Big Birds

I knew the turkeys were getting big....but not that big! After being totally dressed out they weighed in at 38 and 36 pounds. I wonder what they weighed before that???

Goodbye to our Splendid Toms

These two guys will be moved to the freezer tonight.

They were big, beautiful birds that we enjoyed having roam the yard. They leave behind the two hens, who will live on indefinitely.

A Turkey Egg!!!!

This afternoon, one of the hen turkeys wandered off by herself into the woods and was gone for quite some time. We speculated she was maybe brooding. So after she reappeared, I went scavenging in the woods where she had been and found this egg she had laid. I brought it in and nested it amongst the salvaged feathers of the tom turkey that was killed by a predator last week.

Shed Roof

A shed roof is being added to the back of the barn so that infrequently, and seasonal, equipment, can be stored out of the way and out of the weather.

The Girls are Really Laying Now!

We're In the Egg Business!!!

Tuesday, October 16th is the first day we got an egg from our hens. It's been five and a half months of raising the little girls from chicks and we'd been placing bets on when the first egg would be found in the next box. Emily Collins gets the prize for coming the closest. But since the prize was to get to eat the first egg, and she's way over in Maine, studying to become an OT, we decided to go ahead and eat it ourselves.

After much admiring and photographing, we cooked it up in a pan and shared it. Very very yummy!

Time for a Fence Around the Veggie Garden

Don set up his game cam on a post in the garden. Here's what triggered it at 4:17 AM.

Too bad for this guy hunting season is just around the corner. But, he's being fattened up nicely on the end of the bean crop so he should be tasty! Next year a fence needs to go up around that garden!

My Little Hen has Died

I think this is the little hen I spoon fed to keep alive when she was only a day old. I suspect she has died from Blackhead disease, a parasite that hurts their liver. Despite many efforts to find the needed medicine, I could not find a local vet who could get and none was to be had in farm stores. It's a very helpless feeling. There seem to be all kinds of help for horses, dogs and cats, but I haven't yet found a poultry vet. I'm imaging most farmers double up as farmer and vet when it comes to chickens and turkeys, and more than likely, most find it not economical to pay a vet for a rather cheap and expendable bird. Even so, I find it sad that she died like this and I feel badly I couldn't help. I know, I know.....she was going to be butchered in another couple of months, but at least she would be eaten and would fulfill her 'circle of life' fate, but now she must be buried very deep or burned so as not to infect wildlife. Keep your fingers crossed that the other turkeys also don't get it.

Winter Rye

While the garden is still supplying us with fresh veggies and flowers, we are planning for winter. Much of the fallow parts of the garden were seeded in winter rye in hopes of improving the nitrogen levels for next planting season. When the rest of the crops are brought in, we will do the same to that earth.

Alpha Turkey

Moroccan HENna

My hens all agreed, that Moroccan Henna was the only rational paint color choice for their coop. Hopefully move in day will be later this week. The finishing touches are going in now. It's mostly interior work that is left, such as perches and lighting fixtures.

Ruler of the Roost

As the little guys have grown into roosters, it's become clear which one is ruler, and here he is. So far, no fights. I think the 2nd rooster is so sure of his secondary position that he doesn't even give it a challenge.

Our Best 'Hired' Hand

Pat Reed models his new tee shirt. The work he has done with us is priceless....so we just have to keep him in syrup and honey.

Bit 'o Honey

The bees have been so busy this summer that we had to extract honey from a 'super' to give them more room for more honey.

Decisions decisions