It Figures

Ever have one of those times when everything seems to be going great, until you have an "it figures" moment?

Welp, that about sums up the last few months from this blog. I had everything straightened out to really start cranking come new year with everything farm- until my 'it figures' moment happened. My account on google was stalled waiting for snail mail to verify the business, by the time that came in the mail my blog was on lock down due to inactivity.

But now, I'm back in! ready to start somewhere where I left off. It took several months of compilation with the states of Georgia and Tennessee, but we got our egg candling certificate! This allowed us to get an egg license. I'll try to explain:

In 2010, Tennessee revised a law that stated that anyone selling eggs must have a license. It now states that only large commercial people have to hold such a license, those with over 3000 laying hens. In order to hold the license then and now, you must have a certified egg candler inspect a certain amount of eggs out of each 'clutch'. The problem fell in the middle group. I am a perfect example. I plan to only have about 50 or less layers at any given time. However- I want to sell my eggs to local eateries. This secures my income with so many hens. The health department inspects these restaurants, and requires proof of procurement, otherwise known as a bill of lading, from any ingredients used on the premises. If there was ever an outbreak, they could narrow down the culprit. Without having the required 3000 hens, the state says I do not need a license. which stopped all places that a few years ago offered the required class and certificate. As of 2012 not one entity in the state of TN offers the class nor the certificate! The closest states to offer anything similar are Georgia and Ohio. But TN has never negotiated with either state to accept these certificates as valid in TN. After some careful negotiations, and 6 months of talks between states, I was given the green light to head to GA and take the class. My certificate is only 1 of 3 VALID in East TN. 

Long story short: Stargazer Hill Farm is the only small, non-commercial farm in TN with a valid egg license and three candlers on site!

So, over this peaceful winter we have doubled our chickens outdoor run, and been practicing our incubator skills. Our first clutch was only a few eggs that turned out a week later not being viable. Our rooster, Big Red, is a spring chick, and is just now, at 7 months old got the hang of the ladies. Our second clutch we added an automatic egg turner. Erick thinks that will help the hatch rate. I also procured a fantastic book about hatching.  Our second clutch just finished hatching, and I still have some learning to do on the process of incubation as a whole. On my farm's facebook page , I have a contest to guess how many eggs we tried in the second clutch, so I'll divulge those details after that contest is finished. I'll be going into alot more detail in my next blog, I plan to start another clutch at the end of January.

We also set about constructing a 'chicken nursery'. One of our buff orpingtons had been broody for a long time, and despite our efforts, would not take no for an answer. Her name was Buffy- and now it has become Mama. Heres what the nursery looks like

And all finished. Took a few months, but mostly re purposed wood from another shed, leftover chicken and hardware cloth. It can hold about 20 day olds per door (each is a separate pen) or 10 four week olds each. Mama now resides on one side with her clutch of an experimental 4 eggs. She is due to hatch out early next week, so I can post all kinds of pictures of both then.

Well, Its good to be back! I'll be posting my next blog right near the end of the month. My emphasis will be on Hatching, Incubating and Raising chicks as well as safety measures on handling eggs, fertile or not. I hope you enjoyed reading this- and please let me know if the links aren't working or anything seems off. Thanks for reading!