Laying hens at work

I collect eggs at 3:30 p.m. each day. The only chickens in the coop are 'broody,' they are sitting on a collection of eggs from other birds. Some will not get up and move away no matter how close I get to them.

Turkey diet plan

Here's a picture of Dan loading grain into the turkey feeder. We feed them commercial non-medicated feed to make sure they have the proper nutrition while they grow. Then, around October we change their diet to grains grown on the farm, and apples from a local orchard.

Turkey update

We have started letting our turkeys outside the coop into the pasture during the day. The sides hinge up for air flow and additional shade to keep them cool on hot days. As you can see, some are outside under the 'wings' of the building and others are inside, where they eat and drink.

Pastured laying hens

The most frequently asked question about our eggs is 'Are your eggs free-range?' Well, not only are the birds free-ranging, they have far more green pasture than they can use. Dan has to mow the hay down every couple of weeks or else we lose sight of them, and watching them is half the fun of owning them. The many bare patches you see are riddled with large holes that they use to take 'dirt baths' in.

Burlington's Farmers' Market

The ninth market day closed with a little less in the till than previous weeks, probably due to forgetting to pack up our large banner with the farm name on it that you can see across the park. Ah well, there's always next week.

Hurry up and harvest

Dan is on the dump truck depositing cut hay at the bunker. This is the horizontal storage system for the feed that the cows eat. A tractor will come along and push the feed up the small mound already behind the truck, compressing the grasses and pressing out air that would cause spoilage. When we are finished, we will top the entire thing with black plastic and old tires. Safer and more economical than upright silo storage, but not so pretty to look at, which is why it is located behind the barns.

In case you were wondering, most of our lands are outlying, 10 miles or less; we use a large truck instead of tractors or wagons and pickups (and many drivers) to get the job done in a timely fashion.

Hay, Hay, Hay

It's the second day of the second cut of hay. This alfalfa field behind my house was mowed this morning and depending on the wind and sun, will be ready for picking up either later this evening or tomorrow before noon (providing it doesn't rain). But the skies look clear, no?

Here's a closer look at what our cows will be eating; this windrow has already started to dry down.