Good Morning!

Usually when I do some research when I want to get involved with something, I like to hear the "bad" stuff. I find this information helpful because sometimes things do go wrong. Sometimes the weather just won't cooperate. Sometimes you may feel extremely exhausted and dread going out in the freezing rain. And fence work? Not my idea of an exciting afternoon.

I clearly remember a statement this woman had made about her farm a while back. That's all it was...just a statement. Not a full article detailing the "how to's" of farming. But just a simple feeling she had one morning. She just didn't feel like going outside. She just wasn't in a good mood. But as soon as she stepped outside, she was immediately greeted by happy animals excited to see her. Sure, they wanted to be fed, but it's nice to see happy, excited animals. Her mood changed and she had a great day.

My day usually begins by getting up early (I love getting up when it's still dark) and getting the coffee started. I turn on the computer and then maybe get some appliances going.....then sit down with my first cup of coffee. As the sun comes up, I start glancing outside to see the morning status. Is anybody up? Anyone escape? Why are the dogs barking? I happened to glance to my left one morning, looking out in the field towards the huts. No one was out yet. Still too early and cozy in their huts. Then all of a sudden 20 plus piglets bolted out of a hut and raced towards the feeding area. I could imagine one piglet saying, "Last one to the fence is a rotten egg!!". Then the moms, one by one, came out of the sleeping quarters...slowly stretching with their morning yoga. They do look like they are doing the "downward dog".

The roosters start crowing, however that begins as early as 3:00 am. The geese fly overhead from the backfield to the pond out front. The cats who were sleeping in the house wait by the office door ready to start their day shift. The cats outside during the night jump on that same office door. Night shift is over and are ready to sleep. We all have our morning routines.

I thought about that woman's statement this morning. I wasn't in a bad mood....I just found it hysterical when I opened the side door and all of the pigs....boars and sows out front, piglets on the side and the pork hogs in the back...simultaneously lifted their heads and looked towards the house.

"She's awake!!"

They really do look happy....and that makes me happy.

Yes indeed, the feeding will begin.

Downsizing...

Gosh, no kidding when people say the older you get, the more time flies. It certainly does! Another hot summer went by. As we went day after day of 100 plus degrees, our decision of not doing poultry this year proved to be a good one. It was also smart to downsize a bit because Scott's work took him half way around the world for a one year assignment. Scott left for Djibouti, Africa last September. We needed to get our farm into a manageable state for all of us to handle.

It takes a while to build up a herd but before we knew it, we had twenty-five sows in our fields....which led to many piglets. Strangely enough, pigs are hard to find in these parts. We kept some piglets for our farmers market pork and sold the rest...which was most of them. I never worried about not being able to sell piglets. I put one ad in our Valley Trader and wound up spending hours on the phone with interested people looking for hard-to-find pigs. Most were sold even before they were born. I also got calls from larger farms who decided not to have breeders but purchase weaned piglets for their pork operations. I can understand going that route. I think Scott would be interested. There's a lot of worry and labor behind farrowing piglets. However, that's my favorite part! But yes, I do agree, there is A LOT of worry. We have had so much rain this past year. Of course it was perfect timing for a very wet spring and fall farrowing season...endless hours of trying to keep the huts and piglets dry....not fun.

Last spring and summer was phase 1 of downsizing the breeder sows. A few were the obvious ones to try and place. They were actually in the pork hog group but a young, feisty boar broke through his fence and got to them. They were good moms and had great litters so I thought that maybe reaching out to other farms would be better than taking them in for pork... farms that let their animals run on fields or in woods. Five of these sows found good homes.

Some of my dear sows found homes by accident. I wasn't necessarily trying to sell them. A few new farmers had called to purchase piglets. They were interested in producing pork and would love to start breeding, but the thought was daunting.

"Do you happen to have a sow that is already bred?"

I thought hard about this one. A young family with lots of kids living the farm life, interested in pigs. I know the joy that you feel when you see piglets running around. The joy of when your 400 pound mommy sow comes up and rubs her head on your leg. Hmmm...Mary Lou would be good for that family. Do I want to sell Mary Lou? I could downsize some more, but I really like her. She's a great mom. She's great when I'm around her when she's farrowing or when I need to handle her piglets. She's just plain great...she's great and I love her...Yes....Mary Lou would be perfect for the young family who would like to know more about raising pigs. Mary Lou found her new home.

Harriet was also a dear little sow who made her way to a good home. Her new owners were new to farming and wanted to dive head first into pig rearing. They also were interested in a bred sow. Harriet somehow turned out to be the "ugly sister" of her litter. She was a small, funny looking Tamworth, but sometimes the ugly ones turned out to have great looking piglets. Harriet would be a perfect first sow. She wasn't too big and she didn't care if I was around her piglets. She was another great mom who made her way to a wonderful new home.

When phase 1 was complete, I was left with 15 sows. That's actually still quite a bit, but I needed to stop. I needed to take a breather and live with these girls to see if 15 would be okay....

I also found good homes for some of my boars. I didn't need three Tamworth boars. I had purchased two Tamworth brothers with the plan of keeping the one I liked best and selling the other. The problem was that I LOVED them both...my Max and Hamlet. Max was the better looking of the two and my best breeder. But darling Max was an escape artist. We couldn't keep him behind any fencing we were able (and could afford) to build. Needless to say, he was the "young boar" who kept escaping to the pork group causing much stress! A gentleman came by for some piglets and claimed that he may also be interested in a boar and a sow for breeding.

"Max is very friendly. Loves his people.....but he needs super duper fencing. He is also a jumper so it has to be tall enough!"

Not a problem for this gentleman to build the fencing that Max needs. He also purchased my dear Clementine. Clementine was the most wonderful, friendly, playful sow. But she, too, was an escape artist. She could shimmie her way under anything, over anything, around anything. She also needed the super duper fencing this gentleman could provide.

I really wish I could keep them all, but I have come to realize that it's impossible. It's impossible to keep the good ones and sell the bad ones. They are all good. They all have brought so much joy to our farm. I love each and every animal that I have owned. I had no idea that pigs could have the greatest and most loving personalities. It's only fair to share that joy with others and to hear the great stories that they are experiencing with my pigs.

Changes

Wow! Already June! I thought I was going to be able to write all winter and share the changes and decisions we have made for 2011. Here I am....June.

Thankfully, we did not have a very snowy winter. However, it was very cold. Oil is expensive so we made it part of the day, every day, to chop wood for the woodstove. So, we kept plenty of sweaters on hand and thought about what we wanted to do and not do for the year....

The first discussion on the discussion table...no Thanksgiving turkeys this year. We went back and forth on this one. Actually all last year Scott was pretty serious when he would mention that the landscape of Pleasant Hill would lack Heritage turkeys for 2011. The fields needed the rest. And quite frankly....so did we. But all the hard work and bad memories of 200 turkeys on my front porch and yard, snipping $200 worth of mums days before our first farm tour, quickly disappeared as Thanksgiving approached. Old and new customers calling and scheduling a fresh turkey pick up. Our annual interview with our town's local tv station is always something to look forward to. This past year, Scott actually brought in a live tom turkey to the studio. Luckily he was a good boy(the turkey that is!).

"Maybe we should do turkeys next year", we both thought when Thanksgiving was over. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and we truly enjoy the week leading up to the special day. I went ahead and placed my order for turkey poults for the 2011 season. I find that it is crucial to place this order as soon as possible from the hatchery so we can be one of the first on the list. I have to order early in December so I can receive them hopefully by the end of March. If I can't get them by the second week in April, then I don't bother. They won't be ready by Thanksgiving. Broad Breasted turkeys can be delivered later in the year because they grow so quickly.

At least I had my order in place. That would allow us some time to think about our decision. The order can always be canceled. I don't even think the year finished out when Scott decided he would stick with his original plan....no poultry for 2011. Not even our broilers. At first I did not agree about the idea of not doing chicken. I had just added individual pieces to our product list.....breasts, wings and thigh quarters. I would cut down the larger roasters to accommodate the huge demand. There were times Scott would call me early from the market, "We sold out of chicken parts already! Can you cut down some more and bring them up? Hurry!!!" How could we just begin to offer these chicken choices and then leave our customers hanging the next year?

Well, we stuck to our decision and I'm actually grateful for it (sorry to our customers!). I suppose sometimes we really do need the rest and we can see how our decisions were truly meant to be.

Next on the discussion table......the hogs......

The End Of 2010 Approaching

Here we are at the first day of December. I keep reminding Scott that in just eighteen days it will be the first anniversary of the very first blizzard. Hard to believe what we were in for. At the end of each year, we like to think back and reminisce on the events, what we learned and what we would like to forget.

"Can we not reminisce this year and just greet 2011 quietly?"

Farming took many challenging turns this year. I wouldn't say it was bad...just difficult. Everyone here struggled with the endless amount of snow that seemed to replenish on the ground every two weeks. As long as it stayed cold, the snow was good to us. By March, we realized there was really two feet of hard, compacted snow on the drive. As it started to melt, it became impossible to work with. I was constantly getting stuck in the slush. Or we couldn't leave because someone else was stuck. We were so looking forward to spring.....

It is always exciting when we receive the poults and chicks in February and March. I usually order 200 chickens in February. By the time they are old enough to go outside, our turkeys arrive. That system doesn't allow the brooder room to become overcrowded. But because of the late winter snowstorms, I delayed the chickens until March. Now brooding would be done all at once. The chickens did great. Turkeys? Not so well. The weather once again was against us. It was cold and wet. Not a great combo for brooder graduates. I had blogged earlier about the difficult start for our turkeys. Ahhh! How we were looking forward to summer.....

I do believe we went from chilly 55 degree spring temps directly to intense heat. Okay...just an
early heat wave. This will last a few days and then we can enjoy the 75-80 degree days of summer! I think I can count on one hand how many of those nice days we had. The heat never seemed to let up. The animals did much better during the winter than they did with the summer. Watering took up most of our labor. Can't wait for sweaters, hot cider and other great things of Autumn......

Remember back in May(or June) when I mentioned a certain group of hogs? New, young boars? Max, Hamlet? Duke, Simon?? The ladies...Molly, Lizzie, Viola, Fiona, Rosie? This group was not affected by strong volts of electricity. Scott was doing a proposal at work and not available to build different fencing...quickly. Well, we recently had the very last litter that was a result of these "Frat Boy Boars". Twenty-five gilts and sows farrowed September through the beginning of November. Many piglets! It got to the point we were castrating almost every day. Most of the moms did very well. I did have a few young gilts that must not have known what to do. We did lose a couple of litters. Every day I could see the signs of a sow in labor. We were constantly moving huts around to accommodate the new litters. Thank goodness for a few weeks of a dry spell. Some of our seasoned sows were able to build their own huts out of tall weeds.

And now here we are...just about at the front doorstep of winter. The Farmers Almanac is calling for a very cold one. We have plenty of wood, plenty of food. You know what??? I do believe we'll be ready!

Every Time.....

Moving a couple of pregnant sows shouldn't have been too difficult this time. They weren't traveling very far. There are seven hogs keeping residence up in the woods. The two girls are due pretty soon and we wanted to move them to the "maternity" area so they could get comfortable in their new home. Mary Lou and Abby are actually the two sows who started the whole Piglets Galore story, farrowing on the same day. I'm curious to see if they will do the same this time around.

Scott built a couple of small paddocks for them just across maybe a hundred feet of grass. Not a far walk at all. We waited until they were all good and hungry so they will be focused on following the orange bucket instead of focusing on where the electric wire should be. Some will go right through. Some will need a bit of coaxing.

We found them all lined up at the wire at feeding time. This should be easy! The thought was, we would allow all seven to come out, let them follow the feed as a group up to the new paddocks and then guide the hogs back down to the woods after Mary Lou and Abby were tucked in.

The handles were released from the wire fence allowing freedom for the group. "Okay...let's go!". Nobody budged. Either they were very content or extremely obedient. I can't say they weren't hungry. All pigs are hungry.

I poured a little feed on the ground so they could actually see what temptation lies in the bucket. Max, my Tamworth boar, ventured out first. Frances was a close second. Then Lulu. Dolly soon wanted to see what the fuss was all about. This is going well so far! Scott and I looked back at the fence line. The only two pigs we really needed were right there. Mary Lou and Abby were not budging. The five month old Tam boar, Meriweather, was waiting with them as well. What an obedient little boy!

Every time! The hogs that you need won't cross the line. Something that should take fifteen minutes winds up becoming a major job. We have to rethink the whole process. This happened recently when we were loading five hogs into the trailer for processing. The only hogs that had no problem getting into the catch pen and the trailer were ten of my breeders. None of them destined to be pork. It took forever just to get four of the hogs we needed.

Eventually, Mary Lou decided to join her friends in the fresh grass. Abby still would not budge. So the plan changed.....

Little by little Mary Lou moved in the direction of her new home. Where were Max, Frances and Dolly? Already up there!! They didn't need any coaxing whatsoever. Figures. So for the time being, we'll keep Max and Frances in one paddock and Mary Lou and Dolly in the other one. Scott rearranged one of the huts in the woods for Abby. She still didn't want to have anything to do with the outside world.

Too Hot For Everyone....Including The Animals

I was planning on writing about us not having air-conditioning later in August, however it seems most appropriate to write about this weather now. It's been brutal. Very brutal. Of course in Virginia, we are accustomed to hot, muggy summers. Maybe we would have a heat spell early for a few days but it usually doesn't get brutally hot until August. That is when we can't take it anymore and put the window A/C units in a couple of rooms.

The summer of '05 was recorded as the hottest summer here. That was our first at Pleasant Hill. We were surprised how for the most part, it really wasn't that bad. The original interior walls are about two feet thick of brick. If we opened the windows at night to allow in the cool air and closed them first thing in the morning, it really wouldn't be so bad. Of course Scott is also strategically placing the dehumidifier in various locations. It was an effort but we got through it. We eventually got used to being in a constant state of sweat and taking three cold showers a day. To be honest, I felt it would be harder for our bodies to acclimate in hot weather if we had air-conditioning.

This summer has proven to be a struggle for everyone. After a rainy spring, Hot and Muggy decided to join us and has overstayed their visit. The norm has been ninety-plus degrees with maybe a couple of days of dry, comfortable temps. We definitely look forward to those. There doesn't seem to be a break in sight as July is winding down and getting ready for August.

We have about 150 broiler chickens that were scheduled for processing on Sunday. Throughout the morning, it was necessary for me to check them frequently, move them around and make sure they had plenty of water and shade. I went down to check on them again shortly after Scott got back from the farmers market. As I turned the corner of the hoophouse, I was horrified to see that about half appeared dead. Most perked up again when I jostled them but clearly they could not handle the heat anymore and were on the way out. I went up to the house to tell Scott they were dying. I told the kids to hurry up and grab the ones that appeared okay and put them underneath the deck in the back of our house. That's where the dogs go if they are too hot. They like the damp, cool dirt. The broilers that were not going to make it were to be placed by the processing station. I put big pots of water on the stove to get the scalding tank ready. Everyone scrambled around to put everything in place. Processing had to be done a day early.....and quickly before we lost any more.

I have to say I was very proud of my kids. Sure they complain about being on a farm and having a lot of chores, but when there is an emergency they know what to do and follow our direction without any complaints or rolling eyes.

I'm especially proud of my oldest son, Jonah. Today he turned sixteen. The kids look forward to no chores as part of their birthday celebration. When I came in to tell the kids to start grabbing chickens, I told him that I was sorry but we needed him for processing. No sigh, no lovely tone that is known to teenagers. Just a very willing young man who immediately jumped right up to the plate.

This is all part of being on a farm....

A Great Morning

How wonderful it was to wake up this morning to dark clouds and a steady rain. I remember last spring when it seemed like we were getting too much rain. The ground was so saturated and couldn't handle even the slightest shower. Today's rainfall is truly welcoming! Every living thing out there needs it, especially the pigs. With the brutal heat this summer, all of us are constantly making sure all pigs, young and old, have plenty of drinking water and wallows. I noticed as I got my coffee this morning, they were up and about, grazing and frolicking . And clean! The rain gave them a good "bath" and now I can finally see what they look like.

It looks like we'll have another busy season with piglets. I believe we'll have 18-20 sows and gilts having litters this summer. Ramona is due again maybe in about a week. This time they will be pure Berkshires and not the "Red Dalmatians". We are also expecting our first Large Black Hog litter. They are just the cutest as newborns and they grow into the most gentle giants!

Tomorrow we'll start processing the chickens. It'll feel good to have product again!

A Bit Of What's Been Going On.....

Just when you think things can't possibly get any busier.....they do. Of course they ALWAYS do! Scott is an IT Federal Contractor. If you ask me exactly what he does at work, I wouldn't be able to come up with an answer. Computer stuff, I think. Kind of like Chandler on "Friends" and Barney on "How I Met Your Mother". We just don't know what he really does! In this particular line of work there is something called a "proposal". I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I do know that whoever is involved goes into a proposal tank. It can be a short term proposal or a long term proposal.

A little over a month ago Scott took me out to dinner and proceeded to tell me his proposal hit. How long? Four weeks. Four weeks that he wouldn't be available. Now at this time, I honestly thought there was no way I could handle anything else on my plate. We are still behind from winter, the markets started, processing has started....yes, business is in full swing. Plus school and sports ....definitely a very full plate.

So, off Scott goes to the proposal tank, leaving me by myself on our farm. We have been blessed with building our farm to the size that it is and we feel comfortable with the animals that we have. I have spent a lot of time researching for breeding boars and I have been holding back purebred gilt piglets for future generations. We increased our broiler size to accommodate the demand. We increased EVERYTHING to accommodate the demand. It was feasible when Scott was here. But now...our farm is way too big for just one person. It has been a major struggle the last month.

We have been experiencing frustrations on every level. We took in four hogs a month ago to be processed for our markets. We thought that would last us until July. We're just about out. I picked up one hog today from our butcher. That probably won't last us through the weekend markets. The next batch of pork hogs won't be ready until the end of July(I hope!) There are five of them. Two barrows(castrated boys) and three gilts(the pork ladies). Since I have been here by myself, it has been very difficult to manage certain hog groups. How in the world can the same electric fence make some hogs wince and not go near it and other hogs barge right through it...the same fence! Well....a young boar got to this group of pork hogs. So now I don't think the pork ladies will be available for pork in July. I'm sure we'll have tons of piglets now, but we really need the pork! It's a good problem...high demand for our food, but not enough supply.

I've said this before.....I'll be happy to say it again.....the "buy local" movement is growing. This market season has been about Food, Inc.

"My husband just watched Food, Inc and now it's all he's talking about! Do you have pork
chops?"

We're hearing comments such as this at all markets. People are loving the idea that they can purchase meat that has been raised well. They love the idea that farm visits are always welcome. But I think most of all, they love the idea of really getting to know the farmers who are responsible for some fantastic breakfast, lunch and dinners.

This way of farming is nothing new. It is how it was always done before factory farming became the "new and improved" way of producing food. Every town had a butcher shop with meat they received locally. I was watching an episode of Brady Bunch with the kids. The episode may have been done in 1973, really not that long ago.

"Wait a second...What is Alice doing?"

I made the kids rewind.

"She's plucking a chicken!"

Yes....Alice the housekeeper was plucking a chicken. And in Los Angeles! I'm sure Sam the Butcher didn't receive his chickens from mass-produced chicken houses. It was the norm to get your chicken from the corner butcher shop and prepare it yourself.

Pleasant Hill Farm and other farms aren't doing anything new.

Not A Good Year For Turkey Brooding

The first couple of years here at Pleasant Hill was mainly devoted to cleaning up the house and property. The house needed some immediate attention(roof, falling portico, asbestos clean-up). Outside was a disaster. Old cars, boats and years of broken down farm machinery was plentiful and dotting the landscape. Old fencing and overgrown everything made us feel very claustrophobic. As we chipped away at the fields, I took advantage of this time to research what we should farm in these fields. I asked around, "What is needed here in Culpeper?" I asked that question to the owner of a local meats store in town. "Lamb and Turkey", Julie said without hesitation. I wasn't interested in sheep. I don't want to deal with shearing and sheep are famous for having zero personality. Not appealing. Turkeys, however, seem interesting. We already had Guinea Hens and a handful of egg layers. I think I could get into turkeys. I have always had a fascination with birds.

So the research began...

I would ask my fellow farmer friends and acquaintances about turkeys. Julie had stated that she never has enough turkeys. She sells out every year for Thanksgiving. You work your tail off during the holiday, but then you're done. Another gal said "no way" would she ever do turkeys again. The brooding was too difficult. She would lose too many at the beginning. Not worth it!

Further research proved that both of these women were correct. People really do seek out the perfect farm-raised, pasture-raised, lovingly and well-cared-for-raised Thanksgiving turkey. The most important guest at our country's most beloved dinner.

The brooding stage did stop many from trying or continuing turkeys. Unlike chickens, turkey poults are very fragile. The first six to eight weeks can be touch-and-go, but after that the chance of survival greatly increases. Some people think turkeys are just too stupid, drowning themselves in the rain. Personally, I have never been a witness to this but apparently some think it's true.

Four years ago we decided to give turkeys a try. I only ordered fifteen of the Mammoth Bronze and they all passed through brooding with flying colors. I LOVED them. I loved their soulful eyes and I loved the chirping sound they made. I loved how the Toms really did assume they were the good looking boys on the block and I loved how they ran as they got monstrous on their legs. I remember the day we took them to a local guy to have them processed. We managed to find three huge dog crates for transport. We were to grab them and place them in the crate. Scott was preparing for a full morning's work of tackling these giant turkeys and with all his might, force them into the crate. Well...it went more like this... I knelt down in front of the crates as my turkeys curiously came over to me to see what was going on. I gently wrapped my arms around the first huge bird and placed him carefully into the first crate. The turkeys continued to swarm around me being ever so curious. I grabbed the second, the third, until they were all snug in the crates. Probably took no more than five or ten minutes. Scott stood there, kind of out of breath, thinking it was going to be more of a "this will take a man to conquer this feat!" ordeal.
"Wow, Rhonda, you made it look so easy!"

"Well, honey, that's because they LOVE me!"

Brooding for us has never been a problem. We may lose a few, but for the most part they make it to the end. Predators are more of a challenge...and a certain female boxer who cost us $700.00 in turkeys one year right before Thanksgiving(sadly, Phoebe passed away last fall from kidney failure). She had a good time that night!

This year has been a different story. It all started with the first batch of seventy-five Heritage turkeys. They started failing the second day we had them. It appeared they would start bleeding around the back end and then get pecked. We were thinking something was wrong with this batch from day one. We lost sixty percent and thankfully the hatchery replaced the whole order. The other batches seemed to be better but we were still losing poults at a steady pace.

Now it seems pile-up is to blame for losing so many. They will pile up on top of each other and the ones underneath will suffocate. We have them in a trailer to transition from the brooder to the pasture. We have heat lamps and small roosts in there, hoping that roosting will deter them from piling up. The other day we lost five. Scott spent some time to rearrange lamps and roosts and to make things better for them. He was truly depressed the next morning when he discovered we lost seventeen. All from pile up. The weather has been very chilly but the heat lamps should take care of that problem. Very frustrating!

Luckily, this morning there were zero losses. We'll just continue to baby and pamper them until they get strong enough to be in the great outdoors. You wouldn't think so, but turkeys are a great deal of work.

Please Be Patient!

Oh My Goodness! I'm still here! I don't know what's busier.....Thanksgiving season or Spring season. The other day while doing chores, I needed to look for something in the van. I actually thought, "Geez...I can't stop. No time to look in the van!". So, please be patient. Every day there seems to be a new story or thought. I shall continue to do my best to post!

I can't tell you how many times I have sat down and started to post, only to be sidetracked by some event here on the farm. Scott and Tony went to the Culpeper's Farmers Market this morning. Today is the first day. We just got our official enrollment notice for the Ballston Market in Arlington. We're excited to tap into Northern Virginia.

Our brooder room is full of Heritage turkeys and we get another shipment of broilers next week. Our Berkshire pork still isn't ready yet. I'm sure we'll get a call beginning of next week.

Not only is spring full of endless farm chores, it is also full of soccer and lacrosse games and practices. Speaking of which....I need to get outside....soccer tournament later today!

Sometimes It Just Plain Stinks

Most of the time, the runts of the litters we have here are feisty enough to survive. You can tell who the runt is of a litter, but generally it is just a small size difference. My Frances had a litter of huge piglets last Wednesday. The runt of this litter was so tiny, a quarter of the size of his siblings. As I watched the litter as they were just being born, I noticed the runt crawling in some straw away from everyone else. He didn't seem very strong on his feet. I placed him with the other piglets to see how he could move around and to see if he was strong enough to get some milk. I decided that there was no way he could make it during the night with the piglet chaos so I brought him in the house. We got the formula and bottle ready and started the feeding process. Tiny little guy but he quickly learned how to take the bottle. The kids love taking care of the piglets, however, they know the possibilities when you bring in a runt. On Sunday we noticed he was gaining weight. Great sign! Yesterday I took him out in the warm sun so he could freely walk around and gain some strength in his legs. By last night, I thought he was out of the woods. Scott said he was fine during the night, but this morning he started to fail and we lost him late morning. When I went out to feed Frances, I was reminded how much smaller he was compared to the others. Frances herself was bottle fed in the house, but she was a full size piglet. Our little guy could have had something wrong with him that we just couldn't tell. Like a preemie.

On another farm topic...we got in some of our heritage turkeys last week(Narragansetts and Midget Whites). After a couple of days we noticed the Narragansetts picking at the Midget White's bottoms to the point of bleeding. The wounded birds had to be separated but they wound up not making it. We had a red light on them which they say will deter the birds from having this kind of behavior. The turkeys also had plenty of room. Overcrowding can also be a problem. We have had these breeds before living in the same brooder, but never had this cannibalistic behavior before. We then decided to take all of the Midget Whites out and put them in their own brooder. We already lost half of our Midget Whites. The hatchery will send out more turkeys but it's getting late to start raising Heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving. Ideally, February would be the perfect time to get them but hatcheries don't have them available until the end of March. I have to place my order in November to make sure I'm towards the beginning of the shipping list.

We are blessed with so many good days here on our farm. It just really stinks when you have a bad one.

Happy Easter!

The thought of "taking it easy" and not doing any farm work seems to be appealing during holidays. In the past, we would do extra work the day before so we wouldn't need to do anything but the standard feeding and watering for Easter, Christmas or other holidays. But in reality, when we wake up to a gorgeous day, the farm is exactly where we want to be. It's where we are reminded of our blessings. We are also reminded of the hardships, which is okay....it makes our blessings that much greater.

We have had more litters of piglets since the three-part piglet story and we're still waiting for more litters to arrive. I have taken videos but I am still learning how to post them on the computer. Lots of piglets means lots of castrating. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to get the piglets away from mom. Our delightful sow, #2, is one who you really need to watch your back. I always feel it takes a two day, world summit meeting to orchestrate how we get the piglets away from her. We usually put a chain link dog kennel in the paddock and feed them inside so they will feel comfortable. The day we plan to castrate, we feed them, lure mom out of the kennel and close the door so the piglets can't get out. The piglets are then placed in a large dog crate and put on the tractor to head down to the shop. Simple. Most of my sows will grunt and be "concerned" but not #2. We're convinced that she will bust through the kennel and have us for dinner. She's fast and tough. Yesterday, the plan was to remove her totally from her paddock to the other side of the farm. But she wouldn't budge. She would not leave her piglets.

We're trying to castrate early since there are so many piglets and soon they need to go to their new farm home. I think we are going to have to wait another week with #2's litter. She's still too attached to her piglets. As they get older that attachment will start to fade and hopefully she will be more willing to take a walk across the farm.

We are in the process of building a new website. Still in the works so please bear with us.

Well...coffee is done, breakfast is done. Time to go out and enjoy what God has made. Happy Easter!!

Piglets Galore! Part 3

So I was really dreading Friday(March 12th). Scott had to be in Fairfax all day and I had gilts unexpectedly having their litters. They were calling for torrential downpours and flooding starting Friday and ending Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be the worst. I had so much to prepare for before it started to rain. That I was okay with. It was not knowing what I was going to be faced with when I went out to check Abbie and the quick decisions I may need to make.

I did my usual prayer that morning...strength, wisdom, etc. Polite at first but quickly went to something like this...

"Okay, God, here's the deal. I'm in this situation. I'm by myself. Could you take over the reins for me....please?"

It was dreary out that morning. No rain yet. I grabbed their feed and headed out to the woods. I didn't see any hogs out and about. They were probably still in their shelter. I decided to check down by the fallen trees first and see if Abbie was down there. No, she wasn't there. I went back up to the shelter and peeked around the corner. This shelter holds the nine hogs very tightly. They cram in, find their spot and stay put for the evening. So I peeked in and saw a tiny piglet walking on top the backs of the hogs. My heart sank because I didn't know what to think. Abbie was in there, too. Did she have the whole litter in there? Did she just start? I was too afraid to reach in and grab the piglet because I didn't want to startle the sleeping hogs. Pouring their feed and letting them get up naturally may be a better idea. Out they came, including Abbie. I could hear the new piglet so I knew it was okay. When I looked in there she was walking around. There was another piglet but it had been laid on. Abbie was happy eating her breakfast and didn't seem to be phased that she had a piglet in the shelter. Since there were only two, I couldn't be certain that Abbie was finished farrowing. I also couldn't risk leaving the piglet in there with all of the big Berkshires. I picked up the newborn and took her over to Mary Lou. There was still some afterbirth so I rubbed that on the piglet and put her with Mary Lou's litter. She blended right in.

On to the other chores. I finished feeding and watering everyone else and decided to go into town to get more tarps. With all of these piglets being born, I needed to make sure all huts had the extra security of having tarps so rain wouldn't seep in. Even with the four wheeler it still took a long time to complete tasks. Extra straw needed to be taken out. Even though it had just started raining, the already saturated ground turned into mud very quickly. I got stuck several times in some very tight spots. Every so often I would check on Abbie to see if there were any changes. She's still walking around.

By late afternoon I was exhausted. Luckily sports practices were canceled and even more luckily there was a window of about two hours with no rain. I was going to make a pot of coffee just to get myself through the evening, but something made me decide to check on Abbie. I walked down to the fallen trees and could hear small oinks. At first I thought it was Mary Lou's pigs but it seemed to be getting closer and closer. Out in the woods(far from the fallen trees) was a newborn piglet, running around with Hamlet the Boar walking nearby. I'd like to think Hamlet was protecting the little guy. I gathered him up and took him up to the house. Emma, Jake and Sam love to take care of newborns in the house so they were excited when I called them.

Another trek in the woods led me to another piglet. This one was by the nest at the fallen trees. My thinking was she had the last two there and then abandoned them. Back up to the house to hand over this piglet to Emma, Jake and Sam. I searched again to see if I could find any more. I didn't see evidence of any more piglets.

The plan was to put the two piglets I found with Mary Lou but I was concerned that the big litter size would be too much for her. It would bring the size up to eleven piglets. I really didn't want to push it but of course I wouldn't have a choice if that was my only option. It was starting to get darker outside. One more round of checking expected moms and huts was needed. Wow! #2 is having her litter! Perfect!! She is a huge, well-seasoned sow that can handle a big litter. I did notice a small stillborn with "stuff" still around it. I know this sounds gross, but it was the perfect opportunity to get #2's scent on Abbie's piglets. I took the stillborn and placed it in the laundry basket with the others. Later on, we placed the two abandoned piglets in #2's hut. Again, blended right in.

Scott was home by this time. He took over and closed up the farm. While in Fairfax, he had stopped in Whole Foods to pick up dinner. Obviously there was no time to cook. One last check on all of the piglets and then in for a shower. At 8:00 the kids were watching a movie so I just decided to watch a DVD in bed. I think that night was the most exhausted I had ever been. It was a "good" exhausted. Scott served me dinner in bed. After that he brought in carrot cake. A perfect ending to a day that worked out well. I think I'll call it a night.

Piglets Galore! Part 2

Okay...so Abbie was not in the shelter with the others so I knew what that meant. I started walking further into the woods with the flashlight to look for her. Our woods goes into a steep slope and has lots of fallen trees, all shapes and sizes. I find her towards the bottom, milling around between two very large fallen trees that are about four feet apart. She's just standing there with a dazed look. I actually thought she looked extra pretty. I walked back up the hill, back to the house and told Scott what I found.

"I know it's dark, but we have to try to move her."

So that is exactly what we did. We tried to move her to her own small paddock. Scott started the tractor and hooked up the farrowing hut and I got some feed and a sorting panel. Off we went down below. We thought best for the hut to be at the bottom, close to where Abbie was located. Scott could cut the line and we wouldn't have to move her that far. I guess she was disturbed by the commotion because I found her back up the hill. Now it would be a pain because we didn't want the other hogs to wake up. Which of course they did...a bunch of Nosy Neds. We were able to lead Abbie back down the hill but it soon became impossible to try and coax her through the area where Scott cut the wire. We could actually make the situation worse if the Nosy Neds got out. We tried again. It's difficult to maneuver your way through trees and thorn bushes with just the tractor lights. At some point I banged my forehead against a big tree limb.

Knowing it was going to start raining the next day and through the weekend, we really tried to get Abbie to her hut. But it wasn't going to happen. Scott had the idea of putting a big piece of plywood over the fallen trees. Maybe she would know enough to farrow under it. That was all we could do.

That's one of the hard realities of farming. You can do your very best and things may or may not turn out the way you had hoped for.

I knew that Friday was going to be a very hard day for me. Scott had to go into Northern Virginia for work and was going to be gone all day. To be honest, I have had a few times where I would wake up and dread the day. Dread what I am greeted with and dread that I will not feasibly be able to handle certain situations. Luckily, those days are very few. But Friday was a day that I was going to dread......

Piglets Galore! Part 1

Since last week, I have been meaning to post. But I've been too busy during the day and too tired at night! Pig farrowing has begun and of course things didn't go according to how we planned. Don't the pigs know our itinerary?

Where do I begin?.....

Well, I had mentioned before that we had separated two sows(#2 and Darla) into their own paddocks, since they were going to be first to farrow. Due date March 12th for both of them. Next two to separate would be Mary Lou and Abbie. I wasn't sure of the exact due date but by the looks of their milk rows(as of March 10th) I was thinking two-three weeks. Okay...so the plan was to separate Mary Lou and Abbie on March 13th. They are in with the Berkshire pork group in the woods and of course needed to come out of there into their own paddocks near #2 and Darla.

During the usual feeding Thursday morning, I noticed Mary Lou's milk rows. They still were not that full but when I squeezed, there was a lot of milk. With my experience, that means the sow will usually farrow within three days. A quick glance at Abbie...no, her milk rows are still pretty small. There's time with her.

"Scott, I think we should go ahead and build out paddocks for Mary Lou and Abbie."

"Sure, no problem...I'll get the huts up there later this afternoon."

"Perfect...I'll quickly build paddocks after I pick Sam up from school."

Around 1:00 pm I was getting the woods hogs some water. Being a warm day, they enjoyed rolling around in the extra water I poured on the ground. Mary Lou came over, got a big drink and laid on the ground. After a few minutes she got back up and carried on with her pig business and I carried on with mine. Sam and I got home around 3:00pm and I grabbed the needed supplies and headed up to where I would build the paddocks. It was such a good feeling being ahead of the game and having a good control of the day. As I reached the top of the hill, I noticed Mary Lou on the ground. Odd that she would be sleeping in that location, I thought. Getting closer and closer, I realized she wasn't sleeping. She had her litter! A bunch of nursing piglets. In two hours she went from not showing any labor signs to having all of her piglets...nine of them(really ten but she may have laid on one). Completely shocked, I ran down to tell Scott. I was also worried about the nine other hogs and what they might do if they got too curious. Scott had to stop what he was doing and focus on how we were going to handle this situation.

Mary Lou was in the woods with no shelter. Heavy rains were coming for the weekend so that was the first item to deal with. So now what would be best? Maneuver the farrowing hut through the trees to her? Or build the paddock as planned and try to move her and the piglets up to the hut. Scott thought it was best to bring the hut down to her. It wasn't the simplest of tasks getting the hut through the trees, but Scott was able to do it. I brought plenty of straw down while he built the electric wire fence around Mary Lou. We were able to get the piglets into the shelter but Mary Lou wasn't so sure. It took a while for all of them to get settled. Thankfully they did.

Since Mary Lou had her litter, I was concerned about Abbie. I checked on her again and she still appeared to have more time. Good! It's almost dark at this point and there are many other things to do.

So later on, when it was completely dark, I felt I needed to check on all hogs. Still no piglets for #2 and Darla. Mary Lou and her piglets are doing great and snug inside the hut. The other woods hogs are in their shelter. They don't seem to mind what's going on nearby with the new mom. Hmmm...where's Abbie?

(sorry to do this, but there is so much to tell and I need to go to sleep!)

To Phil!

Every now and then you get that one special chicken or rooster that is very special. He or she will stand out with its zany or different personality. There is a particular hatchery that will send a surprise, rare chicken if you order fifty or more birds. Of course we agreed to the surprise. When the chicks arrived, the kids got out the catalog and started researching what breed was picked for us. It was pretty easy...a Buff Laced Polish, a very docile and easy-going breed...so they say. As our new bird started to grow feathers on top of the head, we named her Phyllis. She looked like she was wearing a Phyllis Diller wig. Feeding the birds one morning, I happened to hear a crow coming from the "new chick" coop. Our dear Phyllis was now a Phil.

Now Phil wasn't exactly the docile, easy-going bird that the Buff Laced Polish are known for. We affectionately called him Schizo Phil. The poor guy was definitely on the bottom of the pecking order. He didn't have many hens that hung out with him. Maybe one or two at most. Phil was a very jumpy bird that startled very easily. He wouldn't dare let you touch him. Sometimes at night when the birds would be roosting, I would quickly grab him and hold him just to see what he felt like. Oh the shrieks!

One beautiful, sunny day as I was on my front porch, I noticed a large shadowing from above. Only a buzzard, I thought. I glanced over to the chicken area and saw the chickens scattering everywhere. The "buzzard" I saw was really a hawk. A big one, too! I ran over there just in time to see the hawk dive down towards Phil. He got close but it must not have had a good angle. Phil escaped him and ran over to the tree line. I still remember seeing him perched on a fallen limb all hunkered down.

One dreary, drizzly day I was walking past some side windows and just happened to glance outside to see chickens scurrying from the back treeline to their home. Definitely a sign that means "go check it out"! I ran out with the dogs and noticed Phil's feathers at the treeline and the trail leading downhill and into the adjacent field. I also noticed the dogs taking off toward that field. They disappeared over the hilltop. I felt so sad. Not Phil! All I could do was to try to follow his feathers and maybe I could find him. I walked down the hill one last time. Two of my dogs came back while one was still out there. When I finally realized I lost Phil I heard a loud squawk way on the other side of the trees and hill. When I got over there, the third dog was standing near Phil. He was definitely wounded. It was hard to see to what extent, but after being in the mouth of a fox of course there would be some injuries. I picked him up and carried him over to the house. He just laid there, almost lifeless, in my arms. But when I reached the side door, his head perked up, gave a loud shriek and jumped out of my arms to the ground. There he goes, running across the yard.

One dark night, the kids and I were closing up the chicken and turkey shed. At that time, we didn't have many turkeys so they were able to roost in their own shed in a nearby field. I used to count all of the chickens before I closed their door. Phil wasn't there! Oh no. I let the kids know and we searched with flashlights to see if we could find feathers. We must have been looking for an hour, all of us sad. I told the kids we can't do anything about it and we should just go in. Jonah went over to close the turkey shed door. "Phil's in here with the turkeys!" Goofy boy, putting us through such a scare.

Yet again...while out scoping the grounds, I noticed a pile of Phil's feathers by the trees. Here we go again. Luckily, I saw him right away by the coop...without a tail. Phil looked silly for the longest time. But the tail feathers eventually grew back and he was beautiful once again.

It was never a big surprise that Phil didn't wander too far away from the coop. He was happy being crazy close to his home. Strangely, after a couple of years he started venturing across the yard to the other side of the house. It was like he discovered a whole new world. Finally Phil was coming out of his shell!

Then one sad night, I noticed Phil wasn't in the shed roosting with the others. I had a feeling this time that it wasn't good. I did a quick search around the yard where the sheds are located. But knowing he traveled across other fields, his chances were better to be seen by a fox. "I'll wait to tell the kids in the morning", I thought. We've had our share of chickens taken away by fox, but the news of Phil was pretty hard to take for all of us. He managed to escape so many dangerous situations. We just assumed he was invincible.

Oddly enough, I didn't find his feathers out in the new field Phil discovered. They were in the corner by the fence close to his home. This happened a year ago and a tear actually came to my eye while writing about him. We sure do miss that crazy bird!

Aahhh!!! Vitamin D

I believe all will agree...what a beautiful and much appreciated weekend. It feels so good to finally check items off of the list and see progress. Feels great to walk and run across fields without high stepping to get through the snow. Feels fantastic to have the four-wheeler working again! It makes feeding and watering go much faster.

The Red Dalmatians were weaned and put in a pen next to Max and the Large Black Hogs(Opie, Bea and Biddy). Max and his friends need to be retrained on the electric wire. So right now they are learning boundaries again. Ramona was moved to another area, out of sight from her newly weaned litter. Frances was put in with her to keep her company. We'll keep Ramona there until she is reconditioned and rested. Then she'll go back out with her group and Ollie the Boar.

Darla and #2 were moved into the same field. They are due with litters very soon. We are so pleased that our brother-in-law, Dan, came down and built three more farrowing huts, making it now a total of five. These huts are well built and have a great design. It's roomy enough for mom to farrow and has a hinged entrance in the back so I can assist or handle the piglets if I need to.

Since we moved Darla away from our big Tamworth boar(Big Daddy), I decided to try and put a Berkshire gilt in with him in his field. Daisy hasn't produced for us yet. She's normal with her heat cycles but it just doesn't seem to be working with her and Ollie. I'm stumped with what the problem may be. I really want to try hard to get a litter from her because if she doesn't...well...you know. It took us a while to get Daisy over there, but we succeeded. She's in heat now so I thought for sure Big Daddy would be interested. No...he was more interested in the feed we brought over with us. After some time I noticed Daisy and Ollie pacing the fence line. Our driveway divides the two fields. Up and down they went with Ollie frothing at the mouth. I took it upon myself to get Daisy back over to her field with Ollie. Maybe that short separation will do the trick.

The chicks seem to be doing fine. We lost one egg layer and several broilers. I did notice two more broilers limping. I'm sure it's safe to say that they won't make it.

With all that we were able to do this past weekend we still find ourselves behind with more projects to add to the list. But that's okay...I'm so grateful it's warm!

A New Season Under Way....Already!

I really can't believe it's the start of a new season already! All of the snowstorms made this winter go by so quickly. So here we are...2010 season. We received the egg layers yesterday. This year I decided on Russian Orlorffs and Welsummers, both rare breeds. I like to order different kinds of chickens because there are so many beautiful breeds, each having different personalities. Tomorrow we receive the first batch of broiler chickens. Starting next week, the first group of eleven sows will begin farrowing and won't end until May. Around that time my second group should be ready to breed for fall piglets. The Culpeper's Farmers Market begins April 24th. It'll be great to see everyone again!

I was down with the group of pigs we just moved and noticed one in heat. Of course she is too young so now we need to separate the girls from the boys. That should be an easy task. I also noticed some odd behavior amongst this group. Not bad odd, but good odd. The young Berkshire boars in this group, Duke and Simon, have always been so friendly. They love getting attention and are just my sweet boys. The girls, however, have been slightly stand-offish. They'll come up to me but as soon as I try to pet them they take off. Today they were different. Some of them were actually competing for my attention. They would rub up against me and let me touch them. I noticed them frolicking more as they discovered wallowing for the first time. I didn't think it was that warm, but for them a nice sunny day was warm enough. I'm sure it felt good on their skin. Surely, these animals felt the stress of this past winter just like their owners did!

The older pictures above show some pretty White Rock hens, Scott and a young Ollie, and the last one(I think that was 3-4 years ago) shows some major clearing and excavating of the front. It was very much over grown. Sam is the little guy with the orange shirt.

A Productive Day

Leading Max, Opie, Bea and Biddy back up to the house

This is what hogs will do to the ground...I think I'll do a garden!
For the first time in what seems like such a long time, it was a very productive day with the pigs. We finally were able to move the older piglet group from behind the shop to a nice area with green grass(believe it or not), lots of trees and great places to explore. But before we moved them, we had to ring and tag all 15 and give them a shot of Dectomax. We made a chute system so it is easier to handle the little guys and gals. Tony's job is to get them in the chute and hold them once they are in. Scott will then use a hog snare(a device that slips around the nose and tightens to hold them still) and my job is to give the shot, put in the ear tag and apply the nose ring. The system ran smoothly and the pigs were so happy to be moved to a new home. Scott and I always went back and forth on whether or not we should ring. Sure, they love to get head deep into the ground but they really can wreak havoc on pastures. Rotating pastures is so important but this winter led us to decide to ring the hogs. If we know we will have a pork group that will stay in the woods then we won't ring them. The hogs can still get in the ground to get the good stuff, but they won't ruin pastures. Some people think it is cruel to ring hogs. But I have to say, I am a witness to very happy and healthy creatures with nose rings. They act no differently than my hogs without rings.

Today's Special......Stewing Hen

Today started out like any other day. I made my rounds with the hogs. The last hogs I usually feed are Big Daddy and Darla. They are located in the field next to the egg layers. These chickens have access to anywhere on the farm but a bunch will make a bee line right to their hog neighbors at feeding time. They all huddle around, carefully attempting to grab a bite of corn or hog pellets from the feeder pan. I just put the feed in the two pans and started examining Darla. She is due to farrow in about three to four weeks. I looked around for a second and then happened to notice a rooster chasing one of the Black Star hens down the hill.

"Oh for Pete's sake! Can you just leave her alone!!"

There was still some snow and ice on the ground. Maybe that is why the black hen was having a hard time getting away from the rooster. She was trying to get up but still having a hard time. I ran down to see if I could assist and what do I see? A headless chicken. She got too close to Darla's mouth! Chickens still move after they are killed. That's why I thought she was just having a difficult time with the snow.

I grabbed her by the legs and proceeded back up the hill to Darla. Sure enough, right by her bowl, there was the head. How strange. Now here I have this newly killed chicken, but what do I do? I didn't want to waste good meat. Scott was in Fairfax. I definitely could scald and pluck feathers but I didn't know how to eviscerate. My job with the chickens is quality control, bagging and weighing. Tony(our farm partner and champion eviscerator) was at work as well so it looked like it was just going to be me. I did call Tony to get instructions but I needed a visual "how-to". So I checked out You Tube...How to Eviscerate a Chicken. By the way...those of you who do not know what eviscerate means, it is gutting a chicken. Taking out all of the innards(intestines, gizzard, heart, etc.). Joel Salatin had good step by step instructions.

I got a big stock pot filled with water and set it on the stove. When the water temp for scalding was correct(147 degrees is what Scott likes) I started dunking the bird up and down for about a minute. Then I put the chicken in a bucket and went outside to pluck feathers. Back inside to the kitchen sink to attempt eviscerating. Too cold and windy outside. The crop was the size of a baseball. That was easy to get out. I start cutting...eeww it stinks. Back outside where it is cold and windy so the smell can be whisked away. I finish cutting, put my hand inside and everything comes out at once. Hmmm...not so bad. I completed the task at the kitchen sink, washing and doing my famous quality control.

This chicken is what is called a stewing hen. Egg layers only lay efficiently for about two years. Ater that, they are processed for stewing. If you roasted one of these birds in the oven, it would be very tough. An older hen needs to be stewed all day, like in a crockpot. Chicken and dumplings would be great with a stewing hen. A friend of mine said he puts in a crockpot a can of mushroom soup with about a half a can of white wine along with the chicken. It goes great with broccoli and rice. You can't go wrong. The key is slow cooking for a LONG time.

Bon Appetit!