Saturday Down on the Farm

I have many things to share with you today.

First a Foxy Loxy update:  He still roams free. Free as the wind free. Free to roam my front yard free. Free to get a little bold free. Free to make my neighbor call me and have us hatch a plan for his demise free.

Free.

Next.

Pigs.

"You talking to me?"

I've said this before and I"ll say it again. Pigs are very personable. They love it when we come outside and hang out with them on our side of the fence. They like when we scratch them and chat with them about their day. They like to impress us with how dirty they can get.

A couple of weeks ago we brought six Duroc piglets to the farm. Durocs are a heritage breed of pig. They are not the breed of pig that grocery stores stock. We're selling off halves so if you would like some pork this Fall I think we may have some not spoken for as of yet.

Durocs are red, have floppy ears and from what I've read they are pretty laid back piggies.

"Hey what's up Duroc babe? Wanna roll around together? We got some good mud going on out here."

Our show pigs are not Duroc. I think they're Hampshires but Farmer Boy is not with me right now to verify.

Our plan was to keep the Durocs separate from the Hampshires. We figured it would be better for everyone that way for many reasons.

This week the Durocs decided to bust out of their pen and see what the heck was going on outside.

Sounded like a party outside and I guess they wanted in.

Farmer Boy was not down with their plan. He rounded them up and even though it may not appear to be, he gently put them back to bed.

The Hampshires wanted to know why he took their friends away.

"Hey dude, we got some really good mud going on out here. We just want to show them how it's done."

Farmer Boy wasn't negotiating. Nope. Not at all.

The Durocs were cool with it. It was fun while it lasted but  hey, getting lifted up by your hind legs is not as fun as it may look.

Will was the one who alerted us to the break out. After he helped Farmer Boy round up and collect the babies he decided to do some training with the teenagers to get them ready for fair time.

They were more interested in their mud.

Next.

A box.

Farm kids are easily amused.

Can you see me in the background mowing? I couldn't figure out why that box was standing in the driveway.

I kept watching.

The mystery revealed itself.

They had a blast.

They walked around the driveway for about 10 minutes.

Finally. Chickens.

In a box.

I'm about to reveal to you some fluffy, cutie, yellow, chicks. They're cute now but believe me it doesn't last.

Along with pork we will be selling chicken. Would you like some locally grown free range chicken in your freezer?

Am I freaking you out?

I don't mean to but that is what we do around here. We raise meat to eat. Shall we not talk about it any more?

Let's not.

So we had 15 older broiler hens that needed to give up their space for the new baby chicks that came today. We had gotten the 15 earlier because Will is going to show some of them off at the County Fair and we wanted them to be old enough to show.

Lizzy and Will rounded up the older ones and delivered to the big barn where they have their very own, bedded pen.

Farmer Boy unloaded the baby chicks and we put them in the chicken coop where we'll keep them closed in for a while to make sure Foxy Loxy doesn't think he's finally found his pot of gold.

 

It's amazing how fast they figure out where the food and water is. These type of birds really enjoy their food and will put on weight very quickly. 

I think that's it for now.

Pigs. Chickens. Boxes. Kids in boxes. Chicken in boxes.

It's a mad mad world out there.

If you're interested in any meat just leave a message.

Have a happy, happy Saturday.