Author: Carrie

Chicken Coop Remodel

~ Carrie

Coop Before and After

When we built the original roost in the coop for our chickens last year, we went with a two-tiered design with a poop board below. It turned out that all the chickens wanted to be on the higher – mind you, it was only a 3 1/2″ height difference – roost and they pretty much ignored the lower one.

Having learned from that experience, we used a single-roost design this time that runs along 3 of the 4 coop walls. Since the roost remains at the same height continuously, there shouldn’t be any fighting over the “prime” roost now. Continue reading “Chicken Coop Remodel” →

He May Be Pretty, But He’s No Gentleman

~ Carrie

Ty_and_GirlsLaRue, our Leghorn rooster, will call the hens over with a special cluck when he finds a tasty treat while foraging. He lets the girls eat first, so when we’re tossing bread to them (an occasional treat), he doesn’t usually get to eat much of it. Not so for the leader of the ducks, Tiberius.

We flipped over some pavers that have been filling a puddle and there were lots of worms under there. The chickens ran over when they realized what was going on, as did Ty and his girls. The chickens pulled up quite a few of the worms, but the ducks were deadeyes. Their bills seem particularly well-suited to pulling the worms from the soil in one piece; pulling them out with fingers can cause them to tear in half. Ty, in particular, gobbled up some of the biggest and juiciest-looking ones. Did he call the ducks over to share the bounty? Nope. He just ate as many as he saw.

While he’s clearly not a gentleman when it comes to food, maybe that’s because he’s nearly twice the ducks’ size and therefore needs to find a lot of food to stay in fighting shape. He does a good job keeping the ducks safe and he even chases LaRue off from time to time. We haven’t lost any of the ducks since their wings were clipped last year, and we hope they continue to stay safe under Ty’s watchful guard.

Calling All Adventurous Eaters

~ Carrie

A friend with acreage recently shared some venison he harvested on his property with us. Who doesn’t love tenderloin, burger, and jerky, right? Since we knew he harvested deer annually, we asked about the heart, one of our favorite parts. He seemed a bit surprised, as he didn’t eat it himself, but agreed to save it for us from the next deer he got. Once deer season opened up again, it wasn’t long before he was bringing us a heart.

Why the heart? As a large muscle, it has a uniquely dense texture, and is steak-like. Our favorite way to cook it is in a slow cooker, bathed in cream of mushroom soup.  After 8+ hours, it’s like firm pot roast – meaty and delicious. Serve over a baked potato, and you have an easy, very satisfying meal. Continue reading “Calling All Adventurous Eaters” →

Spring Brings Ticks, Too

~ Carrie

Warmer weather has brought forth the bugs – including ticks, it seems. We would have included a pic of the one we spotted, but we squished it before it could escape. They don’t move very quickly, but they’re small and dark-colored enough that if they dropped into the grass, you wouldn’t be able to find the tick again.

Of course, the chickens and ducks were nowhere near when the tick was discovered. They had just feasted on worms, grubs, and other bugs that were unearthed when we turned over logs in an old woodpile and a big piece of plywood that had been out for a while (and if earthworms really are an indicator of soil health, ours seems to be respectable). Theoretically, though, chickens and ducks will eat ticks. Continue reading “Spring Brings Ticks, Too” →

Bring High-Speed Internet To The Country!

~ Carrie

We live in what urban dwellers here call “the country”. It’s not exactly that far off the beaten path at about 40 minutes from Louisville. In other areas, this would be considered a suburb based on the distance, but we’re surrounded by working farms, including cattle operations. This is a farming area.

We were unpleasantly surprised to discover that the only internet options at our farm were satellite or, sadly, fax speed DSL. Neither were comparable in price or speed to broadband. And streaming videos? Forget about it – you’d hit the data cap in no time. Continue reading “Bring High-Speed Internet To The Country!” →

Cooking With Lard – Yeah, Lard

~ Carrie

There’s no other cooking fat that makes delicious home fries like lard does. Back in the day, lard was a household staple, but with the (unjustified) vilification of saturated animal fats, lard fell out of favor. Now we know eating lard won’t cause you to immediately drop dead of a heart attack; in fact, it’s healthier than eating trans fats, like margarine.

Lard makes the home fries perfectly crispy on the outside and soft inside. A dollop of lard in slow cooker beans imparts a bit of flavor – assuming you don’t have a ham hock handy to toss in – and slight creaminess. Lard also makes lovely, fluffy biscuits or dumplings for chicken and dumplings. Some people even eat it on toast! Continue reading “Cooking With Lard – Yeah, Lard” →