After a relaxing stay in the boundary waters I (Dan) am back on the farm and ready to tackle the rest of the season. I always like getting away from the farm for a few days so that I can see how much the farm changes in just a short period of time. While I was away our popcorn started tasseling, the weeds overtook the red onion patch, and our turkeys got HUGE!
When raising any kind of poultry, it's common practice to place your poultry in a brooder pen until the poultry develops real feathers and are able to withstand temperature variations. We house our baby poultry in a brooder pen with a heat lamp that helps keep the poultry at the correct temperature (just over 90 degrees for the first few days of life and lesser over time). Our turkeys have outgrown their brooder pen!
Now that our turkeys have developed their true fathers they are ready to go out on pasture. This week I've been working on building their "turkey tractor." A turkey tractor is essentially a large cage with no floor so that the turkeys get all the benefits of pasture life without getting attacked by predators or risking a food safety issue by roaming into our vegetable field. We will move the turkey tractor at least once every day until the turkeys are ready for processing ensuring that they always have access to fresh forage. See below for a picture of the under construction turkey tractor.
Our turkeys will be for sale as part of our first ever Thanksgiving Holiday Share complete with all the veggies you need for your Thanksgiving feast. We have a limited quantity available so order yours today: https://www.harvie.farm/farm/cedar-crate-farm/signup
