New Chicken Coop, Phase 2

I've finished the wall frames and the layer box frame.  Moving right along!

Thanks for reading,
-Jay

New Chicken Coop, Phase 1

It was a beautiful weekend, and well spent with a whole bunch of projects.  Today (Sunday) was devoted to moving the old chicken coop out, and replacing it with a new, larger one that is capable of accomodating 32 chickens!  I can't wait to finish it.  Big thanks to Chris for all the help. 



Sorry about the poor quality.  I think my phone was dying...

Potatoes, shallots, & onions are planted!



Potatoes, shallots, and onions planted in rows.

Fence posts installed.

Today, in my usual impromtu fashion, I decided to plant this season's potato, shallot, and onion crop!  This year, the garden formerly known as "The Pumpkin Patch" will be home for these tubers and alliums.  I had to learn how to properly plant onions.  Did you know that you're only supposed to bury them less than half way?  I didn't.  So my impromptu planting decision was turned into a two-hour event since I needed a fence to protect the onions from critters.  Now if only I had that scarecrow!  I might have to put one of my fall scarecrow decorations out there in the meantime. 



Finished product.

The weather is looking pretty nice, and I'm hoping it will stay that way.  Farmers Almanac says this summer will be hot and dry, much like last summer.  This will be extremely detrimental (again) to commodity crop farmers.  I don't like to wish misfortune on anyone, but industrial food prices going up means more people may turn to real food.  It would be great to extend the natural food movement even more.  Maybe one day everyone will realize that the food that they are eating, the food that doesn't have to have a name added to it (like organic, CNG, or natural) is what is causing all of these health problems we all know so well.  Here's hopin'!  In the meantime, I'll just keep moving our family forward, off the grid.  The more I can raise, the better!  And I hope to raise excess so people who desire food raised right can buy it!

Thanks for reading.
-Jay


Look who decided to start earning their keep?

The new chickens have officially started laying. The eggs are very small, but it shouldn't be long until they are normal size. Now, if I could only figure out how to train then to lay in the layer box!

Pork Update

The bacon is gone!  After filling the orders I got today there are 5 packs of pork chops, 4 packs of hot Italian sausage links, 4 packs of breakfast sausage, 3 ham steaks, 4 hams, and 6 pork shoulders.  I also still have fat-back if anyone is interested.

Our pork is in!



Deep freezer is full!

...and I still needed the beer fridge's freezer!

Great news!  The pork is in.  Some have already claimed their bounty, and there's still more for those looking for the best pork you can possibly buy.  These pigs are 100% Actually Natural, humanely raised, and always handled with love.  So far we've tried the bacon and the pork chops, and both were exquisite!  The bacon has a very delicate texture when compared with the jerky-like texture that is common to pasture-raised pork, and the chops are to die for.  You can't get better pork anywhere.  Any restauranteur would pay top dollar to get their hands on this pig!  If you're interested in getting your hands on our exclusive pork products, send me a message.

At the time of this post what is left are 10 packs of pork chops (2 per pack, 1.25" thick cut), 5 packages of bacon (approximately 1 lb per pkg), 6 packs of hot Italian sausage links (about 1.25 lb per pkg), 4 packages of breakfast sausage (about 1 lb per pkg), 5 ham steaks (about 2 lb each), 3 hams (a little over 4 lb each), and 8 pork roasts (a little over 3.5 lbs each).

As many of you know, I am getting six more pigs near the end of this month that will be ready for processing around November or December. A few of you have already claimed a half pig and that's awesome! I wanted to get something a little more solid in the works for these pigs since I will be taking a very large financial risk in the event that I can't sell them.

I plan to keep either 1 1/2 or 2 for us, and the other 4 or 4 1/2 will be up for sale. I will be selling them at cost again, and everything will be sold by the pound to ensure fairness. I am looking for anyone who wants to commit to the purchase of a quarter, half, or whole pig. I would like to get commitments, because if I don't have a pretty clear idea who's buying, I'm going to try to reduce my order (or order more if that's the case). A half pig works out to about 20 Pork Chops (that's the 1.25" thick cut that I got this time), 8 lb Bacon, 6 lb Hot Italian Sausage, 3 lb Pork Sausage, 3 Ham Steaks (2 lbs each), 2 Hams (3-4 lbs each), and 14 lb Pork Roast. There's some modifications that can be made to this such as thinner pork chops, a little more sausage and a little less roast, sweet Italian sausage instead of hot, etc.

Based on this last trial, a half pig would cost $450.00. This time around will be cheaper since they will be raised in the Summer and will consume much less grain and much more garden scraps, etc. My best estimate is that a half pig will cost less then $400.00. My goal is $380.00, which is based on the research I've done on how much a pig should eat. These last ones consumed approximately 1400 lbs. each, and I should be able to cut that to 1000 just based on the time of year, and possibly less due to the addition of garden scraps. 400 lbs. of grain costs about $90.00. So as you can see, my estimate was a little conservative.

 So, a commitment would be a promise to buy in November or December, with the understanding that if I can cut costs we will all benefit. Please let me know if you're interested soon, so I can make my decision what to buy.

Thanks for reading.
-Jay

Our new laying hens are here!

Just picked them up yesterday, they seem to be fitting right in. Give us a couple weeks and we'll have eggs for everyone that's wants them! There's 30, so we will definitely be crankin' them out.