Sheila got out while I was moving the chicks into their Ark. Ton went into high alert.
The first I saw she was munching the dregs of the dropped apples under the Apple Pie Apple tree. As laid back and nonchalant as you please. Lumbering about. Then when I returned with a bucket of feed and a big steering stick, she had wandered off and reappeared on the other side of the garden with her head in a bowl of newly harvested tomatoes that someone had kindly left in the path for her. Munching on the last of them. Red juice glistening on her fat piggy smile. Ton right behind. After I got her back in her field I discovered that she had begun her walk in the shed, ripping open a bag of pig feed and having a good go at eating all of that. So she may have been out a while before I saw her. Luckily she did not go into the corn field, but TonTon would have found her.
The chicks and their Ark were carried out to the field yesterday. Doesn’t Boo look like a Dingo in this shot? Which is unsurprising as there is Dingo in his anscestry. I will never forgive those people for cutting that dogs tail off.
Yesterday the chicks discovered that they could fly to the top of their box gate, which sent Ton on point, right foot raised, head thrust forward, trying to decide how to keep them all in. They were threatening to stage an escape of their own, so out of the stock trailer they came and onto the nice clean green pasture. It just makes you happy to see them on the grass doesn’t it?! With the constant shifting they will be on clean green pasture all the time. They were up and wandering about immediately, tasting the grass. And exploring their new home.
So much better. The Ark is the next generation of housing for summer chickens. I am going to design roosting boxes for the next one and next summer the laying chickens will be out of the Chook House and the Chook House will become winter quarters. I hate cleaning out the Chook House.
Here is the Clatter Box in position. I will describe how I saw it works for my favourite townies: Do you see that thin central metal belt with its metal links, it looks a little like a long watch strap? That runs all the way up to the top and loops around and runs back underneath like the treads on an old tank. Or the belt at the supermarket. Except this one has spikes. Someone places a bale on the base of the rattling belt, the rising spikes nip into the bale and off it goes clattering away to the top and someone else collects it at the top. I stand at the top and just as it is about to drop off I grab it and swing it into the stack. You know how when you leave the escalators in the airport you have a little momentum, sometimes making you hop to slow down, well that works for the bale too so it is slightly tossed off the top. This little bit of speed helps me. All I do is grab it and direct it towards the stack, using considerably less energy.
Getting it into position was a bit of a challenge, it is not a light beast, however it was so exciting to see the bales chug up to the loft I was about ready to throw them back down so I could do it all over again. Luckily The Matriarch (Our John’s Mum) called us in to dinner just in time.
Good morning. I am looking forward to today. I will push the stock trailer into the field and hose it out then park that up again. There is a weedy little rat house field that needs topping. (I should never have resown those fields they have all been taken over by weeds.) Lots of fun stuff to do. The big chook house really does need cleaning out but I might put that off for another day and garden instead. The brasssica’s are all growing for the autumn garden and I will sow some more lettuce seed today. No tomatoes to process though, someone ATE them!! We will be putting Greek Peppers into jars instead.
Have a lovely day. A lovely, lovely day.
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
67 responses to “caught red-handed, I mean red lipped – with her hand, I mean head in..”
Oh that pig sounds like me on a marauding tear through the fridge! Sad but true. Congratulations on setting up the Clatter Box. I know that means a lot to you!!!!
It does, natalia. It makes the work much more sustainable in that we can heave bales about for many years to come without causing injury to our well worked backs. c
How do the bales get on the belt? Is someone below dropping them on?
My 2 pups are missing their long, beautiful tails, too – cockers. Why??
Morning lacey, I have amended that sentence in the post so that it makes more sense, thanks for asking the question. I am still at a loss as to why some dogs have their tails docked. It seems to me that this in inhumane treatment? Why are there no protests about that I wonder! c
I also hate that people have to cut and shape dogs ears. So unnecessary!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Well. my huge joy for the day is to see the meat chickens out on grass: all that room they have: a room with a view like a first class hotel 🙂 ! And thank you for explaining the clatterbox: alright you pick the bales off at the top: but someone has to feed them onto it from the bottom? And, so Sheila got some extra lycopene . . . oh, methinks she has had a bit of a rough ride and the red lips do suit 😀 !!!
Yes someone pops them on the bottom and i collect them from the top! Easy peasy. This morning i went out to feed the field chickens and as i gently pulled the ark along the chicks RAN to the new grass. Missions accomplished. Deeply satisfying! That made me smile too!
My morning laugh 🙂 ! So glad that is working! Fancy having a new ‘Room with a View’ every few days . . . a great ‘game’ for them too with fresh food at the end . . . it looks and sounds that they have some dry tucker as well?!
Yes they also get poultry food..c
Poor nekkid Kupa 🙂 Does Clatter Box only have a forward gear – or can you put it into reverse and run the bales down as well? Sheila sure seemed to enjoy her sumptuous Saturday morning brunch! Love the chicken ark. Laura
Good question laura, but it only goes one way (I think) but when I feed out on the winter i just heave the bales over the side of the mezzanine, no need to cart them carefully down again.. c
Good morning Celi; thanks for making us LOL this morning . thanks for showing us the electric motor on the ladder . Lacy is right it takes two people to operate that ladder, but you can load up the ladder if it is set up right to where you can drop a few off up top then go up and stack them . pigs drive me nuts , they don’t understand that if they make us nuts we will eat them. be a blessing mike
Morning Mike! Yes i am hoping to work out a system whereby i can load a few at a time by myself. However our time will be halved using this machine so it is possible I won’t be left to do the work alone now. Wouldn’t that be a joy! c
The Clatter Box – what a wonderful name…SO appropriate! Angel got a huge kick out of the Piggie Brunch. Most likely because she’s done the same thing herself 😉
Yes, little forager that she is! c
Our former neighbours had their boxer’s ears operated on so the ears would stand up straight to fall in line with show dog standards. I was so mad! That poor dog was in a cone and bandages for months. For what? It saddened me there was a vet in town that was ok doing that as well. Made me want to immediately do a dog show for normal goofy dogs.
Sheila really does have a big grin on her face! What a pig! fancy eating apples and tomotoes and pig feed..greedy girl…
Love Kupa’s lost feather..they are so beautiful….
I agree with Gardenfreshtomoatoes..what a great name for the hay shifter..The Clatter Box…. I do so love how everything on the Farmy , fields, trees and machinery has a name…it makes it more personal
spelt tomatoes wrong ..sorry
I love visiting your farm this way… as always, thanks for sharing! Your photos are wonderful!
Oh those chickens look so happy! What will you do with them in the winter – or will they be old enough to process by then? Will they lay eggs meanwhile?
Went to the local orchard yesterday and bought Apples, Peaches and Prune Plums. Loaded up my De-hydrator for the very first time this morning. Have had to put it in the laundry room out of the way of the kittens (I will be so glad when they are big enough to go out side, they are in to everything!). No one told me what a wonderful smell is produced while the machine does its job! My laundry room smells of apples, peaches and plums! Think I might put it in my bedroom next time LOL. Or next year I could dry my lavender in it, again in the bedroom? My mind is now wiring with ideas to make each room in my house smell nice!!
No they won’t get old enough to lay eggs, though my Peghorn Leghorns are already laying! they were fast! These ones will go the lovely Amish poultry abbatoir at the end of October as they do not do outside (of their community) processing in November. And December will be too cold out in the field. It goes without saying that I don’t want to grow these until they are TOO fat. I want healthy two people roasts! c
The Ark is wonderful. All chickens should be so fortunate to have such luxury housing.
animals that grow on small farms like these get such good food! c
Sheila’s a very clever pig 😉
And she has the bottom to prove it this morning too!! c
Oh poor Miss Piggy was hungry and decided to go find her own food. She is adorable.
You crack me up: “it was so exciting to see the bales chug up to the loft I was about ready to throw them back down so I could do it all over again. Luckily The Matriarch (Our John’s Mum) called us in to dinner just in time.”
If you’re in the mood to be on the cover of a Nature Conservancy calendar:
I was thinking about the gorgeous photography you shared during your recent wedding trip. I could definitely see one of those images on the cover of the calendar.
Oh now I see what you mean, hmm, I shall investigate further.. thank you nancy.. c