Farm Yard News
Farm Yard News
As the great philosopher Kermit the Frog once said “it’s hard being green”, this winter has been so cold for so long that the passive methods we normally employ for sustainable and green farming proved somewhat ineffectual. The month of March was another record breaking cold month and the weather has taken its toll on the younger animals living outdoors. We only have one small heated barn designed to be the chicken coop which was connected to the farm’s heating system. In January and February we were flooded with a wave of new births (piglets and lambs) and so we had 9 moms, their 20 offspring, of two very different species sharing a 600 sq. ft. barn. Our lamb manager, Sophia, and Dawn have had a steep learning curve keeping baby lambs alive and well during this harsh winter and one of the little guys is still struggling but is going to make it due to their combined care. It looks like the winter is finally through although I am sure there will be at least one or two more nasty surprises. We are hoping to get our old barn renovated this year and we have received quotes and plans to do so. The electrical feed and the heating have already been plumbed in and the extra heated space would be a welcome relief for next year. On the bright side we are getting closer to bringing our free ranged chickens to the farm,
the grass will soon be up and our grass fed cattle will be roaming the pasture.
Pig News!!
We has some of our large black pigs’ baby piglets die this month for unknown reasons
On the Poultry Front
The equipment is ready and the order has been placed.
Sheep’s Stories
The sheep were sheared this month which was a first at Townsend.
The weather is starting to warm and the cows are becoming more active.