Empty Brooder, More Pigs
No more chicks in the brooder. We emptied out 10 shelters, totaling over 500 chickens, for harvest on Monday afternoon. We typically put about 60 chicks in our 10x12 Salatin style shelters. Each batch is moved daily across the field for approximately five weeks, totaling a distance of roughly 140 yards. So before restocking the empty shelters one last time for the season, we had to reposition the shelters up the hill to make sure there would be enough fresh grass ahead for the remaining days of chicken season. 21 shelters to move daily. Our load will get lighter from here on out, emptying shelters to harvest every week but not filling them back up with growing chicks from the brooder. The end is getting near. Which is a good thing because our freezers, though they are low on beef and pork, are being amply filled with ORVF pasture raised chicken. We still have some chicken sorting to do for filling shares and orders before updating the online farm store, but we should be restocked with chicken options in the weeks ahead.
Our pork inventory has been low as mentioned, partly due to our hog numbers being lower than years past. The purchase of 40 pigs yesterday will help with that. The new arrivals required an afternoon of weed whacking a pig paddock and setting up electric fence for them.
I finally got around to repairing a couple water troughs that had been on the to-do list for some time now. We’re all familiar with the phrase “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.” I usually live by “if it ain’t broke bad, don’t fix it” because when I try to fix things, I have a tendency to break them even more. Fortunately, the repairs were successful. For the time being.
Amy had the on-farm kitchen simmering with multiple batches of chicken broth this week. She and the kids are still trying to settle into somewhat of a farm/school routine. She still feels pulled in many directions and like she’s falling behind each way she turns, but she’s doing the best she can and is trying to be content with whatever that looks like. Lots of upcoming deliveries in the next couple weeks. Place your order for a delivery near you.
Still keeping the cows moving. The grass is slowing in its growth, but there’s still a lot of stockpiled forage for the time being. A rain shower or two wouldn’t hurt.
It was a fine week on the farm but a hard week for our country. I get increasingly nervous about the state of the world and the future society that our kids and grandkids will inherit. There is increasing evil and uncertainty in the world. No question. But there is also a lot of good out there. I am reminded of this on a daily basis as neighbors offer a friendly wave in passing or stop to chat on the side of the road, sincere smiles at the farmers market, fine folks embodying patience and understanding. The world is full of merciful and gracious individuals. We are firsthand witnesses and recipients of this on an ongoing basis. The intolerable evils of our day should not be ignored, but we also shouldn’t paint the whole world with the bloody brush of recent events. There’s a lot of good.
That doesn’t mean that evil should be ignored. There is a battle taking place. We are called, not to shout from the sidelines, but to engage in the warfare. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 - “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world.”
Our call to action is clear in Ephesians 6:13-18 as Paul writes,
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes form the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Have a good week.
Will