The Russian Orloff

The Russian Orloff chicken has found itself in somewhat of a predicament.
Topping the critically rare list at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy means that they have found themselves in a category of less the 500 breeding birds in the USA and fewer then 1000 in the world.
The Orloffs share this category with several other breeds including Campine,Chantecler,Crevecoeur,Holland,Modern Game,Nankin,Redcap,Spanish,Sultan,Sumatra and the Yokohama.
Orloff's are a striking bird and have quickly became one of my favorite breeds here on the farm.
I choose to keep the Spangled variety of Ofloff,they are colored similar to a Speckled Sussex.
Although they come in red,Mahogany and white and at one time they were available in black,mottled,black red breasted and buff.
"The Spangled feather has a distinct marking of contrasting color at the extremity of a feather, proximally shaped like a well defined 'V' with a rounded end in some varieties and curved sides or pear-shaped in other varieties. Others are half-moon shaped. The spangle always are black in color and are found in combination with silver or gold ground color or white in color and separated from bay or brown ground color by a black bar. Spangling can be diagonal elongated black marking on the web."

My rooster is stunning with his hawk type looks and tall stance.



My hen is my favorite chicken in the barn,she is incredibly friendly,calm, quiet and easily handled..
Every morning while doing chores Miss.Tilly fly's up and lands on my shoulder,she is always chattering away as if she is telling me story's about the others in the barn.



One of the main distinction's of the Russian Orloff is the extreme hardiness of the breed, they will withstand cold weather and survive when other breeds cannot.

They are good setters and mothers and are fantastic layers their first year of pale brown medium sized eggs,even through the cold winter months they continue to lay.
Egg production drops off drastically in their second year and each year after, but saying this they were primarily favored for meat production.

After becoming nearly extinct in the last century I hope the Russian Orloff will once again become popular as a duel purpose breed,they are truly a beautiful, gentle bird.
When you are considering your next poultry addition why not consider the Russian Orloff, I'm glad I did.

here kitty kitty..

After seeing many tracks through our wood lot a neighbor has confirmed our speculations,we do in fact have beautiful Bobcats living among us...

Starting a New Bee Hive

Bees on the Brain..

We had the privilege of being a host farm for bees in previous years.
The bees would arrive around late July and stay until the following spring.
Last year the bees did not return. I have been thinking about them ever since wondering if I could take up bee keeping...
I have a fascination with honey bees.I have since I was young.
I loved being able to go back to the upper field and hear the constant hum of the busy bees working their magic.
Watching them buzz around the colorful boxes protecting their sweet treasure.


The bees were a great benefit to us,our cranberry crop was the best it had been in four years,that is huge and I'm grateful to my bee friends.


I think the crop side of things interests me in keeping bees more then the honey side.
Did you know that Honey bees are the number one insect pollinator on the planet,they are responsible for the production of over 90 crops.
Don't get me wrong, the honey will get used but I'm not a huge fan..I only like honey on my carrots and in my granola..my husband loves honey though,he puts it on everything.
I'm sure I would be more apt to use it to make lotions, soaps etc.

Someday we may have a small little hive of bees here on the farm,until then I will continue to dream about the possibility..

I wanted to share a video of starting a new hive,hope you enjoy!




PS- Check out these other fine farming blogs!!

Yeoman

Calving season rolls around for us starting in June.
There is nothing more devastating and heartbreaking than loosing a newborn calf, either during calving or after.
Although not nearly as dramatic, a reduction in the number of calves conceived and born due to infertility or injury in your herd sire is likely to impact your operation on a much larger scale and is generally far more important in the overall scheme of things.

It is usually assumed that the bull is always out there doing his job,seeking out the cows in heat and successfully breeding but there can be a number of reasons that limit or destroy his ability to successfully breed his cows.

The bull must be physically sound, a physical examination is very important because the bull must be sound enough to travel across pastures, this requires,good feet,vision,legs,shoulders and hips,all are needed for ease of movement to be able to find cows and heifers in heat and successfully mate.

It is recommended to have a vet preform a BSE,breeding soundness evaluation, this is a simple physical examination where the reproductive organs are palpated, a scrotal circumference measurement and semen quality test is done.

This year we will be using a new bull here on the farm,our new herd sire Yeoman.
Yeoman was born to our one and only black cow,Allie.


Allie was bred AI to a blond bull named Lauriston Angelo.


"Angelo has been shown to improve back ends - both in pelvic set-up and muscling. He is very clean underneath and offered some varied genetics,exhibits the qualities admired in the Highland breed - good feet and legs, good muscling, good rate of gain of progeny and an excellent disposition."

This year we will breed Allie AI to Sunset Limited Addition,who I think is a fine bull.


The result of Allie and Angelo was a short,thick, deep bodied,straight,well mannered bull with a exceptional thick,long black coat with mahogany highlights.
I choose to name him Yeoman as his grand sire was Yeoman of Swains.
I'm very excited to have him, he offers us new unrelated bloodlines and I'm hoping he delivers more of the black gene in our fold.

Two areas of Scotland produced slightly different types of Highland cattle: The west coast of Northern Scotland with the black, smaller Kyloe and the remote Highlands of Scotland with the larger, reddish or blonde Highland.
Also within the registry are white, yellow, silver and dun. Both of these types are regarded as one breed, the Highland.

Yeoman was born May 17 2009,by August when we turn him in to breed the cows he should be able to service all of our cows,it is around the age of two years that a young bull will start to show overruling of adult cows.
Last week he tried to breed a cow that was not successfully bred by our past sire,I will know on the 17th of next month if he was successful..
The basic “rule-of-thumb” for the proper bull to cow/heifer ratio is one cow or heifer per month of age of the bull up to 30 months of age.




Right now he is consistent in weight for his age group,but he is still a whole lot smaller then our previous sire Lucas for obvious reasons.
I hope my little Yomeo (my version of Romeo)will continue to grow into that wonderful herd sire and produce many beautiful calves.

Wordless Wednesday

Water is the driving force of all nature.
Leonardo da Vinci

Start on spring

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

I have been very busy in the last while.
We have had many events to attend.
Today is no exception,of course the day started with chores,it is a VERY windy cold day here.
These are the days no matter how much you bundle up is is still miserable and cold.
All the water buckets are frozen so chores take extra long today.


I checked the ewe's to see if I can tell if the fall breeding has took,no milk yet but some very big hard bellies,I'm nearly sure all have took.
Lambing should start April the 7th but can run between March 29th-April 19 depending on the number of lambs.
It would seem no matter how bad Prince was feeling, him and Wellington pulled it off.
With Wellington being the only ram left it seems strange...at least all but two ewe's were bred by Prince so I'm hoping for some ewe lambs to keep from him.


Back in the house the wood furnace is getting a work out, I fill it with big sticks every hour.
It is quite cozy but the wood consumption is high today.

For supper I decide to cook a turkey, some yummy comfort food.
If the week continues to be cold a bowl of hot turkey soup will be a nice break at lunch time.

As cold as it is outside I try to think of spring,the smell of the soil,the feeling of it pushing between my bare toes as I plant potatoes,the birds chirping and the warm sun on my face.

I decided to start some vegetable seeds.
I have 17 kinds of tomatoes and a few kinds of peppers sitting in the kitchen window in what I call mini greenhouses.
Whenever I buy spinach or field greens over the winter I save the little plastic containers the come in.
I fill 3/4 full with moistened seed starter,a fine soil mix,and put down my seeds,I top them with a 1/4" of seed starter, give a little sprinkle of water and close the lid.
These work so great,they keep just enough heat and moisture in to start healthy plants.
When they get big enough,usually 4 sets of leaves,I move them to the greenhouse and transplant them in bread carrying trays.
I love these for growing in, they are deep and I can get over 100 in each tray.

The greenhouse still looks so lonely and cold with no plastic,we still have time as these seedling wont move out for about 2 weeks.

I need to move my chickens into the proper breeding pens so in 2-3 weeks I can start collecting pure hatching eggs.
I have a few orders to fill and will want some for myself as well.



“It is thus with farming: if you do one thing late, you will be late in all your work”


I wanted to use these photos as they are pictures I collect,they are all by Robert Duncan,his work is amazing and if you have not seen it before check out his website,you will love it.

Eight years

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots. ~Hoosier Farmer

On a beach in Punta Brava Mexico we said "I Do"...


Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - excerpts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Wishing my darling a Happy Eight years of marriage...

Whole milk

I would like to give a shout out to a phenomenal new product from our local producer, Fox Hill Cheese House,they now have Whole Milk.

I was given a 1L glass bottle of this spectacular product today from the owner.
It is SOOOOO good.
I love everything about it from the beautiful glass bottle to the creamy farm fresh taste.
If you are so lucky as to be able to get your hands on this product don't hesitate, go now, it's that good!!

The first liter bottle is $5.25 this includes your bottle price,if you return your bottle undamaged and clean your next liter is only $3.00.

Absolutely delicious ~Congratulations to Fox Hill Cheese!

www.foxhillcheesehouse.com

What's for supper?

Happy Valentines day everyone!
Hope you all have a special day planned.

I was deciding what to have for supper when I decided it was time to check where we are for the amount of meat left in the freezer.

The meat supply looks pretty good,we have the following cuts left,
pork~ chops,ham,sausage,bacon
Beef~ Roasts,brisket,stew beef,burger,steak
Turkey~ two whole




This gives me a idea of when we will need to replenish our freezer.
Meat birds will be arriving in June, this is good we are out of chicken and the turkey is low.
We will be sending our steer in June.

Raising our own food has given us more appreciation for what is on our plate.
We use every bit of the animal we can and are sure not to waste any.
It is a big thing when you look into the eyes of what is to be on your plate and ask him to give up his life for you..

I'm proud to say we have good control our our food decisions.
We raise our own beef,pork,chicken,turkey,vegetables,herbs,fruit and eggs,what we don't grow we source from our local farmers, if we can't buy local grown do we really need it?

It is only when we can touch, smell, and see the miracle of food growing that we truly understand where it comes from. Only then do we know what quality food means and only then can we begin to prefer fresh rather than processed food.

I think it is so important that we step back and ask how are food was grown,who raised it,how far it came from and what it was fed, we need to be aware of what we are putting into our bodies and start making conscious food decisions.

What conscious food decisions have you made? Do you care about free range, cage free, organic, grass fed, local etc?


I decided on beef tenderloin,grown right here on the farm,grass fed,free roaming never confined,raised with love and respected every day of his life...that sounds like a good Valentines supper to me.

Remembering

It will soon be time to welcome new life to the farm.

Snow Day Pictures!

Today we had another snowy day.
I wanted to take the sled for a drive and get some pictures to share with you so here they are..Enjoy!

The farm in all the snow, yes the house is there..



The sheep fence..



Our Ribston Pippen tree with the riding ring in the background..


Outside the kitchen window..



Cows..


Upper field looking down to the orchard..


Upper field looking down to the meadow..


Upper field..


Our trails, I can't wait to go horse back riding over there...







Our Bridge..




The Brandywine ..





Looking at the orchard sitting on the bridge, our orchard is on a island, completely surrounded by water..


A neighboring corn field..


A hawk flying above the corn field..




A neighboring orchard..



Have a great day snowy or not!!