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!)