Buttercup has a scratched, sore nose, but is still alive
Some weeks are more eventful than others.
Here is my description of how two of our yearling goats were killed, and how I saved one of the does.
A chicken hard at work scratching up compacted bedding
A cow pie is money, and I like to get it back in the soil “bank” as soon as possible. Of course, I’d rather not spend my time following around the cow with a rake to spread the manure out as soon as it hits the ground. I’ve got chickens lined up to do that job for me.
It’s the permaculture principle of putting things where they ought to go, but I think of it as having the animals doing their own work.
We’ve moved our chicken tractors into the pasture areas, and we let them roam around during the day to forage in the grass. They are learning that there are bugs living in the older cow pies. It doesn’t take long for a chicken to scratch a load of manure up and spread it over the grass–that’s one of the things they do best.
This is a concept Joel Salatin has championed at Polyface farms in Virginia, and which is getting more popular elsewhere. For egg farmers, the idea is sometimes called an “eggmobile” because the chicken pen is mobile and comes into the pasture a few days after the cows have left. (See Natures Harmony Farm for an example) Since I only have a couple acres, and a small pasture, the chickens get to be mobile and the pen stays put. read more »
I’m making the most of my vehicles.
The “commuter car” I drive for my daily commute to Redmond and back is a Toyota Corolla–it takes me 20 miles each way with a little better than 36 mpg. This is great for my daily drives, and I’m very happy with it. I do have a pickup, which gets used a lot for our farm jobs.
There is a challenge though. I combine as many errands as I can on my drive to and from my cubicle job, and one of these is a daily stop at our neighborhood produce stand. They save their discarded greens for me each day, and I take them home to feed the animals. The challenge is when my little car and I show up at the market when I really needed my pickup. Monday was one of those days.
The question in cases like this is: “do I go home and get the pickup, or should I see how much I can fit in my little car?” I hate to waste a trip, so usually I try to fit it in.
Here is what I brought home in my little car in Monday’s trip:
This only works in the summer because you must roll down both rear windows to fit 3 trash cans in the back seat.
My flock of 28 geese ate all the greens & watermelons the next day. I’d like to haul this much every trip; but if I did, I would use the pickup.
This post featured on Simple Lives Thursday Blog Hop.