If I won the lottery...

I'd give give give!

Hint hint hint...

Blog post or rally cry for donations?

Too funny

One of cold antler farms sponsors is a farm fence supply store...

Field Fresh!

Just picked!

Location: Food Lion Purcellville, VA

Tomatoes pictured are a blend of American, Mexican, and Canadian produce.

False advertising? 

I'd say so.

Woe is me, said she

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/double-entendre.html?m=1

"Can we please stay inside until daybreak? Please." And I grabed a bag of chick feed to lead them back into the main gates by the horse's paddock. Merlin and Jasper watched the parade behind me, giving me their own heckles for rewarding acts of anarchy. One by one the sheep came back inside the fence to join Sal and the Cotswolds who didn't escape. Then in the near black of real nightfall I walked up the hillside repairing holes and hatches in the poor quality fencing. What I needed was a clean, fresh, string of electric wire right at nose level. I had a new grounding rod on order at the hardware store and plans to do it this week. But for now it's all about reaction and repairs. I did what I could and prayed it would make it till morning. The last thing I needed was a school bus driver beating on my door to tell me to move my livestock out of the road.

This morning, they of course escaped again. Three times. And right now this blog post is the first writing I have done all day. That's a crime and a pity with two weeks to a manuscript deadline. But a woman needs to vent, so there you go."

Previous days post:

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/lambing-soon-escape-is-nigh.html?m=1

"I like watching the flock this late breeding season. They are all stuck in one paddock, the ground all eaten down to moss with petals of apple blossoms all over like falling snow. They eat and bitch, circle and butt heads. As a woman (albeit, not a mother) I can tell when others who share the gender want more personal space. Atlas the ram seems only interested in food, his job done for a while. He has escaped (and lead three other escape attempts) into the woods so far in search of the lushness all around the fence lines. I guess it's hard to deal with that level of matriarchy inside a fence? But sheep escapes are easy to thwart. A bucket of grain and a lifted bit of woven wire they can shimmy under and they are back inside the safe zone. I have been repairing the weak areas these past three days, trying to stop all the exploration committees, but Atlas is clever. He knows exactly the spots I have missed. Jerk."

Fact:
1. Cold Antler Farm fencing is of 'poor quality' and 'weak' (the Woginrich way?)
2. Quality of grazing in the sheeps pasture? Ground eaten down (the knowledge of how her farming techniques are harming the soil, increasing erosion, and contributing to agricultural runoff is a fright)
3. Edible vegetation just beyond the fence sheep are repeatedly attempting to (and successfully do) access.
4. Acknowledging the ewes interest in increased personal space as lambing nears.
5. sheep escapes are easy to thwart (hey, she said it not me).
6. Existing woven wire fence is so pliable merely lifting it allows enough space for sheep to pass under back into their paddock (albiet temporarily).  paddock rather than pasture or field which would actually contain grass.
7. Fencing is constructed to contain animals (safe zone...ding ding ding, she's on to something here folks)
8. The sheep are targeting and exiting through 'missed' areas (maybe the second set of eyes is needed to bring attention to the faulty fencing? Jerk? Nah, I'd call that guidance).
9. Several days of fence repair to no avail. Isn't there some quote on doing things right the first time?
10. Jenna likes watching the flock...butting heads and searching the fence line for routes out of the fence to graze.
11. Believes the answer includes fresh electric wire and new grounding rod (making sure to add its on order so nothing can be done at this time).  Do sheep even require the reinforcement of electric fencing
12. Reaction and repairs make for a better blog story than fool/sheep proof preventative fencing measures.
13. This individual has had sheep for years and offers pricey workshops where you can learn how to keep sheep (though, probably not how to keep them in an enclosure).
14. Prays the sheep will stay behind a fence, and asks them please stay in...at least until daybreak.
15. The last thing needs is a school bus driver knocking (I mean pounding) on the door to let her know Cold Antler Sheep are in the road.  let's not factor in the safety of the sheep (or investment - hit by car? Possibly down a ewe and lamb) or those driving vehicles past the property. 

Fallacy
1. Any of this being a pity or crime....well, for anyone but the sheep and the vehicles passing her property.

Get it together girl, there's more to farming than writing.

Reinvented village...

<p>...need to find one or start 'our' own.</p>
<p>Currently jobless and essentially homeless...all research leads to the same pit of despair. </p>
<p>There's got to be a better more fulfilling way to live.</p>
<p>All my life I've been viewed as a burden, tippy toeing around, hush, be quiet, don't need, certainly don't inconvenience, do your best to be invisible. As if my presence (now combined with my dogs) is painfully offensive. </p>
<p>A difficult work environment is one thing, trying rentals and landlords another...but after a house fire and now w/o work (constructive dismissal, drafting my paperwork for the EEOC) I am in a position where I need help and am relying on others.&#160; </p>
<p>After the fire I stayed with a friend, turned bf for a brief time (opportunistic bastard who should have protected me while in shock and in my greatest time of need), turned 'friend'.&#160; As I healed mentally from the fear of the fire I experienced a very painful unethical and more than likey illegal situation at work (will share in EVERY detail once my application is complete) that completely knocked me down, held me down, and kicked me each time I tried to stand.&#160; Im a fighter through and through, soon enough those wrongs became my source of power and healing began.&#160; </p>
<p>With strength renewed and clarity I hadn't known on months, I realized staying with this 'friend' was hurtful, not helpful and I needed out.&#160; Playing by the rules of another (despite paying 1/2 rent) isn't for me.&#160; Silence turned into suggestions, which turned to demands and threats.&#160;&#160; The midnight temper tantrum get out now card? Don't throw it at me. I paid my rent, will make alternative arrangements, and leave when I see fit.</p>
<p>So off the dogs and I went....</p>
<p>....to stay with my parents for the first time in my adult life. In the basement of course, as any proper almost 30 year old does.  Finished basement, this is Loudoun County after all....

Twister

PA, NJ, PA, VA, NJ, GA, PA, NJ, VA...and about a dozen (or so) in state moves since. Taking a breather in PA at the moment.  This picture was taken at an elementary school where I spent the first half of 3rd grade.

Wednesday night prayer service

Excel

Pork sign interrupted

Holy sheep

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/lambing-soon-escape-is-nigh.html?m=1

Sheep aren't known for their intellect, so when one out smarts you...one, two, three...four times? Might be time to put down the iwhatever and focus on real deal fencing.

Now I know why the pigs are kept in a barn 110% of the time (except during their escape from truck to barn).

Disorienting

Today - Susquehanna River (I am on the west branch, which runs horizontal, flowing to the east.

Yesterday - Shenandoah River (runs vertically, flowing north)

I feel dizzy, until I remember they are both in the same watershed and ultimately meet the Atlantic via the Chesapeake Bay.

We're on the same team.

Day 1

The power of touch.

*first in picture series documenting my recent move from VA to PA to live with my grandparents.

Standing on 2, 3, and 4 feet...

Cali (left) - laceration on left rear paw, just above the pad. Happened today on our maiden walk from Danville back to Riverside. Three legs and tougher than nails.

Sadie (middle) - a few weeks ago a nail on her front left paw was completely torn off fully exposing the quick. She's finally on the tail end of a lengthy (and painful) recovery.

Littles (right) - favoring right rear leg, from limping to not putting pressure on it at all.  His gait has always been off, one of the many special characteristics of this little guy. Previous x-ray indicated a broken leg left to heal on its own.  Unable to pinpoint why it is bothering him to the point of lameness.

we're all finding it a bit painful to walk on what we've got, for one reason or another....be it 2 feet, 3 paws or 4.

My feet are fine, it's my faith that's faulty. 

Short of metacam and rest there's nothing I can do for my dogs, as for my game plan...the list is long and I'm in need of courage and strength.

Luckily I have 3 little engines that could to keep me on track.

Sponsors?

A blogger using their sponsors competition, interesting.

Does mypetchicken actually pay for ad space?

Oy vey iz mir! Mt Healthy Hatchery?

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-chicks-have-arrived.html?m=1

Not aware of a Mt Healthy Hatchery based out of PA, but there is a poultry distributor (including mail order) out of Cincinnati, OH.

Unfortunately this is what one finds...

Center of Disease Control and Prevention - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - 3/22/2013 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6211a5.htm?mobile=nocontent&s_cid=mm6211a5_w and

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/08/more-salmonella-cases-linked-to-chicks-and-ducklings/

The number of people sickened by Salmonella traced to chicks and ducklings from an Ohio mail order hatchery has risen from 123 to 163, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The illnesses – linked to contact with live baby poultry sold by Mt. Hatchery of Cincinnati, OH –began in March of this year. Three strains of Salmonella – Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Lille and Salmonella Newport – have been associated with animals from the hatchery.

Mt. Healthy Hatchery is the same company that was linked to illnesses from Salmonella Altona and Salmonella Johannesburg in 2011. Those joint outbreaks sickened at least 96 people.

Veterinarians from the Ohio Department of Health visited the hatchery in May of 2012 and made recommendations for safety improvement.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/10/cdc-months-long-live-poultry-salmonella-outbreak-over-195-ill-2-dead/

10/29/2012

The long-running multistate Salmonella outbreak tied to live poultry now appears to be over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In all, 195 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Newport, and Salmonella Lille were reported from 27 states, including two deaths.

“Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback findings linked this outbreak of human Salmonella infections to contact with live poultry from Mt. Healthy Hatchery in Ohio,” noted CDC in the final update. “Mail-order hatcheries, agricultural feed stores, and others that sell or display chicks, ducklings, and other live poultry should provide health-related information to owners and potential purchasers of these birds prior to the point of purchase. This should include information about the risk of acquiring a Salmonella infection from contact with live poultry.”

The agency offers the following recommendations to consumers to help avoid Salmonella infection when handling live baby poultry:

- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam. Adults should supervise hand washing for young children.

- If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer until you are able to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

- Clean any equipment or materials associated with raising or caring for live poultry outside the house, such as cages or feed or water containers.

- Do not let children younger than 5 years of age, elderly persons, or people with weak immune systems handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry.

- Do not let live poultry inside the house, in bathrooms, or especially in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored, such as kitchens, or outdoor patios.

- Do not snuggle or kiss the birds, touch your mouth, or eat or drink around live poultry.

Symptoms of Salmonella infection can appear anywhere from 6 hours to several days after exposure, and include fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, headache and body aches.

No fear mongering here, just facts. 

Being a farmer takes more than disseminating chicks and self authored books. 

When a workshop host advertises the following "And if you haven't sat in a backyard holding a chick in your palm while a goat yells at you to scratch her neck, then you haven't lived!"

Keep in mind the hatchery where those chicks are from (am assuming PA was a typo for OH) has had salmonella outbreaks traced back to their mail order chicks in 2011 and 2012.

"Joel's comments are wonderful, but one thing he didn't mention to the concerned folks was that these hatcheries that deliver rare breed and heritage chicks in boxes are the main alternative to corporate hatcheries and battery-hen hatcheries owned by folks like Tyson. A sustainable farmer can not order chicks from Tyson breeders unless he is a contracted grower, so he either has to breed his own stock, buy hen-sat chicks from a local farmer, order chicks from a hatchery. Now, for a backyard flock I can provide for you 3-7 home brewed chicks of various breed mixes and unknown gender. But if you wanted a predictable breed of quality laying hen, or fifty of them, you need to call the folks at a place like Mt. Healthy. Same goes for birds raised for meat. So think twice about tsk-tsking mail-order livestock. The people who are doing it are doing it so they don't have to buy animals who lived in cages out of sunlight their whole lives, and are offering a quality of life to those box birds few chickens (less than a .001%) ever could dream of. If I were a laying hen I'd take an overnight plane ride to Cold Antler over a life in a battery cage any day. ANY DAY!"

With a track record of salmonella outbreaks, makes one curious what type of environment Mt Healthy Hatchery keeps their brooding stock?

Oh, for an additional .15 cents per 'service' Mt Healthy Hatchery will debeak and/or decomb your chicks?

Why decomb? Avoid frostbite, they say.

Better yet, purchase breeds suitable for the climate in which they will be kept.

What does the comb do?
Ornamental in attracting mates, but more importantly keeps chickens cool in the summer. Chickens do not sweat. Blood flows to the comb and as air passes over the comb the blood is cooled before recirculating through the chickens body. Both genders have combs.

Why debeak? To prevent chickens from pecking and damaging one another in overcrowded stressful settings.

There is NO purpose to debeak in situations where birds are humanely kept and given adequate space and feed.

This hatchery appears to be akin to a puppy mill. 1.How are breeding stock cared for and kept? No mention on their website. What comes first...chicken or egg? Fertilization. If they are willing (well, for additional fees) to provide the unnecessary practices of decombing and debeaking, makes one wonder why? I imagine (and look forward to making a call and finding out) their hens confined in the most cramped conditions...are are all debeaked because of it. It doesn't matter how cute a chick (or puppy) is...or how well you intend to raise it when purchasing these animals contributes to a corrupt and unethical industry. No local farmers with chicks available at last weeks poultry swap? No fertile eggs to collect and incubate on your own? No ethical individual to purchase mail order fertilized eggs from to incubate/hatch yourself? Mt Healthy Hatchery chicks are the best choice is the best choice to those attending your workshop? I'm shocked this is a business you support morally and financially. Oh, I believe all Tyson chickens are produced cage free...where does the following stat come from? "The people who are doing it are doing it so they don't have to buy animals who lived in cages out of sunlight their whole lives, and are offering a quality of life to those box birds few chickens (less than a .001%) ever could dream of."

Keep in mind Cold Antler Farm

Backyard Livestock 101

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2012/12/announcing-backyard-livestock-101.html?m=1

"Come knowing little and leave with a lighter heart, a starter flock, a book, and a day spent with fellow new farmers on a beautiful spring day!"

"And if you are ready to add that flock of chickens and rabbit hutch: you will get the inspiration and community push you have been craving. Heck, you can get the chickens too.."

"We're going to focus on chickens in the morning, and everyone who attends is welcome to pick three from a brooder of heritage chicks, all will be dual-purpose heavy breeds for eggs and meat production. You'll get a copy of my book, Chick Days, as well. It's a complete beginner's guide to raising layers for the backyard, but will also help you get your dual purpose flock off the ground. We will discuss brooders, coops, predators, feed and care."

It takes more than 7 hours of education, a book, and 3 chickens to successfully (and lawfully) raise chickens...or run a workshop.

NY law states:
*specifically 1 and 3

354. Sale of baby chicks and baby rabbits

1. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits unless such person provides proper brooder facilities where appropriate for the care of such baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits during the time they are in the possession of such person. For the purposes of this section, a baby rabbit shall be a rabbit of less than two months of age.

2. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or display living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits which have been dyed, colored or otherwise treated so as to impart to them an artificial color. 2-a. No provision of subdivision two shall be interpreted or applied to prevent or restrict teachers and qualified instructors of youth under the guidance and supervision of the New York state cooperative extension service from using eggs for non-profit educational purposes or from observing fowl hatched from such eggs for non-profit educational purposes.

3. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits under two months of age in any quantity less than six.

4. A violation of the provisions of this section is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by both.

Citation: NY AGRI & MKTS §§ 331 - 379; NY PENAL LAW § 130.20

Citation: McKinney's Agriculture and Markets Law § 331 - 379; McKinney's Penal Law § 130.20

What does this mean for Jenna Woginrich and Cold Antler Farm?

- Each workshop attendee who decides to leave with day old chicks (chicks delivered on 5/9 are days old... workshop is scheduled for 5/11) must take no less than 6.  This workshop offers 3 chicks with the $125 fee...perhaps the additional (required by law) 3 are available for an additional fee?  Not sure, but 3 chicks doesnt make the cut according to NY state law.

-Additionally, attendees must have access to a proper brooder if taking (a minimum of 6) chicks under 2 months of age into their possession.  This law ensures adequate facilities are in place to care for birds during these first 2 months of age. More than an outside coop is needed for these fragile youngsters...a temperature controlled  brooder (more than likely enclosed to provide protection from predators...be it the domestic house pet or wild hunter) is step 1....live chick?...step 2.

Why not offer brooder building/coop construction skills in Livestock 101? Livestock 102 would include LIVEstock...you know, once proper facilities are in place?  

- have not read a reference to local (town/county etc) codes or zoning ordinances in advertising workshops...and while not required to attend is surely worth calling your local town hall or county government about before bringing home poultry or building a coop. as a zoning enforcement official I had to field complaints about the rooster within town limits (against town code) or the coop built too close to a neighbors property (not within setbacks required by zoning ordinance). Fyi...codes and ordinances are living documents subject to change at anytime.  So don't be discouraged...be  encouraged!  with a thought out well presented case, changes can (and are!) made!

Giving a workshop on keeping and caring for hens (from days after hatch to laying) is wonderful (though rather costly in this case) and encouraged but give people the questions to ask and the right tools take make poultry ownership a positive and fruitfull experience (for both individual and chicks) as well as quality financial investment.

CFS?

They say chronic fatigue syndrome...I say chronic farming syndrome!

Well, perhaps the two.

Consumer Reports best buy

if (haven't decided yet) cali sleeps in the car, that's how I'll find her in the morning, not having moved a muscle. It's clear she's been with me her entire life...8 + years and 10ish moves/houses later, that car has been our source of stability. 04 toyota corolla, the best purchase I've ever made! Seen me through almost 4 years of college, 6 years as a young 'professional', 4 personal dogs (currently only 3, rest in peace dear brice), countless transports, several (I'll never tell) dozen fosters, road trips to see friends that were worth it (and guys that weren't), and hasn't missed a beat. Scheduled for an oil change tomorrow...maybe I should throw in dinner too ;)

'our' one woman farm?

The title of her new book is...surprising?

One woman farm alright?  All about our this and community that until its time to title a book. Surprised it's not 'our farm'.

http://coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com/2010/07/lets-raise-barn.html?m=1

I just want this structure: the first that I'll add as a homeowner, to be everyones'. If you ever visit the farm I want you to be able to say, "Yup, that was the nail I mailed from St. Paul. I painted the end blue." or "That's the lumber I donated my frothy coffee cash towards." I don't care how you participate: I just want it to be ours.