We have been busy...with what, you say? Well, just keep on readin'.
1. Our first processing for 2011 took place on June 14. We sold out quickly and of course were excited about that. One of our favorite parts of this whole thing is the pickup, when we get to meet people and converse about our farming experience and other things. Thank you for making this fun by sharing your thoughts & feedback with us.
2. We have all the turkeys out on pasture. They are loving the greenery! They are also very curious animals and will spend lengthy amount of time pecking at shoelaces, rivets, buttons, & ties on our clothes and hats, and even our wedding rings - I guess they like bling. We are still taking turkey orders for August (broadbreasted breed only) and October (broadbreasted and heritage breeds). Orders are made by emailing us and sending a $20 turkey deposit.
3. Our hens are starting to lay. We are now able to offer fresh eggs to a growing list of people. Danny has been working on an egg-mobile, which is a moveable shelter for the laying hens. Inside there are 32 laying boxes. This is a 5 star hotel for chickens. Thank so much to Shawnee's dad and brother for helping with this project. It is quite amazing and we're happy to be about finished! We'll post more on that later.
4. We are beginning the process of moving all of our birds to pasture in Wanship. The pasture is beautiful, it's more like real farmland and will hopefully be a permanent place for us. Wanship is about equal distance from our house as Draper. It is quite a bit colder there so the hot months will be more tolerable (and the cold months, well...we might have to shorten our season but we'll have to see).
5. This year we have added 2 geese to the mix. We heard geese were good at being guards - like a guard dog, only a guard goose. So if you think you see 2 geese in some of the pictures, you're not mistaken. So far we think they are working, except a few times when we saw the turkeys (the guardees) chasing the geese (the guarders). Go figure.
6. Our next processing will take place in about 3-4 weeks and then again in August. This year we are sticking with red rangers, and a few cornish cross in our first couple of batches. The cornish cross are bred to eat and grow and though they enjoy being out on pasture, they struggle with any variance in the weather so we are likely going to stick with red rangers long term.
7. We have been meeting chefs of local restaurants. We sold chickens to two local restaurants. Luganos and Log Haven each purchased chickens from the first batch and will be offering them on their menus. Go check them out this month! We're excited and hopeful, and thankful the chefs are meeting with us to help give us pointers in working with the restaurant side of things. We love the idea of being able to work with local chefs. Food that is raised within 50 miles and cooked by a professional chef...now that's exciting. Thanks for following our blog and stay tuned for more!
