Farm Updates

It looks like the last of the last of the good weather will be leaving the farm this week.  Tomorrow will be in the 60's, and then it dips into the low 20's by next Tuesday.  The heat lamps are going to have to be put into place in the barn this evening to keep the water pump from freezing.  I'm already having flash-backs to last winter's polar vortex frozen hell.

It makes me cringe knowing bigger electric bills are on their way, especially since I neglected to order wood for the winter and call in a chimney sweep to make sure the fireplace was good to go for another season.  But whose fault is that?

Two of the breeding does are due to birth bunny babies sometime around November 24th.  I love baby bunnies.  But then who doesn't?  I love them even more when they reach about five pounds and make a lovely dinner.

Today I called Mahan Slaughterhouse and Trumbull Locker (the packaging company) to schedule a day to bring in the pig for his "big day."  The appointment they gave me is about a month later than I had hoped to have him processed, but due to the large amount of deer processing that Trumbull Locker handles, it was just too booked up for them to take him.  They claim they are the third largest deer processing place in Ohio.  Mahan company slaughters the animals, Trumbull Locker does the processing.  For some reason or another, Trumbull is unable to slaughter.  So Pig's big day is January 2, 2015. It should be a real treat trying to coax him into the trailer...

Sometime before November 16th, two racehorses will be returning from the racetrack back to the farm, for a little break from the racing life.  There are two horses on the farm already, along with the goat, and only three stalls available.  Another stall is going to have to go up fast.

Garlic still has not been planted.  I've been a terrible farmer this year... So I've decided to make sure I get it in the garden not later than October 15th next season (fingers crossed).  I've also discovered I need to plant at least two hundred cloves just for personal consumption, and two hundred more if I ever want to sell any!

On a good note, the turkey-sized, poultry shrink wrap bags arrived from Nadya's Poultry. Now I can  butcher the turkeys and freeze them as I get time.

I'm also considering getting some outdoor lighting installed to light up the round pen so that I can keep working with the horses in the dark of the winter on weeknights.  By the time I get home from work, its as dark as it gets!  I hate letting the horses (and myself) do nothing and get so out of shape over the winter months and this could be my solution to the problem.  I'll check into the cost sometime next week.   Forgive me for all the long farm updates. Happy Tuesday ~A

Poultry Restraining Cones (and cute baby chicks!)

Last Saturday and Sunday 17 little chicks hatched out and are now in the brooder peeping away.  Two died trying to hatch out, and two of the eggs never hatched (I gave them until late Monday).







That's about an 81% success rate - if my math is correct?  The chicks all seem very alert and healthy. I may give some to a friend, I might try to sell some on Craigslist, or I might just keep them all for myself.  We'll see.

The thought of keeping them all for myself led to the thought of butchering, which led to the thought of "Hey Farm girl, you really need to get one of those poultry restraining cone thingies so you can get the job done a little easier."  Did I just say "thingies?"  So then came a web search to find out how much those cones cost in the first place. Here's what I discovered:

www.coopsnmore.com  $23.99

www.cornerstone-farm.com  $25.00

www.mcmurrayhatchery.com  $26.00

www.countryhorizons.com  $33.99

www.meyerhatchery.com  $42.84

These prices were all for a standard, medium size poultry restraining cone. I also came across a site that offered a Do-it-Yourself solution to make your own at www.survivalfarm.wordpress.com but it called for a used, road construction cone, and I don't recall seeing too many of those lying around for the taking. But if you can find one, by all means recycle! I also thought about what I had at home that might work just as well. The only thing I could think of was to cut the corner from a 50 lb feed back and use that to restrain the chicken.  It would look similar to when you cut the tip off a pasty bag.  I think it might actually work.  If I get time I'm going to give it a try this weekend. So the lesson learned here is that it certainly pays to do a little research and shop around, doesn't it? But you knew already knew that. 

 

Roasting and Reminiscing...

Winter is officially upon us as of next week!  Hard to believe isn't it? Things around the farm are changing, and the animals are all trying to adjust to the colder weather.  The chickens have be hanging around their heat lamp later into the morning and earlier each evening. The horses are all getting their thick winter coats in preparation for the long winter days. The garden has been cleared out and tilled over, with only the parsley patch left to provide a splash of green until spring arrives.  Garlic was planted in early November, with the hope that July will deliver a nice little harvest to dry and store. 

I began the year on my new farm in January of this year.  The number of farm animal inhabitants I started with back then has considerably grown since then, beginning with 7 animals, and now, in the middle of December, the count is at 30 something! 

Start-up costs were high this year with the farm purchase.  There are just some things you need when you own a farm. February's large expenses were due to getting the loft stocked with hay, and also buying a bulk order of sawdust bedding for the (then two) horses. February also had a rooster and a hen added to the homestead. 

March was was quiet and cold, and found us with another Thoroughbred added on that we purchased in Chicago.  April brought us a goat doeling, a stray pitbull, and 27 little day-old chicks from the hatchery. Oh, and six baby Pekin ducklings!

April was expensive, with the purchase of a lawn tractor to mow the few acres of yard to keep things tidy. May was another expensive month, bringing us a new to us, but very old Ford 9n tractor, along with a brush-hog and blade.  May also brought us another racehorse.

June hummed along quietly, with little expense in planting a small garden.  July brought us another chicken, August passed by under the radar.  September came along hatching five chicks for Labor Day weekend, and another horse! October and November were expensive due to stocking up the loft with hay for the winter, and the purchase of a hay elevator to get that hay into the loft!

And we all know December is expensive, with all the gift-giving, party throwing, decadent eating, drinking and merriment that goes along with this time of year. With that, I better end this post. I have a pork shoulder roast to present to a hungry husband...

Score the skin, rub in Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Sage and Oregano.  Roast low at 325 degrees for a few hours, and...

Ta Da! Tender and Juicy!