Foxhollow Poultry Farm

I was asked by a friend from the Des Moines Farmer's market to set up a Facebook page. (Foxhollow Poultry Farm) Seems like a good idea. I am trying to set it up and I think I have the hang of it, but this time of year I probably won't be spending a whole lot of time on it due to the hatching chicks, ducks, quail, turkeys, etc. We are really expanding right now and we haven't even been able to plant the veggies yet! All these hungry little mouths to feed. This week we are getting more layer ducklings and poulet rouge chicks. Will post a picture when they arrive. Another 300 to care for! I really love the baby poultry.

Egg production is climbing ever higher. I have a New Hampshire chicken that is laying an egg about the size of a goose egg every three to four days. It weighed about 6 ounces. Ouch. We used one of them for breakfast last week and discovered that it had 3 yolks in it! Will get that picture uploaded as soon as I can. This is the first 3 yolk egg I had seen. Last flock I had a chicken that laid an egg inside an egg. That was really weird the first time I cracked that one open, only to find another whole egg, shell and all inside the first one. They definitely keep it interesting.

Tai

Looks like the snow beat us again. No matter how hard we work or how long the fall season extends itself there are always a few things that don't get done before the snow falls. I think we just make the "to do" list longer. It is  not supposed to accumulate, so I guess we still have half a chance before the white blanket rests permanently on the ground for another 4-5 months. Winter seems to get longer every year. Maybe that has something to do with age?

 We have started our new flock of heritage layers that will provide us with beautiful fresh eggs for another two years. The tiny little chicks are so cute right now. All different color bitty balls of fluff. Some of them are asserting their personalities already at 2 weeks of age. We have Rhode Island Reds, Silverlaced Wyandottes, White Leghorns, Speckled Sussex, Black Australorps, Ameraucanas and a handful of several other heritage breeds.  The eggs they produce will be all colors, ranging from pure white, tinted, green/blue, speckled to brown. Laying should begin in April with tiny pullet eggs. Can't wait. This is the first time in 3 years that I have had to purchase supermarket eggs. I can definitely tell the difference and might add that our family has become quite spoiled with all the free range eggs we can eat. No more Angel Food cakes and baked custards for a while. Here is a photo of some of the new layer chicks.

We  have added a "chicken cam" to our list of things to do. We have access to a nice security system with several cameras and are thinking of hooking it up online to give viewers a look at the chickens. Hopefully we will get this figured out and installed in the spring. Should be fun for viewers and give us the ability to oversee how everyone is doing out there especially at night.

Our free range broilers will have a new experience this morning when they venture out into the light dusting of light snow for the first time in their lives. This is the first year we have raised broilers this late in the year so these chickens will have a unique experience. They might be a little shy of the snow at first but I bet they will still venture out in it. They can always stay inside as well, but I have trained them to love to go outside. A handful of treats always coaxes them outside in the beginning; now when I knock on their door they scramble and beat the Peacocks, our 2 lucky turkeys and a few pet hens kept from the last layer flock. Bet they will be surprised this morning to see the white ground. It will probably melt after an hour or two anyway. Just a taste of what is to come. Brrrrrrrr. Already dreaming of spring.  What to plant next year?

We do have some upcoming events such as the Winter Markets in Des Moines on Nov. 21 & 22 and Dec.19 & 20. This will be our first year in attendance and we are looking forward to it. Other things on our schedule for December will include a tasting at Gateway Market in Des Moines of our herb and pepper jellies. I will post a time and date as soon as it is decided upon.

We are also joining the Iowa Food Coop this year . It is a new coop and allows patrons to purchase food from local Iowa producers online. Once orders are placed customers will pick up their items inside Merle Hay Mall. It sounds like a very good idea. We will list our broilers  and emu products now, our jellies and eggs in the spring. What a great idea for people who love locally grown food. Hope it is very successful for all involved. You can check it out for yourself by going to http://www.iowafood.org/

Does anyone have any suggestions on what crops they would like to see available from us next year?  I am going to start planning the garden in about a month and am always looking for new and interesting ideas for produce.

Must attend to the animals. Stay warm.