Should be obvious, right? We raise chickens, rabbits, and ducks. We’ve processed members of each of those groups (and Muscovy really does taste like beef!). People with whom we’re acquainted know this…and yet, countless times, they can’t – or don’t – seem to grasp why we won’t eat a chicken sandwich from some popular fast food place, or partake of catered BBQ. For the record: the aforementioned “people” doesn’t include our friends who “get it”.
Author: Carrie
Junk Pile Workout: A Cautionary Tale
Yesterday, we took on a project that was as unpleasant as it was labor-intensive: dismantling and carting away a junk pile on our property. You may be thinking “Junk pile? I just can’t see you guys collecting crap and just letting it sit there” – and you’d generally be right, except for this eyesore junk pile. Read on…
It all began when we moved into our current home. It had these built-in shelves in the outbuilding that we use as a garage that were horribly dusty and blocked off parts of the garage so that it wasn’t fully accessible. Those shelves were knocked down and the heavy wood had to go somewhere, so they went “temporarily” in a stack near the outbuilding. The former owners had also erected an above-ground pool that was scummy and pretty nasty by the time we took possession of the property; that, too, had to go. It was dismantled and the pool liner and its 57 metal parts, the pump, etc., all went atop the wooden shelves stack. So it began.
Weekly Roundup: Chilly Weather And Several Integrations
Well, it’s become clear that summer is over and winter is nipping at its heels: we’ve seen frost in the morning. The temperatures at night have gotten down into the low 30’s (from recent 60’s) and daytime temps are only in the mid-40’s to low-50’s. Shorts and flip-flops have been put away for another season and thermal underwear are at the ready! The change in weather means changes around the farm, too, for the health and happiness of the animals.
The precipitous drop in the mercury shortened the timeline to move the Cuckoo Marans pullet group (ten 14 week olds) into the main coop with the rest of the laying flock. We had hoped to wait until they were 16 weeks old, but the girls are nearly the size of the adult hens, with big attitudes to match. Continue reading “Weekly Roundup: Chilly Weather And Several Integrations”
Homemade Desserts: Duck Egg Cheesecake
Do you like cheesecake? If so, you must try it with duck eggs – we did, and there’s no going back!While the seemingly endless supply of spring and summer eggs seems to be over, we recently began finding a few duck eggs in the coop again! While they’re wonderful fried and scrambled, duck eggs are unparalleled for their ability to enhance baked goods: think denser and richer…words made for cheesecake. Continue reading “Homemade Desserts: Duck Egg Cheesecake”
Farm Ferments: Making Magnificent Makgeolli
If you know only one thing about me, know this: I am a fermenter. I ferment both food and drink, and I do it not only for the health benefits but also for the sheer pleasure of consuming something I made myself. As an individual with some Korean heritage, I frankly felt a little embarrassed about buying kimchi at the local Korean store – and I’m a fermenter, for crying out loud! I could make kimchi, and I could make it the way I wanted it…but that’s for another post. Let’s just say that I made very respectable kimchi (배추김치 and 깍두기), so I moved on to trying my hand at makgeolli (막걸리), a Korean rice-based liquor.
Continue reading “Farm Ferments: Making Magnificent Makgeolli”
Guinea Fowl: What We’ve Learned After Two Hatches
We recently added guinea fowl to the menagerie here at the farm. Hatching and raising our own has taught us some lessons we’d like to share. Never heard of guinea fowl? Read on to learn a little more about them.
While guinea keets (what young guinea fowl are called, like baby chickens are “chicks”) may look a lot like chicks, they are very different creatures. One of the biggest differences is that they’re tiny compared to chicks. So tiny that they can easily be trampled or get into spaces chicks wouldn’t. Our first hard lesson came when a keet inexplicably disappeared from the brooder room. Continue reading “Guinea Fowl: What We’ve Learned After Two Hatches”