Photo Heavy Early July Garden Update

I've gotten behind in my posts again. Partially because I have been busy. Partially because I have been tired and very pregnant. But mostly because I feel like a broken record in every post just updating on things. I looked back at the pictures from the last couple of posts and am amazed at how much things have grown! If nothing else, it will help me in the future to see how things progressed at this part of the year in the past.

Elliot was helping to show off my beautiful little Rose of Sharon bush. It was a twig when I planted it a couple of years ago and now it is so big and covered in flowers. It sets outside my front living room window and the bright blooms still surprise me every time I glance that direction. I even saw a little hummingbird eating from one the other day.

No walkabout would be complete without my boys circling at my feet.

I finally got my serenity garden weedeated and mulched! Every time I mow I get through there, but I have put off weedeating all summer because my battery life is at a premium and usually reserved for the veggie gardens. This was a 4th of July project while Brad bush hogged the outer property. Everything looks so nice now! We celebrated by watching fireworks that evening at the park with Brad's family, which is a tradition that I love! This photo was taken several days after I mulched and surprisingly most of it was still where I put it. I sprinkled an entire canister of cayenne pepper on top of it after I watered it down to deter the chickens and turkey hens from scratching it all back up. Apparently it worked!

The fig trees have little figs on them. I'm still new to figs and not sure what to do with them once they ripen. I will have to remedy that before these two trees get much bigger and start producing enough fruit to need to be worried about. Right now there are probably 15 on each tree, most of which the birds will probably get to before me.

The rooster coop is starting to empty out. Only because I have had no choice but to release all of them except the two white bullies and the three silkies that can hold their own. The other roos are roaming the property for the time being. Processing will happen very soon. I have never had such an aggressive batch of roosters! And the agressive ones are easter eggers! They are usually so nice! Those two white ones are nasty fellas though. I won't miss them one bit.

While checking out the chicken coop the sun started shining through the clouds onto my little front yard. So pretty! I was checking out Tabby, the bourbon turkey hen that was nesting in the bottom of the run. Something stole her eggs one by one until a few days ago she had none left and is back with the flock. Tallow, my slate hen that made a nest in the wild about a month ago, has not been seen since. I think it is about time to assume the worst. Poor Yellow has no ladies left and is the lone blue turkey.

My garden is really starting to fill out. I wish I could get pictures of the whole thing that really did it justice.

The pepper plants are getting huge. They must be 3.5ft tall. I have harvested a few jalapenos but no bell or pepperoncini peppers yet. Soon though. There are little baby peppers growing all over! There are also volunteer watermelon vines growing under them at intervals.

I can't believe how much the cucumber row has filled out! I replanted that row three times and was worried that I would have no cucumbers. They are taking over now! Every day when I walk through the garden I turn each of the vines trying to grow into the walkways around to grow back toward the middle. They are still escaping their rows.

I have been harvesting about 2 a day for the last week. There are so many flowers and little cucumbers everywhere! If things don't change drastically in the immediate future I should be able to make pickles soon! I'm afraid to get too hopeful quite yet because it is amazing how fast things can change in the garden.

The background in this picture is a good example. That is where my broccoli plants were up until a few days ago. They were getting big and pretty and then the other evening when I went in there they were being completely swarmed by writhing caterpillars. The leaves were destroyed and the only way to keep them from moving on to the rest of my tasty garden was to remove them. Keegan was my hero and cut them all immediately and disposed of them. On a happier note, in the foreground is the other end of my cucumber row where my watermelon vines are also happily  spreading and flowering.

My beautiful little Egg Yolk tomatoes have been ripening, a few at a time, for a little over a week. They are so little, but so full of flavor! I have been making a nightly cucumber and tomato salad with these little guys.

The bottoms of some of the tomato plants are starting to look a bit sickly. Hopefully I get a lot of tomatoes before they really succumb to anything too severe. Look at the size of these amish paste tomatoes! Last years were small even on the roma side of tomato sizes. These are softball sized and not even ready to ripen yet. Baker Creek seeds are amazing. These guys are on the end of the row which has the worst soil too. The vines are over 7 feet tall and are starting to fall over the opposite side of the rows. Impressive.

The first Cherokee purple tomatoes to start showing some color! I promptly picked these after taking this picture. They are on my table ripening.

This is what happens if I don't get to the low lying ones in time. Naughty naughty chickens! They take bites out of every tomato they can reach and they jump to reach higher ones. Brad has been unable to fix my fence charger. On the positive side, I haven't seen nearly as many insects on the plants as I would have expected. I mainly credit the guineas for that though. They patrol my garden without scratching up mulch or eating plants. They just grab every bug they see and move on. It makes me nervous to even state that my tomatoes are doing well for risk of them being smited. Please spare my tomatoes!

My sunflowers are looking very happy! Well... this side of the row. The other side must really have terrible soil even after amending. I will have to really make more of an effort to fertilize that area this fall. This side of the row already has flower buds appearing. The plants are around 4 ft tall and I am hoping they continue growing! They are supposed to reach around 12 feet.

The Indian corn is getting tall too. The pumpkins haven't spread as much as I had hoped, but the ones that are still up are looking healthy.

I was trying to capture how tall that pear tree in the center has gotten. It is easy to see in person but my sad broken camera just can't seem to do it. The tallest branch is at least 18 feet tall! And I may be under guessing that figure just to be safe.

Here are my beautiful bean/squash arbors! I am in love with them. The little beds that they are growing in are still mostly unplanted and being neglected. The logs are starting to rot away and I still haven't replaced them. That may be a project for next spring.

This bed is an exception. This is the arch that was most recently assembled and put in the bed. The beans were a later planting and are just barely visible in the picture. What I am most proud of here are the huge zucchini plants! The plants are bigger than I have ever grown them. They have some flowers on them, but no fruit yet. I will be happy if I get just a few zucchini before they succumb to squash vine borers like they always do. I love zucchini!

I can't wait until all of the arches are covered. I think it will be so pretty.

This Rattlesnake Pole Bean arch is already covered. It is so pretty to stand under. Always shady, even in the heat of the day. All of the little beans hang through to top and are so easy to pick. This actually makes picking beans an enjoyable experience. Not usually the case, in my opinion.

The beans really seem to be enjoying climbing the arch. Very little encouragement on my part was needed. I just wrapped the little vines around the first layer of wire to get them started. That was primarily because the arch was placed after the vines had grown that tall. I imagine that if they seeds were planted under the arch to begin with they would have found their way up from the very beginning.

The butternuts are doing amazing as well! They require a bit more training, but not much. Every day when I go out I just poke any vines that have grown through to the other side of the wire, back and forth each time they grow a few inches. It just takes a couple if minutes. Some of the vines have reached the top of the arch and there are at least 8 good sized squash growing.

 This is a single volunteer gourd vine that found its way to this bed. It is taking over despite my effort. I keep pulling it down from the sides of the fencing and throwing it back on top of itself. If it doesn't stop crowding my beans I may have to pull it up completely. Who would have thought that a gourd could be invasive?!

The peaches look, and smell, amazing! There aren't nearly as many left as there were. The fire ants keep climbing the tree and boring into the unripe fruit.

 I did manage to find a perfectly ripened peach. I ate it on the spot. Heaven. Since then I have managed to find another. I need to go check them today and see if I can scavenge any more before the stupid ants get to them.

My haul wrapped around my big pregnant belly. This is average for what I have been bringing in every other day. Loving it! 

Feathered Friends Picture Post

While wandering about the homestead the other day I took

 some picture of my feathered family and thought I would share.

 

 

 

Tallow and Tabby with some of the buff Orpington gals

 

Handsome Mr. Franklin strutting his stuff

 

My buddy Yellow and a passing herd of chickens.

They gallop through periodically.

 

Chicken Flower!

 

Einstein being a gentleman and showing the guineas the food.

They really didn't need any help...

 

My favorite hen, Ms. Laverne, and her bad eye

 

Little Miss Mae: One of my blue silkie hens that seem to stay broody.

These girls are so little! They don't let their size get in their way though.

They do wonderfully in my mixed flock with much bigger gals and

 don't hesitate to stand up for themselves.

Here's to 2014!

It has been a few months! Blogging has just been off of my radar for a while. I hope to remedy that and what better time to start than when I am starting to get spring fever? We shall see. I tend to stay more caught up with blogging when things are really busy around here, which it hasn't been recently.

That isn't to say that nothing has been going on or changing on Sunflower Hill.

The garden is closed down for the year, with the exception of some carrots still in the ground, but will be back up and going very soon! It is past time to start seedlings already!

The guineas free range full-time now. They bully the turkeys terribly so they had to be booted out of the turkey coop. They are still bullies when the turkeys are free ranging, but it helps the rest of the time. The guineas now sleep high up in a couple of trees that are located in a triangle between the turkey coop, chicken coop, and pig area. They are pretty safe there, especially guarded by the dogs all night. They also help protect the other birds. All are still accounted for and are healthy and LOUD! One thing is for sure... Nothing will enter our yard without the warning sirens going off.

The turkey population here at the homestead dropped by almost half right before Thanksgiving. A pair of black babies and a Bourbon hen found new homes. One turkey was sold for Thanksgiving dinner to a wonderful native american lady and her family who wanted to thank the spirit of the turkey before humanly processing it. Three others were processed here at the Homestead for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They were wonderful! We are blessed. We now have 6 turkeys. A Blue Slate trio (Yellow, Tallow, and Sari) and a Bourbon Red trio (Franklin, Tabby, and Terra). A new Bourbon tom, named Franklin, has joined the main flock. He is very curious (even by turkey standards), has to be in the middle of everything, and basically resembles a rambunctious teenage boy in every way. He is sweet and we are enjoying him. I am especially enjoying that I am not moving hoop tractors everyday anymore! I will soon forget how much work it was. I am already anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first turkey eggs of the year.

The tractors have been retired for the year but I expect to get them back out soon. Yes... despite being exhausted from working such long hours (tax season) and being sick lately, I have again been struck by chick fever! The incubator has been put back into action and is currently filled with two dozen Speckled Sussex chicken eggs. I have had roos of this breed in the past and loved them so I bought hatching eggs from a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the day after they were set the temperature here dropped and so did the incubator temperature without heat on in the house. It wasn't a huge drop. Just to 95F or so, and I don't think it was for very long but it was severe enough to have potentially killed the embryos. I am anxiously awaiting candling day!

The reason for the breed switch is because we no longer have most of our Buff Orpingtons. Our puppy, Luna, managed to take out all but 3 hens, including our head rooster, Jack. She is such a super sweet girl but she just couldn't manage to keep from playing with the chickens... to death. No harm appeared to be meant, but regardless, she was no longer able to be trusted with chickens. She was tied to a run line during the day and let loose at night to get her energy out for a while, but she soon learned how to free herself from the chain. She has since had to be rehomed. I really hate that, but living her life tied up was not fair to her and putting the lives of my birds in danger constantly wasn't fair to them. We sorely miss Luna, as well as Jack and his girls.

The other chickens are doing well, although not laying well at all. I think that some of them must be laying somewhere else but I have yet to find where. We are still way over our ratio of roos but I just don't know what to do with the 3 silkie roosters that we ended up with. The other rooster, Red, is one of the little ones I hatched out in the soup pot. He is so big, goofy, and sweet, that he has just managed to stick around so far. We shall see what happens later I guess. Hopefully the remaining hens will begin laying better soon.

Our pigs are no longer with us, but are rather, in my in-laws' deep freezers down the road along with a cow they had processed at the same time. One was processed right before Thanksgiving and the other two went to the butchers in early January. I had planned on processing them myself but my father in-law managed to convince me otherwise. The butcher shop is a very small family business and does a good job in a humane way. The pork is AMAZING! I never want to eat store bought pork again! I guess happy animals really do make much better finished products. I wasn't sure I could part with the pigs in the end and even though I was ready for a break, tears were shed when they left us. By me, at least. They didn't seem to care, being more interested in the feed and fresh eggs in the back of the trailer we used to haul them. It was made much easier by the sweet cutie baby pigs turning into giant monster pigs that tried to knock me over and bite my legs every time I got near them and were FOREVER ripping the hose off their waterer and flooding the pasture. I couldn't even get on their side of the fence most of the time without them running toward me full speed and threatening bodily harm. Especially when there was food involved. They fought with each other and anyone close to them was likely to get hurt. I know that most of the time they didn't mean to be mean, but those were some really big pigs and it wouldn't take much to hurt someone! I loved having pigs but pigs that size can be dangerous and I was not-so-secretly ready for them to go. I do look forward to having them again, though. We are already planning to get new babies in April, so we have them when the garden is in full production and canning is producing a lot of waste.

Here's to a brand new year! I hope it is as magical and blessed as the last! Things are not always sunshine and roses on a farmstead but it is an amazing life full of blessings, all the same. I'm looking forward to another beautiful year on Sunflower Hill!

No More Excuses!

I keep putting off writing a blog because I want to take pictures to post with it. I keeping thinking about writing, usually first thing in the morning before I have had a chance to take pictures, or last thing at night when it is too dark to take pictures and I realize that I had forgotten during the day. That, and my camera has been going downhill since the screen got busted a month after getting it. It was brought down by a drunk falling out of a pub in Galway (Ireland). And no, I wasn't the drunk. LOL It was another American tourist that apparently attempted to drink like an Irishman. Perhaps it was the attempt at walking after drinking like an Irishman that got him... and my camera. Anyway, I need to post with or without pictures because I'm getting behind!

 The piglets are getting huge! I brought all three home in 1 medium sized dog crate. I don't think I could fit 1 of them in that dog crate now. They moved out of the garden and onto pasture about a week ago. My garden went from resembling a jungle, to being clear of weeds and tilled without any backbreaking digging or tilling on my part. Pigs make wonderful plows. They are now working on clearing a large section of brush that has been growing up for about 10 years. My brother helped me finally get the fence up around a little over an acre of wooded brushy area with some pasture surrounding it. It is beside the garden so they just had to cross the fence from one side to the other. Moving them out of the garden took a lot of persuading... and about 3 dozen eggs. I unplugged the electric fence, moved the wires down so they could step over, and put eggs on the other side of the fence. Jimmy is very curious and always the first to come when I call. He crossed immediately with no problems. Dean came shortly after. Poor little Link was another story. He knew that fence wire was there and he didn't want any part of it. He paced back and forth, squealing his little piggy squeal for over 10 minutes while the other 2 ate all of the eggs. After reasoning and trying to chase him didn't work, I finally had to raise the wire so he didn't have to step over it before he would cross. I saved him some eggs as a reward when he finally got the courage to run over to the other side. They went from a 3 wire fence, to a single strand run around the pasture. They don't seem to be the least bit interested in crossing it. In fact, Keegan accidentally unplugged it the other day and it was off for at least 24 hours. The pigs didn't even test the fence. I'm amazed! They really are smart.

My brother, who is staying on the property with us for a few weeks, and I have been working on getting the garden planted now that that half is cleared and tilled. So far we have broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, and kale planted. We have been covering all of the planted areas with newspaper and mulching with hay to try to stop the weeds before they start getting out of control again. Hopefully it will do better than the summer garden did. It has stopped raining and I have actually had to start watering the plants and plants-to-be daily because it is so hot and dry! What a change! The pig waterer is taking the use of my long hose, so I have been lugging buckets of water to the garden to water the seedlings and plants. Today I got a new Gorilla Cart, and boy did it make that job much easier! My wheel barrow has been worked hard and has been overdue for a replacement for a while. I love this cart so far. I hope it stands up to the test of time. I am rough on things. Real work gets done around here, and cheap flimsy tools don't last long. I really need to invest in another hose.

Luna, our new farm puppy, is so playful and sweet! She is so full of energy, but that isn't great when there are skittish chickens roaming around. She hasn't hurt any of them but she has been chasing them periodically. I bought a remote controlled shock collar for her. I know, I know... It seems so cruel. I have always hated the thought of those things. I even admit to stealing them off of dogs when I was a teenager and throwing them away... yes I was that pain in the butt animal and environmental activist that would have freed the frogs from the biology lab had they not started using computer programs instead of the real thing. But getting a few zaps seems much better than taking her back to the pound. She is a pitbull, which means that she doesn't have great odds of a happy ending. Also, it doesn't seem much different than using the electric fence. I tried it out today and it is amazing! First a zapped myself. I figure that if I'm going to inflict something on anyone I should know what it feels like. Funnily enough, the shock doesn't seem to bother her at all! The vibration setting is what gets her attention. No pain at all, just a little vibration to get her attention. She is already much less interested in the chickens, even when they run right past her. I'm so happy! I was really worried that she wouldn't work out and I couldn't bear having to take her back to that place!

Tucker, the 2 girls (juvenile turkeys), and the guineas are going to be transitioned to the big hoop coop soon. They are getting big and I think they are ready to have more room. The other small hoop coop of turkeys are doing great and they are getting big too. Both small hoop tractors have been being moved every day and I think that all of the fresh grass and bugs really do them good.

The chickens have been laying like crazy! Yesterday I got 13 eggs and today I got 16! I have 20 hens and 5 roos right now. I really need to get back down to 2 roosters soon because they are making the ladies' lives rough. Now that Brad isn't working (back to school) and selling eggs at the office, I've been trying to find every way imaginable to use eggs. A couple of nights ago a scrambled over 2 dozen with onions and peppers, wrapped them in tortillas, and froze them so my guys have something easy to heat up for breakfast. Thankfully, Keegan has gone through them fast so I can make more soon. I hate wasting eggs! The pigs love whatever we don't use, so I guess it isn't a waste. It may seem strange, but I think a basket full of my green, blue, brown, pink, tan, and white eggs is such a beautiful sight! It makes me smile every time I walk by the kitchen table and see them sitting there. Simple pleasures. Life is good. :)

Even On The Stormiest Days, The Sun Peeks Through The Clouds

One of my turkey hens came back yesterday afternoon! It was Tabby, my dark bourbon hen. She had braved the wilderness for 2 days and nights and still managed to make it home! What a fighter! There is nothing behind my property but national forest for miles, so every manner of wild animal is likely to be in very close proximity. I thought that if the wounds from the dog attack didn't claim her, the infection she was very likely to get from them or wild animals would finish her off. She is in really bad shape. She is missing more skin from her back than she has left, and she has some pretty deep lacerations. It is really gruesome. I immediately gave her a shot of penicillin, cleaned her up the best I could without stressing her, and sprayed her down with vetericyn. She is resting in the small hoop coop with Yellow and Tallow.

Yellow and Tallow are looking much better! They still look pretty bad, but they are visibly more alert. Seeing them stand taller and move around more fills my heart with joy. They still aren't eating much, which worries me, but I'm really hopeful that as they start feeling a bit better, that corrects itself. It may be, simply, that the antibiotics are making them nauseous. I know it does that to me.

As it turns out, I was wrong about who owned the dog. From what I am told, the dog has been roaming the neighborhood for about a month, although I had only started seeing it about a week ago. The neighbors that recently moved in on the other side of the neighbor that I thought the dog belonged to had taken it in and been feeding it. They were quick to pay for the replacement of the turkeys. They sent half of the money over with the police officer and said they would pay the rest in about a week. The dog is still here, but the neighbors gave up rights to it and I am working on getting animal control to come pick her up and take her to the shelter. She is still tied up on a run and we have been caring for her until they can get her. She is a good dog, but has a taste for expensive turkeys. I'm hopeful that she will find a good home, far far away from poultry. I work closely with the animal shelter (fostering puppies for transport to areas that don't have overpopulation problems where they can be easily adopted) and all of the dogs I have owned since I became an adult have been shelter dogs. I am confident that she will have a happy ending. Because the neighbors were willing to work with us and gave up rights to the dog, I told them not to worry about the rest of the money. I'm just happy that I don't have to worry about when the next time she will end up in my coops will be.

It has been a rough few days, and was a really bad situation. I am amazed that even with such a bad situation, good things keep happening. If this was going to happen, I can't imagine a better ending to it. We aren't feuding with the neighbors. I don't have to worry about the dog ever coming back to finish my birds off. I thought I had lost all of my birds, but amazingly, I have three left. I have offspring of the others so I can watch them grow and love them. The sun does shine, even on cloudy days. We are blessed.

And in more happy news, tomorrow we welcome our newest homestead babies! It has been a long time in coming and we are very excited!

Dog Attack

I woke up this morning to Brad grabbing the gun and yelling at me to go outside "NOW". I walked out to see a huge dog standing in my turkey coop surrounded by carnage. I've caught the dog in the yard a couple of times in the last week. Usually as it was being chased out of the yard by my dogs. I was hoping that it was a friendly dog, or that it wouldn't come back. Apparently, I was wrong. Who knows how long the dog had been in the coop. My dogs were inside for the night. It was in there long enough to do a lot of damage. When I ran out there yelling at the dog, it stopped. It sat down and waited for me to let it out of the coop. We couldn't shoot a dog that listened when I fussed at it. I got her out of the turkey coop and tied her in the front yard and then went back to survey the damage. The dog had climed up the side of the coop and busted through the bird netting at the top. There was a hole in the other side of the coop where some of the turkeys had gotten out.

One turkey was killed and half eaten (RT). Three others (yellow, tawny, and chester) were in really bad shape. The remaining three (tabby, tallow, and tom) were MIA. I grabbed a pot of warm water and the vetericyn and tried to get the three injured turkeys cleaned up. Chester and Tawny were shaking and visibly in severe pain. Yellow was not quite as bad but it still wasn't looking good. To add insult to injury, we only had 2 bullets. They have been nearly impossible to buy recently. Brad went to Walmart in hope that they had some, which they didn't. We had to call all over the neighborhood just to find ammunition to put my turkeys out of their misery.

I went to pick the borrowed ammo up. While I was gone, Brad found Tallow. She was walking around the very back section of the property. She was obviously fearful, but she let me slowly approach her and look her over. She is banged up, but not as badly as the other turkeys. After a few minutes I convinced her to let me pick her up and carry her back to the coop. I looked chester and tawny over once more just to make sure that they were beyond help. I have a hard time convincing myself to put anything out of its misery. I like to give everything a fighting chance instead of deciding that it is beyond help. Chickens and turkeys don't show when they are sick or in pain until they are on death's doorstep. It is a defense mechanism. They don't want to show weakness because they don't want to be picked off by predators. These turkeys were obviously in a lot of pain. They had deep gashes and were missing skin over large areas. The chances that they would survive was not good, and it would be impossible to keep them from getting an infection in wounds that large and deep. After many tears and reasoning with myself, Brad put them down.

I called the police and made out a report. The police officer was very nice and understanding. Apparently he had ducks that had suffered a similar fate. He had to put all of them down. After talking for a while and showing him the damage, he went over to the neighbor's (suspected dog owners) house to talk to them but nobody was home. I assumed that the dog belonged to the same man whose dog killed my turkeys last November because it looked a lot like that dog and appears to be about the right age to have been a puppy right around that time. She is huge, but young. Nobody was home. The police officer told me to hold onto the dog and he would check back in with me before the end of the day.

After he left and the police report was made I took Brad to work. He had already missed half of the day by that point. I went to the feed store and talked to a wonderful women there that is also a vet tech. She helped me find an antibiotic that will hopefully work on the turkeys. I bought them some injectable Penicillin. I gave each of them a shot of 1/2cc into their breast and they will need it every day for the next 7 days. I'm hoping that it will help Yellow and Tallow to fight off the infection and heal. I'm going to be keeping vetericyn on the wounds. They are obviously still very sore, but I hope they will make it. I moved them both from the big hoop coop, to one of the hoop chicken tractors. It is smaller, but they need to be resting. I also wanted to get them on clean grass. I can move them every day this way and it will be more sanitary.

This evening the police officer gave me a call and let me know that he was back at the neighbor's house, but there was still nobody home. He went to the next house over and talked to the people that lived there. They are Hispanic and speak very little english. Apparently, the woman acted like it was actually her and her husband's dog. Not the neighbor that I had though she belonged to. The police officer explained the situation the best he could to her and said he would be back over here in the morning to take pictures of the dog to give them to make sure it was the right dog. He told them that there would be damages that they have to pay. It won't replace my sweet turkey-heads.

I was holding out the hope that maybe when it started to get dark tabby and tom would come back. They didn't. I know that they were probably pretty badly injured by the time they managed to escape. They probably went off somewhere and died. All of my bourbon reds are gone. My 2 blues are in bad shape but I'm hoping that they pull through. Most of Tallow's eggs got smashed in the struggle. I'm assuming that the rest are scrambled. She needs to heal herself before she hatches any eggs anyway. Thankfully I still have some of their sweet babies. I was disappointed because I hadn't sold all of them. It it late in the season for people to be wanting turkey poults. I'm so thankful to have them now. They won't replace their parents but I hope that they will have a lot of their traits. I got so attached to my turkeys over the last year. They were more like pets than anything. It breaks my heart to have lost them and most of all that they had to suffer like they did.

I will spare you the gruesome pics of today and instead share the way that I will try to remember them.  The way Chester would strut for me and then look up at me with those big beautiful brown eyes to make sure that I saw how handsome he was. The way they would move like a school of fish around the yard, following my every move. How sweet, funny, and curious they all were. I will miss my sweet turkey-heads dearly. It has been a really rough day.

Productive Days Make Me Happy

When I woke up yesterday to see it overcast, yet again, and checked the weather to see that we were completely surrounded by thunderstorms, I thought that this weekend would be a total wash. Yesterday was, but it was nice to enjoy a day inside with the family. Today I tried to make up for it and I got so much accomplished!

The guineas and 3 turkeys graduated to one of the hoop coop chicken tractors! They were so excited to get to explore the grass! I love introducing babies to grass for the first time. They huddle together for a minute or two, and then one or two venture out to see what all of that green stuff is. Then before you know it, they are all running and flapping all over. The real fun begins when one discovers that bugs live in that green stuff! Tucker didn't waste any time at all. He doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. He is so adorably aloof. The guineas chirped and "Chrrrrrr'd" away as they scratched around in the grass. I got their grown-up feeder and bucket water system cleaned and sterilized and put the tarp back on to give them some shade and shelter.

I also added a new roost. I've been needing to put one in for a while but I wasn't sure how to go about adding one that wouldn't make the coop difficult to move and wouldn't put weight on the wire, but would be sturdy enough to hold the birds once they start getting bigger. I suspended a tree branch from the "spine" of the coop with thick wire. It is a lot like a swing, except that it fits snugly to each side so that it doesn't move around very much. The babies seem to be enjoying it, although they still decided to sleep on the ground in a huddle. Maybe tomorrow.

One of the reasons that the guineas and older turkeys moved to the hoop tractor is because I have had 2 batches of turkeys hatch out in the last 2 weeks! One batch is about 12 days old and the other is 4 days old. I have only sold 3, and still have 13 left (9 older 4 younger). The older babies were getting pretty rambunctious and the indoor brooder just wasn't big enough to give them the wing-room that they felt they needed. They were flapping and jumping everywhere! They knocked the filament loose on 3 light bulbs in one day and insisted on perching on top of the waterer. The funnel I put on top of it merely slowed them down.
The little ones are now happily residing in the "Tank" and my living room seems so much bigger! And quieter! The littlest tid-bits aren't getting knocked about and can rest now.

While I was cleaning out feeders I decided to collect all of the adult chicken and turkey feeders, disassemble them, scrub them out, and sterilize them. It doesn't seem like much, but I feel accomplished. I just realized that some of the pieces come apart. Feed kept getting stuck under the middle piece and molding, which is bad enough, but they were so difficult to clean like that! I took the middle pieces out and threw them away.Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me in the butt, but I'm pretty happy with them! They are super easy to wipe out now and I feel so much better about them getting fresh quality feed! I left the middle part in the littles' feeder because they are small enough to climb right into it otherwise. Except for sweet Tucker who just steps over it with his giant crane legs.

My last accomplishment was to erect a new turkey tee-pee. Tallow has taken over the other tee-pee and is sitting on eggs. She is being such a good little momma to-be! When I called the turkeys to put them up this evening only the boys came. I found Tabby sitting in my Cosmos near the little garden, and Tawny in her normal nest. Both of them had around 6 eggs each. Heritage turkeys won't be full sized by the holidays at this point, and the spring baby-fever is over, so I have had a difficult time selling the babies I have. My problem is that I have some sort of strange inability to let turkey eggs go to waste. I don't like the consistency of the eggs, so I don't eat them. They are very thick. I need to girls to stop laying! I need to wash the incubator and put it up for the year. I put together a new tee-pee next to the inhabited one, and put all of the eggs I collected into it. Hopefully, one (or both) of the girls will decide to sit. I didn't get pictures because it was dark before I got done. I was working with my head-lamp (one of the handiest things EVER btw!).

It doesn't seem like a whole lot, and in reality, I guess it wasn't. But, I feel so much better after having worked all day doing things that really needed to get done. Better yet, knowing that what I accomplished had meaning. It wasn't just the usual mowing, clearing brush, or tending the garden. Don't get me wrong, those are all very important things. But everything I did today visibly made my animals happy, and I know will make them healthy. That makes me very happy! Maybe before I go to bed I will give the dogs baths too. That way I will have done something nice for all of my animals today. On second thought, I think they would be much more thankful for some left-over turkey and rice instead of their icky dog food.

I love productive days!

Thanksgiving Weekend in July

This weekend was filled with fun, family, fire, and a feast! How much more like Thanksgiving can you get?

While, in the end, we had a great weekend, it didn't start quite as well. The sun was shining and beautiful so I started working outside. I decided to try to mow in the garden area. The weeds were so thick and the ground so uneven that the mower kept bogging down and dying. After about 3 minutes, and starting it at least as many times, I pulled the cord to start it back up and the cord broke in half. UGH! That little push mower doesn't look like much, but we do an extraordinary amount of work with it. That little thing has cleared a lot of land and I am lost without it. Or course, I flipped out. It seems silly now, because a pull string isn't exactly difficult to fix. While looking for a model number I realized that it is actually a much nicer model than I ever realized. It even has a bag fitting so I can bag grass clippings to use as mulch! I have been wanting a mower like that for a while now and I had one the whole time! This mower is second (actually I think 4th) hand so I never saw it in new condition. It is amazing though, and always starts on the first pull. I will stand by Yard Man mowers forever if all of their products are as good as this one. She will be fixed soon and will hopefully soon have a new bag to attach.

The inability to mow put a kink in my plans. I wasn't without anything to do though. One of my tom turkeys that has been slated for freezer camp hurt his foot somehow. I noticed him limping Thursday evening. I tried to look at it, but of course he wasn't having it and turkeys are strong enough that there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it without hurting him further. After a little struggle, I gave up and nursed a sore jaw for the rest of the day. Did I mention that turkeys are strong birds? Watch out for those wings! We moved his date with the freezer up a bit. I thought that maybe we would go ahead and put the other tom that is slated for freezer camp up as well. Plucking took much longer than I had planned, though. Even with Brad and Keegan working on it with me. I usually do all of the processing on my own. Keegan catches and brings us the chickens and digs a hole for the remains, Brad mans the chopping block while I hold the bird (I have terrible aim), I do all of the processing and quarter the final product, and then hand it to brad to wash and bag in the kitchen. We all plucked... and plucked... and plucked some more. Several times along the way I may have mentioned that this is why I usually skin all of the chickens, and that an automatic plucker would be amazing! They never had to do the agonizingly slow icky work before, and I think Brad realizes now why I have been asking for one for so long. I think that maybe a homemade plucker may be in our future! We finally got the turkey plucked, I cleaned it, and we got is put in the fridge.

On Saturday, my brother, his other half, and their kids came over to spend the weekend. They have a camper which, conveniently, is temporarily parked in my driveway, so they just came over and stayed for a couple days. I got some more brush cleared before they got here, and Dan (brother) helped me clear some more yesterday. I can only do a little at a time because the battery on my chainsaw doesn't last very long. I love my chainsaw. It is light, easy to handle, and cuts through trees that are way bigger than seems possible with such a small saw. The battery life is the only draw-back. I really need to invest in another battery so I can just keep trading them out. On the plus side, it gives me an excuse to take a break. I tend to keep working way past the point of exhaustion once I get started, and I feel terrible, sometimes for days, afterward. I have been cutting the bigger stuff with the saw and then I can take the bush-hog through there, then I can get to the bigger stuff farther back, and so on. It is a cycle and eventually I will get enough cleared to get the fence up. Hopefully it will happen soon.

Saturday evening, after Dan got the camper set up and my battery died, I started a bonfire. I love bonfires and always keep at least 1 pile ready for gatherings. This one was probably going to be right in the path of my future fence, and was getting huge, so it had to go. I also had another pile that was getting really big (10ft high by at least 12 feet wide) so I am going to have to start another one and I really don't want giant mounds of brush all over the property. Not with rattlesnakes being so prevalent here. I have been wanting to burn that eyesore for a while but I didn't want to chance my mom and grandparents making a spur of the moment visit and be stuck without a bonfire waiting for them. Maybe its a family tradition, but all of the best gatherings include a bonfire. I'd rather sit by a fire with people I love, listen to good music, and have good conversation (and perhaps a few drinks), than do pretty much anything else. I don't understand why more people don't enjoy it.

Since I already had a turkey in the fridge and a house full of people, I decided that I should go ahead and cook it. And how can an amazing turkey be made without all of the great sides to go with it?! So yesteday (Sunday) I baked the turkey, made a beautiful loaf of Challah bread, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and baked corn. Not nearly as much as I usually do for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but quite a bit nonetheless. In between cooking and checking things I cut brush. I felt like I accomplished quite a bit. Keegan played with his little cousins. He kept them occupied inside while it was raining, and kept an eye on them and showed them things around the property while the sun was shining. He has always been great with kids and they really love him. He showed them the garden and let them sample all of the things growing there, showed them the animals, told them all about each one, and helped them collect eggs. They did some general exploring, which the little ones really seemed to enjoy since they live in the city and can't do things like that much. We had a great family dinner, followed by fireworks that my brother had stored away for a special occasion. The kids loved it... the animals not so much.

Our visitors left late this morning, right as the rain started to come in. We had a great, although exhausting, weekend. Fun was had by all and even a little bit of productivity occurred here and there. Even the problems that arose turned into blessings. I am thankful for the happy times like this that I get to spend with family. Even though my brother only lives about 40 minutes away, we don't see each other nearly as often as I would like. Life gets in the way and days turn into weeks. I'll be saving a bonfire pile and looking forward to the next time that we get to enjoy it with family and friends.

This bonfire looks tiny because of the angle of the camera, but it was actually over 5 feet tall and at least 10 feet wide. It was bigger but it collapsed after a while. We do things big around here :)

How to Incubate and Hatch Turkey Eggs

My turkeys are still laying! I expected them to slow down or stop by now, but they are still cranking them out! I'm so proud of my girls! Tallow, my Blue Slate hen, started sitting on a batch of eggs about 4 days ago. She has been doing such a good job! I have had to keep an eye out to keep the chickens from hijacking her nest and either laying their own eggs, or kicking hers out of the turkey tee-pee when she goes to take her potty and lunch break. I have been collecting the eggs and incubating them or selling them all season, therefore, trying my best to keep the girls from sitting, much to the ladies' dismay. Because it has been raining so much lately I thought it would be a good time to let her sit. The turkeys free range and unless I keep them put up until they lay in the tee-pee, they make new nests all over the property and every day turns into a perpetual Easter-egg hunt. The constant storms have made it difficult to find them before they get soaked, so a lot of precious eggs have been going to waste.

I have been selling hatching eggs and poults since February. I love sharing my babies with other people. Especially when it is their first turkey raising experience. I think I get just as excited about giving them their babies as they are about getting them! I have had lots of questions, though. There is so little information about raising turkeys available! I thought putting together a post would be helpful. 

The most asked question I get about hatching turkeys eggs is "Is it the same as hatching chicken eggs?"

The answer is: Mostly. The main difference is incubation time. If you have ever hatched chicken eggs, and even if you haven't, you can hatch turkey eggs! 

Egg Care Before Incubation:

Just like any other type of hatching eggs, it usually takes a while to collect enough to make a batch big enough to put in the incubator. DO NOT wash your hatching eggs. Eggs have a protective membrane on the outside of the shell, called the "bloom". Because eggs are porous, this protective coating prevents bacteria from entering the egg while still allowing gas exchange. The baby has to have access to air and moisture to develop. Washing the egg removes this and allows bacteria to enter the egg. I don't even wash the eggs I eat for this reason. If the egg is especially soiled then it should be discarded. Nothing is worse than a rotten egg explosion in your incubator! 

Eggs need to be stored in a secure place that won't get bumped or shaken. It is best for them to be stored between 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit. The eggs need to be turned at least twice daily. Most reputable breeders know this, but it is always best to ask if you are buying hatching eggs. I have found that the best way is to store them in an egg carton, large end up. Never store eggs pointy side up. They are large eggs, but leaving an empty spot between eggs usually allows them to fit well enough to be secure, though not well enough to close the top. Elevate one end of the carton a few inches by propping it one something sturdy, like a thick book or two. A couple of times a day, gently turn the carton around so the other end is elevated. They can also be stored on their side and each egg turned manually. The sooner they are incubated after being laid, the better, but they can be stored like this for up to 2 weeks with good hatchability. If your hatching eggs were bought and either shipped or hand delivered in a vehicle, they have bounced around quite a bit, even when the utmost care has been taken. They should be stored as mentioned above for at least 24 hours to allow any air bubbles from the air sac to settle back into the large end of the egg before being placed in the incubator. 

I always use a pencil to mark each of my eggs with the date when I collect them. I put the date on one side and number each egg on the other, so I can keep track of how they are developing. It comes in handy when candling the eggs later on. If you don't write the date on the eggs, you can always number one side and put an X on the other. This makes it much easier to ensure that each egg is turned appropriately. I also have a chart that I use to keep track of turning, candling, dates, and to write any observations or issues along the way. I know, the science major in me is showing through, but it REALLY helps! I am terrible about thinking that I will remember things, only to realize later that I didn't. It is also handy to keep everything together on one sheet of paper, which is usually stuck to my fridge along with a pencil so I have no excuse not to write things down. ***I will update this post as soon as I figure out how to attach a blank chart with this post that can be printed out. 

Setting Up the Incubator:

Place your incubator on a stable surface where it won't get shaken, vibrated, or bumped. It needs to be in a room that maintains a steady temperature. Do not put incubators in drafty areas or in direct sunlight. In general, near a window is a bad place. It still needs to be easily accessible and somewhere you can keep a close eye on it. I keep mine on an island counter in my kitchen. Its away from the stove, all windows, and air conditioner vents. I can see and access it easily, but it is in a rarely used spot where people won't bump or jostle it. 

Always allow the incubator to run for 24-48 hours to regulate the temperature before eggs are added. Once the eggs are added, the temperature will drop until the eggs come up to temperature. Don't touch the setting! If you have allowed the temperature to regulate for 24 hours before adding eggs, and it is stable, it will return to that temperature once the eggs warm up. Only after a 24 hour period, if the temperature hasn't come back up, should you attempt to adjust it. My biggest tip is to spend a little extra money on a thermometer/hygrometer. They don't cost that much and they make all the difference in the world! Keeping a close eye on the temperature is the best thing you can do to increase the hatchability of your babies. Temperatures lower than 99.5 F or higher than 103 F for more than brief periods can be fatal to embryos. 

Still air incubators should be set to between 100.5 to 101.5 degrees F.

Forced air incubators should be set to between 99.5 to 100 degrees F. I highly recommend forced air!

Humidity should be kept around 50-60% for the first  24 days and increased to around 80% for the last 3. In more humid climates, like here, it may not be necessary to add water to the incubator for the first 25 days. It needs to be more humid during the last few days to allow the poults to break out of the shell and escape from the membrane. 

Incubation Period

The incubation period for turkey eggs is 28 days, versus 21 days for chicken eggs. The eggs need to be turned at least 3 times a day for the first 24 days. Turkey eggs are too large for most turners. I never use an egg turner for them because I was told by someone with a lot of turkey hatching experience, that turkeys hatched from eggs that are incubated on end (like in a turner) have a tendency to be more prone to leg and hip issues. Because there is so little information on raising turkeys it is difficult to verify this, but I prefer to incubate them on their side and hand turn just to be safe. Also, because the eggs are hand turned 3 times a day, more attention is paid to the temperature, humidity, and general goings on with how things are progressing. Always wash you hands before handling eggs to prevent bacteria contamination that could kill the embryos. I usually candle around day 14 and again on day 20, but this varies slightly. It is tempting to candle constantly, but the more often you do it the higher the chances that something happens to harm the egg. It is really best to limit it to twice. I love to see the babies hopping around in there (usually more active than chicken embryos) but I mainly candle to get any undeveloping eggs out before they turn into rotten egg bombs. 

On day 25 your eggs need to go on "Lock down". I like to turn them number side up so I can keep an eye on which eggs are doing what. No more turning! The babies need to get into hatching position and absorb the rest of the yolk to prepare for the big outside world. Decrease the temperature to 98.5 degrees F and increase humidity to 80%. After that, Leave It Alone! That is easier said than done! My son always repeats what I spent a large part of his life telling him. "You look with your eyes, not with your hands." Opening the incubator causes temperature and humidity fluctuations, which are always bad during incubation, but can be especially detrimental during the last few days. Maintain a close eye on the temperature and humidity. If the humidity gets too low, the poults may become shrink wrapped inside the egg. If the humidity gets too high the poults can drown inside the shell. If the temperature is too high when the humidity is that high it can be fatal. If there is condensation forming on the viewing window the humidity is probably too high, although this is rarely a problem. Low humidity is usually the issue. A tip for those using styrofoam table top models: If your humidity keeps dropping quickly, try putting a little weight (a book works well) on top to keep it shut tightly. They tend to bleed moisture out of the cracks. That being said, the babies need oxygen (throughout the whole incubation period) so don't plug all of the holes! Wet sponges placed in the incubator may help, as well. Surface area, not depth, of the water source is key. 

Many times, the poults will begin hatching, or all may even hatch, on day 27. Most should hatch by day 28. It isn't nearly as common to have poults that hatch late as it is with chicken chicks. Turkey poults can be left in the incubator for 24 hours without food or water. I've read up to 48 hours, but this makes me nervous. Opening the incubator to get poults out will cause a temperature and humidity fluctuation, which is bad for the rest of the unhatched eggs. It is best to let them all hatch before opening the incubator to remove any. That being said, I usually get mine out periodically before all are hatched. I do this because I incubate a large amount of eggs at a time, and poults tend to be really active and clumsy, bumping all of the rest of the eggs around. I don't suggest others do this, because all experts explicitly say not to, but I haven't seen ill effects. I don't do it often, and when I do it is done very quickly. Maybe I have just been lucky. Its probably a case of being better to do as I say, not as I do... so many things are! LOL 

Have the brooder set up and ready before hatch time to make sure the temperature is stable before the babies are added. When the poults have dried and fluffed up (and preferably, all of their hatch-mates have hatched) they can be placed in the nice, warm, draft free brooder where its high protein starter and warm water with added nutrient/electrolyte supplement are waiting! 

The final step when hatching turkey eggs? Enjoy your new babies! I can hear a sweet baby from my latest batch chirping from inside its egg as I type!

Time to go watch the miracle of life happen right in front of my eyes. It never ceases to amaze me! 

Another post to come on how to care for new turkey poults.