Happenings around the farm

Every season I get excited as the broiler pens start to line up in their diagonal formation. Since we stagger our production over April - October, it takes a few weeks to build up to full capacity in the field, which is good because it gives us a chance to build up our farmer muscles again :) Eventually we'll have a total of nine pasture pens in the field, which are moved daily to fresh pasture. This helps encourage the birds to eat as much grass as possible and also spreads out the manure over the field without overdoing any one spot. 

Right now, we are running our lambs in front of the pens to graze down the grass. It's easier for the chickens to move around shorter grass, but more importantly, we try not to waste any of that grass goodness, as the chickens wouldn't be able to eat that much in one day.

The sheep weren't quite sure what to think of their new neighbors.

Elsewhere on the farm, our bovine friends are straightening up after a week or two of rebellion. As I joke, they spent a couple weeks rotating themselves around the field. We had borrowed their fence charger to hotwire-train the pigs and they took the opportunity to explore the pasture. After one little lady was separated from the herd and ended up in a neighbor's field, we have now procured a new charger and reinstated our rotational paddocks.

All joking aside, it was a stressful situation and reminded me that farming is not always the bucolic bliss that appears in instagram photos. There are times when things do not go according to plan and you're tearing your hair out wondering why you don't grow something that is firmly rooted in the ground.  Thankfully all's well that ends well and we are back to the plan for now :)