The Fool On the Hill

The "tweaking" of the homestead continues here at Chicken Scratch.  I continue to work to find ways to get it to run more efficiently and effectively.  It has been quite a challenge.

• First, the "babies" have been disbudded.  I HATE disbudding, I think it's a horrible practice.  However, I understand why we do it, as I've pulled quite a few goats' heads out of the fence in my time, and often they're not just stuck, they are woven in it, and the horns are the thing that prevents them from getting out.  Though there's nothing I can do about the goats with horns, I can try to prevent it from happening to future goats.  Hence, the disbudding.  The girl was ok with it...or as ok as one who is having their head burned can be, but the little guy took it very hard.

Little girl

Little boy

Not being the type who likes to inflict pain on animals, I felt horrible and sat with him for hours.  He would just groan and groan and then softly meh, like it was too much trouble to make a big meh.  He would lay down and look like he was dying.  Then I would pick him up and put him in my lap, and he'd stop mehing, but he'd sigh a lot and groan and make a little meh here and there, and generally look like he was dying.  And I thought, "Oh my god, I killed him.  I did something wrong this time".

But he was totally playing me.

And when his mommy came in (Lilly) and proceeded to beat up on one of the other girls, he shot out of my lap like a rocket to watch, ran around and jumped up and down and followed her, cheering her on, and then drank about a gallon of milk from her udder.  ...Then noticed me sitting in the house, so he started to groan and make little meh cries again, and he came and laid down next to me, again looking like he was dead or dying, and I felt horrible and picked him up and held him, and he laid there like it was his last days on earth.

Then the cat walked by, and he ditched me to sniff it and smack it---with his head.

Nicely played, my friend, nicely played. 

So needless to say, he's all right, but yes I did still worry.  The little boy is spoken for already, but will not leave until he is weaning age.  The little girl is not yet spoken for, but since she's a beauty with a mom who is an EXCELLENT milker, I'm not worried too much.  She will stay until weaning age as well, because those two are attached at the hip, and it would be unfair to separate them so early.

Peony "Bowl of Beauty"

• In other news with the goats, my husband and I continue to plan how to expand the pen for the goats so they can graze.  Once again, they came into the spring in rough condition, but now that they are getting fresh forage and fresh hay, they are starting to look better.  I expect them to always have this problem, as winter is winter, but during the spring, summer, and even fall months, I want to be able to better use the land we live on, ie; allowing them more access to the woods, so they can glean what they need and not require so many inputs from us.  So, we create pens that will allow them to go and glean and pig out and be happy and generally take in the nutrients they need--just the way they are supposed to.  This also means that I am thinking about how to use the area to store food for them for the winter months, so I do not have to rely so much on hay.  How to do this is a tough question to answer.  Any suggestions are appreciated. 

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!

• Animal-wise, the geese have moved on.  This was a decision long in the making, as I really do like the geese, but they are awfully noisy.  Back when we had 70-odd chickens who free-ranged constantly, the geese were integral to keeping the flock safe.  They watched the skies and warned the chickens when there was a threat.  Very important work, and they were good at it.  But the chicken flock is at about half that number or less, and then no longer free range as often or for as long, as the coyotes discovered them and last year many were disappearing.  Geese are no match for coyotes.  So the geese were unemployed, and quite bored.  They were loud, but for no good purpose anymore, so it was time for them to go.  I am happy to say the whole gaggle is now living on a 200 acre farm which is to be a petting zoo for autistic children.  I hope they will have good lives.  It was hard to let them go, but I think we made the right decision.

Happy broccoli

• While the geese are gone, I am working on rebuilding the pond ecosystem.  The pond is small and shallow, and with that many geese, it was difficult to do anything with it.  Either their manure would kill things, or they would eat anything I planted.  But now I can gain a headway, and get some water-loving plants in there to help filter and clean the water, as well as hopefully re-sculpting the pond a bit to stop it from leaking.  The pond has been a thorn in my side since forever, and it's taken years to even get it this far, but I hope to get it sorted out.  It is a valuable resource to have, and one that I need to get working properly.



Happy tomato

• Speaking of rainwater management, I have begun work on a rain barrel system to catch and store the water that runs off the roof and into the gutters.  This is water that can be used to water the plants, such as the annuals all around the property in pots.  It can, in a pinch, be used to water the crops, but such a process will be slow, unless we figure out a way to make it faster than filling a bucket at a time.  I also feel the water can be used to water the poultry and waterfowl, which can tolerate rainwater.  I am not sure about the goats just yet.
 

 
• On the crop front, this year has been rough so far.  Though I am pleased to say that everything that needed to get into the ground got in the ground when it should have (despite the second full time job), the weather has been interesting, and some things are struggling.  Lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, peas, garlic, cucumbers and the strawberries all seem to be doing well, but other things are not.  The peppers and eggplant are both in their second planting, as the first one pretty much failed.  The beans and corn are limping along, and I have had an outbreak of cucumber beetles unlike anything I have ever seen, and the winter squash have suffered because of it.  I am concerned, but still hopeful.  Last year was a weird one for weather as well, but it still managed to work out.  I am hoping it will be the same again.

The dry beans are pretty much a no-show

• On the meatbird front, the Cornish Cross were butchered a couple of weeks ago, and we got some huge chickens from it.  There were a couple over 8 pounds, and a few that were nearly 8 pounds.  In all, a good harvest weight-wise, but we lost too many birds this time.  I can't point out a reason for it, but it did not go well.  It has made me re-think where I purchase the birds from, as my "go-to" hatchery seems to have failed me.  In truth, I have started to re-think the Cornish Cross altogether, as the price of grain is going up and up and up, and those guys eat a lot.  Yes, we love the birds, but cost of the grain is going to make them infeasible.  Instead, I look at the Delaware crosses we have running around, and I wonder if I'm seeing the future.  They eat very little in concentrated grain.  Instead, they forage constantly and pull what they need from the land.  This will be extremely useful in the future, as the prices continue to rise.  So as a side project, we have started to select the best of the ones we have, and we will breed them to others that we have to see if we can get a really nice chicken out of it.  It will not be on par with the Cornish Cross size-wise, but getting a good tasting bird with a nice amount of meat on it is really all we need.  We just need to rearrange our thinking a little.

The wave of the future?

• Dulcinea is a milk machine, and Lilly is up to bat come Saturday, so it's been a big cheese making time here.  Yesterday I made some cheddar, which is my go-to cheese when I have a lot of milk and a little time.  We eat a LOT of cheddar, so making it is high up on my list of things I like to make and turn out.  Yesterday, though, I decided to use the Anatto extract I had to color it orange.  When my kids were little, and we bought American Cheese (we no longer do), they would BEG for the orange cheese.  And, of course, most cheese in the supermarket is orange.  But when the cheese I was making was being made, I have to tell you that the orange color freaked me out a bit.  It is a really odd color for cheese.  It made me think about who in the hell thought cheese should be orange in the first place, and why.  It seems really strange to me, and the weirdest thing was how I accepted all along that cheese was orange--which of course, it isn't.  I know, odd thoughts.  But sufficed to say, I think coloring cheese orange is really weird, and I won't be repeating it.  And I guess, if I ever need to buy cheese from the supermarket again, I will really think twice about that color.  Point is, did you ever think of how many odd things we accept?  I bet you're thinking about it now!

• And speaking of questioning things and accepting things, I would urge you to read the June/July issue of Mother Earth News.  This time around they wrote articles about the lack of nutrition in the foods we eat and the "Green Revolution".  It gave me a lot to think about.  I have known for a long time that the reason agriculture has tootled along for so long was because of fossil fuel inputs (fertilizer), and that the fossil fuels are getting harder to find.  This, of course, means that food will become harder to find, when there is no "quick and dirty" way to prop the system up.  Knowing this is why I have chosen to do what I do--I have children.  I want to provide for them.  What I never realized was how nutritionally deficient those mass-farmed foods really are, and how bad that really is for all of us.  It gave me yet another reason to redouble my efforts. 

I will also add, that if you are feeling low, Joel Salatin's article in this same issue will give you a boost.  I take a lot of flack from people about growing as many things as I do, and keeping as many animals as I keep.  Whether it's a family member wondering "why I would bother" with all the animals, or a coworker telling me "how much work" this all is, there is a lot of pressure to conform.  I've been called crazy, I've been laughed at.  Mostly people just shake their heads and walk away, discussion over. 

Discouraging as it can be sometimes, I have always just looked at what I do as "opting out" of a system of which I did not want to be a part.  I do not want to contribute to the destruction of our planet as much as others might do (I cannot deny that I use fossil fuels, though I try to minimize our usage).  I do not want to rely solely on others for food.  I do not want my husband or children doing those things either.  So I do things for myself, I teach my children to do things for themselves, and I ask my husband to lend a hand and do things as well.  And we do them as naturally and "low-tech" as possible.  Truly, I always saw myself as sort of a chicken--I opt out and therefore cannot be counted.  I am silent in my dissent.  Salatin suggests, however, that those who opt-out are truly a sort of rebel.  That saying no says a lot, and perhaps more than marching around and saying it out loud for all to hear.  Reading this was kind of profound for me.  Who knew I was a rebel?  Definitely not me.

Icky and Tor is seepin'  :)

So read the magazine, it's worth your time. Don't take too much time, though, it's growing season, and we've got work to do!

Expectant

This time of year is always so expectant.

Expectant of the spring to come.

Expectant of the life rising up from the earth again.

Expectant of the lives that will come from lives already here.

Expectant.

Even though we are snowed IN,

The stream is between the tree on your right and the first tree on your left.  Nope, you can't see it, I know.

having received another triple-headed snowstorm on top of the one we already had,

spring is coming.  There are plants growing under lights in the dining room, and plans for the year are being made.

So, no doubt about it.

On top of that, two of my girls are expectant as well.  Thanks to these two gentlemen,

Max on the left, Stu on the right.  I don't know which is "daddy"

Dulcinea now looks like this:

(No, she's probably not thankful.  Understandably so).

When I look at last year's pic, when I thought she might have been pregnant,

 

Last year's pic of an unpregnant Dulci.

but she was not, I am happy to say that Dulcinea is expectant too.  Due date?  April 7th.  We'll see if she sticks with it.

Lilly is also expectant, I believe.  She's not due until late May, but she's kinda-sorta showing.  She's drying up like gangbusters, which is not great, and dances on the milking stand like it's going out of style.  I taking that to mean she's also expectant, but I'm waiting until she pops to be sure.  If so, Lilly can expect this to be just about the last time she has to be expectant, since she's one of my CAE girls, and I'd prefer not to risk her, when there are 4 others who are clean to take her place.  At the very least, she will earn a break.  

On the other fronts?  I expect to get outside in the next two days to tap trees, as I am very, very late because of snowstorms.  I also expect to be seeding about 100 broccoli and 100 cauliflower plants this week, as it's that time already.  I also expect, honestly, to run out of room to put all these things because 200 seedlings on top of what's already growing is A LOT of seedlings in a limited space.  I expect to worry about this, since I already am worrying.  Might as well avoid the rush.

Also, at the end of the month, I expect to order the first batch of meatbirds to arrive next month, as well as a number of Delawares which I expect to be our sustainable meatbird of choice.  At least, I hope that's how it's going to work out.  I can't tell at all if it will, as I've only dealt with the Cornish Cross, but I am hoping that the Delawares will live up to their feed conversion ratios and become some good looking birds meaty birds who will be able to reproduce themselves and therefore keep us in chicken ad infinitum.

We'll see.

I also expect to figure out what to do about the turkey situation, as that would really be a nice addition to our stores, but NO WAY am I doing that whole turkey thing like I did back in 2012.  What a mess that was.  I expect this time, now that I've had experience, to turn out better.

So yep, expectant.  That's this time of year in a nutshell.  Is it the same for you??

And It Goes Round and Round and Round

Ah, my friends, how I have missed writing for you.  It has been so insane here as of late, I have not had a chance.  Forgive me.  I appreciate all your comments on my bear "mishap".  I have put together one hive, and partly the green hive (ie: the hive of death), but they hate me and stung me and I'm all blown up like an elephant right now, so I can go no further.  They will be put back together, somehow.  In the meantime, and while all this has gone on, it has become fall.  The wheel of the year has turned again, and here she is.  I love fall.  I love the leaves turning, the nip in the air, the smell of the trees.  Maybe not so much getting up in the pitch black, but it's all a trade. 

Many different things have been happening around here lately.  For one, we finally finished processing the meatbirds on Saturday.  At 9 weeks old, the birds we processed were over 6 pounds, with a very few exceptions.  This made up for the processing we did the week before, where all the birds were just over 4 pounds a piece.  Terrible.  But that extra week we waited gave us some gorgeous, meaty birds who were just beautiful when done.  Our tally?  For 23 birds, we "harvested" 122 pounds of meat.  Not too shabby.

Fatty, fatty fat birds

However (and there's always a however, isn't there?), we had more leg problems with this batch than ever before.  I started this batch with 27 birds.  One was lost to a hawk.  Three were lost to leg issues.  They stopped walking and just wasted away, basically.  Very interesting, as I've never had that happen before.  As in, EVER.  I also noticed that when they were butchered, the birds' livers were not the strong blue-red color I am used to.  They were instead a rusty red color.  I have looked into this, and I have found that it means "nothing".  However, I think it must have a significance, and may somehow be related to the fact that a few of them stopped walking at 7 weeks and just died (or got so bad I had to assist).  I don't know.  But I am concerned that perhaps my "go to" hatchery should not be, or possibly my "go to" birds should be different.  Come spring, when I start again, I am going to do an experiment and have partly the Cornish Cross that I'm fond of (they make a delicious bird, no matter what you've heard), and partly another breed, possibly one of those Freedom Ranger breeds.  I will run them together to see how it goes.  Then we'll see what we see. 

In either case, I am going to be running the birds in a sled, and I'm going to be sure that I have 52 birds to eat, no matter what.  We've become a Sunday chicken family, so 52 weeks=52 chickens.  And fat, big chickens=two meals for the price of one, so that's the goal.  Now that I know it, I'm going for it.  Next year will be the year of experimental year, and getting the system down.  It's all so worth it though, because if on Sunday I can see this:



Wackadoodle children are also homegrown.

I've done my job right.  Yes, that there is a completely home grown/homemade meal-except for the butter, as my son likes to point out.  Meals like this are getting to be a more common occurrence here, and it is always a beautiful sight.   THAT means I'm doing my job.  And that feels really good.

Now, oddly enough, I spent the whole morning/early afternoon taking life, but in the afternoon I got to help bring life in.

I have seen the circle turn in this way many times, but not often this fast.  Yes, this is Saracat--AGAIN.  Saracat was scheduled to be spayed, and disappeared on us.  Disappeared for long enough that I cancelled the appointment.  Generally, if our outdoor cats are gone for over a week, they don't come back.  It's the sad truth of the life of the outdoor cat, unfortunately.  Of course, weeks later, Saracat DID come back, and not alone, either.  By that time, it was too late, and I had to wait for nature to take it's course.  It did, on Saturday.  Saracat brought two littles into the world, one grey and white male, and one black female.  I assisted with the births--Saracat is crappy at giving birth--pushing is not her "thing".  The grey and white came normally, but the black came out backwards.  A black female cat, born backwards, on the eve of the Autumn Solstice, on a day of (pretty much) destruction?  That one stays--and comes inside.  I'm not superstitious, but how many more signs do you need?  I know enough to know that's significant in some way.  I'm waiting for her to pick her name.  I'll let you know when she does.

In other news, I am proud to announce the broody coop works beautifully.  Those girls sure can brood!  In fact, a couple of weeks ago, Louise brooded this:

The happy family

Feisty little thing that it is.  Louise continues to be a blue-ribbon mama, even staying outside in downpours with the little one under her wing because the little bit couldn't get up the ramp to go into the coop.  Louise would be soaked, but that baby would be dry as a bone.  Good girl.

And if you remember that I told you a while back that the backyard rabbits did not work into the flow of the homestead, well, I've remedied it.  I gave away Bunnicula and Robert A Cavataugh to a nice girl who had two females who looked almost exactly like these boys.  That was a good thing.  She was thrilled, and they will be well cared for.  Petunia I sold for a pittance to a man who raises rabbits for meat.  She will not be eaten, but bred for babies (who will be eaten).  Petunia is a beautiful girl, and I'm glad to see her come to some use.  We would not eat the rabbits, so she served no purpose here.  I know she will have a good life.  Busy, maybe, but good. 

The man who came to pick her up was very impressed and very complimentary about the homestead.  We had a lovely conversation, and he kept saying "Wow, you guys are doing it!"  Yes, I guess we are.  I never get to see this place through someone else's eyes, so it's nice to, every once in a while.  Or, I should say, when I get to see this place through someone else's eyes, it's usually to hear "Why would you do that?  It's so much WORK!!"  Yeah, let's just agree to disagree.  But when you get to meet someone who gets it--really gets it--it's a treat.  And it helped me to be a little more proud of what I do here and feel good that maybe, in some small way, I can make a difference.  In fact, it helped me see this place a little differently myself, and maybe that's a good thing.

To wrap it up, I'm going to talk about my favorite animals--the goats!  Shocking, right?  Well, I have not had a lot of time to spend with my babies lately, because of work, but I keep on milking, and Lilly keeps on producing, and so I've graduated to hard cheeses.  Voila!

 

Farmhouse cheddar--possibly.  We'll see.  Anyway, I have jury-rigged a press with some PVC and a whole crapload of bricks, but it's extremely stupid and falls down, which is also stupid.  I'm buying myself a cheese press, folks, watch me.  My intention was to have the goats provide all our milk (check) cheese (almost check-working on it) and butter (not check), so I need the equipment.  It's quite an investment, but I think it's a sound one.

Anyway, concerning the goats....I have been thinking about how to get them to be able to eat more from the land without too much in the way of additional inputs, like hay or grain.  Grain is always going to be a thing, I fear, because if you want milk you need to feed for milk.  Fair enough.  Hay is also a necessity, but it doesn't go as far as it should.  So I have devised a solution of sorts--leaves.  Like this:

The Minerva Family hard at it

The Lilly Family looking for Frosted Mini Wheats---just in case I have any

Dry leaves have many uses on a homestead; as compost, mulch, or to build beds.  However, they can also be used to feed your goats.  Goats LOVE dry leaves, a fact I discovered last year.  So I asked my husband to blow a big pile next to the girls' fence, so they can stick their heads out and eat.  But of course they can't share, so the pile, no matter how big, is not big enough.  Plus, the boys don't get a pile, as they are located in a yard behind the girls' yard.  So I did this in both yards:

 

 

Classy, elegant, timeless. That, friends, is a couple of recycled feed bags with a half circle cut out of them, hung from a fence and stuffed with leaves.  Goat sticks head in half circle, goat eats leaves.  That's the idea.  The truth?  One goat sticks head into half circle and eats leaves, another goat sticks head in TOP of bag while standing on the fence (or the other goat) and eats leaves.  Then goats fight over said bag, while mondo PILE of leaves on the other side of the gate sits forgotten.  That's what really happens--don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

I can't take credit for the bag idea--I saw it at the fair, made out of old pillowcases, which the owners had stuffed with hay for their goats and sheep.  But I don't have pillowcases, and in any case did not want them outside to get icky, so I used feedbags.  The goats LOVE it.  If you have goats, trees, and old feedbags, I would recommend this.  Try it.  Your goats will love you for it.  And you'll go through far less hay, promise.

I loves dry leaves!!  If only Minerva the Mean would let me have some...

And that, as they say, is that.  I leave you with this picture of a rose called Koko Loko.  Stupid name, pretty flower.  I hope you all have a great night!

Keep on Keepin' On

Hello my friends!

Long time, no talk!  The days have been keeping me so busy lately, and by the time the night comes, I am D-O-N-E.  Harvest time is great, but OH! so exhausting.

It's already September 10th, amazingly.  My kids went back to school last Friday, my daughter to sixth grade and the middle school, and my son to fourth grade.  It's been a transition, because my daughter's bus comes at 6:30 in the morning, meaning she has to get up at 5 or 5:30.  It's been rough on her, and on me.  She, like me, is NOT a morning person.  We would like to sleep all day, thank you very much.  That's not in the cards, however, so up and at 'em we go.  In order for me to get her to the bus on time, she's been helping me in the mornings.  I go out at 5:30 to feed and milk the goats, and she comes out at 6 to feed the other animals.  By the time 6:15 rolls around, we're done and ready to go to the bus. 

That's the theory, anyway.

Daughter would not stand still for a picture, so I put this one up instead.  :)  If she ever finds out, she's going to be thrilled.

I'll let you know if that ever works out exactly like that.  So far, we've come close, but not quite.

My son gets on the bus after 8, so it's head back and get him ready time soon after.  Busy?  Nah.  Why do you ask??

Sneakers on my son (far left) and his friends.  The dang things are BRIGHT.  The 80's are back, no?

 

Son and husband.  He would sort of stand still for pictures.

 

In the milking news, Lilly was milking out smaller and smaller amounts every day.  I'd put her on the stand and get a cup or so in the morning, and in the afternoon, a squirt or two.  It was getting ridiculous, and knowing my history with Min, I was worried Lilly was going the same way.  Ah, but Lilly is feeding Tallulah.  And Tallulah, is, in a word, gigantic.  And though Tallulah will eat feed and hay and whatnot, I had a feeling that little miss was sucking her mama dry--at least that was the hope.  So, as Tallulah is now 9 weeks old+, I decided the gravy train has left the station, and taped Lilly's teats to prevent her from suckling.  And the next morning, Lilly gave me damn near 1/2 a gallon.  Hello!

Yep, that little vampire was getting all the milk.  And it is obvious when you look at her, because though she's younger than Amelia and Olive, she's bigger than Amelia and Olive (who were bottle fed).  Yes, it makes a very big difference in how the animal grows when mama has fed/not fed her.  I've always thought so, and I have proof living in the pen outside.  Very interesting.  Tallulah, by the by, is not super thrilled with the non-access to mama's teats, but she's getting used to it.  She has peeled the tape off her favorite teat twice, forcing me to use stickier tape (making me feel bad for Lilly, because ouch!!), but for the most part, she goes in for the nurse, sees the tape, makes the "damn" face and walks away.  So, I am super thrilled to say that my Lilly, she who will not stand still on the milking stand, don't ask her, not even if she's FULL to bursting, and not even for Frosted Mini Wheats,  is a 3/4 a gallon a day milker and then some.  Go Lilly, go!!!

On the boys' side of things, Stewart is a stinky, stinky man who is very happy when Dulcinea comes into the pen with him, and when she does not, he's very happy to make due with Max, who is not happy about that at all.   Understandably so, I think.  Max has been coping with the unwanted attention by eating and eating until he's about as large around as he is long.  Poor boy.  Someone should tell him he can't drown his sorrows in food. 

As Dulcinea is still playing coy with Stewart (though I think he may have been successful one day a week or so ago), I have been trying to find Stewart other employment by pimping him out.  No dice.  Do I understand that? No.  But interestingly, I got an email just this morning offering me $200 for him (to purchase).  Um....no.  The offer makes me wonder many things, but that would be a long story.  Instead, let me explain why the "no" response on my part.

Stewart--who smells, granted-- is in fact, a gorgeous specimen of Nubian buckhood.  He's gigantic, beautifully muscled, his face is well proportioned, his nose very roman-y, and his carriage is fantastic.  I would never show him, because I didn't buy him for that and don't care about it, but it's all very obvious that he is showable even to a novice like me.  Because of his gorgeous buckishness, he throws beautiful babies.  Stewart is a sweet boy, and though he's food aggressive, is very easily handled by anyone with two legs not carrying a feed scoop.  Stewart is a ready breeder, and the number of offspring that Stewart will produce in his lifetime will be worth more than $200.  And did I mention the yodeling?  World class!  He can out yodel anyone, anytime.  Thankfully, though, this trait does not pass down.  Tallulah makes an Alpine "maa".  Hallelujah!  I mean...oh well.  I wouldn't want anyone stealing his thunder!!!

Also, not having Stewart and only keeping Max means A) lonely Max and B) having to pay occasionally to get my girls bred, which would cost a lot in the long run.  I'd rather not have to pay at all, or worry that I may have missed a heat cycle and bred at the wrong time.  Biggest reason, though?  Because I want to keep the production of my goats here, on my own homestead.  And I'm really picky about who my girls are bred to.  Having Stewart and Max somewhat ensures me that I will have a milk supply.  Yes, I have two boys.  But, as was said in the book I am currently reading (and I think it's spot on); "Two is one, and one is none", when thinking about animal stockage.  Damn right.  I have learned that lesson the hard way, more than once.  So my stinky, stinky Stewart stays (say that three times fast), and sorry to whomever emailed about him. 

I smell bad!!

Max, by the way, round as he is (I give him grief about it, but it's all rumen), is getting to be quite a looker as well.  I'm a lucky, lucky gal, surrounded by these two handsome four-legged men!

In other news, the meat birds are ready to be processed, so this weekend we are going to process some for my family who needs smaller birds, and then stuff the others for another week and finish up next weekend for the birds for us.  My husband and I are hoping to get some very large ones for our table this year, which we don't do easily because we have the birds forage during the day.  I believe it keeps them much healthier, and they are very active, but though they retain a lot of the muscle they put on, they do tend to burn calories moving around as much as they do, so it takes a bit longer to get them really big.  I expect this batch this weekend to weigh in around 4.5-5 pounds, finished, but I'm hoping to get another half pound or so on the rest for the following weekend.  I like to have the chickens last for two meals, if I can.  The bigger they are, the easier that will be. 

Next year I will be putting the birds in chicken sleds, and moving them around that way.  I have plans in my head for how to do this, and if it is successful with the chickens, I will put a few turkeys in them (Midget Whites) and try that.  Wait and see is all I can say.  Actually, I'm eager to see if it's going to work as well!

The bees are limping along, and not doing particularly well, and not particularly badly.  I bought mite strips to treat them, becasue I think that might be some of the problem, but I have to tell you I was taken aback when I saw all the frikkin warnings on the things.  Don't touch them, don't breathe them in, don't touch you if you touch them, watch out for eye seerage if you look at them too long (ok, maybe not that one), that sort of thing.  A million warnings.  What kind of crap is that stuff?  I am hesitant to use them, but I was told by the bee guy at the bee store that treating them might be the only way to help them.  HUH?  I'm not sure how dumping toxic waste onto them is helpful.  So, I'm still considering.  Either way, they will need feeding this fall and winter, that much is very clear to me.  Sigh.  I am hoping that they will pull through the winter.  If not, I will be giving up bees.  Two expensive losses is one too many.

I have gone on long enough, I think.  I hope you all have a lovely day, and I will be back soon!  Take care!

D! O! N! E!

Yes we are!  Done with meatbirds for the year.  Ahhhhhh....  that's so nice. 

Hubby and I finished up on Saturday, processing the last 16.  It was a long day.  More than once I found my mind drifting to next weekend's fiber festival, and thinking "Won't it be nice NOT to have to do this next weekend?"  Oh yes, it will.

Out of the 35 we had, many have already been sold, but we have quite a few in the freezer for us for the winter.  Our grand total for this adventure?  195.81 pounds of chicken.  An average of 5.59 pounds per bird.  Not bad. 

The interesting thing about this batch was that it was a week between last processing and this processing, and the birds were remarkably different.  Feathers that came off easily last week, didn't this week.  Body cavities which were roomy-ish last week were unbelievably tight this week.  The birds were near 11 weeks old--3 weeks older than I like.  In retrospect, it was lucky they all made it to this point without incident, but they were too old.  What a hassle getting them plucked.  I finally skinned the last one, just because it was way too stubbly, and I just couldn't be bothered.  Chicken soup, anyone?

I went to their pen yesterday and cleaned out their waterers and feeders in the stream.   I admit, I was a little misty-eyed over it.  I had come to like this batch.  They were incredibly active-- most of the time they were in the garden in front, or mooching food off the layers on the other side of the yard.  They actually went into their houses at night (ish), and they were feisty as all hell.  But, what are you going to do?  They were meant for a different destiny, and have gone to chicken happy land.

And I am glad to say that we're done for the year.  Next year?  We'll see.  If the price of feed goes up the way it's starting to, we'll have to reassess.  Ugh. 

Well, 'till next time!

Creating Food

Well, yesterday was their day.  The meatballs, who were large and roundish, were processed.
The total?  82.28 pounds of clean, fresh, chicken.

15 birds in total, gave us an average of 5.49 pounds a bird.  This is higher than our last average of the 13 we did, which were 69.71 pounds, an average of 5.36 pounds a bird.  It doesn't seem like a huge difference until you take into account that there were 2 more birds this time, and that last time we had 7 come out under 5 pounds.  This time we only had 3 come out under 5 pounds.  Yep, 5 pounds is the number I like to see.  Seems like a good one to me.

Pretty damn good.  Wanna see?

Before shrinking the bags.

It was a long day yesterday, but totally worth it.  We got the processing done in 5 1/2 hours, which is much faster than last time--that took about 8 and change and it was 2 fewer birds.  We once again used the Power Plucker on the electric drill, and our biggest challenge was getting the scald water to the right temp and keeping it there.  And the traffic cones?  They were history.  My mother sent me a gift of two beautiful galvanized cones which we used instead.  They were fantastic, and only one bird threatened to flip his way out of them.  They were fighters, these guys.  It's getting interesting what types of gifts I get now.  I got eviscerating knives from my husband at Christmas, and kill cones from my mother.  Hmmm.....  I'm not sure what that says about me.

My husband did try his hand at the processing, but said it was not for him.  And that's ok.  I got pretty fast.  It still is not the most fun I could have, processing birds, but I have to say that more than once I reflected on the fact that I was glad I knew how to--and could--do it.  Honest food created honestly.   It's a good feeling.

All shrunk and ready for the deep freeze.

Overall, this batch was much better than the last.  Even though it was insanely hot, these guys were troopers.  They gained weight like champs and foraged (as was proven by the contents of their gizzards) a lot of grass and greens.  There was very little grain in them, which makes me happy, and I'm wondering if there will be a difference in the taste.  Though meat birds have to be fed to support their insane metabolism, these guys didn't rely on the grain as heavily as the last batch.  That will cause me to order the last batch of birds from the same hatchery.  Birds that can glean from their surroundings are the type of bird I like to see.

And yep, we fed others with this group aside from ourselves.  We are only keeping 6.  9 will be going to new homes to be enjoyed.  Yesterday my husband and I discussed the number for next time.  We'll probably up it to 30 or 35 birds.  We have orders for several already, and since we're done with birds after this batch, we have to make it all the way to May before the next batch would be ready.  That's a long time, so we need to have enough for winter. 

That'll be a two day processing, though.  No way would I do that in a day.  It would be a VERY long one.

Today, because yesterday I created food kind of destructively, I decided to create food constructively.  I canned.

Pickles, peaches, and mock pineapple.

I love that "ting" noise the tops make!!!

Half of the cucumbers came from the garden, the other half from the farmer's market.  The zucchini came out of the garden, too (for the mock pineapple), but the peaches were completely from the farmer's market.  We got no fruit blossoms at all this year--I blame the crappy winter.

It is getting so that I feel like I'm cheating when I go to the farmer's market to buy produce.  All the farms are local, so I feel good about that, but I didn't grow the food, so it feels like I'm cheating.  It's funny how my attitude towards food production has changed so much over the short time.  I never would have batted an eye at buying from the farmer's market before--in fact, I would have patted myself on the back for it.  But now, I feel like a total cheat, even though I'm still doing all the work.  I know, go ahead and roll your eyes.  It's weird.  I can't help it, though.

I wonder if there's farmer therapy somewhere.  Or maybe I should just grow a larger garden.  That might be cheaper in the long run.

Anywho, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Linking up to Homestead Barn Hop

Meatball Version 2.0

We're on our second batch of meatballs here at Chicken Scratch, and they are doing just fine so far.  This Saturday is the day for them.  The.  Day.  You know what I mean.  We started off with 16, and had one get out of their yard and stuck in some fencing, where it dehydrated and died.  I cursed a blue streak at not finding it in time.

I am so ladylike sometimes. 

But besides that, they've been pretty good.  This batch, which is from a different hatchery, has been far more active than the last.  Unless their weights are low at the end of the day (THE day), I'll be ordering the next-and last- batch from them again.

Round birds=Meatballs

They range far and wide and spend less time at the feeders than their predecessors.  Though they sit down a lot, they actually get around pretty well.  Much less rundling with this batch than the last.  They use their legs much better than the others did.

I sometimes wonder if it's the turkeys influence on them.  They share their pasture with the turkeys, and though the turkeys don't stay in the pasture (they can fly really well, something I did not expect), they do hang out a lot of the day with the meatballs.

Comingling at the feeder, turkey and chicken butts together

I sometimes laugh at the "system" the meatballs have.  They have pasture, but I also throw weeds in the yard, too.  They like the greens, and there are always bugs.  They will dig a little and then sit down.  Then they let the others dig, like this:

And once something is dug up, they move in and gulp it down.

I know, they don't show a lot of action in these pictures.  But I thought it was pretty clever the way they know to wait until the others do the work for them, whether it be an egg layer, or a turkey.

Then they get the good treat at the end.

Not stupid.

Speaking of turkeys, they are gettting l-a-r-g-e. 

This is Gus

Gus likes the camera.
"Well, I'm handsome.  Why shouldn't I?"

Out of the four Naragansetts, we seem to have 3 males and a female.  Gus is the first one I could identify as male.  He LOVES to show off.  Turkey boy, in that picture above, is also male and the one Gus likes to fight with occasionally.  I believe I saw one of the others flaring at me (I'm attractive to turkeys, I guess) a few days back, and it was not Gus (who's banded) or Turkey Boy (who's gigantic and easy to spot).  The last Naragansett hasn't shown off and is a slightly different coloration than the other three, which makes me think "female".  It won't surprise me, however, if I am completely wrong.

And Great White?

Great White is 12 pounds, if she's an ounce, and I believe also a female.  Again, I could be completely wrong.  She doesn't fly well, due to her large stature, but loves to keep up with the littler ones.

At 11 weeks, it is really something to see how big she really is.

Great White is slated to be Thanksgiving dinner, but I will find no pleasure in that.  Not that I do, anyway.  Great White has quite a personality, which I was unprepared for.  The Naragansetts will be sticking around, unless there is one male too many, because though they sit on the roof of the house, and dig in my flowers on the porch, and eat like pigs, they are some of the sweetest animals on the place.

Yep, I was surprised about that as well.

So, it goes as it goes.  I'll let you know how the day turns out on Saturday!  Until then, stay cool!  We've got a scorcher (another one) here!