Chickens & Eggs

As February passes the halfway mark I am thinking about firing up the incubator.  I have been incubating chickens on the farm for several years.  Unfortunately in 2015 I didn't add any new hens and the girls that were here were upwards of three years old.  The incubated eggs from last spring did not do well and we had less than 40% hatch/survival rate.  In order to increase that rate this spring, thirty one new birds were purchased from the feed store and added to our flock last fall.  One rooster was purchased to freshen up my breeding stock and the remainder of the birds were allegedly pullets.  Amazingly I now have seven roosters in my flock when I went into winter with only three.  So far the extra boys haven't been too much trouble.  As the weather gets warmer, they will start to fight over the top roost in the coop.  In addition to my seven boys there are 53 girls.  

Before the new birds were added to the general population, most of the older hens got three days solitary confinement in the brooder box to see who was laying and who wasn't.  Each of the girls who gifted us with an egg got a blue band.  Those that didn't lay an egg gifted us with a good meal.  This year, depending on my hatch rate, between 12 and 25 birds will be ordered from the feed store.  I will choose a different breed of heavy layer, this time by color alone.  Last year it was golden comets and silver-laced wyandottes, each of them got a yellow band.  I will probably go all white or all black for a stark difference.  All seven boys are completely un-related to the girls so my hatching success should be much better.  The choice of band color will be left up to Little man.  Anyone who doesn't have a this years color band or a yellow band will go into the freezer at the end of the 2017 season.  Birds that are given to us or traded to us will get yellow bands if they were last years birds or blue bands if they were the year before that or older.

In addition to keeping better track with a physical identifier, I have been much better at keeping track of numbers.  Little man's father collects the eggs most days and he and Little man count them as they are put in the refrigerator.  That number is entered onto the calendar and once a week they get entered into a spreadsheet.  Unfortunately for some of the girls, the number of eggs being produced (20-22 on average) is far less than the number of birds (53 laying hens) in the coop.  It will be time again to start segregating birds.  The brooder box will be solitary confinement until a few days before the eggs are scheduled to hatch then it will be cleaned and made ready for babies.  Since we have been pretty good at eating down last years stores, there is room in the freezer for chicken n' biscuit or chicken soup chicken.

I've thought about getting rid of all but a few of my chickens for personal consumption but many of the summer visitors to our small town enjoy bringing their grandchildren down to visit the birds as they run all over the farm.  Next winter, however, I will need to do a better job about lining up customers so that I am not carrying 50 - 60 dozen at any one time in my refrigerator.

My lists and lists and lists

After realizing that my to-do list didn't hold me accountable to times of year or weather, I went to visit the library and found a good guide to help me focus my plans to ensure that the mulch got added before it snowed and that the fruit trees didn't get pruned until after it had snowed.  This whole farm planning approach brought to light several things that we weren't getting accomplished that really should have taken a much higher priority.  It also showed me that I was focused too much on the little things and not making enough time for bigger things that would increase efficiency and save time in the long run.

Revisiting my whole farm lists at the turn of the calendar also helps me ask hard questions like - why should I keep the chickens if they aren't paying for themselves and is it a better business/lifestyle decision to breed piglets here on the farm or source feeder piglets each spring and perhaps take the winters off from swine related tasks.  Maple syrup has not been on our to-do list for the past couple of years as a direct result of this annual review.  My time in the spring has a much better return on investment if it is spent on vegetables and spring building tasks then it is watching sap boil.  It might be more fun to hang around the arch and visit while the sweet maple steam wafts out of the pan, but if I am going to achieve my goal of being home when Little man gets off the school bus, some things have to take a back seat.

Now I keep lists of many things: how many eggs the chickens lay each day, dates when the pigs come into heat, groceries needed, projects, stuff that we need for the farm, stuff that I need when I can find some extra cash, dates of birth for both pigs and poultry, expenses, seed inventories, projected harvest dates, etc.  I also compile a weekly list - well, actually it is three lists.  Little man's father cringes as the pen and papers are set next to my cup of coffee on Saturday morning. 

First is the grocery/errand list - we need to eat and so do the animals.  Groceries, feed, and supplies that I need to complete weekly chores go onto this list.

Second is the meal planning list - sometimes I am lucky enough to start this before Saturday.  The plan is to use up some of the oldest things in the refrigerator and freezer first, then supplement with groceries.  This time of year the freezer inventory is dwindling and shopping sales is more important than ever.  By completely emptying one of the freezers, I can consolidate, shut it down and clean it out before the first spring produce and broilers are harvested.  Many an argument has also been prevented with this list as neither one of us can say we didn't know what to make for supper or that we didn't have the ingredients to make it.

Third is the weekly to-do list.  I make a big list of everything that needs to get done during the coming week and include a project or three from the farm planning list.  Then each day I add two or four tasks to my daily planner that are related to the bigger list.  Some days I get two done, other days I get five or six done.  By the following Saturday the goal is to have better than two thirds of the previous weeks tasks crossed off.  This particular list also helps to ensure that my house is presentable when people stop by.

It turns out that my list making process is actually proven effective and written about by bloggers much more important than I.  This past weekend the fruit trees were pruned before we got 12 plus inches of snow on the farm.  Unfortunately, somewhere under that snow are the new supports for the greenhouse roof.  Maybe I should be planning a little more than one week out...

Making waffles, saving squash, greenhouse update, and almost getting fired

I was pretty excited when I got home last night, the temperature outside was 14 degrees and the temperature inside the greenhouse was 36 degrees.  My compost pile, combined with a partly sunny day had kept the temperature above freezing.  The bubble burst this morning as the thermometer read 13 degrees inside the greenhouse; the outside temperature was just above zero.  My little eight cubic foot compost pile will not be sufficient as the only source of heat for my 250 sq. ft. greenhouse.  A girl can dream.  

January is still too early to be planting seeds outside of a controlled temperature environment.  The free piles on the side of the road will be perused and craigslist, facebook, the local newspaper, and local bulletin boards will be carefully watched for items that will help make our farm projects better.  Who knows, somebody might discard a portable wood stove or some other heater that could keep my little glass house warm.

Free piles and tag sales have been pretty good to this house over the past couple of years.  One of Little Man's favorite breakfasts is waffles.  Tag sale left overs yielded this slightly ancient waffle iron.  It makes the perfect size waffles to be reheated in the toaster. (A huge bonus since the oven died right before Christmas.)  The waffle iron cannot be left unattended as it is powered by the old fashioned fabric wrapped electrical cord.  It has absolutely no safety features like automatic shut off, a temperature light or a timer.  Trial and error lead to five-minutes for the perfect waffle once the temperature gauge on the top reaches bake.  Eggo waffles were on sale this week at the grocery store, but the list of ingredients was longer than my arm.  Good food is worth the time to make homemade waffles.

Saving seeds and freezing squash also helps save some money.  With a 700+ lb yield of squash from the garden this year, I baked and froze squash in two cup bags.  One bag is enough to make a rich pumpkin pie or one dinner of butternut, blue hubbard or mama mia squash.  The seeds are dried and put up for spring planting.  Most years, the squash is true to its breed, however, every once in a while we will get a cross breed that is a little unusual.  They all still taste really good.

Although I still have to have an off-farm job, my heart is still 23 miles northeast next to the lake.  While at that off-farm job today, I was told (albeit jokingly) that I was fired.  Standing in the middle of the hallway, I didn't think about where my next paycheck was going to come from or if my resume was up-to-date; I was actually pretty happy thinking about all the projects I could get done on the farm.   As I headed back to my desk, I was actually sad that I didn't get fired.  Hmm, maybe it's time to try again working on the farm more and off the farm less.  

Greenhouse heated by compost - amateur experiment

I have had a compost pile on the farm or in my backyard since I was old enough to know better.  My grandfather, an avid gardener and phenomenal green thumb, had a compost pile in the corner of the garden where we would deposit our cat litter, onion trimmings, banana peels and more.  Every spring he would turn the pile over and arduously spread it across his garden and then turn it in - all by hand - with no mechanical intervention.  He did this in our backyard in Greenwich, Connecticut, of all places.  It never smelled, it was always the warmest spot in the garden and I can't ever remember it having snow on it.  He also had a greenhouse.  It was heated with propane, to my grandmother's dismay.  He spent hours out there every day in his retirement.  His goal - to have tomatoes on the 4th of July.  I think he missed one year by three days between my 8th birthday and when he passed just after my 22nd.

Next to the garden, I have a huge compost pile.  It accepts almost all of the shavings and manure from the chicken coop, the remnants of the garden after it is cleaned out in the fall and any other large deposits of vegetation, grass, leaves and weeds that are collected here on the farm.  This year, I also started a compost pile in the greenhouse.  I had read one of the many articles on free heat for a greenhouse.  There are some pretty impressive systems out there where you run pipes through and around your pile and then run water through those pipes to heat the greenhouse.  My system is much more low tech.  In the greenhouse, I built a compost pile (meaning I took a corner of the greenhouse and started piling up organic material).  Recently, I renewed my efforts, to collect coffee grounds and food stuffs unfit for the chickens and pigs so that they be added to my pile in the greenhouse.

I can report some moderate success.  The outside temperature today did not exceed 32 degrees and it was 45 degrees inside the greenhouse.  The true test this week will be to see if the pile can keep the inside temperature over 32 degrees as the outside temperatures are forecast to remain in the low teens for highs and close to zero for overnight lows.  If I can maintain a temperature close to freezing, then it will be time to start some early spring crops like spinach, greens and radishes for personal consumption.

Later this year I hope to add some radiational heat retention with bricks found on craigslist for a new floor and perhaps a water barrel painted black.  Always a work in progress.

Women!?#$%!

This farm has two female pigs, a gilt and a sow.  Little One came to us shortly after Labor Day as a nine week old piglet.  Sally joined us the week after Thanksgiving as a three year old sow.  Our goal is to breed both of them for the next couple of years to put pork in our freezer, trade for beef and lamb, and sell a few of the piglets to cover feed, bedding, housing etc.

Two weeks after Sally arrived, and reportedly one week before she was supposed to go into heat again; Sally lifted the wooden fence separating her and our boar Zeb.  They did not have any rules about waiting until the third date, sealing the deal at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of their first date.  This early encounter would result in March piglets; a little to early for my liking, but if Sally got pregnant from that first date then that is what I will be looking at.

In the weeks since, I have been diligently watching for Sally to come back into heat.  I didn't notice any in December so I figured, yep, March piglets it is!  Then New Year's weekend Sally was definitely in heat again.  Unfortunately, even though she stood for Zeb, he didn't seal the deal.  She should have come into heat again this past weekend and although she was extra social on Friday, she showed no other signs that she was ready for another date with Zeb.  

Little One - at just over six months old - came into her first heat yesterday.  Thankfully a lot of reinforcement was done on the fence after Sally broke through.  The calendar has been marked and I will watch again next month for a good heat.  If she starts to have a regular cycle I may get Little One and Zeb together in March for late June or even piglets on her birthday - the 4th of July!

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2011/08/28/pregnancy-indicator/

Two and a half years ago, after an attempted artificial insemination on a five year old sow, I went searching the interweb for a tell-tale sign that a sow/gilt was pregnant.  Sally's hind end doesn't look like this.  Again, I may be forced to go the high tech route to see if Zeb and Sally are proud parents to be.  Little man's father seems to see something different than I and thinks that the pregnancy 'indicator' is positive.  Ever pessimistic, I will wait and watch for the next 21 days and if there is no sign of heat and no significant, noticeable change in her weight, then I will resort to the high tech route.

In the meantime I will start gathering materials for a corral and sourcing a better farrowing hut on higher ground so that if Sally is pregnant, the pasture is ready for the little ones in early March.

January thaw

Mother Nature usually teases me in January.  She will give me a day or two of rain and warm temperatures just long enough for my brain to turn to incubators, seeds, soil, and spring farm projects.  This winter we have been hovering in the upper 30s for daytime highs and dipping not too far below freezing at night for almost two solid weeks now.  This past weekend it was warm enough for sap to run and a few sugar makers I know have put up over 20 gallons of Fancy.  (It’s called something different now like Grade A fluffy delicate, the VT Maple Sugar Makers Association will help you with the official grade names).

Usually it doesn’t take more than two or three days and we are back in the deep freeze.  Not this time – Mother Nature is being especially cruel.  While my mind knows that it is only January and starting tomatoes in my unheated greenhouse is not too smart, the weather and my heart are thinking it is more like March than January.

The pigs have been feeling their oats with the warmer weather.  They have been talking and nudging the fence in their version of courting.  The last time this happened was New Year's Weekend.  Sally and Zeb were pretty excited for their midnight kiss.  Alas, I didn't notice the heat until Sunday morning and missed our opportunity.  This weekend and early this week I will be keeping watch for signs of another heat in hopes of having mid-April piglets.

Ten-day forecasts are predicting more seasonable temperatures for the coming weekend with daytime highs in the upper teens and low 20’s.  Seed starting will take place on a limited basis inside the house this weekend for the longest season veggies.  A recycled heater could be coming soon for my ramshackle greenhouse.  That would allow me to start everything a little earlier and perhaps add a second farmers market to calendar this summer.  I would be in heaven if I could bring a low tunnel onto the farm this year, but baby steps!

Until then I will enjoy a little less humming from the circulating pumps as the thermostats don’t demand as much heat in the warmer temperatures.  Inside projects will continue, like finally painting the wall that we tore down three years ago.  Spring projects will come soon enough.  In the meantime I will use the cooler temperatures this weekend to prune the fruit trees while the sap isn’t running!

Remodeling on the coldest day of the year

My horoscope for the beginning of 2017 says that the stars are aligned for successful home remodels, general home repairs and making my bedroom and oasis for better sleep.  Well, neither of my pigs are Libra's so I am not quite certain why they picked the coldest week of the season so far to remodel theirs.
  

It only took them two days and they managed to do enough damage that I might as well have put them in the middle of the ice-covered front lawn with a bed sheet and they would have been just as warm.  Saturday (almost the coldest day of the season so far), they decided to knock out the back wall removing four or five of the boards.  Not terrible since the back wall faces primarily west and is up against a hill, but still far enough away that they lost the wind break from that direction.  It was late, there was very little wind and they were buried deep in the hay so I knew they would be fine for the night.  

Sunday morning, with temperatures hovering around zero and a steadily increasing wind, I went out to find that they had taken boards out of and the tarp off the north wall.  Almost all of our weather comes from the north and west.  They had now removed about all of their protection from the elements.  If you have livestock, or want to have livestock, you will learn that it doesn't matter if the wind chill is 15 below and dropping; when your animals need attention, you take care of it.

At those temperatures the battery operated circular saw and drill wanted nothing to do with me.  The drill went inside to warm up.  I went out to the hut to take measurements albeit at the displeasure of the girls who had to move from their warm pile of hay so I could measure the back wall.  Back to the garage and the OSB (composite plywood) was cut to size.

Over the past couple of weeks we have had up and down temperatures with snow one day and rain the next.  Anyone who lives on a dirt road or has a dirt driveway in Northwestern Vermont has honed their ice walking skills this winter.  When you also take almost the same path each morning and evening over to feed and water the pigs, it gets pretty slick as well.  42 x 90 sheets of OSB make great sails against a steady wind - oh the you tube video might have gone viral if there had been a camera.

We climbed back inside the hut, unseating the girls, again!  The pieces slid in with only a little chopping of frozen hay and some nudging where it was too thick to be chopped away without bigger tools.  A bale of fresh hay to the girls and one to Zeb to top them off against the extra chill and it was over to the garage to clean up my mess.  

One thing that seems (knock on wood) to be working in my favor this year over last is that pre-planning, thinking it through, and triple checking that the materials and tools needed are on hand or procured before the first cut is made, has exponentially decreased the amount of time spent on farm projects.  Proper maintenance or checking that proper maintenance was completed before enlisting a particular tool to a task has also decreased the time that these projects are taking.

Perhaps, I am finally learning!