Back To Work

Hello friends!

Today was my first real day back to work and it was a doozy!  I spent the better part of yesterday getting the splints removed from my nose.  Boy was that not a fun process but it was quick and the relief was immediate.  I won't elaborate any further here :-)

Ya'll are probably getting tired of hearing about chickens but they seem to be taking up a good bit of my efforts lately.  Many of my chickens have colds :-(  So what is a chicken cold like you might ask?  Well, it is much like a human cold...they sneeze, have runny noses, puffy eyes, and make these gurgley noises like they need to blow their noses!!!!  I wish I was kidding but I'm not.  I am trying to treat them with a natural remedy that is in no way harmful, but if I can't get it under control I might have to resort to antibiotics.  I won't use antibiotics on the meat chickens.  If I do have to go this route on the laying hens I will of course be withholding the eggs the required amount of time.  I really don't want to do this but I hate it that my girls aren't feeling good :-(  Of course they aren't laying good right now because they don't feel good and that is really not good!  I'll keep you posted!

Tonite John and Bryce went to the Knox County Farmers Market for the second week and although John thought the crowd was much less than last week sales were actually better!  That could be due in part to the fact that I am fully stocked up on beef items right now :-)  I suggest that everyone stock up on their favorite cuts!  We will continue going to the Knox County market on Thursdays!

I attended my monthly Whitley County Cattlemen's Association meeting tonite.  There was a representative there from the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association.  It was a thought provoking meeting for sure.  The national beef industry as a whole is struggling to regain their market share of meat sales.  Let's face it, beef really got a bad wrap a few years back and it is my job as a Cattleman to help regain public trust and correctly educate the buyers as to the merits of beef.  I am actually working through a national program online to become a Master of Beef Advocacy.  Where I struggle is that I choose to provide beef that is very unconventionally raised and fills the needs of a niche market that I truly believe in.   That doesn't mean that I think beef raised in more conventional ways is all bad.  I am working to come to terms with all this.  Actually I am even wondering if I can really help the beef industry (in my small, local way) more than they or I realize.  I am planning on calling the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association soon to discuss this!

The horse shoer was here today putting new shoes on Sender, Twister and Blue!  This happens every 6 weeks.  They are ready to go and I need to be riding more!

If I don't post tomorrow I will be at the Whitley County Farmers Market on Saturday morning at the extension office in Goldbug!

Happy farming!