A busy Summer

Wow I'm not sure where summer went!

It was a busy one. We were fortunate to have some help from the HelpX website - Paul and Charlene, Nic, Sarah, Cecilia, Fred and Fabien.
These folks helped out with looking after the chickens and turkeys, collecting eggs, fencing, gardening, yardwork, housework.... Thank you each and every one. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Canada!

So what have we been doing?
Larry had 3 different groups of cows to manage - checking water, moving fences for rotational grazing, moving cattle....

I had a fence to build, animals to pick up at community pasture, the sheep and goats that stayed home needed checking and managing, my garden needed work, I helped Larry move cows, and then tried to keep the Balance of things and plan fun stuff in between - so I took my horse Macy to 2 horse shows, took my dog Spice to sheep camp, went fishing, went to Cypress Hills, went riding 1x a week with my coach...

So here are some random photos from the summer
You might remember this photo from my Grazing Rotations blog - this was what the grass looked like after an intensive graze on June 4:

 This is the same hill, on July 6:  

Me and Macy moving cows

Jewel eating apples - there's an advantage to having a long neck! :)

Remus, new guardian of the flock. Sitting behind the electric fence.

Fishing with friends

 Nic enjoying some time off 

The chickens enjoying a dust bath under the trees

The new chicken pasture. 

  

chickens moved

turkeys foraging 

 Whats left of a plant: only the top leaves the turkeys cant reach! 

Here's a video clip of the turkeys grazing Turkeys Grazing

My veggie garden with chicken coop in background

 Another picture of a thistle that the chickens and turkeys stripped

Shamrock trail ride

Nic with a fish

At sheep camp: thanks to Chelsey A Hinckley for these gorgeous photos

Take-out day at the Elbow community pasture: I was at the crowding tub, this is the alley leading away from the tub to the sort gate

The view on the other side of the crowding tub! It was a hot and dusty day! 

Animals sorted into producer pens

 Remember what the layers looked like when we got them? 

Before and after

 Nice moose spotted on the way back from Elbow pasture

Sunset over Lake Diefenbaker

Fall is in the air....

Land of the living Skies :) 

Feeding antibiotics to animals

When I got my first turkeys this year, I was dismayed to find that a large feed mill in my province doesn't make antibiotic free starter for turkeys. Even the turkey grower is medicated! So I followed some advice from the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association and fed them non-medicated chicken starter, with some boiled egg crumbled in to provide the extra protein. Turkeys are now 8 weeks old and outside on grass, doing GREAT. Out of 50 I lost 7. Not too bad stats for my first time raising them I think.

So the theory behind feeding medicated feed to animals is because humans place them in stressful situations (beef feedlots are overcrowded and unsanitary, same goes for chicken and turkey and hog barns in conventionally raised animal production) - feed them antibiotics to prevent them from getting sick due to the overcrowding or unsanitary conditions. Treating the SYMPTOM, not the CAUSE. Prevent the overcrowding, and the symptoms will disappear.

We all know that young children are prone to ear infections, sinus infections, tonsillitis and all sorts of other bacterial infections - so why does conventional wisdom not recommend feeding kids medicated food to prevent these illnesses? Because we know that overuse of antibiotics will cause resistant strains of bacteria to develop. Well, erm, will the same thing not happen with animal production and its preventative use of antibiotics?

Hence here at Pilgrim Farms, we try to raise our animals in stress-free environment, with no added antibiotics or hormones. The chickens are raised in brooder houses with ample space, clean litter and clean water and feed dishes. As soon as they are old enough(3-4 weeks depending on weather) they are moved to the pasture pens where they get to enjoy sunlight, dirt to scratch in, grass to nibble on, bugs to chase and all the free choice locally grown grains they can eat. I love watching them lie down and stretch a leg out as if they are enjoying a day suntanning at the beach. And when I move the pens to give them access to fresh grass, its a joy to watch them explore, gobble up some grass, dandelions and alfalfa and chase the occasional bug. I am proud to raise such healthy animals. I strive to provide the best natural and ethical care possible.