December 5, 2007

Wow, it's been a very busy season for us.  So much so, that we haven't updated the farm news page in months!  Well here we go...

We've made it through our third year in business selling pasture raised chicken and eggs.  We would like to thank all of our customers at the Howell, Oakland and Royal Oak Farmers' Markets for getting us there.  Although there were times (more than we wanted) that stock was low we tried to keep you all happy.  Unfortunately, this year was a wacky one weather-wise and that does affect our broilers as they live outside on the pasture after they are 3 to 4 weeks old.  This year has been a real learning process and we've been tweaking our systems so that next year we can have more than enough (knock wood) for everyone who comes by to see us at the market.

This year brought us another outlet - Plum Market.  Plum Market is owned and operated by the Jonna brothers, Mark and Matt.  They are really great to work with and have a wonderful store.  Currently they are in Bloomfield Hills at Maple and Lahser.  Another location will be opening next year in Ann Arbor and also in Royal Oak at some point in the future.  They carry great products, have wonderfully attentive staff and really encourage and work with local Michigan vendors.  They currently have our eggs (Large, Extra Large and Jumbo) and also carried our chicken for a few weeks before the season ended and our turkeys for Thanksgiving.  We're looking forward to bringing them some great broilers next year during the season.  If you can't make it to the market, stop by Plum.  But I warn you, you won't leave with just our chicken or eggs!  I work my way through the store every time we make a delivery and rarely leave empty handed.

On the turkey front, we had a year we hope we won't repeat anytime soon.  We purposely cut back on how many turkeys we raised but it turns out it wasn't enough.  Then we lost a few to damage during processing.  That, unfortunately, is something that can't always be avoided.  But to really kick us while we were down, someone decided to help themselves to six of our turkeys.  I guess they felt they deserved them more than the customers who paid for them.  The thing that upset us the most about that is the person (or persons) who stole those turkeys ruined Thanksgiving for six families.  I truly hope they realized that with every bite they took.  And the final straw was getting rear-ended at a red light during deliveries by a driver who seemed to be more concerned about the cat that was in her lap, than her own health. 

As a result, next year we will be raising a lot more turkeys and separating them into two groups.  The first group will be 6 weeks older than the second so that we can get a bigger size range and satisfy everyone in their orders.  We'll also have plenty on hand for last minute calls and those that are left over (if there are any left) will be cut into parts so that we have turkey breasts, thighs, wings and drumsticks on hand throughout the spring.  We had planned on doing a batch earlier this year to have ready for July 4th, but we've decided to focus on the Thanksgiving turkeys instead.  Also, next year we will not be making any deliveries.  We will do our usual pick-ups at the farmers markets and others will need to pick them up at the processing plant located north of Fowlerville.  All of the details will be worked out as we get closer. 

At this time we are in the shut down for winter/clean up for spring mode and will be making our fourth renovation on the barn due to growth.  It will probably be our last renovation as well, as we are reaching the limit as to what two people can do and still get a little sleep during market months.  It's a good thing that we love what we do or it would be very tedious work. 

One other thing.  We haven't been able to make it to the markets lately.  The reason is our girls have decided to molt.  When they do, they stop production of eggs and lose a lot of their feathers.  It takes about 16 weeks for them to come back.  Fortunately, they aren't all molting right now or we'd have no eggs.  Plum Market is ordering pretty much everything we have at the moment, but as soon as they come out of molt and we have enough eggs to come back to market, we will be there.  We definitely miss seeing you all and our fellow vendors. 

That's it for now.  The winter months are slower for us, so there may not be too many updates, but I will post something.

Thanks again and see you all at the markets.

Month of March

The egg room is also undergoing renovation so we are able to process the increased amount of eggs we will have this year. The changing weather sees us going from frigid conditions to the swamp conditions of the thawing snow and still frozen ground. Soon as the ground thaws we are going to be adding larger pasture (paddocks) for the increased number of layers this year. Fifteen years of raising sheep on this area of the farm has produced a pasture that is superior for the girls, we are looking forward to it no longer going to waste.

March 5, 2007

Spring must be right around the corner! The first batch of broiler chicks should arrive today.  Another batch will arrive every week till the end of August. We are also redoing the broiler brooding (nursery) area to better accommodate them. Third time is a charm, right? We are leaving one part undone for now leaving room for future expansion.

March 4, 2007

The new layers hit a baker's dozen today. Slowly increasing their total, perhaps they are waiting for their new abode. One of the new ordained hens has surprised us a second day in a row, a super jumbo! Whatever happened to new hens laying small eggs? These first eggs are always a surprise especially a double yolk small egg! On the broiler side we made a decision to start the new guys arriving tomorrow in the dining room with the forecast in low single digits overnight we are going to be prudent and keep them in for a few days.

March 2,2007

Moving day has been cancelled as the grandsons are not coming and the weather is colder. Forecast is looking better later next week so we postponed the move. Every day the chicks are feathering out more which will allow them to tolerate the cold better. Lisa and Jay are working in the barn rearranging the older 2 groups of ladies to accommodate the new girls. A vow has been made to never start chicks in winter again. The middle group of girls are still only laying a few eggs per day.

February 28, 2007

Well, the newest ladies are still in the living room. We have put a higher draft guard around them to contain since they are flying to the top of the waterers. We are expecting to move them out by the weekend out to their original brooder in the barn as the grandsons are expected to be around on Saturday.

February 23, 2007

We had our first egg from the middle group of girls!!! Only one but it is encouraging because it is a week early. We were worried that they would not start laying until much later because of the cold weather. This batch of girls we started on October 1, 2006. We they are laying regularly we will be able to return to The Royal Oak Market. Counting our eggs before they are laid we should have 3 times as many as last year.

February 14, 2007

The storm has passed but it is bitter cold! We had prepared the brooder area for the new girls and had their heat lamps warming it up. We took them out and removed them for their transport boxes.  By the time we had them all out of their boxes we were at wits end. Normally chicks will head to water and food all on their own.  These chicks were not moving just shivering not even moving farther under the heat lamps. We tried moving them closer without success and wondered what to do! Quickly deciding we had to do something we returned them to the boxes and grabbed wood chips, draft guard (cardboard ring) and a tarp. We were back in the farmhouse with a brooder quickly improvised in the living room! Twelve hours later the last of the chicks revived from the cold and we are thrilled to hear the peeps of happy chicks!

February 13, 2007

We take a drive to the Hatchery to pick up our latest additions. A new batch of Hubbard Isa Browns and for the first time in about 15 years Araucanas are on the farm. If you aren't familiar with Araucanas they lay eggs in shades of blue, green, pink and olive drab. We expect these young ladies to start laying around mid-July be sure to look for them at the markets. Although this was a Winter Storm Warning day our trip was fine except for the wind wanting to blow us across the road. We arrived back at the farm in the early afternoon and the snow was blowing so hard we thought it prudent to not put the new arrivals out till the storm had passed.