It's A Miracle!

We're having a loaves and fishes experience here. Or Ezekiel has stopped by.

We buy our laying chickens' feed from a local feed store. I took in a recipe for chicken feed, and he grinds it for me to order, when I need it. I have to buy 500 pounds at a time. So I plan carefully, watch my supply, and go visit Eddie at the feed store, as needed.

About three weeks ago, I noticed we were getting low. I called Eddie and ordered chicken feed. At the same time, we were low on pig feed. He also mixes this for me, so I ordered 500 pounds of that, too.

A couple of days later, before I could pick up the feed, I opened a can in my chicken house and found it full. This puzzled me, as I hadn't seen it full before. "Oh, well," I thought. "Middle-aged brain, I must have made a mistake." Because our feed cans were full, I called Eddie and told him I would pick up my chicken feed later, but that I still needed the pig feed.

A week after we picked up the pig feed, I went out to feed the chickens and found a bare minimum of feed in the can. That made sense; it had been about two weeks since I saw that full can. I distinctly remember carrying that can into the chicken house so that I could dump every last smackeral into the chicken feeder.

Yesterday, I picked up that 500 pounds of feed. I brought it home, and commenced my weight-lifting routine. One 50-pound bag to the chicken shed, dump it into a can, rinse and repeat. But, this time, I opened the empty can...and it was half full. What? That can, I am sure, was empty last week. I remember carrying it into the chicken house, right?

You don't suppose there's Someone Really Important visiting somewhere around here...

Saturday Farm Report

Some years ago, we decided to add some chicken housing. We built 4 huts from plywood and a pressed asphalt roofing called Ondura, and have used those to brood chicks and raise meat birds. The huts have survived much like you'd expect something built pretty cheaply and simply, but they're still functional. The roofs, however, had developed many leaks and were not serving their purpose anymore.

We decided to replace the Ondura with steel roofing. It turned out to be lighter in weight, which was a plus, since those roofs are hinged at the higher end, and we lift them to feed and water the birds. Does wonders for the muscles, but can be difficult, sometimes. The lighter-weight roofing material was also nicer looking, and should be longer-lasting.
But...You KNEW there had to be a "but," right?
The chickens, when things are working correctly, breathe. They breathe hot little puffs of moisture-laden breath into the hut. The metal roofs gets warm. The cool night air, especially in fall, condenses. The condensation

drips into the chickens' litter. The condensation, along with other liquids the chickens produce, made their fluffy, pine-shaving litter into a nasty-smelling, soupy mess. We went looking for some kind of insulation for the roof, and we found these.

4'x8' sheets of foil-backed foam board insulation. (I get no compensation from the manufacturer, even though I kindly included their logo and name in this photo. That's how I roll.) We had some other foam board, which was given to us, that would have been a smart way to go. Cheaper, or free, is smarter, right? But that foil backing, serving as a vapor barrier, clinched it for us. The project began.
There was measuring. There was marking. There was cutting. There was gluing. I condensed that process into this short little paragraph, because I realize this is getting, well, dull.
In the end, we had messy gloves

But the insulation was installed. (Here's a picture of one half of a roof done, so you can see, well, how it was done.)

And one finished roof.

So now, the chickens have soft, fluffy, better-smelling litter again.

Well, they DID. They yucked it up again, after only a couple of days. but, that's OK. They're leaving tomorrow, talking a trailer ride to Freezer Camp. Yes, I called it that.

Saturday Farm Report, a Day Late and Without Very Many Pictures

I was busy enough on Saturday, that the Farm Report is late.

We have 13 turkeys left of the 20 I bought in the spring. They want to be fewer; they keep escaping their pens. Mostly they roost on top of their huts, but, often, they go walkabout. Henry the corgi found one about two weeks ago, and ate half of it before I could intervene. Poor thing survived, although I had Mary put it out of its misery. They was no way survival would be long term. The little jerk. (Henry, not the turkey. Although he did ask for it.)

Turkeys and chickens go to the butcher on October 19. I have about 45 of the 50 chickens I started with. They're basically too lazy to go walkabout. In fact, they sit as close to the food trough as they can, not even bothering to peck/eat the pen they're allowed. Take that, pastured poultry people!

Renovations to the chicken huts are proceeding. New roofs were installed in the past two weeks. They've been a little disappointing. Metal, they seemed sturdier than the pressed felt/asphalt roofing that had, admittedly, lasted 5 years. They ARE sturdier, and lighter, BUT they chill. This means that the birds' heat and the cold night air conspire to condense on the inside of the hut, causing dripping. The bedding was saturated two days after the first installation. We're going to try some foam insulation today, hoping that will help. Fingers crossed. I am thinking that a roof vent would be a better idea, but we'll do the insulation first.

The steer remains mellow. That is a good thing. He also seems to be gaining again. He had lost some ground in September, when the grass finally gave way in the main pasture. Now that he's on his own, he gets to eat it ALL without sharing with Wakiya, and it shows. Beer, some grain, and a little alfalfa in the hay can't hurt, either.

Pigs are HUGE. They look nothing like the little weaners we brought here in May. In fact, they were so small, then, that I planned to take them to butcher in mid-November, rather than October, which is our usual month. Well, sure enough, I had to call and change that appointment. They'll be going for their trailer ride on October 26. We are going to have freezers FULL of pork!

Dogs are happy. Cats are content. Our ancient cat, Dinah, is being spoiled. Her teeth are finally giving out. Well, after all, she is pushing 18. Funny, considering that, when we got here, we were told that she would only last 2-3 years as an outside cat, and that we were setting her up for poor health/early death. But here I am, buying soft cat food for an ancient cat who has few teeth. Well, she's been a good protector of our grain supply these many years. Time to pay her back, I say!


Next up; a rehab of the chicken coop, some digging in and for the garden, and removal of a few trees. Stay tuned!