# LAZY H FARM  N/C FL. THREAD



## Farmer Connie

Hello I am semi hobby farm owner in North Central Florida.
I have started this thread to share some of things we do. I will update it periodically with random videos, photos, events and our trials and tribulations. There is never a dull moment while running a farm.
My husband and in our fifties now but we refuse to slow down. Our children have now provided grandchildren, our farm has provided us with quality time.
Tons of poultry, pigs goats and plenty of rain this season.
Thank you for taking the time to reading my ramblings and thanks to BYH for providing the medium for me to share!

FC.


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## Farmer Connie




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## Pastor Dave

Nice. I love winter time to be able to quit hassling with the hay and mowing. Just have to deal with the freezing and thawing water bottles. Lol 
I do better with low heat and so do my rabbits. They prefer 50-70degs, and I would say I do too. I am ready for Fall!


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## Farmer Connie

Pastor Dave said:


> Nice. I love winter time to be able to quit hassling with the hay and mowing. Just have to deal with the freezing and thawing water bottles. Lol
> I do better with low heat and so do my rabbits. They prefer 50-70degs, and I would say I do too. I am ready for Fall!


Your right about the mowing! We mow our residents area at a min of twice a week, the goats are loving the pasture paddocks though. We had a record mild winter last, hopefully it won't be a hard one coming up. The rain and mosquito pop is our only hardship right now.
_How many bunnies do you have? _
They just opened a Rural King just around the corner and we were checking out the rabbits they had. Cute little things..

The prices at Rural King are an average of $2 lower across the board.. All the feed stores in this area have to be felling the hit. Cracked corn at RK is under $7.. everywhere here it is $11 or higher. We use a lot of corn. So that savings is going to help a bunch.
Pretty sure the rest of our local stores will slowly drop their prices instead of slowly raising them like they have been.

There is one store here that sells c/corn for $14.99/50#!
It is kinda like the Walmart killed the mom&pop era but feed is draining us dry. So it sounds like I am a little selfish by preferring to use major retail over local but we have to eat too.
Anyway, love your rabbits! Thanks for the post. FC


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## Baymule

Nice pigs! We only raise feeder pigs, I will happily support those who keep sows and a boar. We're in northeast Texas where it is hot as blazes also. Summer is good for raising a garden, hay and air conditioning bill. LOL


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## greybeard

Farmer Connie said:


> Cracked corn at RK is under $7.. everywhere here it is $11 or higher. We use a lot of corn. So that savings is going to help a bunch.



Corn at the elevator is bringing around $3.80/bushel whole corn.
There's 56lbs in a bushel of corn. Cracked & sacked will add about $1/bu wholesale at the mill. It's selling resale here at around $7.50-$8.20 per 50 lb sack. 

farmer: noun /far-mer/ sells at wholesale, buys at retail and pays the freight both ways


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Summer is good for raising a garden, hay and air conditioning bill. LOL


You made me laugh about raising the a/c bill.
We have been trying to keep  the stat at 84° during the day because of the bill. All of the poultry brooders jacked up last months bill too.
Last years garden was in a serious drought conditions. We had to irrigate daily and that added to the bills. This year we had so much rain it yellowed and washed out our gardens.. Always something.  Oh well...
Thanks for the chuckle!


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## Farmer Connie

greybeard said:


> Corn at the elevator is bringing around $3.80/bushel whole corn.
> There's 56lbs in a bushel of corn. Cracked & sacked will add about $1/bu wholesale at the mill. It's selling resale here at around $7.50-$8.20 per 50 lb sack.
> 
> farmer: noun /far-mer/ sells at wholesale, buys at retail and pays the freight both ways


We do have 3 TSC stores in our county. They sell c/corn for less than a ten spot. It's some of the Equine stores that have the big prices. Most of the horse farms in Ocala put the cost on their account. There are some major huge big $ horse farms in our neck of the woods.


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## Farmer Connie




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## Pastor Dave

@Farmer Connie, I have 4 breeding does and two bucks. I keep two does paired up on a breeding schedule offset from the other two by abt 5 weeks. When one pair kindled, the other pair get bred. 

As two litters of weaned bunnies are going to grow out pens(feeder pens) my other two does kindle their litters. In five weeks when those two litters are ready to wean, the two litters that have grown out to 5lbs by 10 weeks are ready to process. And, the cycle continues.

I have 11 cages, and one is a spare. I generally at any one time have high 20's to mid 30's in my shed.


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## Farmer Connie

Pastor Dave said:


> @Farmer Connie, I have 4 breeding does and two bucks. I keep two does paired up on a breeding schedule offset from the other two by abt 5 weeks. When one pair kindled, the other pair get bred.
> 
> As two litters of weaned bunnies are going to grow out pens(feeder pens) my other two does kindle their litters. In five weeks when those two litters are ready to wean, the two litters that have grown out to 5lbs by 10 weeks are ready to process. And, the cycle continues.
> 
> I have 11 cages, and one is a spare. I generally at any one time have high 20's to mid 30's in my shed.


You have it going on! Very interesting. We thought about ending our Turkey venture and jumping on the  _wabbit  _bandwagon. Turkeys are seasonal profit and the rest of the time they just consume profit. They are eating machines.
Thanks for the 411 Pasture Dave


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## Farmer Connie

We are finally getting a break from the rain!!! Wahoooo!
Pulled some food dishes out of the quick sand. Mud and clay suction. Wow! We condemned 4 different swine pins before the earth swallowed our livestock. Ivernmection is our best friend right now. I have to send a Christmas card out to the chemical company boys this year.
Hubby got a bunch of screws installed in foot that hasn't healed completely, so I was the food dish fisherman. He wanted me to fall in so he video taped it. Thank God for arm length gloves. I would rather stick an arm into a sow's birth canal than the nasty mess the consistent rain has caused.
Video coming soon I suppose.
Florida.. "The Sometimes Sunshine State".
Focusing on the positive side.


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## Farmer Connie

All the rain! All the mud! Where is my food bowls?
In the quick sand.
Enjoy! I can tell hubby did..
​


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## frustratedearthmother

Been there - done that!!   (but I didn't wear gloves - ugh)


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## Mike CHS

I'm sorry but we both had a few laughs at your expense.  We will probably repay the favor several times at some point.


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## Farmer Connie




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## CntryBoy777

My goodness ya got quite the spread and operation going on there, for sure.....way too much for me to keep up with, I tell ya....but, it is certainly interesting to keep up with your goings on there. Seeing the ground sure reminds me of our old place south of ya....we had 3acres and at times at least half could be under water....the field was a retention area for runoff of state highway 19.....when hurricanes came thru we had to keep an eye out for the rising water. I have been all around those horse farms near Ocala, too....mighty high $$ animals there. I certainly don't want ya to think that I'm speaking ill of what ya are doing, but.....I think the chickens could use just a bit wider door....don't ya think?.....
The really good thing about the ground is it doesn't take too long to dig a post hole....unlike this concrete clay we have here now....after the first 8" ya need a pickaxe to loosen the dirt....


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> My goodness ya got quite the spread and operation going on there, for sure.....way too much for me to keep up with, I tell ya....but, it is certainly interesting to keep up with your goings on there. Seeing the ground sure reminds me of our old place south of ya....we had 3acres and at times at least half could be under water....the field was a retention area for runoff of state highway 19.....when hurricanes came thru we had to keep an eye out for the rising water. I have been all around those horse farms near Ocala, too....mighty high $$ animals there. I certainly don't want ya to think that I'm speaking ill of what ya are doing, but.....I think the chickens could use just a bit wider door....don't ya think?.....
> The really good thing about the ground is it doesn't take too long to dig a post hole....unlike this concrete clay we have here now....after the first 8" ya need a pickaxe to loosen the dirt....


The chicken door thingy was a rare moment but was amusing! They were locked out all day because we had a mite prob and completely cleaned out the entire hen house. Floor, nesting boxes, perches, walls.. You name it is was cleaned. They usually have free passage to the house sunrise to sunset. They were confused and freaking out when we locked them out. The sun was low and their stress was high and their bellies were empty.

We have a tremendous clay prob on part of our property. Mostly in swine portion. That's why the bowl was stuck. It was glued to the clay bed. Some of are pens will not drain and are now poo ponds. Most of the posts in the pig pins took weeks to dig the holes. We pick axed and dug with iron bars to slowly dig out gumbo clay. No need for concrete when we packed the posts. Those babies are glued in. If not clay, it is massive lime rock we have to dig thru. Our neighboring farmers to the side of us have higher land and nothing but light dirt and sand. I imagine our place was a lake or pond back in the Seminole Indian days. We have found arrowheads. There is a small spring about 500 yards from our property. Just seeping though. Maybe it flowed long ago and kept this side full? I just know the rain is trying to reestablish the lake and my swine are becoming septic. Treating the ear tips right now with iodine. The conditions are disgusting and dangerous to their health. I might have to sell them all off at a loss if. The rainfall doesn't stop.
It is noon right now. It has been raining since 5 this morning.

Thanks for replying to the thread! Gotta head out.fc


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## greybeard

Farmer Connie said:


> All the rain! All the mud! Where is my food bowls?
> In the quick sand.
> Enjoy! I can tell hubby did..
> ​



A sort-of related story follows...

My garden (the whole place really) is clay soil. It doesn't drain well, but during extended periods of rain you can still drive across most of it as long as you don't break thru the surface tension or disturb the soil. The big exception is my garden because of course it is tilled. You can't walk on it after it rains a couple inches without sinking down past your ankles, some places 1/2 way to your knees.
2015 was a wet year, and my garden was a quagmire and most of the plants had all already turned yellow from too much water but wife wanted a "few fresh squash if any are left" so I waded out into it and pulled a few and held them in my shirt tail, when I sunk down nearly to my boot tops. I'm one of those people with no hips and no butt (I'm like a bug, just got a hole in it's back) and can easily walk right out of my jeans if my belt isn't cinched up tight. Anyway, there I am stuck, one hand holding my shirt tail full of $2 worth of squash, stuck tight in the mud, trying to pull one of my feet lose at a time when my pants dropped down off my hips, so I dropped my shirt and it's squash in the mud and grabbed at my pants about the time one of my feet came out of my boot. So now, I'm balanced on one foot to keep my sock foot out of the mud when I lose my balance and plop right down nearly naked butt first right down in the mess, basically in my underwear and one foot askew still in my boot.

I just reached down, chunked the squash out on solid ground, finally worked my other foot out of the mud, pulled my other boot out f the mess and chunked it in the general direction of the squash,  and crawled out of the slimy mess on all fours and pulled my pants back up over my muddy backside and timidly walked back inside the house with wife's precious squash..

That was the last year I bothered with a garden.


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## frustratedearthmother

Where's the camera when you need it!   But, I can't laugh too hard, cuz I can't count the times I've walked outa my boots in the same clay quagmire around here.


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## CntryBoy777

It is days like that ya are thankful to be in the country with very few close by.....the clay here will certainly do the same thing....we haven't been that wet in a couple of yrs, tho. My Mom got into some fireants one time in the garden and quickly came out of her pants and ran to the house in her skivies...


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## Farmer Connie

greybeard said:


> A sort-of related story follows...
> 
> My garden (the whole place really) is clay soil. It doesn't drain well, but during extended periods of rain you can still drive across most of it as long as you don't break thru the surface tension or disturb the soil. The big exception is my garden because of course it is tilled. You can't walk on it after it rains a couple inches without sinking down past your ankles, some places 1/2 way to your knees.
> 2015 was a wet year, and my garden was a quagmire and most of the plants had all already turned yellow from too much water but wife wanted a "few fresh squash if any are left" so I waded out into it and pulled a few and held them in my shirt tail, when I sunk down nearly to my boot tops. I'm one of those people with no hips and no butt (I'm like a bug, just got a hole in it's back) and can easily walk right out of my jeans if my belt isn't cinched up tight. Anyway, there I am stuck, one hand holding my shirt tail full of $2 worth of squash, stuck tight in the mud, trying to pull one of my feet lose at a time when my pants dropped down off my hips, so I dropped my shirt and it's squash in the mud and grabbed at my pants about the time one of my feet came out of my boot. So now, I'm balanced on one foot to keep my sock foot out of the mud when I lose my balance and plop right down nearly naked butt first right down in the mess, basically in my underwear and one foot askew still in my boot.
> 
> I just reached down, chunked the squash out on solid ground, finally worked my other foot out of the mud, pulled my other boot out f the mess and chunked it in the general direction of the squash,  and crawled out of the slimy mess on all fours and pulled my pants back up over my muddy backside and timidly walked back inside the house with wife's precious squash..
> 
> That was the last year I bothered with a garden.



You had to really earn that squash my friend! First busting your butt sowing the garden, then almost falling on your butt reaping!
I bet that was the best tasting squash you ever had.. Or better have been!
Iyour post! Good stuff..


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> It is days like that ya are thankful to be in the country with very few close by.....the clay here will certainly do the same thing....we haven't been that wet in a couple of yrs, tho. My Mom got into some fireants one time in the garden and quickly came out of her pants and ran to the house in her skivies...


Hubby has a bad habit of watering the fence line if you know what I mean. I always tell him if I catch him at it anyway, "one of these days that fence is going to pay you back!" One day it did. I heard him scream like a girl with his pants displaced and butt on the ground when the 8000 volt hot wire got em! He didn't say much that night. And I have not seen him watering the fence line since! That was a kodak moment!
I told him we only need a 25 mile zap box.. He wanted the 100 mile box.. He got it alright! Hehe


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> Hello I am semi hobby farm owner in North Central Florida.
> I have started this thread to share some of things we do. I will update it periodically with random videos, photos, events and our trials and tribulations. There is never a dull moment while running a farm.
> My husband and in our fifties now but we refuse to slow down. Our children have now provided grandchildren, our farm has provided us with quality time.
> Tons of poultry, pigs goats and plenty of rain this season.
> Thank you for taking the time to reading my ramblings and thanks to BYH for providing the medium for me to share!
> 
> FC.


FLASHBACK TO 2009
Our daughter (#174) is the showcase of this short production by hub-one. She entered into an out of town FFA competition. It was quite eventful. While she walked in her heifer and the line in front of her stopped, her heifer didn't! She decided to climb aboard the line of show cows.

It was quite the specticle! What an adventitious day.
A shame there are no awards for stunt heifers!




Hub-one has a bunch of vids I am digging thru. I'll try to share some more in a bit.
FC


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## Farmer Connie

*GARDEN COW GOAT DOG CAT *

*



*


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## Baymule

Laughing real hard here! I can so identify with the clay mucky yuck! The best part is we sold that land and moved to a sugar sand hill. I can add humus to the sand, I can amend the sand with wood chips, but you can't fix black clay. Girl you need hip waders to wade out in that crap. I was waiting for you to step in over your dinky little boots. Surprised the mud didn't suck them off your feet! LOL


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## Farmer Connie

Today's rain total as per gauge by our front gate..



 
Mother Nature is a ________.


 
One of the greenest portions of my goat paddock.
​


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## CntryBoy777

Boy!! That's alot of water there....looks like a few truck loads of fill dirt are needed to make mounds for the animals to graze, browse, and lay on....of course while it is raining the goats will stay inside. I sure do feel for ya for sure.....hope it stops before it is major problems there.....the ducks would certainly Love it, tho.


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Boy!! That's alot of water there....looks like a few truck loads of fill dirt are needed to make mounds for the animals to graze, browse, and lay on....of course while it is raining the goats will stay inside. I sure do feel for ya for sure.....hope it stops before it is major problems there.....the ducks would certainly Love it, tho.


Funny you should say that. We have been looking at ducks at a local farmers market the last couple weekends. Thought about breeding them. First to find a desirable breed that others would buy if we did. _What is a breed of duck folks would want?_ So if we did breed, we would not get suck with too many running around during our dry season. Just wondering.


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> Today's rain total as per gauge by our front gate..
> View attachment 37247
> Mother Nature is a ________.
> View attachment 37248
> One of the greenest portions of my goat paddock.
> ​


*Insult to injury...


 
Yay! More rain!!
Me--mother nature

*​


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## CntryBoy777

Oh my!!....that sure isn't nice. As far as ducks go I really don't know....tho Pekins seem to be the number seller. However, we have Khaki Campbells and Rouens. The Rouens are tame ducks that have the appearance of Mallards, both male and female....they are much heavier birds and don't fly. The KCs are smaller and are a cross between a Rouen and Runner ducks.....and they are a Champ at laying eggs and will out lay chickens over a yr's period. We haven't eaten any of them yet, so I can't speak to their tastiness or difference they may have. Tho they are smaller and can fly very short distances they are comical and very active....probably due to the Runner blood they have. The Rouens are louder, but the KCs are more vocal peeping, whistling, and will "Talk" with ya....they do quack but not extremely loud. Where there is standing water they will leave bill sized holes in that area as they sift the dirt. This can be avoided by lessening the water areas, or....as we do...keep a bed of hay in and around the water area. They will leave the holes in the hay and stop at the dirt if the hay is deep enough.....they won't bill any deeper than their bill, up to their nostril holes on either side of their bill just below their eyes. They both are good foragers and are active. If ya wish to gather their eggs, it will be of a big benefit to ya to keep them penned until about 8am.....ducks will lay the bulk of their eggs between 4-5am and 7am. They will drop their egg where ever they are standing, so instead of hunting them each day ya can simply gather them after ya let them out. They are messy....think of pigs with feathers...but, we believe they are well worth the mess they make and we could lessen the mess with less water, but they are waterfowl, so we cater to that and not our likes, dislikes. I hope some of this helps and doesn't just add to the confusion. Oh, there is a difference between chicken and duck eggs.....chicken eggs are acid based and duck eggs are alkali based.....some that are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs....and tho when fried or boiled the taste is very similar, the difference really shows when duck eggs are used in baked goods.....cakes, quiche, and stuff. We love them and are amazed that others flatly refuse to even try them.


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Oh my!!....that sure isn't nice. As far as ducks go I really don't know....tho Pekins seem to be the number seller. However, we have Khaki Campbells and Rouens. The Rouens are tame ducks that have the appearance of Mallards, both male and female....they are much heavier birds and don't fly. The KCs are smaller and are a cross between a Rouen and Runner ducks.....and they are a Champ at laying eggs and will out lay chickens over a yr's period. We haven't eaten any of them yet, so I can't speak to their tastiness or difference they may have. Tho they are smaller and can fly very short distances they are comical and very active....probably due to the Runner blood they have. The Rouens are louder, but the KCs are more vocal peeping, whistling, and will "Talk" with ya....they do quack but not extremely loud. Where there is standing water they will leave bill sized holes in that area as they sift the dirt. This can be avoided by lessening the water areas, or....as we do...keep a bed of hay in and around the water area. They will leave the holes in the hay and stop at the dirt if the hay is deep enough.....they won't bill any deeper than their bill, up to their nostril holes on either side of their bill just below their eyes. They both are good foragers and are active. If ya wish to gather their eggs, it will be of a big benefit to ya to keep them penned until about 8am.....ducks will lay the bulk of their eggs between 4-5am and 7am. They will drop their egg where ever they are standing, so instead of hunting them each day ya can simply gather them after ya let them out. They are messy....think of pigs with feathers...but, we believe they are well worth the mess they make and we could lessen the mess with less water, but they are waterfowl, so we cater to that and not our likes, dislikes. I hope some of this helps and doesn't just add to the confusion. Oh, there is a difference between chicken and duck eggs.....chicken eggs are acid based and duck eggs are alkali based.....some that are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs....and tho when fried or boiled the taste is very similar, the difference really shows when duck eggs are used in baked goods.....cakes, quiche, and stuff. We love them and are amazed that others flatly refuse to even try them.


​OMG.. That was a beautiful post.. Very informative and elegantly executed..
I am so grateful to have crossed paths with you.


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## Farmer Connie

More stuff to waste your time away...

*"LAZY GARDEN"*
*



*If you got time to kill, might as well waste it on this silly junk..
​


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## Baymule

I ordered some Pekins to raise for the freezer once. They quacked ALL night. They never shut up. They never slept. I was glad to send them to freezer camp. I now have some Muscovy ducks. They are at least quiet. Muscovies are seasonal layers, Pekins and KC's lay all year. I can't tell you a lot of personal experience with the Muscovies because I haven't had them long enough. @goatgurl has had them for quite some time, perhaps she'll weigh in on them.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> ered some Pekins to raise for the freezer once. They quacked ALL night. They never shut up.


I have a neighbor like that! I know where to put the duck pond now!  just kidding! But not the neighbor part.
Thanks for the 411, @Baymule !


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## Baymule

They were in our back yard--we lived in town then. So there was practically nowhere we could go that we didn't hear them. They sounded off at everything-acorns falling, a cat in the yard behind us, people walking down the street, dogs barking, a buzzard high in the sky, acorns falling, anything and everything. All. Day. All. Night.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> They were in our back yard--we lived in town then. So there was practically nowhere we could go that we didn't hear them. They sounded off at everything-acorns falling, a cat in the yard behind us, people walking down the street, dogs barking, a buzzard high in the sky, acorns falling, anything and everything. All. Day. All. Night.


Beautiful warning!


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## Farmer Connie

*Very entertaining! To say the least!*


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> *Very entertaining! To say the least!*


The second pullet may have pecking order issues?


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## Farmer Connie

*Show & Tell



 

 

 

 

 
*​


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## greybeard

Farmer Connie said:


> *Insult to injury...
> View attachment 37256
> Yay! More rain!!
> Me--mother nature
> 
> *​



That one really popped up quick didn't it?
Your wet misfortune is my luck. 
Glad it went East and didn't trek West across the Gulf and strengthen.


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## CntryBoy777

Waiting on the "Tell"....


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Waiting on the "Tell"....


NOT EVEN ONE DROP OF RAIN!
The wind picked up and made chores get done without the sticky humidity.
It crossed south of us. For once we won one.


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## Farmer Connie

greybeard said:


> That one really popped up quick didn't it?
> Your wet misfortune is my luck.
> Glad it went East and didn't trek West across the Gulf and strengthen.


It would of picked up a punch if it shot your way! It broke up over land but there was a bunch of warm water between you and I. That water is like steroids for trop storms!


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## Farmer Connie

Hub/Chomper/baby luck going for a ride on the easy go!


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## Farmer Connie

I found this little gem on my phone earlier today and put on YewToob. Our Berkshire sow snoring 1/2 way thru a delivery!
Poor girl had 1 or side to go.




We should call our farm.. The Lazy Sow Farm!


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## Farmer Connie

Bacon Factory
    

​


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## Farmer Connie

The new egg factory
This was a greenhouse falling apart across the street in our neighbor's property. The poor fellow was dying of cancer and my hub would go over once a week to mow, weed and clear branches for the retired couple for free, just being good neighbors. Before Mike died, he came out one day and offered the old greenhouse to my hub. Mike passed away shorty after.
Hub stripped it apart and rebuilt it on our property. It had a flat roof prior so my hub built rafters and trusses and got the new roof peaked for better drainage. A bunch of the studs had to be replaced. He beefed it up alot better than the original but basically the size.
Those nesting boxes are temporary until the wall unit is completed. All material is purchased from chicken and egg sales so we are slowly finishing it. Bit by bit. The ends at the top are old Cyprus privacy fence boards, hub reuses everything!
Hubby is going to route out a plaque when it is done and dedicate the structure in mikes name.


 

 

 


He made my ladies an easy open hatch on the far end of the house to let them range at free will. Used some sheet metal for the hatch door operated with a homemade crank left over from the pasture hotwire project, slipped over a pc of rebar. Ran a clothesline rope with pulleys to the door down yonder.
He doesn't throw things away. He horders  and gets ideas how to use pcs of his trash pile he calls usefull items!
I crank the door open at 6am and lower it by 8pm or so.

 
I am not allowed to take pics of the nesting box unit until its done. He is a perfectionist and he proboly rip it all down for minor improvements anyway.
Can't find any pics of the run
I put some up later. A good size anyway.

To be continued.....​


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## Farmer Connie

I couldn't figure out why the dogs water was always so dirty. I would dump it, fill it, dump it... Is his mouth full of dirt?





 
OMG... Really?  I give up..


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## Pastor Dave

Smart dog


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## Farmer Connie

BYH is so down to earth if you know what I mean. I am juggling both sites (byc) and by far, this site is more layed back and the competitive atmosphere is not present. No bigger fish stories, no I only use diatomatious earth/organic/self righteous fanatics, personality clashes, good ole boy club marking their territory..
I like sitting on the front porch watching the anxious competitors make fools of themselves. Starting to show my age I suppose.
Being humble is more rewarding than being popular.
Love me or hate me. God Bless America and it's diversity. Just don't pee off my front porch. That's hubs spot.


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## goatgurl

evening @Farmer Connie.  I only wander in and out of here so it takes me a while to catch up and meet new members so first let me say welcome to BYH from the wilds of arklahoma.  I've enjoyed several of your videos.  and I really like your chicken castle.  my girls would be very jealous if they saw it.
  i'll weigh in on the muscovie ducks that I have.  I've had them for about 15 years now and like them a lot.  they have the funniest personalities and become quite tame.  I free range all of my poultry and they are hard working, bug chasing fools.  they also eat grass like a goose and need very little grain.  they are seasonal layers unfortunately because the eggs and meat are both delicious.   my duck hens go broody every spring and hatch out large broods.  the biggest this year hatched 14 ducklings and the next size down was 12 hatched by a broodie hen who couldn't figure out why she couldn't keep her chicks out of the water pan.  if you want them for eggs and meat then they are a great fit.  if you want more eggs more than meat then welsh harliquins, khacki campbells or gold star hybrids will fill the bill.  if meat is more what you are after then the muscovies or pekins are better.  the muscovies are much quieter than the other breeds with some hisses and peeps.  hope that helps some.


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## Farmer Connie

goatgurl said:


> evening @Farmer Connie.  I only wander in and out of here so it takes me a while to catch up and meet new members so first let me say welcome to BYH from the wilds of arklahoma.  I've enjoyed several of your videos.  and I really like your chicken castle.  my girls would be very jealous if they saw it.
> i'll weigh in on the muscovie ducks that I have.  I've had them for about 15 years now and like them a lot.  they have the funniest personalities and become quite tame.  I free range all of my poultry and they are hard working, bug chasing fools.  they also eat grass like a goose and need very little grain.  they are seasonal layers unfortunately because the eggs and meat are both delicious.   my duck hens go broody every spring and hatch out large broods.  the biggest this year hatched 14 ducklings and the next size down was 12 hatched by a broodie hen who couldn't figure out why she couldn't keep her chicks out of the water pan.  if you want them for eggs and meat then they are a great fit.  if you want more eggs more than meat then welsh harliquins, khacki campbells or gold star hybrids will fill the bill.  if meat is more what you are after then the muscovies or pekins are better.  the muscovies are much quieter than the other breeds with some hisses and peeps.  hope that helps some.


By November you guys will be up to your ears with my duck posts! And all the education I am acquiring here is only going to benefit that fact! Thanks you guys! Contemplating breeds only right now. Location is obvious and still have a little more polishing to do on my spouse.. Hehe. We are about done with Turkeys.. I call that a fair swap..


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> NOT EVEN ONE DROP OF RAIN!
> The wind picked up and made chores get done without the sticky humidity.
> It crossed south of us. For once we won one.


Jinks the situation I did. Sorry about the weather reports but rain accumulation is really starting to get old. 

 
It is going to wash off all the iodine I put on pigs ears last night! If it gets in their eyes it could blind them.


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## Baymule

Your husband and I agree on hoarding lumber, building materials, etc. I love that he is building your chicken castle with reused lumber from Mike's greenhouse. Naming it after Mike makes it even better. Hmmmm.......

Mike's Roost
Mike's Chicken Castle
Mike's Eggery
Mike's Mansion

Your dog is standing in the bucket because cooling his feet off cools his whole body. I got a small kiddie wading pool for mine, he kept tumping the bucket over getting his big feet in it.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Your husband and I agree on hoarding lumber, building materials, etc. I love that he is building your chicken castle with reused lumber from Mike's greenhouse. Naming it after Mike makes it even better. Hmmmm.......
> 
> Mike's Roost
> Mike's Chicken Castle
> Mike's Eggery
> Mike's Mansion
> 
> Your dog is standing in the bucket because cooling his feet off cools his whole body. I got a small kiddie wading pool for mine, he kept tumping the bucket over getting his big feet in it.


Chomper.. That particular dog.. Hates water. Runs away at bath time. Runs when I water plants. But on dips his feet.
My chocolate lab is a water junky.. He exploits any opportunity to get wet!


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## Farmer Connie

SORRY ABOUT THE RAIN RANTS!

It rained all day today. Had to mow! Grass is a foot tall and insects go to the top to not drown and get on your legs while you walk..


 
My lawn is so beautiful now. I love stripes!!!

My feeder swine are going to process 60# Early because they are getting external sores!


 

Not having a good week right now. Light weight pigs don't have much bacon.
Sucksville, and I am the Mayor...


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## frustratedearthmother

That stinks - sorry you're dealing with that.


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## Baymule

Poor piggies. I know it bothers you that they are having a hard time with all the rain. I hate to see any animal with health problems. I especially hate to see one of MY animals with health problems. You are doing the right thing, marketing the pigs early. It sucks, but it is what it is. BTW, I love your spotted piggies!


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Poor piggies. I know it bothers you that they are having a hard time with all the rain. I hate to see any animal with health problems. I especially hate to see one of MY animals with health problems. You are doing the right thing, marketing the pigs early. It sucks, but it is what it is. BTW, I love your spotted piggies!


Thanks @Baymule , we were hoping to get them to 240#. They are a little less than 200. That pen will be condemned soon like the other ones have been. I have all of our stock on the far end of the property now. It has more dirt than clay over there. I do a have a  litter of spots born 6/9 that no one wants to buy at my prices.. Oh well.. I'll raise 9 more feeder pigs and freeze them before I'll give them away for less than what I have invested in them! I was born at night, not last night!
In Florida, my hub bbqs all year long. Hard to eat supermarket meat once you have eaten home grown pork!


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## Farmer Connie

Here is some of the nonsense I have to put up with. The city chicken folks don't really appreciate this video but they sure eat at popeyes and kfc a lot!
When our hens get older, they stop laying. If they stop laying we stop getting money for our power bill, feed bill etc.
The hens have lived a long and peaceful life compared to big production poultry industries. 
So if you don't like the idea of raising an animal for consumption, it's time to skip this post.

This is a silly video made by my wacko husband featuring one of our older hens who started costing more than it was contributing. My husband, bless his heart, can't just make a plain jane video. He tinkers and tinkers making a big production out of the littlest thing. His favorite things are pics/video tinkering, working around the farm and of course.. Ice cold beer. I should have added driving me nuts.. hehe.
Anyway. This video ain't for the city folk with 4 silkies in a $2000 chicken tractor.. This is for the farmer folks who will be able to survive when all the supermarkets and burger kings are long gone someday..






And of course he uses my voice at the end from one day a was squawking at him.. He is a pain in the you know where but I guess I'll keep him around.. For now..
Sorry Chicken folks!


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## Farmer Connie

*Rain/Rats/Snakes....*

         ​


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## Baymule

High water moves lots of creepy crawly things to higher ground. Lucky you.


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## Farmer Connie

My babies are hungry!!!


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## Farmer Connie

Thank the Lord I have a 4X4 Vehicle! Shoveled a ton of mulch dropped off by our friendly neighborhood tree trimmers, into our trailer and hauled it to the far paddock that has an underwater piglet pen. It is all down hill to that spot.


 
On the way back it is gradual climbing up hill. Thus the reason for the flooding.
Man o man it poured last night!. We have a series of 10ft gates you have to stop at to open and close. At the last gate to go thru, I put it in gear and just sat there. I gave it gas but not rolling. I thought the transmission died! I got out and saw the slime ditch. The clay soil was like soap and I was spinning the tire with an empty trailer.


 
Locked in 4 wheel low and rolled right out..
We hubby gets home he's gunna rag on me for not being in 4 wheel the entire time and tearing up the paddock. I better have some cold beer in the fridge when he get here! Hehe..


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## Farmer Connie

*New babies today yay!*
*

 

 

 *


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## Baymule

Awww.....what cute babies! What breed are they?

We let contractors for cleaning power lines park their trucks here at night and got over 80 loads of wood chip mulch. It has been composting for months and we are going to spread it on our sand that passes for soil. Wood chips are worth their weight in gold to us farmers!! We spread mulch all around the barnyard and in the barn to keep down the dust. Haha, you are fighting mud and slush and we fight sandstorms.


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## greybeard

I have a fresh load of that 'mulch' myself.

I don't think a lot of it, having gotten it in year's past as well. Makes some pretty acidic stuff once composted down, with every vile seed in the world as well it seems--probably because of the large % of it being pine which of course has pine cones.
I have to introduce some lime with the end result to use it in garden or flowerbeds here.

But, it's free...tho as with most things..ya get what ya pay for.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Awww.....what cute babies! What breed are they?
> 
> We let contractors for cleaning power lines park their trucks here at night and got over 80 loads of wood chip mulch. It has been composting for months and we are going to spread it on our sand that passes for soil. Wood chips are worth their weight in gold to us farmers!! We spread mulch all around the barnyard and in the barn to keep down the dust. Haha, you are fighting mud and slush and we fight sandstorms.


The mud in a 16x16 piglet pen turned an entire round hay bale into decayed mud slush! So I dumped about 8 yards of tree branch mulch on the slush yesterday. Then a thick layer of last years hay. The mulch is an excellent barrier to keep the hay from mud contact and speeding up the decay.
Of course pigs like to till it up. Just got to feed them at free will to keep them with full bellies and too stuffed to search for what not under the hay!


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## Farmer Connie

greybeard said:


> I have a fresh load of that 'mulch' myself.
> 
> I don't think a lot of it, having gotten it in year's past as well. Makes some pretty acidic stuff once composted down, with every vile seed in the world as well it seems--probably because of the large % of it being pine which of course has pine cones.
> I have to introduce some lime with the end result to use it in garden or flowerbeds here.
> 
> But, it's free...tho as with most things..ya get what ya pay for.


If we get a load of pine tree branch mulch, we just spread it on our dirt driveway. Sometimes we get sap on our shoes! sticky stuff.


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## Baymule

Farmer Connie said:


> The mud in a 16x16 piglet pen turned an entire round hay bale into decayed mud slush! So I dumped about 8 yards of tree branch mulch on the slush yesterday. Then a thick layer of last years hay. The mulch is an excellent barrier to keep the hay from mud contact and speeding up the decay.
> Of course pigs like to till it up. Just got to feed them at free will to keep them with full bellies and too stuffed to search for what not under the hay!


That will sure be some rich soil once it all composts! Do you plant crops for the pigs? I'm thinking turnips.


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## Farmer Connie

relocation project


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## Farmer Connie

_* 
OUR BABY WITH HER BABIES*_​


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## Farmer Connie

_*GOT EGGS?*_
_*        *_
_* *_​


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## Farmer Connie

​


Baymule said:


> That will sure be some rich soil once it all composts! Do you plant crops for the pigs? I'm thinking turnips.


Only container garden this year. Been stretched out too thin with time and effort. 
This was actually the first year we slacked off. My husband had reconstruction surgery with screws just before this season and he is the driving force. He was "man down"! for a bit.
He usually fences a new area, puts in 3 or more pigs to root/till/fertilize prior to a garden sow.
Then when the garden peters out and we are done with reap, stick more piggies back in to clean out the aftermath.
They are the poor man farmer's cheap labor hands!
Plus shovel in some goat poo before grass seeds. 
During our Rainey season growth is out of control.
 I busted a month old deck belt yesterday. My husband says... " when the grass is tall go over it twice on 2 different cut heights. When it is really tall, 3 heights". I didn't take his advice yesterday and heated up and busted the belt. You could smell the rubber melting.
I gave him a couple of ice cold beers when he got home before I told him. I got the look... But not the talk! Haha.


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## Farmer Connie

We got a break in the rain the last few days. Only 2" in 5 days! So I have been busy with sales. No rain = phone calls for sales,
Rain = more feed and meds and people don't venture out to wet farms to buy animals while holding an umbrella!
Sales are up so my posts are down!
I am still reading before bedtime though.


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## Baymule

Hope you can dry out!


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Hope you can dry out!


Thanks! We are slowly. We need Sun to help evaporate some to speed up the process.
Yesterday my better half came home by 4.
 At 4:30 he was hand shovelling tree service mulch into our feeder pigs pen.
At 6:30 I told him dinner was ready and asked when he would be done. 
He replied "When I can see the pigs hoofs again".
I was in bed at 11 0'clock when I heard the microwave beeping. I guess he got to see the pigs feet finally! HaHa!
This coming Saturday we are bringing them to our processor.
We are going to remove the fencing and posts to relocate that pen in a fresher area. Spread grass seed and rest the soil for a long time. Too low lined of an area. It is now a retention pond more than a swine pen.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Awww.....what cute babies! What breed are they?


Mottled Java, Barred rocks and our cross bred hub named Sunflowers.
Here is a photo of what the look like once matured. Cell phone pic doesn't do the beauty any justice. Beautiful feather patterns.


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## Baymule

I like the name sunflowers. It suits them.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> I like the name sunflowers. It suits them.


Barnyard mix is such an ugly tag. Like calling a crossed bred dog a mutt. 
Red sex links/comets are a cross used by hatcheries because of easy identification of pullets.
When we advertise our chickens as Sunflowers, they sell out fast! Especially when they see the 10 or so we kept for breeders/egg producers.
Barred rock/RI Red/Leg horns sell last. They are what their neighbors have and they want something different or unique.
If we advertise barnyard chicks, not one call.
Funny how that works..


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## Farmer Connie

Using the last 2# of our grounded cow today. Slow cooking a giant batch of chilli. Last of our onions and bell peppers for the season. The best way to stretch out the last of the last.
Portion it out for tonight and several Tupperware containers for the freezer.
Cowey kept us fed for a long long time! God bless you Cowey and thank you for your sacrifice..


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## Pastor Dave

Farmer Connie said:


> Using the last 2# of our grounded cow today. Slow cooking a giant batch of chilli. Last of our onions and bell peppers for the season. The best way to stretch out the last of the last.
> Portion it out for tonight and several Tupperware containers for the freezer.
> Cowey kept us fed for a long long time! God bless you Cowey and thank you for your sacrifice..


I read the name wrong at first. Thought you wrote Conway. Not that that ain't a good name.


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## Baymule

I always say a prayer over animals I slaughter. Yes, thanks to Cowey for providing good meat for you and your family.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> I always say a prayer over animals I slaughter. Yes, thanks to Cowey for providing good meat for you and your family.


We feed and cared for her for 19 months. It was not a good feeling leaving her with our processor. I have a conscious that I felt alive in me that day. But in the end, that is why we raised her. She lived a wonderful life until that moment of sacrifice. It was hard but not taken for granted.
Pigs are around for a short period. Cows you notice when they are gone.
I said I short prayer as I locked her in the pen before we left.


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## Farmer Connie

Pastor Dave said:


> I read the name wrong at first. Thought you wrote Conway. Not that that ain't a good name.


We never name temporary livestock but we slipped that time.
Our 2 feeders recently were just called the twins.


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## Baymule

Time for you to raise another steer.


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## Farmer Connie

My heart goes out to the good people of Texas! Sorry for what you are experiencing. I cannot conceive that amount of rain if only 3" of rain did this to us in 2 hours yesterday.




Video from my husband trying to keep his baby girl off the 8000 volt fence line.
If we had the Texas rain amount, I would give up and move back to city life!
Hang in there Texas!


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## Farmer Connie

If you are following my rants, here is a little trick my  hubby does to keep the prime pork coming in at lowest cost and highest quality as possible.
Just because we just sent two 300# pigs to our butcher, doesn't mean we are set for life!
 It takes up to six months average for us  to get them that big.
So the ball has to keep rolling.




 
Introducing the new pork trio.
They are selected from a litter we sold off. The proceeds went to the silo feed company. We stocked up on 16% pro grower feed out the ying yang. Buying in bulk saves big bucks!


Also... These.


 
Several 50# bags of soybeans. 48% protein.




 
Daily, 2 crock pots cook the beans down to mush. The other 2 crock pots cook cracked corn down to mush.




 
Hub mixes them together and lets cool over night. When the process gets started, there is one bucket a day being fed to the new trio. Half bucket in the morning and the rest at sundown. On top of free will feeding of the conventional grain pellets.

To raise hogs economically, get them big fast with that first growth spurt so you don't turn them into a money pit! We have seen so many people spending more money to raise a pig to eat, and spend more than it costs to buy at the supermarket.
Protein builds lean muscle. We switch to corn and acorns (occasional bread) to finish them off. Tweaking the perfect balance between  fat and muscle. The nuts add to the flavor of the meat.




 
We have a little bbq day planned for a couple weeks from now. Got to make space in our freezers for the new meats.
Friends and family will be here enjoying the fruits of our labor.
One of our freezers has a 100# butterflied whole hog in it.(taking up almost all the space) My hub will pit smoke it for the party!
We hardly have any no shows when we invite folks (except vegetations) hehe.

Got pork?

Thanks for reading my junk!
Fc


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## Baymule

That sounds like an invitation you'd have to be really stupid to turn down!! 

Pig chefs!!


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## Farmer Connie

I am back! Password issues kept me away... I feel so stupid how the whole thing unfolded. I am getting old and forgetful..lol


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## Farmer Connie




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## Mike CHS

Farmer Connie said:


> I am back! Password issues kept me away... I feel so stupid how the whole thing unfolded. I am getting old and forgetful..lol




Glad to see you back and with a cool picture at that.  Don't feel alone with forgetting things.  I write everything down on lists and then forget where I put the list.


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## Farmer Connie

BERKSHIRE had her babes too..


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## Farmer Connie

The feeders are growing like weeds!


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## Farmer Connie

Poor luck... My little wether has a urinary calculi prob.. being treated.


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## Farmer Connie

SICK BAY moment...


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## Latestarter

Nice pigs! Wish you were closer, I'd buy my feeders/piglets from you. Glad to see you back. Wondered why you'd disappeared.


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> Nice pigs! Wish you were closer, I'd buy my feeders/piglets from you. Glad to see you back. Wondered why you'd disappeared.


I forgot my password... I didn't have it written down. I figured out it was the same PW I use for BYC... I entered my BYC password and.... "I'm back!" I feel so silly.. but great not being locked out anymore!


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## Latestarter

Sweet... nice to be getting age-ed isn't it?  At least these sites don't require you to change passwords every 90 days and NOT reuse any from the last 15 you've used or any variation of same. Oh, and do NOT write them down anywhere for fear they'll get compromised. I haven't met a single person YET who DIDN'T write them down! There's NO WAY (unless you're a savant) that you can remember all those passwords as often as they change. I run an excel spreadsheet. Every time I join a new site that requires a password I record the hyperlink and password I used. When they change, I go in and update it. I won't tell you how often I have to open it to check


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## Baymule

Adorable baby piggies! Glad to have you back, you've been missed around here.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> Adorable baby piggies! Glad to have you back, you've been missed around here.


GREAT TO BE BACK.THANKS! I have been visiting this site for midnight reading a few times, but could never join in on the forums. I was so close to creating a new account before I remembered my byc/byh passwords were the same! That's why I didn't write it down because is already was written down.. My new name is.. "Goophy Farmer".. 



 My little doe buddy... Bah Buh.. Spoiled rotten.


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## Farmer Connie

Baby Cowgirl 


Off to the sausage processor 


Making Bacon 


Mating season 


Eating my eggs!!!!!! 

 


Big Sugar enjoying a stroll 


Breeding tons of poultry 

 Hurricane Irma shot.. plenty of these pics.. That was a pig paddock



 
This place is fer the birds!


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## Farmer Connie

Since Irma decided we needed a new roof on the big egg house, she removed it for us... how thoughtful of her. This time we bird blocked the rafters to keep the flock from perching over our heads and bombing down caca on our heads. Now they stay on the perches finally. We also repaired and beefed up the nesting boxes. Took awhile to get everything done after the hurricane was long gone. The FEMA contractors just hauled off all the debris about 4 days ago.
At least the poultry dept is cranking once again..


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## Baymule

That looks like the easy way to put on a new roof! Just let a hurricane do all the hard work for you. Then all you have to do is put a new one on! LOL


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## Farmer Connie

No sunshine = no green pasture


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## Latestarter

Gosh Connie, you could be running a petting zoo there!   Look at all those different enclosures!


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> Gosh Connie, you could be running a petting zoo there!   Look at all Those different enclosures!


That was a view towards the *swine* division.Those are all the breeders paddocks and birthing pens.. lol.. it is about 100' wide and an acre long. Partitioned for breeds/age/sexes. Or unofficially referred to as The bacon factory.. lol We are in full swing. FFA/4H project season is in.. We get a little more for our efforts this time of year..


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## CntryBoy777

Glad the damage wasn't too bad to recover from. Sure looks like everything is moving right along and seems to be in full production there. Our daughter lives in Minneola and was without power for several days, but did have a generator and they didn't have any damage.....


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## Farmer Connie




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## CntryBoy777

Nice looking specimens there....really pretty "Ribbon Snake". I loved watching the lizards when we lived there....that large black one may be a gray rat snake....if so, then ya might outta keep watch out for them, they can and will eat a whole nest of chicken eggs....


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Nice looking specimens there....really pretty "Ribbon Snake". I loved watching the lizards when we lived there....that large black one may be a gray rat snake....if so, then ya might outta keep watch out for them, they can and will eat a whole nest of chicken eggs....


That's where we are catching then.. nesting boxes..


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## CntryBoy777

I've had to kill quite a few here for the same reason...I try not too, but there are so many here that they have to be thinned out some....they can be semi aggressive, but are not dangerous or venomous....


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## Farmer Connie

Just started a cure on some Lazy H Pork Belly.. (future bacon)
1/3 cup salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
black peppercorn

Stays in the frig for 5 ish days and flipped once a day.
We will take it out, wash it off & slow smoke it next weekend.

  ​




Pulled out a homegrown picnic ham shoulder last night. It finally thawed. Hub is cutting it into chunks and adding them to a bowl of bell pepper & onion chunks w/ olive oil and seasoning.
We are preparing to make some charbroiled pork skeweres. Smoked pork ka bobs is awesome finger food. Dinner on a stick.


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> Pulled out a homegrown picnic ham shoulder last night. It finally thawed. Hub is cutting it into chunks and adding them to a bowl of bell pepper & onion chunks w/ olive oil and seasoning.
> We are preparing to make some charbroiled pork skeweres. Smoked pork ka bobs is awesome finger food. Dinner on a stick.


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## Latestarter

Just in case no one before me has accused you, let me be the first... you are a FOOD TEASE!!! I'm trying to lose weight (unsuccessfully) and you keep driving me to eat! Man that ALL looks so good...   Were I closer, I'd be callin' you friend and waiting for the dinner invites! 

I'll still call you friend, with or without any dinner invites...


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## Baymule

Latestarter said:


> Just in case no one before me has accused you, let me be the first... you are a FOOD TEASE!!! I'm trying to lose weight (unsuccessfully) and you keep driving me to eat! Man that ALL looks so good...   Were I closer, I'd be callin' you friend and waiting for the dinner invites!
> 
> I'll still call you friend, with or without any dinner invites...


We could caravan on over to see her along with @Devonviolet and her husband. Picking up BYH'ers as we go.......


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## Devonviolet

Wow! Those kabobs look AMAZING!!!     I'm thinking we might have to make some of those with the goat meat we recently brought home from the butcher!  Thanks for tagging me @Baymule.


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> Just in case no one before me has accused you, let me be the first... you are a FOOD TEASE!!!


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## Devonviolet

Farmer Connie said:


>


    
OMG!  That is just TOOO Funny!!!


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## Farmer Connie

Extra Thick Slices..



Trusty Saute Pan 


Sexy Bubbles

 Golden Brown Goodness


 

 Had no Tomatoes! .. So I threw them in the trash!

JUST KIDDING!


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## CntryBoy777

They look absolutely Delicious!!....


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## Latestarter

Oh my...   Doc told me today I need to diet... like seriously...


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> Oh my...   Doc told me today I need to diet... like seriously...


We try to stay active. Before the overload of chores, we both where borderline Doctor warned of diet. Working ourselves to exhaustion burns off excess bad foods. Active lifestyle allows us to indulge foods deemed unhealthy for couch potatoes. DH's Grandma lived to 97 yrs. Bacon all her life. She was a farmer and a go getter. She died of a broken heart when grandpa died a year prior from Alzheimer disease.  364 days to the date. Quadruple bypass and working in her garden 7 days later... and bacon for breakfast still.(without sodium nitrite preserves)
man made chemicals kill.. not natural meats.


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## Baymule

What's your bacon recipe? Looks yummy!


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> What's your bacon recipe?


1/3 cup of salt & 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Rub it in. Flip it once for 5 days in the refer. Anymore than 5 days gets too salty. Soak it in an ice water bath to get the salt off. Maybe an hour. Rinse it really good.


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## Farmer Connie

Spotty piggy dropping soon. Got her in the birthing pen today.


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## Farmer Connie




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## Farmer Connie

30 to 40 # Hampshire's

 

 

 

 

 after all the needles... Hamps are the most screaming swine we have. The sound can break glass..or at least your eardrums.


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## Farmer Connie

DOB 12/2/17
Gloucestershire (Old Spot) / Berkshire crosses.
11 Total. & 2 fatalities..
Mom is doing fine.


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## Devonviolet

Awww! Aren't they cute?


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## CntryBoy777

Really, really Cute!!......that will fill a freezer rather quickly in a very short period of time.....


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## Baymule

They are so cute! What a nice litter, momma sow done good!


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## Latestarter

cute little porkers!


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## Farmer Connie

CntryBoy777 said:


> Really, really Cute!!......that will fill a freezer rather quickly in a very short period of time.....


Those babies pictured hopefully  will pay for these to be processed..
Seasoned with alfalfa, acorns and walnuts


 

 


All @ 125# currently in 3 months time span .


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## Farmer Connie

5 left of the Berkshire batch... 


 

 

 

 
The Hamps are too loud... omg


 
BUT WORTH THE NOISE!


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## Farmer Connie

Farmer Connie said:


> BUT WORTH THE NOISE!


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## Farmer Connie

Berkshire Steaks? Sign me up.. Table for two please..


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## Baymule

Awesome healthy pigs! And some delicious looking meat! I know it is delicious, I licked the computer screen!


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> I licked the computer screen!


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## Farmer Connie

Balance off a recent impressive litter


 

 

 

 Gloucestershire splashed with Full Berkshire. One off the bars is 55# just off mama's milk 2 days ago. Gigantic specimen.


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## Farmer Connie




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## Baymule

Nice looking piglets! We just bought a couple of Hereford feeder pigs. If you were close by, we'd sure buy pigs from you!


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## Latestarter

I was really wanting to cross a GOS with a Tamworth. Based on the meat reviews I think that would be a pairing to drool over.


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## Farmer Connie

45 mile drive to our processor today. Dropped off a couple of prime fed porkers.
Grain fed. 48% whole soy beans/conventional grain 16%/barley/alfalfa.
Finished on corn/beer/acorns
3 way cross of Gloucestershire-Hampshire-Berkshire heritage.
The largest is 325# AND ONLY 5 months old.


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## Farmer Connie

4 of these Berk/Old Spots are our next feeders.


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## CntryBoy777

Eating Good in the neiborhood!!....


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## Baymule

THAT is some awesome pork!! Beautiful pigs and what a great job of feeding/caring for them!


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## Latestarter

Man those are some great looking hogs!


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## Farmer Connie

Had to make FREEZER space.. Started a bacon cure last night.


 

 

 *Thawed out some Berkshire Steaks for the grill.

 

 

 Perks of a pig farmer I suppose.*


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## Latestarter

oh my...


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## Baymule

What is your bacon cure? All store bought bacon has sugar in it and so far, the home made cures have sugar in them too. I've been looking for a cure that does not have sugar. Last bacon I did, I soaked in salt water in the refrigerator, but didn't get it salty enough.  We smoked it and it was good, but I haven't hit that "just right" place yet.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> What is your bacon cure? All store bought bacon has sugar in it and so far, the home made cures have sugar in them too. I've been looking for a cure that does not have sugar. Last bacon I did, I soaked in salt water in the refrigerator, but didn't get it salty enough.  We smoked it and it was good, but I haven't hit that "just right" place yet.


We were using a S.N. cure by "Lem" from Gander Mountain store. Now we are using this. By "Hi-Country". Sold at Rural King.


 We add brown sugar and other ingredients for extra flavoring. This seems to be alright tasting. Penetrates well.


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## Farmer Connie

Yard Bird


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## Baymule

That looks scrumptious! What's in the big syringe?


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> That looks scrumptious! What's in the big syringe?


Broth/butter/herbs/


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## Farmer Connie

I put a butt ham into a brine cure this morning! Seven days until Heaven on Earth..


 
Blade Steaks last evening.. Seared over Apple Wood.


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## RollingAcres

Farmer Connie said:


> I put a butt ham into a brine cure this morning! Seven days until Heaven on Earth..
> View attachment 45715
> Blade Steaks last evening.. Seared over Apple Wood.
> View attachment 45716


Yummy!!!


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## Bruce

Just accidentally ran across your journal Connie!



Farmer Connie said:


> All the rain! All the mud! Where is my food bowls?
> In the quick sand.
> Enjoy! I can tell hubby did..


 Chest waders!! Or, what the heck, those things were better than a foot deep, should have just left them there.  I bet DH timed his foot surgery so he wouldn't have to do the dredging. 



Latestarter said:


> Every time I join a new site that requires a password I record the hyperlink and password I used. When they change, I go in and update it. I won't tell you how often I have to open it to check


Perhaps about as often as I do? I cut and paste. 



Baymule said:


> Awesome healthy pigs! And some delicious looking meat! I know it is delicious, I licked the computer screen!


If only that worked


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## Farmer Connie

Spoiler: DO NOT CLICK THIS IF YOU'RE HUNGRY!



This is a modified Brink man water pot slow smoker. Double Decker with twice the capacity of the standard model. Wet cured several Hams and Bacon slabs for 12 days. Thursday was the smoke-a-thon. I bet you could smell it a mile away. Blackjack Oak & Hickory wood.


 

 

 


*BACON!*
*

 

 *
*HAM!*
*

 

 *​Just under 16 hours of smoking at a low temp. Got to bed around 3 am. Our refrigerator reeks. You can smell the refrigerator with the doors closed. I wonder what is for supper tonight? Maybe McDonald's?


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## RollingAcres

Despite the warning I still clicked on the link! OMG !!!! They look amazing and I wish I have smell-o-puter!


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## Bruce

Farmer Connie said:


> [SPOILERO NOT CLICK THIS IF YOU'RE HUNGRY!] This is a modified Brink man water pot slow smoker. Double Decker with twice the capacity of the standard model. Wet cured several Hams and Bacon slabs for 12 days. Thursday was the smoke-a-thon. I bet you could smell it a mile away. Blackjack Oak & Hickory wood.
> View attachment 46746 View attachment 46744 View attachment 46745 View attachment 46747
> *BACON!*
> *View attachment 46742 View attachment 46743 *
> *HAM!*
> *View attachment 46740 View attachment 46741 *​Just under 16 hours of smoking at a low temp. Got to bed around 3 am. Our refrigerator reeks. You can smell the refrigerator with the doors closed. I wonder what is for supper tonight? Maybe McDonald's? [/SPOILER]


I am NOT going to click on that button, I'M NOT!!

ETA: apparently some stuff comes through when you quote, not the pictures though. I'm NOT going to look, I'm NOT. Besides, I'd probably get a migraine if I do since you use nitrate salt.


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> Besides, I'd probably get a migraine if I do since you use nitrate salt.


1/8 teaspoon per lb. in boiled water then cooled. No other way to create real bacon. We have used regular salt and sugar but it tastes like pork, not bacon. The Ham will be grey without it as well and taste like a big fatty pork chop instead of ham.
Used in a precise moderation. We smoked a ton of meat yesterday. Each cure was prepared Taylor made for each hunk of meat by the weight. Not one big batch all at once.
Low levels, so take an aspirin and check it out!


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> since you use nitrate salt.


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> apparently some stuff comes through when you quote, not the pictures though.


it looks like you were clicking on my post while I was editing the BB code. I see the green emoji in the quote. That's what I was editing out. I must of inserted it by accident but I removed it to fix the code. It's working now. Bruce, do you buy store bought bacon or ham?


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## Bruce

Farmer Connie said:


> Bruce, do you buy store bought bacon or ham?


Only "uncured" therefore nitrate free. Migraines are not fun. The bacon brand I like best is "North Country Smokehouse Fruitwood smoked". Contents: pork, water, salt, Turbinado sugar, natural ingredients (whatever that is - spices of some sort), maple syrup. Not hard to find a package with a good lean to fat ratio, not true of some others.  "Uncured" often contains celery salt which does have natural nitrates but I guess natural doesn't do me in like "man made". 

The ham I buy is Boar's Head Applewood uncured. I buy McKenzie bagged breakfast sausage.

The nitrates are totally unnecessary.


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## Wehner Homestead

Following along! I’m going to have to try curing my own bacon sometime...


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> "Uncured" often contains celery salt which does have natural nitrates but I guess natural doesn't do me in like "man made".


I was reading something about this actually today.


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## Farmer Connie

Wehner Homestead said:


> Following along! I’m going to have to try curing my own bacon sometime...


Awesome!  Experiment. Be simple or be bold.
Bacon wrapped country style ribs. First seared the ribs, then wrapped the hand cut bacon last.


 



 

 

 
No leftovers for lunch today..


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## Wehner Homestead




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## Farmer Connie




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## Farmer Connie

flashback..DD growing like a weed.


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## Latestarter

You have a beautiful daughter Connie.


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> You have a beautiful daughter Connie.


Thanx.. She is in her twenties now..Son on the edge of 30. I'm in my 100's now


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## Latestarter

I well know the feeling WRT age...   My favorite oldest daughter is 37 and my youngest favorite only son is 31...


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## animalmom

Pikers one and all!  

My darling daughter is 45, my youngest grandchild is 17, AND I remember Lucky Lindy (such a heart throb). 
I am eternally grateful she does not read this blog let alone this thread.


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## Bruce

Lindbergh died in '74, lots of us were alive then!


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## Mike CHS

Those are some wonderful pictures with of course as many wonderful memories.


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## Farmer Connie

They're back!


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## Bruce

Um, looks like quite a few rattles on the end of that snake.


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> Um, looks like quite a few rattles on the end of that snake.


Was in brother inlaw's garden. He shot it. Their farm is only 5 miles from here. So I know we have en too.


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## Bruce

Watch where you step and talk loudly so you don't sneak up and scare one!


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## Latestarter

Shame it had to be "wasted" but I get it. That's one very large snake and would make for a very serious bite. Problem is Bruce, they are learning that rattling gives them away and often ends up with them dieing, so it's been documented that in some areas, they no longer rattle when a human approaches and "play dead" until they have no choice but to strike. 

I almost stepped right on the center of one's back while hiking in CO and he stayed dead still with no rattle (even with me messing around near him looking for a stick to try and catch him), until I prodded him with a stick. Thank god I saw him before I stepped square on him. He'd have gotten me for sure and he also had about 9 rattles. And I was a 3 mile hike to get back out to my truck. This was only about 5 years ago.


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## Farmer Connie

Finished mating one pair yesterday. Got the boar out. Poor sow..


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## Farmer Connie

Videos by DH.


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## Farmer Connie

DITTO


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## Farmer Connie




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## Mike CHS

I have a picture of our fence charger when a snake touched both connectors and got fried in place.

Nice job on the videos.


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## Pastor Dave

Smells like someone's grillin'


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## Farmer Connie




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## Latestarter

Was that you in the background of Bam Bam's video? Nice to see I'm not the only one doing farm chores in shorts    It's HOT out there! Great videos. Feel a little bad for the lizard though... He just wanted some fresh insects to eat.


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## Pastor Dave

I put the bib overalls up once it hits abt 70 and go with cargo shorts unless handling hay, then I sweat through it wearing bibs.
When I mow, I put on high athletic socks and work boots because of snakes and poison ivy/oak and such. Chores with the bunnies is often done in [shorts] sneakers or even crocs. It is hitting low 90's here. Gotta adapt.


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## CntryBoy777

One thing is for sure.....there is never a dull moment at your place..........how are the ducks doing?


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## Farmer Connie

Latestarter said:


> Was that you in the background of Bam Bam's video?


Roger that. That's an older video... DH has been going thru the hours of files to preserve them onto youtube. Computer is getting old. use it or loose it.


Latestarter said:


> Nice to see I'm not the only one doing farm chores in shorts


97*F and 100% RH.. heck yeah.


Latestarter said:


> Feel a little bad for the lizard though..


I lot of them pop off.. sad, but the livestock doesn't break thru fences anymore.


Pastor Dave said:


> I put the bib overalls up once it hits abt 70 and go with cargo shorts unless handling hay, then I sweat through it wearing bibs.
> When I mow, I put on high athletic socks and work boots because of snakes and poison ivy/oak and such. Chores with the bunnies is often done in [shorts] sneakers or even crocs. It is hitting low 90's here. Gotta adapt.


I dress accordingly for certain chores. I break out easy with ivy.


CntryBoy777 said:


> One thing is for sure.....there is never a dull moment at your place..........how are the ducks doing?


Son's family moved in. House is packed.. understatement. Ducks are total free range. Dogs protect them. The free birds have excepted them.. weird. I think one drake/2ducks.
I'll post pics soon. Been spread out too thin. I should hang out here more than byc I suppose. Chickens are a tiny fraction of what we do. I have a lot more to share. Thanks for responding. Glad to see you guys still around.


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## Farmer Connie




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## Farmer Connie




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## Bruce

Nice looking animals. Bam bam seems quite a character.


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## Baymule

Pat yourself on the back and give your DH a pat on the back too. Your animals are healthy, beautiful and show their good care.


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> Nice looking animals. Bam bam seems quite a character.


 He was euthanized in 2016. He went to the "dark side of the force"


 .
Killed a pregnant nanny and DH did an eye for an eye thing. She was due to drop her twins 2 weeks later. Bam took out 3 in one.
He had a screw loose. 8000 volt hot wire wouldn't phase him. He was too dangerous.
He was a hoot when he was young.. a force to be reckoned with in his last days.
 Pix of his final days-




Gave us beautiful babies though-


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## Latestarter

Yeah, no sense keeping a dangerous animal around. Sorry he had to be put down.


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## mystang89

Sorry he did that. He was beautiful though.


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## Bruce

Farmer Connie said:


> Killed a pregnant nanny and DH did an eye for an eye thing. She was due to drop her twins 2 weeks later. Bam took out 3 in one.
> He had a screw loose. 8000 volt hot wire wouldn't phase him. He was too dangerous.
> He was a hoot when he was young.. a force to be reckoned with in his last days.


So sad but what needs to be done needs to be done. How old was he?


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> So sad but what needs to be done needs to be done. How old was he?


6-ish-7 in the end. Very rotten disposition. He was named "Roadie" day one. As he aged and his demeanor changed into a break everything rough houser, he was nicknamed Bam Bam.
He flipped a cow, flipped my hubby, rammed and snapped off fence posts, chased chickens.. farm bully.
As a kid, was the tops! What a character.


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## Bruce

Wow. I'm surprised he didn't get done in when he flipped DH or the cow. Too bad he had a screw loose.


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## Farmer Connie

Bruce said:


> Wow. I'm surprised he didn't get done in when he flipped DH or the cow. Too bad he had a screw loose.


I said no is why. 

Shelia, the nanny, was his first goat. He raised her from a runt. He sent me shopping w/DD & their was a mound in the pasture when I got home. Long long dramatic story costing thousands of $$$$$ in human Dr bills. Getting late in the day- have to feed. 
*to be continued.*


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## Baymule

Mean animals don't last long here and they taste real good too!


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## Farmer Connie

3am




 Right after 3" inches of rain and flash flooding-


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## Baymule

So cute! It makes me want to hug and squeeze one. And run for my life with an angry sow behind me while that cutie bundle of bacon and ham screams bloody murder at approximately 1,467 decibels.


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## Farmer Connie

Baymule said:


> So cute! It makes me want to hug and squeeze one. And run for my life with an angry sow behind me while that cutie bundle of bacon and ham screams bloody murder at approximately 1,467 decibels.


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