Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Poultry Wrap-up

Busy is too simple a word to describe how we have been recently. It has been more then a month since my last post, but we have been hurtling toward some large deadlines and that has taken most of my faculties to keep on top of.  I will discuss them soon in another post.

In the last two weeks, we have taken 180 broilers, 65 turkeys, and have picked-up one beef and 5 lambs from another locker. Needless to say, our freezers are packed with product right now. It is good to be on the back side of everything at this point and it has allowed me to focus much more attention on moving cows to the new place.

I past years, we have used a movable roost for the turkeys, but this year I decided just divide off the area around out lean-to (lambing barn) and run the turkeys in at night. So for weeks I was herding them in at night so they could be out of the elements and not have to use so much energy to stay warm at night. 

Herding the Turkeys inside


A Panoramic Shot of the Turkeys inside the Lean-to

There is always a part of me that misses the turkeys. They form a bond with me since I have cared for them since they were pullets.  I am reminded of Wash on Firefly when he says, "Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal." I get over it pretty fast when I remember, I am not caring for or buying feed for all of those turkeys any more. 

I did get that second chicken pen rebuilt and put into operation. It took longer then I would have liked,  but we have rebuilt both of our primary chicken pens this year. That was something I was hoping to do after I move, but it did not work out that way. Now I have to move two ten by twelve pens. Both pens are built pretty ruggedly, but will have to be turned up on their side for transit, because they are too wide to be legal on the roads. 

Initial Framing for New Pen

Both Chicken Pens Full of Broilers

The kids have been handing in there while we have been pretty busy. My Daughter and I took a weekend day Janice had class to work on pumpkins. I has just listened to the H. P. Lovecrafts "The Call of Cthulhu" ready by the Your Turn Go Podcast, so we did a Cthulhu inspired pumpkin.

Cleaning out the Pumpkin

Posing with Cthulhu Pumpkin

My Son, is rapidly approaching two years old and is leaving that fun toddler stage gradually. That being said, he is playing a bit more physically and is saying quite a few more words. He still loves his dump truck a lot. 

A Little Closer

A Little Bit More

Bang


That is it for this short catch-up. I will try and fill you in more about the new place, and the help we have received from some of our awesome friends. Stay tuned.