This spring and summer were our first on the homestead, and we are very happy with how much we accomplished. We were able to begin producing some products to sell, chicken and eggs, but primarily this year was a foundational year of laying the groundwork for various endeavors.
Meat Chickens
In the spring we raised about 100 chickens that we took from chicks to meat right here on the farm!
The meat birds arrived as two day old chicks.
The chicks arrived in the mail at just two days old, and we took care of them right here through the very end. We pastured them in pens we moved daily. They ate top quality organic feed milled here in Virginia. When it came to the end, we rented a trailer that has all the equipment for processing and processed them right here.These chickens had the good life, and that led to some great tasting meat!
Chicken processing trailer
Laying Hens
In March, while there was still now on the ground, we picked up our first little chicks that were to become our laying hens. It was so cold, even in the garage, we moved the brooder into the mud room to keep them warm! Spring was also a time of building frenzy, as the unusually long, cold winter put us behind schedule on building the chicken coop.
The coop being built
The coop was finished, and the laying hens settled in nicely. Now we enjoy having chickens all around the backyard. What else can turn weeds and ticks into food for us?!
Chickens free ranging
We have been very happy with the quality of the eggs from our flock.
Homegrown eggs
We ended up getting a lot more chickens than we originally planned, which is a common situation I hear…. We ended up building a hoop house to house some of the new birds. This was a great experience as hoop houses are so versatile, and we were able to build it cheaply!
The completed hoop house
This summer we also began raising our own mealworms to feed our laying hens.
Mealworms!
Rabbits & Hogs
We laid the groundwork for breeding stock operations for both meat rabbits and hogs. We acquired breeding trios of two females and one male for each species.
Silver fox doe
We look forward to having a productive rabbitry, and we created a nice, large setup that we will grow into over time.
The rabbitry
Are hogs are American Guinea Hogs, which are a heritage breed. They are recognized by Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste and are considered a threatened breed by The Livestock Conservancy. It will be a while before our little piglets are giving us meat, but it will be worth the wait. The hogs are in a rotational grazing setup, and they’re growing fast! They’ve become very friendly, and will run up the fence when a person walks up. They’re adding a lot of personality to the homestead!
The hogs crowding into one water bowl
Goats
This summer we picked up two goats, pygmy wethers. They were our test to see if we really wanted to do goats on a larger scale. We have learned a lot about goats! Harley made an amazing milkstand, which is great when we trim the goats’ hooves. You can see in the picture how it holds a goat’s head and distracts them with feed, allowing a person to easily work with the animal.
The milkstand in use for hoof trimming
We also learned the truth behind the saying that if a fence can’t hold water, it can’t hold a goat. There were several occasions where we came home to find goats on the porch!
Hi guys! We thought we’d hangout on the front porch.
Eventually, we came up with an electric fencing setup that’s worked very well.
Goats behind an electric fence
Bees, Trees, & Other Growing Endeavors
A lot of these past few months have been devoted to nurturing long-term endeavors that will hopefully bear fruit in later years. We began the year with one beehive that was able to survive the harsh winter we had. In the spring, we expanded with four new packages of bees, but that was not to be. Within a week of installing the new packages, a bear came into the backyard, through electric fencing, and got into the hives. Three of the four new beehives were destroyed, with the bees dying or leaving. One new hive survived, as did our one original hive. In the spring we were able to split our original hive into two hives, for a grand total of three beehives. We have checked on the hives all year, providing supplementary feeding of organic sugar water when needed. We are hoping all three hives survive the winter! For two of them it will be their first winter, and it is always a challenge for a beehive to survive that first winter.
Beehive
In case you were wondering, the beehives are now behind a lot more fencing now! We have multiple layers of security to keep them safe from bears.
This year was also spent nurturing our fruit trees, berry vines, and berry bushes. Pests are a constant challenge. We have had success with natural pesticides, we just have to maintain frequent applications and watch the plants closely.
The past two seasons have been a lot of work. We learned how to do a lot of new things, and care for new animals. It has also been a lot of fun! Having a yard full of livestock is always amusing, from watching the chickens roam to seeing the goats climb up anything and everything to get that juicy leaf that was just out of reach.
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