Post by Tricia on Apr 3, 2007 8:22:27 GMT -5
Hi, I've been here a bit but never did tell the rest of the story. So here goes.
We live in a barn. ;D
It is 100x33 feet. A bank barn with a walk out basement and the floor above is at road level (the house part). It is huge but we don't live in all of it!
DH and I met 15 years ago and have been married going on 14 years. We have one son (10), 4 dogs and 2 cats.
We started out here living in a 30x30 "apartment" and have since added on a small room for our son and a 2 story living room. Still more room to go but who has the time with all the farming to do. It is not finished which is a huge pain but it is ours! DH does the work along with DS.
DH had chickens as a teenager and worked on a couple of dairy farms. I had absolutely no experience. Well I was chased by a hugumgous turkey at a petting zoo as a child and at another a HUGE goat chewed a hole in my shirt. We had a minature poodle for a pet.
I had joined the AF after HS and was a mechanic for 3 years stationed in Turkey. I then came home, went to Alaska for a few months, came back home, joined the Air National Guard, got a job at a local grocery store. I've done clerking, managing, stocking. Then worked for an insurance agent, was a legal assistant, mom and I started a house cleaning business....
I was a volunteer firefighter, EMT and Medic till DS was born.
DH was a mechanic on forklifts, then a steel worker, then finally got a steady job for Bobcat (skidsteers). So, I no longer have to get greasy, I just get dirty.
After a few years of marraige DH talked me into buying a couple of herefords to eat down our 26 acres of grass. That then meant fencing and hay making (he neglected that part). Then we needed a barn for the hay, equipment and cows. He is sneaky that way.
We really should have built a house and kept the barn for animals. Hindsight! ;D
We butchered the steer, bred the heifer, eventually butchered her son. We were left with Betsy and a donkey-Huckleberry. I prefer to forget Huckleberry. An unfixed male! He was very opinionated (as in LOUD), horny, bossy, a total pain in the rear. The last straw was when he picked me up of the ground by the hood of my hooded sweatshirt. He was in the sale paper the next day. He went to a farm with 3 females and was very satisfied.
We had 25 chickens by then and started selling eggs for 25 cents. We now have 100 hens and sell for $2.75!
I met a woman who with her husband had a herd of Scottish Highlanders that they wanted to find a good home. We ended up buying 2/3 of the herd. A bull, 5 cows, and 5 calves. This was b/c DH likes them, not for any other reason. Just cool looking!
So now we have replaced the bull, have 5 breed cows (3 due in May, 1 in august), 8 younger than 2, 2 Jerseys and 1 hereford calf.
We raise about 10 pigs a year, 700 meat chickens, 40 turkeys.
My son has 13 ducks as pets and general entertainment.
3 geese to guard the meat chicken flock.
So we started raising our meat, the herefords then some chickens for eggs. Then someone told me about raising Cornish Cross Chickens for meat. The first year they were raised indoors (YUCK) and I had a 14 pound rooster. They were butchered at around 4 months. I have since figured out how to raise a nice plump, healthy 5 pound chicken on pasture in 8 weeks.
I gave a few away to family and friends. Got orders for more. Did some research, went to conferences, bought Joel Salatin's books and well it grew tremendously from there!
This is our third year selling to the public and each year it gets bigger.
I always said I didn't want a family cow b/c it would tie us down. But we were paying alot for organic milk that tasted horrid b/c of the ultra pasturizing. Then we had to raise a Highlander calf as her mom rejected her. I ended up buying milk from a friend who had a cow. Clover is now due in August with her first calf.
So we faced the issue of "what if we have to do this again?" . So the search for a cow began. We got really lucky and found a springing heifer (had to ask what that meant!!!) near my parents (5 miles away). Ended up I knew the family forever. I had graduated with this guys grandson and babysat for the granddaughters! He raises heifers to sell to western dairies. So we picked out Molly and brought her home. $1200!!!! 2 months later she had an easy calving of Lilly (who is due in May). I absolutely love the milk. Now, Molly and I have a fun relationship. We are both bossy and opinionated. Sure good thing she doesn't talk, we'd really be arguing! She is easy going and an excellent mom to anything that wants to nurse her.
She gave 2 1/2 gallons this morning (sharemilking) and didn't do any kicking!
DS is Homeschooled for the first time this year. We like it but wow it is a pain at times, trying to get it all in. We are now going fishing this morning. Then school stuff. I feel it is a science day today. Fish, wildlife and plants!
Oh, yeah an article about our farm is in Small Farm Quarterly.
www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/archive/winter07/Page%2013.pdf
It is the coolest thing having an article written about us! I still can't believe it.
I've done many many things as has my husband, but farming is the best thing for us.
Cows and Kids on pasture, it's a beautiful thing!
We live in a barn. ;D
It is 100x33 feet. A bank barn with a walk out basement and the floor above is at road level (the house part). It is huge but we don't live in all of it!
DH and I met 15 years ago and have been married going on 14 years. We have one son (10), 4 dogs and 2 cats.
We started out here living in a 30x30 "apartment" and have since added on a small room for our son and a 2 story living room. Still more room to go but who has the time with all the farming to do. It is not finished which is a huge pain but it is ours! DH does the work along with DS.
DH had chickens as a teenager and worked on a couple of dairy farms. I had absolutely no experience. Well I was chased by a hugumgous turkey at a petting zoo as a child and at another a HUGE goat chewed a hole in my shirt. We had a minature poodle for a pet.
I had joined the AF after HS and was a mechanic for 3 years stationed in Turkey. I then came home, went to Alaska for a few months, came back home, joined the Air National Guard, got a job at a local grocery store. I've done clerking, managing, stocking. Then worked for an insurance agent, was a legal assistant, mom and I started a house cleaning business....
I was a volunteer firefighter, EMT and Medic till DS was born.
DH was a mechanic on forklifts, then a steel worker, then finally got a steady job for Bobcat (skidsteers). So, I no longer have to get greasy, I just get dirty.
After a few years of marraige DH talked me into buying a couple of herefords to eat down our 26 acres of grass. That then meant fencing and hay making (he neglected that part). Then we needed a barn for the hay, equipment and cows. He is sneaky that way.
We really should have built a house and kept the barn for animals. Hindsight! ;D
We butchered the steer, bred the heifer, eventually butchered her son. We were left with Betsy and a donkey-Huckleberry. I prefer to forget Huckleberry. An unfixed male! He was very opinionated (as in LOUD), horny, bossy, a total pain in the rear. The last straw was when he picked me up of the ground by the hood of my hooded sweatshirt. He was in the sale paper the next day. He went to a farm with 3 females and was very satisfied.
We had 25 chickens by then and started selling eggs for 25 cents. We now have 100 hens and sell for $2.75!
I met a woman who with her husband had a herd of Scottish Highlanders that they wanted to find a good home. We ended up buying 2/3 of the herd. A bull, 5 cows, and 5 calves. This was b/c DH likes them, not for any other reason. Just cool looking!
So now we have replaced the bull, have 5 breed cows (3 due in May, 1 in august), 8 younger than 2, 2 Jerseys and 1 hereford calf.
We raise about 10 pigs a year, 700 meat chickens, 40 turkeys.
My son has 13 ducks as pets and general entertainment.
3 geese to guard the meat chicken flock.
So we started raising our meat, the herefords then some chickens for eggs. Then someone told me about raising Cornish Cross Chickens for meat. The first year they were raised indoors (YUCK) and I had a 14 pound rooster. They were butchered at around 4 months. I have since figured out how to raise a nice plump, healthy 5 pound chicken on pasture in 8 weeks.
I gave a few away to family and friends. Got orders for more. Did some research, went to conferences, bought Joel Salatin's books and well it grew tremendously from there!
This is our third year selling to the public and each year it gets bigger.
I always said I didn't want a family cow b/c it would tie us down. But we were paying alot for organic milk that tasted horrid b/c of the ultra pasturizing. Then we had to raise a Highlander calf as her mom rejected her. I ended up buying milk from a friend who had a cow. Clover is now due in August with her first calf.
So we faced the issue of "what if we have to do this again?" . So the search for a cow began. We got really lucky and found a springing heifer (had to ask what that meant!!!) near my parents (5 miles away). Ended up I knew the family forever. I had graduated with this guys grandson and babysat for the granddaughters! He raises heifers to sell to western dairies. So we picked out Molly and brought her home. $1200!!!! 2 months later she had an easy calving of Lilly (who is due in May). I absolutely love the milk. Now, Molly and I have a fun relationship. We are both bossy and opinionated. Sure good thing she doesn't talk, we'd really be arguing! She is easy going and an excellent mom to anything that wants to nurse her.
She gave 2 1/2 gallons this morning (sharemilking) and didn't do any kicking!
DS is Homeschooled for the first time this year. We like it but wow it is a pain at times, trying to get it all in. We are now going fishing this morning. Then school stuff. I feel it is a science day today. Fish, wildlife and plants!
Oh, yeah an article about our farm is in Small Farm Quarterly.
www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/archive/winter07/Page%2013.pdf
It is the coolest thing having an article written about us! I still can't believe it.
I've done many many things as has my husband, but farming is the best thing for us.
Cows and Kids on pasture, it's a beautiful thing!