Double yolks, pullets and green eggs.

We don't mind that the eggs in the carton aren't all the same. We prefer it that way because it means our flock is that much more diverse in the field. And of course we'll share an in use image of one of our favorite feeders and egg basket. 

Premier chicken keeper and occasional catalog copy-editor, Vivian, provided us with an update on the poultry flock on Premier's East Farm—

My flock of 24 pullets are beginning to lay, offering an incredible selection of size and color. The chickens hatched in early October and as fluffy chicks, were models in a number of Premier product photos for the Poultry catalog that was in production at that time.

Oh the potential! Quiche, souffle, omelets galore and so much more. 

The eggs are even more colorful than they appear in the photo. The greenish egg in the center is aqua, and the far right is an olive green.

The flock is at least five breeds, which I've figured out as the chickens matured. The dark red-brown eggs are from the 5 huge New Hampshire Reds; medium brown from 2 Red Star; greenish eggs from an assortment of Ameraucana pullets (which have "lambchop sideburn" feathers on their faces); white from 3 Leghorns; light brown from Black Australorps. Still haven't figured out all the breeds—a small one looks a bit like a pheasant hen. 

What is suspected to be the "pheasant hen." She appears to be a Golden Campine, anyone else have thoughts?

Also, I'm getting quite a few double-yolk eggs, which I never saw from my previous flocks of Wyandottes. Among the eggs shown,  I strongly suspect at least 3 double yolks, just in the past 2-1/2 days. 

Well it's off to a garden symposium for me, which is another sure sign of Spring!

Spring Fence Checklist

You're ready for spring. Your animals are ready for spring. Your pastures are ready for spring. But are your fences ready for spring? Before you set your flock or herd loose onto pastures that haven't seen use for a few months, make sure the fences are ready to keep livestock in and everything else out.

Walk the fence line(s). Check for branches or trees that may have toppled during a winter windstorm. If needed, clear branches and trees off of your fence and assess its condition. Most HT fences can bounce back after heavy branches have been removed. Other fences may need some more involved care. If the fence is in a flood prone area, remove any downed trees/limbs that could be washed into the fence.

Make sure all conductors are intact. If needed, mend with repair kits, ropelinks, twistlinks or gripples.

Check plug-in and battery energizers before use—the fence must be adequately electrified. For battery energizers, make sure the batteries are fully charged before bringing them to the field.

If using a PRS, this video details how to bring it out of winter storage and get it ready for spring fencing.

For more informational posts, click on the links below:

Before you buy or build a fence
Troubleshooting electric fences
Tips for setting up netting successfully
Netting: Struts or Strings
Netting: single spike or double spike posts?
Netting Tips

Netting: Struts or Strings

Strutted: large plastic struts between horizontal strands.

String: strings between horizontal strands.

Strutted Nets— 

• Able to hold “live” strands above the soil when net passes over taller grass, sticks, rocks and dirt mounds. 
• Allows net to be set up with less tension (because struts offer support between posts). Because the tension is less, fence setup is more “casual.”
• Enables net to maintain its height between horizontals. Makes handling easier during installation or removal.
• Much tidier when set up. 

String Nets—

• Needs more tension than strutted nets (to reduce sagging).
• For shorter fence lines. Exceptions are PermaNet and PoultryNet—they have much taller and thicker posts that can better handle strain and prevent the lower strands from sagging.  
• For fences that need to contain small animals. Nets with strings have tighter spacings between the verticals. 

What do we recommend? 

For most fences we recommend a strutted net. However, PermaNet, PoultryNet and VersaNet are only available as string nets. Both PermaNet and PoultryNet have thicker posts than regular string netting. The added strength considerably reduces sagging. VersaNet is a much shorter net (less weight) so sagging is not as severe as taller nets. Added posts and "Plus" nets further reduce sagging.  

For short fences with low weed contact, string nets are sufficient. If set up well (adequate tension), string nets (E'Net and E'Stop) do very well, it takes a little more effort.

To see all available netting types, visit our website.
For netting installation videos visit our how-to video page.

Netting: single spike or double spike posts?

Single Spike—post stake consists of one spike (left post).
Double Spike—post stake consists of two spikes (right post).

Which one to use, and when:

Single spike is best used when netting is moved frequently or in dry/hard soils.

•  In dry soils it is often difficult to insert one (let alone two) stakes into the ground. Often there is a crack in the ground that a single stake can be inserted.
• The single spike enables the post to be quickly pulled out of the ground so the net can be reset.  
• Easy to take down and store. 

Double spike nets are best when the netting is not to be frequently moved, the ground is soft or the installer prefers a step-in post.

• The crosspiece on the double spike enables the post to be “stepped-in.” This action reduces the hand/arm strength needed to insert the post. 
• Do not pound on the stake with a hammer in order to insert it into the ground. It is not designed for this. 
• Added stability in loose soils. 
• Can be hard to pull out.
• Harder to take down and store (spikes are easy to tangle).

What is our experience with SS or DS? Many of the nets that we use on the farms are single spike nets. We frequently move netting (unless it is PermaNet) and have dry soils in the summer. So single spike nets are more practical for our fencing needs. 

My main experience with double spike occurred a summer ago while fencing a cattle pasture. I was attempting to install some double-spike netting shortly after a week of 100° heat and no rain for the last month. The ground was hard and dry and the posts refused to go into the ground. Frustrated, I went for my hammer and began to pound directly on the cross piece of the stake. The ground continued to resist. By the time I “finished”, the stakes were less than 3" into the ground and bent beyond usefulness (the stakes are meant to be stepped-in, not hit with a hammer). The proper move would have been to use either single spike posts or drill pilot holes for each stake. 

However, in the Spring when the ground is moist, I prefer to use double spikes for a semi-permanent poultry enclosure. The spikes provide added stability and step into the ground easily. Functionality depends on the specific fencing situation.

What do our customers prefer to use? Right now 2/3 of the ElectroNet that goes out our door is single spiked. However, double spike netting is becoming more and more popular and the gap between the two is shrinking. 

Best laid plans

The hot and dry weather has hammered our pastures as well as our flock for the last several weeks. In this weather the ewes are not overly motivated to graze, which is good considering the pastures have all but burned up. What are some of the things we are doing and not doing to ease the stress on our flock and pastures.

To alleviate the stress on our already brutalized pastures, we have started to feed baleage leftover from last year. The lush springs of 2010 and 2011 (which are but just a memory) provided us extra feed from the proceeding year. Since, 2010 we have had extra baleage, though it seems we will have just enough to get us to the hopefully green pastures of 2013. The Big Bale Feeders were pulled out of storage sooner than expected and our late born pasture lambs will be weaned sooner than anticipated, but as the saying goes "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

photo: Ewes and lambs eating grass hay from a Big Bale Feeder. 

For those who maintain CRP land (Conservation Reserve Program), they are now able to hay or graze these pieces of land. Premier has a few employees who have CRP ground, we suspect they will take advantage of the grazing (check with your local FSA for rules and requirements). Premier has some ground that we keep as prairie. The sheep are on it in the Spring for lambing and are off it for the rest of the year. This year we will graze it in order to extend our grazing season before breaking into stored feed.

photo: Ewes grazing a late planted soybean field. Soybeans can tolerate heat better than some of the other grasses on our farm. 

When it comes to working the flock in the high heat, we do it only when necessary. For example, last week we had several ewes demonstrating classic worm burden symptoms; lethargic, loose stool and bottle jaw, thus they needed to be wormed. Worming in 100° weather is not comfortable for the sheep or the shepherd. So our shepherds drove and wormed the flock in the early hours of the morning while it was still cool. This cuts down on the amount of stress our ewes experience. 

photo: Building fence during a drought is not an easy task. The spikes often refuse to go into the hard dry ground. It is often necessary to use a drill to make a pilot hole for the spike (below). If you're lucky, there might be a crack in the ground where you want to put the post.