New Batch of Chicks!

A new batch of chicks arrived today from McMurray Hatchery.  We ordered 40, but our box included 43 healthy one day old chicks.  The box of chicks was held at the Hartford Post Office, and I recieved a call at about 9:00 a.m. that they were ready to be picked up.

With a van full of spectators we arrived at the Post Office.  Liss and I examined the chicks before we shared them with our children.  If there were any fatalities, we would have had to fill out a certificate at the Post Office and report the deaths to the hatchery.  Luckily, all the chicks were bouncing around and healthy. 

Introducing the new chicks

The kids were very excited to see the chicks and we were all amazed to see how tiny they were, especially the bantams.  You would think we've never seen baby chicks before, but our first batch are 12 weeks now and do not resemble those fluffy little chicks anymore.

Farm kids meeting the new chicks

The chicks brooding area in the dome had not been finished yet so we set up a cardboard pen outside with 1/2 sun and 1/2 shade.  The cardboard walls were 18" high, and there was probably 8 square feet of space for them to run around in.

Before placing the chicks in the brooder we had to inventory them and make sure each one is able to drink and eat.  The hatchery places a list of all the included chicks with the box so we simply went down the list to add each chick to the brooder.  After identifying each chick, we picked them up and placed their beaks into their water dish to allow them a drink, then we dipped their beaks into the feed to get them started on eating.  They were then placed in the brooder. 

Dipping the chick beak into the water

Dipping the chick beak into the feed

The Dome is almost complete, but until it is secure all the chicks will stay in a brooder cage to keep them safe.

Have you ever seen a Bantam chick? 
The chick on the right is a Buff Orpington,
the chick on the left is one of the Japanese Bantams.

Here is a list of the chicks that we recieved in our order and their intended purposes:

5 Female Buff Orpingtons - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
5 Female Rhode Island Reds - For egg production, breeding (still need a male) and meat
9 Female Araucanas - For egg production and breeding (still need a male)
2 Female Delwares - For egg production and pet
4 Female Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Male Blue Andalusions - For breeding and show
3 Straight Run Black Tailed Buff Japanese Bantam - For breeding and show
11 Cornish Roasters - For meat
1 Free Rare Exotic Chick

My white (possibly) Araucana

As you can see we have a wide variety of chicks and projects planned for them.  Follow us for weekly updates on this new batch of chicks!

The next post will have information on how we transformed an abandoned concrete observatory (the Dome) into a holding pen for chickens, ducks and a dove using mostly pallets and chicken wire.

~Alexis

Research

Starting any new business can be daunting and overwhelming.  Where exactly does one start?

Well, if you're like me you start by harassing everyone you know and working out ideas in your head, on paper and through discussion.  It is great to have ideas and to dream big, but how do you actually make it happen?

I found plenty of research online, Penn State was especially helpful with brochures on different aspects of farming that cover the basics of different products and sample budgets.  The information is a little old, printed in 2004, but it was a great place to look at to draft a plan.

Another important place to gather information is UCONN's Connecticut Cooperative Extension Program of which there happens to be an office right in Vernon, CT.  I have not met with anyone from the office yet, but plan to do so very soon.  I would like to have a basic plan together so that the office understands exactly what the goals of Longview Hill Farm are.

If you know of any resources for a beginning farmer, we beg you to please, please, please share with us!

~Alexis

Bye Bye Birdie!

Today we took the Cornish X Chickens to the Meat Locker to be processed.  They were 10 weeks old.

Can you believe they were only 10 weeks old?

I did not know how I would react to the killing, plucking, gutting and what not that is involved, but...I can't wait to do it again!  It was amazing.  I could not believe how easy it was to do, both mentally and physically.

Mentally, I wasn't sure I would be able to handle the fact that I raised these chickens from day old chicks.  I fed and watered them every day.  I held them and pet them.  But, when it was time to put those chickens in my freezer it was easy for me to keep my feelings out of the meat locker.  I actually felt a little guilty that I was not upset about killing my chickens.

Physically, I thought it would be just plain nasty to kill, pluck or gut a chicken, but that was surprisingly easy as well.  I thought there would be more "stuff" inside a chicken, but it's just the basics. 

The most difficult part of processing the chickens was catching them!  Normally, when we let the goats and chickens out of the pen, I feed them right away.  But chickens that haven't just eaten are much easier and less messy to process.  So, this morning, after I let everyone out, my husband and I had to chase the meat chickens around and put them in cages so they wouldn't eat anything.  It was seriously ridiculous.

Then we drove them over to the Meat Locker.  Our friend at the Meat Locker let us watch him process a few ducks before we did our chickens so we knew what we were in for.

Our friend and Jesse did the killing, I'm pretty sure I would have cut my hand off by accident if I did it.  They held the chicken by its neck and slit both sides of the throat.  This caused the chickens to die instantly.  There is some twitching involved, but rest assured the chickens are dead.

Next, our friend scalded the chickens in water and put them in the plucker.  We were very lucky that he had a plucker because that took about 20 seconds per bird instead of hand plucking which can take forever!  The next step was to hand pluck any pin needles left and to cut the head and feet off. 

Breaking the leg joint

After we pull the "guts" out the chickens take a nice cold bath, then they are rinsed and put in the cooler.  The next day we went back to package and vacuum seal the individual chickens.

Fully processed chickens ready for an ice bath

All 11 of our chickens weighed in at between 5 and 6.5 pounds, not too bad for being only 10 weeks old!

I have a new appreciation and interest in the food that ends up on my kitchen table.  It was incredibly amazing and rewarding to know that I prepared my family's dinner from the beginning to the end.

A Week of Rain

It is so difficult to be productive when it's raining all the time!

Iris, Cinnamon and Honey have not left their shed since Sunday afternoon, and likely will not until Friday or so.  We have become a bit closer during this period, mostly because the girls are not willing to run out into the rain, even if it is to get away from me!  And, I brought them carrots!

Farming is a lot of trial and error. 

We found out that goats LOVE chicken feed.  But, we don't want to let the goats eat it, it's really expensive the way they go through it and I've heard it's not good for them.  Since the goats and chickens live together we had to find a way to separate the goats from the chicken feed.  First we tried creating a chicken wire barrier in one corner...Iris just laughed at us as she stuck her head under the chicken wire and pulled the fencing right up and over her.  We needed something sturdier.  I had an extra piece of plywood left over from the milking stand, it was approximately 18" by 36".  I used the jigsaw to cut a small opening on the long side of the board (an opening for the chickens to get through, but not goats!) and drilled small holes all around the edges.  Then I threaded wire between the board and a corner of the fencing.  I had created a (small) protected space for the chicken feeder, unfortunately it can only accommodate six or so birds at a time.  I figure once the rain winds down I will do the same thing with a much larger piece of plywood.   Trial and error, it will never end.

~A

Milking Stand

Last night I started work on the milk stand.  It was MUCH easier than I thought it would be thanks to Melissa Thomas' article in the Dairy Goat Journal.  I followed her directions exactly and so far it's been a piece of cake...time to add carpenter to my list of skills!

The base of the milking stand

Hopefully I'll have the finished product by tonight!

The goats and chickens are all getting comfortable with the daily routines, which is making it easier for everyone.

~A

Truce

I promised Iris today that I wouldn't chase her and she gave me a nuzzle.  That's good enough for me!  All three girls are becoming much more comfortable with their surroundings.

The girls are pretty excited that I brought home a mineral block for them yesterday afternoon.  Honey and Cinnamon are playing King of the Hill and keep head butting each other.

Honey & Cinnamon

I also picked up the wood and started working on the milking stand for Iris...soon we shall overcome!

~A

Day 2 - No Milk

Iris and I are NOT seeing eye to eye on this whole milking thing.  I chased her around wearing my hoodie, pink jammie pants and muck boots...I suppose I'm glad no one was down there today to capture the ridiculous event on film!

Tonight I will purchase the supplies to make Iris her own milking stand, perhaps that will make her (and I) more comfortable with the experience.

Don't say there was no progress though....  I was able to put new collars on the girls this morning!  Cinnamon has the purple collar and Honey has the pink one.

~A

Day 1 - No Milk

Our first morning together didn't go quite has I had dreamed...

Oreo

Dream Version:

I would show up at 6:00 a.m. fully clothed and warm, to a peaceful chirping and goat bleating.  I would open the door to the house and all the girls would come running lovingly to greet me.  I would easily refill all the food and water buckets for the animals without any problems.  Iris would come right up to me when it's milking time and she would stand so well that I would be able to milk her without incident.

The Reality:

I show up at 6:15 a.m. in my jammies and muck boots, I have to wear a hood to control my bed head.  The animal house is so quiet that I'm certain they must have all died in the night by themselves.  I have to twist the lock to the house off and recieve scratches all over my hands doing so.  I open the door and three chickens do their best karate kid impressions to attack me to try to get out.  Iris, Cinnamon and Honey refuse to come out until all of the chickens get out of their way.  The cap of the chickens water was screwed on so tightly that I practically burned my hands twisting it off.  The perfectly good hay left over from yesterday is no longer perfectly good hay for Iris the Queen.  And as for the milking...let's just say it's a good thing the kids are still nursing because I was unable to milk Iris this morning.

Iris, Honey & Cinnamon

So things didn't go as I had planned...oh well...life happens.  Everybody was fed, everybody is healthy, and everybody is (somewhat) happy.  What more can one ask for?

~A

And so it Begins...

Today is Mother's Day.

All I want for Mother's Day is for my chickens to move out of my basement and for my goats to come to the farm.  And guess what???  IT HAPPENED!!!

Iris, Cinnamon & Honey

The first residents of Longview Hill Farm have moved in!

Thomas getting photog lessons from his Momma (Liss)

~A

90% Accuracy

I think we may have discovered why all the chicks were being so mean to Daisy and pecking at her.  When I checked on Daisy's food and water this morning I took a really good look at her and noticed something quite different from the rest of the chicks we had ordered.  Daisy's tail feathers were very obviously much larger and sticking straight up.  Is it possible that Daisy could turn out to be a rooster?  Are the other chicks picking on her because Daisy is a girly name for a ROOSTER???!!!

Well, the hatchery does guarantee  90% sexing accuracy.  With the amount of chicks we ordered we could expect up to three of them to be male.

~A

Rainy Days

We're starting to experience some of the rain that the storms from the Southeast brought.  It's not April without a few thunderstorms!!

Rainy days = no fencing work done

~A

Birthdays and Fencing

Today my baby turns 3!  Happy Birthday to Evie!  The lucky girl got a special Birthday waffle with sprinkles for breakfast this morning.  

Yummy waffle with sprinkles!

That's my girl!

After work today, the family headed up to Longview Hill Farm to install more fencing.  Unfortunately, dark comes too soon and we weren't able to get done as much as we had liked.
~A

Great Day to Play!

What an amazing day!!  It was almost 80 degrees out there and just beautifully sunny!  

When I got home from work today, I let the girls stay up and we played outside.  I decided to grab a couple of the chicks and let them enjoy the day.  Red and Oreo are the only girls that actually like me and let me pick them up so they got the honor.  And...they loved it!!  It was incredible to watch them pecking around outside and eating up all the bugs.  Josie and Evie were able to sit and play with them too.

Just a wonderful day!

~A

Installing The Goat Fencing

After work we went to Longview Hill Farm to start setting up our goat fencing.  I was left in charge of raking the area, there’s nothing better then raking soggy leaves and sticks!  We will need to build a compost soon, because those leaves would be awesome!!  

Jesse and Tommy did the bulk of the work, because apparently I’m unable to swing a mallet, who knew?  The area that we chose to start in has quite a few trees, which we used to attach the fencing to.  They also used ratchet straps to tighten the fencing, which I thought was a pretty creative idea.

Tomorrow Jesse and I have an interview and blood test with our life insurance company, so we will get back to the fencing on Wednesday.

~A

Waking Up Early & Building a Goat House

Cassi slept over last night because her and I are doing the 5 am pick-up run for Angel Food Ministries.  The drive is about 40 minutes to Wallingford, not too bad with Dunkin’ Donuts and conversation.  The helpers at the pick-up location have become so organized over the past year, they had a pallet with our food all ready for us when we got there and we just had to load it into the van, which they also helped with!  We also picked up a couple of pallets from them to use for our compost bins.

All of Jesse’s hard work designing our goat house will be put to the test today.  With his materials list in hand we headed off to Lowe’s.  We had to bring everything to Jesse’s folks house because it was raining and they have a good size garage we were able to work in.  

At the end of the day, after another trip to Lowe’s, and with the help of Jared, we were able to complete the framing for the floor, roof and all four walls.  The plan is to bring the separate pieces to the farm to be assembled on-site by the first weekend in May.

~A

Visiting the Goats

After work today we spent some time over at CrossDrive Farm to visit the goats.  The girls were much more interested in throwing rocks around than playing with all the babies.  I hope they will focus more on the goats when we have them at our farm, because those girls are going to have chores to do!

Iris is still quite shy around us, but I’m sure in time she will get used to us being around.  The babies on the other hand are quite the opposite.  Lizette and Robin warned us that our two doeings are the resident trouble makers of the herd.  They ALWAYS lead the goat races...oh boy!

After some playing around we helped Lizette and Robin herd the babies into the garage for the evening and spent a little more time with just the kids.  Unfortunately, another little black and white kid slept in my arms while we were there and I’m quite tempted to take her home as well...we’ll see!
~A

Quick Chick Pics - Day 2

We chose different chicks today because we did not want to stress them out.  The mommies for today’s session were both from the same high school as my sister and I, it was nice to catch up!

~A

Quick Chick Pics - Day 1

Today is the first day of two where Longview Hill Farm’s chicks will be featured for Flint Print Photography’s Spring photo session.  Two adorable youngsters had a chance to sit and pose with the chicks...it certainly made for some cute pictures!

~A

Baby Chicks Arrive!

I got the call this morning!  The call that I’ve been waiting for, letting me know that the first residents of Longview Hill Farm had arrived!  My order of 28 chickens from McMurray Hatchery had arrived, one day early.

Cassi, Josie, Evie and I drove out to the Hartford post office to pick up our chickie babies.  I could hear the chirping as the postal worker handed me my little box of fuzz.  I brought the box over to Cassi’s side of the van and we opened it up to reveal the day old chicks.  

All four of us instantly fell in love.  It is amazing that we will be raising these chicks and providing for them, as they will provide for us.

~A

Goats & Seed Starting

Today we went to CrossDrive Farm in Vernon, CT to check out the new kids.  I had already seen the goats online and knew which ones I hoped to add to our farm.  The farm had 17 new kids this Spring...amazing!!  We chose an adult doe, Iris and her two doelings that have yet to be named.  I paid the deposit and we hope to have the goat house and fencing up by the first weekend in May so we can bring our new goats home then!

I think it hit me after the visit to the farm that we have a lot to do!

Back in March I won a basket of seeds from Comstock, Ferre & Co., along with some other cool stuff, in support of the Grow the Greenhouse auction for Topmost Herb Farm.

The basket, which was beautiful, had about 40 seed packets in it including sunflower, fennel, zinnia, squash, cress, onion, morning glory, cabbage, melon, radish, brussel sprouts, pumpkin, spinach, carrot and more.

Today I decided to start what I could with the materials I had from last year, a few seedling trays, plastic pots and one bag of seed starter.  The seeds I started were Bonnie Best Tomato, Yellow Pear Tomato, Cayenne Pepper, Broccoli, Parsley and Chives.  The girls were *very* helpful!
~A

Welcome to Longview Hill Farm

~A