Sunday 31 January 2016

Week #4 - Going to the birds!

Winter can be hard on all beings, both two legged and four. During winter we could all use a leg up, a boost.. a helping hand. 

For the chickadees that comes in the form of seed cakes we make from saved bacon fat and bird seed. This keeps the seed together, instead of scattered all over. I find in the winter if it scatters, its lost after the next snow fall. 

The bacon fat which we use in place of suet is a great source of energy for the birds, which helps keep them warm during the coldest days. 

The cakes are easy to place in the crooks of trees and elsewhere where the birds can eat in peace. 

Selfishly, we also put one on the bench near our window so that we can watch them come and go! 

Now if we could just teach Avery (our Newfie dog) that the chickadees are OK and not a threat! 

Sunday 24 January 2016

Week #3 - A Valentine Chick!

This is our heart egg! 

Due to hatch on Valentine's Day it is just one of our many hatching eggs that we are incubating. This is a bit of new skill for us and we have predictably made a number of mistakes. 

Fertilized eggs needs just the right conditions to hatch... steady temperature between 99-100F, humidity between 60-65% and regular turning (3 times a day). We have a pretty basic incubator that can hatch out up to 60 chicks at a time. 

This year we have a couple of kids from our 4H Club who are following the progress of the eggs from laying to hatching. They are so excited to watch them emerge and are already dreaming up names for each one...

Fingers crossed! With some luck and learning we will see have some fluffy chicks in a few weeks. 

Saturday 16 January 2016

Week #2 - Wintering hens, a delicate balance!

Anyone who has tried to over-winter chickens in Manitoba (north of 50), knows that it is a delicate balance to achieve. The balance of daylight, warmth, water supply and feed needs to be just right if you want to continue to enjoy fresh eggs throughout the long, cold winter.

We've been keeping our hens over the winter for almost a decade now and have made every mistake you can think of. Trial and error along with research and study have resulted in eventual success for both our hens and our breakfast table!

While our hens are outside from March to November, they just can't withstand the bitter cold and prairie winds that come with a Manitoban winter. Temperatures drop to below -30C, even lower with the windchill (-41C this morning), thus even the hardiest breeds need shelter, food and unfrozen water.

After years of trying a number of different shelters, some which worked and others that did not, we built a lean to addition on our barn to house our hens. While the walls are insulated, the space is not heated with the exception of two regular light bulbs and the hens themselves. Against most conventional wisdom, we do not clean our coop through the winter but add straw, lime, evergreen boughs and leaves throughout the winter forming a layered composting floor which produces a natural warmth for the hens. The coop is warm enough that the water remains unfrozen even on the coldest days and in fact steam escapes when you open the door and you are quite comfortable without gloves and in a light jacket. For water we use fill a large poly tank attached to a line of nipple waterers. We don't have running water in the barn (a someday maybe dream!) so we haul water once a week. 

We have both a screen door and a solid door on the coop to allow us to regulate the temperature as the weather changes. A single southern window lets natural light in to the coop. We currently use a mixture of ISA-Browns and Columbian Rock chickens but are planning to experiment with some other breeds this spring. 

Our birds tend to drop in production for a few weeks following the move inside (and outside) but otherwise they seem to do pretty well in this environment.... it's almost as if we finally know what we are doing! 

Saturday 9 January 2016

Week #1 - Finding Beauty

Wintery branch appears to hold the sun...
A slightly quieter pace over the holiday break allowed me space and time to reflect and refresh... it allowed me to see things with a different lens, fresh eyes. 

Finding beauty in our lives is not hard if we open ourselves to the moments, the sights, smells and joyful interactions from which our lives are woven. 

Our family is blessed to live surrounded by nature. We can have daily connection with the rhythms of the seasons and feel the complex yet simple interdependent relationships humans have with plants and animals first hand.

I challenge you this coming week to seek and find beauty... whether in the city or on the countryside, what is catching your attention these days? 
Every time I open a squash, the patterns of nature amaze me.
Lovely Lily....
Love on four legs!


A beetle has left an intriguing pattern on this log. 


Sleepy winter cornfield sparkling in the sun

The rabbits sleep under our pine tree each
night.... how do I know?







Friday 1 January 2016

A year of connection!

For one full year, we've been sharing our daily lives on the farm with you all. Our successes, and failures, our fun and our challenges. We hope that our sharing has taught you a little more about farming (at least our version of it...) and how food can be raised in sustainable, chemical free ways. We hope that it leaves you with motivation to support your local farmer and improve your health by eating food that feels good to eat and tastes heavenly!  

I have enjoyed connecting each day with you and thank those that engaged so regularly... you are the reason I made it to Day 365! You can access all the photos and video that I shared throughout 2015 by clicking the link in the sidebar of this blog! 

I plan on focusing on a longer, weekly blog post in 2016 (Weekly Follies) that allows us to focus on sharing and educating in more depth.  

We will continue to regularly share our follies on our social media and would love to connect with you. So if you haven't already... like us on Facebook , Twitter (@FenezFollies), Instagram (FenezFolliesFarm) or subscribe to this blog to be notified when updates are made!  You can also check out what else the farm has to offer - our Products Available page and will always let you know what we have along with current pricing. 

Happy New Year to all, near and far! Make 2016 count!