After 2 weeks of waiting, the ready-to-lay birds finally give some eggs. So once again, the girls take turn and gather the eggs everyday.

Yes, there were 2 nights in a row where we had a light frost. Consequently, the squash, sweet potatoes and tomatoes were killed. I could have spray drops of water on the plants to protect them but didn’t have the time to do so. However, I did put the frost blanket on the sweet potatoes but in vain. May be I should put the 6 mil plastic film that I used last winter. So the sweet potatoes remain a challenge for me.

We are trying to raise the meat birds again, but this time on the pasture entirely! We have reinforced the coopy with hardware cloth 1/3″ openings and the electric fence is working also. To shorten the labour, we start with 2-week-old White Rocks. The children are very excited of course and all try to feed the chicks grasshoppers and crickets.

Play Video

I had some problems with flea beetles last year chewing holes in the bok choy but this year the situation is worsen. There were several hot days and the flea beetle population exploded. They are particularly fond of cabbage family so my newly transplanted broccoli are almost gone. The big cabbage plants are OK because they are big enough to withstand the onslaught. I spread some diatomaceous earth on and around the plants but it is too late. So my worst enemies so far are slug and flea beetles. I read that I would need to cultivate the soil several time after the season is over to expose the beetle eggs. Gardening is never easy.

Finally, it is time for harvesting the chickens. They are about 6.5 weeks old and look pretty
meaty. We have a slaughterhouse 25 mins from us that will process each chicken for $3.00. It is provincially licensed and inspected. Each chicken will bear the logo “Ontario Approved” and good for sale. There was a severe thunderstorm on the night when we brought the chickens to the plant. Thank the Lord we arrived safely and came back in one piece. The rain was heavy at times and at one point we had to detour because a tree fell and blocked the
road.
We need to make 3 round-trips to the slaughterhouse: picking up the crates, unloading the chickens in crates, and picking up the final product. Can’t wait till we taste our first
chicken 🙂

Chickens ready to be loaded into creates.
These are the crates, each can hold 5 chickens.
Loading the chickens is no easy job. It weighs over 40 pounds with the chickens.  But we managed to load them on the van.
Everybody helps.

Today we picked up the chickens from the butcher. All cleaned, wrapped in plastic bag with an “Ontario Approved” label. The average weight is 4.5 lbs while some of them reach over 5 lbs. Because of the size, we have to use a bigger pot to cook. Next time, I think I am going to butcher the chicken around 5 weeks so that I will get a 4 lbs average.
We have also bought a roll of hardware cloth of 1/3″ mesh size to reinforce the chicken coop. We are going to order another 30 patch of 2-week-old White Rock and raise them entirely ont he pasture. With the help or electric fence and hardware cloth, I hope this will keep the racoons at bay.

One of the chickens becomes lame. I don’t know why but we have decided to put her on the deck so it would be easier for us to feed her. Hence this hen is on a special vacation!

Things have been slow this year because of the cooler than usual summer.
However, we have to be thankful that we can start to enjoy some of the harvest.

Our first zuccini.

Sweet peas are great for raw eating.

This is our first try of purple cauliflower. It did not grow too well and so I cut them before flowering.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the energizer failed to work and thus the electric fence is of no use. Yesterday morning I found 3 dead chickens and in total 4 missing. I knew it must be the raccoons. I then covered the coop with more chicken wire, but left some small holes, thinking it would be too small for the raccoon. Big mistake! The next night, it killed three more at midnight while my wife was watching them. She woke me up and I grabbed a golf club with me. I saw 3 raccoos, one at the edge of the coop, reaching through the chicken wire. I inspected the coop and found out it could pryed through the corner of the coop and got in. Well, I have no choice but moved all the chickens back to the permanet coop with my wife’ help, in the middle of the night.
I thank the Lord that we did not lose the whole flock. We now have 31 chickens. I learnt 3 things:

1. Chicken wire is not good enough. The raccoon can reach in and grab the chikcen. A hardware cloth with at least 1/2″ mesh is needed, at least along the bottom part of the coop.

2. Farming is hard. Farmers face so many uncertainties like weather, predators and market demand. My respect to all the farmers who work hard to feed us.

3. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalms 127:1). No matter how well I planned and thought I am well prepared, I still fail. Without the Lord, I can do nothing.