link is back

besides being the hero in the legend of zelda video game our hog also bore that name. she is back and we had breakfast for dinner last night. pork sausage, eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy. it was excellent. pork sausage was our most missed pork item.

we simply go without when we don't have our own meat in the freezer. there are always other types to choose from. we had plenty of chicken and beef. but, this is when we feel the richest. until we eat our last chicken we can go to the freezer and have any type of meat we want. well, we don't have any lamb or turkey but we hope to remedy that someday soon.

it was a big day out driving all over to get stuff. we needed chicken feed and to pick up our hog. the butcher shop was near a fabric store. tabitha bought fabric for several dresses for her and kassi. we also got curtain fabric for the kids room. our little van was laden with over a thousand pounds of stuff. the kids had to crawl over bags of feed to get to their seats. we must seem like a comedy act to most folks.

we took deliver of twenty bales of hay yesterday. the last hay we got from him was a little below our cows picky standards. she wasted most of it. i spoke with mark, the hay guy, and said that this last batch wasn't near the quality of hay we got the first time. i apologized for being picky but that is why we went with him a second time because that first hay was so good. he said he'd riffle through the stack of hay and pick the best stuff that was immediately available. it worked! this delivery of hay is top notch, she loves it.

we just want to get her condition perfect. on that note, we have been researching cow supplements. we have decided to try fertrell's product line. we have some friends, once removed, that are dealers. they also sell organic soil amendments. we place a fairly large order and hope to receive those items soon.

i plan to build a mineral feeder for the cow like this one.

mine will be made out of the bottom of a 55 gallon plastic drum, cement, hardwood dividers and piece of rigid conveyor belt material that i have for the flap. these things sell for $150.00 mine will be free since i have all the stuff. it will be slightly smaller than their version but we only have one cow. i'll post a how-i-did-it entry when the time comes.

we also invested in one of those soil block makers.

we are planning on selling seedlings this spring and this should make a huge difference. we hope to optimize space in our green house and offer a better product. the reasons for employing this method are too compelling to ignore.

our pastured poultry offering is official. we have solicited to several outlets that we will be offering our pastured chicken this spring. several people have expressed interest i just hope that turns into customers, fingers-crossed. it is scary and exciting. we are trying a new hatchery this spring too. they only supply commercial birds and the smallest amount that they offer is 100 chicks. we are splitting that order with tabitha's father. coincidentally he-too will be selling pastured poultry. actually, he is helping differ our risk and has already managed to get commitments for a large portion of his birds. what a fun caper it will be..

i might have to take this link down as soon as tabitha wakes but here is our farm web site using blogger as the platform.
omelayfarm
it is still under development but mostly done. what ya think?