We have ordered our final batch of meat chickens for this year, and they will arrive the first week of Sept. We are going to raise a group of Cornish Cross to see how they perform, mostly because of the rapid growth rate. I anticipate they will be ready for harvest around the first weekend of Nov.
Anyone who is interested in an advanced order, and therefore a 20% price reduction, contact me with the number of birds you would like to reserve.
This year on the farm has been marked with a significant amount of growth in our endeavors, and we are not done yet. We are thrilled to announce our participation in CT Farm Fresh Express! Last year, we went to a showing of the documentary American Meat in Stonington. While there, we got to hear about a lot of other farms, bigger and smaller than us, with similar goals in mind. Deb Marsden, the founder of CT Farm Fresh was also there to talk about a service she provides. Participating farms let CTFFE know what products they have available on a weekly basis. She then lists them on her store and from Thursday to Tuesday, people can shop from local farms while sitting at home. For many families, this is a fabulous way to support local farms and have faith in the food being served to their family. Then on Tuesday, the orders close, the farms get notified of their orders, and she sends out the pickup crew to collect, assemble, and distribute the orders!
For our farm, it is a fabulous opportunity to slowly expand our passion. We will still offer our products for sale directly off the farm, and we will continue to have our advance purchase options. Email us if you want to be included on future notifications about these opportunities. But, if there are some other farm fresh items you would like to try, but don’t have time to search the farmer’s markets yourself, check out CT Farm Fresh Express!
This weekend was supposed to be filled with trail riding and overnight camping with the horses. However, the threat of severe weather yesterday caused us to cancel some plans.
The clouds were still looming, but we went out this morning anyway. We met a group from Mystic Pony Club at Stepping Stones Ranch next to Arcadia in RI. We had an extended warm up period as everyone tacked up, and then headed out for the ride.
We had 15 riders total in the group. It was the first time we had taken Calli out for a ride somewhere else. While she was a little nervous at first, I moved her to the back of the group and she calmed nicely. Amanda rode in the Buddy Saddle behind Anna on King. Alex got to try out a new pommel pack as an incentive to do more long distance riding.
We were in the saddle for 2 hrs- by far Amanda’s longest ride yet (she’s not quite 27 months old).
After we got back, we ate our picnic lunch and headed home. Now we are watching some Pentathlon and then it is back outside. We still have to get everything ready to go again because the kids have pony club riding camp all week! Maybe the weather wi cooperate with horse camping next weekend.
You never know what you will find in our rabbit cages…
Amanda decided to climb in while the cage was empty. She actually had a good time playing in the cage.
In the last 13 years, we have always had at least one dog. Anna and I had previously discussed our options for what breed we would get next. So, with the passing of Baron, our search began.
Last night we brought Mack home to join the family. Mack is a 1 year old, Golden Retriever. The family that owned him didn’t have enough time to match his activity needs.
Mack is already house trained, neutered, crate trained, knows some basic commands, and kid friendly. He is also a huge fan of fetching, which the kids love.
Welcome to the farm Mack!
A long time ago in 2001 I made a pillowcase for Rob to have on the boat. It had pictures of us at our wedding, pictures of Baron and Daisy and other couple and family pictures. Well, the kids found it in my stack of sheets and proceeded to put the pillowcase on a pillow. They got upset about the dogs being gone and decided to sleep on the floor in Vicki’s room, Alex with his head on Baron’s picture and Vicki with her head on Daisy’s picture…it made me cry.
Previously I posted about starting my formal education as a horse hoof trimmer. Even though I have 7 years of experience, I know learning is a continuous process. The Equine Sciences Academy is the group I was most impressed with due to the diversity of the curriculum and their acknowledgement of how multiple right answers exist. I started classes in June and have enjoyed them so far.
I was recently informed that I am the 2012 recipient of the Armed Services Academy Scholarship. This will be used to pay for my tuition for the next 2 terms and help me continue with y goal of being a full time trimmer after I retire from the Navy.
I have spent the week at Camp Tadma with 4 Webelos (including Alex). Growing up, I spent 2 summers working on summer camp staff, and attended camp every year except one. Therefore, the idea of what to expect at camp what not new to me. I have also previously attended Camp Tadma as a Day Camp leader. The program at camp has definitely improved over years past. Even so, I Iearned things about myself as a parent and the society we live in.
1. Fitness is no longer important to society as a whole. I would estimate that only about 25% of the leaders at camp were physically fit. While most of the staff was in decent condition, the overweight staff were obese, not just overweight.
2. The rules don’t apply to everyone. It is disappointing to see how many leaders are willing to allow their group to do things directly contrary to camp policies. For example, pocket knives are prohibited in camp for all scouts some groups not only allowed knives, they permitted knife usage in ways against BSA policies.
3. The foundation of scouting principles is lost on many parents. For example, the 9-10 year olds that came to camp with 12 sodas for the week. The parents that came to camp 3 times to visit their kids and refill the candy and snack supplies. The scouts that brought suitcases of toys.
4. A surprising number of problem scouts have involved parents. The behavior problems, such as tantrums, are overly tolerated by other leaders because the scout’s parent is present.
5. “Tough Love” builds more responsible kids. The scouts that are obviously held accountable at home are overall better behaved and more respectful. While this seems pretty obvious, it is reaffirmation of what I believe to be correct.
I know Alex enjoys scouting, and I know the things I teach him and other scouts I learned from my own scouting experience. However, I frequently find myself wondering if I am spending too much time parenting others instead of focusing on my own family.
While I am away at Cub Scout camp this week, it was almost certain something would go wrong. Yesterday afternoon Anna found Baron, our Collie mix of 13 years, in the yard unable to stand. He was groaning in pain and refused to eat or drink. We had known this day was coming soon, but it doesn’t make it easier. He had severe arthritis and a large tumor in his belly. We made the decision that we needed to let him go.
So, in less than a year since losing Daisy, we now say goodbye to our first child, Baron. We got Baron as a puppy shortly after getting married in 1999 and he’s been with us ever since.
He was the dog that patiently let our kids learn about pets. I don’t recall him ever snapping at a child, but would always get in between me and Anna or a kid if I raised my voice.
Eventually there will be a new dog, after all, dogs are the only animal allowed inside. We won’t replace him, only remember him.
Goodbye Baron.
This morning, we harvested the remaining Freedom Rangers that we were raising for meat. Here is the summary:
We started with 51 birds. None died from sickness. None suffered broken legs from excessive growth. We lost 6 due to predators (raccoon pulling birds through the side of the chicken tractor at night).
23 were harvested at 10 weeks old and averaged 3.7lbs (mostly roosters)
22 were harvested at 12 weeks old and averaged 3.95lbs (all hens).
The birds consumed 900 lbs of feed.
Therefore, it took 900 lbs of feed to raise 172 lbs of meat for a 5.24:1 conversion.
Average live to package weight was 65%.
29 of the 45 birds were sold and the rest reside in our own freezer.
We also harvested 9 heritage breed roosters this morning that were approximately 4 months old. The average weight was closer to 3.5lbs, the body cavities were smaller, breasts smaller, legs larger, and I suspect the meat will be slightly tougher. Since we cook almost all chickens in the crock pot, that doesn’t matter as much. The biggest difference is the heritage birds are not nearly as nasty as the meat birds.
We are torn about what kind of birds to raise next. Freedom Rangers are off the list. If we are raising meat birds, we might as well do the Cornish cross. However, we don’t really like the meat birds as much as the heritage breeds.