Throughout the year I either pick up magazines at the store or save some issues from my Mother Earth News subscription or my Heirloom Gardener sub. Then toward the end of the year I go through and determine which issues I will keep to cut up and which will go to recycling.
A lot of these are inspiration, but also goals for the year. So I go into the year with a little bit of a vision of what I would like to see happen sometime this year. I realize that not everything will happen and that other things are just dreams. Dreams always happen and I'm always dreaming up stuff to do!
Goal #1 - Freedom Rangers. By mid-December I already had placed an order for the little monsters and reserved the Poultry Processing kit from the Conservation District. I am really happy with how the chicken turned out and cannot wait to raise 25 more this coming spring. My goal is to reach processing day with more than 15. Which means that I need to pay attention to the feeding schedule and start restricting feed as per the interwebs said. I think that I read that by the time the chicks are 4 weeks old it's time to restrict feed at night. No more daily doubles kids!
We ended up losing 9 chicks during the process and kept one little one who is now a big girl and laying eggs!
So, this year my hope is that there will be less loss and more meat in the freezer! I have one person already "signed-up" to help and have another who missed out last year and has said they want to help this year depending on their work schedule. With 25 birds, I'll probably need a couple of extra hands to help out.
Goal #2 - Alternative housing for the duckies...or a second Chicken Tractor. I am still undecided, but something needs to happen at some point in the next couple of months. The Stress Free Chicken Tractor is fairly easy to move, so I have my eye on that.
Maybe what needs to happen is a movable shelter for the Magpie Squad and a Justin Rhodes mini shaw. That would be awesome since I only want to house a half dozen chickens and a couple of geese in it.
So much to think about and consider. Which is fine because I've been taking most of January to recharge my batteries for the upcoming season - so my posts here have been less than normal, not that I was posting a lot to begin with. Both Tom and I have been under the weather. I've been fighting the sniffles since Christmas. It hasn't gotten worse and I don't feel 100% It just doesn't seem like it will ever go away.
Well, whether I'm feeling 100% or not once February starts I'll be busy getting the seeds that I have started and most likely looking for more seeds!
Farm life!
Maybe what needs to happen is a movable shelter for the Magpie Squad and a Justin Rhodes mini shaw. That would be awesome since I only want to house a half dozen chickens and a couple of geese in it.
So much to think about and consider. Which is fine because I've been taking most of January to recharge my batteries for the upcoming season - so my posts here have been less than normal, not that I was posting a lot to begin with. Both Tom and I have been under the weather. I've been fighting the sniffles since Christmas. It hasn't gotten worse and I don't feel 100% It just doesn't seem like it will ever go away.
Well, whether I'm feeling 100% or not once February starts I'll be busy getting the seeds that I have started and most likely looking for more seeds!
Farm life!
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