Got Milk?
May Bell, Mary and Pippen
Ok, remember that itch? Well it so happens that it wasn't scratched at all with the addition of the dogs... In fact when January came Jonathan and I started discussing what next? I had already started my aquaponics system to raise some of our food the healthy way. But what else do we eat that we would like to do ourselves rather than depending on the grocery store. Well we eat a lot of cheese and butter, but are we big enough for a cow? Well I know some people would say yes but as we do not have pasture we would need to compensate that with grain and hay/silage so the cow will continue to produce the milk we need. We would also have to have the cow bred to keep her in milk which can be expensive to artificially inseminate and bulls can be trouble. So who else could give us milk, cheese and butter? Ah yes, our little friend the dairy goat!
Now we have had goats in the past both in Vermont and Pennsylvania, and we have always favored the dwarf breeds such as Pygmy or Nigerians. For those who knew us in Lake Como, we had Wanda who was actually a Nigerian and LaMancha cross so she was a bit bigger and had no ears! I once again started searching my favorite online classifieds and found many breeders in the area for many different kinds of goats from dairy to meat varieties both small to large. We contacted a couple and set up times to go see their goats. Well anything baby is absolutely adorable and hard to resist so it wasn't long before we decided on two Nigerian Dwarf Does for milking and a Nigerian/Fainter cross Buck who would be the dad to our future generations. One of the last places we stopped at had a Nigerian/Saanen Doe who was a year old and supposedly bred to kid anytime. She was a rescue from someone who was in an accident and couldn't care for his goats anymore. Now we were just going to have 3 goats that was it! But then we started thinking that wouldn't it be nice not to have to wait a year for milk? So we decided to take the one year old too! I should mention that not everything goes as planned, and May Bell the one year old Doe who we thought was bred wasn't. We now have to come up with another plan for getting our milk... just wait and see how we are solving the problem in a future update!
Now we have had goats in the past both in Vermont and Pennsylvania, and we have always favored the dwarf breeds such as Pygmy or Nigerians. For those who knew us in Lake Como, we had Wanda who was actually a Nigerian and LaMancha cross so she was a bit bigger and had no ears! I once again started searching my favorite online classifieds and found many breeders in the area for many different kinds of goats from dairy to meat varieties both small to large. We contacted a couple and set up times to go see their goats. Well anything baby is absolutely adorable and hard to resist so it wasn't long before we decided on two Nigerian Dwarf Does for milking and a Nigerian/Fainter cross Buck who would be the dad to our future generations. One of the last places we stopped at had a Nigerian/Saanen Doe who was a year old and supposedly bred to kid anytime. She was a rescue from someone who was in an accident and couldn't care for his goats anymore. Now we were just going to have 3 goats that was it! But then we started thinking that wouldn't it be nice not to have to wait a year for milk? So we decided to take the one year old too! I should mention that not everything goes as planned, and May Bell the one year old Doe who we thought was bred wasn't. We now have to come up with another plan for getting our milk... just wait and see how we are solving the problem in a future update!
Update May 2012~
Well today is May 2 and we are happy to announce the new arrival of our Milking Goat Coco Boca and her future beau Sky's the Limit. Coco is a Nubian/LaMancha cross who just turned 2 in March. She is very friendly and will give us almost a gallon of milk a day! Of course this means I have to milk twice a day which was very interesting tonight as I haven't milked in quite a few years. Plus being on show so to speak - no pressure LOL. I am sure in a few days it will be a breeze - I just hope poor Coco can put up with me re-learning on her!
Sky's the Limit is our Nubian buck who is only about 1 1/2 months old at the moment - still being bottle fed and is such a lover! I can't believe the difference in size between the Nigerians kids we already have who are a few months older then him. He is already almost twice their size! He is going to be a big boy I think!
We have to send a shout out to Joanne Gorey who has set us up very nicely with everything we need to start our milk production and this includes the goats and a milking stand to boot! Thank you so much Jo we couldn't have done this without you and all your help!
Stay tuned for more details on how milking is going, what I am doing with the milk and some new recipes too!
Sky's the Limit is our Nubian buck who is only about 1 1/2 months old at the moment - still being bottle fed and is such a lover! I can't believe the difference in size between the Nigerians kids we already have who are a few months older then him. He is already almost twice their size! He is going to be a big boy I think!
We have to send a shout out to Joanne Gorey who has set us up very nicely with everything we need to start our milk production and this includes the goats and a milking stand to boot! Thank you so much Jo we couldn't have done this without you and all your help!
Stay tuned for more details on how milking is going, what I am doing with the milk and some new recipes too!
Scrambling Eggs...
Black Copper Maran Rooster
Well I like to bake...and I bake a lot. One ingredient you need for most any recipe in baking is eggs. We also love what we call Breakfast Bagels which is ham, cheese and egg on a bagel. Now in a family of 5 just having scrambled eggs or breakfast bagels will go through quite a few eggs. So the decision to have chickens was easy for us, the hard part was my waiting until we could get some. I would have had them last fall but Jonathan was more realistic and brought up the point of long winters, slower egg production as well as we have No Coop! OK so a coop is important and so we waited until late winter. The hard part of it all was when the magazines like Mother Earth and Grit start coming out with their chicken editions. As well as when you visit the local Tractor Supply and they have all the chick accessories for sale!!! OK guess what I did? I once again visited my favorite online classifieds and began a search for chickens.
For me it really didn't matter what kind as long as they were hardy and were egg layers. So of course we like to fall back to one of most popular hens called Rhode Island Reds. Then I saw an ad for someone who was moving out of state and was not taking their chickens with them. She had Black Copper Marans (a newer breed to the US who has yet to be recognized by the American Poultry Association). The birds were about 3 months old and when they start laying eggs they are chocolate brown in color! OH I so had to have some of them! Another plus about their age is we would have a 3 month head start for laying! OK so we made the trip and went down to the farm to meet them. Of course they came back with us - all 8 of them. And because I have such a great husband, he gave up his storage shed (or half of it anyways) and has made a coop in it. Yipee we are the proud owners of our first chickens! I should mention that the chickens were a straight run and what that means is that it is a potluck what you get in boys and girls. So we could have had all 8 roosters or all 8 hens. Of course you would rather have more hens than roosters any day of the week. Hah we ended up with 5 roosters and 3 hens. Not great but we were able to sell 3 of the roosters at a local swap a few weeks ago so we were able to get some money back.
Well 3 hens wasn't going to be enough... so we decide to take a trip down to the local Tractor Supply and see what they have for chicks. OH so cute!!! Little yellow puff balls! Ok I will take 8 but this time I went right for the Pullets. A pullet is a female chick - they sex them at the hatchery so when they sell them they cost a bit more then a straight run would but you are guaranteed female egg producing chickens! Now what kind.. decisions.. decisions... how about 4 of each breed! So we opted for 4 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Easter Eggers. So now we will have 11 hens to give us eggs. That will be great! But we aren't done yet...
For me it really didn't matter what kind as long as they were hardy and were egg layers. So of course we like to fall back to one of most popular hens called Rhode Island Reds. Then I saw an ad for someone who was moving out of state and was not taking their chickens with them. She had Black Copper Marans (a newer breed to the US who has yet to be recognized by the American Poultry Association). The birds were about 3 months old and when they start laying eggs they are chocolate brown in color! OH I so had to have some of them! Another plus about their age is we would have a 3 month head start for laying! OK so we made the trip and went down to the farm to meet them. Of course they came back with us - all 8 of them. And because I have such a great husband, he gave up his storage shed (or half of it anyways) and has made a coop in it. Yipee we are the proud owners of our first chickens! I should mention that the chickens were a straight run and what that means is that it is a potluck what you get in boys and girls. So we could have had all 8 roosters or all 8 hens. Of course you would rather have more hens than roosters any day of the week. Hah we ended up with 5 roosters and 3 hens. Not great but we were able to sell 3 of the roosters at a local swap a few weeks ago so we were able to get some money back.
Well 3 hens wasn't going to be enough... so we decide to take a trip down to the local Tractor Supply and see what they have for chicks. OH so cute!!! Little yellow puff balls! Ok I will take 8 but this time I went right for the Pullets. A pullet is a female chick - they sex them at the hatchery so when they sell them they cost a bit more then a straight run would but you are guaranteed female egg producing chickens! Now what kind.. decisions.. decisions... how about 4 of each breed! So we opted for 4 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Easter Eggers. So now we will have 11 hens to give us eggs. That will be great! But we aren't done yet...
Squankie! Goes the goose...
Waldo and Ferdinand at 3 weeks old
Why geese? Well I am not sure how many of you are familiar with feeding ducks and geese by a pond - and of all the birds who clamber towards you for the bread, the goose, is the most intimidating with its squanking, hissing, body language and flapping snapping beaks! They want to make sure they get everything and can be very bossy about it. As we tried to decide how best to "protect" our flocks and animals from predators the usual thought is donkey, llama, or maybe even a mini horse. Well we have limited space right now and for those who know our past, we did the mini horse and llama thing already. Fatty our mini horse was great! Razzle the Llama was a another story all together! One word to the wise - do not get an intact male llama to guard anything except female llamas! Especially if they have been bottle fed by humans - all we are to them is another pretty face, but so is the sheep in the field, the goats or anything else walking on 2 or 4 legs. The kids at the camp we worked at actually named their band "The Humping Llama" after Razzle he was that active! That being said, I learned a valuable lesson from it all which is if someone is giving you a deal there is probably a reason why they are getting rid of something, so think twice!
Ok back to the geese. So we needed something that would make lots of noise and would defend it's territory to the end from predators and of course unwanted house guests (just kidding). So geese were an easy choice. As it is spring time and everyone is hatching something out, it wasn't long before I found a listing online for Chinese Geese. Of course we couldn't say no when we saw them as they are like big fuzzy yellow ducks on steroids. Again they are a straight run so they can be both males, both females or of course one of each. We are hoping for at least one of them to be a female so that we can get goose eggs! Yes they are just like chicken eggs only bigger so instead of a 3 egg omelet you have a one large egg omelet that feeds 2. We decided to name them Waldo and Ferdinand. Waldo is one of my favorite characters from Aristocats the Disney movie. He is the drunk uncle goose who is "marinated" by the chef who intends to serve him for lunch. We also bought him in a town near Waldo, ME so it seemed fitting. I am saying "he" as the male breed of Chinese geese have a bulbous membrane that grows atop their upper beak which he seems to be getting. (just a guess). Ferdinand we aren't sure about. Sometimes I think he is a he and sometimes she is a she. A few more weeks and we will know for sure - so it may be name adjustment time. But boy do they have personalities! Never thought I would say that about geese. If you talk to them they squankie squankie at you like having a conversation - and the way they waddle around makes even the most glum face smile! So more than future guards and possible egg producers, our geese are jesters of the farm! So when you visit, be prepared to laugh a little at their antics!
Ok back to the geese. So we needed something that would make lots of noise and would defend it's territory to the end from predators and of course unwanted house guests (just kidding). So geese were an easy choice. As it is spring time and everyone is hatching something out, it wasn't long before I found a listing online for Chinese Geese. Of course we couldn't say no when we saw them as they are like big fuzzy yellow ducks on steroids. Again they are a straight run so they can be both males, both females or of course one of each. We are hoping for at least one of them to be a female so that we can get goose eggs! Yes they are just like chicken eggs only bigger so instead of a 3 egg omelet you have a one large egg omelet that feeds 2. We decided to name them Waldo and Ferdinand. Waldo is one of my favorite characters from Aristocats the Disney movie. He is the drunk uncle goose who is "marinated" by the chef who intends to serve him for lunch. We also bought him in a town near Waldo, ME so it seemed fitting. I am saying "he" as the male breed of Chinese geese have a bulbous membrane that grows atop their upper beak which he seems to be getting. (just a guess). Ferdinand we aren't sure about. Sometimes I think he is a he and sometimes she is a she. A few more weeks and we will know for sure - so it may be name adjustment time. But boy do they have personalities! Never thought I would say that about geese. If you talk to them they squankie squankie at you like having a conversation - and the way they waddle around makes even the most glum face smile! So more than future guards and possible egg producers, our geese are jesters of the farm! So when you visit, be prepared to laugh a little at their antics!
Winking, Blinking and Nod...
Ducklings at 2 days old
One of the hardest and funniest things with the geese is Jonathan kept calling them ducks. I of course would correct him and say geese and he would say whatever. The next time he would call them ducks again and the cycle would start over. So my remedy for that? Just get some ducks! And it worked.... welcome to the farm Winking, Blinking and Nod.
How they arrived at such original names is when they used a recycled bowl we had as a nest to sleep in. Originally it was propping up the water bottle for the chicks but they soon had other ideas. They are supposed to be Mallards and again straight run so we will have to wait and see who and what they are in a few months. If we end up with girls we will have more eggs if boys...roast duck is always good. No don't cringe..we are supposed to be homesteading remember. Ok so I don't know if I could actually do the deed but if we were hungry enough out of necessity to feed my family - everything on the farm is fair game. If we have a mix... then call me Noah and we can raise future ducks so the boy(s) will be worth keeping around. They really are quite comical as well especially when given a bowl of water to splash and bathe in. Make a real mess so I call them my muckie duckies... but who can get mad at something that cute!
How they arrived at such original names is when they used a recycled bowl we had as a nest to sleep in. Originally it was propping up the water bottle for the chicks but they soon had other ideas. They are supposed to be Mallards and again straight run so we will have to wait and see who and what they are in a few months. If we end up with girls we will have more eggs if boys...roast duck is always good. No don't cringe..we are supposed to be homesteading remember. Ok so I don't know if I could actually do the deed but if we were hungry enough out of necessity to feed my family - everything on the farm is fair game. If we have a mix... then call me Noah and we can raise future ducks so the boy(s) will be worth keeping around. They really are quite comical as well especially when given a bowl of water to splash and bathe in. Make a real mess so I call them my muckie duckies... but who can get mad at something that cute!
SURPRISE!!!!!
Bantams at a few days old
At this point we have a definite 11 hens for laying with possibly a duck or goose too! A fantastic start to our Homestead needs. And with the ducks getting older we finally moved them onto the mud room pen with the other chicks and geese! I have my living room back and can reduce the heat lamp down to one! But I love Bantams - and every time I see the chicks at Tractor Supply I say to Jonathan ohhh can't we just get a couple and he says we have so many already and I agree and we leave. Well one day Jonathan comes home from work and walks into the house with a big Cheshire cat grin on his face and his hands behind his back. Now most woman would think, oh he brought me flowers! NOT - my husband hands me a happy meal shaped box with chickens on the outside - and what do I find inside - nope not a hamburg, fries and a toy... 6 black puff balls of Bantams! Hah he is as bad as I am!!! I call them cotton bottoms as they are all black except for a white puff on their bottoms - he wasn't sure of the breed or if they were straight run or pullets. LOL typical man forgets the details, but no matter they are part of the clan now and have joined the ducks in the new pen. It will be eggciting to see what they turn into and the best part is... they were a surprise so that much more special! Thank you again Jonathan you really did make my day!
Time for some more fur...
Rabbits at 8 weeks old
Now being a homestead means everything has a reason or a purpose to be here. Chickens, geese and ducks for eggs, goats for milk, and rabbits for meat and fur. I know it sounds horrible to think we are raising rabbits to eat, but when you are a small farm with no pasture and you are thinking of feeding a family into the future, rabbits are easy, cheap to keep and require minimal care. They also multiply very fast and reach a good eating weight within a few months. Their manure is an excellent source of compost for the gardens too which is an added bonus. We decided on 3 rabbits and they are Californian which is a fast growing meat breed. We have a buck and 2 does which are going to be used for breeding future stock to sell or for the freezer. The pelts we may use to make gloves or hats...depending on if I want to get into tanning hides or not. Another reason we chose rabbit for meat raising is the ease of butchering. It literally is a snap, a few slices and peeling off a glove... now compare that with a chicken where you have to slice, drain, scald, pluck, pluck some more, and maybe pluck some more... a 10 minute rabbit butcher is maybe 45 minutes or more for a chicken - this is only a guesstimate as I have done neither yet and I am relying only on the word of books and youtube videos. This will all be a learning experience for me and seems ironic that this was all really common place only 50 years ago. At least I will know where my meat is coming from, what it was fed prior to us eating it and how it was processed. If you have ever watched any part of the documentary "Food Inc" you will understand where I am coming from. Commercial farms are not healthy for us at all.
OK what is next?
For now we have filled our farm to capacity in livestock. We have at least 11 hens until we know for sure what the Bantams, Geese and ducks are. We have rabbits and we have goats. Milk, cheese, meat, eggs and hides...not a bad start and it is only April! Look for more updates and additions soon!
Update June 2012~
Ok are you ready for a laugh? Well remember those Bantams... yeah the ones Jonathan surprised me with a few months ago. Cute black chicks with cotton bottoms... the ones he couldn't remember what kind they were or if they were straight run or pullets. Well a few months have gone by and guess what??? They are growing, growing and growing more! Yup - they are not Bantams after all LOL!!!
My guess and I believe I am correct, is that they are Plymouth Rocks - an old vintage egg breed as popular as the Rhode Island Reds. They have a mottled black and white pattern and seem to be all female so at least they were pullets. I researched the breed on line and found a picture of chicks that were the same as what these girls looked like when we first go them. So I didn't get my Bantams like I had wanted but I will have 6 hens who will be helping to supply our family with eggs - so no complaints here! As for Bantams... there is always next year :)