New Chicken Tractors

Our pastures have been pretty heavily over grazed by our two horses. Last fall we were able to find a new home for Lucy and Princess at a farm with three young girls wanting to ride. Since then, we've let our pastures rest and recover a bit on their own. Now it's time to turn up the juice and revitalize them! The best way to do so is to fertilize. Being that we have plenty of birds ready and willing to provide all the manure we could ever need, it's a piece of cake. In order to have the fertilizer exactly where we need it without having to shovel it by hand we've built portable tractors for the birds to live in. This way we can have the birds lay the manure wherever it is needed while still giving them the protection and fresh pasture they need. It's a win-win-win! Win for the birds -- win for us -- win for the pasture! Martha took some pictures of Whitt and I setting the new tractors in place!

Talk about a roll cage!

Bringing one of the tractors to the middle pasture.

It takes two to stand the tractor up so we can move the gator...

..and two to lower it down.

We also made some light weight tractors just for chickens.

Now, to move the birds!

Last, we set up the electro-net to set the boundary.

Now every morning after feeding, we move the tractors and birds all at once!

Box Turtle Sightings

Found any box turtles lately? Whether they're young, old, alive -- or even, forbid...dead -- report them to the Virginia Herpetological Society! The VHS is a group based on conservation, education, and research of Virginia's indigenous reptiles and amphibians. Box turtles are a very important part of Virginia's ecosystem, and we can all be a part of the research! Any time you happen across a box turtle either in the road or in your back yard, visit www.VirginiaHerpetologicalSociety.com and report your sighting by scrolling down and clicking on the icon seen in this post. Please confirm that the turtle in question is indeed a box turtle and not another common species. Box turtles look very different at each stage of growth, so use a field guide or the VHS website to help you properly identify the turtle. Then, fill out the online report form with as much information as possible, and submit! Just like that you can be a part of the research, tracking, and study of this important species.

For a direct link to the report form, click here.

For our non-Virginia resident blog followers, look into your own area's wildlife programs and see if there are any similar studies being conducted in your neck of the woods. If so, we'd love to hear about it!

A View Into the Life of A Chic

Here's a short clip of the second batch of birds after being moved down into the barn. It's fun to get down on their level and really get a close look at them!



Here is a clip of our turkeys when they were freshly hatched.
They sound like raptors from Jurassic Park, don't they?

I'll be posting some videos of our goslings and other animals around the farm in the near future, so even if you're unable to visit you can see a glimpse of what our animals are like!

Goslings Goslings!

Baby Geese have arrived and been added to our flock! I'm just going to put it out there that goslings and ducklings are probably the cutest of baby birds. No naming these guys. They're meant to be meat birds. Keep us in mind around the holidays and we'll have the bird you need! Now hopefully Lou will like these little guys enough to have them as play mates!

We've Changed Our Look!

We've changed our look for summer! Thanks for following our blog through the spring and we look forward to continue sharing our farm with you! Fall will be here before we know it, so strap in for a great season! And remember, you're always welcome to visit!

Yet Another Visitor

Look what Martha found curled up in one of our hens' laying box! Martha caught the snake while it was in the middle of trying to eat an egg. Talk about a suprise! This is an Eastern Ratsnake. Scientific name Pantherophis alleghaniensis, this snake was formerly known as a Black Ratsnake. The only snake in Virginia capable of growing over 6' in length, this non-venomous reptile primarily feeds on rodents, birds, and bird's eggs. They have also been known to eat frogs. It kills it's prey by constriction, while eggs are swallowed whole and later broken in the snake's throat. Their propensity to being found in barns and agricultural areas earned this snake the vernacular name of a "chicken snake." Capable of climbing trees, the Eastern Ratsnake is found state wide in Virginia, and thrives throughout the Allegheny and commonly travels into the Appalachian Mountains.

For more information on Virginia's wildlife, feel free to visit the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fishery website @ www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information.

Lou Update!

Yes! We have settled on a name for our lone gosling. It's LOU! Call him Louie, Louise, Louis, anything! Just remember Lou only really replies to "weep-weep." He's been moved outside into the cottage garden and now lives there permanently as watch goose/gardening helper. We've since re-named the garden Lou's Garden. He's much happier outside and loves to follow Martha around while she tends the plants. Come play with Lou! Lou will love you forever.




Maddie teaching Lou what a marsupial feels like!