With temperatures staying at or well below zero for over a week, it's forced many of us to curtail our routines to the basics. This is true for me too, as it's dark when I attend barn chores in the mornings, and dark when I get home. In the mornings I drive up with the hottest tap water to make up the mash for the old stallion. He gets a hello, and couple scritches and a pat, and a large feed pan of mush, plus some of that imported hay to keep him busy. So far, the composition of the diet is perfect-he's round over his back but not tubby. Of course, the colder it gets, the more he hangs out in the stall, so I'd say his activity level is about nil, haha I'd get him a toy of some sort but truthfully there is nothing he can't tear up, rip apart, or destroy if he chose. This is probably my last winter with him, as his leaky heart valve continues to worsen.
Next door to the horse is the turkey stall and run. Gosh I just love my turkeys, they provide a chorus of squeaks and pops and soft calls every time they see me. They're getting some size to them now, and in about a month or so, I should start finding eggs from the hens. These are heritage birds that will breed true and I have found them to be incredibly tough. We erected a small shed roof out from the barn for them, and put some boards up for roosts. They do not require heat, or additional lighting, just unfrozen water and feed and that's it-very easy compared to chickens.
Next to that is the chicken pen, with stall and hen house. The house is insulated and yes, I provide heat and additional lighting. The stall is covered, but open on three sides, with the feed and water, and we're using the deep litter method in it like we did last year-it's working very well. In the hen house, deep straw on the floor and six laying boxes to handle the 14 or so hens. Also in with the chickens are six more turkeys, a couple months younger than the others-too small to be added to the other group. I think they think they're chickens, because I sometimes find the younger hens staying inside the warm coop, up on the roost with the layers. The mix included Buff Orpingtons, Giant Cochin crosses, Golden Sex links, and Red Rangers. The rangers were the four smallest pullets that we did not send to freezer camp this past fall. And, I have a rooster. A very colorful one, but I can't decide if he's Ranger, or Sex Link. Well, it doesn't matter because whatever he fertilizes, they will all be meat chicks this coming year. There for a while I was getting nearly a dozen eggs a day, every single day. I manage to keep friends and family in eggs, and still have plenty for our own use. Today's chore that cannot be put off: More grit.
So to keep myself occupied, I have been surfing away online, looking for specific seeds. I have a hunch that hobby gardeners are going to be terribly shocked when they see the prices this year. Not only are the seed counts down in the packets, but the prices are higher. I have a few specific things I am going to try this year that are new to me, but a couple of items had crop failures, so I have been looking for replacements that will perform here. This year, I hope to put melons inside my covered raised bed, just to try it out. I have never tried a melon outdoors before so it will be fun to see what kind of results I get. And, due to the height of the hoop, it will be pretty much impossible to get in there and trellis anything-so, I found a short season, bushy type that I am hopeful will work.
A few tomatoes are proving hard to locate, and the ever elusive broccoli that everyone wants, the same. It's rather like a long, drawn out treasure hunt, but I need to have these orders completed fairly soon, since it's nearly January. Which means-onions, celery, and hot peppers by the end of the month. Eeeks!
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