Oats

The oats are growing! The chickens found them right after they sprouted, so they had a blast eating them at that stage, which makes them look rather sparse now. Pokey has been jumping into this fenced off area and having a daily feast. Erinn took this great picture from a unique perspective. The oats we planted in the garden about two weeks after we planted these are growing well too. We plan to grow out the broilers in the garden so that they will have greens to eat.

Yesterday we stopped by the meat market in town to get some summer sausage for Kris to take when he goes hunting next weekend. It's cheaper and better tasting than what you can get at the grocery store. Kris asked the owner if he would be interested in buying chickens from us. He said he would LOVE to but of course the government wouldn't let him because they have to be butchered at a USDA approved facility. He said that he would buy all we could produce if it was legal because he gets lots of phone calls from people wanting organic chickens, eggs, etc. He can buy beef from local people because there is a "USDA kill floor" at one of the meat markets in Fredericksburg. He has people take the live animals there and he pays them a processing fee, then sells the meat at his place in Kerrville.