The girls are going crazy. They have a breeding program plan for the chickens. Kinda like, let’s get a rooster and 3 hens of as many breeds as possible! I think we are up to 11 breeds right now. CRAZY! We need to re-evaluate the feasibility of this. While they are growing, these birds are just food consumers. It will be interesting to see if they produce enough eggs pay for the cost of feeding them all.
Another thing to think about is what to do with them when they no longer produce eggs. The girls are getting attached to some of these so I don’t think I will be making broth with them. Time will tell.
I am planning on making fermented turnip today. I’ll post pictures and the how-to in the recipe section. If they turn out well, I might enter a jar in the Navan Fair. This 74 year old Fair is a big deal in our area. It’s an agricultural fair with great activities and contests for all ages. I have never participated but I hope to enter a few things this year. Unfortunately, I don’t think the garden will produce any winning veggies this year, but the fermented turnip might be a good product to show.
I am also thinking of entering some knitting. I just have to unpack some knitting boxes in the next few weeks. Those boxes were not a priority when we moved but this would be a good reason to get to them.
This weekend was very very hot and humid which made working outside a little uncomfortable. We all did some work but moved slower than usual. We did not do as much as we normally would but all in all, not a bad one. Katie and Lizzie spent most of their time working on cataloguing the chickens and adding roosts to their stalls. They also changed out the bedding from hay to pine shavings, hoping the shavings will be easier to clean up.
I spent time on the hay wagon with Brian. We got the frame done and added the floor boards. It’s so pretty! Quite a site with its pink frame. Now to decorate it for the fair! I plan on having one of OPUS’ Rockbands set up on the hay wagon and play some tunes during the Navan Fair parade. Should be a blast.
Beautiful beams! 
Platform done
On the Navan front, I mentioned in an earlier blog that we were opening another music academy. Well, that fell through at the very last minute. I was kind of disappointed that the landlord and I couldn’t come to an agreement, since it was already pretty much a done deal. Things like that happen though and you just have to assume there’s a reason it didn’t work. So we move on. The up side is that this coming school year I may be able to keep my OPUS schedule down to 4 days. That means an extra day at the farm!! This is very exciting. I have so many projects in mind for the winter months.
I need to set up my Unruffled kitchen so that I can make preserves, do some canning, make soaps and potions š . That’s my happy place. I miss the smell of all my essential oils. I miss the satisfaction of knowing I am making organic, wholesome skin care products for family and friends. That extra day a week means I can replenish my supplies and make bigger batches to sell. By spring it would be nice to have enough products to start going to markets. The food and skin care lines are all part of what I hope will make the farm viable.
At this time we are taking orders for meat chickens. We need to place the order for hatchlings very soon. So let us know if you’d like some.
On the animal front, we have acquired a few new roosters and hens. We have given away one pesky rooster. I think he will do well at his new home, but here there were just too many roosters for him to cope. He was a little aggressive with others. The pigs are growing to the point where our little male is quickly catching up in size to the females! Turkeys are turkeys. They eat, drink and run around the enclosure like lunatics.
So don’t forget to check out the recipe section. I will also be adding a gluten free recipe for lemon blueberry loaf in the next while. Just need to taste test before sharing.
Unruffled Farms 