Free Range Chickens

"If you love something, set it free.  If it comes back to you, it was always yours.  If not, it never was."

Well, I don't know about all that, but it is time to set our pullets free to roam across 3 acres of pasture to access bugs, worms, and other such chicken delicacies.  The 22 pullets that have lived in the chicken tractor since May have started laying.  We're getting about 6 eggs a day now and I expect that to increase.  At this point, since they're grown, I open the door to the tractor and let them roam all day.  Being creatures of habit, they'll return at night to roost on the roosting bars.  Here is a picture of their current home that I push to fresh grass each day:

The pullet chicken tractor

Prior to opening the door I crawl in there with them as I have a couple of orders of business to attend to. Before doing that, though, I push the tractor to fresh grass so I'm not sitting in chicken poop.  I get some hoof clippers and clip the feathers almost all the way back to the wing.  This ensures that they are off-balance and can't fly up and over the perimeter fencing.  I tried this once with regular scissors and it was very, very hard.  Sharp clippers are the way to go!

Clipping her wings

Then I add a cable tie to her leg.  I clip it very loosely to allow for her leg to grow twice the size without constricting her feet.  I use a different color for each year's batch of birds and this enables me to tell the chickens apart.  Last year was yellow.  This year is orange.  Two year's ago was black.  

Tagging the pullets

I enlisted Benjamin's help and he climbed in with me.  He'd catch them by the leg and hand them to me.  I would clip their wings and tag their leg and then I would hand them to Russ through the trap door on top and they experienced FREEDOM! We had a little assembly line going. 

Benjamin snaring Sally Henny Penny

Once I was done, I had a large pile of feathers left on the ground.  I'll pick this up and bury it in the garden as feathers compost well and add good stuff to the soil.

Barred Rock Feathers

Finally, I climbed out, opened the door and clipped it open so that the chickens can come and go as they please.  They won't be "cooped-up" anymore. 

The Open Door Policy

I was happy to be out of there after only being in there for 15 minutes.  I KNOW the pullets were happy to have more elbow room.  The hens, like me, enjoy wide open spaces.

A Bra for Nellie!

The other day we talked about how we're trying to wean Annie.  We don't want her drinking Nellie's milk, so we have Annie cordoned off in a temporary pen made of livestock panels.  Trouble is, Annie has been poking her head through the panels and stealing "our" milk from Nellie.  We're not going to let that happen, so we figured out a way to stop it.  Tricia's going to fabricate a GOAT BRA!

Tricia went out to the pasture and took measurements of Nellie's "bosom."  You can see that she sketched out Nellie's ample dimensions (rear and side view) on the Sports Page to make a pattern.

Beginnings of a pattern for a goat bra

She made a pattern large enough to shield Nellie's teats from her hungry little daughter and cut the pattern out.

Cut out pattern

She then cut out fabric to match the pattern, using 'nude' colored fabric as we thought that might be appropriate.

Coming together

Tricia wanted me to tell you that she's not a seamstress.  She can put a few stitches together, though, to make goat lingerie.

Sewing...

The angled pieces are the sides and the biggest piece on the right is the back of the goat bra.

We figured that Nellie would probably not be wearing strapless dresses to formal events and galas that she attends, so Tricia made her bra have straps.  Here she's sewn them on.

Straps

Now she's turned the goat bra inside out and is fashioning a bottom to the bra to make Nellie inaccessible to Annie.

Here we go!  This is the first prototype of the Goat Bra.  This bra is designed for the modest, practical goat. It does not enhance or show off a goat's feminine curves, nor is it formal.  It does not come in satin or have any lace on it whatsoever.  Red or black are not color options for the Our Maker's Acres Goat Bra.  This bra will never grace the cover of Glamour Goat Magazine, but that's okay with us.

A Goat Bra for Nellie

So it was time for the fashion show.  Nope, there was not a runway for Nellie to strut down, showing off her new bra.  Without fanfare we strapped on her bra and she ran across the pasture modeling her new bra.  We like the look.  This is a practical pet undergarment.  It is not like we knitted a sweater with a matching cap for Nellie.  We sat back with a feeling of accomplishment, happy that we had taken care of an open item.

Nellie's Goat Bra!

Here is another view where Nellie is posing, showing off her new lingerie.  

Our exuberance lasted for, oh, about ten minutes.  When I checked back in our our lingerie model, this is what I found:

Our immodest goat has shed her bra

Just like a rebellious hippie from the 60's, Nellie discarded her bra and trotted around the pasture unhindered and unfettered.  We picked up the goat bra prototype from the ground where Nellie had disrobed and decided that the goat bra needed additional straps.  A full-figured lady needs additional support.  We should have considered this. Back to the drawing table we go...

Difficulties milking Maggie

We're having a few problems milking Maggie.  First, she moves her feet around a lot.  This presents problems as she inevitably kicks the bucket of milk.  Then she'll move her feet close together and it is next to impossible to get your hands on her teats to milk them.  If you try to pull her legs out, she kicks.

Maggie is making things difficult

We tried to hobble one of her back legs like we do when we milk Daisy and Rosie, but she was having none of that.  She went absolutely berserk.  We took the hobble off before she hurt herself or us.  We're going to order the following contraption from a Jeffers catalog.  It is called Kow Kan't Kick, and is designed to clip over the cow's back and crank tight to control the muscles that control kicking.

Kow Kan't Kick

Problem #2.  Her back teats are very, very small.  They are so small that you can't get your hands around them to milk.  What you have to do is 'strip' the milk out using your thumb and index finger.  This characteristic is intentionally bred into animals as short teats are a positive attribute in commercial dairy cows as they use mechanical milking as opposed to hand milking like we do.  Short teats fit more easily into the milking cups.  They don't fit in my hands, though, and this increases the time of milking considerably.

Short teats in the back

The final problem is that Maggie is has Ketosis.  This is also called Acetonaemia.  It is appropriately named because her breath and her milk smells like acetone (nail polish remover).  This is a common problem with milk cows and is due to a lack of  glucose (sugar) in the blood and tissues.  Glucose is produced by the cow from carbohydrates eaten from the pasture.

In the last trimester, glucose is shifted toward producing the calf.  Once born, lactation starts and glucose is needed for producing milk sugars and fats.  This draw on the animal's stores of glucose is such that the cow becomes hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar).  If the carbs are not adequate in the animal's diet to meet the glucose needs, the cow will start to rob glucose from their bodies' stores of fat.

We're treating her by feeding her extra carbs, giving her extra hay, alfalfa, and feed.  We'll watch her closely and if she doesn't improve, we'll give her a series of Propylene Glycol drenches.  Maggie's mother, Rosie was also susceptible to this every time she calved.  One of the things that can also cause this is if the cow is overweight at the time of calving.  Maggie was fat, but not overly fat.  Maybe I'm just biased, though.

Ketotic Milk

Meanwhile the milk she produces has to be discarded.  It is not dangerous to drink this milk.  It just has an unpleasant odor and taste.  (The chickens don't seem to mind it, though.)  Maggie's making things difficult, but that is just one of those things.  We'll keep our eyes on her closely.

Routine Maintenance

Russ came in from college today and it was time to change the oil in his truck. Proper maintenance on your vehicle or any other asset you own pays great dividends as it extends the life of that piece of property.  We like to change the oil ourselves. From growing up on the farm, I learned at an early age to change my own oil.  I can't recall ever bringing a vehicle to an Oil Change Service.  Changing your own oil allows you to save some money and it also keeps you grounded.  There's something about honest work and getting oil under your fingernails that keeps you from getting 'too big for your britches.'  So today I purchased 5 quarts of oil and the proper oil filter, got our ramps out, tools, and oil drain pan and popped the hood.

Shade tree maintenance

We got the ratchet and correct socket, loosened the plug and dropped the oil.  The oil was black and dirty. We write down the mileage on the inside cover of the Owner's Manual and change it according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Dirty Oil

While we're allowing the oil to completely drain out of the oil pan, we check all the fluid levels in the truck, including radiator coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, and windshield washer fluid. Then we inspect the belts and hoses.  Finding problems in your driveway is waaaaayyyyy better than finding them on the side of the road somewhere.  We found several places on the upper radiator hose that were rubbing on the fan shroud and had almost completely worn through.  Good thing we caught this.

Gotta get this fixed!

Once the oil finished draining, we put the plug back in, removed the old oil filter and put a new one on and then begin pouring oil back in.  We then lubricated the vehicle.

See how filthy the oil is?  It was certainly time for a change.

Black Gold

We pour the old oil through a funnel and back into the oil jug.  We'll bring this back to the store where we purchased the oil so that they can recycle it.

We drove to the local auto parts store and purchased a new hose, pulled the old one off and put the new one on.  Now we're good to go.

New upper radiator hose

The price of an oil and filter was $19.77, while the price of an oil change was priced at $26.88 at a local discount oil change shop.  Saving $7.11 is not a great sum of money, especially considering the fact that I didn't add the cost of my labor in, but every penny saved adds up AND who's to say that the attendant at the Oil Change Shop would've caught the radiator hose that was about to burst?  More importantly, it teaches my boys a good lesson about taking care of your stuff and not being afraid of getting your hands dirty.

The Pullets are starting to Produce

A pullet is a young hen usually less than a year old.  Generally, each year we purchase a batch of new chicks to replace some of our older hens.  We keep them in a brooder in the garage and then move them out to the pasture at about 3 - 4 weeks or until the smell in the garage becomes unbearable, whichever comes first!
We have a chicken tractor out on the pasture that has around 22 Barred Rock Pullets in it that i push to fresh grass each day so they have new grass to eat on and also so they can distribute their fertilizer across the pasture.

Here is a picture that I took back on May 1st when I moved them out of the brooder and into a chicken tractor on fresh grass.  They are all huddled up and don't know exactly what to do on this green stuff as they had been on hay or wood shavings in the brooder for the first several weeks of their lives.

Where the green grass grows

Fast forward 5 months and here are those same girls today - all grown up.  I think they are pretty birds. These are Barred Rocks, one of the varieties within the Plymouth Rock Breed.  They are brown egg layers, but are also a dual-purpose bird, and are used for meat as well.

Barred Rock Pullets

My normal operation of raising these birds involves keeping them in the chicken tractor until they begin to lay eggs.  While they are small, I want to give them a fighting chance against predators.  We have a lot of hawks and owls around and a "bite-size" Barred Rock is a little too tempting.  Once they begin to lay, I open the door to the chicken tractor and allow them to free range all day long on three acres.  At night they return to roost on the roosting bars in the tractor shown above.  They've had limited freedom up to this point, but now they are going to really experience Freedom of Movement and Freedom of Association with the other critters on the farm.  Before I open the door, I'll trim one of their wings back so that they won't fly out of the perimeter fence on our property.  I'll also put a colored band around one of their legs to identify their age compared to the existing flock that is free-ranging.

The information I have states that they begin to lay eggs between 21 and 24 weeks.  Just like clockwork, the girls have started laying their first eggs.  I call them "pullet bullets."  You can see the girls' little eggs that Benjamin found in their nesting box.  They are perfectly good eating, albeit a little small, but it won't take long before they are normal sized eggs.

Pullet Bullets

The picture below shows the relative difference in size of a Barred Rock hen that has been laying for a couple of years (on the left) and on of the pullet eggs (on the right).

Size difference

The pullet eggs don't have as rich of a color as the others.  I assume that is because in the tractor they are somewhat limited in their diet, whereas the hens free-ranging can forage around 3 acres for whatever looks good to them on the 'buffet line.'

As soon as I have time this weekend, I'll try to set the pullets free.  They'll be happy birds!

Soil Test Results

You might recall from this blog post from back in August Taking Soil Samples, that I took some soil samples from our garden and pasture in order to have them sent to a laboratory for analysis.  I took one sample from the garden and two samples from two separate areas of the pasture and bagged them up in individual sample bags.  You can see them below.

Three bags of soil samples for analysis

Now I would estimate that the entire pasture and garden area encompasses three acres.  The soil on the three acres is similar as the land was planted in rice many years ago and is relatively flat, although sloping ever so gradually to the west.  You can, however, see a marked difference in the visible appearance of the soil samples taken in the pasture versus the garden.  The sample on your left (below) is from the pasture and the sample to the right of it (below) is from the garden.  Can you see the difference?

Comparing the soil

What is the difference?  What causes this?  Both samples were taken from a depth of about six inches.  One is light colored and the garden sample looks dark and rich.  We haven't broadcast any fertilizer on either the pasture or the garden; however, the pasture is fertilized constantly by our cows (Daisy, Rosie, Maggie, Bully, and now Lili), along with our two goats (Nellie and Annie) and sixty-something chickens.  They all constantly patrol the pasture, pooping and peeing.

In contrast, the garden doesn't have animals directly pooping or peeing on it, but we do compost extensively. In winter months, I gather "cow patties" from pasture and deposit in a compost pile in the garden that I mix in hay, grass clippings, and refuse from the vegetable plants once they die.  Once a year I'll broadcast that all throughout the garden.  Additionally, when we butcher chickens, I bury all the feathers and guts in between the rows in the garden.  I also bury coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, and other kitchen waste between the rows and then put a covering of hay between the rows.  Finally, I plant legumes in the garden that fix nitrogen in the soil.  All these composted amendments attracts beneficial microorganisms and earthworms, creating a great symbiotic environment.

So, we see the visible effect that composting has on the soil appearance, but what about the soil analysis? Well, the results are in from the laboratory.  Take a look:

Sample ID all lbs per acre	N lbs per acre	P2O5 lbs per acre	K2O lbs per acre	Nutrient value per acre
Sonnier #1 Garden (middle)	112.03	206.92	48.18	$240.97
Sonnier #2 Pasture (South)	26.53	28.59	18.98	$47.32
Sonnier #3 Pasture (North)	28.21	27.70	41.13	$60.99

I'm only posting part of the analysis and I really need to read up to get a better idea of exactly what each means, but I think the results are mind-blowing.  NPK are chemical elements used in fertilizer.  If you were awake in high school Chemistry class, you'll remember that N is Nitrogen, P is Phosphorus, and K is Potassium.  Just look at the difference between the analysis done on the garden (first line) and the pasture (next two lines).  There's no denying that something remarkable is going on in the garden soil.

• Nitrogen gets leaves and vegetation growing lush and green,
• Phosphorus stimulates the roots and the stems of plants, and finally
• Potassium aids in water and nutrient movement throughout the plant.

No rocks, no weeds, good soil, good seeds...

I like to be able to see when things you do make a difference.  Some call this immediate gratification, although this wasn't immediate.  Bettering the soil takes time and work, but it appears to be a beneficial endeavor.  One thing that I'll have to study up on and talk to my Dad since he studied agronomy and soil science, is the mix or balance of NPK pounds per acre in my analysis and what it means.  There's something new to be learned every day.  Life is a classroom!

Running the Race

Isaiah 40:29-31 

He gives power to the faint, 

and to him who has no might he increases strength. 

Even youths shall faint and be weary, 

and young men shall fall exhausted; 

but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; 

they shall mount up with wings like eagles; 

they shall run and not be weary; 

they shall walk and not faint.

I love that passage from the Book of Isaiah.  I find that it gives strength - supernatural strength and encouragement.  Do you ever feel like you need some of that?  I do!  Do you ever feel like you are in a race?  Not a sprint that is exhausting but over quickly, but a marathon that requires endurance and focus day after day, week after week, year after year.  That's life.  Sometimes you wonder how you are going to keep going and you long for that "second wind" that runners talk about when the endorphins kick in and you get that extra burst of energy you need to complete the race.  Sometimes that race is a figurative one and sometimes it is literal.

This past weekend, Benjamin was scheduled to run in a 5K (3.1 miles) in our town called the Rice Run. September is National Rice Month and our area is a big rice producing area.  The purpose of the race is to promote the rice industry.  We awoke to a rainy morning and made our way to Founder's Park in downtown Jennings where the race started and Benjamin stretched out and put on his "game face." 

"They shall run and not be weary."

At 8 am the race began and young and old alike started off. 

On your marks, get set, GO!

Twenty six minutes later I looked up and said, "Tricia, I think our old boy is coming up the road.  Go Benjamin!"

Coming in to the finish line

And just like that he whizzed by toward the finish line with us cheering loudly, encouraging him to finish strong.  I think there was maybe one other person as young as him that finished before him.  We were pretty proud of him.

Toward the finish line

Although exhausted (and feeling like he was going to throw up), I think Benjamin was pretty proud of himself, too.  He finished the race and finished strong.

"I'm tired, Momma!"

Sometimes in life the race is long and hard.  Sometimes we want to quit.  Sometimes we want to pull over to the side of the road (and throw up!).  Hopefully, we have loved ones that surround us, encourage us, minister to us, and keep us in the race and heading toward the finish line strong.  Then we can reciprocate and help others toward the finish line.  At the finish line of this race there was plenty of fruit, drinks and boudin to be enjoyed by all the participants and other rewards that were passed out.  At the finish line of life, the stakes are higher and the rewards much greater.

Endurance

Stay in the race and FINISH STRONG!

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

An Update on our new calf, Lili

Calving is always an exciting time on the farm.  Even though we've raised quite a few calves on our place, for the first several days we check on their progress quite a bit just to make sure that everything is okay with momma and the baby.  We want to make sure that the calf gets as much of the colostrum as possible and that there are no problems.

First time mom and newborn calf

I wanted to make sure that Maggie's motherly instincts had fully kicked in and that Lili figured out where the milk comes from.  First thing Saturday morning, I got my answer.  Lili found where the breakfast buffet line started.

Milk.  It does a body good!

After breakfast, Lili started imitating Maggie to see what this green stuff on the ground was.  Before around 3 - 4 months old, a calf's rumen is not developed yet.  Their bodies just can't digest the grass, so while they might imitate mom, their nourishment comes from mama's milk.

Like mother, like daughter

Speaking of grass, after Lili ate, she found a nice spot in the grass and took a little nap.  I walked up to get a closer look.  Ah, this is the life!

Do Not Disturb

I spotted some evidence in the grass right by her that proved something that I was looking for.  Sorry it is not in better focus, but the yellowish substance in the grass below is Lili's stool.  The reason it is bright mustard yellow is due to the colostrum.  This proves to me that the little girl got what she needs as far as microbes, antibodies, amino acids, and minerals are concerned.

Exhibit A (evidence of colostrum consumption)

A cow will produce colostrum for her calf for the first few days.  After that time, her milk is pretty much normal.  Because it is healthy, Tricia drank some colostrum, but didn't really like the taste or consistency. We try to save some colostrum and freeze it in the event that we need it to bottle feed an orphan calf.  You can see how bright yellow it is (as opposed to milk) in the photo below that I took of some of Daisy's colostrum we froze after she calved Bully back in May.

Frozen colostrum from Daisy

Little calves are so darn cute and trusting.  They'll walk right up to you on their long, spindly legs, curious as a cat...

Add caption

With Momma closely scrutinizing that you aren't going to hurt her baby, of course.

The funny thing to watch calves do is that they sometimes get confused as to which end of the cow milk comes out of.  Here you can see her going to Maggie's front end as Maggie looks on and seems to say, "No milk here, baby.  Try the other end."

Try again, Lili

Now she's getting closer.

Almost...

It is hard work being a calf.  After filling her belly with milk, she plopped herself down next to the electric fence and lazily spent the afternoon lounging about.  Isn't that what Sunday afternoon's are for?  

A Day of Rest!

I snuck up on her and she gave me "the eye."

Our little Lili - She's a cutie!

I think if I'm not mistaken, she seems to be smiling - a happy calf!