Turkeys to their new home!
On Our Farm
The making of a hoop house for the turkeys.
#9 of 21 Things You May Not Know About Peace Valley Poultry
Friday: I (Jim) was hoping to report that as of Thursday afternoon the turkeys would be comfortably moved to their new hoop house in the pasture. However, Plan A did not work. Four of us tried to herd the 680 turkeys from the old barn east of the house to the turkey pasture west of the butcher plant. We got about 30 feet from the barn, towards their new pasture, when they swarmed in the tall grasses and weeds of the garden spot. All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't get the turkeys to go westward again. We put them back in their pen and plan on moving them in a stock trailer tonight.
They should have been on pasture two or three weeks ago, but I just finished their fine new hoop house this morning. (Consequently we have been bringing them wheelbarrows of grass until we can get them out to pasture.)
One way to tell if your pasture poultry provider is doing what they claim, is to get on Google Earth and look for evidence of poultry being moved across the pasture on their farm. It's not hard to see. If you see a dirt lot next to a building with a bunch of white dots in the dirt lot, it means the birds have denuded what little pasture they have and are kept close to the barn for protection from predators at night. I have seen this when looking at other producers' farms, and I am here to confess, that is what you would see if you viewed a Google Earth shot of our farm today.
Saturday: It rained last night, so we ended up moving the turkeys first thing this morning. Some tractor fuel, the neighbor’s stock trailer, and two hours later, the job was finished. When given the choice between using machines and enlisting community, we usually prefer the latter. This time machines won out due to time constraints and the fact that my turkey herding skills are not quite there … yet.
Now comes the fun part of raising turkeys: watching them scatter over 34 acres in search of the very last grasshopper or cricket. The turkeys genuinely appear to appreciate the freedom to forage and we appreciate the nutritious protein the turkeys provide.
New Store in Springfield selling Peace Valley Poultry chicken
Horrmann Meats has opened a new store on Battlefield. Stop in and see the variety of meats and foods they have for sale in addition to our chicken. Horrmann Meats 3250 E. Battlefield Road 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday noon-4 p.m. Sunday
Fresh Chicken Sales
Our next fresh chicken sales on the farm and in Springfield will be on September 26 and 27. Until then, you may purchase them frozen at the farm, or fresh or frozen at one of the fine stores that carry our chicken products, (for a list of these stores, see the bottom of the locations tab on our website Location Link).
