Gosh I can't believe how long its been!
A lot has been happening on the farm, we have almost finished lambing, there are only 5 or so Ewes to go, they seem to be crossing their legs and hanging on!
We have a new heading dog, Major, he is a beardie x border collie and he is SMART! He has just gone 3 1/2 months and has started lead training. Hes adjusted to farm life well and is good with the chickens and with our new orphan lamb Poppy - photos to follow!
We also have chicks, nine in total, being looked after by two hens and they are cute! Photos to follow also.
I have also been planning out our summer vegetable garden as I am planning to do a SSS (Semi Self-sufficient Summer)
So this is what I am planning to plant so far.....
Tank Garden
- Pumpkins (on ladder)
- Sunflowers
- Beans
- Corn (to dry and grind for corn meal)
- Cucumber
Front Garden
- Zucchinis (same as last year)
- Strawberries (same again)
Narrow Deck Garden
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Raddish
Back of House
- More Artichoke
Veggie Bed
- Spinach
- Beetroot
- Broccoli
- Kamo Kamo
Still have to suss out somewhere to grow Tomatos( Money Maker and Cherry and Basil), may need to put in another bed somwhere
and I really want to grow some nasturiam somewhere too
Can't wait till things warm up!!! Bring it on spring!
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Garden/Chicken Update - Photo heavy!
Our first home grown pak choy, really delicious and quick to grow! Will be planting a lot more of these
Ginger checking out the succulent new plants below
Looking rather majestic with the pohutukawa as her backdrop
The boys
Cabbages are coming along nicely
The new garden bed, planted out with peas(seeds), pak choy, chinese cabbage and kohl rabi, kohl rabi is a first for us, hoping its going to be yummy! Chickens trying to figure how to get into garden to eat them all!
Scratcher
Fluffy bum in the garden
The main vege patch with brocolli on the right, chinese cabbage in the middle and perpetual spinach on the left, there is also leek and beetroot in there somewhere!
Chicken damage! need to re-hash the netting
Califlower on the left, leeks in the middle and brussel sprouts out of shot on the right
More new garden bed! Will be planted out with a black current, more pak choy (!) kale, and carrots
And last but not least, new gumboots!! still with stickers on!! Bring it on winter!!
Monday, 30 April 2012
First Homegrown Chicken Dinner
Was a success, it was delicious! The Farmer cooked it up with onions, apples, garlic, chilli, and celery in the slow cooker.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Later that day....
Still feeling nauseous, which just gets worse everytime I open the fridge and see the rooster in there wrapped in a plastic bag, its seriously turning my stomach. I think it was the feet peeling that did me in, yip I had to be a big hero and peel the feet...sigh....
We culled our first Rooster (details may be found graphic)
Our chicken flock is down to 7 today as we processed our first rooster today. Was a very new process for me as I have only ever kept chickens for eggs before.
Our plan always was to cull the roosters for food, he was our biggest rooster and had begun to get aggressive towards the hens at feeding time, so we knew it was time. I had to mentally prepare myself for a few days, do loads of research, prepare our equipment etc.
Last night he wasn't fed with the other chooks so his crop would be empty this morning, he spent the last night with the other chooks in the coop and then early this morning we went and got him out. The Farmer took him away and did the deed while I fed the other chooks, leaving them in the run until we were well finished and cleaned up.
My stomach was turning and my eyes felt watery, but I just kept reminding myself that if I was going to eat chicken, then this is the most ethical, the least cruel and the most environmentally friendly way to do it. We made sure our boy had a good life while we had him, plenty of good food, paddocks to forage in, a warm coop to sleep in at night, and a very quick end to his life when the time came.
I was called over and "Big Bopper" as we called him was no more. Strangely as I got closer to the body I went to cover my nose, I guess the only other time I had seen a dead animal with all its feathers on it had been a bit "ripe", I laughed a little at myself for being so silly, there was no smell at all, at any stage of the processing.
We started plucking, and then decided to skin him instead, there were too many pin feathers to deal with. The Farmer skillfully took the skin off and cleaned out the insides, we kept the feet, neck, heart, liver, lungs and gizzard aside. It was funny, once the skin was off I instantly felt more comfortable, I guess it began to look more like something I recognised as "food".
Once the chook was all cleaned up he went into the fridge where he'll stay for 3 days till we eat him. The liver is in the freezer waiting for more livers to join it in a pate. I skinned the feet (now that was an experience to almost turn me vegetarian, but gosh darn it if we were going to kill this chicken I was determined to make use of every last bit, even the peeled feet skin went to the dog to eat) and they went into the freezer with the neck, heart and gizzard to be made into a stock at later date. The lungs went to the cats and the head, feathers/skin and intestines got buried deep in the compost heap to be fed to the garden later.
Once everything was cleaned up and put away I let out the rest of the chooks and was surprised that it was business as usual for them, in fact when they got over to the slaughtering area they started eating a few of the pin feathers I had missed picking up. I'm sure they must have a sense of loss for their flock mate, I just hope they aren't too stressed our by his "disapearance"
I have to admit my stomach is still pretty churned up but at least I've got a few days to let it settle down before we cook him up.
What also amazed me was how different the finished product looked from a shop brought chicken, the breasts were smaller as I would have expected, the legs were twice as long, it will be interesting to see what the flavour is like.
This was a very tough experience for me, I didn't grow up on a farm, all our meat always came from the supermarket, neatly packaged, ready to go. Someone else had done the "dirty work" and it was easy to forget, where this product had come from. The more I found out about the commercial poultry production processes the more revolted I became. So although I had found culling our own rooster really hard, I still feel it is the right thing to do if we are to continue eating chicken and it is another milestone in our journey towards self sufficiency.
Our plan always was to cull the roosters for food, he was our biggest rooster and had begun to get aggressive towards the hens at feeding time, so we knew it was time. I had to mentally prepare myself for a few days, do loads of research, prepare our equipment etc.
Last night he wasn't fed with the other chooks so his crop would be empty this morning, he spent the last night with the other chooks in the coop and then early this morning we went and got him out. The Farmer took him away and did the deed while I fed the other chooks, leaving them in the run until we were well finished and cleaned up.
My stomach was turning and my eyes felt watery, but I just kept reminding myself that if I was going to eat chicken, then this is the most ethical, the least cruel and the most environmentally friendly way to do it. We made sure our boy had a good life while we had him, plenty of good food, paddocks to forage in, a warm coop to sleep in at night, and a very quick end to his life when the time came.
I was called over and "Big Bopper" as we called him was no more. Strangely as I got closer to the body I went to cover my nose, I guess the only other time I had seen a dead animal with all its feathers on it had been a bit "ripe", I laughed a little at myself for being so silly, there was no smell at all, at any stage of the processing.
We started plucking, and then decided to skin him instead, there were too many pin feathers to deal with. The Farmer skillfully took the skin off and cleaned out the insides, we kept the feet, neck, heart, liver, lungs and gizzard aside. It was funny, once the skin was off I instantly felt more comfortable, I guess it began to look more like something I recognised as "food".
Once the chook was all cleaned up he went into the fridge where he'll stay for 3 days till we eat him. The liver is in the freezer waiting for more livers to join it in a pate. I skinned the feet (now that was an experience to almost turn me vegetarian, but gosh darn it if we were going to kill this chicken I was determined to make use of every last bit, even the peeled feet skin went to the dog to eat) and they went into the freezer with the neck, heart and gizzard to be made into a stock at later date. The lungs went to the cats and the head, feathers/skin and intestines got buried deep in the compost heap to be fed to the garden later.
Once everything was cleaned up and put away I let out the rest of the chooks and was surprised that it was business as usual for them, in fact when they got over to the slaughtering area they started eating a few of the pin feathers I had missed picking up. I'm sure they must have a sense of loss for their flock mate, I just hope they aren't too stressed our by his "disapearance"
I have to admit my stomach is still pretty churned up but at least I've got a few days to let it settle down before we cook him up.
What also amazed me was how different the finished product looked from a shop brought chicken, the breasts were smaller as I would have expected, the legs were twice as long, it will be interesting to see what the flavour is like.
This was a very tough experience for me, I didn't grow up on a farm, all our meat always came from the supermarket, neatly packaged, ready to go. Someone else had done the "dirty work" and it was easy to forget, where this product had come from. The more I found out about the commercial poultry production processes the more revolted I became. So although I had found culling our own rooster really hard, I still feel it is the right thing to do if we are to continue eating chicken and it is another milestone in our journey towards self sufficiency.
Monday, 2 April 2012
Sprout Success!
After our tour at Heritage Poultry we were very excited to try sprouting for ourselves, the results are pictured above. The chickens weren't too sure when I first put the dish down, but were very quickly chowing down and really enjoying this new delight.
It is a really simple process. You just take your whole grains (we used wheat and barley)in a bowl or food grade bucket and cover with water till its about an inch above your grains.
Cover with a lid left slightly ajar
After 24hrs drain and cover again with the lid ajar
Leave for about 2 days (your sprouts should be about 10-15mmm long)
then they are ready to feed!
It has been suggested to use organic grains to ensure that they will sprout, but we didn't and it still works, I think the key is that your grains are fresh and not heat treated.
Grains soaking
And The Farmer brought me home a lovely treat from The Bay property, fresh organic figs!
We will be enjoying them fresh for dessert tonight and the rest?
Not sure, may make some fig jam.
And can you believe the chickens turn their noses (well, beaks) up at these!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)