Family comes to visit!

Neil, the kids and I drove the hour to the RDU Airport to pick up my mother and grandmother this afternoon. They flew down from Maine to spend five days here at the farm. They are the first of my family to make it down here and I am excited for their visit.

After we picked them up we stopped and had dinner in Durham, NC. When we finally got home it was after dark so unfortunately they didn't get a chance to see the place in daylight. Still, mom came down to the barn as I did my night feedings. Meanwhile, Neil figured out the sleeping araingments inside.

I am looking forward to spending time with them... I just wish their visit could be longer.

Crayons

I realized that I don't mention the kids too much here on the blog. Mostly that is because at this point in their lives they are helping me around the farm, playing and exploring. There are many times that I see them do something that I wish I could instantly document that moment but I don't happen to have my camera with me and by the time I sit down to blog the specific memory has faded.

So when the kids and I were creating new crayons with our crayon maker today I grabbed the camera and snapped a few shots.

The kids love using the crayon maker... sometimes I think they break their crayons just so they can create new ones! We have several crayon molds... the standard round, trucks and animals. It is fun to create new color combinations and to see how they look and color after they are ready.

Chicken Butchering

First thing we did this morning (after chores and breakfast that is) was to hook up the trailer and head down to the feed store to pick up the 25 bales of hay that I pre-paid for on Tuesday. I would have liked to get more but at $8.75 a bale 25 was all that we could mange right now. That will bring our hay numbers up to 52 bales for the winter. To be on the safe side I would love to have twice that number put up. All this means is that I need to be conservative with the hay and not use any until we really need to. As long there is green grass in the pastures the livestock is just going to have to make do. Being a small farmer on a tight budget can be a struggle at times.

After getting the hay we did a bit of shopping in town since we were there. Got some food to stock the pantry and some new shoes, two pair of jeans and couple of shirts for Evan. He is growing so fast and with cooler weather coming on I can't get away with just putting him in shorts and sandals all the time.

Then this afternoon it was time for me to butcher the three roosters I had separated out from the flock last night. This was the first time I had butchered chickens all by myself (I had learned to do it in college). First I had to decide between the chopping block or using a "killing cone". I opted for the killing cone as the part I hate the most about the butchering process is having them flap around after they are dead (or dieing). The cone holds their wings against their body and prevents any of the flapping around. My "cone" was just a plastic gallon jug with the bottom cut off and the spout cut off to allow the head and neck to pass through. The jug was installed bottom up on the backside of the tool shed with a 5-gallon bucket on the ground to catch the blood.

One at a time the chickens were placed upside down into the cone. Chickens become very calm when held upside down which makes is very easy to put the chicken into the cone. So, with my first chicken in the cone I firmly held his head, took a deep breath, and using a sharp knife slit the jugular vein on one side of his neck. I continued to hold his head to keep him from shaking it, and blood, all over. I repeated that with the other two birds. Once that was done (which is by far the hardest part) I scalded the birds in a big pot of water I had sitting on the side burner of our outdoor grill. Time of scalding varies with the temp of the water and the age of the bird. My water was at 125 degrees and I swished them around (one at a time) for about 45 seconds to a minute. Once scalded the feathers come off by hand pretty easy. I then took the three birds into the kitchen to finish the remainder of the cleaning process. I would say it took 7-10 minutes per bird to remove the heads and feet and eviscerate them. This time should get closer to 5 minutes as I get more practice. Once they were all cleaned they went into a cold water brine (just water and salt) and placed into the fridge to age for 2-3 days. Once they age they can be cooked or frozen for later.

All in all the butchering process was not as bad as one might think it would be. Now I only have 15 more birds to go!

Cookie update.

Just a quick update on my Hill Roamer chicken, Cookie. She has been in the brooder all week recovering from her run in with our LGD, Berk on Monday. Yesterday she was up and pacing the side of the pen near the rest of the flock and I could tell that she was becoming stressed from being seperated. It didn't want to rush things so I gave her one more night in the brooder by herself. So, this morning I went into the brooder and gave her a good look over. The hole under her right wing has sealed over with no signs of infection or drainage. I would be surprised if she grew feathers there again but it will never show once it is healed. Her tail feathers will take awhile before they grow back in to be the beautiful tail she had before the incident. I proclaimed her healthy enough to join the rest of the flock which she was very thankful for. This evening when I went into the coop to secure it for the night she was up on the highest perch with some other hens so I guess she is feeling better.

While in the coop tonight I seperated out three of the young roos into brooder pens with some water only. If I have time I am going to try to get them processed tomorrow! I have about 20 roosters that are ready to be processed. These unlucky fellows just happened to be the three plumpest ones that were easy to catch. They consist of one of the turkens and two of the mystery white birds that are turning buff/brown in color. I don't think I will ever order a mixed lot of chicks again... it has really bothered me not knowing the actual breeds of some of the birds! Neil says it is just my OCD surfacing. :)

Farm visitors.

In the almost five months that we have been living here at the farm fulltime we have had our share of driveby farm visitors. People see the alpacas from the road and are curious about them so they stop. Some just stop at the top of the driveway and watch for a few minutes, other visitors want to see them up close and personal. I don't mind at all... I like having visitors and showing off the alpacas.

This afternoon I had a lovely woman named Robin knock on the door and introduced herself as a "spinner" and ask if those were alpaca. She was very excited to see them and I was more then happy to give her a tour. It turns out she only lives about 20 miles North of here in Virginia. She owns a rug hooking studio called Robin's Nest where she offers traditional rug hooking supplies and rug hooking retreats. Oh, in a world where I had more free time I would like to learn to hook rugs. Robin and I had several interests in common and it was nice to chat with her while she was here. I hope she feels free to stop in anytime for an extended visit, maybe even help me learn to spin!

Robin has a wonderful blog as well. Reading it has inspired me to make more time to work on my knitting. I have at least 4-5 projects on needles right now! I really need to get some done and maybe start working on some gifts for the hoidays.

First time in all my years!

The kids and I were at the feed store this morning stocking up on a bunch of feed; alpaca, dairy cow, chicken crumbles, and some waterfowl. The stock guys always pull the orders from out back in their storage area and bring it up your vehicle and load it for you. Something I greatly appreciate when getting several hundred pounds of feed at once. Normally there is no problem and I am in and out in five minutes. Not today though! They couldn't find the alpaca feed I normally get or the waterfowl feed. The computer system said it was there so several guys and about twenty minutes later they finally found what I needed.

Meanwhile, McKayla had fallen asleep in the Suburban and Evan had climbed out the back onto the loading dock to see what he could see. He spotted something and called over to me to come see... it was a cat. Actually, a kitten probably about 4-5 months old. A little female. She was very friendly and came right up to Evan and I and rubbed all over us.

Now, in my whole adult life, twelve years of which I worked as a veterinary technician (eight of which was in an all feline practice), have I ever seen a cat or kitten out and about and felt the need to take it home with me. I like cats and respect them highly but I would never classify myself as a cat person. So why then did I find myself asking the folks inside the store who owned the little cat out on the loading dock? It simply was an issue of color. This little friendly cat was solid steel grey, my favorite cat color. And there was something about this little kitten that spoke to me.

Two of the most special cats in my life have been that same solid grey color, Gris and Billy. Neither of these two wonderful boys is still in my life. Gris, the more recent of the two, left a huge hole in my life when he was gone about a year ago.

The clerks in the store said the kitten was from a litter this spring out of a stray cat. This kitten was the last of the litter to still be around. It was a nice little kitten they said but that if I wanted it to please take it home with me. And just like that she ended up coming home with us.
The kids fell in love with her instantly. McKayla hoisted her up and carried her around for quite a while. We showed her where the food bowl was up on the deck and she ate until her little belly was full. After about 45 minutes of handling from the kids she had enough (who can blame her) and she ran off into the woods behind the house. I know if she is truly meant to be ours that she will stick around... I hope anyway!

Berk strikes again!

Sigh... there is another chicken in the sick ward.

Earlier I was standing on the porch looking out over the pasture as the alpaca girls were grazing over on the shady end of the pasture. One of the girls, Celtie, went loping off to the barn to get some water. As she neared the barn, Berk, our male Anatolian Shepard, jumped at her and growled! Something that is very bad for him to do and that I have not seen him do before. It stopped Celtie in her tracks as she had not known Berk to act this way either. I quickly slid my boots on and went down to the barn.

What I found was my little Hill Roamer hen (yes the mate to the stuck chicken a few days ago) lying down near the barn with her backside all wet and feathers missing. Obviously Berk was playing with her earlier but when Celtie had come down to the barn I could clearly see Berk laying near the barn and he had not been chewing on anything. So, was Berk now protecting his snack from Celtie OR was he protecting the hurt chicken from Celtie? I may never know for sure at this point.

Anyway, I scooped up "Cookie", the name I have given the little hen, and gave her a quick once over before heading to the chicken coop with her. I could see right away that she had a good-sized wound on her back behind her right wing. The feathers were missing and there was a hole through the skin so I could see the breast meat clearly. Otherwise she looked alert just a bit scruffy. I put her in the brooder pen with some medicated water and food. I also treated her wound with a topical antibiotic. When I left her she lay right where I placed her.

We will have to see how she does over night. Meanwhile... what do to about Berk?