Is Chicken a Healthy Choice?

glendaSeptember 16, 2019Leave a comment

Pasture Raised Chicken is the healthy choice!

Here are the facts:

Pasture raised meat is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamin E, vitamin A, and folic acid
Pasture raised chicken has 50% more vitamin A and 100% more omega – 3’s than confinement raised birds
Compared with commercial birds, pasture raised chicken has 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 28% fewer calories.
Under USDA guidelines breast meat from pasture raised chicken is so lean it earns the designation, “fat free.”

The National Pork Board conducted a study of the Top 3 Family dinner occasions:

Feeding a Family in a Hurry
Quick, Healthy Meals
Familiar Family Dinners

Here are the protein choices for Feeding a Family in a Hurry (12.6% of meals):

Ground beef 22%
Pepperoni (likely on pizza) 15%
chicken breast 10%

Here are the protein choices for Quick, Healthy Meals (12.4% of meals):

25% Boneless chicken breasts
8% Rotisserie chicken
7% ground turkey and salmon

Here are the protein choices for Familiar Family Dinners (10.7% of meals):

25% ground beef
17% Boneless chicken breast
5% pork chops

You'll notice that chicken is on ALL of these lists. It's not surprising. Chicken Producers have done an incredible job of promoting confinement chicken as healthy protein. Pasture raised chicken is healthier.

Is factory farmed chicken healthy?

Here's a link for the movie, SUPER SIZE ME 2 - Holy Chicken

release date September 13, 2019

Pasture Raised Chicken is the healthy choice!

Best Brooder for Starting Chicks

glendaApril 10, 2019July 22, 2019Leave a comment

Making a Protein Tub Brooder for Starting Chicks

*This article appeared in Tractor Supply Company's, Out Here Magazine*

Murphy's Law of Farming states that, 'The minute your chicks arrive in the spring so will a cold front'. Making a protein tub brooder keeps chicks warm and healthy. A protein tub brooder is a more efficient solution than hanging brooder lights, and a protein tub brooder keeps the heat where it should be; surrounding the chicks. They also create a draft free area with plenty of ventilation.

For years we started chicks under hanging heat lamps. The electric bill reflected the inefficiency.

It's important to have more than one protein tub brooder in case the light in one of them burns out there's another warm area for the chicks.

Each protein tub comfortably houses 10 chicks.

If you're starting turkeys read this to prevent early poult flip over

Supplies:

2 recycled protein tubs or Two muck buckets
2 Brooder Light fixture with wire lamp guard
Lightweight chain
2 *100-watt incandescent bulb or low-wattage heat lamp ( 1 for each bucket)
Pine shavings

* Rough Service incandescent bulbs NOT LED or compact fluorescent

Tools:

Black permanent marker
sharp knife, jig saw, or drill with 4” hole saw

Instructions:

Wash the protein tub or protein tub.
Flip the protein tub over and trace the outline of the brooder light in the center of the bucket's bottom.
Use a sharp knife or jig saw to cut along the outline. Cut the opening slightly smaller than the outline so the brooder light sits securely on top of the bucket.
Next use a jig saw or drill fitted with a 4” hole saw to cut 3 openings, evenly spaced, around the outer edge (which will become the chick's access to the brooder). Cut the holes an inch above lip of the protein tub. It's important to cut more than one entrance to prevent crowding at the opening. Multiple entrances improve ventilation.

Flip the protein tub over. Hang the brooder lamp from a lightweight chain. The chain is for safety, it prevents the lamp from falling inside the brooder. The brooder lamp should fit snugly on top of the protein tub with the lamp and wire guard sitting inside.
Use a 100 watt incandescent bulb or a low-wattage heat lamp in the fixture. Do not use a compact fluorescent or LED light - they do not generate heat. NEVER use a high wattage heat lamp and Never use a heat lamp with straw!

Spread pine shavings throughout the brooder area, both inside and outside the protein tub, to a thickness of 3 inches. Nestle the buckets into the shavings so the chicks can easily enter and exit the protein tub brooder.

Place feed and water outside the protein tub brooder. The chicks will eat and drink freely and go inside the bucket when they need to warm up.

Before your chicks arrive turn on the lights so that it's a comfortable temperature; 95 degrees the first week, reduced by five degrees each week following. Reducing the temperature is as easy as changing the bulb; a 100 watt bulb (or low-wattage heat lamp depending on the temperature) the first week or two. Change to a 75 watt bulb as the outside temperature warms up. Use brooder lamps until the chicks feather out and the outside temperature is comfortable.

Conclusion

Making a protein tub brooder is an efficient way to keep your chicks warm and healthy. This type of brooder is economical and easy to make. A protein tub brooder will last for years.

On our organic farm getting the chicks off to a healthy start is the key to their successful transition into the pasture. We've experienced fewer losses with better growth rates after making this brooder a part of our poultry plan.

This is the Best Brooder for Starting Chicks!

the bet brooder for starting chicks

Need other great ideas for raising healthy hens?

Check out The Healthy Chicken Handbook

New Genetics…Right out of a bad Sci Fi Film

glendaFebruary 19, 2019February 20, 2019Leave a comment

If you're concerned about genetically modified foods wait until you hear about genetically engineered livestock.

Gene editing for farm animals is on the horizon.

What's gene editing?
It's changing the DNA, inherited traits, or sexual development of livestock through gene manipulation.
Here's a quote from Mitch Abrahamsen, chief commercial and science officer for Recombinetics, “Today in the marketplace, we have a castration-free swine project.”
Swine will be naturally castrated or gene editing will create hogs that never reach sexual maturity.
“Our goal is to put multiple edits in an animal,” says Abrahamsen. “I'm interested in using editing to knock out the germ cell, or testes...”

Recombinetics already has commercial deals with Hendrix Genetics, DNA Swine Genetics, and Semex, a Canadian dairy AI cooperative.

The team that's working on gene editing has a plan to market gene edited animals so that consumers will embrace the new traits without objection. Recombinetics doesn't want the negative stigma that GMO technology has. In other words the spin will be on disease free livestock, less methane producing digestion, and humane animal husbandry (no need to castrate pigs - they're testes free).

In my opinion, I'd rather have livestock that's mechanically castrated than livestock whose genes are altered to render them testes free. If you'd like more info check out Successful Farming Magazine, November 2018 or
click this link

Try organic, grass-fed meat - It's healthier and better for the environment.

Prevent Early Poult Flip-overs

glendaJanuary 3, 2018June 11, 2019Leave a comment

Prevent Early Poult Flip-overs (EPF) in Turkey Poults

How to Raise Turkeys

Each spring, for the past 24 years, we've raised turkey; Royal Palm, Narragansett, Bronze, Bourbon Red, and several others, primarily heritage breeds, though. Occasionally we would find a 2 – 3 day old turkey poult, that appeared perfectly healthy earlier, dead on its back. Researchers believe this is a neurological disorder with a genetic component called Early Poult Flip-overs (EPF). Not one to argue with research, however through observation this issue seems more of a developmental problem.

Here's how to prevent Early Poult Flip-overs (EPF) in Turkey Poults

Our solution is simple, successful, and has eliminated the problem.

Newly hatched turkey's legs are weak, and their bellies big, it's difficult for them to to right themselves. They get stuck on their back, legs paddling, and chirp in distress. If you aren't there to help them they'll die.

If you are going to place newly hatched turkeys in to protein tub brooders wait for one week to ten days and follow this plan instead: Place newly hatched turkeys into a brooder with varying sizes of sticks or small tree branches. If the poults get cast they can right themselves by pushing against the branches. The hatchlings easily navigate through the branches to access feed and water.

After a week or so their legs are stronger, they're out of danger from EPF, and they're ready for the protein tub brooders.

For instructions on making a Protein Tub or Muck Bucket Brooder

look for the article in the Winter 2017 issue of Farming Magazine or the Summer 2017 issue of Tractor Supply Company's Out Here Magazine

Turkeys are easy to raise once you get them past the first few weeks which is a fragile stage for poults.

Are you raising chickens, too?

Check out, The Healthy Chicken Handbook

The Efficiency of Grazing Cattle

glendaFebruary 3, 2017June 23, 2017Leave a comment

The Efficiency of Grazing Cattle

Working on time management skills? You might just learn a thing or two from a cow. In the 1940's Cornell University studied cattle to see how they spent their time each day. Andre' Voisin's book, Grass Productivity has the detailed study on the efficiency of grazing cattle.

The university studied cow-calf pairs on pasture. Observers learned that cattle graze for a little less than eight hours per day. No over-time for bovine. They never exceed eight hours of grazing time.

Spend time Wisely

The cattle spent about seven hour per day ruminating (chewing their cud). The time differed slightly depending on the fiber content of the forage. Some ruminating is done lying down and part standing up.

Cattle lie down for slightly less than twelve hours per day. Cows divided these 12 hours into nine rest periods of varying length.

The cattle in the study didn't deviate in their daily routine. When they replicated the study in other countries the cattle showed the same results. In areas with hotter daytime temperatures the cattle spent no more than eight hours grazing, but they did it at night. The slight variances by breed or heredity weren't much different, they didn't change the study's results.

Quality is Everything

Here's where the efficiency of grazing cattle matters.; If cattle spend eight hours grazing each day quality is everything. If they're grazing poor pastures without nutrient dense forage they're basically spending eight hours eating junk food. Eight hours of quality forage, either pasture or hay, boost the cattle’s health. Feeding quality produces quality results.And how they're grazing matters, too. MIG grazing improves soil quality and prevents erosion.

If you're spending eight hours at something be sure to get the greatest return from those hours. Junk in - junk out. Quality counts. With organic production It's about quality not quantity.

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How to Improve Soil Nutrients

glendaMarch 16, 2016March 26, 2016Leave a comment

How to Improve Soil Nutrients

Salt the Earth

I spent the last couple of days getting the garden ready. The asparagus bed, pumpkin patch, vegetable garden and orchard trees have been salted to Improve Soil Nutrients.

I read about how to improve soil nutrients and the benefits of sea salt for boosting trace elements in an article from Acres USA, January 2003. This winter I re-read the book Sea Energy Agriculture by Maynard Murray, M.D.

Dr. Murray presents evidence of the declining trace elements of soil. When commercial fertilizers are applied only the basic elements are returned to the soil. The abundance of these; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and lime initially increase crop yield, however, they block uptake of necessary elements.

The science behind Sea Energy Agriculture is that the chemistry of sea life is naturally disease resistant and nutritionally superior. Sea salts added to soils are properly balanced between trace elements and sodium chloride. The application rate is important, too. The application is reasonable to restore the soil’s missing elements without rendering it useless like Carthage after the Romans salted the earth.

The best defense against disease is good nutrition. That nutrition starts in the soil. Plants take up the minerals which are then distributed to the end consumer whether human, livestock or wildlife. These end crops are nutrient dense and superior in trace elements.

In the past I’ve tried getting the geese to weed the asparagus beds. Instead of pulling out the grass they pulled up all the strawberry plants in the next bed over. This year I’m experimenting by using a high rate of Redmond Salt to kill the grass in the asparagus bed. The heavier application won’t hurt the crop, instead it will restore elemental nutrients while inhibiting the invasive grasses.

Both SEA-90 and Redmond Salt are certified organic (OMRI listed). The difference is where the sea mineral solids are sourced. SEA-90 is from an estuary where sea water is captured and dried. Redmond salt is sourced from deposits in Redmond Utah.

As an experiment both products are being applied separately to the orchard trees and garden. Here on the farm there are two areas with heirloom apple trees, two areas with peach trees and one group of cherry trees of three different varieties. I don’t know whether the difference between the two products will be significant, we’ll find out at the end of the growing season.

Redmond salt is sold by a local supplier, which is convenient. There aren’t any SEA-90 suppliers in our area so I bought enough for half of our vegetable garden and half of the orchard trees through Amazon.

Last fall the pastures were salted with Redmond salt, 50 pounds per acre, to improve the balance of the soil. This spring we’ll repeat the salt application. We’ve seen great promise in pasture growth using sea solids and the livestock prefer grazing the fields where it’s been applied.

How to Improve Soil Nutrients — Peach Trees

Schroeder -Thomas Splint Update

glendaMarch 2, 2016April 1, 2021Leave a comment

Here's the Schroeder -Thomas Splint Update. A few years ago one of our calves broke his hind leg, you can read about it here

This is calving season on many farms so and we get quite a few questions about how to make a Schroeder -Thomas Splint.

The splint that Keith welded worked great for our calf. However, I recently got an email from Tracie asking for more information on the splint. I was happy to share more pictures along with a few other details.

Tracie was kind enough to send an email with a picture of their Schroeder-Thomas Splint. I think that Tracie may have improved on the design by adding a can holder for the calf's foot. However, using a cable to make the upper ring doesn't give enough support for the frame at the hip area. The cable is flexible which makes it easier to adjust but again, the upper ring is for supporting the leg.

Tracie also added a can Koozie to hold the foot inside the frame. We had used a block of wood to support the foot and held it in place with Vet Wrap and duct tape.

The key to making the splint is fitting it to the animal. Careful measurements are needed for the length and the circumference at the hip.

As a side note; all the surfaces of the frame that come in contact with skin should be padded to prevent sores from forming. This is especially important during fly season.

The spring weather is too erratic here in Iowa. Some years there's been snow on the ground late into April. Spring weather is too cold and the grass too sparse for grazing so now calving is schedule to begin in May.

Schroeder -Thomas Splint Update Tracie's updated design

Update: April 11, 2016

Recently I've been emailing with Summer from North Dakota. They have a calf with a high, rear leg fracture. The frame they designed has an adjustable base with clamps to make the foot platform slide up or down. Summer was kind enough to share several pictures of their splint. They did a remarkable job with their calf named, Superman. He's fortunate for their loving care.

Thanks for sharing, Summer!

Preventing Bird Flu in Your Flock 3

glendaOctober 20, 2015March 26, 20163 Comments

Preventing Bird Flu in your Flock

How to kill tens of thousands of chickens with the flip of a switch

Clean living conditions prevent disease; Sunlight kills viruses, fresh greens boost immunity and exercise improves health. These are the benefits for poultry raised on pasture.

Inside poultry confinement buildings ventilation fans run 24 hours a day. Without these fans the birds die relatively quickly from ammonia fumes and the heat that’s generated from the high density of bodies within the building.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced that the federal government is preparing for a bird flu outbreak this fall that could be twice as bad as the one this spring.

The USDA is calling for shutting down the ventilation system if there's another outbreak of Avian Flu. The policy is designed to help farms more quickly keep the virus from spreading.

USDA officials said that teams hired to euthanize birds in Iowa and Minnesota fell behind on destroying infected birds this spring due to the size of the flocks. The new euthanasia policy initiates a 24 – hour “stamping-out.” If no other method of killing would meet the 24 hour deadline federal and state officials, along with the producer, agree to shut down the ventilation system.

For chickens in pasture it's a different story. There is no switch to flip. No ventilation fans to shut down. Just sunshine, fresh air and green grass. Pasture pens are open to allow chickens access to all three. The tops are partly covered to give shade along with protection from the rain. The bottoms are open to the grass. The birds aren’t crowded and they live outdoors during the optimum growing season; May – October.

Before dropping that carton of eggs or package of conventionally raised chicken into your grocery cart the next time you're at the store remember these words from Jo Robinson, author of Pasture Perfect;

“... a chicken that looks stressed and abused on the day of slaughter looks just fine when cut into uniform pieces and wrapped with plastic. The words on the label are targeted to calm any concerns one might have about the meat. This chicken is “Fresh, All-Natural, and Locally Grown!”

Instead of buying confinement chicken make a healthier decision. Find a farmer who raises pastured poultry. The health and taste benefits far surpasses the cost.

Organic Certification 2

glendaOctober 14, 2015January 27, 20162 Comments

Organic Certification...Done

There are 19,474 organic farmers in the United States. We're proud to be one of them. If you think about it there aren't even enough of us to fill a football stadium on any given Sunday. We're a small group who share our customer's appreciation in healthy living. We value the environment more than the bottom line and believe the health of water, soil, and wildlife are our shared responsibility.

Every year I look forward to our annual organic re-certification visit. Our inspector is great, his name is Gary. He's a wealth of information and very pleasant to visit with.

Gary shared a link to a video featuring Roy Thatcher. Gary inspects Roy's organic farm, too.

I appreciate Roy's hard work and ethics - especially regarding quality. While most farmer's biggest concerned is yield, organic farmers greatest concern is quality. We do our absolute best to provide products that are good for our customers and of the highest quality. I couldn't have said it better myself, thanks, Roy!

Enjoy the video.

Hope Floats 2

glendaSeptember 28, 20152 Comments

Hope floats in her Heifer Hot tub

floating a calf — calf is floated to relieve a back injury

One of our late season calves got stepped on. She has a large area on her spine that's swollen and very sore. Keith took her to the vet and they started her on a protocol of anti-inflammatory medication. She can stand with help but isn't steady on her feet yet. One of the problems with cattle is the blood pressure in their legs builds up the longer they're down. In order to keep her circulation strong , without added pressure, we've made a floating tank for her.

The University Of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine uses tanks to float cattle after surgery.

We're using a stock tank with an old beach towel as a sling to cradle her and keep her upright. The tank gets filled half way with hot water and topped off with cool water until it's the perfect temperature. Cold water would shock her, the water has to be warm. She floats for about 45 minutes a couple of times each day. Everyday she's getting stronger. Time will tell if she'll fully recover but for now Hope Floats.