What is.......?

NIGEL:
Each country has it's own way of defining key words for our foods, etc.
Most labels are unregulated...for e.g. many products here in the USA are labelled "natural" or are voluntarily-regulated (whatever that means)... for e.g. "free-range."

Organic in the USA:
From USDA - "Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards.

Organic farming entails:

-Use of cover crops, green manures, animal manures and crop rotations to fertilize the soil, maximize biological activity and maintain long-term soil health.
-Use of biological control, crop rotations and other techniques to manage weeds, insects and diseases.
-An emphasis on biodiversity of the agricultural system and the surrounding environment.
-Using rotational grazing and mixed forage pastures for livestock operations and alternative health care for animal wellbeing.
-Reduction of external and off-farm inputs and elimination of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and other materials, such as hormones and antibiotics.
-A focus on renewable resources, soil and water conservation, and management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological balance. More information can be found at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml

So we are doing pretty well!

Cage-free: This simply means that the hens are not kept in cages, though there are no regulations to govern care beyond that.

Free-range: Free-range chickens are (according to voluntary regulations) supposed to have "access to the outdoors" -- however, by many reports, the care of many of these hens is structured so that they are very unlikely to go outside. The doors are not opened until the hens are of an age where they are likely to keep doing what they are used to doing, and when the (usually small) doors are opened, they usually don't go outside.

A brief overview of standards in Australia... similar in many ways
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/what-is-organic-and-exactly-whats-the-range-of-free-range-20110729-1i3kk.html

2 Spot

NIGEL:
2 Spot continues to grow under the watchful eye of his/her mom!
We are excited to see if Buster or #46 is the father. Still not sure yet.

Six Bitties Moved Out of Brooder

SUSAN:
Because of the hatching of the new little chick, we had to move the 6 bitties into the hen's pen/run/yard. This was quite the shock for our little bitties!!

First, some of the hens are not very nice to them. Second, they are very scared themselves, especially the little wyandotte chick. Finally, they are unclear about how to get back into the coop. Why does this not surprise me??

Yes, on Sunday night I had to perform my favorite activity .... lying underneath the coop and coaching the little bitties on how to walk up the ramp and back into the safety of the coop. What was really interesting is that after I caught the first two, the others were just kind of waiting in line for me to grab them and help them up onto the ramp. Now, I was still lying in the dirt/poop underneath the coop ...

You might ask yourself, "Where was Nigel?" .... this is always a good question that I ask myself when I find that I am lying in the chicken yard covered in poop. Well, he was snuggled with Boomer on the couch watching a movie. When I came back into the house 10-15 minutes later than normal, he did say that he was getting concerned about me .... hmmmm....

So, the BEST part about getting the bitties back into the coop was that the little wyandotte chick just decided that she was going to roost on the back of my legs as I lay face-down in the chicken yard. So, she just jumped right up and had a little sleep while I moved the rest of her brothers and sisters onto the ramp & into the coop. Very fun!

New Baby Chick!

SUSAN:
Late afternoon Wednesday (June 29), two little baby chicks tried to hatch from their egg shells. Unfortunately, both got kind of "stuck". Luckily for one of them, Nigel was able to intervene and remove the egg from the baby chick and she/he survived! She's a precious little yellow chick with two black marks on her lower back.

Mama Hen had been sitting on 5 eggs. On Friday she abandoned the remaining 3 eggs ... so, we have only 1 baby chick from this setting/brooding period. It's really interesting to me that the mom knows when to abandon the eggs. Thursday would have been her 21st day; so she abandoned on the 22nd day. How does she know that those eggs are not fertilized?

SNAKE!!!

SUSAN:
On Saturday we gave the coop a "spring cleaning". This involves moving EVERYTHING out of the coop -- including all of the pine shavings (soiled & not), food, water, etc. When Nigel was moving the goat/chook food, he discovered a SNAKE underneath!! It was a black snack -- ABOUT 5 FEET LONG -- with a white underbelly. The snake attempted to get away from him, so Nigel grabbed it by the tail & was trying to pull the snake so that he wouldn't get away & without breaking its back or hurting it in anyway! [Note: SNAKE is stronger.]

Long story short ... I was responsible for protecting the chooks and basically just stood a good distance away from the snake. Nigel finally was able to get the snake untangled from the chicken wire and place him outside of the coop where he scurried over into our neighbor's yard. RELIEF!

Our biggest question now is HOW did the snake get into the coop? And, how can we prevent this from happening in the future? Nige has placed the food bags up higher on some crates to hopefully prevent any snakes hanging out there in the future.

NIGEL:
It was a beautiful snake! Not certain, but we think it was a rat snake. I was nervous about hurting it when pulling on it's tail. Susan was remarkably calm (for her) while this was going on!

Nephews Visit Farm

SUSAN:
Last week our nephews, Jonathan & Brad, visited the farm! They were great helpers with collecting eggs (only broke 2-3), feeding the chooks (only threw the food at them a couple of times), putting the chooks to bed (Brad even put the roosters to bed!), refreshing the water (Brad was excellent with the baby chicks' water), and brushing Matilda & Daisy (Jonathan's Talent!). Nigel actually enlisted them for a variety of other chores like moving rocks and moving logs!

And, they asked a LOT of questions about chickens .... some of which I was able to answer. Favorite question & answer: Why do the hens have those bare backs? So, I explained that the roosters did that to the ladies when they were encountering them (note: I am not used to explaining these type of things to young 10/14 boys!) Jonathan's response: Oh, she must be the PROM QUEEN! (the hen with the barest back) ... Well, I guess they know more about "encounters" between roosters & hens than I thought!

What a great time we had enjoying the boys for a full week and letting them enjoy the farm! I can't wait for them to come back!!