It finally rained some,

Turkeys enjoying life on the lawn / pasture,

A successful pig move

Building a holding paddock / corral in pasture,

using the livestock trailer correctly,

ready with food to distract and lure, 

singing the praises of homemade sorting boards!

In the CoopCast Community:

Dive_wombat - emailed a very interesting article along from down under about chicken prices as a result of the US drought

Email and package from Steve in VA with a nifty system to monitor water bucket levels buckets

The Stewart Homestead had a bit of their homesteading inspired by our talk of Cornish X chickens and pigs.

The Farmers Choice - We had a pig with a problem.  What do we do?

What is it the issue when a pig hold it's head to the side and shakes it and what to do and when to do it?

Judging and transparency in the natural farm community leaves a lot to be desired.

Hear our discussions about what our choices was and why, as well as the details about how we managed the situation and administered antibiotics orally to a pig.

Fertilizing the lawn with pastured turkeys,

We have the barn back and are busy drying garlic,

9 weeks and less than .25" of rain, TOTAL,

Nugget, Snowflake and nameless are growing up,

Hermione is in heat again and piglets are ready for a move,

We eat good: Bruschetta recipe

1 loaf fresh baguette or Italian bread

2-3 different fresh picked tomatoes

2-3 T good olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic (mashed)

3-4 springs each of fresh oregano, basil and parsley all chopped fine

Fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste

(optional) fresh grated hard Italian cheese (your choice)

In a bowl combine all ingredients and stir together. Cut bread into slices. Spray with olive oil and place on a medium hot grill until grill marks appear. Spray exposed side of bread with more olive oil and flip.  Immediately place heaping spoonfuls of tomato mixture on the bread and close the grill cover for about 2-3 minutes.  Remove and consume with beer, wine or cold ice tea!

In the CoopCast community:

Lisa asks about managing problems with raccoons in corn,

Austin is interested in our methods of marketing and growing our small farm,

Melanie has a BUNCH of farm business questions which we touch on but will cover more of in the future,

Another question about starting a CSA.

On this episodes Farm U:

Building your very own root cellar is a lot easier than you think

Building

Location, location, location

Humidity

Temperature

Storage Options

Around the farm and gardens:

Hermione's standing heat and hormones,

Piglets are bigger than piglets now,

Predator attack on the Cornish X birds in the pasture,

Lost 3 birds and now the defense plan

Preparing for 1st chicken processing event next weekend

Coopcast Community / Farm U:

Susan I. asked: why wean piglets and not just let mama do it?

Holly wanted to know what we feed our pigs?

Scout wants to know about the low tunnels we use in the garden: Which type of Agribon do you use? Are you primarily using it for pest control or do you have the type that provides frost protection as well? Do you use the manufactured hoops to support it above your plants or are you using some other method?

This week’s updates around the farm and gardens:

First batch of broiler chickens moved out to pasture,

Pig updates,

Turkey updates,

The new garden shed,

Summer heat in spring and its impact on the gardens and the CSA.

This weeks Rumination:

Stress of the "uncontrolled" world of farming,

How to manage the unexpected and being overwhelmed.

This week on Farm U:

Moving broilers to the pasture,

Getting the chicks comfortable in their new environment,

Tips and tricks to making the move to pasture easier and less stressful on the chickens.

This week’s updates around the farm and gardens:

CSA started and the veggies look great,

More unexpected hot weather,

Chicken-scaping the front pasture,

Preparing to move the Cornish Cross (Cornish X) out to pasture this year,

Weaning piglets,

Enjoying strawberries pasture to plate.

In the Coopcast Community:

A listener with guinea keets,

Zach processed his first birds and Chad offers a tip on ice for processing,

Someone listened to us and bought a geothermal system!

Eddie is looking for tips on getting started.

This week on Farm U:

The magic in preserving strawberries,

General food preservation discussions (Kelli's favorite website for preserving food : )

This week’s updates around the farm and gardens:

Piglets getting porked up;

getting names and getting weaned,

New layer chickens now in coop with the rest of the flock,

Cornish X chicks in the brooder had some pecking issues,

Managing hurt chickens and turkeys,

New brooder for turkeys,

Veggies planted, seeds planted, mulching has begun - the gardens are in,

CSA starting this week!

In the News:

Factory farm and its treatment of animals -

Baby chicks made 300 people sick over 8 years - ohh the horror - CDC Report on foodborne Salmonella numbers -

This week on Farm U:

Building a chicken brooder,

What makes a good brooder,

Differences between broiler chicken / egg laying chicken and turkey brooder design,

Some tips for managing your brooder to make life easier for you.

Happy Memorial Day. A special thanks goes out to all out troops both serving and retired. We appreciate your sacrifices in protecting our freedoms and liberties. This episode and the Pledge of Allegiance is dedicated to you.

This week’s updates around the farm and gardens:

The loss of Snow the piglet and what we did,

Snowflake the chick hatches,

Ollie moves to another farm,

Turkeys are growing in the brooder,

Broiler chicks arrived,

Planting the gardens now that's it's frost free time and 95 degrees and dry!

In the CoopCast Community:

Over 100 iTunes reviews - thanks "pickle kicker",

Toni asked about maintaining asparagus beds and controlling slugs with salt,

What are some general insect control methods we use,

Mendy asks "How do you introduce or change the pecking order of a chicken flock when you add / remove birds".

This week’s updates on:

"Limpy" the piglet is getting better, 

Ollie or AI discussions continue,

 Turkeys have arrived!, 

Gardens going in under row covers, 

Roadside stand seems to be a success!

In the Farmers Choice:

“What are your thoughts on alternative energy / sustainable farm solutions?”: 

Why we selected geothermal over solar or wind, 

Rain water collection systems, 

Making sustainable decisions for your farm - slowly.

In the CoopCast Community:

Shelby from TX asked about pigs and what they do to a pasture, 

Amber asked about controlling worms in a flock of chickens,

We discuss some of the fun reviews and other feedback, 

Melanie wanted to know if when we go out to eat, are we difficult?, 

And Mike was inspired by Nugget and used his own broody hen to hatch out his own clutch of 7 chicks!

This week’s updates on:

The 10 piglet cohort is doing great, 

Hermione gets sick, or, not, 

You only get one mistake and that's one too many on the farm, 

The farmstand is up and running.

In the Farmers Choice:

"How do you eat cute animals?"

Can you eat pork that grows from a cute piglet?

Do you want to look your meat in the eye?

In this weeks Farm U:

Piglet castration - what's involved and why do you do it, 

Boar taint - what is it and how do you deal with it, 

Unexpected events in the best planning.

This week's brief updates on:

New sign for the farm, 

Chickens and chicks, 

Planting for the CSA has begun (love those soil blocks). 

Instead of doing the CoopCast Community this week we are asking our listeners to post something about us on THEIR sites and social haunts. Post a review on your web site or blog of the coopcast, link back to our Facebook page, share anything to help us grow the CoopCast Community!

In the Farmers Choice:

We retell the story of how the week unfolded including the signs and steps of farrowing. 

Share some of the magical moments that make being part of raising food so powerful. 

The most unexpected event of the entire farrowing process!