Turkey Race

Post by Hamberg Family Farm.

Turkeys and Apples

A local farmer allowed us to pick up some dropped apples from under his trees. The turkeys thought they had died and gone to heave.

Good Morning

Good morning, how about a little tour and update? We have a few new faces around the farm. The sun was perfect this morning and so after chores I took my camera out to take a few snapshots. 

You can see one of the four Toms slightly puffed up on the far right. Yes, you read that right, four toms. Out of nine turkeys we figure that four of them are male. Daily they strut their stuff to figure out who is boss, but they don't fight. We are hoping that Thanksgiving will come before they feel like fighting. Otherwise we will deal with them accordingly.

The pumpkins are growing, but we did not get as many as we wanted. Dad was really hoping for enough to let the daycare kiddos come out and pick their own. It looks like we will have just enough for our own needs. Jason's grandfather (who is an exceptional gardener) says that his didn't do too well either and wonders if we wound up with too many male plants. 

This is our rooster, Charcoal. Neighbors down the street from us had two roosters and didn't want any fights and asked if we'd like one. We were hoping to get a rooster in the batch of six that we bought this spring and so we happily said "Yes." Little Sister named him Charcoal after the black plumes on his tail. He is adjusting well to having so many ladies to himself, but he has not asserted himself yet over the older twelve hens.

This last month we added in the new six layers, the rooster, and removed a chicken who was pecking the others and it stressed out our flock quite a bit. They aren't laying as much as they used to, but they still are laying. We are getting between 6-9 eggs a day which is just enough for us to eat and sell a few on the side. Hopefully in the next week everyone will relax and get back to laying. The six new hens won't be laying until mid-September or early October.

The hens have not reduced their pen to dirt which has surprised us. They don't eat everything in sight either. The turkeys will eat everything down to stubble, but it seems like our hens are a little more picky. It has been interesting to learn which birds will eat what. For instance: the turkeys devour apples, the chickens just peck at them and the chickens devour bread while the turkeys just peck at them. Also the turkeys don't put themselves to bed a night we have to go out and encourage them into their coop, but the chickens go in as soon as the sun goes down.

 

This is Kee-La-La, Elle's kitty. The kitty is living here on the farm until my brother and his wife find a new apartment. She isn't too sure about the farm animals or my dog Vinnie. This morning she called me to her and I obliged in pets and rubs.

The garden is doing all right. We got sidetracked with our trip to MI and NY and then the wedding so it didn't get tended to well. We have a nice crop of tomatoes and I will be making salsa this year and some spaghetti sauce. It will be a nice change to do some canning around here. The pear trees are loaded so we will also be making tons of pear sauce. We have really missed pear sauce over the last year, since last years crop didn't do so great. We cannot complain since we don't prune, spray, or pick them, just let nature take its course.

This has been a summer of change and loss for us. Little Sisters kitty passed away in the beginning of the summer and her bunny passed away this week. One evening Jason came home with the above bunny for the daycare kiddos. The kids really enjoyed feeding Sara bunny so I thought it would be nice to continue to keep a bunny for them. Jason's bosses kids participate in 4H and one of the boys raises bunnies. He gave this one to us. Mom named her York Peppermint Patty.

I hope your day is lovely. I'm off to check for eggs and make lunch!

A Pair

We let the two duck ladies out today. They were so happy to be free and wandering around. They spent a lot of time with their bills in the muck looking for special little tid bits. They even wandered a little too far way from the pond in their search, silly ladies. We were able to call them back to the pond though and they have spent the rest of the morning taking a bath, looking for morsels, and feeling free.

We realized though, that our two ladies do not have any names. Since they are more pets than farm animals we will give them some names. Any suggestions?

For more photos check out the album on facebook! Click HERE for more photos!

Farewell

Edited March 11, 2013

The snow around Rusty is too deep, so his farewell is being postponed for a week or two when the gates have been freed of snow. We met the family and they are wonderful! We are so excited for Rusty's new life!

Edited March 15, 2013
Rusty's last day with us was March 14, 2013. He is already missed.

July 2009 (the month she got him)

Dec 2009

Summer 2012

Every girl wants a horse. When my parents purchased this old farm house in 2004 my sister immediately asked: "Can I get a horse?" My parents surprising answer: "Yes, but you buy it, purchase materials for its barn, buy all its food and medicines, and do all the work." For five years she saved, she worked, and in July 2009 she realized her dream. His name was Rusty, and he was her baby.

Time passes and the little girl grew to a young adult preparing for her future. A future where keeping and paying for a horse would not be a possibility. So a search began for a good home for her special horse.

On Sunday a friend (lets call him George) of a family friend stopped by to take a look at him. George was looking for a family horse for a friend. A horse that wouldn't mind children or other dogs, a horse with patience. Rusty is that horse.

Today Rusty heads off on a new adventure. There will be a new horse friend for him (a 'teenage' horse about 3yrs old), new kids to feed him, and new animals to meet. He will be well cared for and loved. And he here at the Hamberg Family Farm his presence will be missed.

Ducks

I haven't mentioned the ducks in quite some time. 

We still have them, though their numbers have been reduced drastically from this summer. This summer we had eleven, but we reduced our flock to two.

Recently they started laying. The egg in the nest is the teaching egg, it's a marble egg Jason picked up somewhere to show the girls where we'd like them to lay. It worked with the chickens, with any luck it will work for these two!

Yes she is a little yellow. No she is not supposed to be. Unfortunately our kiddy pool bit the dust or is burried in snow, I can't remember which, and the girls are unable to take a bath at the moment. Not to worry, spring is around the corner and they will be a pretty white again!

Little Hoppers

Unfortunately there isn't much going on around here, all accept a few rabbits I hesitate to show you (because of their adorableness). They are doing great. They are eating grain, hay, and drinking water on their own. In a few weeks we will separate them from their mother, to give them growing room, but I don't think she'll mind. Those little buggers tumble all over her all day long. 

We are down to five rabbits. It's our own fault. We didn't check the cage close enough for spots a small rabbit could fall through and last week we lost two. The hole has been repaired and the little hoppers are free to roam their cage.

(Photos Courtesy of Mom Berg)

Psst, I have a secret

squeeeeze

Farming & Knitting

I have been deliberating on what to do about the other blog I maintain. Last year around this time we moved in with my parents and started a small hobby farm, Hamberg Family Farm. For the first part of 2012 and most of the summer I attempted to keep multiple blogs thriving. This fall I realized that it wasn't working out writing three blogs (Knitted Together, Hambergs in the Kitchen, and Hamberg Family Farm) so I focused my efforts where I had readership--here.

Starting today I will be posting all three blogs here on, Knitted Together. I have formulated a plan to keep me focused and give me direction. Most of my posting will still be about knitting and mothering, but you will also see more cooking and farming related posts. The following list is not set in stone, but a guideline. Some weeks I may post on all the days listed, on other weeks only a few.

• Monday or Tuesday :: Weekend Wrap-up
• Mostly photos like this post
• Wednesday :: Yarn Along 
• Books, knitting, yarn, and designing. On this day I link up with Ginny at www.gsheller.com
• Friday :: Farm Friday
• Updates on what is going on at Hamberg Family Farm
• Thursday :: From the Kitchen
• Recipies, failures, and food photos
• Sunday  :: Year of Projects Update
• Knitting and planning, this is a way to keep myself focused on specific things I have been wanting to knit. You can find my list HERE

I have a short photo journal of the farm HERE so that you can get to know our little farm.

Housecleaning & Embrace the Camera

..or rather blog cleaning? Updating? Not sure what the proper wording would be, but here it is.

1. I have removed the Evelyn Cardigan until further notice. I have high hope that I will get all the bugs cleaned up by February, depending on how my Christmas Knitting List ends (right now it's not looking too good)

2. I will have a real Year of Projects post some time in the new year.

3. The chickens are laying like crazy! Praise God! It looks like we at least got that bit right!

4. I must return to my knitting now. Here are some cute photos of the little guy during the first storm (sometime early November). I took him outside in his pj's. He of course choose this day to sleep in!

P.S. In the second photo he is throwing snow for that ball of fluff I call a dog

(Thanks Grandma for taking such cute photos!)

Linking up the with Anderson Crew today!

Rabbits

Saturday morning Jason came back in the house from doing chores, and I could tell that something bad had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"Stupid rabbit died giving birth."

"What?"

"She bled out."

"Are the babies alive?"

"Yeah, six of them. I put them in with the other mother, but I don't think it's going to work."

He then left to attend some training, while he was gone the rest of us wondered if anything could be done.

That afternoon Little Sister asked if Jason would mind if she kept one as a pet. He could breed it if he wanted to, but it would be her pet. I thought that'd be fine. I suggested she take two so that they would keep each other warm and to hedge her bet. I told her to take the two livelest ones. She went down in the the barn with my parents to help her.

When she came back she had three.

A few minutes later my Mom came up with a sheepish look on her face and said; "My sweatshirt pocket is moving."

"How many?" I asked.

"All of them."

"You do realize that even if they survive, we will still be eating them."

"Yes. I know."

We did some research and warmed a bit of cows milk for them and fed them with droppers we happened to have (sometimes it pays off to keep things--sometimes). We put their mothers fur from her nest making in a bucket with straw and a piece of flannel for them to crawl under. We put numbers on their back with a non-toxic washable markers and made careful notes on how much milk each took in. We fed them, put a warming light over them, and hoped for the best.

That was four days ago.

Their fur is coming in, they are peeing on their own, and taking a teeny nipple we borrowed from a friend. We are so surprised at how well they are doing. We all assumed that we'd loose them all in the first day. As far as we can tell all six are going to make it.

The question Jason keeps asking us is, "Are you sure you will be able to eat them when it comes time?"

"Yes, all but the one we keep as a pet."

Jan 2013 :: Edited to add--

A few days later all the kits died. Later we finally received some credible information and learned we had fed them improperly.