Turkeys Delayed, Bee's Coming and A Beautiful Morning on the Farm...

About this time last week we were gearing up for the heritage turkey chick arrival. We moved over the "brooder beast" to the hoophouse, hung the brooder light and got the bedding ready last weekend. I ordered the chicks several weeks back and thought that the "When would you like your chicks shipped?" button actually meant that they would ship the birds when I requested. (Most hatcheries have these dates blacked out when they are booked up so that there is no confusion, but not this one.)


After numerous attempts to contact the hatchery (tried a new one that was less expensive for the turkey chicks), I finally got a hold of a live person. He informed me that our ship date is May 26th. MAY 26TH!! The unfortunate part is the high demand for turkeys and the extra long, cold winter this year. It has delayed the shipments of turkey chicks because the birds bread later than usual. High demand has also caused most of the hatcheries to be sold out early and/or long waits for people who got there order in late in the game. Live and learn! At least in our case, this years order is for our breeding stock. Very few will be processed this year and most will be on the farm for a long time.

A Buzz With Bees...


Meet with Steve Page yesterday afternoon to discuss the hive placement on the farm. Steve is going to manage the hives for us so that we can get maximum pollination without having to take on bee keeping - at least for now. We will start with two hives and hopefully ramp up to three or four within the next year.

Symbiotic relationships like these are wonderful. Everybody wins.

As most of you know already, bee populations are dropping at a dangerous rate. The colony collapse that is occurring is a direct result of heavy pesticide use. I've heard other reasons for the colony collapse, like cell phone towers are confusing there sense of direction, but I believe it is pesticides. What is amazing is, without bees, we would eventually starve. No pollination, no food! It is that simple, yet the continued use of these harmful chemicals amazes me. I guess these big companies have enough money to make these harmful, deadly chemicals seem like a "Calgon moment" when you spray them on fruits and vegetables. Isn't advertising great!

Morning With the Flock...

Nicole took this picture of the flock's morning forage next to the newly named "EggStream". Mornings are so beautiful on the farm. The chickens and ducks are foraging, the lake is calm and Maddux is Maddux.