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

Rabbit, the other white meat...

A fresh bagged bunny for the freezer



(that's a kidney peeking out from underneath, which will become the dog's treat...)

I started raising rabbits for meat recently.  The three breeding does are New Zealand, and the buck is a Flemish Giant.  The offspring from this crossing these two breeds make really nice meat rabbits.  Mostly white meat, but very tender and ready to butcher at around 10-12 weeks. 

Roasted bunny with apples, onion and carrots

One roasted rabbit goes a long way.  Dinner for two the first night, along with roasted vegetables.  Lunches for two the next day from the leftovers.  A sandwich the next morning for my breakfast, and anything left that I can pull from the bones tonight will go into some sort of soup. Quite a few meals from one young bunny!

Roasted bunny with roasted carrot, mushroom and new potatoes

Bunny sandwich on homemade bread with tomato, lettuce and mayo

To me, the rabbits taste somewhat similar to a cross between chicken and pork, leaning more toward the side of chicken in texture.  This also makes them extremely versatile when it comes to using them in recipes.  The possibilities are endless!  Do you have a favorite rabbit recipe?  I'd love to know how other people like to cook with them. Have a lovely day ~ A

Hay Time

Well the day certainly started out a little panicked this morning.  I was in the barn doing the normal routine of bringing horses in from the night and feeding all the farm animals when Ezra, the buck goat, decided he wanted fed NOW and rammed down the stall door. 

Thankfully, because he had not yet eaten breakfast, he was only too happy to follow me and his bucket of food into another stall to be locked up.  Otherwise, I'm not sure how I would have gotten him in there.  He doesn't much like being handled.

Once that was done, I went on to feed Chiba (the female goat) and discovered the little bunny who had escaped the day before hanging out in her stall. So then I had to chase the little one down and lock him back up with his other bunny buddies. 

Shortly after that, the hay guy showed up to cut and bale hay, which made me smile, knowing I will save some money this year by having my own hay field cut and baled.

Happy Friday All! ~A

"Wabbit Season" Part 2

After yesterday's rabbit post I could not resist checking in on the little bunnies yesterday evening, just to see how much they had grown. I still haven't counted them. I plan to get around to that this coming weekend. I took a few quick photos while momma was away eating. Here is one, now at 12 days old. Quite a transformation.  Happy First Day of Spring! ~A