It’s time for some farm updates!! We have been busy. Which is probably why it’s been forever since I’ve written here. I’ve tried to share little blips of updates on our Facebook and Instagram, and I do have a post in the works about how we run our fodder system. But in the meantime, as we settle into summer, I thought it just might be time for some good ole fashioned updates from the farm.
- The Chickens
So, since my last post about our “egg enterprise,” we have successfully added 50+ pullets and chicks to our existing 14 layers. And for the most part, things are going well. But in the interest of transparency, I have to admit that our expenses ended up higher than I expected in the first month and production was lower. Much lower. In May, our production averaged about 46%. In other words, of the 37 hens that were at, or close to, laying age, we averaged about 17 eggs a day. But things are starting to pick up. Already this month, we’re getting about 2 dozen a day.
As the older pullets are finally starting to lay, the Barred Rock, Ameraucana, and Welsummer “chicks” have feathered out and moved into the coop with the big girls. We set up a pen in the coop using some old baby gates to keep these growing chicks separate from the bigger hens. It wasn’t really our intention, but when the gates are pushed up to the wall of the coop, they leave gaps that are just big enough for the chicks to run in and out, but too small for the hens to get in. This keeps the hens out of the chicks’ food, but also allows the chicks to explore the coop freely while still being able to duck into their pen for safety. This seemed to really help with the transition, and at this point, most of the “chicks” are as big as the pullets and learning to free range outdoors. They should be laying within another 3-4 months.
And the four Trader Joe’s chicks are alive and well! Oh yeah, did I mention that we hatched out chicks from fertile eggs we bought at Trader Joe’s? So that was exciting. You can catch up on that story over on social media. I even let some of my students name them (as a reward for top exam scores). And so, for better or for worse, the chicks are “Peep,” “Nugget,” “Buttercup,” and “Chicklet.” They will be ready to move outside to the coop with the others in just another week or so.
Ya know, when we thought about bringing in all these chickens, I was afraid it would feel like we were just swimming in a sea of poultry… but really, they spread out and forage throughout the day, and it’s pretty neat. That being said, I’m coming to terms with the fact that I buy chickens like a lot of women buy shoes. My lovely cousin, who homesteads in Florida, has this running joke that “chickens are like potato chips, you can’t have just 35.” She’s right.
- The Goaties
Speaking of addictions, we have 11 13 goats. Eleven. Thirteen. I mean, it’s one of those things we tell people who knew us “before,” and I sense their level of concern rising… they think we’ve completely lost it. But we are not, I repeat not, keeping them all. That being said, I just love my goats. And it’s been a good kidding season! We have been through four successful kiddings so far, with Nia still due in a few weeks. Actually, Nia kidded today, five days before her due date, and of course too soon for me to get this damn update posted! That’s how it goes around here! I write a post, and before I can publish it, it needs revision! We are growing fast.
All the kids are great, cute, bouncy, and snuggly. And all the moms are being really good moms. Nia’s kids mark the end of this kidding season for us. Fortunately, I was present for three out of the five births but did not have to “mid-wife” in any major way; I’ve heard horror stories of goat farmers who have had to “go in” and pull kids during delivery, goat moms who are terrified of their offspring… we’ve been prepared to deal with the worst. So, I’m pleased with how well things have gone, and consider us lucky so far.
This also means that I am currently milking four goats (soon to be five!), by hand, each morning. Granted, it’s only once-a-day milking, but my hands feel it. So I am doing some research on alternative milking systems, and weighing the costs and benefits of a mechanical vacuum pump versus a portable, powered, bucket milking system. Stay tuned, and I’ll let you know where we land.
That being said, the goats’ milk is amazing! It’s so fun when friends and family try it for the first time. Everyone seems to expect goaty-tasting “milk,” but they are pleasantly surprised by how indistinguishable it is from cow’s milk, aside from its super-rich creamy freshness. I’ve made some wonderful (if I dare say so myself) yogurt, chevre’, and mozzarella with it (except for that one batch, which we’ll call “ricotta”). We had fun making dulce de leche/cajeta (i.e., caramel sauce) and goats milk icecream with Aaron’s parents and our niece. You guys… So. Good. We also flavor it with hazelnut or almond for coffee. I’m looking forward to trying some aged cheeses, thanks to my mom, who gifted me a wine cooler for my birthday that will soon be converted to a mini cheese cave.
I’ve also converted much of this milk into soap, and I’m currently curing batches of my three favorites so far for the Etsy Shop and the Farm Store. — lemon+poppy, oats+honey, and a moisture bar (inspired by my Tiny Hiney Balm, it’s for faces not bums, and contains shea, calendula, and chamomile).
Otherwise, here’s the goats!
- The garden
Oh the garden. I’ve heard others describe how farmers’ talents tend to fall into one of two categories: plants or animals. Produce or livestock. For so long, I was sure I would fall into the former class. I envisioned the garden would be the first and most successful project when we moved here a year ago. After all, I’ve container-gardened and composted since apartment days. I may not have known one breed of goat from another or that chickens lay an egg every day, but I know (knew?) how to grow some veggies!
The past year has made me rethink this. The garden plot was already established when we moved in, semi-fenced off, irrigated, and otherwise kinda tucked out of the way. More than once we’ve hauled in truck loads of manure, tilled in our own hard-earned compost, weeded+weeded+weeded, raked the “soil” into rows, run drip irrigation, secured the bottom of the garden fence against squirrels and rabbits, raised the fence to keep out chickens and goats, planted seed and seedlings, and so on… always laboring on the hottest days… only to find our efforts besmirched by some pest, or drought, or scorching heat. We built the hoophouse, hoping we could start some seedlings and get them strong before subjecting them to the assaults of the garden, but the hoophouse turned into a kite in the Santa Ana winds, and the gophers enjoyed making tunnels where we planted the seedlings that did make it that far. More than once, I feel like I’ve been channeling Mr. McGregor or stuck in some twisted Bugs Bunny cartoon.
It wasn’t a total loss. We have been able to keep a stand of asparagus going, brought back the raspberries and blueberries after the goat invasion (although, yet to harvest a berry), and enjoyed several nice heads of kale and Swiss chard. But after the amount of back-breaking, sweaty labor we’d poured into that plot, I really needed more.
So this Spring, I put our seedlings out in the smaller plot near the house, inside the backyard, away from the chickens and the goats and hopefully most other critters, where we can keep a closer eye on things. It’s not the market garden I’d hoped, but it’ll be a fine “kitchen garden.” We’d intended to let it rest with clover as a green mulch that would be tilled in next Fall — clover helps to fix nitrogen into the soil. That’s all the green you see in the image below. But then the strawberries came back and I had to 911-transplant some seedlings from the larger plot before they disappeared like everything else. So, for now, it’s a hodge podge. We have several heirloom varieties of tomatoes and peppers in containers, along with some super young fig and banana trees and a rainbow of carrots. Onions, squash, watermelon, cucumber, strawberries, and lettuces are in the ground, along with a few remaining beets and assorted herbs (thyme, cilantro, and sage).
All this is to say, the garden is a work in progress. But I’m no longer going to force it. A soil analysis suggests we are sitting on clay and decomposed granite. That a garden does not make. It will take us years to rebuild the topsoil, and the goats and chickens (specifically, their poo) will help us do that. And maybe one day, when we’re no longer in a drought and have some more time on our hands, we’ll find a way to keep a larger market garden thriving. Until then, I’m content to be a mostly “livestock” farmer. The thing about those plants is, they just don’t snuggle you back, ya know?
- The dog!
I got a puppy for my birthday! And she is our livestock guardian dog (LGD). These are dogs bred specifically to guard flocks, herds, and other livestock against predators. They are similar to herding dogs, such as shepherds, in that they are working animals. But instead of helping farmers move their stock, they protect and intimidate intruders. Like coyotes. Which we have. Ever since a way-too-close encounter last summer, when Jarwin was attacked, we’ve been locking the goats up at night. It’s not a big deal, but it’s meant that every time we consider bringing in a new animal, we have to consider where and how we are going to shelter it. An LGD has been on my radar for a long time, but there was so much uncertainty, particularly regarding how our pet dog, Lily, would handle having a “working dog” on the farm.
After a lot of research and talking to people who raise different breeds of LGD, we decided to give it a try. I was referred to Kari, a really knowledgeable and responsible breeder, and the owner of White Mountains Ranch. After a visit to her farm, we came home with Michonne, who is mostly Anatolian, with a sprinkle of Akbash and Great Pyrenees, and the largest 8-week-old puppy I’ve ever seen in my life! (If you’re a Walking Dead fan, you’ll appreciate that Michonne is the perfect name for a guardian dog).
So far, she’s worked out really well. I’m in awe of her instincts and how easy it’s been to “train” her. She lives with the goats, staying with them on pasture all day. We’ve paneled off a section of the stalls, where she sleeps right next to them at night. As soon as she’s big enough to intimidate predators, she’ll be able to stay out at night, along with her herd of adult goats. We bring her up to the yard to play with Lily and bond with us, which actually works out really well and allows her to engage some of her “puppiness.” Otherwise she’s great with Shug, who’s learning to use his “tough guy voice” to give her commands, and she hasn’t been too mouthy with the goats or chickens. She seems to be bonding with the goats well and prefers to be with them. Aside from the sprinkler wiring that she chewed up (oops), and the one pullet who was small enough to get through the fence and into the goat pasture (BIG OOPS), she’s worked out really really well. Fortunately, most of my worst fears have not been realized, and I’m wishing we’d gotten her sooner.
Michonne is especially significant because she opens the door to some important developments on the farm. First, it means we can keep a buck without having to house him near the does. This will be necessary come Fall when Applejack, who is at present an adorably handsome little buckling, will turn into a blubbering stinky idiot-of-a-goat in rut and need to be separated from the girls. Bucks tend to “flavor” the does’ milk (i.e., make it taste “goaty”) if kept near the females. So Michonne means we don’t have to build yet another shelter for Applejack.
Similarly, it means we can get PIGS! More on that to come…
Aaron and I finally finished out the semester, got through birthdays and birthday parties, academic conferences, and now Aaron is back to teaching for the summer semester. And I finally, finally, feel like summer is starting to set in and I can focus on the farm and the projects that have been filling up our white board. Very soon, I’ll share some of these summer goals and discuss our plans for the farm!
...where chickens can be chickens, goats can be goats, and kids can be dragon-slayers 