Cow Tales

Here at Brickhouse all of our cows are individual, they each have their own history, personality, strengths and weaknesses - so we think it best they all have a name, not just a number.  Naming the cows has gone through many phases over the history of the dairy.  We have tried Bible names, naming through the alphabet and when the kids were studying Greek history we even had a few mythical names mixed in there!  These days we just look for names we haven't already used, and sometimes we have 'family theme' names (like the Starlit line you will soon here about, Starlit's descendants have names like Galaxy, Milkyway and Mars).

Oh, darling, let me fix that!

 Whenever you see pictures of our cows you will notice they have their names in their ear-tags along with their numbers, this way we can know them by name and also keep their records straight through their numbers.

We would like you to get to know these outstanding ladies since without them our quality cheese just wouldn't be possible.  So keep an eye out for the 'Cow Tales' label where you can learn about some of the individuals who make up our herd!

Mail Order Chicks

Roger is working ground, calves are being born, pastures are getting lush and chicks are arriving in the mail - Spring must be here!  Almost every spring we get a fresh batch of chicks to replace any lost the following year, or just to try a new breed.


We go to pick up the chicks at the post office so they don't have to ride the whole, bumpy route to our house.  Everyone is so excited to get the call that the chicks have arrived and are ready to be picked up!

Here is the peeping box!

And here are the peepers inside!  The hatchery has a minimum order limit of 25 chicks so they keep each other warm on the ride to their new home.  The brown chicks are Welsummers and the black and white chicks are Anconas.

The chicks are one day old when they are mailed and are two days old by the time they reach us.  They won't have their first meal until they get to our house where we 'dip' their beaks and show them their food and water.  They aren't as hungry as you might think because they are designed to absorb the remainder of the yolk in their eggs right before they hatch - this keeps them satisfied for several days giving the mother hen (and us) plenty of time to teach them where food and water is!

Here they are drinking from their chick sized waterer!

Until they are big enough to live with the other chickens they will stay in a big box with a heat lamp to keep them warm.  We use newspapers to cover their floor so it is easy for them to see their food!


Stay tuned for updates as these chicks grow!

Spring at the Brickhouse

Calves are being born, flowers are blooming, the garden is being planned, chicks are arriving in the mail and Roger is in the field planting - Spring is here!  The cows aren't the only ones excited about the new flush of growth, our chickens are out happily pecking at the new grass and the dogs always love a good roll!

Udders swinging, these girls are excited to get on some fresh pasture!

It just isn't Spring without bulbs popping out of the ground!

The cows grazing by the pear trees...