Heirloom Country Farms - The Scoop from the Coop!

 WOW! Who would have thought?? We have such wonderful friends, that they let us borrow their tiller, and even volunteered to deliver it for us to our farm when we found out that it would not fit on our trailer when we went to pick it up! We had a great time playing with their horses though so that helped make up for the loss of the morning. The "play time" we spent with their horses just about ciniched the decision for my husband that we too "need" some horses.  More on this later as this particular adventure unfolds!

Go to our "Pictures of the Farm" page for highlights of "Tilling Day".  We will be planting plenty of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, watermelons, lettuce, beans and lots of fresh herbs in what used to be our veggie garden in the raised beds. My how we have grown!

Our Employee of the Month!

Hello All!

Well, we've gone and done it again.... We have peepers! I was just getting ready to throw this batch of eggs out, because I didn't think anything was going to hatch from it, but then my daughter managed to find several that are starting to hatch out.  I was amazed! I can't wait to see what these lil guys look like. I had been collecting eggs from four of our 'rescued' hens, they had been in the broiler pen that we raised our last batch of broilers in. We discovered that we had 4 hens in there, and I just couldn't waste a good hen on a one time chicken dinner, so we pulled these four out, picked a nice BIG rooster for them, (Though I must say, I've been about ready to add this rooster back to the broiler pen, because he keeps attacking me every time I'm trying to change the water in there) and separated them out to a different location, so I could be sure of getting fertilized eggs. I carefully collected eggs for a week and then put them into the incubator, but after we turned it on, I began to think that we hadn't set it up correctly because it didn't seem like it was turning properly, and my hygrometer seems broken as it always says about 40% humidity in there, which is way off, But anywhoo................

Well, this evening made my whole day, when my daughter told me we had peepers! All my hardwork and worry is paying off. Hmmmmmmmmmm...... Now I have to get hubby busy on building another coop!

Well, it's late and I need to go to bed! G'night everybody.....

Hey Everybody!!

Our Jumbo Cornish Rock broilers have just arrived! They are cute lil bugger's, but they sure are big! The hatchery (McMurray's) also sends you one free one as a 'Thank you' and the size difference is very obvious. We'll post some pic's on here shortly of the new chicks. As soon as the rain stops, I'm going out to check on them and give them also their first batch of greens.

We want to say a BIG THANK YOU to the Archer Post office and all the nice people there, for calling us early on Monday morning (a holiday even!) to let us know that they had arrived. That was really appreciated. I keep telling my husband everytime something nice like this happens, that it wouldn't have been the same 'down South' where we came from. Oh, yes there ARE some nice people down there, but mainly everybody is always so busy there's not time to do the little things for people.

Anyways, within 6-9 weeks we should have lots of nice, healthy chicken dinners ready to go.

Oh, and on another note, we managed to FINALLY get the new roof put on the old coop just in time, as our three geese  have decided to finally start laying again. We let them out of the main coop everyday to go and stretch and spend some time away from the chickens and the last time we did this, they decided to run off under the brambles to try and make a nest! With the help of small noisy children, we managed to get them out from under there and they were quite unperturbed, and settled into their own home so the can start building their family. It seems to have been what they wanted all along, because as soon as we put down the layer of fresh moss, the big bucket of fresh water and bowl of scratch grain they went right in. The only thing is though that they are quite picky about bedding material and still weren't very impressed with my choice of moss, so we were off to rake a wheel barrel full of leaves and pine needles to give to them. THAT did the trick! They went right back in and started wiggling their big, fat goosey bums down in the bedding chortling all the while to each other and the next morning, we had an egg! We're up to three now as of Monday so we'll see how many we get in total.

We're sorry to say though that there probably will not be any goose eggs for sale this year, as we have not had a single gossling hatch yet on our farm and we are all anxious to increase our 'goosey' population.

Seems as though the rain has stopped so I'm off in my usual fashion statement of shorts and an ole' t-shirt and my wellies to go check on the chicks!

Stay dry everybody, till next time!

Helllllllllllo Out therrrrrrrrre!

Well, I was informed today that I had not been keeping up with my blog by one of our newest customers and was told I was going to be subject to 30 lashes with a wet noodle for my ineptitude, apparently!  Since I prefer to cook and eat any noodles aimed my direction and not be smacked with them, here we go.....

I've had the unfortunate task of having to remove an animal from our farm today, due to the fact that he was not getting along with another of our main occupants of priority - mainly ME!  I didn't really believe my husband or my kids when they said my cute and adorable little Ram was being mean and trying to to do what Rams do normally - RAM, but he did it to me today, well, tried to anyways, FOUR separate times as a matter of fact on the same morning! That "dirty word"  "dirty word" "dirty word" no good, ungrateful, misbegotten, rotten sack of smelly "dirty word" chased me all the way back into the house with the threat of really trying to do physical harm to certain parts of my anatomy that I have become VERY attached to over the years!!

I had tried in the past few months to find him another home, and had actually (I think) found HIS 'father' (of previous residancy and ominous heritage) a "good home" on another ranch, but had been unable to aquire another home for his protege'. ( I honestly HOPE that his father went to a good home, I was told he would, but who knows? I tried though) But for the same reasons 'like father, like son'  this one also had to GO and go TODAY, because I could not get out of my own house and take care of my chickens or anything else and I have made a decision that if I am going to feed it, house it, take care of it and treat them as part of the family, then they had better damn well NOT try to hurt us or scare us. PERIOD.

It's also the only way I can assuage my guilt over the macabre scene that unfolded in my driveway when the man who came to "take him away" showed up and played out his part in the drama that was my day today.

However, as our family has come to realize over time, sometimes HARD decisions have to be made and that's part of life on the farm.........

"Mean animals always taste the best"!

Hey Everybody!

Hope your holidays were great and we all have a terrific New Year! Now, on to the good stuff...

We now have Farm Fresh, Certified Naturally Grown, Pasture Raised Whole Chickens. Our fresh chickens are heirloom breeds and weigh 3-6lbs each. They have been hatched and raised on our farm from our own layer flock. These birds have NEVER been treated with any medications or chemicals to assure our customers ONLY 100% pure natural chicken flavor for your gastronomical pleasure! Our birds are weighed AFTER they have been fully processed to assure that your are NOT paying for "scrap" weight. Our large delicious birds are sure to become a family favorite.

Hey All!

Well, here we are starting off another fall/winter season. MAN, this area is beautiful this time of year. (Sorry, we're gushing again, but we're from WAAAY down south in Florida and we're still getting used to things up here!) Oh, didn't I ever tell you? I'm a born and raised "city girl" from Broward County, Florida and my husband is also a born and raised "City Boy" from the other side of the "Pond" in England. But anywho....

We've recently purchased some more Pearl Guinea keets, a dozen to be exact and they were doing fine until...... Yes, I lost three of the 'lil bugger's. I'm still not entirely sure what was wrong with them, I've raised them before and durring a colder part of the year, right around February to March. I don't know what happened, cept I did get these at a much more reduced rate than normal, so perhaps it was just a "weak hatch" as they're called. Anyways for the last three mornings I've gone out to do my chores and each morning have found a dead keet in the hutch. Not good, and they're always so flighty (much more so than the chickens or the geese that we have raised) that it's hard to tell if there really are any problems or what. They are fast and already know how to fly very well! So the jury's out still as to what is causing their untimely demise.

Also, much to our dismay this year, our chickens have stopped laying eggs!!! Nothing could be more aggravating (well, other than my keets dying for no apparent reason) than working and feeding and doing all of these chores and NOT getting any eggs! So, consequently we are over 12 DOZEN eggs behind in orders and have stopped taking orders all together, for now. We didn't have this problem last year so I don't know why this year, except that we did change their coop and give them an electric net fence that gives them 164' feet of a grass enclosed run. They do love all the extra space to go out and get their own grass and bugs, so WHY no eggs, I don't know. When I foind why, I'll let you know, if YOU know why, would you please tell us?

All for now, it's late and I'm tired!

Hello Everybody!

It's that time of year again, when the beds are "turned" fresh compost is added and the beds are re-planted. We've been SO busy with this fall crop, collecting seeds from different sources, (still waiting on a few to come in) getting things planned out or as much as they CAN be planned. What I write down for what goes where, NEVER seems to end up where I thought it would. I seem to get lost between my planner and the beds... Oh well...I still have a good idea where I've put everything, generally.

We're doing a LOT of lettuce's this time, some new varieties and some of the regulars that we've had the last few seasons, a LOT more herbs this season, French Thyme, Marjoram, Russian Tarragon, German Chamomile, Genovese Basil, Borage, Parsley, Chives and Lemon Balm, then for the veggies- broccoli (hopefully, it didn't like me much last couple of times...) baby carrots, onions and radishes.  Might even try and sneak in some tomatoes, it worked last year, it was just a pain protecting them from the frost!

We have also completed work on our first BROILER pen for some tasty chickens that are already inhabiting their new surroundings and fully enjoying it, I might add. We have over 20 in this one and I have ideas for a another one or two. We pull them to new grass every couple of days and the birds adore it. Like giving candy to kids! They should be ready in another couple of weeks or so as we like to grow them slowly and more naturally, not fattening them up as fast as we can just to get them to market.

The tractor is running much better now, with the proper size battery in it - to the tune of $180.00 for almost 1000 Cold Cranking Amps. Big tractors take BIG, EXPENSIVE batteries apparently! (In case I didn't mention it before, we previously had to jump-start it everytime with our truck, what a PAIN!) Now, if we can just get her to stop DRINKING oil.....Hmmmm.... Nothing's perfect, I guess!

 Well, back to planting and watering.....Take care everybody and see you soon!

Hi Everybody! Boy the house sure is quiet with the kids back in school... he,he!! - I do have to say though that it is kinda nice to be able to actually get some work done around here without the constant barage of unending questions in their constant thirst for knowledge- or just to see how crazy they can drive mommy, as I call it!

 Anyways, the beds are being cleaned out to be made ready for another round of planting. MORE chicks are hatching by the day to continue to add to our layer and broiler plans, so we are also having to "get up to speed" on building more room for them fairly quickly. Our "flock" of sheep, (We actually qualify to say that now, as we have MORE than two! LOL) are going to have to spend some more time in the veggie beds, as we are in need of their pen to re-do and make room for more layers. What a mess right now, but I guess this is what happens with growing pains.

I have spent the better part of yesterday out in the back in the fresh air and stifiling heat, HAND raking our hay into piles since it dried up fairly nicely so we will have some for later when we need it. I have developed a new found appreaciation for those beautifully made square or even round bales of hay. I can see how much work would still go into "haying a field" even with modern equipment. My hat is off to all those people. I, on the otherhand do not have anything near as productive looking as they may have in their field, but I do have the same end result- useable hay for our coops and for our sheep. Mind you, it doesn't have to be fancy stuff like the pro's grow, just some good quality cut, dried grass that has not been sprayed or fertilized with ANYTHING. Hay now days is sprayed for bugs and fertilized prior to cutting then sprayed again typically with a preservative to keep it from going moldy etc..etc... and we just don't like things that are sprayed or fertilized commercially with man-made chemicals or that are bio-engineered. We want things natural the way mother nature intended....

Ok, well I have climbed down off my soapbox and have stored it away neatly for another day. Hope I didn't glaze-over too many eyeballs out there! I have to tend to some blisters of mine while sitting quietly and enjoying the peace for a bit in the cool of the AC!

Take care everyone!

The lambs are here!!!! We have two brand new arrivals to our farm, they were born Sunday morning August 12th before we even woke up. They are really beautiful. We have a new lil' ram and a new lil' ewe.  We feel like we have gotten the official farming stamp of approval with their arrival. The ewe is a dark chocolate and the ram is a "rust" color. He is probably destined to be just a pet and will be 'relieved of his male-ness' shall we say, or just castrated for the rest of you out there, shortly. It's better for his longevity on our farm, because once those hormones start to kick in, they get real cantankerous wanting to literally RAM everyone, including the one who feeds them. I went thru that once, with his daddy, and I decided real quick that rams were NOT for this farm. So he can stay, but his hormones and such, have to GO. I'll be posting pic's of the new additions on the Farmpic's page shortly....

We have also hatched out over 30+ chicks from our own eggs (with more comming soon), so we are able to increase our layer flock, and add some to our "Broiler Plans". The full grown birds should finish out between 3-5lbs, (we'll know more, closer to the day). Let us know if you would like us to reserve your chicken.

The vegetables have finished and now it's time to re-plant the beds. We are busy digging up the old stuff which we feed to the chickens and sheep. Then we'll take some new compost from the coop and add that to our beds to get the beds reginerated again. We should be able to re-plant soon and get things going for a nice fall/winter harvest.

We are planning on putting a few piglets soon for roto-tilling purposes and for meat. We have chosen Gloucetshire Old Spots for this purpose. However we fear that we will only be able to purchase females as there is only one boar available and he's their father.Since that wouldn't make for good breeding purposes, we'll have to find another boar shortly or cross-breed the sows with another breed... Hmmmm... Things to consider! This project will start as soon as we can get our new portable electric fence netting from Kencove. You can find a link to them on our links page. This is susposed to be a great fence, as it comes with everything you need at a fair price. You just have to buy the energizer and battery separately or run the power from the electric. We'll keep you updated on this project.

Back to the chores....

See ya soon!

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Can you Guess??? We GOT the tractor!! The much anticipated, overly awaited and grossly under-appreciated tractor HAS finally arrived! They say the thing about a good tractor is that you never knew how much you really needed one, until you got one. They were right. (By the way, I don't know who THEY are), but they're right. We towed it all the way home, stopping to fill up her belly with a good splash of diesel and away we went. We were quite glad though that we were not the ones having to load or un-load our new friend from the confines of her trailer. 

Sooooo.....Let the fun begin! We can finally get the place mowed and get some things moved around that we have been wanting to do. We do have a few repairs to make on her, not major deals and nothing really that should hold up progress but things that do HAVE to be done. A couple of new gaskets for one, among some other bits, but not too bad. "She" is a 1975 Ford 3400 Diesel, which is actually the Industrial version of the 3000 Agricultural series that Ford made. She has a strong engine and should hold up well with regular maintenance.

Oh and yes, she IS strong enough to pull our hay wagon! We'll keep ya posted as to our progress and as to when the rides will start.

Take care everybody!

Today was NOT our lucky day. I am sorry to say that there is, as of yet, NO tractor. We are still hoping and waiting ever so impatiently for it's impending arrival. An apparent much needed part that was necessary for it's completion was unable to be found by our estimated pick up time. POO!!!!

We did however have the chance to meet lot's of nice people today who decided to come out and see the farm, either for their first time, or as a returning "friend of the farm". This is always a welcome treat for us. It shows us that all of our hardwork and dedication in what we believe IS worth it. For this, we thank you.

With this said, our babies are all in bed, the plants are all watered, the "barn" is closed up and the chicks are warm (who wouldn't be in this weather, eh?) the goosie's are all blisfully asleep, the chickens are roosting, and the sheep are resting as comfortably as any pregnant female could be in this heat, with a heavy wool coat on!

Good night everybody!

We have finally FOUND a TRACTOR! This is a source of major news and excitement on our farm, as we will now be able to get some things that we have planned for a while, done around here. We have decided on a 1975 Ford 3400 Diesel with a live PTO and Hydraulics. This is actually the industrial version of the typical Agricultural tractor available at that time and is much more heavy duty than typical tractors. We are awating a Roll bar (or "ROP" Roll Over Protection, as it is commonly known as in tractor speak)attachment being addressed and then delivery should be within a week or so. This will enable us to move coops, set up new ones, put up more fencing, dig a shallow well for crop planting, among the typical "ground work" that has to be done on a farm. As you can tell, we are definately excited about it's arrival!

We are planning out our fall crops, (which will now be able to come to fruition due to the above!) so please let us know if you have a particular fancy for something we are not currently growing. We will be happy to consider adding it our fall line-up!

More chicks have hatched over the last couple of weeks and will be intergrated into our laying production as they mature, while others will be made availalble for your gastronomical pleasure. We will let you know when our fresh birds have become available.

STILL plenty of tomatoes and peppers, so come by and try some today!

We have TOMATOES comming out of our ears litterally!! We have little cherry size, grape size, medium size and big beefsteak size. We have White Tomesols, Cherokee Purple, Green Grape and Golden Sunrays. We also are getting a good supply of Peppers in. All are 'sweet' varieties with the exception of one hot variety. We have Chinese Green Giant in the bell pepper family and Red and Green Marconi's in the Cubanelle style of a long green pepper.

We will also have Chinese Green Noodle beans very shortly and should have a good supply of them. Okra is comming nicely, along with our herbs. Cucumbers are plentiful, onions, lettuce and carrots were great this year, but gone now.

We thought by now we would have been able to have our "BIG" garden plowed and planted by now, but alas, this was not the case. We recently purchased some equipment that we thought was our answer to a larger garden that we need, but were soon to find out that it was insufficient to do the job required. (We don't want to name any names here as they were most helpful in taking things back finally, but you can find all of it at your local Sears store.....) Need I say more? We are now in the process AGAIN of looking for a good tractor that will do the jobs we need done! Mowing, plowing, tilling, moving things etc....SO, we are delayed yet again in the on-going process of expanding our veggie patch, but I am confident that it will happen sooner, rather than later.

We have chicks hatching left and right in our recently purchased BROWER incubator. This thing is great, though I did have my doubts about it initially. But it works, and THAT'S what counts! We can't wait for this hatch to be over, so we can try some goose eggs in there. We haven't been too sucessful in the hatching department until now, but this thing HAS made all the difference in the world!

Bugs in the veggie patch are being controlled by hand-picking which is labor intensive, but is helped along by the never-ending eagerness of our 6 year old and 8 year old children's help. At least until it gets too hot (in 10 minutes) or they get bug poop on their fingers (1-2 minutes) or they find something else interesting to do, poke at, chase or investigate (3-5 minutes)! Ahh.... The cost of good labor!

           * Well, the first crop of vegetables are in and it's onions! These are Vidalia's and are sold in bunches of 3-4 depending on their size. The tops are also great in salads. The next crop comming along will be lettuce.

             We have just obtained our acceptance into the 'Certified Natural' program. You can view their requirements at: http://www.naturallygrown.org We have chosen to have our farm become "Certified Natural" as opposed to 'Certified Organic' because we still want to give our customers a reason to believe what we tell them is the truth about how we produce the food they eat, without having to raise our prices to do so. Getting 'Certified Organic' is a nominal initial fee, however the costs of keeping up with all of the red-tape and government requirements are not covered in the difference that we would make from it. We hope that our customers will understand that our continued farming and gardening practices as listed in the Certified Natural program will give them peace of mind, both for their health and the Earth's.

           A BIG "Thank You" to the nice couple 'down the road' from us, who gave us another chicken coop! We really appreaciate it and can't wait to get another flock in there!

           Also, a note to all of our fellow 'little farmers" out there, be careful who you take your financing out with for your dream farm and make sure you read and find out ALL the fine print! What's printed in your closing documents are NOT the only rules and things you have to worry about! We didn't, and found out the hard way, that the government CAN tell you what you can and can't do on your own land.....

          That's all for now! Back to mucking the "Coop"

(A muckin we shall go, a muckin we shall go, Hi Ho The Dairy-O, a muckin we shall go.....)