Good news/bad news….

Sunday was the last egg drop for the winter season in Drake Park. The good news is we begin butchering chickens again this week!

Thanks much for the support over the winter. Eggs may have been scarce, but the feed bill wasn’t…these drops certainly helped!

Farrowing
Our sows Sugar (Shoog for short) and Piper are doing their job to bring beautiful little piggies into the world. Piper gave us a small litter of four gilts (girls) three weeks ago. All are healthy and solidly built and exploring their surroundings and pasture when the sun shines. Sugar is due this week and looks really ready to pop. She waddles the length of the pasture though her teats almost drag over the grass. She gets some extra brushing which results in some contented grunts and sighs to take her mind off the wiggling masses that are preparing to make their appearance!

It has been nice to be done butchering chickens and turkeys for a while.  There has been so much piling up that having the time and some nice winter weather has really been a blessing.  I’ll post some pictures but we have revamped the ballast system on the hen’s SuperDoops.  This change has really helped us sleep at night (thinking back….I remember posting one time about how well the superdoops are holding up against the wind- only to lose one the next day!  And yes, there is a high wind warning posted for tomorrow!?!).  We have also completed a winter hut for the sows and boar.  This is a group house for gestation, then each sow will choose her birthing hut when she is ready.  We have also moved the cows to the pond area for the winter.  This will help with winter water and help build up some of the worst soil on the farm.  The sows followed the cows and will help turn the top soil for spring planting. ..they also consider cow patties a delicacy.

The girls are strong and helpful and we have had a nice family time this Chistmas break.  It has been nice to recharge the family batteries!

In other news, CoCo the Grey Murray gave birth this afternoon!!  More news on this later, but mama and calf are doing fine, looks like she will have her all cleaned up before it gets dark tonight!

We will be back at Drake Park on New Year’s Day.

We are under the weather at the farm so we won’t make it to town today. Sorry and see you next week.
Anita

Great Fruit, Great Deal, Great Cause

The annual Crook County High School FFA fruit sale is back and you can order on the Great American Egg Facebook page. You can choose four different varieties of apples and three varieties of pears from the Walter Wells and Sons Farm in the Hood River Valley. The Crook County FFA students and alumni have again grown three varieties of potatoes this year. The potatoes are going through a heavy premium sort this year for a bit more consistency in your bag. The fruit comes in 25 pound flats ($13), and the potatoes are coming in 10 pound increments ($3).

We are using Facebook this year because the website handles everything for us. For this convenience we are happy to pay the service fees. This means that you can pre-pay and confirm you order with a computer rather than through us…..impersonal maybe, but far more reliable. There is also the benefit of the social networked world to help spread the word about the sale. If you have trouble or have opted out of this service- give us a call and we can work it out.

The items will be available at the farm on November 19th, and also at the Salem Public Market on the 19th. Your order must be in by November 9th. As always, this sale is merely facilitated by the Great American Egg- these aren’t our products; however, we do support the efforts of the Crook County kids. Last year the local chapter was able to travel to Indianapolis for the annual convention. So spread the word! The fruit and potatoes have always been fantastic and we so love the look on the kids and instructor when we drop off your orders- they are so appreciative (last year we were the largest group supporter!).

CLICK HERE to ORDER!

Happy Halloween,
Great American Egg

The sows and their litters came home yesterday. This means that we have four litters on the ground right now! Two sets are ready for butcher and will be offered up through winter pork boxes. The new sets – four weeks old right now…will be ready by the spring markets. These pigs will also be the first on the kale/turnip pasture. We are excited to see how this works. In the meantime, enjoy a video of the little guys greeting the morning.
Hamp/Tam Piglets

We are butchering this weekend! We plan to process in the morning and open the farm up in the afternoon for folks that are looking for fresh chicken. Please let us know if you are coming out and how many birds you would like so we can plan accordingly. I hate to even mention this, but we should have cures (Cottage, Belly, British and Jowl bacon) back on Friday of this week- you will have first crack at these on Sunday if your interested!