January is quickly leaving and feb. is knocking on the doors. With that comes preparation for spring and summer and even fall here at Woodspryte Farm.
In October of 09, we coated all our sheep. This is to keep the VM (vegatable matter) out of the fleeces. This small and simple step will make hours worth of difference in cleaning and preparing for processing for me. The over all end product also tends to be much nicer for the clients that purchase it.
Our ewes are bred, and lambs are due to hit the ground in mid March. Shots have been given to the sheep as well as their garlic/cayenne mix for worms.
We had only one injury, it was to our Ram, Lem. It would appear that he was bitten, and our best guestimation would be a coyote. The llama and alpaca kept there from being any further injuries or losses of stock. however now everyone in the pasture is on alert all the time and the sheep are flighty. The wound is healing nicely.
It is also time to start looking into our summer projects. What are we going to raise this year.. what changes will we make
#1
First of all its not time to contact the farmers for piglets. If you plan to raise pigs this summer, you should be considering contacting him VERY SOON. alot of the early piglets are sold to 4H kids. you want to get in on the best. Also if you want to be able to process before winter, you want to get early pigs. you will have to keep them under a heat lamp and out of drafts for some time, but TRUST me.. it will be much easier for you in the long run.
#2
Chicks
You should also be making final determination on your meat chicks. How many will you get. will you pasture raise or cage raise. Do you know of a local processor that will be able to process your order, wether it be 5 birds of 500. Find them now. talk to them.. how do they process.. what is their costs.
~what kind of chicks will you get? you should be contacting the local co-op elevators or ordering online soon. with the economy in the condidtion it is in, many people are resorting to raising their own. for this reason you need to get MOVING..
The early bird gets the worm.
I have found I prefer to raise them in slightly cooler weather vs. in the heat of the summer. I can put in a heat lamp and keep them warm, but a fan gets really gross, not to mention the draft can cause URI and pnumonia.
Do you have enough pasture for the amount of birds you want to do?
When you call the elevator for chick prices, find out how much it will cost for feed.
we have discovered its much easier to purchase ALL the feed ahead of time when getting the chicks. Its much easier, as well as time and cost effective.
You should approach raising your food for the following year like a business.
Is it cost effective..Is it healthy.. do I have the means (money, time, drive and space)
You will find in the long run, raising your own meat is NOT cheeper than buying from the store. However, what you get will be strong healthy animals, without hormones or drugs. you know how they have been raised and where, as well as how they were handled. Just because your going to eat it, does not make it elegiable to be wrongly or miss treated. Im not saying to cuddle your animals or give them lovy names.. but do keep in mind they are one of gods creations, just as we are. Respect should be given as well as mercy when needed.
#3
turkeys.. Much of the same rules applies here as it does to the chickens..
What kind of turkey? do you want a slower growing, more flavorful (gamy) turkey that is smaller and SLOOOOW growing, or do you want one of those turkeys that is all boobs and butt? We raised the heritage last year. it took 7 months to get them to butcher size. they ate alot in that time. But they are so tasty. we purchased 7 poults and had NO losses and I now have more turkey than I care to have in my freezer.
This year we will do I believe only 4 turkeys, and we are going to do the BB type. they are faster growing. BUT my main reason, is I want ground turkey. I will keep one for my freezer, one to my mom and dad for thanksgiving, and 2 to be ground into burger for the freezer. I am going to be ordering eggs and hatching.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TURKEY POULTS TO RAISE.. CONTACT ME ASAP I WILL HATCH THEM FOR YOU, YOU CAN RAISE THEM. I WILL BE TAKING ORDERS FOR TURKEY POULTS. I PLAN TO ORDER APX. 2 DOZEN EGGS, WITH AN EXPECTED HATCH RATE OF 50%. THIS MAY BE LOW BUT I WOULD RATHER ERROR HIGH. IF YOU HAVE A LARGER NUMBER YOU WANT OR A SPECIFIC TYPE LET ME KNOW.. YOUR RESPONSIBILITY WILL BE TO PURCHASE THE POULTS YOU ORDER.
Also remember... chickens and turkeys CANNOT be in the same pen together. be sure you have a place where they will not be living together.
if you have questions.. please contact me. I can help you with finding many items.
I hope this post finds you all weathering winter well.
when we have moved to our next step I will advise.
Happy planning..
Love and light
tiffany
