The forecast was for snow and we still had not taken down the mesh tent at the farm site. So, I drove out in the morning to take care of it before a heavy snow fall collapsed it. It wasn’t too difficult except that some water had frozen in the connections of a few pieces. […]
The first step in building the new version of the biomeiler was to determine the perimeter. This version will be 12’ in diameter to provide greater insulation for the composting core of the pile. The 2022 version was 10’ in diameter and had bubble foil insulation around the sides and over the top. It was
The 2024 Biomeiler Project Read More »
The biomeiler I built in the summer of 2022 has been disassembled and I can soon begin building the 2024 version. The new version will have three significant changes. First, it will be 12’ in diameter, which is bigger than the 10’-diameter of the 2022 version. Second, it will have an aeration system, rather than
Deconstruction Complete Read More »
The incubator now holds the last batch of eggs we will try to hatch this year. This batch of eggs is the replacement order sent by the hatchery after the last batch was so delayed in arriving. They sent a tracking number for the box and I had been checking on it, daily. Last night,
Last Eggs in the Incubator Read More »
Against the odds, two of the quail eggs hatched. The cots dried off much more quickly than in the past. I suspect that the addition of the humidifier is the reason for the improved drying. If the air is dry, the residue from the egg would probably dry quickly, get stuck to the cots’
Today, we had our first significant frost. There may have been a little in the last few days, but today’s frost was undeniable. Chokecherries get noticeably sweeter as the days get cooler. The trees convert starch into sugar to use in cellular respiration. So, it is best to harvest the chokecherries after the first frost.
Harvesting Chokecherries Read More »
Normally, we don’t retire all our hens at once. Typically, we keep a hen for two years and replace about half of the flock with new birds each year. The advantage of that practice is that there are always young birds laying eggs in greater numbers while the older birds lay fewer eggs of better
Today, we harvested the last chickens for the year. It was a pleasure to cross that off my to-do list. This group consisted of retiring hens and one accidental rooster from the pullet pen. The hens were all close to done with laying eggs. One gave us an unlaid egg when we cleaned her carcass.
Chicken Harvest Completed Read More »
The hatching eggs were supposed to arrive between September 11 and 13. Hatching eggs, like live chicks, are held at the local post office for pickup. This shipment was greatly delayed. It sat in the Ohio post office for 6 days before being sent along. The rest of the trip was made at a normal
Unfortunately, the experiment was only a partial success. The addition of the humidifier seems to have been a positive. There is every indication that the humidity stayed within the appropriate range the whole time the eggs were in the incubator. On the negative side, none of the eggs hatched. I always do an autopsy
The Incubator Experiment Results Read More »