Sunday, February 13, 2011
How's your freezer looking?
We will be getting a new batch of chicks within the next week !! Be sure to make room in your freezer by the end of April beginning of May!!! We raise them to 10 weeks, they average about 5 lbs., roasting size. Contact us to place your order! Thank you.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
We've got Rhoadies!!
As I mentioned earlier, all the pullets, including Sumo (our Cornish Cross surprise) seem to be right at home in their coop, and roaming about their fenced in area. So far, so good, no catastrophe's! No eggs yet, still a few weeks before they start...
Jeremy, my husband is a hoof trimmer. He trims cattle's feet. He trims dairy cows mostly, with an occasional beefer in there, usually a show cow or one with a bad wart. It's a tough and dirty job! God Bless him! Anyway, Jeremy makes trips to our local farm store quite frequently, usually a couple times a week to stock up on his trimming supplies. Now, if I remember correctly, I think it was on a Saturday morning, he called me on the way home from someplace, maybe the firehouse, and asked if I wanted to get more chicks....OKAY!! Twist my arm! So, after he showed up, we loaded the little ones in the truck and went to pick out some more chicks. There wasn't much left when we went, so we took the last 10 Rhode Island Reds that were there. I know the owner had quite a few birds in and out of his store last spring and summer, chicken and turkeys, and I think ducks too!
So, we were off on our way back home with a box full of Rhoadie pullets! And just like the rest, we got them all situated in the brooder, and watched them for a while. The kids get so excited over the babies; I guess we all do really. Babies are just so cute!...
Jeremy, my husband is a hoof trimmer. He trims cattle's feet. He trims dairy cows mostly, with an occasional beefer in there, usually a show cow or one with a bad wart. It's a tough and dirty job! God Bless him! Anyway, Jeremy makes trips to our local farm store quite frequently, usually a couple times a week to stock up on his trimming supplies. Now, if I remember correctly, I think it was on a Saturday morning, he called me on the way home from someplace, maybe the firehouse, and asked if I wanted to get more chicks....OKAY!! Twist my arm! So, after he showed up, we loaded the little ones in the truck and went to pick out some more chicks. There wasn't much left when we went, so we took the last 10 Rhode Island Reds that were there. I know the owner had quite a few birds in and out of his store last spring and summer, chicken and turkeys, and I think ducks too!
So, we were off on our way back home with a box full of Rhoadie pullets! And just like the rest, we got them all situated in the brooder, and watched them for a while. The kids get so excited over the babies; I guess we all do really. Babies are just so cute!...
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Chicken and Eggs. Which came first?
The little question that has been asked for who knows how long, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Hmmm. Well, for us, our home grown journey began with someone else's home grown journey.
A couple of years ago I started buying fresh eggs from one of my neighbors. So much tastier than store bought, factory eggs, I decided that buying these fresh eggs was the way to go from now on! Then I had a brainstorm (one of many, chuckle, chuckle!). How hard could it be to raise some of my own egg layers? Soooo, I mentioned this little idea to my husband, who also took interest in this idea. COOL! So, last spring we purchased our first ten Americauna chicks from our local farm & family hardware. Everyone was excited! All went well, and really uneventful while they were in the brooder. Once they were big enough to move out , we took a ride to Tractor Supply, and what do you know, they had chicks there too! They had different varieties than the local hardware, so of course, we had to buy some! YAY! We purchased 6, that was the minimum...figured we better stick with that this time around. So we got those chicks nestled in to the brooder, and everyone was happy!
About three days into this newer group of chicks, we noticed we had a little piggy on our hands, well not a Pig-pig, but a chick with a pig-type appetite. Okay, no biggie!
A week later, it was quite a bit bigger than the other five chicks, and this smaller group of chicks was eating more than the group of ten before them....hmmm? Well, whatever, that's cool. Hungry little chicks anyway. Then the next week, they were all growing well, but still, we had one extra large chick, and it's legs were noticably thicker than the others...I mentioned before that we like to name the animals around here, so that chick had a special name. SUMO...Yes, Sumo it is...and in the next few weeks, it became even more appropriate as Sumo started to waddle. We had a cornish cross(meat chicken) on our hands, by accident, but we loved it just the same! Sumo nor the rest went hungry...
So here, we have added a twist to our pullet journey....to continue later. Thanks for reading.
A couple of years ago I started buying fresh eggs from one of my neighbors. So much tastier than store bought, factory eggs, I decided that buying these fresh eggs was the way to go from now on! Then I had a brainstorm (one of many, chuckle, chuckle!). How hard could it be to raise some of my own egg layers? Soooo, I mentioned this little idea to my husband, who also took interest in this idea. COOL! So, last spring we purchased our first ten Americauna chicks from our local farm & family hardware. Everyone was excited! All went well, and really uneventful while they were in the brooder. Once they were big enough to move out , we took a ride to Tractor Supply, and what do you know, they had chicks there too! They had different varieties than the local hardware, so of course, we had to buy some! YAY! We purchased 6, that was the minimum...figured we better stick with that this time around. So we got those chicks nestled in to the brooder, and everyone was happy!
About three days into this newer group of chicks, we noticed we had a little piggy on our hands, well not a Pig-pig, but a chick with a pig-type appetite. Okay, no biggie!
A week later, it was quite a bit bigger than the other five chicks, and this smaller group of chicks was eating more than the group of ten before them....hmmm? Well, whatever, that's cool. Hungry little chicks anyway. Then the next week, they were all growing well, but still, we had one extra large chick, and it's legs were noticably thicker than the others...I mentioned before that we like to name the animals around here, so that chick had a special name. SUMO...Yes, Sumo it is...and in the next few weeks, it became even more appropriate as Sumo started to waddle. We had a cornish cross(meat chicken) on our hands, by accident, but we loved it just the same! Sumo nor the rest went hungry...
So here, we have added a twist to our pullet journey....to continue later. Thanks for reading.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
PJ's Poultry - LocalHarvest
PJ's Poultry - LocalHarvest
Check out our listing on Local Harvest.org! We have freezer chicken for sale and you can also place your orders ahead of time!
Check out our listing on Local Harvest.org! We have freezer chicken for sale and you can also place your orders ahead of time!
Day 1: Starting my Blog
Hello out there! My name is Pam and I have a small-scale, family poultry farm. My husband and I raise Freedom Ranger Chickens for meat! We also have 19 hens who give us wonderful fresh eggs everyday! We came into this "journey" a bit by accident, but it has really opened my eyes to just how great home grown meat and eggs are!! We sell our eggs by the dozen, and our chickens whole. Is this good for a brief introduction?
I have so much to share, I am not sure where to begin. So, on that note, I am going to stop here and get more thoughts organized to post again tomorrow.
I have so much to share, I am not sure where to begin. So, on that note, I am going to stop here and get more thoughts organized to post again tomorrow.
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