Things have been relatively quiet here but busy at the same time, kind of like organized chaos! This evening the organization may go out the door! We will finally finish the coop and get move the chickens. I’m excited for them and for me, I get my basement back! Not that I haven’t enjoyed their stay but they have worn out their welcome!Â
We opted to go with new steel for the roof but luckily the company that sells roofing steel has this nice little pile of seconds that are sold at a discounted price without a warranty. Considering it is for the coop I wasn’t too concerned about the warranty. With some help from one of our friends and Chad’s cousin, they put the roof on in no time. It looks awesome! It’s also water tight; no leaks appeared during the down pour last evening. We put in divider walls that are about 3′ high and chicken wire to the top. This evening we have to put the doors on the inside and the steel on the walls and we will be good to go!  Sorry the pictures are kind of awkward but it was dark. The broilers will go in the smaller enclosure to the right and the hens will have the entire half to themselves.Â
We did have a bit of a scare with one of the broilers. He started limping on one leg and got run over by his hungry roomates. I moved him to a separate box and then start freaking out after reading the symptoms of Marek’s on the internet. Unfortunately everyone I called knew very little about it. So we’ve been taking care of him and I’ve come to the conclusion that it isn’t Marek’s but instead a wing and leg injury. The vet’s office was not much help so I’m winging it (no pun intended!). I did give everyone some oregano after reading the Fresh Eggs Daily blog about nesting box herbs. I’m adding an herb garden to my list of things to do. It’s great to know there are alternatives available without having to add a bunch of chemicals to their diet. Thanks Lisa!
We finally found pigs but only 2 so far. They will be coming home in 2 weeks. We were hoping to get more but pigs are very hard to find. Well, normal pigs are hard to find. The market is loaded with expensive show pigs for the fairs. That is great for them but I’m just looking for a nice, normal pig that I can feed, grow, butcher, and eat. I doubt the chickens and bunnies will be concerned about whether or not his hair looks nice or if he has scars from his castration. Things are still up in the air but if it is this hard to find pigs we may consider raising our own. We have talked to several people that are running into the same problem however they don’t want to raise them.Â
There have been no signs of bunnies arriving so I’m thinking that we may have separated them in time. I’ve been reading up though just in case. Since this would be her first litter I know she will be stressed and I want to make sure if its going to happen that we are able to do what we can for Thumper and the little ones.Â
Turkey hunting has been unsuccessful thus far. Â Eliza shot at 2 on Junior Hunt Day but missed. Â I’m not sure who was more nervous her, Chad, or Chad’s brother Chase. Â I really would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of the blind! Â I went out one day and had no luck. Â It sounded like they were right below me but never came up to where I was. Â Chad and Eliza went out again Saturday and heard several but were apparently the only 2 that believed in walking because there were 4 wheelers running around everywhere. Â We’ll see what happens this Saturday. She definitely has turkey fever! Â Our house is filled with the sound of her practicing with the turkey call. Â Aurora and Jorja are biting at the bit to go fishing. Â Chad hears turkeys from side and fish from the other!
Chad and I were able to attend the Soil Conservation District annual dinner this week. They had a slide presentation of what all the SCD has done and is responsible for. I would imagine that there are plenty of people in our area as well as our many tourists that have no idea what goes on to help maintain and save our land and water. The SCD handles everything from building sites to flood control to farming. They showed pictures of a flood in our county seat that caused a lot of damage. As a result flood control dams were constructed and there hasn’t been an issue since. The thing I see popping up on more farms are the creek buffer zones. Fencing is placed on either side and then trees are planted inside. This keeps the cattle out of the running water. It enhances the image and contributes to a cleaner water supply. I’ll grab a picture next time I go up to my parents house.
I can’t wait to report on how the housing is working out and what’s happening with the pigs. Hopefully the weather will start cooperating so that we can get even more things going. Oh and one last, very important thing. I want to wish our youngest , Jorja, a very happy 5th birthday tomorrow! She definitely helps to keep things very interesting to say the least. Until next time!!
