February Recap

I guess since I haven't posted anything the entire month, I should recap what has happened.  In no particular order, February consisted of....

• Beginning to finalize the details of the Serenity Valley Farm Horse Shows this year.  Added a complete class list to the website.  DLSC-sanctioned Dressage classes, all 3 Prix Caprilli tests (not DLSC), Combined Tests from Ground Poles through Preliminary, and Jumper classes from 2' to 4', including 2 Gambler's Choice Payback classes.  Still have quite a few details to nail down, but the show is starting to take shape.  Hope to see a lot of turnout at the first one on June 29th!
• Spider's training has taken off!  Had a slight issue with her feet that kept her off work for a few days, but she's now doing better than ever!  Very sound, getting some LOVELY trot and lateral work and even some softness in the canter.  And she's doing beautifully in her jumping.  Ella jumped her yesterday and did a fantastic job.
• Shirley has spent the last 2 weekend's at iTolt so we can get her going again.  And going she is!  The mare is so smart and talented, that within 1 workout, she's back to where she was in December and progressing rapidly.  I jumped her on Saturday after a bit of flatwork with Anita and Shirley nearly jumped me out of the tack!  Major power in that girl!  Oh and I walked her a bit bareback after our jumping session yesterday.  She's such a good girl!
• Life at the farm continues.  Plenty to do with the slightly warmer temps that's for sure.  The boys go to Freezer Camp within the month.  The girls are starting to lay eggs again.  And we have a new arrival: a cat I'm calling Boots.  Pretty friendly, very vocal.  I honestly haven't looked to see if Boots is a boy or a girl but he/she has one of those fat cat faces and is black with a white spot on the forehead, white on the chest and 4 white feet (thus "Boots").  I think if I didn't have Phoebe, Boots may become an indoor kitty.
• The roommate is moving back to town this coming weekend.  I'm tempted to try to find another, but it would have to be a good fit, of course.  Willing to trade SOME rent for chores.  1-2 bedrooms plus access to pretty much the rest of the house and barn.  Must be ok with cats and hairy/slobbery/loveable dogs.  Does not HAVE to do anything with the farm animals if they don't wish to.  If you know of anyone that might be a good fit, let me know.

I think that's about it for the update.  I need a good camera so I can take more pictures (the camera on my phone isn't great at all).  Maybe from the tax return (after of course the set amount for bills)?  But until that time, here are 2 recent pics... Shirley investigating the pretty pony in the mirror (which she kept nickering at), and Boots.

Turkeys... round 1

Ah Turkeys. Those lovely creatures that arrive small and fuzzy... and grow to leave you with little doubt they descended from velociraptors.



From this...



.... to this.

Ok, maybe you don't see the family resemblance, but trust me... after 5 months of getting your fingers, shoes, pant legs, zippers, pockets and anything shiny you happen to be wearing pecked and bit at... you'd definitely see how evolution is possible.

At least they're tastey, right?

Well, this morning, I took 6 of the Broad Breasted Whites as well as 6 of my older hens to King's Poultry outside of Bradford for processing.  I know we (me plus 3 others) managed to process all the turkeys last year, but something along the lines of insanity struck when I doubled the number of birds I was raising.  With everything else going on, having someone else spend the time and deal with the mess of processing the turkeys is fine by me.  I've heard good things about King's so off they went.

Of course Hurricane Sandy was in full force as I was driving the Explorer with the small trailer complete with homemade side walls and dog and rabbit crates with birds in them an hour north.  But we arrived in one piece and I dropped all the birds off.  I'll be heading back of that way in a few hours to pick them up.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the birds weigh.  Remember that BBWs are considered butcher-ready at 4 months.  I purchased these the week before Memorial Day.  Do the math and they're currently a full 5 months.  And after carrying them, they're definitely BIG birds.  I'll be happy to have them gone, not only to preserve my poor fingers but also my wallet as they were eating a TON in the last few weeks.

This was kind of the trial run.  The rest of the turkeys are scheduled to go up on November 17th... perfect timing for Thanksgiving.

Still happy... but we have a lot of work to do

I'm still on cloud 9 from Noble's performance at the Come Again Farm Fall Horse Trial & Dressage Show.  He has made amazing progress with everything since Anita and I have been working with him.  He's a great horse.

My bubble of happiness was only slightly burst when I saw the pictures the professional photographer had taken of us.  Unfortunately, due to when I rode, there are no dressage pictures... so no evidence of the buck or of the overall lovely test.  And I wish there were more cross country pictures.  Our XC ride felt lovely and forward and definitely more solid than SJ had been.  More pictures showing proof of that would have balanced out the overall icky pictures from SJ that proved just how rocky that phase had been.

See for yourself at RacingPaparazzi.SmugMug.com

Yes, folks, we have a LOT of work to do.... and most of it on me.  Time to start working as hard on me and HOW I'm riding as working on how Noble is going.  To be fair, as some people have told me, I'm VERY happy that despite my inexpicable lack of staying with him over the fences, I was NOT coming down on his back or catching him in the mouth.  I do pride myself in having decent hands over fences and this does prove that.  I also love his expression.  He never balked, never refuses to jump... so I must be doing something right.  But time to get more right.  There are a couple pictures that I do like but I think this one is my favorite:

Through the water

The next entry is filled out and will go in the mail later today.  Walnut Creek Pony Club Mini Trial on November 4th.  Moving up to Beginner Novice!  I was initially hesitant about it, but I know he is more than capable and is currently working on some bigger fences at home.  I'll continue to work on the me part as well and I'm sure we'll have a great time.

In other news, the girls are doing great.  Shirley had her first ground driving session with Anita last night and did REALLY well.  She'd make a GORGEOUS carriage horse!  Spi did a bit more with me under saddle.  Working on getting her to relax a bit more, but she's coming along very nicely.

Me however... I'm sick.  Literally.  Stuffy head, sneezing.  Am signed up to do the Ghosts & Goblins 5K tonight downtown and am still hoping to make it.  If I do, there will definitely be more walking than running, but we'll see how I feel come that time.  Too much going on to be sick.  I also think I found a butcher for the turkeys.  YAY!!

Getting a Lesson... and other stuff

Every so often Emily Abbate comes to the barn and gives lessons.  I've heard great things about her for a long time so when Jen suggested a lesson, of course I jumped at the chance.  Noble was great.  We got some lovely exercises to try and help him along.  He's such a good boy but still pretty young.  The exercises were all geared towards helping establish the connection to his back end.

We're at the 2 week and counting mark to his debut as an event horse.  It's a little silly how excited I am for this.  I'm looking at the possibility of taking him out cross country schooling this weekend if the course isn't rented.  He's been doing so well that I can't wait to see him tackle some XC fences.  Should have some pictures of the last couple shows to share soon. Stay tuned!

In other news, the turkeys are getting big!  The whites are almost the age they were last year when we butchered.  The reds are smaller, but coming along nicely as well.  And now that we've had some rain, hopefully they'll be able to graze a bit more.  I think I still have a couple turkeys that haven't been spoken for if anyone reading this is interested in a holiday turkey!

One last bit of exciting news.  I actually mowed the grass tonight!!  GRASS, not just weeds!  Yay for rain!!

Spring Update

It's definitely springtime.  VERY busy lately as is probably fairly typical for anyone on a farm.  Here's some details on what's been going on.

Fencing:  After the fiasco that was the cows coming home... them promptly running off, I'm looking into getting some significant fence work done.  Hopefully I'll have all the estimates in this week and whomever gets chosen to do the work (whatever amount of work that may be when all is said and done) can get started asap.

Horse Shows:  Had a lot of fun at the Stillwater Pony Club Hunter Show (DLSC) a couple weeks ago.  Exhausting day as they had a lot of participation which as anyone knows with hunter shows means the day goes on forever.  Raz was good, although we had some hinkey moments here and there.  My ankle was not 100% from twisting it following the cow escapade the weekend before, but we managed 1 warmup round and the 3 classes in the Baby Hunter (2') division.  6th (of 6) in the Under Saddle class where I thought we did a decent job overall.  6th (of 16) in the first Over Fences class which frankly surprised me that we placed.  And 7th of 7 in the 2nd after a major boggle at the 2nd fence caused me to lose my stirrup on the side with the bad ankle so I pulled her down to a walk to readjust.  It's ok. We had some REALLY nice fences and I was ok with our performance.

Unfortunately that will be our last show for a while.  Not only do I have a couple announcing jobs coming up that interfere with the DLSC schedule (Greater Dayton Horse Trials and IEA Horse Trials) as well as relatives visiting for the Memorial Day weekend, but there has been a medical issue pop up.  If you haven't heard about it, I'm surprised as the word is spreading pretty rapidly.  One of the horses at iTolt Training Center came up with a positive Coggins - the test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA).  Unfortunately, he also tested positive on a second blood draw and was humanely euthanized this past weekend.  EIA is very contagious and even though Sam was only a carrier and never sick, the policy of the state is very clear and Jen did what a responsible owner has to do in this situation.  This is the first positive in the state in 4 years, so it's not very common in this area.  Unfortunately it does result in the barn being quarantined for 60 days.  Thankfully, the blood draw on Monday for all the horses at the barn came back with all negatives.  They will all be retested at 30 and 60 days before the quarantine is lifted.  You can read the whole story, including timeline, valuable information about EIA, and the lovely story of who Sam was at iTolt's blog -- The Facts of our Positive Coggins Test  Jen and everyone at iTolt are extremely good friends and I'm thankful for each of them and wish them nothing but peace in such a heartbreaking situation.

So the pressure is off for a while, which will be nice.  The plan is to catch up on things at the farm, NOT go completely crazy the next few busy weekends, and then work on some equitation issues with my riding while enjoying the ponies at the farm (under quarantine obviously no one is allowed to leave the farm)... and then find some fun shows to go to later in the summer.

Speaking of horses... time to support my former pony and her fantastic owner!!  Suzie and Frankie are doing such remarkable things.  In an effort to help fund a trip to work with a great trainer this summer (Jan Bynny) prior to the Richland Park Horse Trials in August (and hopefully Fair Hill Horse Trials CCI*** in October), Suzie has created "Team Frankie" t-shirts.  They're available in Blue or White and have a list of 10 things Frankie thinks on the back.  I'm hoping to have one soon and will take pictures and post more about them.  They're $20 each available in Adult and Youth sizes.  Please contact me if you're interested.

Cows and other tidbits

The cows have arrived!!  On Saturday, April 28th, I borrowed a truck/trailer from Jen at iTolt Training Center and drove to Innisfree Farm and picked up 2 black angus calves.  One is roughly 6 months and the other slightly younger (and smaller).  They loaded beautifully into the trailer and I had no problems hauling them back to the farm.

That, unfortunately, is where the fun stopped.

Instead of fanagling them into the barn (they will be sharing the chicken room til the horses get used to them), I opted instead to put them in the front part of the pasture that I had taped off for them.  However, they had other ideas and within 2 minutes of them hitting the ground, they had run through 3 lines of my electric tape fencing and wiggled their way out of the 7 strand wire perimeter fence (that was not turned on as it had been grounding out). 

For the next 3.5 hours, and with the help of many friends, neighbors and strangers, we chased the 2 calves all around the property (and beyond).  I've now seen more of the fields and woods near the farm that I even though possible (even found a creek bed when the big guy was running through it).  In the end, the little guy was lassoed after 75 minutes loose by a good samaritan that happened to stop.  The big guy was tackled by my neighbor after 3.5 hours on the loose.  And while at the same time there were police and ambulance on my road, none of it had anything to do with the loose calves. 

They are now on a "barn time-out" until I can fix the fencing so it contains them.  I'm also using this time to get them used to me.

I'll post a better picture when I can, but this is the best one so far (the other had the flash on the eyes and made the little buggers look evil).

So meet Q (aka BBQ) and Mig (aka Filet Mignon)... latest residents of Serenity Valley Farm.  And with any luck, hopefully very content, quiet and cooperative (from here on out) residents.

All beef shares for this year are currently spoken for, but if you're interested, let me know and I'll put you on the wait list in case anyone backs out.

Along those same lines, I am still accepting deposits for turkeys.  I will be ordering the chicks this month and currently have 15 orders.  Remember I'm ordering both the Broad Breasted Whites that I did last year as well as the heritage breed Bourbon Reds.  A deposit guarantees* you a turkey although I will be ordering a few extra.

I still have an ABUNDANCE of eggs this spring!  $2 per dozen.  Willing to deliver or meet you somewhere if it's not too far away.

The garden is coming along.  Plenty of blossoms on the strawberries, the broccoli and cabbage look good and the gutter garden (seen below prior to planting) is seeing plenty of spinach and lettuce starting to pop up.  More will be planted on Sunday and I'll post more pictures later.

In other news, the first horse show of the season is upon us!  Catch me competing with iTolt's Chiraz at several DLSC Hunter Shows this summer... beginning tomorrow.  I am excited to not only show and hopefully qualify for year end awards, but to be able to help Jen school her many wonderful students as well.

Overdue Update

Happy Spring!  Granted, there's been frost on the ground the last 2 days, but the tulips and lilacs have been blooming for a couple weeks and it IS the middle of April.  Another tell tale sign of spring?  The animals are shedding like fiends.  Thankfully the sign of "mud everywhere" hasn't struck yet, but the "I'd rather be outside doing yard projects than inside cleaning" certainly has.

A lot has been going on so here's a very quick run down:

• FINALLY!!  There are 2 boarder horses at SVF now: Map is a 6yo Arabian/Trakehner cross stallion and Teddy is a 6 year old Percheron/Morgan cross gelding.  Both came from iTolt Training Center and are doing wonderfully.  Of course they'd much rather be out on the grass ALL the time, but they're slowly getting more and more grass.  Shortly after they arrived, I was able to purchase mats for the cross tie area and we've used it a few times when I decide they need to be brushed.  Both have long manes and I end up telling them that while we like Bob Marley, no one at SVF is to LOOK like Bob Marley -- no dreds!  Seriously, it's a lot of fun to watch them from the kitchen window.
• BRING ON THE BEEF.  Last year's experiment with raising a beef steer went really well and I've signed up to raise 2 more this year.  They should be arriving in 2 weeks.  They'll be limited to sharing the chicken room and having a separate grazing area from the horses until everyone gets used to one another.  Several friends are joining in and "purchasing" shares in the steers.  I believe there is at least one 1/4 share left if anyone is interested -- cost is $250 with at least half payable up front and butchering fees are not included.  Should work out to roughly just over $3/pound overall.  Expected delivery date is January 2013.
• TALKING TURKEY.  Now taking orders on this year's crop of turkeys.  The plan is to raise both the Broad Breasted Whites like last year as well as some Bourbon Reds, a heritage breed that I've heard a lot of good things about.  The BBWs should end up larger than the Bourbon Reds as they are a larger bird (last year's purchase weights ranged from 11.5 pounds to 16 pounds).  They do not get as large as they would in their typical commercial environments, but I'd rather lose some possible pounds than have a bird that isn't able to get out and eat grass and chase bugs.  Bourbon Reds average 23 pounds for toms and 14 pounds for young hens, live weight.  Here's a link to a wonderful review and amateur taste test conducted last fall.  The Bourbon Reds and Midget Whites for this test were raised by an online friend of mine:  Lets Put Turkeys to the Test  Turkeys will be ordered next month, so if you want to guarantee yourself a wonderful turkey, whether a BBW or a Bourbon Red, contact me by May 1st.  $10 deposit is due up front (to help pay for the chicks).  BBWs will be sold at $3/pound dressed weight (same as last year).  Bourbon Reds will be $3.50/pound.
• SPRING MEANS GARDEN.  Finally getting the garden started.  Moving it closer to the house to make it more accessible and to be able to use the old area as a new paddock for the animals.  Currently only have lettuce and spinach planted, but hope to soon have peas and broccoli as well.  Trying a new technique this year -- the lettuce and spinach are being planted using rain gutters attached to a fence, like this:

The ends of the gutters are a double layer of landscape fabric... keeping the soil in but allowing any excess water to drain out.  Cheaper than gutter end caps and easier than drilling drain holes in the gutters.  With any luck it will work.

I think that's about it for now.  Have been dealing with mechanical issues all over -- 2 wheel bearings and new tires for the Explorer, scooter is in the shop now dealing with a "won't start" issue, just dropped off the weed eater for service and the push mower at the rental won't start.  Maybe I need to take a class in automotive repair?  Also have several projects coming up -- finishing the garden, getting water to the barn, fencing in the new paddock, etc.  One thing at a time though, right?  or at least no more than what will drive me crazy. 

In the meantime, heading to Equine Affaire on Saturday for the first time in a few years.  Looking forward to it and hope to run into some friends.

5 Things... or more

So the original intent of 5 Things was to keep me blogging every week about the farm and updates.  Obviously the holidays and first of the year had some kind of wrench to throw into those plans.  All is good though, as I thoroughly plan to keep up again.  So... in light of that... here are some current and semi-current 5 Things:

1) I've been enjoying the mild winter.  A little muddy here and there, but its nice to WANT to go outside occasionally.  It's also nice on the wallet when it comes to heating the house.  I'm a little concerned about the bug population this coming spring/summer.  That may be the trade-off for this week's temps being in the 50s and having rain instead of snow.  Still not sure I'd choose any differently however.

2) Stewie is gone.  He left last month.  In return I have a freezer full of 196 pounds of edible beef (including soup bones, but not including miscellaneous "other" organs and such).  My record keeping was only ok but by my calculations, I from fairly well with the price of the ground beef to amazing with the price of some of the steaks.  Am currently investigating picking up 2 or maybe even 3 calves this spring.  Would need buyers (hint hint).

3) Projects:  The project list is yet again rather large.  Some keep changing, some change their priority, some stay the same.  Still sorting out the list at the moment to see what to do next, but a couple weeks ago I painted the living room/dining room.  Instead of a yellow-ish tan color throughout, it is now Covered Wagon and Amaretto (a tan and a brick-ish color).  Actually ties in really well with the window treatments that were already there and I really like it overall a LOT better.

4) Back in November I enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University being presented by Wright-Patt Credit Union.  Tomorrow is my last class (it's actually only a 12 week course, but due to holidays and what I assume are room scheduling conflicts, ours was really extended).  I've thoroughly enjoyed the class and while it means that many projects at the farm won't be done in the timeframe I'd like, they'll get done on the timeframe they need to be done and without throwing me into a financial tailspin... so that's even better.  If you come across a class in your area, I would recommend it.

5) There are no boarders at the farm (yet), but I wanted to share a couple horse pictures.  First is Suzie Harrison and Frankie.  The picture was taken on cross country during their recent competition at Intermediate level at an event in Georgia. 

I purchased Frankie at the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Mixed Fall Sale in October 2004 for $500.  Due to life happening over that next year, I sold her... to Suzie, who's been the best thing for Frankie and taken her so far.  This coming weekend they're running their first Advanced level horse trail at the same farm in Georgia.  I'm so proud of them.

The next pic is me... at this past weekend's Game Day at iTolt Training Center in Miamisburg.  I used to board there (both Char and Frankie) and still go and ride.  The pony in the picture is Copper.  Such a good boy to just stand there and let me be the fool.

5 Things Post Christmas

1) Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.  Mine was good.  A little quiet at times, which was nice.  NOT white, which was also nice.  Spent a good portion of it not doing a whole lot of anything.... again, nice.  Now there's a to do list a mile long and I'm sure it will get longer as winter trudges on and spring gets closer.

2) Movies:  I love movies.  I'm the type of person who can watch some movies repeatedly and not get tired of them.  Needless to say, this was a weekend full of movies.  Along with "The Black Stallion" and "Secretariat" which I'd seen before, I also saw several that were new (or new to me)... including:

• War Horse -- B rating from me at best.  It's a combination of Steven Speilberg's epicness.... Disney... war... and a PG-13 rating.  Somewhere in trying to combine all of that, something gets lost.  It's essentially Black Beauty at war, but I think the editing is a little choppy.  Just when I started to get REALLY engrossed in what the horse was going through, BAM... editing takes me away from that.  And the war part was boiled down (a little to a LOT depending on the scene) so you didn't even get the "war is hell" aspect like what I got from a movie like "Saving Private Ryan".  I'd have to say one of the best scenes in the movie was the no-man's land rescue.  I won't say more than that about specifics, but I can completely see that happening (other than the outcome for the horse which was very Disney'd).  Oh, and the ending, while nice and sappy, was over the top -- got the feeling I was transported into a viewing of Gone with the Wind.  Glad I saw it, but also glad it was at matinee prices
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -- A- from me.  Very entertaining.  Almost as good as the original.  The plot was a LITTLE thin in places, but still... quality entertainment.  I'm a huge Robert Downey Jr. fan and now that he's clean there simply is almost no one better in Hollywood in my opinion.  The man is amazing to watch.  I'm not big on Jude Law, but he does make a good sidekick to Holmes' outrageousness.  Definitely worth seeing.
• The Hangover -- B++ from me.  I hesitate to give it an A- rating only because I guess I'm stingy.  Yes, I know this came out a while ago, so I'll spare you the amateur analysis of the movie. It was very funny and I enjoyed it a lot.  Probably one of the best fratboy humor movies I've seen and definitely one of the few that I would see again.  I'm looking forward to seeing The Hangover II as I've been told it's just as, if not more funny.

3) Drew up plans to fence in the front acreage.  Also did a ballpark cost estimate on it -- putting no climb fencing around it as well as nice looking board fencing along the road, plus gates.  Ouch.  Time to start saving now.  But it will be worth it to get it done.  Between being able to use it for horses as well as if I want to keep the turkeys in that area, it should look nice and be very functional when all is said and done.

4) Finally took down the turkey fencing.  The t-posts are still up but moved the fence itself over to the pasture to help try to keep the chickens in the pasture.  Did this on Sunday afternoon and the sun was out (a little weird feeling given that it's rained so much lately).  Need to get more temp posts (not going to drive in regular t-posts for that) but part of it is up and I think it might be starting to help.

5) a picture to share.  They came out to help "supervise" the fencing mentioned above.

The picture that was missed was before this when Reilly & I went for a walk around the outside of the pasture.  Buff Puff followed us and Stewie came out to the middle of the pasture to watch us.  About 3/4 the way around, Buff Puff decided to cut through the pasture to catch up to us.  Boy did she ever!!  Stewie decided to chase her and you've never seen a cat move as fast as Buff Puff did when she was being chased by a 15 month old steer!  Girl has some speed!!

Interesting Turkey Review

A cyber friend of mine in Virginia raised heritage breed turkeys this year - Midget Whites and Bourbon Reds.  It was an interview with her and the accompanying video that gave me the idea for the turkey building that I built this year.  She just posted this article from HamptonRoads.com titled "Let's put turkeys to the test".  It reviews a taste test they did between your store variety Butterball turkey, a fresh farmers market turkey (breed?), and 2 of the birds from my friend (one of each breed).  The review was very interesting to read and makes me think on the future.

My Broadbrested Whites this year - so far hens are averaging 12 pounds dressed weight.

The original plan really was to raise heritage breeds this year, but with the "busy" of the spring, we just didn't get the order planned in time and thus with only 4 months to go, the commercial Broad Breasted White was it.  Having raised it differently than your normal Butterball though, I'm quite anxious to hear back from customers this year what they thought of the turkey quality.  (Hint to those customers -- PLEASE give me a review!) 

Midget Whites - heritage breed, average 13 pounds for toms, 8 pounds for hens

It also makes me start thinking on what to do next year -- stick with the BB Whites, do heritage only or maybe do a mix to give customers the option.  If you have an opinion, please let me know. 

Flock of Bourbon Red turkeys - heritage breed, up to 23 pounds for toms, 14 pounds for hens

I can tell you that a heritage type bird will take longer to mature (6 months as opposed to 4) so the price will be slightly higher, but beyond that, I would like to hear from you on what you would want. Of course no matter what, we're talking pastured turkey -- no antibiotics, plenty of room to run and eat grass and bugs and lay in the sunshine. No obligation to order at this point. Sometime in the spring I'll start taking orders and I'll probably do more than the dozen that I had this year (although I did start with 15).

Which one would you like to see on your table?

The Other 4 Things

To continue 5 Things for this week...

#2 - The work on the new tack room continues.  As of last night, the only parts left to "complete" are the door and window.  Of course there is more to do -- move the light switch, put down floor mats, insulate -- but those things come in time.  I've actually started moving some of my large collection of "stuff" into the room and I'm really excited to see it all come together.

Reilly checking out my unpacking.  Window and door will be on the right of this shot.
Notice the new cabinets -- I LOVE the ReStore!

Obviously more work to do here, but you can see the system of holders for blankets and saddle pads.
The plan is to have saddle racks on the far wall (as it's the most sturdy wall in the room).  That's next.

#3 - Chickens really are dumb.  Caught this bird-brain finding a new nesting spot -- in the cabinets above the workbench.  Also found she's been going there for a while as she left behind 6 eggs.

Dumb chicken

#4 - Reilly got groomed!!  He was starting to look (and smell) like a good ole farm dog so off to the groomers he went.  Took him to Kela's here in New Lebanon and they loved him, of course.  He looks adorable.  A little funny perhaps with his feet trimmed all up for a wet fall (had them take the excess fur around his feet off so he wouldn't track quite as much mud into the house), but he looks... and even more SMELLS... so much better!  They even gave him a blue bow.

In the car on the ride home.  Ain't he so cute!!

#5 - Finally put a For Sale sign up in front of the Cottage house.  I've gotten quite a few phone calls from it.  A lot of people I think are hampered by wanting to buy now but can't move in due to the renters being in place.  Oh well.  Gives me hope for the future though.  Just wish to have it "moved on" sooner rather than later.  If anyone reads this and knows someone who's looking to buy a house, please pass this on.  Renters are in place til August 1st, but I'm offering to pay the sellers the difference between rent and monthly payment through then so no mortgage payment til you actually get in the house... and you still get the deduction on your taxes!

The small print in the middle says "No Closing Costs. No Down Payment. Save over $40,000"

Turkey Coop Details

I’ve tried to take pictures to show how the turkey coop was built. My design was loosely based on an Internet friend’s coop that she’s using on her farm in Virginia. The size is similar (8x12), but the roof… well… I went easy and put in the tarp over PVC roof where her’s has a traditional wood roof. Here is the process… pretty much from start to finish.  Also, where I can remember I've noted materials and costs.

The floor:

The coop is “moveable”. I built it on 4x4 skids. If needed, I could attached a couple heavy duty eyebolts to them and pull them with a tractor or truck to a new location. It’s the same principle used for “portable” cross country fences that I’ve built. Don’t forget to shave the ends off so when you drag you’re not dragging the blunt 90 degree end of a 4x4 through the rough terrain… but rather the sloped end thus doing less damage to the ground (although you’ll still have skid marks through the grass).

The parts of the 4x4s that I used a chainsaw to cut off to "slope" the ends should I need to move the coop after it's built.

Next I added three ½ inch treated sheets of plywood to the skids for the actual floor.

The treated plywood floor laying out across the 4x4 skids.  I HIGHLY recommend to build it from the ground up in the spot where you want the coop to be located.  You CAN move it, but why when you can start from there.

Even though they’re treated, I painted them with exterior latex paint.  Being the floor of a coop for 13 turkeys, they’re going to have to withstand quite a bit of icky use.  Adding the paint was just an added bit of insurance.  Hopefully they’ll last a few years before needing to be replaced.

The plywood floor, now painted with exterior latex to help preserve it even more (and thus need replacing less often) ready to be screwed down into the 4x4 skids.

The Walls:

I constructed the walls in the barn out of 2x4 studs and then screwed them into place on the put together floor. 4 – 2x4x12s for the top and bottom rails on the sides. 2 – 2x4x8s for the top and bottom on the back. I made the walls 4’ tall on the sides so it was easy to use wall studs – just cut a 2x4x8 in half. It would also be useful as I would be able to buy a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the walls and not have to do any cutting. I also used several 2x4x8s to construct the frame around the door (a $17 screen door from Lowe’s) and a matching support on the back of the coop. Three 2x4x12s were then used as roof supports, with the middle one being put on an additional 2x4 so it was higher (thus rain wouldn’t collect between the 3 boards on the roof). The original plan was to only use one roof board, but the only PVC length I could get was 10’ and unless I wanted to cut a single 6’ length out of the 10’ pipes vs being able to have two 5’ lengths additional boards were needed and it was slightly less expensive.

The coop with walls and door attached.

I don’t remember the exact number of 2x4x8s that were used... about 10 I think. You can get those for less than $2 if you’re willing to dig through ones that aren’t quite straight.

The actual walls are cheap 4x8 OSB. They aren’t taking as much use as the floor and painted, they should withstand the weather just fine. The project needed 5 and I think they ran about $8 each.

The curved ¾” PVC was added and tacked down to the walls and the roof supports.  I used 4 of them but they’re less than $2 each.  In addition they are initially supported with brackets.  They’re inexpensive, but I can’t remember if they were even $1 each.  After being put into place with the brackets, they were then screwed in place.

One of the PVC roof pieces in its brace.  PVC pieces would also be screwed down into the wall for added support.  Additional roof beams would also be added -- another one on the far side for the PVC pieces to attach to and a center beam elevated slightly on another section of 2x4 so the overall roof sloped instead of having a flat top (which would inevidibly gather rain).

The whole thing… inside and out… was then painted with exterior latex paint.  Lesson – cheap OSB drinks paint like a drunk at an open bar!  All total, I have 3 gallons of paint in this project.  I ended up using cheap exterior paint from Tractor Supply at $13 per gallon towards the end (after using up the good paint that I had on hand for the floor).

The coop painted, with wire ends, ready for the roof to be attached.  Yes I know the door frame isn't entirely painted.  I ran out of paint and would get to this later.

Before putting the roof on, I finished the ends by attaching chicken wire. I used a 3’ wide roll purchased at Lowe’s. I think it was about $15. On the front, the wire was stacked horizontally. Across the back, since it’s an 8’ wide uninterrupted section, it’s stacked vertically. I used a staple gun to attach the wire to the wood – along the bottom to the wall as well as up the sides of the door and to the back matching support. To attach the wire to the curved roof PVC pieces, I simply wrapped the wire around the PVC and secured with Zip Ties. I also used the zip ties to attach the wire to itself where the pieces overlapped one another.

The Roof:
The roof is simple – a 12x16 medium duty tarp I purchased at TSC for $35. After pulling it into place, it is secured with nylon cord strung through the eyelets in the tarp and small eyebolts (fairly tiny ones) that I screwed into the bottom of the walls. Pull tight and the tarp has stayed in place already through a couple nasty storms.

The "finished" coop (sans additional paint).  Ready for turkeys!

Inside:

I added shavings to the floor (although in the future I may try the horse stall pine pellets).

The coop interior after adding shavings to the floor.  I painted the inside too... again for the purpose of extending the life of the materials used.  You can see the black dots in the wire on the far wall -- those are the zip ties holding the 2 overlapping pieces of chicken wire that cover the ends to each other.

I also added their feed container (hung by cords from the roof), their water container (bungie tied to an upside down wire freezer rack to keep it up off the floor) and a small roost that I constructed of a leftover 2x4 and a couple scrap landscape timber pieces.

The interior with all the accoutrements added!

Next step was adding the birds!!

8 week old turkeys enjoying their first meal in the new coop.

They seemed to like it!

Turkeys in the coop with the door shut.

I did have to end up putting a piece of plywood over the bottom of the screen door as they pushed their way out and broke the screen. I also use just a bungie cord and a piece of string to latch the door open most days now.

I kept them in there for a few days before letting them out in the yard.  Not only did that allow them to get accustomed to being out (the sun can get in the E/W facing ends of the coop), but it gave me a few days to actually finish their yard!

The Yard:

Last step was to construct their yard so they could get out on the grass. I used five 5’6” T-posts (one at each corner and an additional one for the “door”). I also originally used a few leftover 4’ step in posts as the sides were roughly 36’-39’ in length. In hindsight, these posts just weren’t tall enough and the 4’ chicken wire (a roll of 150’ was used in one continuous piece) drooped.

Turkeys in their yard.  They're actually investigating the lawn mower that I'm running just outside their fenceline.  They've been in this space for about a month at the time of this picture.

Eventually I used 2x2x4 lumber tied to 4’ U-posts that I had leftover.  Notice the far fenceline in the above picture – the 4’ lumber is in place here, but not the u-post to hold it up.  The fence is tied to each of the posts 2 to 3 times with zip ties.  The door was created using the end of the chicken wire roll stapled to a 4’ leftover piece of plywood… and then latched shut with bungie cords!

Close up of my fancy door.  The end of the 150' roll of chicken wire, stapled to a scrap 4' piece of plywood and bungied together.

 
In the End:

It wasn’t an extremely cheap venture… I figure any “profit” I make off of this year’s turkeys is tied up in this coop and yard for them to live in.  But it’s worth it.  Just this morning on my way to the car, I saw them running around flapping their wings.  For them to be able to do that vs being in a crowded coop never eating grass or bugs or feeling the sunshine is more than worth it to me.  They don’t have very long lives since they’re being raised for food, but they should be able to be turkeys for what they do have, right?

11 week old turkeys inside their yard with Reilly the newf looking in at them.  Reilly has visited inside the yard a couple times and the turkeys really dont' care much about him.

I wiggled the yard dimensions so i could enclose the small pine tree inside their yard.  This is the turkey's enjyoing what shade they can get under the pine tree on a hot afternoon.

The turkeys mostly wander in and out now at their leisure.  I've secured the door open with a piece of rope and a bungie.  I've also moved their water container outside the coop.  The floor slanted JUST enough that it was dripping and making the since water-logged.  If I lock them in the coop for some reason, I just move the water back inside on a temporary basis, but they seem to enjoy being able to come and go as they please.  I've only had 2 turkeys fly over the fence.  The first time I came home to find 'Lefty' (my resident pirate turkey -- see pic below) outside the fence.  One call to him/her and the silly bird came running right to me.  The other time was yesterday... the lawn mower startled the birds and as they ran across the yard, several flapped their wings and one actually flew/jumped the fence.  Not quite the easy catch as Lefty but certainly not difficult and the escapee was back inside the yard in a matter of a minute.

Lefty, the pirate turkey (because he's always squiting and looks like he's saying "ARGH!") seems to enjoy his new coop and yard.

5 Things - post holiday

Yes, I know... another Tuesday posting.  But yesterday was a holiday... so it doesn't count, right?

1) The horse show on Saturday went wonderfully... despite the fact that it was in the upper 90s!  Holy moly it was hot!!  Spot did fantastic!!  We ended up doing a second warm up round and then dropped down to the Future Hunter division instead of the Baby Hunters.  6" isn't much and he was spooking more at the flower boxes and such and not the fences.  Besides.. it meant being done faster and in the case of that heat, faster was better.  Was wiggly and had issues with our canter leads, but I couldn't be happier with his performance.  Hopefully I can get some pictures to post soon.  He took 3rd in the flat class, and 3rd in both the jumping classes... and was division Reserve Champion!  I'm definitely planning on showing him at the Stillwater Pony Club Hunter show in a couple weeks.  Need to make a decision about the Backyard Horse Trials though.

2) The Labor Day Shindig went well.  Smallish crowd but it was fun to hang out and talk to folks.  Halloween is the next big shindig... and then hopefully one to celebrate buying more land.  At least that's the plan.

3) The turkeys are being really good about staying in their run so they have been let out all day the last several days, including when I was not home on Saturday.  They have figured out where the shady spots were to try and stay cool on Saturday... and I suppose stayed out of the rain on Sunday (more or less).  Still not the brightest animals on the planet, but they're doing really well.

4) Egg production from the hens is still down.  Now that it's cooled down, I'm going to try an experiment where I keep them in their room all day.  Trying to determine if production is down overall... or if several of them are sneeking off somewhere and laying eggs in secret.  I'm hoping for the latter so I can get back to offering more eggs for sale than a dozen here and there.

5) What an amazing difference in temperature!!  I daresay it was a tad chilly yesterday.  But I guess a 30 degree difference in 48 hours is a lot to adjust too.  Didn't get a whole lot accomplished as it was a recovery day from the Shindig the night before, but puttered a little.  Hoping to get a few projects underway shortly and have decided that I do want to enclose the backside of the workbench area for a new tack room.  Fed the horse tack addiction on Saturday and purchased a few things that would look lovely in a nice, finished tack room.  Not a major priority, but one that wouldn't take much time or money to complete since the area is already lit and has studs to attach plywood walls to.  Hopefully the lovely fall temps stick around for a while as it's much nicer to work in.

5 Things

Yep... late again.  I do promise one day I'll have the 5 Things for the week published when I should have it done (aka Monday).  In the meantime... nothing I can do but keep going forward, right?

1) The cooler temps have been FANTASTIC!!  I actually needed to put a jacket on this morning when I went to feed and the last 2 mornings driving in to work on the scooter have been downright nippy ("so say my nips").  Of course, we're supposed to be back to hot/humid for this weekend's horse show.  But the glimpse of fall was nice, especially for the end of August.

2) Yes, I'm showing again!  Had a wonderful ride last week (and hopefully again tonight) on Jen Shimp's Spot and I'm going to be showing him this weekend at the DLSC hunter show at Greenstone Stables.  If you're in the neigh-borhood (pun intended) stop by.  No guaranteed ride time as it's a hunter show but probably afternoon.

3) Managed to get some work done on the patio this weekend.  Finished the 2nd raised bed, cleaned up the grass (aka weeds) around it, put down the paving stones, and cleaned up the flower pots and planted a couple new plants.  Now if the grass (weeds) coming up between the patio stones would go away it would look nice.

4) Went to the Little Art Theater in Yellow Springs on Friday and saw the movie "Buck".  VERY well done and I recommend it to anyone.  Really doesn't matter if you're really into horses and horse training.  Buck Brannaman has some quality life nuggets he shares.  Interesting guy and a great outlook on life.  It's running at Little Art through Thursday, September 1st.

5) Still have half the turkeys not spoken for.  If you want a farm-raised turkey for the holidays (will be butchered for you), speak up!

Turkeys lounging in the afternoon under the shade of the pine tree inside their run.

5 Things

I’m stealing this idea from a friend of mine. He’s been writing “5 Things I think” on Mondays in his blog, http://dangerousleanings.blogspot.com/ , for a while now. I like the idea, although I think a generic “5 Things” is enough. No sense in putting pressure on anyone to actually think on a Monday. Plus it will help me remember to post at least weekly, even when things are busy on the farm. Thank you Dangerboy for the great idea. Hope you don’t mind me stealing it.

And yes, I know this first installment is a day late.

5 Things for Monday, August 22, 2011

1. Untreated, cheapo plywood drinks paint like it was an alcoholic at an open bar. Trying to finish painting all the wood surfaces on the new Turkey tractor has been a chore and taken over 2 gallons of paint! The exterior of the door and half of the back panel still need painted.
2. The turkey tractor, like most “home improvement” projects, is costing more in terms of time and money than originally predicted. It seems projects have a way of doing that. I hope it’s not just me – that wouldn’t help specifically, but certainly make me feel better.
3. One more thought about the turkeys – half of them are spoken for! I’m thrilled with this development. I have 6 definite email yes’s and one deposit paid (as well as one or 2 “I think so”s). It’s been an interesting year with them and I’m looking forward to how they finish out as they’ll soon be out on grass during the day (still need to get the fencing installed for their run). I definitely think I’ll be doing turkeys again next year, hopefully at least some heritage breeds like Bourbon Reds or Royal Palms. It will be interesting to see the differences.
4. On days like today I could definitely picture myself doing farming full time, in one capacity or another. It’s downright gorgeous outside and I’ve been way too busy inside (at work)!
5. And finally… something I do think: I think this really is going to be a good and fun way to update the farm blog.

Talkin' Turkey!

The new coop is almost ready for its first residents - 13 almost 8-week old turkeys!  I can't believe how much they're growing.  I was in Michigan announcing at Hunter's Run Horse Trials this past weekend and came home and I swear they grew!  Hopefully by the weekend they'll be in the new coop and the run will be up so they can get their first taste of grass... and bugs... and scratching in the dirt... and sunlight... and all the good things that turkeys should get to experience.

I've started sending out notices to those who have mentioned it in the past... but it's time to start solidifying buyers for the turkeys.  I'm asking for a $20 deposit per turkey.  The deposit will be applied towards the final cost of your bird.  Yes, unless otherwise arranged individually, all turkeys will be prepared for pick up (butchered, defeathered, cleaned, etc.).  Final cost will depend on weight at $3 per pound.

Keep in mind these are the commercial Broad Breasted White variety turkeys (next year I hope to have at least some heritage breed turkeys like the Bourbon Reds or Royal Palms).  It's also my first year raising them.  This variety of turkey has been specifically bred to thrive on being in cages with large quantities of commercial feed to grow to a large size.  I'm a firm believer that any animal raised for food should be raised so that they get to BE whatever they are.  For the turkeys that means allowing them to BE turkeys -- eating grass and bugs out in the sunshine!  That said, they will be given commercial feeds as well.  As much as I believe they need to be natural, this variety in particular has been bred to have the higher proteins in the commercial feeds and I find it just as irresponsible to NOT allow them that as well as the grass and bugs.  With all that in mind, the probability exists that these turkeys will not reach their "full potential size" simply because I'm raising them differently.

If you are interested in buying a turkey for the holidays, please let me know as soon as possible.  We can arrange the receipt of the deposit at that time.  Your name will go on the buyers list for a turkey.  If something should happen to "your" turkey, where no substitute is available, you will receive a full refund of your deposit.  Any cancellation by you of your turkey order, prior to November 10th, you will receive 50% of the deposit in refund.  Cancellation after November 10th, results in forfeiting the entire deposit.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Summer pictures

Just a few recent pictures (taken with my icky camera phone - my apologies for the quality).

Turkey peepers wondering where their dinner is.

Moonlight... after the "big escape" sitting under an apple tree near the pasture.

Stewie staring at me.  Evidently I interrupted him using the tree as a scratching post.