Eggs Eggs Eggs

http://www.localharvest.org We have Eggs for Sale . Please come by and pick up some fresh free range eggs Please see my ad on local harvest for more info Thanks

New Additions

We had New additions to our pig family in March. Guinevere Farrowed she iniatally had 8 but 3 died during birth  and then 2 more died several days later. But now 2 months later, we have 3 fine wiener pigs. There are 2 females and 1 male.

Just a FYI we named them Curly Joe, Lucy and Ruby

Tamworth Pigs

Tamworth Pigs

  Tamworth hogs are known for hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate. They produce a lean meat that has been described as flavorful and tender. The sows are excellent mothers, farrow litters of 10 – 15 piglets, and provide good quantities of milk for their large litters. They have a mild temperament.

  Tamworth Pigs adapt to a wide range of climates. Their active foraging make them a good choice for consideration in outdoor or pasture-based swine production. Their gentle nature lends them well to the small-scale, independent producer.

History and Origins

The origin and history of the Tamworth breed is obscure and many hypotheses have been put
Forward.  The Story goes like this,

 In 1812 Sir Robert Peel imported to his farm in Tamworth, England  some pigs of Irish Orgin
Of these pigs Peel crossed the Irish pigs with the local pigs of Tamworth at that time.
Long, lean, and athletic, these pigs are probably the most direct descendant of the native pig stock of northern Europe. These dark red and grisly pigs were found largely in these Midland counties. of Stafford, Warwick, Leicester, and Northhampton. In this region, there were dense forests of oak and beech trees where the pigs were kept to forage in the autumn and winter.

 This new cross breed was expected to find their own food, especially mast (or acorns) of oak and beech forests. Long heads and impressive snouts enabled these pigs to be efficient foragers. Long, strong legs and sound feet give Tamworth pigs the ability to walk for considerable distances. Ginger red coats make the pigs adaptable to a variety of climates and protect them from sunburn. Tamworths have an active intelligence, and they are agreeable in disposition. Sows are prolific, able to produce and care for large litters. The piglets are vigorous and often have 100% survivability. Both sexes of this breed reach a mature weight of 500-600 lbs (227-272 kg).

These  characteristics of the Tamworth reflect the breed’s centuries of selection for an outdoor life
and thus make an excellent choice for anyone who wants to have a more self-reliant low cost pig
to raise in a free range enviroment.

During the early to mid-1800s, The Tamworth breed was standardized  becoming uniform in type. The Tamworth was recognized as a breed by the Royal Agricultural Society in 1885 and fell under the authority of the National Pig Breeders’ Association of Great Britain.



The first Tamworths in the United States were those imported by Thomas Bennett of Rossville,Illinois in 1882. In the following decade, Tamworths were also imported into Canada and the breed gradually became known in both countries. The American Tamworth Swine Record Association was founded in 1887 with their national headquarters in Ames, Iowa. In Canada the Tamworth was admitted to the Dominion Swine Breeders Association Herd Book in 1893.

The Tamworth has two characteristics for which it was entitled to preeminence; i.e.; an unusual proportion of lean meat, and large litters of pigs; also that Tamworths will make as many pounds of gain, largely lean meat, from a given weight of feed as will hogs of any other breed. From these early imports, the Colorado agricultural College’s three year farm average for all sows was ten live pigs to a litter. A two-year old sow weighing 750 pounds had 18 live pigs at one farrowing, and a Tamworth at the Iowa Agricultural College raised 33 pigs in one year.
 


The Tamworth was traditionally considered a “bacon” breed, meaning that the pigs thrived on low energy foods but grew slowly. They produced meat and bacon that was lean and fine grained. The breed has an excellent carcass yield of up to 70% due to their fine bones creating a more productive meat to bone ratio for finished meat products.
 
The breed takes its name from the village of Tamworth in Staffordshire.

Here are First Three Tamworths we got them in December 2014,   They are Savanna, Guinevere and Sampson

New driveway and address

We finally got our new driveway finished. I did the prep work required by the county ie new culvert and base gravel down. We also had new water service installed and thanks to the water company, we got a deal on the paving.
 While trying to install the water service line across the county road the workers hit some
hard rock and it bulged up the county road pavement. Due to this, they had to come back the next day and dig up the county road to finish there job and the next day I just happened to be there when the company that the water company had hired to fix the county road for the water company showed up. I asked them if they could pave my driveway while they were fixing the county road since they were already there with their equipment and they said yes and quoted me a price i could"t refuse.(I'll add the the pics after it was paved later ( I've taken the pics, just haven't uploaded them yet.) BTW Our New Address is 6900 Beach Drive East. I'll add a pic with the address sign when I get it finished.

More Family History- Chares S. Bean

As promised, I will continue the story of my Family's Farming History.

Charles Sumner Bean, My Great Great Grandfather was born in the 1st of December of  1865
in Iowa.

Charles S. Bean, Edna Bean, Wallace Bean and Claudia Bean Approx 1949

Charles worked as a sharecropper and moved his young family from place to place.  He and his wife raised five children who were born in Nebraska from 1888 to 1894.  In 1900 he was working as a day laborer and teamster in Omaha City, Nebraska.

Later that year Charles moved his family to Sonoma County, California.  In 1904 Charles contracted to buy 40 acres near Woodworth Station, California, from the P&S Railroad.

The Woodworth Farm cira approx 1925

In 1910 the family, including his mother-in-law, was living at Hessel Station Village in Analy Township of Sonoma County.  Charles worked as a farmer and poultryman.  They remained there in 1920.

Eventually, Charles and his sons dug a well, built two houses (the second one was much nicer and was built about 1924), a water tower, and a barn —  and the Woodworth property became their home.  By 1930 Charles owned the property free and clear and it became a fruit farm.

Charles was remembered for his Gravenstein apples, grapes, and berries.  A neighbor remembered seeing him ride in his horse-drawn buggy by their house on Petersen Road in Cotati and she would yell at him "Hello Old Charlie Bean" and he would sometimes stop and give all the kids a ride on the wagon before returning to his house.  Charles sold the property about 1943.  It is still standing and is located almost at the intersection of Blank Road and Petersen Road.

The Charles Bean Home 2012

New Chicks

we got our first batch of chicks two weeks ago. 6 rir and the next week we got 10 Delaware's here
some pics of them in the brooder

She thinks my tractor is sexy

Well, after trying to do so much brush clearing and fence building I decited that I really needed a tractor. I did a lot of research and looking I bought a used Kubota L4200. I came with a FEL (front end loader bucket) I also bought a fence post hole auger (hence the fencing project) and a Box Blade for the driveway.
This Tractor came from a municipal golf course hence the turf tires. I have ordered a new set of ag type tires
so i can use on my farm without getting stuck.