Anti-biotics for Dinner?

There has been plenty of information regarding the dangers of over-prescribing anti-biotics both in humans and in animals.  A friend passed along an article today that dealt with the topic in a very balanced manner.  I wrote about MRSA in animals in a previous post.  One thing I'd like to clarify; like all drugs, anti-biotics are not evil.  In fact, they are very helpful.  The problem is not that we don't recognize the benefits of anti-biotics, but rather that we see them being prescribed even when they are not necessary.  Livestock is a great example.

When you buy chick feed at the local mill, what you'll find is that in almost every case, the pre-packaged feed will contain anti-biotics.  I'm sure there are some places that stock anti-biotic free feed, but I suspect they are few.  Of course you can order it on-line, but the shipping fees are expensive.  It's a shame, really, because not only does ordering on-line become cost prohibitive, it pulls business away from the local farmers and mills.  In our case, we use the Ida Farmer's Co-op in Ida, MI.  While they don't stock pre-packaged anti-biotic free chick feed, they will grind feed to your specifications on the spot.  It's a great blessing to be near a mill that will custom grind rations for you.  There are other mills in the area, but chick feed is not a hot commodity in our area so they don't grind it.  They just buy it wholesale from Purina and sell it.

According to the article the FDA has stated that "Giving animals antibiotics in order to increase food production is a threat to public health and should be stopped".  The common wisdom is that anti-biotics not only fight off infection, but also increase weight gain.  In many farming operations, that's the name of the game.  The FDA's Deputy Commissioner also said that "Such use encourages the growth of drug-resistant bacteria that can cause hard-to-treat human disease".  

We've all known for years that increased use of anti-biotics promotes resistant strains for bacteria.  For years we've been told that at least two weeks before slaughter you should stop giving the animals anti-biotics.  We don't really discuss why...but I think we all know.  

Our birds are given no anti-biotics.  Instead we mix Fertrell Nutri-balancer in with the feed.  It contains, among other things, kelp (a natural immune booster),   vitamins A, D, and E, and a pro-biotic.  This sort of customized ration we've put together is more expensive, but we are trying to boost the natural health of the poultry BEFORE we have an issue.

Would we ever use anti-biotics?  If there was an epidemic present in the flock, we would likely need to.  I'd let you know if we had to do that.  But that would be an emergency situation. What is amazing is how God has granted His creation the ability to fight off disease.  We just have to make sure that system has the tools to work properly.

So you can rest assured; your birds are strong and healthy.  And, they're anti-biotic free!

The Salad Bar, Please

Well, the first two weeks have flown by. We're ready for the arrival of the second batch on Tuesday!  So, it was time to do some shuffling.

The first thing we needed were wranglers.  They're sort of like cowboys except they're not allowed to carry guns (much to their disappointment).

Previously, we had set the pens out on the pasture, secured the chicken wire, covered the pens (for shade and protection), and set out the feed and water.  We were ready for our guests.

We loaded a few at a time into Rubbermaid tubs and put the lids on.  This keeps them from flying away, but also darkens the tub.  When light is dim, chickens and turkeys automatically calm down.  Then, one tub at a time, we carried them to pasture and slowly introduced them to their home.

It took them a few minutes to acclimate to their new surroundings, but once they did, they passed the feed troughs right up.  They went for the grass...and bugs.  It was a feeding frenzy at the salad bar.

You can do this much faster I know.  But this is the way we like to do it.  Slow and steady.  It's little stress on the animals and less stress on the humans.  Everything is done decently and in order.

Don't get me wrong; we had our share of mishaps and fun. When the wranglers were moving fast and furious through the sea of poultry, there were times the carrier (me) forgot to put a lid on the chickens already in the tub.  So for every bird they put in the box, two would escape.  But that's okay, they got slush's out of the deal (the wranglers got the slush, not the chickens).

In the evening, the lady of the house on the farmland we use was washing dishes.  As she looked out her window toward the field, she saw five chickens running around!  Her son was able to catch them all and patch up the hole in the fencing they'd found.  It happens to every farmer.  At some time or other your livestock will escape.  But for me, it's such a joy to work with people who don't mind helping out.

And really, that's what we're all about; creating Biblical community through agriculture.  How are you creating a community where you live?

It's a bird! It's a plane!

Some people wonder how does one raise chickens (and turkeys) and still work a full time job?  Who is your role model?

That's easy...

Clark Kent.

That's right.  While I certainly am not Superman, I do sometimes feel like Clark Kent.  I get up early in the morning to drive out to the farm.  I wear something comfortable and potentially mosquito resistant depending on the season.  It's not exactly a horribly messy job to feed and water the chickens, but it is dirty and dusty.  You'd be surprised how much dander the chicks shed.

So, done with the morning tasks, I drive into work.  I enter quickly (because I'm usually running slightly behind schedule), drop my gear at my seat, and then head for the bathroom.  There I change in khaki's and a polo thus rendering myself compliant with the dress code policy.  I stash my filthy gear into a gym bag and emerge prepared for my day job.

At the end of the day, depending on what needs to be done, I may change back before I leave and head off to the farm.

So it's not exactly like Clark Kent emerging as Superman.  It's more like Clark Kent emerging as....Clark Kent...in overalls.

Struggling from Birth

Birth has been on my mind lately.  If you've followed the blog  at all, you know that the birth of chicks and poults is the thing on my mind the most.  What you may not know is that as we were driving by a nearby farm on Memorial Day, my wife commented on a cow that was near a barn.  "What's wrong with that cow?" she said.  We all looked.  It was leaning up against a door, breathing heavily.  It did look like something was wrong.  I don't know if it was empathy or womanly intuition, but again, it was my wife who figured it out.  "Look, she's about to have a baby!"

Sure enough, the hooves of a calf were poking out under the tail.  It was in "launch position" as they say.  If you've seen the birth of a cow or a sheep, you'll know where they get that term.  The front hooves come out first as though it's flying through the air.

We waited about twenty minutes, parked at a distance in the field.  We wanted to be closer, but I didn't want the mother to stress.  That could only end badly.  So we waited and watched the glorious birth of a calf.

But it just lay there.

You may not know that a calf, when born, often lays motionless.  You can see it's ribs moving very slowly, very gently, up and down.  If you're not careful, you may not even seen that.  This is normal.  What the calf needs at this point is the gentle *snickers* love of the mother.

The mother's job, though undoubtedly tired from birth, is to tend immediately to the calf.  Without this attention, the calf may be in jepordy (unless the farmer helps).  The mother comes to vigorously lick the calf.  This cleans up the afterbirth and stimulates the blood flow.  However, from our vantage point, the nudging, licking, and overall loving of the mother looks pretty rough!  For a moment the kids, watching intently from the van, were worried.  My wife even let out a squeal.  It looks like the listless calf is going to be plowed over.   But in the end, it's that aggressive attitude of the mother that keeps the calf alive.  Were it not for the rough methods of the cow the calf could not survive.

It is the same with chicks and poults.  It is no accident that they come wrapped in a shell.  Though the mother does not treat them aggressively, as with a cow and calf, the hen does not help them at all.  She is "rough" in her apparent neglect.  But it is the breaking out of the shell that strengthens and stimulates the chick.  It is the necessity of fighting that gets the blood flowing.  The surest way to kill a hatching bird is to "help" it along.

And so it is with us.  Though we do not fight to emerge from a shell, and though our mothers don't treat us roughly, it is the wise parent that realizes that without a few bumps and bruises along the way, a child cannot progress to adulthood.  It's not an easy transition, as I'm finding out, but I'm convinced that children need tasks that are difficult for them.  Not out of reach, mind you, but difficult.

We bought bags of feed for our little poultry operation.  They come in 100 pound sacks.  Although I know the boys cannot lift the bags, I let them try.  I didn't need to ask them to try.  It's something built in the heart of a boy to lift heavy things.  They tried.  They had three of them on one bag trying to lift it.  There was some frustration, some exchange of blame on who was or was not doing their part.  My impatience tried to get the best of me.  I wanted so badly to say "Get outta the way.  You can't get that."  It's a true statement, of course, but they needed that moment.  They needed to try, to be encouraged to try, to fail, and then to ask for help.  I assured them that it won't be long and they'll lift the sacks themselves.  They were satisfied.  They'd tried.

It's the same with us.  We need tasks that challenge us.  Tasks that challenge us physically.  Tasks that challenge the way we think and feel.  Tasks that challenge our very beliefs.  We don't have to ask for them.  They will come.  But we must be ready.  When the tasks come we must try, and often fail.  And when we fail we can go back to God and ask for help.  He will help.  He always does.  But we must try.

Struggle and pain are with us all.  We cannot change that.  No matter what technology, medicane, innovation, and progress bring, we will not be without struggle and pain.  So we deal with it as it comes, taking it to our Father, trying, failing, and trying again.  Yet the effort is not fruitless.  Like the calf, the chicks, and the poults, we need that struggling.  It's the only way we'll survive.

Meet the Boys and Girls

Thursday was a long day.

Up at dawn waiting for the chicks and poults to arrive, then transferring them to the brooder and spending most of the afternoon working on one of our two garden plots.  It was a long day...but it was totally worth it.

We ordered 70 White Mountain Hubbards from the hatchery.  These are a kin to the Cornish Cross.  In America, this is what everyone eats.  If you go to a restaurant, you're eating the Cross.  If you get a rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club, it's the Cross.  These are the "race cars" of the chicken industry, so called because they need a higher ration of protein in their food (21%) than other chickens.  Think of it as high octane.  They also grow rapidly, filling out in 6-8 weeks.

We also ordered 5 Rhode Island Reds.  4 of them are for friends (who tacked on to our order) and they will be Layers (chickens for eggs...not necessarily meat).  These are a heritage breed chicken and much heartier than the Cross.  However, they take twice as long to develop.  There are a lot of people who are interested in Heritage breeds and may be willing to pay extra for the long life span.  We'll be experimenting with this breed through the year.  If you're interested in getting some in the future, let me know.  We'll chat...

And last, but certainly not least, we ordered 10 Broad-breasted Bronze Turkey poults.  A poult is a baby turkey.  This is also a heritage breed.  Again, we're experimenting with them this year, but let us know if you're interested.

We picked up the box at the Post Office as I explained here.

 We drove out to the farm to put them all in the brooder.  I've read a lot about separating the poults from the chicks, but a lot of organic farmers indicate that they can be together the first few weeks of life.  The chicks actually teach the poults how to find water and food.  The poults...uh...can't seem to do that on their own very well.

Don't Be in a Rush
It's important to try to keep everything calm.  The birds have already been on a big ride from the hatchery to you.  So set them in the brooder one at a time.  The temptation is to put them in as quickly as you can; to provide food, water, and heat for all.  But they've made it this far.  Just take your time.

Finding Water
As I said, sometimes the poults have a hard time finding water.  I took each poult (and the chicks too) and dipped their beak in the water and then the feed.  Then I put the birds near the water.  This seemed to work well.  We didn't experience any of the issues I've read about where the poults wander around looking for water. They are very social creatures and tend to follow the chicks around.  They're kind of like a big goofy brother.  With wings.

The Feed
I've written before about getting the feed at a local grain mill.  The poults need a higher protein in their ration (28%), but it won't matter much for the first few weeks.  I mix the higher protein rate in with the lower to balance it out.  The chicks get a higher rate while the poults get a lower rate.  I'll separate them in about two weeks and then adjust the protein proportionally.

Thus far I'm happy to report that everyone is healthy and happy.  I can tell by the way they chirp incessantly.  The chicks, not the kids.

It's a Chicken Run!

I called and the chicks and poults are (finally) on the way!

They shipped out late last night from the hatchery to the post office.  My local post office won't get the shipment until tomorrow morning.  I've asked them to call me as soon as the chicks arrive.

The whole process still strikes me as odd.  70 chicks and 10 poults will arrive in a cardboard box at my little Post Office.  I will pull up to the bay door in the back.  As I go in to sign for the chicks I will hear their joyous chirping bounce off the paneling.  Since I don't live in the country this seems to provide much wonder and amazement for the postal workers who are not used to having living things in the mail room.  At least not 80 living things....that smell funny.

So how do the chicks survive for over 24 hours without food?  It's yet another miraculous design.  It seems that God created the chicken to instinctively eat it's yoke once it has been hatched.  The vitamins in that yoke will keep the chicken "fed" for over 48 hours.  It acts as a colostrum, providing nutrients to the newborn chicks.

They'll call around 7 tomorrow for me to pick up the birds.  We'll take them right out to the brooder and get them hooked up with some all natural Michigan grains.  And some warmth.  And maybe a photo shoot.

Why Didn't the Chicken Cross the Road?

I got a call from the hatchery last week.  No chicks. It seems the turkey poults that I ordered weren't going to make it.  So, instead of sending just the chickens (thus incurring double the shipping) they wanted to send them all this week.  It's a double edged sword: I was excited about them coming, but as they were now going to be conspicuously absent I took the time to double check all my preparations and make sure I was not missing anything.  Plus I got to enjoy the holiday weekend without worrying about feeding or watering anything (other than the kids).  Thank God for the blessing of unexpected free time. 

I called again this afternoon.  They are processing about 400 orders today.  I really had no idea they did that many orders.  Apparently the turkeys are taking longer to hatch than expected.  He told me a bit about their procedures.  They do a lot of shuffling to meet demand based on what hatches, how many hatch, and what the orders are.  They have to sex the bird (determine if it is male or female - glad I don't have that job) and then segregate them.  They also have some special processing for some (like de-beaking) or no processing at all (like ours).  If they have a week where some batches don't seem to be hatching well (like ours last week), then "we have a little bit of chaos."

Hmmm...I can't remember every having just a little bit of chaos.

So on we wait and listen (for the phone) to see if we'll have chicks tomorrow or not.  I'll keep you posted.