Busy Birds
We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. On the farm things are pretty busy as we get our birds out onto pasture. Our new laying hens are finishing their brooding in the big barn for the next 3-4 weeks, we like to get them on grass around 10 or 12 weeks old when their crop and gizzards are more developed.
Our first batch of meat birds are lovely chicks brooding in the garage brood house. They are such pretty little things, if you want to see pictures head on over to Instagram or Facebook and check them out. These birds are both male and female, but we can't really tell at this age. Once they get a bit bigger the boys and girls will be run on grass in separate groups to keep everyone happier. That should happen some time around week 6 (late June).
The ducks are proving to be a challenge. We are having some health issues with them, and have had to treat them with antibiotics to deal with a systemic infection. We are new to ducks, so this is a real learning experience. This means their eggs for the next week are all unfit for sale; but we do have loads in stock from the last few weeks. So if you want duck eggs, let us know.
Delivery Options
We are coming into a period of easing pandemic restrictions, so we are looking to begin options for pick-up in Silver Springs starting in June.
We know a lot of folks are really liking home delivery, and we are happy to continue to do so after the month of May for a small delivery fee. We will be implementing a $2.00 per delivery fee starting June 1st, 2020 to cover gas and time.
If this is going to be problematic for your household please let us know via email, and we will see what we can do to help out during the pandemic restriction period.
Tree Planting!
This week we are busy getting things ready to plant over 3000 trees on our farm this year. We have a general commitment to increased biodiversity on our farm. Adding trees and shrubs to the farm are a critical part of that. In addition they are a wonderful part of the landscape adding beauty across the property.
Our first planting is a shelter belt of poplar, willow, and lilac along our driveway and around the house to the north. This is largely for wind protection and snow catch, but will also host loads of wildlife when it grows in.
The second planting is an ecobuffer that runs mid-field through our pastures. This is a blend of 15 native and naturalized trees and shrubs ranging from local paskapoo poplars to saskatoons to currants. The aim is to block wind, catch snow, and provide pollinator feed and habitat.
The third planting is a naturalization project around our dugout. We are planting in water plants, sedges, and willows to transform the dugout into a more complex ecosystem that can host birds, amphibians, and other wildlife.
Auto Renwals
The Spring Egg Share is about half finished. For those of you who have purchased summer shares you are already paid up and good to go. For the rest you will be auto-renewed onto the summer program at the start of July. You will get automatic billing notices in mid-June, and billed before the July season starts.
We will hold those spaces for your existing customs until mid July, to catch anyone with billing errors. Afterwards we will open them up to our wait list to fill.
Locally Yours,
Marcus, Sarah, Samuel, and Boaz
