Difference between our broilers and egg layers

Many people have asked the difference between broilers and egg layers. The broilers we are raising for meat are a cornish rock cross. We have several different varieties of egg layers...Barred Rock, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Reds, Black Australorp and Hy-Line Browns.

The meat bird grow quickly and are usually ready to process at 5-7 weeks old. Most notably is the larger breast area and their legs look like tree trunks. I've included a picture of the Cornish Rock Cross and the White Leghorn for comparison.

Hens and eggs aplenty!

Well, the new flock has settled in and most are doing good. I found one dead in the coop missing it's head. I'm going to chaulk that up to an owl. The coop is now a little more secured at night. I'm very proud to announce that a couple of the white leghorns I raised from chicks are laying! I am so excited every time I find one of those white eggs! One of the new flock hens has moved into the mothership with the original layers. I guess she felt more at home there.

We have made our first delivery to Green Gate Farms and are very excited to have some new
customers since our egg production increased so dramatically. They are going to be a nice fit, and are great people.

Our bull Gunslinger got out for the second time the other day. This time, he was down the road where he came across another herd, and another bull. We were able to wrangle him back home, but Ward has spent two days working on the fences. Patching the fence doesn't work, he's having to redo most of it. It laborious work and it's been hot. Hope Gunslinger appreciates how much we care......

I have misplaced my camera. I hope to find it soon so I can add photos. We wanted to show pictures of the meat birds versus the layer birds. The broiler (meat birds) are almost ready. Very exciting!

Weekend with my brother and his daughter

My brother and his daughter Bri came for a visit. Our first extended family visitors! we did have a little trouble Saturday night when we went to pick up new flock of hens. After loading them into crates and putting them on the trailer...the car wouldn't start!!!! Several phone calls and a borrowed pickup later, we were home to greet Justin and Bri. Unfortunately we had to take some time on Sunday to go pickup our car and replace the battery...but otherwise we had a blast!!! As it turns out, Bri is a "donkey whisperer". She brought along carrots, and soon the donkey was literally eating out of her hand. Even baby donkey was interested. Thanks to Bri, my first two days of massive egg collecting went smoothly with her help. She also helped me give Frank a bath and get some burrs out of his fur. Our daughter and her family came out on Sunday and we all went out to eat BBQ. Come back and see us soon!

This message is to my neice Catherine

Catherine, I can't wait till you're a teenager and can come stay with me.

My neice left me a message that her dad said she could come here when she was a teenager. She went on to detail what kind of work she would like to do...even though most of it involved grooming a horse, maybe we'll have one by the time she's a teenager. She ended the message with "I really like you". I've listened to it everyday since I've got it. SO refreshing......
In the meantime, another neice will be visiting this weekend. Hope to have some pics of Briana next week. we're getting our new flock on saturday night....so we'll be chicken rich....or chicken poor...both are appropriate.

Pastured Broilers

Besides laying hens, the thing ward and I are interested in doing is pastured broilers. Now, we've read all the books....looked at all the pictures and even processed a few times with some other farms. But we're on the road to our own now. The first test batch of cornish rock cross birds are 4 weeks old today. They went out of the brooder last week and onto the pasture. they are contained in a pen ward has built that is moveable. We are moving every couple of days right now, but I imagine when they get a little bigger every day move will be necessary. We have 25 test ones in this pen. We've had loads of people stop and ask what it was. Ward keeps saying I made him move out of the house and he's living in the pasture. HA! they should be ready for the freezer in a few weeks.

A New Flock

When I was still living in Seattle and dreaming of my farm life here, I would go on eatwild.com and look at the farms in the Austin area that were practicing techniques and ways of raising food that I had only read about. One of them was Jules and Sue from Shades of Green. Like all the farms, I read their blogs from beginning to end, looked at their pictures and tried to imagine what their farms were like.

We recently made a deal with Jules and Sue to buy their laying flock. The Shades of Green Farm is certified organic and we currently practice and feed organic. We are so excited to get this flock of birds, and most of all, we are so lucky to meet Jules and Sue.

We are also in the process of filling out paperwork for organic cert. I am overwhelmed by the mounds of papers that need to be filled out, and have to say....I am further behind in the process than I want to be. But I'll continue on!

Will keep you updated on the move next week. Stay tuned.....

The farm comes to life.....

I remember watching Charlotte's Web when I was a kid, and you know the part where it's spring and everything is being born and coming back to life? that's how it feels here too..... We officially have all three calves on the ground, and they are all bull calves. I have the longhorn cross and one of the zebu and their calves for sale. Also, our donkey went out one day and didn't come back to the pen at night. Alas, a few days later, we spotted her walking with a baby donkey behind! What a surprise! We have a new Pyrennes puppy that we hope someday will be extra protection for our flocks. We finally got 3.5 inches of blessed rain and hoping the pasture can take off and keep the cattle fed! What a relief not to have to water the garden every single day. It seems to have flourished with the rainfall. Isn't it amazing how they love the rain? Our pond is about twice as full. Ward has spent several days hunting snakes down there. Cottonmouths! ICK!