Hi!

I grew up farming in west-central Ohio. After years from being away from it, my husband and I bought a small farm in south-west Ohio. We are going to put out a hay crop in 2008 and possible pasture some feeder sheep this year too. I'd also like to get some chicks for laying hens.

Is there anyone else out there with celiac who farms? I'd like to hear from you and get some tips on what I need to be aware of when it comes to feed and everything really.

So, hope there are still some farmers out there!
Kim

Hi Kim,
I'm not a farmer exactly, but I have chickens for eggs. I also have 4 goats which I initially bought to have my own organic milk. That was a lot of work, esp when you're sick. I'd love to do it again sometime though.
I also have 2 geese that could swim on the pond, but they're afraid of the pond.
Sorry, I don't have any tips because I'm new at this myself, but I love having chickens. They are so much fun. I can't wait for spring to get some more chicks. I only have one chicken left out of five that still lays eggs.

It is our dream to have a hobby farm someday, but now we just have chickens. We have 6 hens (2 dominique, 2 australorp, 1 golden laced wyandotte and 1 easter egger). We got them last march as 2 day old chicks. After a few month break, we just started getting eggs again this week. In fact, we just got our first green egg! That was pretty exciting.

I remember reading the label on the chicken feed (Layena) and it did have gluten grains in it. I am very careful when I fill their feeder and try hard not to breathe anything in. I always wash my hands after feeding them, but I would do that anyway.

My DH runs a chicken forum if you are interested in joining up. The address is in my profile. I would post it here, but that is not allowed on this forum.

Congrats on your farm!

Hi Kim,

I have a tropical fruit farm in Hawaii and wish I could send you all the darn wild chickens we have who often beat me to the figs.
I have some trouble with the wild grasses here which seem to bring on my DH problems. If you produce value added products from the farm, check www.localharvest.org They have done a great job for us in selling some of the fruit products we make.
good luck
ken

Haha, I remember hearing those wild rooster everywhere on Kauai! It was unbelievable! How big are fig trees? I've never seen one.

I love to hear that people still take an interest in agriculture...whether it be a backyard chicken coop or a 1000 ranch. It would just be nice to know that somebody is interesting in sustainable farming.

I look forward to hearing about your farms and the daily stuff that occurs. Let's face it, we are the minority and to have some kind of network for questions and advice would be good.
Kim

The chickens are everywhere here in South Kona -- kind of like fingernails on a chalk board for me -- especially at 330am! At my project site for the university, we offered $10. a piece to catch the chickens and keep them out of the test field. I work on developing sustainable ag programs for growers here in Hawaii. Usually though greater diversification but often with improved market access and developing farmer-chef relations. Fig trees are great and can grow just about anywhere although some need to be moved inside during the winter. Not here though. If you check on my friend Jon's site
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/mb/figs4funforum
and
http://figs4fun.com/
I bet you can find others growing them in Ohio. I had some when I was in Chicago so I'm sure you can too. They only give fruit on new growth so its easy to keep them pruned. The best part is they are gluten free <G>
I bet there is a lot of unusual fruit you can get there, native american persimmons for example. paw paw is another one. Just have to keep your chickens away from them!
take care

kenlove, thanks for sharing and the links. I learned something and this is what this thread hopes to achieve. Best of luck with your studies. Also, check out www.endlessfeast.tv. This is a PBS program all about bringing food producers, chefs, and food artisans together. Plus, it gives the participants so much publicity.

Enoy the warm weather....it's 36 here!

Thanks for the info. I'll have to get someone to tape it for me as we dont have TV here and I dont want to be the $3K to get cable down here in the sticks. I will pass this on to some of the guys I work with too. We did BBQ with Bobby Flay 2 years ago and I was on the final top chef season 2 show ( for 2 seconds <G>) Also do the Honolulu ABC TV morning news show sometimes. Also did HGTV a few years ago with the worlds largest tree fruit. Lots of fun. Never heard of this show so we'll check into it.
Got down to 68 last night and we all had on long sleeve aloha shirts <G>

Take care
Ken

kenlove,
I love hawaii, not so fond of the chickens. It is one place I feel like I have come home at. I have spent most of my time on the big island in the puna district. Missing it


I don't "Farm", but I do have a 1/2 acre garden. I have a small orchard, berries, veggies. I also have a flower garden too. I did all my own landscaping. I love to can food. LOVE IT. But since I don't sell anything, I wouldn't consider it farming.

Guess you have to grow different things where you are but 1/2 acre garden is nice and manageable. I don't get to Puna too often but had fun there last year searching for unusual Hawaiian bananas.
take care

This sounds like farming to me! It's sustainable agriculture...living off the land. Do you have a pressure canner? I plan to do alot of canning this year. We had 24 tomatoe plants last year and I made all my own ketchup and tomato sauce BUT we are all out by December! What kind of orchard do you have? I would love to have an apple orchard someday.
Kim

Can you wonderful chicken egg gatherers tell me about your coop? I need to revamp ours and I'm confused on which way to go. I'd like to minimize shoveling but keep a nice comfy space for my chickens.

Also, did you brood your chicks? If so how and did you do the chick starter feed?

Thanks,
Kim

kenlove,
yes I grow very different things here in northern california. We grow fabulous garlic. We also grow, winter squash, strawberries, raspberries, onions, beets...
I wish I could grow celery,but my attempts have turned out terrible.

gingham kim,
You are right ... it is sustainable agriculture.
Yes, I do have a pressure canner, but most of what I do is just with a waterbath. I make Lots of pickles, jams, canned pears, canned juice, tomatoe base, salsa, and applesauce. I have this great steam juicer. I love it. I make grape, pear, and apple juice with it.
I've never made my own ketchup. That's really neat. I made barbecue sauce one time when I burned my salsa.
My orchard is very young, only a few fruits to snack on, but I have apple, cherry, pear, plum, peach, and nectarine. The apple trees do great here. I get mine from the orchard at my kid's school. My bachelor neighbor who has an incredible green thumb gives me cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, grapes, pears, and cherries. I must admit at lot of the food I grow is from him. Lucky me. He has Celiac too.
I don't have chickens. Good luck with the coup.
mebyne