Sunday, September 02, 2007

So not a factory farm....

Late Sunday night and I think I should be sleeping while the sleeping is good, but I shall take a risk and fit in a post instead.

DS seems to have the flu, very high temps meant he ended up in bed with us last night, I gave up and went into his bed and found out this morning that DH spent most of the night up with him watching DVD's!!!

That was a great way to start my husband's Father's day, but quite fitting really as he is a very hands on Dad and always used to divide the night with me when they were younger and more prone to night-time illness. I really appreciated that, if Tazzie is reading this, it is a bit like the book she mentioned, with a title I wont write for fear of who will google me, but basically relating to what really makes a woman fall for a man, and it isn't actually what a man thinks it would be. More housework than big muscles!


I have to share the Father's Day card my girl made him....because it's my blog....and she is only 9....

Dear Dad,
You don't like the sand,
but you like the Lee Kernaghan band.
You never get mad,
for that I am very glad.
When you play hide and seek,
I think it's neat.
While Mum is feeding the chooks,
what you are doing is harder than it looks.
Thanks for bringing home lambs,
and pushing me in prams.
Thank you for your love,
you came from above.
You have a truck,
and you love when the bulls at the rodeo buck.
You married Mum,
you cuddled me when I had a sore tum.

Needless to say I had to steal the card from beside his bed.....

Catered afternoon tea for a wedding yesterday and thought the bridesmaids flowers may interest you. They were made from a whole heap of satiny fabric circles, and just pinned to a styrofoam ball, then with a short piece of dowel stuck into them to hold onto. They actually looked good, especially from a distance, even if I am a sucker for real flowers.
In answer to a million questions from my last post.
The emails have been running hot regarding my battery hens. I have stopped trying to sensibly explain them and will do so as clearly as possible here.
Battery hens are the general term for chooks/chickens that are factory farmed. That is, as many as possible of them are kept in order to maximise return on investment and space. As the world continues to grow we have to accept that this is increasingly how our food needs to be grown....but we don't necessarily have to like it. The chooks that I bought have been specifically bred to lay, the desire to go clucky has been bred out of them. At the end of the first year they will probably moult, which involves them losing their old feathers and stopping laying for a short period. In their second year of laying their production falls off. Fot this reason I could purchase them cheaply in the bargain bin. Even if they drop to 4-5 eggs a week, they will still be supplying me with more eggs than some of my old darlings who have produced eggs for 5-6 years, given me enjoyment and are allowed to live in a happy, semi-retired state until time catches up with them. If I cross these new layers with my lovely bush roosters I will get the variety of colours I like, with improved egg laying ability in the new generation. But I will have to get some of my old faithfuls to do the sitting as they battery hens will not.
Factory farming is not the way we choose to farm here.
Factory farmers would not have cute poultry like these, admiring my chenille quilt that I finally added flanelette backing to, running loose. They would artificially inseminate, so have no need for the cute rooster who is presently standing on my quilt!
Factory farmers wouldn't have pet lambs either. Especially ones like Spring who enjoy
escaping from the paddock, playing withthe kids, eating the chook food and shaking hands.
And they definitely wouldn't have rude little lambs, that after unsuccessfully attempting to follow their foster mother in the back door,
... quickly run around the front and bang on the door until one of the kids opens to see who is there.....
....so we put a quilt on her back and called her a Jim Shore figurine! (Isn't she getting big, will be shorn in a month!!!)
Finally, seeing I missed Blog day, a great blog to call at is Carol's. Carol does fabulous digi scrapping layouts and her "things that never really happened" shots are a hoot!

12 comments:

Tonya Ricucci said...

oh, your lambie is soooo sweet. and smart too! and what a proud rooster - great pic on the quilt. I'm glad they all have a home with you.

Finn said...

A happy USA good morning to one of my favorite 'down under' friends *VBS*
Love the post about chooks...LOL, but then, I love pretty much everything about chooks!!
The egg production situation is identical here in the US...I think most people just ignore it, in the same way they ignore milk coming from cows and gas coming from oil wells. As long as it's available, clean and cheap, that's all they need to know.
Your factory hens and the saving of them is just wonderful!! They are not so different from orphans who need to be given a chance. No one family needs the number of eggs they are bred to produce and while they may lay modestly after the first year, it's soooo satifying to hear their 'murmurs' as they scratch and peck and glean food as God meant them to! People say they are dumb, but I find they have alot of personality for such a small 'bird' brain...*VBS*
What a joy it must be to come to your house after that birth to one year confinement in a tiny cage with so many others...just poppin' out eggs!!!
You have heart, spirit and a strong sense of 'the right thing to do', and I soooo admire you for that!! Don't let anyone steal your happiness, ever!
Great lamb pics..especialy with the quilt...LOL
Any orphan block assembly happening at your house??? Don't hesitate to let me know, so I can post a picture on the Orphan Train...big hugs from over here, Finn

Unknown said...

Tracey I just love that your farm is for all those otherwise known misfits, just perfect. Love your photo's today, and especially the little commentary of the lamb running to the front door, smart little lamb.

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Those pictures are fab! What cute sheep and chickens and a very proud rooster! The quilt looks great too!

Dawn's Daily Journal said...

I love it when you post pictures of your every day life!!! When I used to watch Martha Stewart..back when her show was NOT a talk show..the episodes of her chickens "chooks" was one of my favorites and I used to tell myself that one of these days I'd have some. Right now I am content with reading about yours.
Have a wonderful Fathers Day with your hubby and I hope DS is feeling better soon.
dawn

Lily Mulholland said...

What a gorgeous poem your DD wrote! I actually prefer to eat specially farmed food, as I know I'm not overburdening the ecosystem. If I'm going to eat meat (and I do), I would like it to be farmed for that purpose, as long as the conditions are good and the animals aren't in any pain. I would love cows, chickens, sheep to have the run of the land but there are just too many humans for that to be the norm. Sorry you felt you had to defend yourself Tracey. No problems here at all! Besides, I love your stories about your gorgeous bunch of misfits :)

Those 'posies' are very interesting too!

Joyce said...

Your daughter is a poet indeed! I like to eat free range chicken and eggs when I can get it. We thought of having chickens here but we have too many predators.

QuiltingFitzy said...

The Jim Shore figurine is a crack-up!

Love you, love your show!

The Calico Cat said...

One of your chooks looks like a duck. Quack! :o)

I know it is a duck... Just injecting a bit of humor.

Do you get any fancy colored eggs from your chooks? We had chickens for a couple years when I was a teen (my fathers second wife wanted to live on a farmette) we would get blue eggs on occasion. Oh & they would roost everywhere, so we had a lot of chicks too...

loulee said...

What a fabulous post, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the antics of your livestock. I personally think that what you have done for the ex battery hens is wonderful and you should be applauded for it. Keep it up. I remember as a kid keeping hens and having lovely fresh eggs whenever we wanted them. Yummy.
Your DDs poem is wonderful. I hope DS feels better soon and Dad enjoyed what was left of fathers day.

Unknown said...

LOL Get pics! I love the two with your chenille quilt. It could be a scene right out of "Charlotte's Web."

atet said...

Your lamb is coming along a treat -- and good for you rescuing those chooks. What you kindly didn't add was that at the end of their "useful" life -- they would be killed. Now, don't get me wrong. I love to eat chicken, I just don't like what happens to produce a lot of our food. I wish more folks did what you do!