The End of the Guinea Mobile


The Guinea Mobile in its day of glory

You may remember back in the summer when we first rolled the guinea mobile out to pasture. With 20+ guineas onboard it was quite a ruckus. After our "House Guineas" amazed us with their tick destroying abilities we decided to see if a team of "Field Guineas" could do the same for the rest of the property. The guinea mobile would also provide shade and shelter for the goats. In the latter respect it performed admirably. The goats are always dry when it's raining and cool in the shade when it's hot. When it comes to the whole "guinea housing" aspect, however, it's over.

It all happened in September/October when the guinea mobile was in a paddock near the house. Since we move the goats on a regular basis and the guinea mobile always goes with the goats it was just a matter of time before the goats and their guinea mobile made their way close to the house. In the back of my mind I worried that the respective guinea clans would hear each other and form a pack. I figured if anything the House Guineas would join the Field Guineas since the Field Guineas had a bigger posse. Then we'd be out of luck for tick control around the house... and that would be a disaster come spring.

In reality, it happened the other way around.

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Farm Hopping - Chicken Tractor Comparison at Full of Life Farm


Egg Mobile, Chicken Tractors & Cows on Pasture at Full of Life Farm

Our latest farm hopping adventure took us out to Portland, OR where we were traveling for a friend's wedding. Oregon is a bastion for grass farmers, so we had lots of options to choose from and we were lucky enough to end up at Full of Life Farm with its owner, Bernard Smith.

Although Bernard and his family live in the SF Bay Area, they raise animals in Oregon's fertile Willamette Valley and sell the product in both regions (North CA and OR). The Willamette Valley offers an excellent climate for a grass-based farm and Bernard is lucky enough to have a piece of land that his family has owned/farmed for over a century! The farm produces pastured eggs (egg mobile pictured above), meat chickens and turkeys raised on pasture, grass fed and finished beef, as well as pasture raised pork and goat. A lot going on to say the least! In many ways Full of Life's operations are modeled after Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm, which incorporates multiple grazing species and promotes humane and sustainable livestock production. 

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