Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
Among the growing grass littered with tiny flowers, where it’s quiet and dewy, violence occurred. All that was left as testament to the life of a rabbit was bits of velvety brown fur; of a songbird, bright yellow feathers, strewn upon the ground.
Continue reading “Haiku: Evidence Of Endings”
It snowed recently – just an inch or so – but it was the kind of snow that makes even the ordinary (or poorly-lit and muddy) look, briefly, extraordinary. It also tells stories of real drama and intrigue, of unseen passersby looking for a meal on a cold night.
Continue reading “Haiku: Concealed And Revealed (Snow Series #1)”
It’s snowing, a bitter wind is blowing…it just seems like cold weather and hearty soups are made to go together. And what’s better than a delicious, warming stew (made with in-season root veggies) that you can make in your slow cooker? Just toss in all the ingredients and leave it to work its magic! This recipe could easily be made with another protein, like chicken, but I think it’s one of the tastiest ways to prepare rabbit.
Continue reading “Slow Food: Rabbit And Root Vegetable Curry”
It’s still really hot here – like sweat running in rivulets down your face after about 5 minutes in the heat hot. Even the breeze (when there is one) is hot. Ugh. Now imagine that you’re wearing a thick fur coat and your primary means of dissipating body heat is from your ears, through your breath, or your nasal mucosa…and your sweat glands don’t really do the job. Sounds perilous, right? For outdoor rabbits, it can be. When the heat index (temperature + relative humidity) is this high, we take extra steps to help rabbits survive the heat.
Continue reading “Rabbits And Heat: A Dangerous Combination”
Exciting goings-on here at the farm: we have a group of five blue Silver Fox rabbit does that have either kindled or are expected to kindle their first litters soon!
One sweet doe, Sarah, kindled her first litter on 2/13. Sarah is a particularly friendly girl, likely due in part to an injury she suffered to her leg when she was a young kit: even though there is “baby saver” wire on the floors and up the sides of the kindling cages (our does are brought inside to kindle), she somehow got her foot stuck through the wire and twisted in a way that trapped it. As you can imagine, she was panicked and pulled frantically, causing a laceration all the way around her “ankle”.
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”.