Up and Running

Well we are on the new farm (more on this very soon), and things are great.  All of the animals are thriving.

The rabbits are multiplying, as can be expected, and we are really impressed by how their pasture homes are working.  We are observing some pretty considerable feed savings, in some cases upwards of 50%!  We are expecting 5 moms to give birth to bunnies during the week between my birthday and the 21st.  What a gift!

The goats and hens have taken to the move as if nothing happened.  The only noticeable change was that for the first few days Essie and Marigold spent their days bleating at all the new people they saw, but after everyone got properly introduced things quieted down.

We are trying a new rotation with the animals.  First, the hens are now following the rabbits.  This is a great combination because the hens LOVE to pick through the rabbit dropping.  Chickens being omnivores don't have the digestive hardware to tackle eating grass only, so they relish the chance to eat pre-digested alfalfa and grass the rabbits leave behind.  We are also doing a tighter rotation now with the goats.  We have scaled down their enclosure, but decided to move them more often.  This leads to a more even and complete graze, which will ultimately encourage some great re-growth.  Our organically-fed slow growth broilers are then put in the same net as the goats (right after they move onto new pasture) to clean up any bugs or small weeds.  It's great to see!

Speaking of the slow growth broilers, we just put them out to pasture 2 days ago and I can't articulate how excited I am.  They are grazing non-stop and have so uninterested in their feeders.  These guys are chasing bugs all day (something that speaks to the fertility of the new pastures we are on!).  Simply put they will be amazing.



So that's about it.  We are planning to get some pictures and videos up of the new farm pretty soon.  It's all going wonderfully, but we are obviously quite busy getting everything back up to production speed.