Busy week

Here it is mid April already, last week saw 19 little black Berks arrive. Both first time gilts, but what a difference in performance. Reggi my new gilt from a long time breeder in Iowa, delivered thirteen, and what a job she did. She lay quietly through the delivery with only a couple of breaks to drink and reposition. She bellies up to the heat lamp and pad to nurse . Can't say enough good things for her. The next night Ziggy my little AI gilt from southern Utah showed me how frustrating things can be. She only delivered 6, but spent countless times jumping up and spinning around, I spent 4 hours snatching babies from under her tromping hooves. She would bury the little tykes and then lay on them, Finally exhausted at 4 in the morning I left her with her brood. I fully expected them to all be dead in the morning. Amazingly she only lost one the next night. I doubt she will get a second chance.

Then the wait for the baby chicks to arrive in the mail. Wed. came and went, then Thur. I was sure all would be lost. But Fri 6am the phone finally rang. To my surprise only one out of 500 was DOA. Of course I'm still counting the losses as the stress exacts it's toll. And Sat. the last little batch arrived from Pennsylvania. All but two Ranger chicks alive, but the Guinea's didn't make it.

My daily chores certainly take much longer now, but a lot of that is from just enjoying the bustle of new life. And speaking of new life, we added Penny to the operation, she's a Bernese cross puppy. Watch dog or love? yet to be seen.

Spring must be coming

The days are longer and the hens have really started laying down the eggs. I've been busy the last few weeks finding markets for the 5 dozen eggs each day. And I feel confident now that I have finally accomplished that. I just finished the new chicken coop a couple of months ago, and now it's too small already. Amazing how that happens. So much demand for good all natural farm fresh food.

On the way to set up the largest account yet, I stopped to make a delivery and found yet another small store that wanted part of the action. Sigh,

One little side note, after making our pitch to the store owner, which he graciously and enthusiastically accepted, we left him with 10 dozen eggs to start off, He didn't even make it to the cooler before the patrons were relieving him of the eggs. We left with a smile and gratitude for the people who make our ventures possible.

The chicks are ordered for the first round of the Broilers. So much to get ready for, but the temperatures are still below zero in the mornings, so it's not quite time yet.

The next batch of Berks will be along in about six weeks. The last batch is growing rapidly. I enjoy a few minutes each time I feed, just to squat down and play with the youngsters as they learn to trust and enjoy the attention. I guess only those who love the stock they raise can understand how that feels. Life's good.

Inspiration

Just wanted to thank Christian for his blog. It is always an inspirational lift to read his blog and receive a bit of a boost from his writing. We all too often get absorbed in our own trenches, and forget that there is indeed a hoard of good people out there hungering literally for the products we produce.

I spent this past week dealing with the effects of the cold in relation to water. Friday morning took until noon to get the pickups started. 30 some odd below zero and the trucks were sluggish at best. But after a few hours with the weed burner and battery charger, and I had them running. I ran to the feed store for another poultry water can, which he informed me would freeze. Funny man. Then I remembered the wife had asked me to check the kids house while I was in town. The house was quite cold when I walked in, and the sinks were full of frozen water, other wise known as ice. A quick check of the propane tank spoke volumes. So the next two days were spent crawling under the house trying to patch broken pipes. We finally gave up and will re plumb the entire house as soon as time allows. Then on Monday I got a call from the landlord where I raise the pigs. It seems the well regulator had gone out during the night, so I had 350 feet of frozen water hose. So after several hours I had the hose rolled up and thawing in the tub. After replacing the hose the thirsty pigs were happy.

The following day I arrived to feed and guess what was froze up again?

Spring will come. Knowing that there are indeed many folks waiting for the incomparable Berkshire pork helps buoy my spirits.

Thanks again Christian for what you do.