After a little procrastination, Sarah and I filed our wedding license. We're now official. Sarah is getting used to her new last name and I'm getting used to wearing my ring (kind of a challenge since I've never worn jewelry).
I've added 300 or 400 wedding photos to the photo gallery so check them out, comment on them, rate them, etc. when you get a chance. Also, cousin Tracy posted the video below to YouTube so check it out too.
It's been a little while since I've updated everybody on what's new around the homestead. We have expanded our flock, we've experienced some egg supply disruptions, and we've gone legit.
In the last couple of weeks I've made some acquisitions to expand our flock of poultry. I was able to get a flock of 15 guineas to take care of our tick problem out here. I also came across three peachicks that are being raised with the guineas. All of them should be old enough to start laying into our bug population in a month or so. The peacocks won't get their full complement of feathers, for which they're known, until they are three years old. Fortunately, they are already going after the flies that land in their brooder so we're quite excited to see how they control our bugs. We are expecting 15 more dominiques around the middle of July. Instead of hens, this time we ordered straight run. That means they won't be sexed before shipping so about half of them will be roosters. This will help us should we decide to expand our flock beyond the thirty some time in the future.
We had some trouble with our egg producers around the wedding time. They had nearly quit laying all together. After a few weeks of head scratching, I theorized that the lights in the chicken coop may have been on the wrong schedule. After expanding the lit hours in the coop, the hens have happily gone back to laying. Though you might never know it based on the year-round availability of eggs in the grocery store, hens are "programmed" to only lay eggs seasonally. The stimula that induces egg production is the day length, i.e. longer days of spring and summer cause the chickens to lay. Now that I've adjusted the perceived "season," the chickens have begun laying as well as they ever have. We're getting a dozen or more eggs per day!
As far as our legitimacy goes, we've recently formed an LLC. Our eggs will henceforth be sold by "More Than Just The Staples Farm, LLC." I created the LLC in order to shield Sarah and I as well as Mrs. Donker and Mr. Gray from liability in the rare case that someone consuming my eggs comes down with an illness. While it is an extremely unlikely scenario, the resulting lawsuit could set us back immeasurably. The LLC will ensure that if this unlikely scenario plays out, only the assets of the LLC will be in danger and none of us will hold any personal liability. Along with the business, I've created a corresponding website at: http://www.morethanjustthestaplesfarm.com/. The website isn't much more than a placeholder currently, but I plan to expand it in the coming days and weeks.
I've got a few things to update everyone on. I've added a new feature to the site and there are a few things we'd like everyone to be on the lookout for.
The new addition is something to make it a little easier to get your eggs. On the contents bar on the left side of the screen there is a link to the egg request form. You can use this form to reserve your next batch of eggs. You now have an option between those wonderful jumbo, double-yolked eggs and the wonderful batch of mixed sizes. I also decided, in order to better abide with the rules and regulations regarding country eggs, I will be providing egg cartons so there is no need to continue saving your grocery store cartons. Once the new cartons are fully in use, we will begin recycling them. Essentially we will be trading full cartons for empty cartons. I'm rather excited about the new cartons as they will feature a custom designed label and are of the old 4x3 layout. They should be quite charming
!
Additionally, since Sarah and I will be adding guineas to our flock sometime this spring or summer there is one thing we would like everyone to be on the lookout for. Guineas are notorious for roaming into and making their nests in the road. This obviously decreases their survival rates. One way to keep the guineas where you want them (i.e. out of the road) is to place mirrors. The guineas are intrigued by the perception of other guineas in the mirror and their flock instinct keeps them near these perceived brothers and sisters (and out of the road). All that is to say, when you guys are out at garage sales or reading the classifieds or even driving down the road, keep an eye out for cheap or free mirrors that we can place around our homestead. We'll happily repay you or even trade for goods and/or services.
Chicken Update
The chickens are laying between 6 and 8 eggs daily and we are finding a good market for their eggs. The eggs are also receiving rave reviews with regards to taste and freshness. Remember, Sarah has mandated that as long as we sell all the eggs we produce, our flock can be expanded. So please keep the orders rolling in!
I thought I'd take a chance to update everyone on the latest happenings around the homestead. We've had a few encounters with chicken predators and our chickens have been full of surprises lately.
A few weeks ago as I was walking out to my car for work, there was a loud commotion in the chicken coop. I went to the door and saw an opossum walking around. I yelled at the opossum hoping to scare it, however this was ineffective. Next I grabbed a piece of lumber and began to hit the floor once again attempting to scare the opossum; no luck. Finally I began to strike the opossum. After ten minutes and a good deal of exertion I was able to convince the opossum that he might find an easier meal elsewhere.
On a more pleasant note, upon checking on the chickens recently I found that they had begun to lay. Sarah and I consumed our first batch of eggs today. I've never seen eggs quite like these. The yolks are quite dark yellow and very firm.
Everyone who would like some eggs should begin saving their egg cartons. I had initially planned on supplying these, but in the interest of saving money and keeping the costs down reusing seems like a better plan. I also plan on decreasing the price a little from my initial price. Instead of $3.50 a dozen, I will be selling them for $2.50 a dozen. I can also make deliveries occasionally if desired. Eggs should be available beginning in about a week.
I asked Sarah to marry me last night. The ceremony is going to be an outdoor one at our house.
Log on to http://www.graystapleswedding.com/ for the latest on the wedding.
The chickens have moved from the bathroom to their permanent home in the barn. They've grown quite quickly and they now have all or nearly all of their full feathers. Only about 125 days until we have edible eggs. Still haven't lost any chickens.
I've also added several pictures to the dog album in the photo gallery.
Enjoy!
The chickens arrived on Wednesday through the mail. We received 19 chicks though we only ordered 18. We suspect that the shippers may have included an extra in anticipation of losses. Through Friday we have yet to have any losses.
We have the ladies set up in the spare bathroom. They have two heat lamps set up to the provide the 95 degrees necessary. We'll decrease the temperature by 5 degrees a week until the chickens are ready to make their move to their permanent coop.
Right now they are basically eating, pooping puff balls. They have a few feathers on their wings and they should be pretty well feathered in a few weeks. They should begin laying edible eggs around late April.
I have implemented what I hope will be an easier method for keeping addresses and other contact information current. There is now a password protected address book on my website at http://www.scottstaples.com/campbellclan . The username is "Family" and the password is the first name of my maternal grandmother.
The password will offer a great deal of security for the information. There are no guarantees that it is 100% safe, but it would take a very determined individual to compromise it. Please let me know if you're not comfortable with the security and would prefer to have your information removed and I will remove it promptly.
I'm not certain that I am operating from the most current Campbell Clan list so please check/update the information at your leisure. You may also feel free to add other contacts or make any other changes. The interface is relatively intuitive, but if you have trouble please contact me and I can help or make the updates for you.
I updated the photo gallery. There are several new photos so check it out. The captions on the dog photos are courtesy of Sarah. The photos from the "My Photography" album are available for purchase through PhotoWorks.
I also changed the Scott's Favorites page. The links are easier to access now and they are an exact clone of my favorites in Internet Explorer.
I have also added a weather plugin to show the conditions at our house.
I wanted to update our progress on the homestead. We have decided to hold off on our guinea flock in favor of chickens, we have started our bamboo groves, we have our garden on the way and we have seen several interesting guests around the farm lately.
Since the primary reason for getting guineas was for pest control and most of our pests will begin their winter rest soon, we have decided to wait until the spring for the guineas. Instead we will be getting dominique chickens as soon as we can get a home ready for them. The chickens will offer many of the same pest controls as the guineas would. The chickens should offer a good match to the minimal amount of pests that will remain through the fall and winter.
We were drawn to the dominiques for a number of reasons. For one, we found the barred, black-and-white feathers to be an attractive look. In addition to the stylish, good looks dominiques are a very docile, friendly breed of chicken. Some owners even relate stories of dominique roosters that are so friendly they will roll over to have their bellies rubbed. Dominiques are among the oldest breeds of chickens in the United States having arrived with early, colonial settlers of New England. These early-American origins obviously appeal to my interest in history. Of course the most enticing thing about these chickens is the 3 eggs per week laid by each hen.
We haven't figured out exactly how many chickens we are going to get but it will be at least a dozen. If it's been a while since you took algebra, that's at least 36 eggs a week. Hopefully by the end of the year we'll be eating and distributing eggs so start placing your orders. Our chickens will be true free range, meaning they'll be getting much of their food from insects and greens that are found naturally on our homestead. They'll also be eating a certified 100% organic feed to supplement their live food. This means their eggs will be more nutritious than most grocery store brands and much tastier as well. If the demand is high enough (and we hope it will be
), we may increase our flock in the following months.
Another new enterprise we've begun is our bamboo. We've found that there are a number of things that can be produced from bamboo. We have plans for bamboo fences, fishing poles, yard ornaments, wind chimes, instruments and a number of other unique crafts. I planted the bamboo on September 17th and we should be producing enough to harvest in a year or two. I have planted Dendrocalamus strictus and Phyllostachys bambusoides; both are very solid and straight types of bamboo.
Our fall garden is coming along very quickly as well. The brussells sprouts, cabbage, carrots and cauliflower have been started in a seed starter greenhouse. Most of them have already begun to grow and will probably be ready for transplant next week. I have fully tilled our 500 square foot plot and I've mixed in 800lbs of organic compost to provide the nutrients the soil needed. With a bit of luck we'll have a nice harvest in a few months.
The most interesting developments lately have come from mother nature. The downed limbs left by the remnants of Ike and Gustav provided for plenty of work. They luckily didn't damage any of our structures and they provided a nice bonfire. We have also had some wild visitors lately.
As Sarah was working out one day she called for me and pointed out the window. Outside, there were a doe and a fawn grazing along our fence line. When we went outside to observe them more closely, we noticed that one of our fields was almost fully grazed. The doe seems to have found a spot in the woods between Sarahs parents house and our house to raise her fawn. After not seeing them for a while, Claire noticed eyes glinting in the woods last night as we sat around the bonfire. Upon investigation I found that the deer were still hanging out in the woods. Though I'm sure they have no idea of their good fortune, the deer have picked a wonderful place to stay since this is one of the only wooded areas nearby where we can virtually guarantee they will not be hunted. Our other wild visitor, however, may not be extended this same guarantee.
As I mowed earlier this week I saw what I thought was a dog walk out of the woods (not a completely unusual sight out here). Looking a little closer I noticed a bushy tail, erect ears and no collar. Although the coloring was a little atypical, I suspect it was a coyote. Sarah says they haven't really been seen out here in a decade or more, but there are also more luxury SUVs out here and fewer farm trucks than before so it's conceivable that they aren't being "controlled" to the same extent they have been in the past. Whether it was or wasn't a coyote, a small guage shotgun or a .22 rifle will certainly be added to our list of required items for raising chickens.
You can see our homestead is slowly but surely taking shape. Everyone has an open invitation to come out; I'd love to give you the grand tour. We have discussed having a get together for everyone at some point. We'll let you know if we decide on a time. In the mean time, please let me know if you'd like to schedule a time to come out.
