Issues, recipes, musings, and more…
Savannah, a red Boer meat goat, recently freshened (gave birth) to a buck and doe kid. The buck looks brown and cuddly. The doe has the brown face and white body of traditional Boer goats. She also has a white spot on her nose.
Early one morning we found the kids curled up together in basin. Good spot to sleep and cozy up together.
Pigs like to eat and given the opportunity will spill their feed on the ground. This leads to the feed being wasted. To reduce how much is wasted, someone designed this feeder. We put feed in the top. The back lid keeps the feed from getting wet. When the pig wants to eat, it comes to the front, lifts the lid with its snout, reaches in and eat what it wants. This method keeps the feed contained, reduces feed wasted, and lets the pigs eat what they want. Creative tool!
Under cover we see:
Outside we see:
In the gardens we see:
Here are recent views of the farm:
The Bros purchased a boar and sow late last year. The sow, Maple, came bred. When it looked like she might be ready to give birth, we moved her into the barn. And waited. And waited. Finally, in late January on a Saturday night, she pushed a piglet out. After several hours with nothing else coming, one of the bros reached inside and was able to pull a second one out. And then she pushed a third one out by herself.
She took to mothering, letting them nurse, making a nest in the hay for them to cozy into, and keeping an eye on what they are up to. They have been growing, like they should.
3 piglets is a very small litter, even for a first time mom. 9-16 would be a more common size. But they all survived. And 100% survival rate is excellent.
This was made with canned and frozen ingredients that I had on hand. It had a chunkier consistency than the beef over potatoes and veggies did.
This is a simple meal, using ingredients I had on hand.
This crockpot meal cooks a long time. The meat on the top sheds its fat and flavor through the whole dish. At the end you cut up the meat and stir all of it together resulting in a thick stew.
This is a recipe that I have used at Thanksgiving for several years. Duck is a meat that I will purchase as we haven’t raised or processed any ducks yet.
Recently I was given a freshly painted kitchen with a new vinyl floor. The trade off was that for about 1 week I wouldn’t have the use of my stove. So we used the crockpot for some meals. Here are the recipes that we used:
For sides we had lettuce salads and carrot raisin salad. All in all it worked well. And I am thankful for the refreshed kitchen and the use of my stove.
