Yesterday, at our request, a representative from the Department of Agriculture came out to visit and test our chickens in conjunction with the National Poultry Improvement Program. NPIP is a voluntary program that provides testing for common ailments in home and commercial flocks. NPIP helps us to ensure a safe food supply and avoid the [...]
Archive for the ‘Chickens’ Category
11 Apr
Spring is in the Air
Spring is in the air here at the Flying T. Our resident Boer Goats, Jessie and Gracie, are off at another farm for a month or so in the hopes that they make very close friends with the buck there. That would bring us kids in September. In their place, we welcomed two more 4-month-old [...]
31 Jan
The Egg Business – Progress Report
Our 7-year-old son runs the egg business on our farm. We paid the startup costs – buying the chicks, converting an emu hut to a coop, and buying feed and supplies. Once the first group started laying, he took over the rest. He now buys the food, cares for the chickens and eggs, markets the [...]
4 Dec
Night Pics
My daughter and I snuck in after bedtime to take some pics of the barn at night. What’s your favorite thing about being outdoors at night? Any great memories?
30 Nov
Farmcycling Project – Chicken Water Heater
Though the winter is setting in reluctantly, we have had a few cold nights where the chicken’s water iced up. A quick check at the feed store, Tractor Supply, and Amazon found chicken waterers like this: Unfortunately, the cost of one of these babies is between $40 and $50. That’s a lot of chicken feed! [...]
6 Nov
David’s Eggs
Our son is responsible for the egg business, and just started selling them. It’s wonderful to see him so excited to do the work, keep the records, and care for the chickens and eggs. The text below is from the flyer that he puts into each carton (you can click here to see his webpage). [...]
11 Oct
Organic?
When we first started dreaming about our farm, “organic” was high in our priorities. This flows out of our family mission, to glorify God in all ways, and to live that out on our farm by raising, managing, and using His creation in a healthy, sustainable, humane, and respectful manner. Since we planned to produce [...]
14 Sep
NATO Peacekeeping, Family Harmony, and Automatic Chicken Doors
I spent 10 years in NATO assignments, so I’m pretty acquainted with the challenges of trying to accommodate seemingly incompatible desires. Hey, if I could somehow deal diplomatically with both sides of the Aegean Sea dispute between Turkey and Greece, I should be able to figure out a farm, right? Right. OK, we’re not talking [...]
13 Sep
Guest Blogger: “Chuck” the Chicken-Duck
Please welcome the Flying T’s first guest-blogger, our 13yo daughter… I mentally go through the birds as I check on them for the night. 5 ducks. Check. 6 Rhode Island Red hens. Check. 3 Araucana hens. Check. 1 Araucana rooster. Check. 15 Barred Rock chicks. Check. 1 chicken-duck. Check. You may be wondering about that last [...]
11 Sep
Fall is Around the Corner
We’re just starting to get a hint of color, and are excited for the Fall Foliage to arrive. Of course, if Autumn is just around the corner, Winter is close behind. That means there’s not a lot of time left for us to get some of our tasks done around the farm. Yesterday afternoon was [...]
A Joyful Birth
