We recently had the opportunity to visit Italy (part pleasure, part business); but wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of friends - who did a great job farm sitting while we were gone. When we just had cats and chickens, it wasn’t so much work; but now that we have goats too, it’s a morning and evening commitment of significant time every day. With everyone’s’ busy schedule, that can be hard to do, but we sure appreciate the help. This magnificent glass horse in ... continue reading...
Egg Cartons – "New" Not Required in Ohio
In the last post (see Finding Egg Cartons), I identified that Ohio law requires that eggs be packaged in new (not used) egg cartons if they are going to be sold off-farm. I said this because when attending the class "Farmers Markets, Cottage Foods, & Food Processing Establishments " last year, an ODA (Ohio Department of Agriculture) representative identified that re-using cartons was not allowed because of possible contamination from salmonella, etc. However, the idea that re-used ... continue reading...
Tube Feeding A Goat Kid
We'd been told at a goat class that if you raise goats, you'll learn how to tube feed a weak kid - and unfortunately we're now experienced. At some point Saturday evening or Sunday morning, Jewel Box decided to reject one of her kids, the one we named Dillinger. Saturday was a cold night (hard frost) and by Sunday morning when we realized she wasn't letting him nurse, he was weak and cold. So, we brought him in, warmed him up, and tried to ... continue reading...
*B Dragonfly HLJ Calvary *S
*B Dragonfly HLJ Calvary came to Bramblestone Farm quite suddenly in the fall of 2015 after I told my friend Cindy how much I'd like to own him. I think I caught her in a weak moment with too many bucks on hand, and she agreed to sell. I'd been watching Calvary for quite a while (he's polled and has an outstanding pedigree), so I didn't hesitate. He's not quite got the idea of photo shoots down - as you can tell from his photo below. He was not holding still for anything! It's difficult ... continue reading...
Bramblestone Wall
As we built this house, barn, pastures, etc.; we found so many stones (more like boulders) that we named the place Bramblestone Farm (see The Bramblestone Farm Story). Today, I'm happy to say that we put those stones to good use (you know, if you get lemons, make lemonade - well, we got stones, so we made a wall). The first picture to the right shows the side view of the finished dry-stacked stone wall - it's four feet high by one hundred and twenty feet long, and ... continue reading...
*B GCH Old Mountain Farm QuentinQuinn +S
I loved Old Mountain Farm QuentinQuinn's looks right from the start, he's so long in the body, has such refinement, and his pedigree is pretty outstanding too. And he always produced such long, elegant, and refined kids. Wild Wind Farm was kind enough to allow us to use him as a herdsire before we had our own bucks, so we used him extensively in our early years raising goats. His dam and grand dams also have beautiful udders, and milk production stars to back up those udders. In the fall ... continue reading...
Caseous Lymphadentitis (CL) in Goats
One of our Nigerian Dwarf goats, Honey, recently developed an abscess on her shoulder, causing us to worry that it might be CL. Although she’d tested negative for CL prior to coming to Bramblestone; and the herd she came from tested negative, we were afraid that she’d somehow contracted the disease. Our goat herd is closed, so the possibility of contracting CL seemed remote; until I learned deer also carry the disease (so she could have caught it from wild deer) – then I suddenly did a ... continue reading...
Bare Back Chickens!
This is the first year we've had heritage buckeye chickens, more than one rooster, and a new phenomenon - hens with bare backs. We have nineteen hens, and one rooster per every ten hens is recommended, so two roosters aren't too many. Still, some of the buckeye hens are literally getting the feathers worn off their backs. There are four of them with bare spots (it looks awful doesn't it?); and although it doesn't seem to bother them much, I'd like them ... continue reading...