Into The Natural State of Mind: Big Ol' update!!

The Cornish hens, are getting FAT!

I kinda have been putting this off for a while, but need to get a post in because I have many pictures and also many stories to tell... so without further ado, put on your reading glasses and lets get started!

Last time I wrote we had just adopted two goats to the farm. With the addition of the goats, I really feel that this is an official homestead now! After the goats start producing kids and milk (maybe this summer??), and the chickens start producing eggs (in about eight to ten more weeks), and after the garden starts to cooperate (should be in the next year or so) this place will be a prime example (hopefully) of getting the majority of the things you need off the land and being near self sufficient!

You guys aren't supposed to be in here!

As stated in my personal bio, I don't really see a future for the US dollar, and as time has progressed, I am thinking the Euro will fail too with Spain and Greece flailing around. So, I am finding true comfort in the fact that if the world ever does go down hill, I have a place to come to and literally survive if needed. Hopefully though, the world will continue to turn and I will be able to do the same thing to my own property that I have one day, and turn it into my retreat learning center for the masses to come and explore and learn!

Time to leave the coop goats!

First picture of the Goats eating near me.

Over the past week we have been "rehabbing" the goats. Usually (as stated in my plethora of Goat books and online) Goats are naturally curious creatures and will want to check you out and be friends. Well, our goats didn't want anything to do with us for the first few days, I was chalking it up to it being a new place, new surroundings, but was still taken aback by how much they didn't want to really hang out with us. I also found it sad (and kinda funny at the same time) that they liked their goat house until I finished it, then they refused to go inside it, well, until it rained the other day... then they were all about it.

Very shy goat finally eating in front of me!

After much thought, I personally feel that these poor goats didn't have much human interaction. At their old farm, they were cooped up in a 10'x20' area and had a dog house sized shelter, their living conditions were fairly poor. Also the farm owners had about 60 other goats and hundreds of different chickens, peacocks, ducks, guineas etc, so I find it hard to see the old owners really even having the time to make these little guys friendly. Before everyone starts blaming the farmers, I do feel for them, it is hard to not accept everything that comes your way, owning farm animals is kinda addicting, and I can see people letting the numbers get out of hand. And when I was talking to them, they sounded like they actually do care about the animals, I just think they have too many to manage properly. Personally, I have already turned down a free horse!! I just know I cant afford it. But yeah, its still hard to say "no thanks" especially when I'm from the city life and a horse costs lots of money to even buy one out there, let alone house and feed it.

YES they finally have decided we are cool enough to eat out of our hands.

After days and days of just sitting in the barn yard in a chair, letting the goats get used to a person in their space, I finally got the goats to eat out of a bucket that I put between my feet! Finally, just yesterday, we got the Goats to actually eat out of our hands! They are still jumpy and wont let you pet them, except a little scratch under the chin while they are munching away but I am positive within the next few weeks they will be our best buddies! I have since even put up some theme park rides for them in their goat yard, consisting of ramps that go nowhere, and a teeter totter made out of wood and tires, also some milk crates to stand on and a platform (that they really like) that is just some wood on a tire. Slowly but surely they are acclimating to the new place and I feel they are starting to actually enjoy it here. When we first brought them home, I kept finding them inside the chicken coop hanging with the chicks, but I blocked off the chicken yard from the goats for now because I dont want the goats thinking the coop is their home.

Now, if a Goat wants goat food, they have to come to us!

Now, that is one sexy beard!

Obviously we were excited about the goats finally eating out of our hand

So we had to take a lot of pictures

The Rooster running around the yard

Speaking about Chickens, the Rooster is just AWESOME, he doesn't crow too much, and has really taken to guarding the flock, the ladies just follow him wherever he goes and the chickens have been more apt to explore and scratch around the chicken yard for bugs! Thank goodness, because the bugs were starting to get worse. I have noticed the chickens have actually reduced their food intake from the chicken starter/grower feed, so I know they are eating more bugs. I thought getting a full sized rooster might increase the feed output, but have been pleasantly surprised that it has done the opposite! Fun times, fun times, it is just crazy cool watching the birds run around (yes literally run around) the yard playing and eating and exploring. I would recommend raising chickens to anyone who can, just a real pleasant addition to a yard.

Finally the fat Cornish hens decided to go outside... to sleep

One thing I wont recommend is getting the Cornish Hen breed, bred specifically for butchering. Even though they reach full maturity to butcher size in six to eight weeks, it seems to me, that the chickens eat way too much to make it cost affective. All they want to do is lounge around and eat all day. They eat, I would say, four times the amount that a regular chicken does, and doesn't really go for the bugs too much. So, if your like me, and just can't see yourself going vegetarian or Vegan, I would recommend a good cross breed chicken (made to produce eggs and also good for meat), like the Rhode Island Reds, or Buff Opringtons, they will still get the same size as the Cornish Hens, but will take longer to get to that weight, and also will produce eggs in the meantime, also they won't eat all the chicken feed and do their part in the bug population control. They are also a revolving producing door, they will give you new chicks to replace them, and when you need a chicken for dinner, you just cull one out of the flock. It is also kinda sad watching the Cornish hens try to walk around, as it really is just like what you see in the documentaries, they are so heavy, they can only walk for a few feet, then lay down and rest. Even with the opportunity to exercise and free range, I couldn't prevent that, and I tried. :( Next week I am coming home to Virginia Beach for the PHISH concert, and when I get back here, I will have to do the deed, and cull out the Cornish Hens. Not looking forward to it, but I personally feel that knowing where your meat comes from and knowing they had an awesome life with plenty of room to "waddle" about will make it worth it. Future warning, I will have a post on the culling process from start to finish, I will have a "viewer discretion" warning before you read it, if that is something you would like to skip.

What the coop looks like at night.

Yes you heard right, I will be home next week. And for my massage clients/friends that are reading this, I will have some slots open for massage. The Days I plan on doing massage are Monday and Tuesday June 25th and 26th. I will have an extremely limited number of spots open, and I feel they will fill up quick! So, if you want one, call or text me and I will start filling up the slots! Now, obviously, I no longer have a spot in Reinhold Chiropractics office, so I will be doing them out of my old house (literally a block away from the office right off of Pleasure House Rd), and because of my tight scheduling, I will only be doing hour long massages, no half hours... sorry. :)

Guineas are getting bigger! Time to move them out of the brood

Big Dave's way of separating the Chicks from the guineas

Today was GRADUATION DAY for the young Guineas. They are constantly trying to get out of the brood box, so I decided to give them more space and have quarantined a space for them in the coop so they can get used to the chickens and also know where home is. I quickly found out though, even that my cage I made for them is about four feet high, they have no problem flying up and perching on the top. So, its more for their protection from the rest of the chickens, but we are letting nature take its course and hopefully in the next few weeks will see the guineas eating all the ticks throughout the property! We have decided to not clip their wings as we actually want them to be able to hop the fence and eat bugs around the house, but need them to be able to fly away (especially cause of the dogs) in case a predator comes around. Currently all 16 have made it so far, and I hope we don't lose any, as the more we have, the better for bug control!

They stayed in that corner for a while.

Potato box is flowering, so Potatoes will be coming soon!

The Garden is continuing to chug along. I am still holding out that they will produce something in the coming months that I can be proud of, but I am not holding my breath! I know it was a long shot to have a successful garden in virgin soil (full of rocks) the first year, but this winter, I plan on doing a cover crop of beans of some sort and will also be adding goat and chicken manure so by next year when we till it all in, maybe the ground will be more adapt for growing. :)

The past week has just been eventful! It is always cool watching this place just take shape. Remember at the beginning of the blog I took pictures of the yard, nice and empty. Soon, in the next few posts, I will retake some pictures and put them side by side of then to now. It is just amazing seeing the difference. But, till then, enjoy these 30 or so pictures of the happenings around the place!