Winter Project

Some projects that are supposed to be simple have a nasty habit of taking far longer than expected and trying every ounce of patience.  Adding a simple pen to an existing chicken coop fit the aforementioned description perfectly.

One of the projects on my Christmas vacation list was adding a pen to the Speckled Sussex coop.  In the dead of winter it becomes dark early and with the darkness comes a whole new set of predators that are not deterred by the four foot high 4x2 welded wire fencing.  With a pen, the chickens could be kept in the pen all day if I knew I would be out late.  While Wynn, the Great Pyrenees, has been doing a fine job in keeping intruders away from the farm (including the mail carrier and most other delivery services), I preferred the peace of mind of having the extra security.

The plan was simple:  Build out a simple frame and screen it in with 0.5 inch hardware cloth.  Since the coop was off the ground, the plan was to also screen in the underside of the coop which would practically double the area of the pen.  The hardware cloth was buried about 6 inches deep and ran out for about 2 feet to prevent predators burying under the pen.  The roof was also screened first and then covered with corrugated tin.

While the finished version seems to sound and maybe a little over-engineered, the problems began early with the coop being located on a slope.  When the framing was complete there was not a single right angle in the structure.  I had to add more wood to create a flush surface for the screen (poor planning and design) and then the door had to be custom made to fit the space that looked nothing like any shape I learned about in geometry.  

With the slope I decided to dig a shallow trench around the coop and pen to allow the water to drain away from the structure.  

 The finished pen.  A simple project that took about five days to complete spread over several weeks.

One Year In

The last post on the blog was back on July 4^th.  Already it is Thanksgiving.  Where did the time go?!  Well, the weeks and months in between have been the proverbial hive of activity.  As a result, much has changed on the farm. 

From a livestock perspective, two litters of guinea hog piglets have expanded the porcine population.  Trudy had another litter and Bitsy had her first where she farrowed 9 piglets with 8 of them surviving.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 were taken to the butchers in September.  Collectively they weighed 620 lbs and produced over 450 lbs of pork.  This necessitated purchasing another freezer!  Despite the many hours invested in building the guinea fowl a big coop the guinea flock quickly began roosting in the trees and have never looked back since.  Despite living wild, only two or three birds were lost to predators.

Guinea fowl up in the trees.

This morning three piglets were delivered to their new owners.

New additions to the farm include a pair of Blue American Geese (a medium-large heritage variety) and some American/Sebastopol crosses.  The geese were brought in as plan C to keep the grass and weeds under control in the orchard following the lack of success experienced with the chickens (plan A) and goats (plan B).  The chicken flock has grown significantly and the Orpingtons on the top field have been integrated into the poop coop for efficiency purposes.

American Geese

White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks were brought in as chicks earlier in the year.

The orchard was finally completely fenced with 4x2 wire using wooden posts and T-posts with a number of gates including a farm gate (I finally got the “hang” of the fencing thing).  The fence has helped tremendously.  The ducks and chickens now have two fences separating them from predators.  The fence also means the geese can roam across the orchard (and no further) and the goats can roam outside their pen without eating all the fruit trees.

Fencing seems to be never ending.  Hanging hog panel with number 2 son today.

The garden has undergone the most radical transformation.  The current garden is only 1/6 the size of the original.  Keeping a large garden is definitely labor intensive.  The new smaller area is making use of raised beds and mulch to keep the weeds under control.  Goats, pigs and chickens are occupying the rest of the area that used to be the garden.

In the midst of all the activity going on the one year anniversary in September slipped by without really noticing it.  So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, now is a good time to look back on the whole Hereward Farm venture.  Clearly there is much to be grateful for; the opportunity to live a long standing dream for one.  A little over a year in and the farm is up and running.  So far it has proved to be an interesting roller coaster ride.  On the cost side, countless hours of physical and mental labor have been invested and the learning curve was (and still is!) steep.  Significant financial capital has also been invested.  On the benefit side, witnessing first hand the natural cycle of life with the land and the animals is a priceless experience.  The early mornings and hard physical labor are actually quite fulfilling ("fun" would be pushing it a bit).  Most of all, however, the knowledge, skills and experiences gained so far are considered important assets for an uncertain future. 

A Busy Month

A lot has happened since the last post back in May.  June was an exceptionally busy month with a lot going on professionally and on the farm.  A consulting trip to Switzerland and a new job made a naturally busy time even busier.  In June we added a trio of Nigerian Dwarf goats, Speckled Sussex hens, and a Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog.  So, this meant building a fenced in area in the wood for the goats and a new coop and run for the Speckled Sussex.  The pigs got a new paddock with a new shelter and the guinea fowl got a new coop.

 

 

From the left, Jasmine, Rosie and Dandy

The Speckled Sussex Coop

A Speckled Sussex pullet in the feeder

 Wynn, the Great Pyrenees, resting in the partially built guinea fowl coop

The garden has exploded with both crops and unfortunately weeds.  The constraints of time were really noticeable in the garden and the recent record heat wave with 100 plus degree weather compounded matters.   Despite the insult, the garden and orchard have continued to be bountiful although some of the crops planted later in the season did not do well during the heat.  The lessons for next year – smaller garden, raised beds, more mulch, and automate the watering as much as possible.

Comings and Goings

Comings

Several weeks ago another Aylesbury duck, Diana, was traded for some excess Barred Rock roosters.  The Aylesbury trio - Charles, Camilla and now Diana -  live with 7 Mallards and 3 Pekins in the duck run.  Unlike the chickens who return to their roost every night on their own, the Aylesbury ducks have to be wrangled into their hut at night and they make quite a fuss about it.  The Mallards and Pekins will eventually go into the hut on their own once it is dark.

Charles, Diana and Camilla in the "Royal Spa"

Several litters of baby rabbits have been born over the last couple of weeks.  All of the other kits were sold during the Easter period.  The plan for the current crop is to place them in a tractor once weaned and periodically move them around the garden.  This will provide a natural diet and allow them to be raised outside. 

Trudy, the American Guinea Hog sow finally farrowed her piglets.  It was an intense experience, to say the least.  Looking very pregnant with her belly touching the floor she went into labor last Saturday.  We discovered the first piglet already running around in the barn.  Trudy was having a difficult time with the second and after an hour or so we ended up having to do some impromptu pigwifery.  This second piglet died during the labor.  It was much larger than the first.  The third piglet was born fairly quickly after the second unassisted and was alive.  The fourth was a breech and another exceptionally large piglet.  After another difficult labor requiring assistance, it too was stillborn.  We were not sure if there were more piglets but that was it.  The vet’s advice on the phone was simple – Let nature take its course.  We believe the problems were due to the rich diet and only four piglets resulting in some really large piglets that got stuck in the birth canal.  These were approximately twice the size expected.  The next time the diet of any of the AGH pregnant sows will be better managed.

The face only a mother could love!

Is all this for me?

Trudy was in labor for approx 6 hours and then went to sleep.  The next morning she trotted out for food as normal.  The two live piglets are still doing fine.  These AGH are amazingly docile.  During the labor the boar came into the stable and laid down next to us and fell asleep.  I would not sit down in the stable with the commercial feeder pigs.  Even though Thing 2 is now essentially free-ranged since she escapes the paddock everyday whenever she pleases and then runs up to you when she sees you coming, I still would not trust this pig.  To this pig everything is food including the cats and the Canada geese.

Thing 2 on the loose.

The chicken population is about as dynamic as the population of a border town in South Texas.  In the minus column, excess roosters were traded and then the dog attack reported earlier removed a dozen or so.  In the plus column, two “waves” of chicks are currently running about the place.  The earlier wave was our first hatching and consisted of a number of Buff Orpingtons and Buff crosses.  The Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns (I say, I say, boy….) are now out with the mixed flock in the orchard (behind more of a sturdy fence) and the chicks of the second hatching of Buffs are now out in the Buff coop.   A small corner was fenced off for them during the day but these little shape shifters somehow manage to fit through the fencing and escape out of their corner and out of the run itself.  

Doesn't take long for them to find the tomatoes!

Thirty guinea fowl arrived a couple of weeks ago from the hatchery.  These are known for their ability to eat ticks and other bugs while leaving your plants alone.  With the mild winter the bugs are terrible so a flock guinea fowl makes a lot of sense.  At 6:45 AM the post office called the house and insisted I come and pick up a package.  When I arrived at the post office it was still early and quiet.  I could hear these fowl chirping from outside the building.  They were loud.  When I knocked on the door the post master asked who I was then opened the door and thrust the box into my hands without checking my ID.  She said, They are as happy to see you as we are to get rid of them.  They are definitely loud!

Goings

Two of the second hatch of Buff chicks succumbed to what we believe was a snake while out in the brood coop.  One was missing and one was found dead.  Similarly, a rat snake got into one of the rabbit cages and killed one of the kits and ate another.  I was startled to say the least when I opened up the cage tonight and saw a large coiled snake staring back at me.  The doe was in the cage and the snake kept trying to bite her every time she came near it.  Having recovered from the shock I noticed this was a rat snake.  Not poisonous but gives a painful bite.  These are useful to have around for rodent control (particularly since the cats appear to be taking the summer off from mousing) and I have typically left these alone.  This one was actually in the rabbit cage and could not get out due to the bulge of a recently ingested baby rabbit.  I tried to skewer it with a sharp stick but this only made it mad.  I opened the door of the cage and it slid out towards me only to get hacked to pieces by the trusty tomahawk (Warning:  Gruesome pics).

Rat snake in the rabbit cage.

This pic shows the dead baby rabbit along with a partially-digested baby rabbit inside the snake. 

Circle of Life

After a short business trip last week I was amazed at how much the garden had grown and how the animals, particularly the ducklings, had grown in the few days I was away.  While growth abounds, death is never far away.  As much as we have tried to protect our animals some have died.  Some from predation, some from natural causes, and some intentionally slaughtered.  On the farm, new life and death are a natural part of it all.  In many ways our modern life is sanitized from this natural order yet for every generation of humans with the exception of the last few in parts of the West, this is normal.  This circle of life made the 238 lbs of pork I brought back from the butchers today extra special knowing that just a few days ago this was Spot and Hambone.

St. George’s Day – April 23rd

Having paid attention to St. David and St. Patrick on earlier posts, next up (and a little belatedly) is St. George, the Patron Saint of England as well as a few other places such as Germany and Georgia (as in former Soviet Union rather than the Bulldogs) and of soldiers, farmers, and sufferers of leprosy, plague and syphilis.  I have just realized I belong to three of these groups and before you think the worst, they are born in England, former soldier and current farmer.   St. George is also the patron saint of archers which underscores these famous lines from Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1:

'I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge
Cry God for Harry, England and St George!'

One cannot mention Henry V without thinking of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 where 6,000 English defeated 30,000 French (yes, thirty thousand) with the English longbows playing a key role in the battle.  Anyway, I digress; enough of the good old days. 

An early source suggests St. George was a Roman soldier of noble birth put to death under the Emperor Diocietian at Nicomedia on April 23, 303 for protesting the persecution of Christians.  George was adopted as patron saint of soldiers after he appeared to the Crusader army at the Battle of Antioch in 1098.  The banner of St. George, the red martyr’s cross against a white background, became the uniform of the English under Richard I and later became the flag of England.  George became the Patron Saint of England by the end of the fourteenth century. 

One of the myths surrounding St. George is the slaying of the dragon.  There are no dragons at Hereward Farm but there is a dog (or dogs) that killed 11 chickens this week out in the orchard.  Roosters Harold and Edward met their end and it looked like Harold had put up a respectable fight (like his namesake).  The other rooster in the orchard ended up jumping a fence into the chick coop and survived (perhaps a French name for this rooster is in order?).  Five bodies were found strewn across the orchard with enough feathers to stuff a duvet.  The remaining chickens were either taken or met their grisly end in the woods.  This is the second time a dog has got to the chickens.  As a dog owner myself, I am loath to hurt one but the next dog I see on the property will be through the cross-hairs of my scope…  

Body Count: Five bodies found.  Here are Harold, an ISA hen, two Barred Rock hens and a young Barred Rock rooster.  There's about 50 lb of chicken here and nearly a hernia taking them out to the trash.