the amazing chicken factory!

one of our recent acquisitions was a chicken plucker. we were looking for a drum plucker, but when we found this one on Craig's list for $100, Dave decided that it would work just fine.

we did quite alot of work on it: new "fingers", new paint, motor, plug and switch. so, the final cost was somewhere around $don'tevenaskbecauseyoudon'treallywanttoknow.

however, it works like a charm! Dave is the only one who has run it so far, since it spins really fast, and you really have to hold onto that chicken! (or else he'll go flying and be spit out the back and bottom of the drum!)

first, the chicken needs to be scalded (it goes without saying that the chicken is already dead...) in water that is no more than 145 degrees. then Dave flops him (i keep saying "him" because if you'll remember, all the meat birds we raise are the Cornish cross cockerels) onto the plucker, and holds on for dear life! pretty soon, 97% of the feathers are removed.

next in our little assembly line is G, and he tidies up the bird, removes the feet, crop, tail and head. he also removes the neck, and then passes the bird onto me.

i gut him, do any final cleaning and then rinse him off for the final time. i tuck the chicken into a neat looking package, and then I'll weigh and bag him. (it makes it much easier to have the chickens weighed before the customers come to pick them up- it goes so much smoother and faster that way.)



the chicken plucker has saved us untold hours, and even earned us money. with the addition of the skins and neck (tucked into the cavity) our birds have consistently weighed slightly over 5 pounds, with a few even over 6 pounds!



our goal is to continue to improve our product and cut down our cost to raise them. the chicken plucker has at least helped with the first part of that objective!

L & G Report: 2 ~ week 10 & 11

I've had uploading issues with the camera, so this is the post that i intended (and tried) to get up last week is just now co-operating!

this mulberry tree is right outside our kitchen window, and we've been enjoying watching the birds all fight for their fair share of mulberries. we've had quite a few goldfinches, and for the first time this week we've seen Baltimore orioles!

this mulberry tree is actually quite old, and has been growing here for over 100 years. or maybe i should say, (more accurately) the grandfather stump that this tree is growing out of has been a staple in our home's landscape for quite a long time now!

here is the upper garden- you can see the onions, beets and tomatoes. in the rows of black plastic are the cucumbers, zucchini, yellow summer squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, butternut and acorn squash. on the very right is ½ of the row of sunflowers.

there is also a row of beans thrown in, just for good measure! behind me, to the right, is the other half of the upper garden, containing popcorn, eggplant, some cabbages, yellow and green beans, sunflowers and gladioli.

on Tuesday i went to the greenhouse and bought a few flats of larger plants on clearance: cukes, watermelon, butternut and acorn squash. also green and purple cabbage. most of that stuff is in, and growing happily.

this is the first harvest of cauliflower. wow! we are so pleased with how the broccoli and cauliflower did that we're wishing we'd bought several more flats of each. i harvested more cauliflower tonight, with 2 dozen or more plants still maturing. the broccoli has had 2 harvests already, and tomorrow morning i plan on having M harvest, and pull, the rest of the plants. that will give us the needed room to plant the remaining green and purple cabbages.


our potatoes are doing very well, and have been hilled several times. Dave made a special attachment for the roto tiller, so no more back breaking hoeing needs to be done. just one pass down the row, and it's done!

most of the potatoes are flowering, and I'm very optimistic that we'll have fresh potatoes for July 4th! I'm also thankful that we planted (at the last minute) superior potatoes (white), in addition to the kennebec (also white). in one of my evening perusing of our multitude of seed catalogs, i noticed that superior potatoes were an early variety, while the kennebec are later. (of course, this makes sense, since the kennebec are intended to be a keeper potato...)

since the kennebec are still not flowering, we would not be able to have our red, white and blue potatoes for July 4th...




the sweet potatoes are also doing well, in spite of our disgust with Gurneys. one of these days, when i have a bit of free time, I'll call them and ask to be taken off their mailing list. that way i won't be tempted to buy something from them next year, no matter how cheap!

we still have the sweets under the row tunnel, and the plan is for them to remain that way. G made 2 end covers for me out of chicken wire, but even so, Dave often uncovers part of the row during the day so the sweets don't get too hot. B, my self-acclaimed "garden helper" will go down at dusk and help cover them up again.

the first batch of meat birds are 9 weeks old, and cannot reach butchering weight soon enough for me! I've bought 18 bags of feed, and after purchasing 10 more at the feed mill today I'm more than ready for the cash flow to be reversed!

Dave's horseradish is doing fine, too, and we're looking forward to trying some fresh horseradish. we'll have to wait at least until September, though, since the old-timer told me horseradish can only be harvested in a month that has an "R" in it.

i may have forgotten to mention that we (I) decided to also raise 12 turkeys! 4 i hatched out in our incubator, and the other 8 i bought. it only cost me $50 for all 12, so even with that dismally disappointing hatch percentage (18 eggs) they were still far cheaper than if i had ordered day olds.

the turkeys are outside in the brooder hoop house, and moved daily just like the chickens. so far they don't eat much, but i expect that to change soon.

at least several are toms, and it's comical to watch these small birds strut around all puffy and proud despite their diminutive size.

the first 2 pigs went to the butcher last week, with the remaining 2 to follow July 8. (anybody local need fresh, pastured pork?)

the girls and i went to farmer Allen's to get our next batch- 4 feeder pigs. 2 of these are ours, to be butchered in December and January, with the remaining 2 for sale.

Wednesday our remaining 100 Cornish cross cockerels came, joining the 15 buffs i hatched out, and the additional 15 buff pullets we bought. with all these new birds, the poultry population here is nearing 250!

the baby buffs are our new laying flock, as the old buff orpingtons are 1½ years old, and showing it in their egg production. just today M gathered a small egg- about the size of a malted egg! that's ok for a pullet, but not acceptable for a mature hen... so as soon as these new hens start laying, it's off to the chopping block for the slackers!

that's about it for the happenings here "by the bridge". we're harvesting beets, carrots, peas and the occasional ripe tomato (when we can wrestle it away from A and B!) the eggplants and beans are blossoming, and there are tons more yellow blossoms on the tomatoes.

we're managing to *mostly* stay on top of the weeds. we primarily use the hand cultivator, but still use the roto tiller on occasion, and sometimes even resort to the old-fashioned method of hand weeding.

we're thankful for the consistent rain, and still have not installed our new irrigation system, but that should be done soon; hopefully next week.

thanks for stopping by; we appreciate your interest and your encouragement!

Livestock & Garden Report 2: Week 5 and 7

finally ~ the explanations to go with these pictures! i had finally taken the time on Saturday to sit down and write, and just as i hit publish, everything disappeared!

so now, i guess I'll try again. I'll give you both the explanation and the update, all in one fell swoop...

Dave turned our old "chicken triangle" into more garden space. last fall we laid mulch, and early spring Dave was out tilling the hay under. the soil is still fluffy (and rocky) but we're glad for the extra dirt.

A helped us plant sweet corn ~ 3 different kinds: yellow, white and bi-color. all will mature at different times ~ 63, 72 and 85 days.

although it's not enough corn to sell, we will have plenty for ourselves to eat.

the corn is now up about 2" and just this morning i was able to cultivate it for the first time. when it's early, and the dew is still on the stalks, it's easy to see the rows. as the day goes on, the rows just fade into the dirt.

the potatoes in the lower garden are all up ~ all 300 lbs of them! we definitely expanded our potato farming from last year, but it was such a successful crop.

both the kennebec and red Pontiac i was able to plant from our own potatoes, thus saving us the cost of buying more seed potatoes. with the exception of the 200 lb. of seed potatoes i bought ( 50lb. red pontiac, 25 lb. blue, 50 lb. superior and 50 lb. yukon gold), we have not needed to buy any potatoes for our family to eat for almost a year!

now that the potatoes are gone, however, we're on a potato fast until the new ones are dug, hopefully around the beginning of July.



the little high tunnel worked very well, and really gave a boost to the cauliflower and broccoli. the tunnel is off now, (we're using it for the sweet potatoes down in the lower garden) and the plants should be large enough to fend off a marauding bunny.

there are a few slugs, though, but early in the morning Dave takes the girls out to squash the slugs and snails. B is so cute as she earnestly hunts for slugs, and then shakes salt onto them with the saltshaker!

the chickens are coming along very well, and are nearly half-way to butchering day.

every once in a while one (or two, or three...) will get out, and the girls are happy to help put them back in the hoop house. since chickens absolutely do not herd well at all, they need to be caught. both girls know how to catch the chickens by the body so the wings don't flap all over. they gently put them back.

all three girls A, B and M help feed the chickens. (G feeds them in the morning) here B is hauling the feed sack down in her little wheelbarrow.

100 birds eat 100 lbs. of food in less then three days, so we're kept busy either running to the feed mill or mixing the soybean meal into the food.

the meat bird grower that we buy is 22% protein, but these high octane birds need 26% protein. so, for every 100 lbs. of grower, we mix in 6 lbs of soybean meal. since the soybean meal is 47.5% protein, that gives the food (and chickens) the extra boost that they need.

this is the first year that we've supplemented the meat birds food this way, so I'll be interested to see if it makes a difference in the butchering weight.

right now all 4 hoop houses are running on the garden, so the chickens can help eat up the winter rye that is still growing. however, now that the danger of frost is past, we will be tiling the upper garden this week, so the chickens will need to be moved somewhere else.

the peas in the high tunnel are finally producing! just yesterday we had 2 quarts!


i sold one quart, and the girls sat in the yard eating the peas fresh yesterday after their nap. i was pleased that the peas did produce, since originally i was worried that they would not be pollinated, but that obviously was not a problem.


A and B still go get the eggs together, and besides being sisters, they are best friends.

this is the parting shot of the Indian runner ducks. we had been keeping them cooped up, since they would most likely eventually get into the lettuce, peas or spinach.

we were feeling bad that they could no longer roam about freely, so we sent them to the auction. hopefully they have a good home, and weren't some one's Sunday dinner!


we had a hail storm, quite fierce, and the girls we fascinated by the little ice balls. no damage was done to the crops, thankfully!


the peas are much larger than this now (that's what happens when it takes so long to post!) G and i staked them with sumac branches. i like the way that looks, but next year we will probably just use wire and stakes.

this salad box (radishes, lettuce and spinach) is producing profusely, and it's nearly impossible to keep up with it!

A found a toad while planting corn with daddy, and after she and B were done looking at him, they set it free in the high tunnel.

hopefully he'll gorge himself on the slugs in there!

this little spring hole is handy for watering the animals. it was just a wet spot in the yard that Dave dug out, and the girls like to sit on the edge and play in the water.

these are the two 300 gallon water storage tanks that we bought at the farmer's auction.

Dave plans on hooking them up to the drainage system in the lower garden, and then we'll have an easier way to water the plants down there.

he's in the process of working on that now, and i should be able to show it to you by the end of the week.

Dave has the row of horseradish planted, and they seem to be establishing themselves well.

a neighbor showed up with a plastic bag of root cuttings, assuring me that Dave wanted to plant horseradish. somehow, though, Dave has no recollection of that conversation!

the pigs are getting bigger and fatter, which is a good thing, since the butchering dates in June and July are rapidly approaching. it's hard to tell in this picture, but the red pig is significantly bigger than the white striped one.

and the parting shot: B and i lovin' on the cat. see, we do take the time to smell the roses pet the kitty!

L & G2 Report~ week 4

busy week, of course. even though it's only May 1 (!), I'm taking advantage of the warmer weather and our close proximity to the creek and planting more and more things out.

yesterday we planted the cherry and grape tomatoes in the little "kitchen garden" right outside the back door. it's very handy to have those tomatoes so close- with everyone coming in and out that door, it really helps keep the tomatoes picked. also, it's close and easy to cover them when the frost comes. some of the tomato plants even have blossoms on them!

the spinach and lettuce in the high tunnel are doing super! we pick and pick and pick, and still there is more...

the 2nd, 3rd and 4th plantings of lettuce, spinach and radishes are coming along very well. we'll have an abundance of lettuce for many weeks to come.


the peas in the high tunnel have blossoms! how amazing is that? i guess soon we'll have fresh peas as well.

the raised beds are really coming along nicely, and with the rain we just had this week, so are the weeds! the peas, beets and carrots are all up and strong.

today we'll try to get the remaining 100lbs of potatoes planted: 50 Yukon gold and 50 red Pontiac.



both the tractor shed and wood shed have a robin's nest. the girls like it when daddy lifts them up to peek inside at the eggs. (I'm glad the nests are in the sheds this year. last year a robin built a nest on the front porch, and that was a nuisance.)

Thursday G and i traveled down home, and i took the opportunity to stop at our favorite greenhouse. i came home with 2 flats peppers, 2 flats of tomatoes, 2 flats begonias, 1 flat gazania daises and 30 grape, cherry, pink and yellow tomatoes.

i guess it's pretty obvious what we'll be doing next week!

Livestock and Garden Report 2: Week 3~ chicken overload!

chickens, chickens, chickens. seemingly everywhere!

the meat birds are growing quickly, and their wing and tail feathers are coming in. the girls and i took a walk down to the creek and gathered some gravel. we spread the gravel on newspaper for the little chickens to fill their gizzards with.

they went crazy! i left the gravel in the brooder box for about an hour,and then put their high protein food back in.

just today we moved them outside into the special brooder house. even though the weather today is not ideal to move the chickens outside, they were stinking up the mud room royally, and i couldn't stand it anymore. (12 days is my official limit for chickens in the house.)

there are no pictures of the chickens as they look today; they are not nearly as cute now! the 102 birds are all warm and cozy in the brooder house: lights, hay and fresh food and water. we're on the countdown now to 8-10 weeks. they'll be ready for the table (or freezer) around the middle of June.

YUM!

however- these little guys are cute. sort of. we put 25 eggs in the incubator beginning April 1.

they started hatching out right on schedule. i can honestly say that I've never seen a chicken hatch, and they sure look different than the ones that we get in the happy meal box from the post office!

although they look very frail and scraggly, most did just fine, and we are now the proud parents of 14 buff orpington peeps.

this was just a trial run, to gain experience with the new incubator. these chicks are for sale, and if i don't sell them on craig's list, we'll send them to the auction on Monday.

when i hatch out my new flock of laying hens, I'll fill the incubator. (42 eggs) that will give me around 20 hens. (optimistically speaking, of course!)

right now we have 18 turkey eggs in the incubator, and they're due to hatch around May 22. so if you want pastured, fresh turkey for thanksgiving or Christmas, just let me know...

do you think i could call myself a chicken farmer without stretching the truth too much? or sounding too presumtious?

so i really should have known better than to take these chickens that someone gave us.

the buff Cochin is really a nice and friendly bird, and the zebra hens are so pretty.

however, chickens are not known for playing nicely with others, so now we have these 4 hens that we need to house separately from the rest of the flock.

so far their only saving grace is that they are hens. we can use the extra eggs. right now, that's about the only thing that's keeping them from the stew pot.

that, and guilt.

they're so pretty.

and friendly.

i must be getting soft in my old age.

we finally found local blue potatoes. although i must say that they are really more of a purple.

but as long as we can convince the fresh produce consumers of northeastern PA to celebrate a red, white and purple 4th of July, we'll be just fine.

the highlight of the week had to be the farm equipment auction. besides an odd sunburn, i got several useful things for the garden. two 300 gallon tanks, which we'll use to store water. (we plan on using the water for the garden in a dry spell if we need to)

and this handy-dandy Honda water pump.

i got a very good deal on it- and the pump came with the intake hose and another hose (like a fireman's hose) too.

both girls helped me plant some cucumbers and squash in peat pots.

we mixed a starting medium of bottom land soil, a few rabbit pellets, peat moss and vermiculite. after picking out the rocks and sticks, it was very nice to work with.

I'd like to get these plants out as early in May as possible, to get a head start, and also to *maybe* have the first cukes and squash to sell. (I'm learning that it's all about being first with the market garden. everyone has cukes and squash in July and august. perhaps i can push the season a bit...)

the flat of peat pots went right into the high tunnel until the seeds sprout, and develop the first set of real leaves. then I'll put them in a raised bed, as well as the "flat" garden.

one nice thing about having so many seeds to start is that there are lots of opportunities for the little girls to help. even if a few seeds get planted too deeply or spilled, it doesn't matter. there are so many seeds (and even successive plantings) that I'm sure it will all work out just fine.

if you look over in the right hand side bar, you'll see this really cool little orange cultivating tractor. I've been hoping that Dave will get me one- birthday? Christmas? anniversary?


it's not to be, i suppose...

this is what came for me in the mail last week. a push cultivator- much like an antique Planet Jr.

i can see that it will come in handy for cultivating between the garden rows, in an effort to keep the weeds down. it's also a space saver, since it's much narrower than the roto-tiller (obviously) so i don't need to allow as much room for weeding between vegetable rows.

here I'm cultivating the onions in the lower garden. the picture is so blurry because I'm going faster than a speeding roto-tiller.

here is the "completed" row cover/hoop system over the broccoli and cauliflower.

i must say that this week I'm not thinking such warm and fuzzy thoughts of our friend Herrick Kimball. the clothespin thingys don't work the way we thought they would. they were a ton of work (just ask G) and they pop off at the slightest breeze- if you can even get them to shut!

however, in the row right next to the hooped row, the floating row cover is just... floating. imagine that! it seems to be working just fine, and as we were laboring with aching backs to finish the first row of brassicas before dark, Dave and i looked at each other and wondered aloud just why we were going to all this trouble?

anyway... lesson learned.

come back next week for the Livestock and Garden Report: 2 to see how things are going around the little homestead.