Natural Pasture Raised Thanksgiving Turkey

I will be raising some Turkeys for Thanksgiving this year in a Free Range/pasture based, rotational forage system. Sustainably, naturally, and most humanely. This is a message to simply gauge interest in who and how many may be interested in purchasing one of these amazing and delicious birds for the holidays.Though it is early in the year, I am planning now and will be starting soon building fencing, roosts, shelter and getting the baby turkey poults brooding. These turkeys will be raised long, slow, and very happily!
So, if you or anyone you know think you might be interested at all and want to support a newbie sustainable farmer...Please gimme a call 662-832-8036. Email would be great too. koziusko@gmail.com

I can give you tons more info about this project which I am very excited about!

Thanks
All my best!
Mike Slaton

Permaculture Basics

Applying Permaculture:
Building a farm & homestead from scratch on marginal land.
Susana Kaye Lein, SALAMANDER SPRINGS FARM, Berea, KY

Permaculture (a permanent culture or agriculture):
Developed in the late 1970's by Australians Bill Mollison and David Homgren, permaculture is a design system for human environments-farms, housing, business and communities-that are locally-sustained. Natural ecosystems provide a model for permaculture. Energy needs are generated, saved, wisely used and recycled within the system.

The principles of permaculture are useful to organic farmers, homesteaders, urban gardeners and local businesses. Often we tend to mimic conventional methods, making the land yield by brute force and using external energy resources and protracted, tedious labor. Permaculture teaches us to develop energy-sustaining connections between our land, resources, built environments and communities.

PERMACULTURE DESIGN PRINCIPLES for food and shelter:

1) Design systems that mimic patterns & relationships found in natural systems.
a- Create diversity rather than segregated, forced simplicities.
b- Work creatively with plant succession and system changes.
c- Build soil UP and keep it covered.
d- Produce no waste- close the loop! Natural systems produce no waste:
One organisms by-products are another's food.

2) Provide and recycle energy & nutrient needs on the site or within the community.
a- Catch and store energy from renewable resources.
b- Develop and utilize local resources (nutrients, labor, materials, money, etc.)
c- Convert problems into opportunities & resources. "The problem is the solution."

3) Every situation is different. Apply principles, not formulas.
a- Learn from feedback. Self-regulating systems have positive energy feedback
b- Share what we learn from others.

4) Integrate rather than segregate. Rather than single product systems, develop mutually cooperative or symbiotic relationships between elements: Plants, gardens, pond, pasture, field, house, fences, forest, orchard, animals, barn, chicken house, greenhouse, etc.:
a- Make each element (plant, animals, structure, etc.) perform multiple functions.
b- Fulfill each need by several elements in the system.
c- Locate and link elements to provide efficient, beneficial interchanges of these functions.
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SOME GUIDELINES THAT HELP:

Distinguish "needs" from "wants". Save your money towards your goals.
Instead of buying from corporate chains, buy local or used, scavenge or create your own alternatives. Create a "free foods exchange" spot in your community; put out the word for materials you need.

Create community: Barter your skills and goods for those which you need. Ask for help and share what you learn. Create your own workshops or workdays.

If you don't know how to do something - research, start anyway and learn by doing.
Volunteering is a great way to learn skills.
Use permaculture principles for all aspects of life.
Plant trees and perennials first - for food, fuel, fiber and to mitigate effects of global warming.
Work is love made real. Do the work that you love.

"Do the best that you can in the place that you are...and be kind. - Scott Nearing


Susana is an amazing person and sustainable farmer using permaculture practices at her farm; Salamander Springs Farm in Berea, KY - www.localharvest.org/farms/M5606
I had the pleasure of meeting her and attending her permaculture workshops.
One was given at the annual Biodynamic conference; Long Hungry Creek Farm, Red Boiling Springs, TN. The other was at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's annual Sustainable Agriculture conference.

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SUGGESTED PERMACULTURE REFERENCE BOOKS:

Introduction to Permaculture, Bill Mollison and Reny Mia Slay
Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren
Gaia's Garden: A Homescale Guide to Permaculture, Toby Hemenway
Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Waste, Joseph Jenkins.
Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth.
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, 576 pages!, Bill Mollison.
Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Design & Practice for Temperate Climate Permaculture
Plants for a Future: Edible and Useful Plants for a Healthier world, Ken Fern.


QUARTERLY "HOW-TO" PUBLICATIONS:

Permaculture Activist magazine, www.permacultureactivist.net
The Natural Farmer, Northeast Organic Farmers Association, www.nofa.org

Intro to Backyard Chickens

If you have a garden space where you would like to incorporate manure from your own chickens, saving on fossil fuel consumption, off-farm fertilizers, and inputs. While receiving a massive helping hand in weed and pest control, and adding biodiversity to your farm or garden space. Or if you are concerned where the pre-packaged meat wrapped in plastic and pink styrofoam containers is coming from and how it's "raised", and would like raise and process your own food insuring them the best life possible. Or if you just love the rich taste of fresh eggs. Then raising a few chickens may be for you. Not to mention the escape they offer from a stressful job and city life, the entertainment they'll bring to your backyard, and a healthy dose of animal companionship will make it all worth it. Raising your own flock is a simple way to begin raising livestock. They are easy to raise and relatively cheap to buy, feed, and house. Especially if you start out with a small number of laying hens for a backyard flock.

Chickens are really an interesting bird; here are a few facts:
Folks have been raising chickens for at least 5,000 years. Charles Darwin traced chickens back tens of thousands of years to the wild red jungle fowl. This breed (Gallus Gallus) is native to Southeast Asia but is now extinct. They are much like the Brown Leghorns of today and were homebodies that liked to live and forage in one place as long as possible. In 1868 Darwin took an inventory of the worlds chicken population finding only 13 breeds. Today we have many times that number and most were developed in the 20th century. There are three basic types of chickens. Layers (for eggs), broilers (for meat), and dual purpose (for eggs and meat). There are some really amazing rare breeds that make superb dual purpose birds. One example is the Buckeye.

Chickens need housing to protect them from winds and harsh weather. 8 by 12 ft. is plenty for 30 regular sized chickens. An old tool shed, a barn corner, or other out-structure could be perfect. If these don't already exist, one can easily be put together with scrap wood or pallets. I think one of the best ideas is to build a mobile "chicken tractor" if you have, or can easily find, the resources. construction sites and grocery stores are a good place to find them. There are many examples of these types of coops online, youtube etc. Try to position your coop on a slope or hill for good drainage. Careful to insulate and heat structure for your chickens in the harsh winter if you are in a cold climate, so their combs don't freeze. In most situations in the Southeast a light or two may be all you need. They will also need a perch (an old ladder will work), nesting boxes (one nest per four hens), and litter for the coop floor. Use sawdust, shredded paper, wood shavings, wood chips, rice hulls, peanut hulls, chopped straw, soft hay, ground up corncobs, and any other soft, or other absorbent materials. Place 4 inches of litter beneath the nests and coop floor. And keep the coop very clean of any eggs, especially broken ones. Once a chicken gets a taste of fress eggs they will begin to peck open and devour their own.

Choosing the right breed is important. Do you primarily want eggs, or do you want to raise your own meat? Do you want to help preserve an endangered breed? Or do you simply want the pleasure of seeing chickens in your backyard as pets, having fun doing what they do best...eat bugs and greens, and scratch.

The American Standard of Protection contains descriptions and pictures of many breeds and varities. Another extremely helpful organization to get to know is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy http://www.albc-usa.org/. They have done amazing work restoring populations of rare heritage breeds on the edge of extinction.

Having already talked a little about housing, the next thing chickens will need is good fencing. At least four feet high using chicken wire or poultry netting. A strip of electric wire at the very top and on the bottom outside is a good idea for keeping out predators. Trench it tight at the bottom so chickens can't escape. An easily moveable system is something to keep in mind. Chickens need to be periodically re-introduced to fresh pastures. and love being turned loose in a spent garden.

Feed the chickens forage, garden remnants, grade b produce. And each chicken will eat a two pound ration of feed per day. Use feeder troughs or hanging tube feeders. Protein supplementation is a must. Feed them cooked crawfish shells (not crayfish) for extra calcium and carrots, both also for a deep orange, rich yolk. That's my top secret tip of the day.

Husbandry Guidelines:
Keep your coops littered and dry. Keep the yard around the coop dry and free from standing water and puddles. This is a breeding ground for unwelcome pest, parasites, and disease. Again keep eggs collected and clean from the coop floor. Make sure water is clean and filled daily. Look for signs of illness, lice, and mites. Check fecal matter periodically for worms. Pay attention to their behavior. Eyes should be clear, and open...Legs should be clean and healthy, no or very little discoloration.

Market Products:
Select breeds for broilers or eggs (or dual purpose breeds for both) know them and what products you expect from them. Do you want to sell eggs and meat at your local Farmers' Market? Or do you just want to feed your family and friends? There are processing methods to consider. Like, will you do this yourself, at home? (Which is legal to do for under 100 birds in NC.) What kind of materials and set-up will you need to do this?

Services Chickens Offer:
Weed management, pest management, free fertilizer, great companions, and much more.

More to come...
All my best!



Interesting chicken facts and other info taken from Barnyard in Your Backyard.

Mom and Pops'

My Dad has been making do-nuts since 1962. That makes 47 years this June. Hand-mixing up to 100 quarts a day for a nice chunk of that time, hand-cutting every do-nut for 13 years, until the Moline machine came along, offering a great deal of help. But many of the varieties he makes by hand, still to this day. Me and my four Brothers have all spent many years right there by his, and each others' side, learning and working very hard. In fact, I am the only brother not there today. Tommy, Bruce, Lundy, and Matthew all work in the family business. For about the last five years we have been living with the fear that we might have to close the doors for good. All this to say...Please support people and family businesses that are intimately involved with our food, and other basic needs. Shop at your area Farmer's Market and talk to the people who grow the food you eat. Local crafters, artisans, and artists. You will be amazed at the good people you'll meet and the stories you'll hear. And from time to time stop in at your local family owned and operated do-nut shop...You might be pleasantly surprised at the community there waiting for you.

Big business and corporate chains have been slowly killing us at the core. It's way past time we fight back...

All my best