Jo-Le Farms

Now the chicks have an expanded space where they can roam, and spread their wings. One of the first things they did was to try out some flying. So fun to watch these little chicks. The no shock chick fence came from Premier 1 supplies. I can see this will be very handy to have even after the chicks are done with it. May use it around my garden this summer.

Lambing 2018 is off to a great start. April is a much better time for lambs born in the pasture.

The chicks are now enjoying the pasture. The big move has been made. Each morning they get moved to a new grassy area. They get so excited when the move happens, pecking at the grass as fast as they can. Now we just need it to warm up a touch so they don’t have to be closed in at night to keep them warm.

What thrill to have the happy sounds of healthy chicks in our mud room. We got 77 nice looking little  peeps this morning. We’ll see how quickly they outgrow their tubs. Already making plans for the next stage when we move them out. Thinking of making tunnels made of PVC and netting. Needs to be light enough to pull through the grass with a tarp over one end for shelter. A little late putting this up, sitting there as a draft. Who knew. Next we’ll show you the move to the pasture.

More about chickens today.  Just got the UPS tracking number for my 75 chicks arriving soon. We are all ready here at Jo-Le Farms to raise the next batch of future laying hens. There will be Welsummers, Cuckoo Marans, and Easter Eggers. Really excited to have chicks again.

Been awhile since we updated our blog, and we have never mentioned our laying hen operation. So here is a glimpse of our birds in the pasture as well as the plans we used to make our mobile houses. The plans used here can be found under North Dakota State University building plans. We made a few modifications to the roof framing using the same building dimensions. No sense reinventing the wheel when there are so many great old USDA plans that are still as good now as they ever were. These older plans don’t require power tools either, certainty another plus.  We are Animal Welfare approved and sell our eggs right off the farm. This year we are increasing the flock to just under 200 birds as our customer base continues to grow.  Our customers appreciate the quality of our eggs and as we all know there is a growing awareness of how most eggs you find in the stores are not what they profess to be. Our girls roam the pasture foraging grass, insects, and worms to ro...