Moving Day

This weekend marks the maiden run of the egg-mobile.  Just constructed our 140 square foot mobile hen house will be loaded with our layer this Saturday evening to take them to "greener pastures".  We will place the birds in the coop while they are roosting at night, then move them Sunday morning to a pasture adjacent to the cows.  They will spend the rest of the summer moving as the cows do through our pastures.  This ensures them green grass and fresh bugs daily.  Pictures of the coop should be available as my tech lady has them ready to upload.  The cows and pigs will be released to pasture next weekend as we are greening  up nicely.  We will be planting our first batch of sweet corn in about 16 days!  That puts us on target for Fourth of July corn.  Weather permitting of course.  We have plowed a couple of fields in order to get ready and the weather has been more than cooperative.  Our first batch of broilers are in the coop and we have 200 more layers started.  They will be ready to go in September.  We have started our peppers and tomatoes and should be getting some cold weather plants in the garden over the Easter weekend.  All in all, things are pretty well on schedule.  I, of course, am behind but will catch up to the train soon with the lengthening days.  We also seeded a pasture field on Tuesday night.  It was a no-till deal.  I seeded into the wheat I planted last fall after the corn was harvested.  The wheat will serve as a nice conver until the grasses establish.  They will also be available to pasture once the cows come back over this fall.    We are also expecting our first lowline calf on the farm in the coming week.  Hopefully before we go to pasture.  Broiler chickens are selling very well with only 75 remaining and we have not even processed any yet.  Place your orders before they are gone!  The plans for the butcher shop are developing.  Construction should begin soon.