2 Bridges Farm

We thought that we would be able to graze early this year.  Boy were we wrong.  The cattle finally got to go out on pasture yesterday and the sheep today.  We had to buy in hay starting in April.  We were so close!!! Lawnmowers hard at work We are starting the sheep off slowly by using them as lawnmowers around the barnyard.  By giving them just small bits of fresh green grass we keep them from getting bloat.  They also continue to have full access to bales of hay and can return to their barn at night or if the weather turns.  We will also put them on other areas around the house and barn before they go on to pasture full time.  We almost always have a neighbour stop by to tell us the sheep are out.  I guess we should tie bright flags on the electric netting. Pammy the Lammy Lambing started on February 11th this year.  We have had 27 lambs born with only 1 mortality.  There were 6 ewes that have not lambed.  So there may be more to come but I am skeptical.  We normally keep all of the

Well that went by very quickly.  It is already August.  That means it is time to start thinking about going to the FAIR!!! Just to recap events for this year.  We started calving on January 10th and still have one cow to calve.  We have had 4 bull calves and 4 heifer calves this year.  What a big year for us.  Unfortunately we lost one bull calf.  But all of the others are thriving out on pasture. Here are some of the curious faces of our Herd.  They seem to think we are bringing them treats.  We decided to go with a theme for naming the calves this year.  All of the calves names have to start with the letter K for 2022.  So we opted to try to come up with names of places. We have: Kentucky (his dam is Lexi (Lexington)) Kansas Kirkland (Kirk) Kelowna (his dam is Leona... it rhymes sort of) Kissing Bridge (Kiss) Kakabeka (Bec) Kapuskasing (Kap) Keady (a fun place to watch livestock sales in Ontario) We have always tried to rotate our pastures at 2 Bridges Farm but the last 2 years we st

Joy, Lilley, Mo More than a year has passed since the last time i blogged here.   Now that COVID-19 has stopped the mad daily scramble you would think that there would be plenty of time for blogging but we seem to be as busy as ever.  We continue to strive for balance in our lives and find ourselves fortunate to live the way that we do.  Hopefully this blog will show you the idyllic side of country living with a dash of realism. Hudson So far this year we have had 2 bull calves and a heifer born.  The first bull calf is named Hudson and he is full of beans.  If there is an opportunity for him to climb in to the feeder or escape he will find a way.  He loves to break free and run with the bulls.  He tries to convince his counter part Henderson to join him but is not usually successful.  He runs around a bit.  Gets into mischief and then finds his way back to his mom.  Soon he won't be able to fit in the feeder so i am curious to see what else he will come up with.  This i

It has been a pretty productive spring and summer at 2 Bridges Farm.  It seems like spring lambing was just a couple of weeks ago but it is already close to the end of summer! I just wanted to give you an update on what we have available and what will be coming. This week we have chicken (whole and quartered), we have a few mixed pork boxes available.  You can stop by the farm friday-sunday this weekend to pick some up.  Just let me know if you're coming by.  Many of you ordered chicken in advance. Please send me a message to confirm the number that you would like and when you can pick them up so that i make sure to keep some for you. The lamb will be processed August 28th. That means they will be ready for you to pick up in time for a labour-day weekend BBQ!  There is a limited quantity of lamb available so if you haven't already told me you want lamb you should send me a message asap. We will have Galloway beef available in the spring of 2019.  It will be wort

It's summer time and living is... well not easy yet.  Hay is in the mow and the hogs have come back from the butcher.  The freezers are full. Our most popular pork items are sausage and bacon.  We have 200 lbs of farmer's sausage links ready for you.  In addition to hams,  chops and roasts. We have had to limit how much bacon everyone can order at one time. Whole and half pig orders will be available the first week of November and will require a $100 deposit.  So let us know if you're interested and start clearing out your freezer. Tomorrow chicken will be available.  If you haven't placed your order or arranged for pick up this weekend you should do so today.  The next batch of chicken won't be available until the end of September. Happy August everyone!

They say that spring is the busiest time on a farm.  2 Bridges Farm is no exception. 3 heifer calves and a bull calf have arrived.  We have also had 5 lambs added to our flock. Animal care, new fence and pasture maintenance have taken most of our spare time.  The warm summer temperatures have brought the usual flies and predators.  We have even come across a couple of young skunks in the neighbourhood (eeew).  It certainly keeps life interesting! However, things have been moving along nicely.  Our pasture raised chicken will be processed on August 3rd. You all know how quickly these get sold so if you want chicken you will need to let us know asap. I have been told that they can be halved or quartered for an extra fee.  Let us know if that is something you are interested in and we will let you know how much extra that will cost.  If you prefer to continue with whole chickens the price remains the same.  We expect the chicken will weigh between 5-7 lbs.   It would be appreciated if