More Industry Propaganda Tells Our Story For Us

In these two videos from the American Egg Board 2 clueless students visit an industrial egg farm in Indiana. Here is the link to the page.

In the "Roadtrip - Eggfarm" video there is one stunning moment at 1:25 - we are told that in 1925 when the farm was started it had a flock of 1200 PASTURED LAYERS! He goes on to tell us that predators were a problem (read: too much work) and the farm was converted to an indoor system and finally to a cage-based system that we will see in the next video.

In the next video "Roadtrip - Hen House" at 0:41 we learn that the hen house contains 223,000 hens, at 1:00 the moronic students learn they have to wear jumpsuits so an errant disease doesn't cause a mass infection of the flock, the rest of the video explains how keeping 223,000 hens in total confinement, living on wire floors, never seeing the light of day, never expressing any of a hens natural behaviors is better for the farmer, the chicken, and you, the consumer.

Elliott

Welcome Mark!

Our first WWOOFer (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) has come to stay with us for 3 weeks. He will be helping us with and learning about our farm. He'll be teaching us a thing or two about Karate, sharpening our knives, and other interesting things I'm sure.

Garden Dreams Do Come True

It started with a big, open space with fresh air, sunshine, invasive grasses, and farmers with faith in seeds...


And the dream--with sweat, hands, a little compost, a little mulch, a little drip irrigation--now grows up and spirals out of corn stalks and watermelon vines...




Proving that garden dreams do come true, we present the first fruits of our garden - zephyr squash - at our farmers market stand and hopefully on your dinner plates by Saturday evening.


Coming Soon: Cucumbers (White and Green), Green Beans, Sweet Corn (Bi-Color), Crimson Okra, Sunflowers, Zinnias, Moon and Stars Watermelon, Pink Tomatoes, Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatillos, Hungarian Peppers, Mauve Eggplants, Basil, Dill, and Chives.

Grow On,
Arianne

Bell Waterer How-To Guide

Warning: Farmer Stuff Ahead

Several people have asked me about our bell waterers and how you hook them up. The only other post about it is my failed attempt at turning a horse waterer into a chicken waterer. So here it is - a step by step guide to hooking a gravity fed Plasson bell up to a 5 gallon bucket reservoir, followed by a video on how to use it on a Salatin style broiler pen.

Hint: Chic-fil-A is a great source for free 5 gallon buckets.



A food grade 5 gallon bucket.




Take the end of the water tube not attached to the waterer.



The first time its hard to commit, is this really what I should be doing? The answer is yes, chop the end off.



Drill a hole slightly smaller than the width of the tube.



Jam it in the hole with pliers.



Pull it in 2 inches or so.



And voila! - your bell water is hooked up to a 5 gallon bucket. View the video for how to hook it up to a broiler pen.



Elliott