CJ tried to get the hens to be fed purely on foraging alone, but this did not seem to go well for them. Even though they have a generous area to free range, it may not be enough to sustain them completely. We will continue to give them feed.

We do have a hen that is not feeling well. We are not sure what is wrong with her, only that she is weak. She can stand up but does not move much and when she does move, you can tell she is struggling. She also just falls out of the coop in the morning when coming out instead of going down the ramp or flying out. She can not get back up in the evening. We moved and isolated her in a pen in the barn for a few days with her own food and water close to her. She improved so we put her back in with the other hens. She quickly became weak again. I am thinking that because the other chickens can move faster, they are eating all the food and she is not getting enough. So, we moved her back to the barn. She seems to be doing well there, so we will keep an eye on her for a bit longer and see how she does.

We have two new additions to the farm! A couple of bunnies and one guinea pig for Lil CJ. We had great success with using bunny droppings at the old house to fertilize our garden, so we plan to do the same here on the farm. Lil CJ has wanted a guinea pig since he was little. We found one for free and can’t exactly use the excuse of no room now that we have the farm! He has a nice cage in Lil CJ’s room and Lil CJ has been taking good care of him.

Jasper the donkey seems to have a hurt leg (or hoof). He was limping the other day and I could see nothing visibly wrong. We called a farrier and made an appointment to have him come look at his hooves and deliver any care necessary since we are not experienced in that area. I also really do not want to get donkey-kicked in the face, so I will leave that to the professionals to handle! He does seem to be walking better now so he may have just sprained his leg or had a rock stuck in his hoof that eventually came loose. We will keep an eye on him until the farrier can arrive on Monday.

Things are moving right along here on the farm!

 

Cow from Front

Swollen testicles, Dehorning, & Strange Lumps

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We had a situation where we had to call a veterinarian out for Cow Cow.

He was banded when we got him. His testicles had been drying up and it was progressing well. However, one day we noticed that his testicles were, um, quite rejuvenated. The area around his scrotum looked red and inflamed. This did not bode well. We were worried. At the same time, we noticed a large baseball size lump that popped up overnight on his hip. CJ and I agreed, he needed to be seen by a Vet. Problem was, 1: we have no way to GET him to the Vet and 2: being new to the area, we do not have a livestock Vet.

I figure since we live in the middle of cow country, surrounded by cows, there must be one nearby that does emergency home visits. This proved more difficult than I thought. None of the Vets near us handled livestock or did home visits. Seriously? There are more cows here than people, I am sure of it… there MUST be a Vet for them! I resorted to what I normally do in these situations and reached out to my local Facebook community page asking for help. This worked (again) and a lady was able to give us the number to her Vet that she uses. I do have to say that Facebook has been a great tool to connect with others when help is needed! We made the call and she came out that day.

CJ was working but told her to call when she was on the way so he could meet her here and help with the cow. Of course, this did not work out and she arrived here before him. Here we go. We grab his halter from the barn. Her and I go up to the pasture and the first thing she asks is, “is he friendly”. I think to myself “Depends on who you ask”, but politely reply that “Yes, he is friendly, but can get a little pushy, especially if you have milk”.  She asks if he is halter trained. “Nope, we haven’t got to that part yet”. So now we must catch the cow and get his halter on. Oh fun! I am secretly panicking on the inside while trying to not look like the big sissy that I am on the outside. She has the halter, so I am hoping that she is prepared to take control here. We coral him into his shed and she informs me that I am going to have to stand guard and make sure he does not escape. I almost laugh out loud, but instead just say “Um, ok” and stand there like a soccer goalie, silently giving myself an “I can do this” pep talk. I fail miserably as he runs by me, escaping into the field. I feel like I should be apologizing for my weakness to this woman who shows no fear whatsoever. She does manage to get him and get the halter on him though and we coax him into walking to the barn. He does not approve of this adventure and knows something is up. Once in the barn, she hands me the lead, and leaves to go get her stuff from the truck. She has no idea of my trepidation with this cow.

I am alone… with the cow. Holding him so he does not escape. I do not know if I should panic or laugh at this point. He looks at me and I look at him. He pulls on the lead and I pull back. He is calculating. I see it in his eyes. He knows he can take me. So, I do what I must. I call CJ and beg him to hurry up and get here. I inform him that I have been placed in charge of the cow, whom I fear, and the Vet has no clue that I am a big sissy.

He arrives minutes later, and I am yelling, “In here”. The Vet was back so I could not yell “Please come save me from the scary cow-beast”.  But no, I must continue holding him because CJ needs to clean out a stall for him and the vet. This poor lady must be thinking we have no clue as to what we are doing with this cow, and well, she would not be wrong. However, she is extremely nice about it.

Once everything is situated, I can thankfully hand over the lead. We get him into the stall, and she looks at his testicles. She informs us it is not as bad as it looks, but she will have to castrate him. She will also need more light to do so. The lead comes back to me (oh great) and CJ goes off to find another light source. She brings out a needle, filled with a sedative, and informs me to be careful because he is not going to like it when she sticks him. Uh, I am not exactly sure what she wants me to do. I am in a closed stall with no escape AT ALL, with a cow that is about to be stabbed. So, once again, I just stand there and say, “Ok”, while I mentally plan to scale the darn wall like a spider if I have to.

She sticks him quick and surprisingly he does not freak out. Whew. I think I jumped more than he did. She then leaves the stall to go get what she needs and tells me, again, to be careful because he will stumble around and then fall. She informs me that when he does, I must keep him in a sitting position because cows cannot lay on their sides. They will not be able to breathe if they are on their side. For the love of all things holy, why me? What exactly led me to this point in my life? At what point did the big sissy exert any level of “I am confident in my abilities with the cow” to be placed in this situation? He wobbles a little, I stand back as far as I can while holding his lead. I try to give him reassurance that everything will be ok. He wobbles a little more. I ask him very politely to just lay down and let it happen. I also remind him that I am not the one who stabbed him in the butt, and ask not to eat me, please and thank you. Then he promptly falls over. Thankfully, the Vet is back at the same time, takes control of the lead, and positions him correctly for me. No drunk cow manhandling for me!

CJ comes back in (took him long enough) and I run outside the stall, so I do not get volunteered for anything again. She takes the lead, wraps it around his leg and pulls it back out of her way. She has CJ hold the lead, as I closed the door and stood outside to be sure I am in a safe position. She tells CJ to make sure he holds it tight because she is going to charge him extra if she gets kicked in the face. I like her!  She makes a snip, ties off the tubes hanging out of the cow, and with a quick cut, his testicles are off. Then she unceremoniously throws the sack in the corner of the stall. She asks us if we want to dehorn him as well. I speak up and tell her that he is going to be a beef cow and that I thought his horns would not grow enough to worry about before he goes to freezer camp. She informs me that is absolutely incorrect, and we should remove the horns. Thanks, stupid internet, now I look like a sissy and an idiot. We agree to remove them.

I must tell you. I was in no way, shape, or form, emotionally prepared for what happened next. She pricks him again to numb him. She pulls out this thing and plugs it in. It looks like a large electric screwdriver in shape except the end of it is circular with nothing in the middle of the circle. It starts to warm up and gets hot. It clicks in my brain that she is going to burn the buds. Oh my. When she does this, I realize why the end is a circle. It does not burn the actual horn like I thought. It goes around the horn. She presses down and it BURNS the area around the horn. His poor little flesh is BURNING! He starts to breathe a little heavier. My barn is filled with smoke and the smell of burning flesh. I can hear it sizzling! My face is stuck in a position of absolute horror! She must see me, because she explains that the horn does not grow from the part that sticks out, but the part that is under the skin so you have to kill that part of it for the horn to stop growing. My face does not budge from its position of horror. She finishes one horn and then uses the same tool to kind of knock off the top of that horn and starts on the other. My poor little Cow Cow! I may be scared he is going to eat me, but I still love him, and this is just not what I was expecting. I do not know what I was expecting, but I know this was not it! 

Cow from the side
He constantly tests the fence

She finishes up and checks the lump on his hip. She drains it and lets us know that it is not a cyst. The lump is gone after it is drained. She is not overly concerned about it. It could be that he was bit, stung, or he could have just hit that area against the fence.

They come out and I still have the look of horror on my face. CJ quietly asks if I am going to be ok. I can only reply “No”. We go to settle with the bill, and I try to make my face go back to normal. She helps with this when she tells us the bill is a whopping $72.00.  What! I expected it to be hundreds at least! I am shocked and my face shows it! This lady, drove out on an emergency call, helped me wrangle the cow, gave him a sedative, numbed him, castrated him, dehorned him, gave him a tetanus shot (somewhere in the middle of all of that), and gave us a booster shot for us to give him later. For only $72.00!!!! I cannot even take my dog to the Vet for that amount and he is as big as the cow!!!! Wow. We obviously agree that she will be our vet from here on out.

We keep Cow Cow in the barn

as she suggested for 24 hours, until he is up and moving the next day. He seems to do fine and does not seem to be in pain. I still feel bad for him though. The lump on his hip did come back the next day, but CJ and I agree to just keep an eye on it. We take him back to the pasture and he seems to be happy to be back out there.

What an experience! I am learning that there is always an adventure around the corner with Cow Cow!

Also, I think his sack is still in the corner of the barn-stall. Gross.

Chickens Growing on Grass

Update for July 9th, 2020

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Hello Everyone!

Processing day has come and gone, and it was very successful. Our initial expectations were to raise chickens that approached the pastured broiler industry standard of about 4 lb., but we blew that out of the water, and we believe the credit belongs largely to the stress-free environment in which the birds grew, as well as the delicious (to chickens) smorgasbord of bugs and fresh grass made available to them each day. The paths the chickens followed in our pasture are now significantly greener from the nitrogen they spread, so the benefit is symbiotic.

Our average bird ended up weighing 6.3 lb. dressed! Although this efficiency of production was a pleasant surprise for us, it did produce some mild sticker-shock for some of you that bought from us. That shock was quickly abated once I was able to convey that, yes, the birds were more expensive than anticipated since we sell by the pound, but we are essentially selling 2 chickens worth of meat with each broiler. We have received plentiful feedback and everyone is pleased with the taste and texture of the finished product. It was a pleasure to raise these chickens, and that pleasure is only increased knowing that they are bringing pleasure to the people enjoying them with their families.

We are considering creating some sort of discount program for people that buy in bulk, such as buy 6 get one free, or possibly a subscription program that allows us to better forecast sales and reduce costs.  We are absolutely open to suggestions on what would work for you since, right now, our customers are literally our friends.

We will be ordering the next batch of chicks in late July or early August, and likely will produce a small batch of turkeys just in time for Thanksgiving.  There will be very few of these this year and some have already expressed interest but by all means, if you are interested, let us know.  The turkeys will obviously need more time to grow compared to the chickens.

Again, thank you to all who purchased our broilers, and thank you to all who have already committed to buying more!  We hope to become your alternative to the grocery store for chicken and maybe more in the coming years!

Cow Attack

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So we have had yet another adventure here with the cow.

The adventure requires a little back story…

We were upfront and honest with the farmer we got him from about our inexperience with cows and
trusted that he has the best intentions for the calf in mind. While I admit fully that we should have done
more research on our part BEFORE getting a cow, we did trust that the farmer would give us the correct
info on the calf and that his instructions on how to care for him were correct. We were wrong.

We were told this was a 10-week-old calf, that he was weaned from mom and eating grain, that he
would be fine eating only grass, that he needed nothing else (other than water of course). We were told
our pasture was more than sufficient for him.

We noticed that this calf was not grazing. We noticed that he had diarrhea. We noticed he was getting
weaker. I dove into research, trying to find out anything I could. Problem was, Jerseys are primarily dairy
cows. All my research was coming up for a milking cow, which have different nutritional requirements
than a steer. I could not reach my feed mill for advice as they were closed until the next day. I was
stressing out. I knew he needed something more, but no idea what to do for this little guy.

I visited my feed mill the next day. I was told there that this poor young cow could absolutely NOT
survive on grass alone. His stomach cannot even process grass properly yet! We basically, in our
ignorance, had been starving this little guy. My heart breaks with the thought! The feed mill got me
squared away with the correct feed that he needed. I was also informed that the diarrhea is called
scours in cows and can be just from the change in diet or something more serious. Scours can take a cow
down very quickly if not treated. I was given a syringe filled with probiotics and electrolytes to help his
stomach feel better and help the scours. I was advised to give him this before he was fed.

I came right home, went into the pasture, and gave him a dose from the syringe. He took this like a
champ, just like he was eating from a bottle. I was surprised. I had thought it might be a challenge. This
is where the next problem started. I tried to take the syringe away. I was NOT prepared for what
happened next.

This little cow, smaller than my dog, who is very weak, went absolutely crazy. He wanted more of that
syringe and he was determined he was going to get it! I had been sitting on the ground feeding it to him.
He tried to go after the syringe and was repeatedly head butting me, almost knocking me over. Now, he
does not have horns, but he has the buds where they should be. And I found out that they can indeed
still hurt when a cow is head butting you at head level. I managed to get up, but he did not stop. Then,
then… he started biting me! He bit me right in my rear end! At this point the cow was full on attacking
me, ramming me, head butting, and trying to bite at me! There was really no way to get away from him.
I was out in the open. His shelter does not have a pen, it is open as well. I try to move away but he is
relentless and continues to come at me. I know he wants the syringe, but I cannot drop it and run. I do
not want him to chew on it, eat it, and hurt himself further. Honestly, I panic. My instinct was to scream
for help. I realized this would be useless because I live in the boonies now and no one could hear me,
not even the kids in the house. I am all alone. In a field, with a crazy, aggressive, biting, cow. Of course,
this would happen, of course! I come up with the best I can do. I hold the syringe out behind me and run
like hell to the gate. It works. He is hot on my tail the whole time, biting the syringe. I get to the gate and

I figure since Tank is on the other side that the cow will back off since he is afraid of tank. Wrong. Cow
don’t give a crap about Tank. I open the gate best I can, and cow gives Tank a look that screams “come
at be bro” and tries to charge through! Now I have got an angry cow trying to get out (as well as myself)
and a giant challenged dog trying to get in! I manage by the grace of God to get out and keep those tow
where they belong.

It is over. I am out. I am safe. The cow is glaring at me through the gate. My whole body is shaking. I
almost died. By a cow. Almost eaten by a strictly herbivorous animal. Not even a huge fat cow, but a
little baby cow! I tell Tank “Thanks a lot, for not jumping that fence, which I know you could have done
easily to save me!”.

I walk, shaking, back to the house and call CJ. I recount the story and he laughed at me. I yell a little, he
laughs some more. I do not think he understands that the cow was aggressive and biting me. I reiterate
several times that he BIT ME IN THE REAR END! More laughing. I declare “no more animals”, ‘I’m never
going in there again” and we end the call with more laughing from him.

I do have to go back in there though. I must give him the feed. UGH. He is going to eat me; I just know it.
I go back in but have Lil CJ stand by the gate. I dump his food in his bowl. He eats a little and then comes
at me again! Here we go. I’m a tad more calm this time and hold the feeding cup out over his snout and
back towards the gate, yelling for Lil CJ to open it. Lil CJ opens the gate too far and Tank comes running
in, straight for the cow as if to say “Wanna talk smack now?”. The cow darts in the other direction. I do
scream this time, but somehow manage to grab Tanks collar as he runs by and swing him around. We
both run for the gate. We make it out fine.

Once I am calm and thinking clearly, it hits me, that he thought it was a bottle. The poor thing is here
starving to death and he thought I was giving him a bottle and then taking it away! No wonder he went
berserk! I would have too!

I do the best I can and dive back into researching calves. I join a Jersey cow group on Facebook and post
pics and describe the whole situation. I get a lot of help from these people, and spend hours sorting
through the comments/advice, but I also get conflicting advice. Do this, nope do not do that. I get a
message from a lady who works on an all Jersey cow farm. She sees all the conflicting advice;
instinctively knows I am stressing out and offers to call me. I gladly accept. I am so glad that I did!
We talk and I send pics. Her job at the Jersey farm is taking care of over a hundred baby calves. She is
very knowledgeable and helpful. We talk a great deal. I find out that she is from upstate NY. She even
offers to drive down this weekend just to look at the cow and help me out! Wow. We come to the
realization that:

1) We were overcharged for the cow. This is not as important as his health, but lets just say it was
highway robbery.
2) This calf does not in any way look like it is 10 weeks old. He looks much younger. More like a 2 or 3-
week-old calf.
3) He was too young to be taken from his mother and not weaned. He should not have been taken off
milk yet.

4) This was basically a back-yard breeding situation with cows. Someone looking to make a buck, not
caring at all about what happens to the animal. (This infuriates me!)

We work together to come up with a plan on how to get him back on milk. It must be done correctly.
Since he went for a while without milk, jumping right back on the bottle would upset his stomach even
more. He needs milk, free choice of proper calf feed, and of course free choice of water. I run out and
grab the milk replacer he needs, but they do not have any bottles. Crap. They do have a bucket that
hangs on the gate with a nipple. This, this is God answering my prayers because he knows I do not want
to go back in that fence!

 

Get home and thank God, CJ can come home early to help me. I prepare the milk replacer (which smells
delicious, just like a vanilla bean milkshake). Go out and it will not hang on the fence. Crap. So, we hold it
for him and good lord this cow is violently attacking it. Sloshing milk everywhere. I can hardly hold the
bucket! He falls into the fence while drinking and almost falls through the fence! I feel so bad for him, I
know he is starving. I promise him there will be more. He does not like when the bucket is empty, and
we must take it away. He contemplates coming through the fence but stays put, thankfully.

Later, CJ and I go in the pasture together, upon his promise to save me should the cow attack. The cow
has a full belly of milk and feed. He is already showing improvement. He is coming out of the shed,
roaming, and even lets me pet him again! Yay! Oh, my heart is happy! Demon cow has been dismissed
and my sweet cow cow is back!

I promise him again, that more food is coming, that there will always be food available and that he will
never have to go through that again. He will never have a need to fight for food. I promise that he will be
healthy.

I also may have thrown in a reminder that he no longer needs to eat me, just in case.

Meet Cow Cow

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So, we did a thing! We bought a Jersey Calf!

This has been a crazy year, even outside of our farm! I noticed meat prices going up as I was buying
groceries during these crazy times so CJ thought it would be good to raise our own cow. Not only
because of the prices of meat, but to know where our meat comes from and how it was raised. So, he
looked online and found a 10-week-old calf for sale. We visited the farm, and talked with the farmer,
and bought him!

Let me be clear here, we know NOTHING about raising a cow. This should be entertaining!

The guy delivers the cow to our home and we put him in the pasture. The poor grass is taller than this
little guy is! Of course, if someone had of listened to me when I advised we should keep the pasture
mowed, that would not have happened! HA! The cow seems content, however and does well finding the
shelter and water. He is so cute! I can not imagine eating this cute, adorable, sweet, animal. It is official,
I am going to make the worst farm wife EVER!

I know the rules that you are not supposed to name animals that you plan to eat, but I must call him
something. I settle on Cow Cow. It was the best I could do.

Cow Cow spends the first night out in the pasture and does fine. The second night is where our
adventure began…

The sun had just set, and rain had begun. CJ and I were walking tank and checking on all the animals
before bed. He checks on Cow Cow, while I check on Jasper. Cow cow is in his shelter dry from the rain
but follows CJ out in the rain when CJ tries to leave. CJ tries to get him to go back in the shelter, but he
refuses. He just stands there in the now pouring rain, mooing very sadly, as if to say, “Don’t leave me”.

CJ comes to me and we start to finish up Tank’s walk so we can all get back inside. We walk maybe 10
steps before CJ asks if we should put cow cow in the barn for the night as he is little, alone, and now
soaking wet. I say it will not hurt anything, (I personally think the cow and Jasper should go in the barn
every night). So, CJ heads back up while I finish with tank and put him in the house.

I go to the barn and CJ comes back, without the cow. Its now storming. CJ says the cow will not go in the
shelter and will not leave the pasture either. He just stands there in the rain mooing. We do not know
what else to do and figure he will go back in the shelter on his own. We wrap up everything in the barn
and start to head back to the house.

We did not even get out of the barn, when CJ says again, “You think he will be ok, or should we try again
to get him in the barn”. He is worried about Cow Cow… awwwwww! We decide to try again. Maybe If I
go with, he will follow us out of the pasture. I suggest talking some sort of lead for the calf, but CJ
dismisses this idea. We jog back up to the pasture. Mind you, it is now pouring rain, thundering and the

lightning is lighting up the sky. The sky flashes and thunder booms. I yell to CJ as we are jogging “Hey!
Stay next to me… Lightning always strikes the tallest object, and I don’t want to die”. I am, if nothing
else, an honest woman. HA! We make it there and Cow cow is still standing there where we left him, in
the rain. CJ opens the gate wide open and tries to shoo him out to me.

 

Me: “What are you doing! What if he bolts and runs away!”
CJ: “Then we will catch him”
Me: “With WHAT? We don’t have ANYTHING! I don’t know how to catch cows!”

Too late, Cow Cow sees me and comes running out of the gate. Lord have mercy, here we go! CJ is
slowly jogging beside the cow, and I follow bringing up the rear, trying to herd this little calf, in a
thunderstorm, all the way to the barn. Which I might add is at least 100 yards. Not a far distance, but in
the storm with a loose calf that could bolt at any moment, seems extremely far to me!

We manage well though. Then, a bolt of lightning that flashes bright stops both CJ and I in our tracks. I
do not prefer standing out in storms so; I quickly start moving again. However, Cow Cow thinks this is
the perfect opportunity so stop, sniff, and check things out. I, in my efforts to not die via lightning bolt,
pass the two of them.

CJ reminds me that I am supposed to be behind the cow. Oops, my bad. I do not take up my position
again, because, well… death by lightning, does not appeal to me. So, I call the cow to me. “Here Cow
Cow, here Cow Cow”. How else do I call a cow? I may have moo’ed. It is totally possible.

Cow Cow finally makes it into the barn. CJ puts him in a stall, but it has a lot of stuff in there that we had
stored. I do not want him knocking things over or getting hung up on something so suggest moving him
to the room we used for the chicken brooder, as it does not have much in there. CJ acknowledges that,
“That is a much better idea”. Of course, it is, that is why I said it! We quickly clean out the area, lay some
blankets down, and put a water bucket in there. We get Cow cow in there and I dry him off with a towel.
He seems happy to be in there and our cow adventure of the night comes to an end.

As we are about to leave, CJ decides to show me the biggest spider on earth hanging out on the door
frame, that I must walk through to get out. Um no. I am not walking by that tarantula! I make CJ stand in
front of it so I can run by safely. Now I know my husband, he is going to wait till I run by then jump at me
to scare me. So, I spend several minutes begging him not to do so, before I realize it will be of no good.
So, I make him stand in the barn, behind me while I hold up a towel and run by. This was a mistake as
well. As I do so…. This man of mine screams and grabs me from behind! I, lacking all common sense….
Jump thinking the spider has me. I take off running and screaming obscenities at CJ, straight out of the
barn, through the storm, all the way back to the house!

What a night! Only us! Always an adventure here at Skyline Pastures!

Brroder Space

Farm Update for April 16th, 2020

by Getting Started with the FarmUncategorized
Brooder construction
CJ staples in the 1/4″ hardware cloth to keep out even the smallest of predators

It has been a very exciting few weeks here at Skyline Pastures. We have constructed a predator-proof (we hope) brooder in the barn out of ¼” hardware cloth. We took extra care to plug every hole and ensure the sheets of hardware cloth overlap so no rats, raccoons, or anything else that can eat our chicks can get through. We are three weeks out for their arrival, and everything is ready. We even have a small generator with sufficient power to handle the heat lamps should the power go out. Then next thing to research is some sort of alarm to notify us if the power should go out in the middle of the night. It would be terrible to wake up and discover that the chicks died from a lack of heat simply because of a power outage. We are working on the e-Commerce portion of the website so that customers are able to place a deposit on their chicks. Our intent is to only sell 60 of the first batch of 100 to allow more than enough wiggle room for any losses due to the learning curve of raising chicks. Once it is up and functional, we will be sure to let everyone know so you can log in and reserve your chickens!

 

We have also added a miniature donkey named Jasper to our Farm Family. He came from a goat farm but once their goats had babies, he got jealous and needed to be separated. He is doing well on our pasture, although we wish he would eat more grass because he is not keeping up with the pasture’s growth. We will be getting him some friends (likely sheep) in the near future to both keep him company and add to our pasture maintenance plan.

With all of the grocery stores running low on items, including chicken, we see this as a prime opportunity to encourage people to stock their freezers with some of the best chicken possible. Who knows what lies down the road and having good food for our families stocked at home gives us one less thing to worry about! We look forward to keeping everyone posted on the chicks’ progress as we raise the up in the brooder and move them out to our pasture. Hopefully Jasper approves of his pasture-mates!

Donkey on Pasture
Jasper will help keep the pasture mowed while spreading fertility
Hens in the Chicken Tractor

Chicken Tractor Build

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With the help of my father, the first chicken tractor has been constructed and put to use. Frankly, my Dad is to thank for the majority of the construction; he built the major components in a modular fashion and then hauled them to my farm for assembly. A friend from our old neighborhood had 6 hens that had begun to eat eggs, so she gave them to us and there you have it.

Chicken Tractor Build
CJ and his Dad building a chicken tractor

Not counting the hours spent at my Dad’s house, assembling the walls and door, bending the conduit for the rafters, and tacking the hardware cloth to the framing, it took 4 hours to put together in my driveway. We are using a modified version of the Suscovich style chicken tractor. Ours has some additional structural support that does not add too much weight, as well as hardware cloth covering the entire structure. After 6 days being moved daily throughout my garden space, we have lost none to predators although the predators are certainly out there as proven by my game camera.

Chicken Tractor Build
CJ and his Dad building a Chicken Tractor

Picking up the chickens was an ordeal since, against my better judgement and Tanya’s advice, I sold my pickup truck and bought a Corolla. I was spending too much in gas (90-mile one-way commute) plus the truck was beginning to show its age mechanically. That being said, I really need to get another truck. We picked up the hens in Tanya’s van using a large dog crate (the wire frame style with a plastic tray for a floor). I expected this to be sufficient for the 1-hour ride back to the farm without damaging the carpet in the van, but I was incorrect. Fortunately for us, our friend loaned us a tarp to place under the dog crate and boy was it needed. Within five minutes of pulling out of their driveway the chickens had pooped all over the crate and the smell was horrendous. We had both sunroofs open, all of the windows down, and were mouth-breathing but it wasn’t enough. The tarp protected the carpet so at least once we got to the farm cleanup was easy, but we let the van air out for a few hours anyway.

The test chickens are all hens and are actively laying eggs, which was not the original intent for these chicken tractors so I had to add in some nest boxes with the hope that they would lay the eggs in the boxes for easy collection. The chickens have other plans though. They use the nesting boxes as roosts and lay their eggs on the ground. Not a big deal I guess but I will have to build them a proper roost to see if that will fix the issue. So far, they have not eaten any of their eggs.

Completed Chicken Tractor
The Chicken Tractor is ready for its new residents
Broiler Chick

What is Pastured Poultry?

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Over the past several years we have developed a dream/idea in my head and have finally taken steps to make that dream into a reality.  That dream is to raise animals (initially poultry) on pasture so that the animals can enjoy being animals for the time they have before we harvest them.  Watching documentaries such as Food INC., combined with our own observations such as the smell and texture of traditional store-bought chicken were the driving forces behind this idea.  Since we are very excited about starting a farm and growing animals for meat, our plans come up frequently in my conversations with friends and family, but often they have no idea what we plan to do, why its necessary, or why it should matter to them.  We will attempt to clearly answer those questions here.

First, how is what we plan to do any different than the large chicken houses you occasionally see driving down the highway which produce most of the chicken you see on grocery store shelves?  Without delving into all the negatives we believe exist in that massive production side of the poultry business, we will focus on the positives that will exist with our chicken-raising method.  Our poultry will arrive on our farm as one-day-old chicks.  They will be placed in a brooder (a clean dry enclosure that provides feed, water, and most importantly heat) that is meant to simulate what a baby bird would experience tucked safely away under its mother.  They will live in the brooder for approximately 21 days as they grow from little yellow puffballs to young chickens that have grown true feathers.  After 3 weeks in the brooder, they will be moved out onto pasture in a mobile coop commonly known as a chicken tractor.

 

A chicken tractor derives it name since it is moved daily over the pasture, and wherever it passes, it improves the soil fertility and the pasture itself, much like mechanical tractors are used accomplish.  The structure will weigh just over 100 lbs. (it has no floor, so the birds just walk along with it) and it will be pulled by hand to fresh grass each day via 2 wheels in the rear.  This method allows the chickens fresh clean forage each day consisting of grass, weeds, seeds, and bugs while allowing them to get exercise and enjoy the fresh air and sunlight.  After approximately 5 weeks on pasture they will graduate to the dinner table as tasty tender broiler chickens.  The difference in these birds due to our careful and attentive management will shine through in the smell, taste, texture, and appearance of the final product.

We feel that if we can improve the welfare of our animals, while practicing ethical and regenerative farming methods, then we are obligated to do so.  Who wouldn’t want to raise and eat the best food possible if it were in their means to do so?  Our products will help families eat amazing food while refreshing skills like cooking a whole chicken and using all of the bird so that it provides multiple meals.  We are very excited to get this farm going and are happy for anyone interested in learning from our efforts!  Thank you for reading and we will certainly keep you posted as all of the preparations are made for the arrival of our first chickens.

Raw Dogfood

Raw Dog Food

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Raw Dogfood

Anyone that knows me, knows I am an animal lover to the highest degree. My animals are my children, my babies. I want the absolute best for them. One of the main reasons we wanted to start a farm was to be able to provide healthy food for not only our family but others as well. Why would I not want the same option for my animals? They are a part of this family as well, and I would like to be able to feed them a healthy diet too.

*I do not in any way claim to be a raw feeding expert. I admit fully that I am still in the learning phase myself.

I began researching a raw dog food diet shortly after getting our boy, Tank. He had some issues with kibble in the beginning and I had tried every high end, fancy, expensive food out there (only wanting the best for my boy). He ended up doing just fine on what my vet claimed was “plain old kibble”, as my vet suggested that sometimes the higher end food was just too rich for his stomach.

I began to wonder why that was. Why would a higher quality food NOT be good for him? What was in these dog foods that just wasn’t agreeing with him? It wasn’t an allergy issue; it was more of a “going potty” issue. At some point I realized that I was feeding him a 100% processed food diet. While he was doing good on the kibble we had settled on, it was still a processed food diet.

This would not be an acceptable diet for our human family, why is it ok for my dog? This can’t be good for him. So, the research began on the raw food diet. I scoured the internet for reliable sources, joined various raw feeding Facebook groups and tried to learn everything I could about this diet. I spent months researching before I felt I knew enough to give this a try.

I could go on for hours about the benefits of raw feeding, but I will just say that it made sense to me to feed him as healthy of a diet as I could. A raw dog food diet was a natural, species-appropriate diet for my boy. The ingredients are full of nutrients, it is not processed, and has no additives. This is what I wanted for him.

Now, Tank is a big boy. He is 165 lbs. This meant that to feed him completely raw, he would consume quite a bit. Much more than I could afford at that time (or the present as well). I realized this was going to be an expensive endeavor. While I want the best for him, I also cannot put my family into financial distress to feed him an expensive diet while he was doing good on the kibble we had settled on.

However, I was determined to make this work in some way. I do not give up easily. I decided if I cannot feed him a 100% raw diet, I could feed him a portion of a raw diet. I could supplement his kibble with some raw and I felt this would still benefit him greatly until the time comes that I can go full raw. (As you can see… I still have not given up.)

So, it began that Tank receives a breakfast meal of 100% raw food and then free-feeds kibble for the rest of the day. Hopefully in the future I will be able to make the transition over to full raw, but for now at least I can offer him a nutritional balance between raw and kibble.

Making Raw Dogfood

This is still quite a bit of extra expense as even his breakfast meal is quite large! It is quite an experience in the stores when I go food shopping for his raw food! I get peppered with questions by various other shoppers as to why I am buying so much bulk meat and odd items such as sardines and liver! For example, a normal shopping trip goes something like this:

Random Shopper #1: “Well someone like sardines…. 15 cans?”

Me: “It’s actually for my dog.”

Random Shopper #1: “How big is your dog?”

Me: “165lbs, yes he is a big boy.”

 

Random Shopper #2: “That is a lot of beef, what are you making?”

Me: “It’s for my dog, I make his food.”

Random Shopper #2: “Oh, you cook it?”

Me: “No, I raw feed.”

Random Shopper #2: walks away like I am crazy

 

Random Shopper #3: “40lbs of chicken, that’s the way to buy it right there!”

Me: “It’s not for me, it’s for my dog.”

Random Shopper #3: “Do you give it to him all at once?”

Me: “No, I make batches for him.”

 

Cashier: “Wow…”

Me: “Yes I know, it’s actually all for my dog, he is 165lbs, I make his own food, yes raw, yes in batches, the sardines are good for him, yes he is a spoiled dog.”

It is quite an adventure food shopping for Tank! I thought that if that many people had questions about it, maybe you would too! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I will be happy to answer or direct you to more information!

I am continuing to learn all that I can about the raw dog food diet and have even entertained the idea of taking courses on animal nutrition. I do not want to bite off more than I can chew though with a family, and new farm, so I will continue to think on it. We will see what the future holds in that area!

Farmhouse

The Farm House

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Farmhouse

There is a lot of work to be done on the inside of the farmhouse. Nothing that has to be done right away, but instead improvements we would like to complete to make it our own. This too will have to be completed one day at a time, as I have grand plans. Much grander than my husband would like.

When we were looking at houses, we found what we like to call the “barn house”. It was an 1800’s log cabin that someone had flipped, like they do on TV. It was absolutely amazing! A wonderful combination of an old-fashioned structure with contemporary design inside. The land was not what we were looking for, so it did not work out for us, much to my dismay. However, I do recall vividly, my husband stating that we would transform our current farmhouse into my barn house. This may have been a mistake on his part. I do not think he was prepared for what that statement meant to me.

While I do not want to replicate the barn house, or for that matter, invest the amount of money it would take to replicate it, I do want to personalize this home. There are some areas that we would really like to change. For instance, the washing machine is on the 1st floor in the mud room and the dryer is in the basement. This does not work for me (the primary laundry manager) at all and must be fixed. The kitchen needs new flooring and updated counter tops, as well as a new faucet and sink (possibly moving the bar and extending the kitchen). Eventually we would like to remove the carpet in the house and replace with hardwood flooring.  We need to replace the loft railing as well.

Boy do I have ideas for these! There are other things I have ideas for, but these are the items that need to be focused on first. I have begun to draw out my visions for my husband to see. This is painstaking for me, as I am certainly no artist. However, I am a very visual person and need to see how it will look before I decide to roll with it. I also feel my husband needs to see it as well to be absolutely sure he knows what I want. This also helps to find flaws that may not work. I try to think of everything in my designs (such as, you cant place the washing machine on an outside wall or the pipes might freeze, or you can’t wall over that pipe because we need access to it) but I am not a builder or designer for that matter. My husband can look at my design and point out things that need to be changed for it to work. This has caused me to have to completely redo one of my completed designs. While that is disappointing, it is better than having my heart set on something that is not possible.

So far, the only thing that has been approved to begin is the laundry area. I do want to get started on this as soon as we are able, as this family produces quite a bit of laundry. As the Primary Laundry Manager, I need adequate space and tools to do my job properly.

While I am sure my husband wishes that I could just be simple in my designs, this is just not possible for me. Simple is just not going to work. I want creativity, I want different, I want to complete an area and take pride in the fact that WE did that – we designed it and created it.

I will add that in all of my designs, I am trying to incorporate things that we can do ourselves or at least with the guidance of our master builder (my father in law).  I am not looking to buy brand new materials and have them professionally installed. Want a barn door? – build it. Want new counter tops? – build them.  New loft railing? – build it.

I do acknowledge that this means more work for us, well mostly my husband, as I know nothing of building things. I am willing to learn and help though! It will save money, however, and my husband is all about saving money. I scour over Pinterest for ideas and various marketplaces for cheap wood or re-purposed items. Again, I am very determined, and I will make my visions come to life, with as minimal expense as possible.

Just watch and see!!!