Piglets

We finally located a livestock auction that sells feeder meat pigs.  I had no idea this would be so difficult in the area we live.  Growing up just 40 minutes south of where we currently live, everyone had pigs.  There were a few commercial pig farms too.  Now that we want some of our own, you'd think we were trying to purchase something illegal.

But lo and behold, we found them.  The auction house sell pigs on the 4th Tuesday of each month.  So in preparation for the bid day, Dan built a frame to go around his pickup bed to contain the pigs for the journey home.  Of all days, I had to go into the office on auction day, so Danny went with Dan to make the purchase.  They headed out around 9am to make the hour and fifteen minute trek south.  After getting setup with his number at the auction house, they proceeded in for the showing.  They watched a few sales trying to figure out how the process worked then they brought out a lot of 5 pigs - 4 gilts and 1 barrow.  The auction started and after a little bit of no bids the auctioneer lowered the price.  Again, no bids so the auctioneer lowered the price again.  Dan decided to bid.  Within seconds, the auctioneer deemed Dan the winner.  We had our pigs!  They drove to the back of the building, loaded up the pigs and started making their way back home. 

Dan and Danny arrived home around 1pm.  They setup the electric fencing, got feed and water setup and started unloading the piglets.  When Dan set them down they appeared to have never seen the green stuff they were on.  After a just a little bit they realized the green stuff (aka grass, weeds, etc) was edible.  We can only guess that the first few weeks of their lives were on a commercial farm and were fed from a feed lot.  It's such a good feeling knowing that we took them from that and brought them to an environment where they can run and play, eat greens and whatever else their snouts find.  They immediately seemed happy and very sociable.  They come up to us to be scratched, eat out of our hands and romp around us.

Here are a few picture shortly after their arrival...

And here is Dan watching the piglets and you can see the enclosure he made for the truck...

Sliced meats

More than once the words "I wish we had a meat slicer" have been muttered by Dan. We long ago stopped buying grocery store lunch meat since most of it is some type of 'loaf' and chock-full of nitrates, chemicals and other artificial additives, and way too much salt. Unfortunately, we both really love meat sandwiches. Now that we're raising broilers and pigs it seemed to make sense to go ahead and purchase a slicer. Dan set out to find the perfect one. We didn't want a home-grade kitchen slicer as none of the reviews make them out to be quality appliances. We (Dan especially) does not purchase items made in China for a variety of reasons. This drastically reduced our options. After much research, Dan decided on a restaurant-grade Bertel brand made in Italy. The downside is that Bertel's run about $1400 new. So, he's been watching eBay for a used model and lo and behold, a Bertel finally appeared. On the last day there were still no bids. He waited until the last few minutes (yes, he's a sniper!) and placed his bid. The slicer was ours for a fraction of the cost of a new one!

Today we cooked two broilers on the rotisserie of our grill. One for dinner and one to slice for sandwiches. As for dinner, we all agreed it was the best chicken we've ever eaten. Ever. Period. After dinner he brought out the new toy, er I mean slicer. He started slicing beautiful pieces of chicken breast. Next he scoured the fridge for a block of cheese to slice. It sliced up beautifully as well. I foresee lots of sandwiches this coming week.

Here is our behemoth slicer in action....

Egg count

28 large eggs and 31 smaller eggs = 59

Baby bunnies!!!

We've been expecting doe #1 to kindle her babies any day now.  Yesterday she started pulling fur in preparation of her delivery.  However, this morning we still had no babies.  I went back out to check around 9:30 and we had little, pink, fuzzy balls in the nest box. 

I ran back in the house and grabbed my Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits book to see if there was anything I needed to do.  The book said now is the time to give momma a treat.  I ran inside and grabbed a carrot and gave it to her.  She immediately started munching.  The book says while momma is preoccupied with her snack, you can move the box to see how many babies you have (but don't touch them with your fingers so you don't leave your scent on them).  I nudged around and counted 8 babies, which is perfect because that's how many teats momma has.  Then the book said if momma didn't cover the babies with the fur she pulled to do it for her so the babies stay warm. She didn't very well, so I covered them up. Lastly, it says momma needs lots of peace and quiet, so I'm trying to stay away to give them some privacy.  I've checked on them a few times today and each time momma is laying outside the box.  I'm afraid she hasn't nursed them, or isn't sure what to do.  The little babies are active though.  Eyes closed, they are crawling over each other.  It's nearly 100 degrees heat index outside, so Dan thinks momma might be staying out to keep them from getting too hot.  We'll just have to let nature take it's course.

Momma preoccupied with her carrot...

Close-up of babies...

Mmm... blueberries

Last year we planted a few blueberry bushes.  Most have withered away, but this one is not only healthy, but is producing fruit for us this year.  Now, if we only had about 20 more plants like this!

Chicken processing day

Today we processed 18 Cornish Crosses we started raising just 7 weeks ago. Cornish Crosses are your typical American chicken you find in the grocery store. I'm truly amazed at how fast these birds grow. With that said, I don't think we're going to raise them again. We had no issue with the birds, only an internal struggle as to how humane it is to raise them. These birds are bred to put on weight quickly. Which they do. But, by about 4-5 weeks we noticed they had a hard time walking. It's because their bodies are growing at a faster rate than their legs, muscles, heart, etc. can keep up with. It's really kind of sad that the desire to free range has been bred out of them in order to give us those beautiful big breasts and legs we desire. We've found another breed that grows at a slower, more natural rate. We're looking forward to experimenting with this breed next.

However, these birds are raised and we are quite sure they will indeed be tasty! The last time on butchering day, we went to the coop and grabbed two birds at a time, which put stress on the birds not being processed and wasted time. So, Dan built some transport crates to load up all the birds at once and carry them over to the processing site. This worked really well:

I should also mention that we processed one turkey that had leg issues. He was healthy as could be, but he was born with splayed legs (they grow out instead of down) and we just couldn't bear to watch him grow like that. And the other turkeys were starting to peck at him. Poor little fella!

We also processed our rooster, Big Boy. After deciding to keep one of the Barred Rock cockerels, we read they can be very aggressive. And indeed he was! The Ladies particularly didn't like him and the Girls that were raised with him only tolerated him. We decided to process him while he was still fairly young. We're going to replace him with a more docile breed that will be raised amongst all the hens, so hopefully they will all get along.

Egg count

Ladies: 24
Girls: 16
Total this week: 40

Green eggs and ham

Well, not really the ham part, but we do have a green egg!  We recently got our first egg from one of our new Ameraucana layers.  They are nicknamed an Easter Egg chicken because they naturally lay eggs with a green and/or blue hue.  I'm not entirely sure how nature does it, but it's pretty amazing looking.  Here are three little eggs from our new layers, all with distinctive hues.

Our first harvest

Here is our first harvest from the garden this year...

Egg count

Our new girls started laying this week.  The eggs are little bitty, so I can tell who is laying what.  Of course the Ameraucana's are blue and green, so we'll always know who is laying those.  As long as I can tell the difference, I'll log them here seperately.  I'll get a picture up soon to show you.

Ladies: 22
Girls: 3
Total this week: 25

Mmm... yogurt!

A little while back you may recall I made a huge batch of yogurt.  Considerably more than two people can eat.  Fortunately, chickens LOVE yogurt and the bacteria in it is really good for them.  As it started to get a bit sour, we decided to give the new layers their first taste of yogurt.  It didn't take them long to discover they couldn't get enough of it...

Of course, I didn't want the Ladies to be jealous, so they got a little yogurt too.  Check out the milk-moustache they're sporting...

Small vs. Large

Here is a tiny egg from our new layers next to one of the Ladies eggs.  We can't wait until the new layers are laying full steam ahead.

Nest boxes

In preparation for our newest batch of layers, Dan is building a new set nest boxes.  And the timing is perfect because I found a tiny brown egg on the coop floor today!  We thought we were going to have it ready in plenty of time since the layers are only 19 weeks old.  We figured we had at least another week or two, but like with most of our animals, we're continually amazed.

Finally, some rain

After nearly two weeks of weather forecasts saying we should get some rain, I think we finally have some on the way.

Completed brooder

It's a thing of beauty!  And the turkeys seem to love it.  I love being able to lift the roof to feed and water them.  It's the simple things in life that make me happy.

YTD Egg Stats

Total eggs in May: 149

Total eggs YTD: 619.  Divide by 12 = 51.5 dozen

51 dozen multiplied by an average grocery store cost of $3 = $153 retail value

Not too shabby for 5 hens!  I can't wait until the other 20 (yes, twenty!) hens start laying in June!

Bunnies!!!

The past few weeks, we've been breeding bunnies.  We have 4 does and so far we've bred:
Bunny #1 on 5/16
Bunny #2 on 5/23
Bunny #3 on 5/30

We will breed Bunny # 4 on 6/6. 

Bunnies have a 30-day gestation, so Bunny #1 should have babies on or around 6/15 and the next three weeks, we should have a litter from the others.  An average size litter is 6-10 kits.  Over the next 1 1/2 months, we'll potentially have around 40 more bunnies to raise, which will be for meat.  We've both only had rabbit in restaurants - we've never had it fresh, nor have we ever cooked it ourselves, so I'm anticipating some experimenting will need to be done.  Hope we like rabbit!

Egg count

30 eggs this week.

Building a brooder

We are currently in the process of building a permanent brooder for small poultry.  Our immediate need is for 10 turkeys we have in a temporary brooder in the garage.  The brooder will be large enough to have the heat lamp in it for warmth and also enough room for the birds to roam around.  Additionally, it will be slightly over 6-foot tall so Dan can walk around in it without stooping.  Here are Dan and Brian mid-project....

Gang #2

We decided that chicken gang #2 are old enough to go out foraging with the ladies.  We were curious to see how they would interact with each other.  And more importantly, how the rooster would interact with the ladies.  We decided to wait until it was late in the day to let them out, just to give them a taste, then at dark they went back into the coop.  We really didn't even expect them to leave the chicken run.  When the ladies were their age, it took them a couple of days to get the courage to go out.  Not so with this gang.  The door to the run was only open about 20 minutes before they started venturing out.  And they ventured much further, sooner than the ladies.  Here is their maiden voyage...

Egg count

26 eggs this week.

Chicken Tractor

This is a chicken tractor...

Today is moving day for our broiler chickens to their new home.  Dan constructed an 8x8x2 chicken tractor where they'll live out the rest of their lives.  Prior to today, they've been living in a brooder (a small enclosed area with heat lamps to keep them very warm).  However, part of the point of raising our own chicks is so that they can forage to eat fresh grass and bugs.  Factory chickens never have this basic opportunity.  Here are our 20 Cornish Cross broiler chicks going into the tractor...

The beauty of a chicken tractor is that it's fairly lightweight, so it can be moved by hand.  (No tractor involved, dispite the name.)  Half of the the tractor is chicken wire to allow for ventilation and the back half is covered to provide shade and refuge from rain.  The lid opens up so we can get in and out.  Each day or two, after the chicks have had time to dine on everything available in their 8x8 area, the tractor is dragged down 8 feet, where the chicks will dine on fresh grass and new bugs for a day or two, so on and so forth.  Hopefully the chicks will have a happy, healthy life and we'll have a tasty dinner.

Moving day... Saturday

We can see the Cornish Cross' growing each day.  They're getting bigger and rounder (is that a word?).  This weekend is supposed to be sunny and warm, which is the perfect weather to move them to their new home.

Crazy birds!

Our Cornish Cross' are getting big.  When they say these birds are bred to quickly produce meat, it's no joke!  We have their chicken tractor ready... we just need a few rain-free, warm days to put them out on the pasture so they can get acclimated.  About 5 more weeks until butcher time...

Egg count

28 eggs this week.

Turtle!

Just...

                 passin'.....

                                          through.........

From the dining room window, I spotted this large thing moving across the front yard.  I thought it looked like a turtle, but I wasn't sure because it was so darn big.  Normally turtles around here are about the size of your palm.  I grabbed my camera and ran outside.  Sure enough, it was a big 'ole turtle.  Here is my hand over it's shell to show the size of it....

Mmm... yogurt

Homemade yogurt, in fact.  It may not look quite as pretty as store-bought, but it sure tastes better!  This is  1 1/4 gallons of yogurt, which we'll probably have to share with the chickens because I don't know that two people can eat a gallon of yogurt before it will go bad.  I'm always amazed how easy and cheap it is to make homemade yogurt.  Here's the breakdown...

1 gallon whole milk - $2.25
2 cups dry milk - $ .50
Yogurt starter - Free if you saved a bit from your previous yogurt batch.  Otherwise, $.50 for a plain yogurt.

That's it!  The only other thing you need is a Tupperware container large enough to hold your milk, a heating pad and about 12 hours for it to sit.

TOTAL: $2.75 / 26 - 6oz servings = 10 cents per serving.

Sneaky!!!

One of my hummingbird feeders has been drained twice since we hung them not quite two weeks ago.  At first, I thought it had a leak.  I checked it out and no leak.  I chocked it up to very thirsty hummingbirds.  Yesterday afternoon I looked out the window and it was full.  I looked out again about 30 minutes later and it was half empty!  What the heck is going on!?!  I stood there watching it and discovered why it's emptying so quickly...  apparently we have very thirsty SQUIRRELS!!!

Signs of summer

Revamped corner planting bed contains Sedum, Minor Black Weigela and Petunias.  I can't wait until they all start to bloom and grow.  I also added rock this year instead of mulch to keep the rototillers (aka chickens) out.  It seems to be working great so far!

New bunny hutches

After we built bunny hutches several months ago, we realized they weren't quite right.  We had all of the girl bunnies together in one large hutch, which is not ideal when they're pregnant and after they give birth.  We also had a partial wood bottom, which isn't ideal as it requires a lot of work for sanitary reasons. 

This past week we've been building new wire cages for the bunnies that hang on the back of the chicken coop.  This also gives us another benefit.  Rabbits produce a lot of waste and if it just sits it creates ammonia.  Having the cages hanging up high allows the chickens to go in under them and mix up the waste while they look for worms, grubs, etc.  So the chickens are happy foraging, the rabbit waste gets mixed up naturally and we get some of the best compost available!  Win-win situation for all!

Here are the bunnies new home...

Chicken Processing Day

Here are step by step photos of our chicken processing on 5/8/10.  It was our first attempt and took us 2 hours to process 10 chickens.  Not lightning fast, but not too bad for our first time.

Here we have a pic of the Whizbang chicken plucker that Dan built.  This will keep us from hand plucking feathers right after it comes out of scalding hot water...

Here  is our setup...
Step 1 - chickens go into cones to slit throats and bleed out
Step 2 - into stainless pot with 150 degree water to loosen feathers
Step 3 - into Whizbang to remove feathers
Step 4 - onto table for butchering

Time to catch some chickens... in this case all of the Barred Rock cockerels that we don't want to keep.  After catching, they're held upside down which calms them down as blood rushes to their heads...

Into the cones they go.  After their throats are slit they instantly die, yet their hearts keep beating so they bleed out better than other butchering methods.  They need to hang here a few minutes...

After they've bled out, into the hot water for about 1 minute...

Now into the Whizbang.  You turn the drum on while spraying a little water and 30 seconds later, you have naked birds...

Now we start butchering...

The butchering is all done.  Just need to rinse the bird out and place in some cold water while we do the rest...

Egg count

30 eggs this week.

Meat birds!

20 Cornish Cross chicks.  These little eating machines will be dinner in about 8 weeks!

11 Heritage Bronze turkeys.  These will be for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with a few left over to sell.

Homemade chili powder

I used the last of the store-bought chili powder making homemade taco seasoning.  So I decided to try my hand at homemade chili powder.  We've had some chilies drying since last summer that I've been meaning to use, but just haven't gotten around to it.  Today is the day!

½ cup rough chopped chilies of your choice. Remove seeds; set aside. Grind chilies to a powder.

1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Put all spices/herbs back in the grinder along with seeds (whatever amount/heat you desire). I use about ½ of what I removed. Grind to combine and make more fine.

Egg count

27 eggs this week.

Knock, knock!

May we come in please?

Egg count

25 eggs this week.

Shiny new engine

Our rototiller is 38 years old.  It's a beast, and a new one just like it is about $2500, so it's important to keep ours running.  For starters, it was given to us by Dan's parents, so we can't argue with the purchase price.  Dan had to do some initial maintenance when we first got it, but fairly minimal.  This year, Dan pulled it out of the garage and it started on the first pull.  Woohoo!  However, he would get half way down a garden row and it would start spitting and sputtering.  He tinkered with it and determined the engine was shot.  Sigh!  After much Internet searching, Dan found the engine he wanted and installed it in a matter of minutes.  It looks slightly 'modern' compared to the rest of the tiller though...

Egg count

21 Eggs this week.

Down to 5

We had a stray dog come up to the house and chase the chickens into the garage.  We heard the noise and ran outside.  Dan chased the dog out of the garage and down the driveway.  All of the ladies went fleeing into the woods.  Before long 4 of the 6 resurfaced.  We were still missing Pollo and Nugget though.  After a couple of hours, Pollo came out of the woods.  We searched the woods high and low looking for Nugget, but to no avail.  There are no signs of blood or feathers, so we're not sure what happened to her.  We can only hope that it was quick and painless.  :(

Introducing Jet

We have a stray kitty that is coming by more and more often.  She mostly likes to just lay around, but she also does some hunting now and then.  She has the prettiest, shiniest black coat I've ever seen.  I don't know that she's a she... I've just designated her as such.  I've named her Jet since her coat is jet black.  The ladies have taken a liking to Jet.  They all mingle together while looking for food and sometimes I think the chickens are trying to play with her.

Egg count

26 eggs this week.

Seeing more of Spring

Red buds are another sign that spring has sprung.  I wish they would stay pretty purple all summer long though...

Poor birdy

Windows on one side of our house have a wicked reflection of nearby trees.  This, I think, causes birds to fly into the window because they think they're flying into trees.  They are in fact flying at least 100mph into my dining room windows.  Needless to say, they are a little stunned after doing so.  They say cats have 9 lives... I think birds do too!  This little guy laid on the ground for a good 15 minutes before his daze wore off and he flew away.