Pastured Chickens, Turkeys & Eggs ~ Naturally Raised Feeder Pigs
Happy Saturday!
Have you ever fallen for peer pressure? Yeah, me too! And in this week’s video we fell for it again. It seems like all the other homesteaders have posted videos this week of trying to use an old fashioned scythe. So, we dug the scythe out of the barn. And tried it out…on video. 🙂
Don’t forget! This Friday, June 2, is the last day to order Pastured chicken for June. Get all the details HERE!
Have an awesome weekend!
Sarah
Anna, Laura, and I spent part of yesterday afternoon grinding feed. It’s one of those farm jobs that I’m not crazy about, which is probably why I tend to put it off till the last minute. Yesterday’s fresh-off-the-grinder menu included turkey feed, layer feed, and pig grower. All three feeds share just about all the same ingredients, but different amounts of these ingredients based on each animal’s needs.
One nice thing about mixing your own feed is the ability to adapt the ration to fit your current needs. Say the weather suddenly gets a bit chilly at night and the turkeys look a a little stressed; we can add a few more pounds of Thorvin Kelp to their feed to give their immune systems a bit of boost.
All the grains are added, so Anna and Gyp head to the barn to add the minerals and supplement.
After the minerals are added, we auger out a few buckets of feed to dump in the mineral box. This makes sure all the minerals are pushed into the the mixer. (Is Laura standing on something, or am I really THAT short?)
Once everything is mixed together, we put the feed in the appropriate barrels. And there you have it, freshly ground, GMO Free feed.
Stay cool today everyone. We gals have a busy day today, and hopefully, if everything goes as planned, I’ll have some exciting news to share with you tomorrow. 🙂
Sarah
Our meat chickens love being on pasture! You should see how they gobble down the grass each morning after we move their shelters to a fresh square of pasture.
The grass is growing faster than the chickens can keep up with it. Since meat chickens don’t like tall grass, we are grazing the grass shorter in front of the shelters with the goats and sheep. The goats and sheep are enjoying the grass, and the chickens are happy: win, win!
We are still accepting orders if you are interested in trying pastured chicken. You’ll be amazed at the flavor! Click here for this year’s order form.
The first of the spring chicks are here! There are 153 Cornish Cross chicks and 10 Reich’s Golden Reds layer pullets in the brooder.
I called the post office a little after 6 this morning, and confirmed that our chicks were there. The chicks must have been creating a lot of noise because the lady that answered the phone didn’t need to go check, she knew!
After Mom and Anna brought them home, Anna carefully transferred them from their shipping box into the brooder. She told me these chicks are very lively and healthy looking. Yay! (And why aren’t I out there seeing for myself? Half our family, including myself, is down with the flu.😕)
At this age, the chicks don’t need much fussing over. In fact, too much fussing over them is stressful, and stress is amazingly detrimental to baby chicks. They just need a warm, dry place with plenty of food, water, and grit.
It’s now officially spring in my mind. There are chicks in the brooder.
~Sarah
Never Done Homestead 