Let The Races Begin

That seems to be my favorite saying this time of year. “Let the races begin!” I feel like I’m in a race for time. We wait all winter and try to rest up….then BAM! It’s spring! BAM all the work begins ALL at once.

Don’t think I’m ungrateful. I am so grateful to be outside again and I’m grateful that my health is improving every year. It’s funny. Last year I thought I was doing so well, the year before I thought the same thing. I look back and wonder what I was thinking because I’m even healthier today! To God I am grateful.

And so, let the races begin!!!!

My friend Dave helped me build a chicken hoop coop on Saturday; my wedding anniversary. Ya gotta make hay while the sunshines!!!

It’s not that Honey couldn’t of done it, but when I went into the chicken “business” with Dave….Honey said, “Have at it! It’s your deal!” If you’re new to my blog you will know that Honey is a hard woking man. And he loves me so much he’s agreed to this farm deal. He is 63 and can out work a 25 year old any day. But when he built my cow pasture fence last summer from May through November I think that nearly did him in.

Honey believes in doing things the good old fashioned way. It comes to him honestly! His dad does it and our son, Tender Heart does it…..so I suppose it’s genetic. Dave couldn’t believe that Honey hand dug every last hole for the fence posts. Not only did he hand dig them he then proceeded to pound each post into the ground another foot or two with a 20 lb sledge hammer on a step ladder. Sometimes the weight of the thing pulled him off the ladder. He lost 20 lbs building that fence! He truly loves me! So we celebrated 28 years in married bliss while Dave and I worked and Honey didn’t! Sounds like a deal to me. Actually Honey works all the time. He’s trying to clean out the deep bedding from the barn now and that looks like another killer job I created. I’ll never do a deep bedding again. It’s like concrete. We’re not sure what we’re going to do. But that man really loves me!

I digress.

As Dave and I ( well, I was the gopher…go for this and go for that) so actually it was Dave and Son #1 and Son #2 who did the physical work….but as Dave and I worked and he was putting in the posts for the door he said, “so Honey hand dug ALL those posts?!!!” and I said “yep”. Dave said, “Son #2 dig me a hole!!!”

I guess Honey and I needed a couple more sons! Too late now!

Any who, this is our coop for our 50 meat birds. It’s very very nice!  Well done boys!

We’re raising Freedom Rangers the Label Rouge way,instead of the big breasted Cornish X. Don’t ask me. It was Dave’s idea last March….so I took him up on it. I’ve been paying $3.79/lb for naturally raised pastured birds! I thought for sure we could do it for less….at least the second and third time around!

Label Rouge began in France in the sixties as a grassroots movement led by farmers in the Landes region in Southwestern France. After World War II, as poultry became more industrialized, demand grew in France for the taste of traditionally raised farm chickens.

The Label Rouge program focuses on high-quality products, mainly meat, with poultry making up most of the products. It emphasizes quality attributes such as taste, culinary qualities, free-range production, and food safety. The average consumer can note a positive difference in taste between Label Rouge poultry and industrial poultry-in fact, regular taste-testing is a certification requirement to prove that these products are “vividly distinguishable” from conventional poultry.

The main reason for the superior taste is the use of slow-growing birds instead of the fast-growing birds used for industrial production. The slow-growing birds are from old rustic genetic stocks and are grown longer than industrial birds before they are processed. The meat is flavorful and firm, but not tough. In France, these birds are labeled and marketed as “Poulet Fermier” (farm chicken) and the region from which they are grown (ex. Poulet Fermier du Normand is Farm Chicken from Normandy).

The reputation of the higher culinary qualities of French Label Rouge poultry makes it popular throughout Europe with both retail customers and fine dining chefs.

We tried to use stuff we had on hand, like the cattle panels. So far I think we’ve had cost for the tarp, food, and the chicks. That’s not bad. I hand mix our organic food so that’s pretty cheap. I sure hope we can do it for under $3.79/lb!!!

We’re praying that the winds of Oz don’t scoop our hoop! It’s staked down, but heaven only knows what can happen. I’m also praying that nothing kills our chicks. Of course they aren’t coming out to the hoop coop until they are feathered out, but even after that, monsters lurk in the night around here.

Son #1 & Son #2 put up a nice little fence around the parameter so the Lions, Tigers and Bears can’t get our dinner. But the goats like hanging their heads over it and it’s starting to sag! Oh, those boys can pull a really nice tight fence. I tried to lure them back for more work but they just smiled.

Here’s a dose of cuteness to brighten your day!