Old Otter Holler Farm

Needy Individual and Local Family Turn Down Free Chicken

We raise two types of chickens here at OOHF, dual-purpose (meat and eggs) birds like Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds, and meat birds such as the Cornish-Rock crosses.  We raise the dual-purpose birds mainly for their eggs, but also because we can butcher them at the end of their laying lives and have a decent size bird to eat.  Currently, we have about 10 fat Buff Orpington hens that are three years old and need to be butchered.  Since we already have 25 meat birds in the freezer from last fall, which is enough to last us a year, I decided to offer these birds to a local family who was on government assistance (food stamps, medical card, heating oil, and who knows what other assistance).  I told them that I had these chickens and that they could have them to butcher.  I even offered to help butcher them.  Guess what...they declined the offer.  Actually, they never actually said they did not want them, but since they did not contact me again in reference to the offer, I took that as a "no thanks".  Can you believe this!  Here is a family that is collecting government assistance, presumably because they can't support themselves, yet declines a generous offer to fill their freezer with high-quality meat.  Maybe if I butchered the chickens, processed them, vacuum sealed them, and delivered them to their house they would accept, or maybe they prefer their chicken in nugget form.  I don't know how else to respond to this.  To make matters worse, this is the second time I've offered up these chickens free to people I thought were in need.   The first offer ended just as the second offer...no response.  Then there was another time that someone contacted me and wanted to buy a few hens to let free-range before they butchered them.  I told them I would sell them the hens for $3.00 each, which is a real steal.  Guess what...they never called back either despite going on and on about what a good deal that was.  So, I guess I'll keep these birds around until spring, butcher them myself, then have a party with chicken as the main dish.  I know of two families and another individual who will not be invited.  Unbelievable!

Work on Passive Solar Greenhouse Continues

We began working on the new greenhouse in October 2011 by first deconstructing the two large hoophouses that occupied the site.  This was no easy job since we had to remove the electric heaters, receptacles, switches, and water lines in addition to the hundreds of bolts and nuts that held the structures together.  Once the site was cleared, we began building the post and beam structure that has slowly taken the shape of the greenhouse over the last few months.  Currently, the greenhouse is "dryed in" and most of the electrical wire installed.

In the next few weeks we plan to add insulation to the walls and ceiling, install the interior plywood walls, install the waterproof FRP board over the plywood, then finish wiring all switches and receptacles.  Although we probably won't need them, we will also install the two electric heaters with thermostats that we used in one of the old hoophouses.  These automatic heaters can be used if we ever have to leave the farm while we're growing bedding plants in the spring.  Finally, we'll be installing a 20-inch variable-speed louvered exhaust fan (also on a thermostat) with a matching 20-inch intake louvered vent on the opposite side of the greenhouse.  Properly ventilating the greenhouse, even in the winter, is essential to maintaining a healthy environment for both plants and humans.  We've already learned our lesson on this.  To make a long story short, we kept the greenhouse closed up for a couple of weeks and mold started to grow on all the walls.  We quickly realized the problem and propped open all the doors and opened a few windows to allow the humidity to escape and the air to drop below freezing.  Lastly, we sprayed and wiped the walls with bleach water and are keeping our fingers crossed that the situation is corrected before we need to install the insulation and interior walls.  It looks like everything will be OK.

One good sign that the greenhouse will function as designed is that while the greenhouse was closed up, the temperature inside never dropped below 32 degrees F at night even though the outside temperature was in the upper teens.  And this was without insulation and an interior wall!  I feel confident that when the greenhouse interior is finished and our heat sinks are in place, we won't have to supply any supplemental heat in the spring when we're growing plants, or in the fall/winter when we're growing cool weather crops in the raised beds.  The greenhouse should be completed by early March and ready for operation if everything goes according to plan.