Thanks, all. This 15 acre farm was a true Pnut farm before I bought it over 17 yrs ago. These are the "lower fields", as there is a gradual drop from top to woods @ back, about 50'. I do not use chemicals, some is native grass, overseeded with other. Orchard, Bermuda, crabgrass and some of the Australian Peas, chicory, rape, trefoil -- compliments of the "food plots" bags of seed I buy on closeout from deer hunt fanciers. I do rotate horses & goats through fields. With all the rain Spring into late summer, some fields weren't needed and were just cut. This is only a 6 week growth! The other 8-10 acres isn't so tall but still very, very thick base.
Would hay if I could find someone to bring equipment for such small space. A shame.....farm is a little "overgrown" with forage right now. Messy but pretty. Goats will clear fence lines & one of my carports that honeysuckle found but, I can't. My pigs are working on tilling a couple other acres for me. It's a LOT to keep up. Fall will clear some & my bushhog.
YES -- the woods around have lovely deer. A 14 pt buck & his does frequent visitors -- almost daily -- plus some wild turkeys. There's a nice mix of 50-100 acres plots each of woods & crop farms adjacent.
The huts are good with portable pens, for all the things I mentioned -- AND keeping some rascally roos in their place!
Used to never keep any but trying to raise some select types for flock renewal and sales. HUGE backyard community all around, 30-50 miles out, just looking for a few hens off and on. Plus my $2 doz eggs, vice $5 for same @WM.
Seriously? Farm fresh eggs up here go for $3.50 a dozen minimum. More like $4 if you have the right market. We used to sell them for $2.50/dozen. We went up to $3 because feed prices went up and someone was so mad they stopped buying from us. I know for a fact they're paying $4 from someone else now. Oops
Out here in CO I was doing 3/12, 5/18, 7/36 and raised my price to 4/6/8 respectively. Folks never complained... No idea what they'll sell for when I move. I'll be pretty rural so most folks will probably have their own chickens. I have no plans to go into the egg business... I'll have plenty else to keep me occupied.
Oh my!!....I am almost embarrassed to post these pics...seems everybody else has such well thought out plans and workmanship!!....mine is a converted 'Chicken House', but there is a 'Story' about it....so, here goes...this was originally built by my Mom & Dad....back in the late 80's...Mom passed 4yrs ago @ 86yo and Dad is still with us @93....so, I kept the original bldg for that reason...and less work and material cost....here it is...
....the left door was the roost rm and the rt was the nesting rm...there is a wall that separates the 2 with a hole in it so the chickens could go from side to side with doors shut....now, left is the bedding area and rt is a Feed rm...when it is raining....and the goats really like the hole in the wall!!....and the boys like to lay on top of the old nesting boxes...LOL!!....I did add the deck and a back area to increase the pen size....here are a couple of pics of that........I know many of ya may be amazed at the structure of the fence...but, I have small goats so I don't need the extra reinforcement....no Bucks....LOL..at this stage of life I won't get one I can't Handle...so, small is Good....LOL....though we may add a couple of doelings in the future....Small ones!!