A solemn (yet sweet) day of sun, songs, and slaughter

I had a FANTASTIC crew of helpers out today to soak up the sunshine and help slaughter the turkeys. There was singing, praying, lots of gratitude, and a little Michael Jackson-inspired fashion on the farm (see Chris, bottom left). 

A big THANK YOU goes to Chris, Kathy, Courtney and Jennifer for all of your help. Also, thanks to the students for their calm participation and yearning for learning!

Clover lovers

Shouldn't those two words rhyme?!

Regardless, the turkeys are LOVING their new patch of clover. A small crew of helpers came out in a big way this evening and we shuffled the turkey house around, rearranged fencing, and poof! The turkeys have some yummy clover to munch on.

Turkish housing

The Turkeys are getting BIG. So they need to graduate from dog crates and greenhouse life to real, outdoor life. 

A few weeks ago, work on a real house for them started with a friend bringing over his backhoe and moving an old shed across the farm. 

I then clad the shed in some inch-board planks to class the place up a bit (carpentry, one of my favorite parts of farming). 

I am borrowing some poultry panels from the same friend mentioned above (Boy, do I have some fantastic friends - to say the least!) and we built an outdoor "turkey run" for them. 

Because these birds are a heritage breed, Bourbon Reds, they can fly. There are two options in dealing with this: 1. clip their wings or 2. roof them in so they don't fly away. I choose option 1 so that in the event that they need to 'fly' up and away from a predator, they can. Also, you have to clips their wings multiple times throughout the season (like fingernails) and I just don't have time to maintain feather-do's.

So, here they are in the new space, loving life:  eating bugs, bathing in dirt, perching in the sun...

  

breakfast of champions

The piggies got an early morning treat today: cheerios, frosted mini wheats, raisin bran, and chex... if I can't eat it up, they sure can!

belly rubs and beanie turks

Meet Pursey... one of the 4 girl pigs in a gaggle of 5. She LOVES her belly rubbed.

Meanwhile, the turkey are also in love... with the bean tipis! They have been spending the days outside in the sunshine and the nights snuggled up in the greenhouse. (Always caged, of course)