Empty flower pots work great to spread lime in the rain too

October 22nd, 2011.

We had friends over and spent a little more than 2 hours spreading lime.  There were six of us filling and shaking plastic flower pots over about 3 acres.  It was a wet day, and everyone was covered with a patina of white by the time we finished and took our lunch.

We applied 32 bags (1600 lbs) of powered agricultural lime at a rate of  533 lbs/acre. Next time I’ll buy a little more to ensure that I can cover all the corners that we didn’t quite reach.

Many hands make light work, and I’m very happy that such a low tech solution works so well!

White clover showed up in force after lime & gypsum soil supplements

Last December I applied 500 lbs/acre of agricultural lime to our place.

In March, we put down about 300 lbs/acre of gypsum, and about 0.5 lb/acre of boron.  Gypsum has sulphur which is needed in protein, and boron enables the calcium to be used in the plants.

So what did that accomplish?

The grass was sweeter last year.  I knew that, because I went around tasting it.  I also knew that because I test the pasture juice with a refractometer (and a garlic press).  In absolute terms, we still have a long way to go because our brix readings topped out at 6% total dissolved solids.  In relative terms, it’s a huge leap because last year we were at 4%.   These are low numbers because to animal health really depends on grass with brix above 12, but we are getting there!

Other things  I noticed:  White clover came out in force last spring on the ground that was the worst off.  Clover & legumes need calcium to grow well, and they came out in abundance on our parking area/soccer field.  All the animals liked grazing that part of our property best last summer, which is amazing to me because it wouldn’t grow anything at all when we started this adventure 6 years ago.

Some selected tufts of orchard grass also grew with yellow streaked blades & stems, which I haven’t figured out yet.  This is the first year I’ve seen that, so I think it’s from the barn lime and gypsum we put down.

The better soils did not show a dramatic change, probably because the large amount of organic material on those paddocks quickly buffered out these first applications.

Watch out for next year!  I’ve got the next order of lime ready to go, and I expect to get this on one the ground in the next few weeks.

March 6th, 2011 Grazed & brown goose paddock next to fresh & green paddock.

I love grass. It feeds the animals and keeps things nice & clean. The geese love it too, and will eat it down to the roots if they are on it long enough.

The challenge is: How do you keep fresh grass around a nesting goose, without moving the nest? I do it by putting the nesting shelter in the middle to the paddock, and then splitting the paddock in half with a temporary fence. When it’s time to shift the geese to the other side, I move the temporary fence over to the other side of the nest. This puts the nest on the “green” side of the paddock without having to relocate the eggs or the sitting bird.

March 6th, 2011; Each paddock is split in half to allow the grass to recover.

This kind of “movement” is what Joel Salatin describes in the article he wrote in the March, 2011 issue of Acres magazine.

In my paddocks, each nesting pair gets about 400 square feet at a time. This means there is 800 square feet of paddock split in half.

During February, the grass lasts about 3 weeks under 2 geese before it’s pretty grazed out. I decide when to “flip” the paddocks based on how well the grass on the resting side has recovered. As the weather warms, and the grass moves into the “spring flush”, the timing speeds up. Sometimes as fast as once a week for the 2 birds.  I would like to go faster, but with a 2-paddock rotation, that’s about as good as you can do.

Fresh grass on the left side, grazed hard on the right side.

On April 20th, we had our first nest-hatched goslings appear. Our lavender pair hatched 7 eggs. After 5 days, it was time to move them to new grass, so I did. The goose and gander are important to protect these little birds, and I’m glad to have the routine in place where they can grow up under their parent’s watch.

Can you find the eagle in the tree?

It’s not uncommon for us to have eagles come by, but we got to know one up close & personal last week.

Most of our ducks are penned up in 5′ x 10′ open bottomed pens.  They get moved to fresh grass every day, but they don’t get to run free.  Our runner ducks are the exception.  They are too high strung & intelligent to be happy in a pen.  They are excellent foragers, and do a great job on holding the slug & bug populations down on our place.  At night, they are closed up for protection against raccoons, but at first light, they have been free to roam….    But not any more!

On Monday we heard the geese making a terrible noise.  When Kathy and I went out to see what was the problem, we discovered an eagle had decided to breakfast on one of these free range runner ducks.

This runner duck didn't have a chance against the eagle

The eagle flew off when we approached, and watched us for some time to see if it could come back to finish its meal. I penned up the 5 remaining birds and kept them in until Wednesday morning.  That day I let them out again.  Nothing happened Wednesday. Nothing happened Thursday, but on Friday I stepped outside to take a break from sanding our new hardwood floors and something just sounded WRONG. I walked around to look at the birds, and there was the eagle again. This time it was working on our runner drake. The final 4 runners no longer get to run. They are stuck in the pen permanently for now.

We have seen the eagle come by about twice each day since.  It hasn’t bothered the geese…yet, but I think I may need to shift them to portable pens once the goslings arrive. I’d prefer to keep them in a large flock instead of pens, but open fences might not be an option any more this spring.

Abigail helps blow the eggs for breakfast

The value of my eggs tripled this week.  I just sold a dozen duck eggs on ebay this morning for $16.50, shipping not included.  The best part is that I got to eat them before they sold!

I’m moving into the egg shell business.  Blown goose eggs move out pretty regularly–I’ve already promised to ship off the rest of the ones I get this spring.  The surprise came when I found out that there is a market for blown duck eggs too!

Granted, the demand is pretty strong right now because Easter is just a few weeks away, but I’ll take it however it comes!  Kathy says that if the price drops down below $9/dozen, I should stockpile them until Lent next year.

I did purchase a tool that makes blowing the eggs a lot more controlled than my air compressor was able to do.  The tool is a “Blas-Fix Egg Blower”, and it makes emptying out the shells about as efficient as possible.  Each egg gets a hole drilled in one end so air can be pumped in through a blunt needle.  I then rinse the shell once or twice, and it’s done.  It add about 90 seconds per egg, but it’s worth the effort for $1.37 each.

Joel demonstrates how to use the Blas-Fix egg blower

The ducks are laying about 14 eggs every day, so breakfast today was scrambled eggs.  The afternoon snack is custard, and I’ve got a cheesecake in the oven for dinner.   ….   What else can I put on the menu to keep up with all the spring-time eggs?  Maybe a frittata?

This hole is 3 inches deep and about 18 inches wide

It’s spring (or nearly so), and that means nesting time.  Now that I’ve finally got the routine worked out for successfully nesting geese, I’ll share it with you. For those of you who just want to see how much I’ve learned from doing this the wrong way, you should skip to the list of mistakes at the bottom of this post.

First is the hole.  I dig out the sod a little more than 12 inches square.

Next I fill the hole back up again with sand.  The sand keeps the eggs much cleaner, allows the rain to drain away from the nest, but still keeps enough humidity in the nest for a good hatch.

The shelter then goes over the nest.  Although optional, I would want a shaded nest if I were a goose.  She has to sit 31 days continuously in one spot, and I think a bit of shade and rain shelter is a big help for her.  I orient the shelter so the nest can get direct morning and evening sun, but is shaded during the hot part of the day.

Fill the hole flush with sand (Note the guard-gander at work)

Last is a good portion of dry hay or straw.  I’m using hay this year because we have a couple bales that the cows & goats don’t like to eat.

This routine avoids the following list of “THINGS I’VE DONE WRONG”:

1. Straw nest in plastic doghouse:  Too big, too flat, too dry, no person access, not enough air.  Result: 0% hatch and the goose sat for nearly 2 months.  I couldn’t reach in from behind the goose to candle or count the eggs.  The eggs would roll out from under her and die from cold.  The plastic prevented enough moisture from reaching the eggs.  Growing goose eggs need a lot of air, and the plastic bottom also prevented that from happening.
2. Shelter on sloped grass (i.e. I didn’t dig out a nest): Eggs like to roll downhill out of the nest, and after a month of sitting, this happens.  Result: 0% hatch rate.
   

   The shelter goes over the sand

3. Shelter on flat grass (i.e. I didn’t dig out a nest): Eggs get pushed out to the edge of the nest because the goose is round too.  Eventually they linger outside of the nest and die from cold.  Result: 0% hatch rate.
4. Poor soil or inconsistent feed:  Fertility is low resulting in 0% hatch rate, or eggs are lost due to thin shells.   Don’t skimp on the feed when it comes to your animals–especially in the spring.  Keep oyster shell out free choice for the goose–she needs her calcium & phosphorus.
5. Free range gander:  Some ganders like to wander allowing predators (raccoons & crows) to eat the eggs when the goose runs for a drink of water.
6. Two nests with a trio of geese (1 gander + 2 geese).  One of the nests will be the favorite, and both geese will use it.   Problems arise when one goose begins sitting and the other keeps depositing eggs.  2 geese can fit into even a tiny nest box.  Result is 1 of 2 options: #1 constant diligence by the farmer to remove good eggs results in an acceptable hatch by only one of the geese.  (The second goose gets gosling envy and stops sitting early.)  OR #2 The first goose nest gets over populated w/eggs resulting in a 0% hatch rate.
   

   Fill the shelter with lots of bedding

7. Good nest with flock of geese & ganders:  The ganders fight, and fight, and fight–day & night.  Some female geese get too much male attention while others are neglected.   Result: Nest confusion (see above), low average fertility, and a poor hatch rate.
8. Don’t bother to candle the eggs:  We had a goose who sat on an empty nest because we pulled the eggs just before she began sitting.  After 35 days I finally checked to realize that there was nothing under the bird!  Some birds will not have fertile eggs.  If you check early  on (after 7 days), you can see if the eggs is growing.  Infertile eggs can be swapped out from under the goose and you give your broody goose a successful spring.
9. Incubator hatching:  It takes 31 days to hatch a goose egg, and it can be done in an incubator.  Follow the book to the letter on temperature, humidity, & fresh air access curves (yes, it changes over that 31 days).  Remember to mist the eggs daily and rotate them 2-3 times per day.   50% hatch rates in an incubator are normal, and a 10% hatch rate is common.  Brooding & gosling care fall to the farmer after successful hatches.


Eggs in the nest are usually hidden under the straw

A small air compressor is a handy kitchen tool

I love finding ways for my birds to pay their own way!

Spring is coming, and the ducks, chickens & geese have been laying more eggs–good news!  Our surplus eggs (pastured, organic, no-soy, no-corn) have gone to friends.  That “egg money” goes into an envelope to help pay for the feed.

Finding ways to fill that envelope has had my attention for the last couple weeks.  Besides selling eggs, I continue to ship blown goose eggs for $1.50 each, which also helps.  The blown shells go for Pysanka, which are decorative Ukranian-style Easter eggs.  I’ve recently discovered blown duck eggs are selling for $6/dozen, which is a dollar more than I’m getting for them raw.  The challenge is finding a way to quickly and easily empty the contents from the egg.  This is a perfect (maybe) application for power tools!

Raw egg squirts out as compressed air goes in

I’m now using my air compressor & inflation needle to blow the contents out of our breakfast of scrambled eggs.  Warning: Eggs don’t do well when you use too much pressure!

Voila! A single-hole blown goose egg.

Joel found the first goose egg on February 22nd.

Joel ran to find me yesterday morning because the first goose egg of the year had appeared.  This year’s first egg came from a pair of American Lavender Ice geese.

He is responsible for taking care of the chickens, and will often go “on patrol” after his morning chores are done.  Apparently this includes checking all the pens for any new eggs.

We had separated out our 8 pairs of geese into breeding/nesting pens on February 8th, because it’s time for them to begin laying.

Keeping them as pairs works well because each nest has an aggressive gander dedicated to protecting the eggs and the sitting female goose from crows and other predators.  Keeping only one female in the pen prevents extra eggs from being added by another goose who sometimes may choose to lay in the wrong nest.

I will collect the first 8 eggs from each nest because they have a very low fertility.   This gives me a chance for some choice omelets and lovely blown goose eggs.  I’ve incubated these first of the season eggs  in the past, and my experience matches that of Dave Holderread’s description in The Book of Geese:

“It is common — although there are exceptions — for the first six to eight eggs laid by year-old geese to hatch poorly so you may not want to bother setting them.  However, eggs produced during the latter part of the season often hatch reasonably well, especially if yearling breeders were well-fed throughout their first year of life.”
p. 52

This plastic spreader worked great until it fell apart after one hour's use

Boron is a trace element that helps with calcium and nitrogen availability.  There is a good article about it on the Albrecht’s Animals page.  It is also soluble, which means in rainy Western Washington, it’s quickly washed out of the soil.  That’s what the soil test showed too.  We were to add about 3 lbs of boron supplement (13%) per acre.  Instead of mixing a foliar spray to apply dissolved borax, I bought a 50 lb. bag of “Granubor”, and walked around with a hand-held spreader.  The mineral grains were just the right size to make a 20 ft swath, so I was able to cover the ground I needed in less than an hour.

The $15 spreader I bought did show it’s weak points though.  It worked well enough, but the all plastic construction gave up the ghost just as I was finishing.  I was cranking the handle so fast for so long that the shaft melted and twisted off.  I’m glad it died at the end of the project instead of the middle!  3 lbs/acre is a pretty light dose, and I don’t have any ideas of how I could do such a thin rate without using a tool.

Another complaint I have about using a small hand-held spreader was that it’s too difficult for my left hand to hold up the spreader for more than a few minutes.  I ended up using a rubber band to hold the “trigger” in so my palm and fingers held the spreader against my stomach.  That gave me enough leverage to let my right hand turn the crank and still quickly cover the ground.

In the picture, you can see the broken handle, and the rubber bands I used to hold the spreader open.