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Archive for the ‘four’ Category
16 Apr
>Broilers at 1 week
6 Apr
>The first chicks of 2011 are here!
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23 Mar
>Honey bottling and Winter Greens
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Well there’s lots going on at the farm! I’ve got the first of the broiler chicks coming on april 5th and the preaparations for their brooder are just about complete. Susan’s honey business has been booming lately. Above is a picture of Ed and Samantha bottling in the honey house. You can find it on store shelves at Mustard Seed Market, and most recently Heinen’s. Get in touch if you want more details on getting some off this delicious local honey! Below is a picture inside the high tunnel where some winter growing has been going on. Lots of salad greens, and there’s some kale down there somewhere too! It’s technically spring now so warm weather is almost here. Stay in touch!
13 Mar
>Building the Brooder
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This is a picture of the “Ohio Brooder” that I built. It is so named for the Ohio Experiment Station that came up with the design in the early 1940’s. designs such as this have been largely forgotten about since the vertical integration of the poultry industry and the demise of the small farm. It is a simple yet practical design. Notice that there is a gap of about 4 inches between the floor and the bottom of the brooder, this allows the chicks to run in and out as they need to to stay warm. Think of it like a big mother hen. When the chicks are hungry or just want to explore they can leave the brooder to get food or wander, and when the get cold they simply run underneath just as they would run under the wings off their mother. We don’t need anything fancy like a thermostat because mother nature has built one right into the chicks, and she’s been doing this for a while.
25 Feb
>Chicken Plucker!
>These are pictures from the automatic chicken plucker that dad and I are building. I am going to be processing a lot more chickens than last year so I figured that I had better upgrade to make things a bit easier. I looked around to find one to buy and quickly learned that they cost over $1000! In the process I found a book on how to build one yourself. Those that know me are surely aware that I am not exactly that mechanically inclined, but we decided to tackle the project anyways. I started gathering the parts around at the end of December and things are actually moving along quite well. The pictures you see are of the frame which will hold the tub, and a view looking down into the plucker tub. Those rubber fingers that you see are actually quite soft. The plate at the bottom of the tub spins tumbling the chickens around removing the feathers cleanly and quickly. We have completed more than the pictures show. The tub has been installed in the frame, and it has been painted. I’ll post more pics soon. I used one very similar to this at the farm that I worked at last summer, and it makes the work MUCH easier.
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season, and I’ll keep you all posted on the construction!
16 Feb
>Going Organic
>It was about one year ago that I became enlightened about the plight of our current food system. Things like the impact that it has on the environment, the lack of sustainability, and the inhumane treatment of animals and migrant farm workers struck a very strong chord with me. Rather than doing what I usually do in these situations and ranting on and on about it I decided I would actually do something about it. I would eat locally as much as I can, be more connected with the food that I eat, and maybe even try growing some of my own. All that lead me to become a vegan for the better part of 3 months. I stopped eating meat unless I knew exactly where it came from. And by that I mean actually shake hands with the person who raised it. This is a practice that has stuck to this day. All these things were just the beginning of my food journey.