[Ag-eq] Down on the Farm

Wed Feb 22 02:29:32 UTC 2012

Quoting Susan Roe <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>:

Susan:

I know some one with the Red Star hens and they really like them.  I have 3
barred Rocks and 3 Cinnamon Queens, they all lay brown eggs and are good
layers.  I might get 2 or 3 chicks, not sure what breed; I like my flock to be
different ages.

What breeds do you have now?

Do you sell plants or produce?

I've been thinking about starting seeds for vegetables and herbs and then
selling the plants; what do you think?

I think you will have so much fun with the goats.  I really enjoy taking care of
mine and using the milk.  It is very easy to get attached to the goats; I don't
know how people can eat them!

You should consider getting some Angora goats so you could use the hair.

I try to compost all the animal waste before using it, but sometimes I use it to
soon.  This makes grass and weeds grow in my vegetables.

Take care.

Nella

> Hi Nella,
>
> Right now the only thing we "sell" is eggs.  I have about 27 hens and 2
> roosters made up of 3 different breeds.  I am looking into Red Star hens for
> my new flock this spring.  All of my hens are brown egg layers because that
> is all my husband and customers want.  When I had 50 hens the most they laid
> in one day was 3 dozens.  They are just creeping out of their winter molt
> where I was lucky if they laid 1 every 3 days.  Right now, they are laying
> about 4 each day.
>
> I don't know about the food handlers license, but I know you need a
> certified kitchen.  That is why I don't "sell" Matt's bread at this time.
> Raw honey won't be a problem and we will have the same provisions like you
> with the goat's milk, not fit for human consumption.  I don't expect the
> goat products to be something we're going to sell to the general public in
> the near future.  Even micro dairies are a bit pricy for us at the moment.
> Matt is so keyed in with the thought of handling the goats, I'm sure it
> might be a while before he will be willing to share his dairy products.  LOL
>
> We will be splitting bee hives in April and setting things up for our first
> large honey extraction.
>
> I also want to get Matt to rearrange our composting set up and keep adding
> to and shifting contents to utilize their bennifits better.  We have a few
> people that take the contents of our chicken coops when we strip them down,
> but I think it would be better if we composted it for a while before using.
>
> Susan
> dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <nfoster at extremezone.com>
> To: "Agricultural and Equestrean Division List" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 10:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Worms and other things
>
>
> > Susan:
> >
> > It sounds as if worms would be a great addition to your farm.  It's
> > amazing how
> > they can break so many things down and benefit the soil.
> >
> > How many chickens do you have now and what is the average amount of eggs
> > that
> > you get?
> >
> > I have 6 hens and average 4 eggs a day.  Sometimes I get as many as 3
> > dozen in a
> > week.  One of my neighbors buys eggs or trades for them.
> >
> > Do you have to have a special permit to sell home made bread?
> >
> > In Arizona you must have a food handler card and all food must be prepared
> > in a
> > commercial kitchen.  I was interested in selling bread and other baked
> > goods
> > until I realized all the laws!
> >
> > I started baking home made pet treats, which is much easier.  A local tack
> > store
> > is selling them for me and I take them to horse and dog related events.
> > People
> > seem very happy with them and I'm getting more and more requests.
> >
> > Arizona is also very strict about the sale of any dairy products.  I have
> > sold
> > some goat milk, but I have to stress to the buyer that is not for human
> > consumption.  What they do with it afterwards is up to them.  Getting a
> > dairy
> > certified is difficult and it just wouldn't be worth it for my little herd
> > of
> > 4!
> >
> > I would love to hear more about your farm and what all you are selling.
> >
> > Nella
> >
> >
> >
> > Quoting Susan Roe <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>:
> >
> >> Hi Kendra,
> >>
> >> This information helps a lot.  I found a set up through my Almish catalog
> >> and I may try that one first and see how it goes.  The worm wigwam sounds
> >> very interesting and I just might have to investigate that a bit further.
> >> I
> >> am a firm believer of starting small and then expanding.  I started with
> >> only 5 hens and 1 rooster in 2004 and now I have three flocks and will
> >> start
> >> a fourth one in April and have a pretty good egg customer base.  I have
> >> even
> >> started some bardering for our eggs and homemade bread.
> >>
> >> Our next start small and then expand project will be the dairy goats and
> >> our
> >> bee hives.
> >>
> >> Susan
> >> dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Kendra Schaber" <Baltimore777 at comcast.net>
> >> To: <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
> >> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 12:17 PM
> >> Subject: [Ag-eq] Worms
> >>
> >>
> >> > Hi Susan, since you only want to do a small non-commercial worm farm,
> >> > then
> >> > a small back yard worm bin, a single worm wigwam or even a single
> >> > endistrial sized worm wigwam will most likely be the best one for you.
> >> > It
> >> > depends on how big your garden that you want to enhance with the worm
> >> > tea
> >> > and worm castings is. There are a number of places that sells both worm
> >> > wigwams and back yard worm bins on the internet. You can also build one
> >> > for yourself. I didn't build the one that I am currently working with.
> >> > I
> >> > got it out of a mear whim from my counselor from the Oregon Commission
> >> > for
> >> > the Blind. It is a bit fancy but it works great! A worm wigwam is
> >> > bigger
> >> > than a back yard worm bin but it will work for someone who has more
> >> > land
> >> > that they want to enhance with their worm castings. If you don't want
> >> > to
> >> > be that fancy, you can just build one to the size that you want it.
> >> > There
> >> > are many different ways to build worm bins. You can look up the
> >> > different
> >> > ways to build them on google so that you can pick
> >> > out the right one for you. You can also figure out how many worms that
> >> > you
> >> > want to start out with once you have picked out the size of worm bin
> >> > that
> >> > will work for you. The bigger the bin, the more worms that you can
> >> > start
> >> > out with. If you choose to have just a small back yard worm bin that is
> >> > only a square foot for example, then you will only need to buy a pound
> >> > of
> >> > worms. If you want to have something bigger than that, then you will
> >> > need
> >> > more worms. A good rule of thumb is two pounds for every square foot or
> >> > fifteen pounds for a worm wigwam since they are built differently than
> >> > your avrige worm bin. Worm wigwams are great for people who has farms
> >> > and
> >> > large gardens that they want to enhance organically. Worm castings and
> >> > worm tea will help your plants grow better than most chemical
> >> > fertelizers.
> >> > I hope that this was helpful! If you have more questions, please feel
> >> > free
> >> > to ask them. Thank you!
> >> > Kendra Schaber
> >> > _______________________________________________
> >> > Ag-eq mailing list
> >> > Ag-eq at nfbnet.org
> >> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ag-eq_nfbnet.org
> >> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> >> > Ag-eq:
> >> >
> >>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ag-eq_nfbnet.org/dogwoodfarm%40verizon.net
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Ag-eq mailing list
> >> Ag-eq at nfbnet.org
> >> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ag-eq_nfbnet.org
> >> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> >> Ag-eq:
> >>
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ag-eq_nfbnet.org/nfoster%40extremezone.com
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Ag-eq mailing list
> > Ag-eq at nfbnet.org
> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ag-eq_nfbnet.org
> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> > Ag-eq:
> >
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ag-eq_nfbnet.org/dogwoodfarm%40verizon.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ag-eq mailing list
> Ag-eq at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ag-eq_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ag-eq:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ag-eq_nfbnet.org/nfoster%40extremezone.com
>