Livestock and poultry
Summer’s eve in the pasture
One of the great joys of working with animals is witnessing their contentment. We treasure the peacefulness and beauty of an early summer’s evening near dusk with the night song of the birds and the swishing of lush grasses underfoot as we move cattle to fresh pasture. By regularly moving the fences we can encourage…
Read MoreHatched in the hayloft
A rogue hen from our laying flock found a nice nest in among the straw bales in the third floor hayloft of the barn. Despite the impracticality of her location, we let her set earnestly on the eggs for three weeks in the hopes that they might hatch. There are few things as fun to…
Read MoreFertilizer spreaders …
as well as pest and weed control. Our chickens and rabbits are on the job! As the spring rains mix with sun, and the soils slowly warm up, we have been starting seedlings in the nursery and readying our garden plots for early season planting. This year we have enlisted the help of our rabbits…
Read MoreBabes in Winter
Our barn is full of babies, from the 5 new litters of piglets, to the 38 chicks that hatched in our incubator, to the 3 litters of bunnies born unanticipated in the rabbit hutch. They all grow so fast! We were happy to share the baby love with several families with young children who were…
Read MoreHeritage resilience
You’ve gotta love our heritage Tamworth pigs! We have been creating new spaces this year in the barn for winter housing of our livestock. You may have seen our previous post “High and Dry,” where we moved the Tamworths up the hill in time for December’s heavy rain and snow. They are a fit and…
Read MoreWorkin’ in a Winter Wonderland
With most of our animals living comfortably in the barn these past weeks, we are enjoying a lighter work load. The garden, too, is at rest. We planted the last of the garlic just before Christmas, then covered those beds plus the remaining winter carrot beds and the fava beans with a thick blanket of…
Read MoreHigh and dry
With all the rain these days, we have been grateful for our sturdy barn. We’re giving our pastures a break during these heavy, wet rains. We’ve generally used our high tunnels for livestock during the winter. This year we had late squash and tomatoes still growing as the rains descended on us, and decided to…
Read MoreDon’t count your chickens
Do you remember the beautiful chicks that we incubated in April? Well, now they have become the young hens and roosters you see below. They are growing well, and enjoying a safe and happy, though perhaps boring, life in the barn. The hens will begin laying eggs in a couple more months. Unfortunately, that isn’t…
Read MoreIt’s piglet time!
Morning sunshine makes for tender moments. And many piglets make for playful activity! One more mama to go! How many babies to you think this sow is carrying?
Read MoreAn evening stroll
Yesterday Jacob and I were quite surprised as we arrived back home at twilight. Right in the driveway near the house was one of our sows busily grazing the edges of the driveway with a little mob of piglets all around her. She had busted through her pen in the hoophouse and made her way…
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