Although the old chicken barn is gone, we still planned to have some chickens. That said, to my surprise, Julie announced in early February that she had found some chickens for sale in Gainesville and had made arrangements for their purchase. This meant we had just a couple of days to arrange for their living quarters.

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The horse barn


The good news is that we have the old horse barn, so we decided to remodel one of the stalls to serve as a chicken coop. We used some of the materials salvaged from the old chicken barn to build a roost and get the place ready.

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The new coop



The big day arrived and Julie drove up to Gainesville while Jeff and I made the final preparations. Within a couple of hours she was back with a rooster and 19 hens. These are laying chickens, and since they are already adults they were already laying. It turns out the previous owner's family had purchased them as a project for the kids, who had lost interest. Good for us! We have White Leghorns that lay white eggs and Red Stars that lay brown.




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Our very first farm product!


Next morning we were pleasantly surprised and excited when we collected our first egg. Despite what I can only imagine as the discomfort caused by the move, one of our little white hens had come through!

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The chicken run
After a week, once they were well accustomed to their new coop, we built a run for them. It's a little ugly (I don't care for the orange fencing) but functional. The chickens, who we believe had never been outdoors as they were permanently kept in the barn by the previous owner, were a little apprehensive at first , so I had to provide some gentle persuasion for them to go out. Yes, I had to chase a few to grab them and get them out, which provided some comic relief. Nowadays they just can't wait to go out in the morning, and continue to be very productive.

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Our gorgeous rooster

I will end this post by clarifying that the current living arrangements are temporary since our intent is to build a mobile coop and have them out in the pasture once it starts growing out in the spring. We know this will improve their quality of life as well as the quality of the eggs. Currently we are providing them with good feed that does not contain any antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified ingredients which aligns with our philosophy of sustainable farming.

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Chicken barn when we moved in
Greetings! We want to share some of the work we have been doing at the farm.

When we first considered this property as a location for our farm, one of the appealing aspects was the charm and character of the existing structures. In addition to the house, there was a workshop, small horse barn and last, but not least, a chicken barn. All of these buildings are fairly old and in need of some care and maintenance, but we like having them.

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The collapsed barn
The old chicken barn was built in the 60's and used for commercial chicken production. It was the only building that wasn't functional; the structure was no longer sound and some of the walls were starting to buckle in. As Julie mentioned in a previous post, the chicken barn's roof collapsed after a heavy snowfall the first week we were here. While disappointing, this proved to be a blessing in disguise. The chicken barn stood precisely next to the spot we were considering for our vegetable plot, and removing it would provide a lot of additional space!

Our first farm project would be the 'demolition' of the old chicken barn.

The first order of business was to remove all the old tin, mostly from the roof. A lot of it came off as fairly easily as the rafters were rotten, but some was a little more difficult. As we completed this task the frame and contents were revealed, and there a few surprises!

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Hauling the scrap metal
After its chicken heyday, the barn was apparently used for storage and most recently as a convenient place to discard junk. We had everything from old chicken feeders, ice boxes, engine parts and even an old stand-up hair dryer from a salon that looked like it was from the 60's. The surrounding area also had it's share of discarded tires and old agricultural equipment. Ultimately we ended up hauling over 6,000 lbs. of scrap to be recycled...and that was just the metal.

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The rafters are gone
Once all the trash was cleared, we started on the frame and chain saws were the tools of choice. The rafters went first and then the walls. The final phase was the short cinder block wall that served as the walls foundation. This was completed with the help of a Bobcat that pushed them around like toys.

In addition to the barn itself we cleared a lot of the brush and trash around the site.

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Gone and cleared
The area is now clear and we're getting ready to plow and prepare the soil for planting. This photo was taken from virtually the same spot as the first one in this post.

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Roger Akins
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the folks that helped with all this work (there was a lot of it), namely Stephanie's boyfriend Jeff McDonald, David Puckett and last but certainly not least Roger Akins, who is as excited about our farm as we are. Roger is an extremely resourceful and energetic man, and suffice it say that while many of his contemporaries are in nursing homes or enjoying long retirements he is out here frequently, and has more energy than many teenagers I know. Rogers has proved to be a great help and a wonderful friend, and we're extremely grateful for all his help.

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Happy New Year Everyone! WOW, the first few weeks of 2011 sure have been memorable! We moved to the Farm on January 8th, and were welcomed the very next day with a big snow storm. We knew the storm was on its way, the news had broadcast its arrival for days in advance but most often snow storms fizzle out before getting to us. Boy were we surprised!  The storm rolled into our area Sunday evening bringing sleet, frozen rain and lots of snow, by Monday morning we awoke to a white Winter wonderland. We couldn't tell where the street began and the yard ended, they had become one. It was a sight to see!
The snow, although beautiful also brought with it more than one of the out buildings could take. The old chicken barn collapsed under the weight of the fresh fallen snow. I had taken pictures of the buildings first thing in the morning and all of them were standing and seemed to be holding their own. A few hours later when I glanced out the back I saw the building had collapsed. Of the three outbuildings this was the one we were most concerned with as it was in questionable condition before the snow storm. It was not a huge surprise it didn't make it through. The chicken barn is located right next to the area we are planning to plant the vegetable crops, we will clear away the chicken barn expanding our planting area and possibly make room for a small hoop house.
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We took advantage of the freshly fallen snow, taking up sledding down the slope of the back pasture with Jeff and Stephanie. Jeff used his 4x4 truck to make the drive over to the Farm. He brought along his boogie board and kayak. Both were a ton of fun in the snow. Who would think that a boogie board and a kayak could be some much fun in the snow.
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Welcome to Wholesome Country Farm blog. As 2010 comes to a close so does our modern conventional lifestyle. Beginning January 1, 2011 we will start a new life as Farmers.  Why become Farmers? The simple answer; We want to know where our food comes from, the quality of its life and what was used to grow it.  We are passionate about the well being, and management of the soil, plants and animals that ultimately end up on our dinner tables. As Farmers we will provide wholesome food grown the way nature intended, using organic and sustainable farming practices. 
We are very excited about the new year and all it will bring along with it. Our goal is to share our story as it unfolds, providing transparency on what life is like on the farm, our farming practices and sharing what we learn and how we raise our food.
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A New Year and a New Lifestyle - On January 1st, 2011 we will move onto an old farmstead in Buford, GA. We don't know the complete history of the home but we have been told the home is 180 years old and is the original family homestead. It was recently renovated 5 years ago to include all the modern luxuries of heating/AC, updated electrical and plumbing. The house is small and like most homes its age has had additional rooms added on over the years.
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