A Day on the Farm - chicken butchering day

In April we ordered a straight run of 50 Americanus chickens with the intention of butchering most of the roosters and keeping the hens as layers. There were three main moral convictions that lead to this decision.

First of all, I am concerned by the fact that most Americans are so disconnected from their food. They have no idea where the chicken they are eating came from, what kind of miserable life it had, what kind of perverse "food" it was fed, or what drugs were pumped into it to keep it alive in it's stressful, overcrowded, sun-and-grass-deprived environment. If I am going to eat meat, I feel I should at least know that the animal had a natural, low-stress life with access to sunshine and grass. Better yet, I should have a real connection with that animal - I should nurture and care for it and ensure that it has a peaceful life and a quick and quiet death.

Second, I like to know exactly what I am eating and to know that it is healthy food. I want quality, organic, natural meat - not meat pumped full of pesticides and antibiotics.

Finally, I am a converted localvore. I believe in eating local foods that have not been shipped 1,500 miles to get to my plate. Americans consume an unbelievable amount of fossil fuel just transporting food. It's bad for the environment, it's adds to our country's dependence on foreign oil, and the quality of our food suffers.

By raising and butchering our own chickens, we can live more in keeping with these beliefs. Our birds have been free ranged with access to plenty of sunshine, grass and bugs. They have had a low-stress, natural, local existence and they will be organic, healthy food for us.

Well, yesterday was the big day. The long-awaited (and somewhat dreaded) "chicken butchering day" on the farm. The 22 roosters running around picking on each other and on all of the hens had gotten to be enough. It was time to move some of them from the yard to the freezer.

We got up at 6 am so we could quietly take one bird at a time from the roost and make their last few moments as quiet and trauma-free as possible. By the time the sun started coming up we had 10 headless roosters hanging from the clothesline. It took us the rest of the day to butcher them and prepare the meat for the freezer. I have to say, it was A LOT of work and I am exhausted - physically, mentally, and emotionally. But we have chicken in the freezer and I know we can do it again if we need to (although DH says if he has to do it every year, he's going to become a vegetarian).

I have included some pictures of the event. Quite a redneck hillbilly looking yard, eh?

Peace

A Day on the Farm - pond fishing

"Quick! Get the camera!" is an phrase occasionally heard around the farm. I usually hear it when I'm busy in the garden or hen house. Whatever I happen to be doing, I drop it to grab the camera and document the latest "monster" caught from our pond. I don't really mind doing my part to prove that there are BIG fish living in there and that my husband is a superb fisherman, but just once I'd like to hear "Quick! Get the fillet knife!".

Peace

A Day on the Farm - cat in the hen house

Cash the cat spent the night in the hen house. Not sure what he was doing in there - sleeping maybe? I might have to start checking before I shut the doors in the evenings.

Peace

A Day on the Farm - Beans & Amaranth

We had great success with beans this year. We planted three heirloom varieties; Contender (an excellent green bush-type), Molly Frazier's Cut Short (a pole bean for drying), and Elvie (a bush bean that also dries well). I'll try to post pictures of the dried beans later.

We also had good success with Amaranth, which we did not plant, but voluntarily came up from last year. I had planed on harvesting the grains and making flour from it last year, but the flood prevented that from happening. This year, we have been so busy harvesting and storing other crops, that I decided to just cut it and give it to the chickens. I gave them a little of it and dried the rest to feed them during the winter. It might help a little with the organic feed bill!

Peace

Stocking up for winter

I really enjoy canning. I know that sounds pretty lame and geeky, but it's true. Besides being in the kitchen and cooking, I love the feeling of satisfaction and security I get from putting food up for the winter. Just looking at those jars and thinking about all the meals they will provide makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And I feel even better knowing that I grew that food myself. The whole process of taking a seed and turning it into great-tasting, nutritious, stored food makes me feel like I have really accomplished something real and meaningful.

Here are some pictures of the fruits of my labor.

Peace

The Pits are finally filled in!

In our quest to live a self-sufficient life, we have always planned on building a green house. After all, if you want to be self-reliant, you need to be able to grow your own food in the winter too. We knew that the green house project would have to take a back seat to building the house, so when we designed our passive solar "green" home we decided to build in planter beds across the south side.

Well, we followed this plan, and after we poured the concrete in July of '07, there were two 24"-deep holes in the floor measuring 2 feet by 14 feet. The remainder of the house went up around these gaping holes and when we moved into the house in December of '07 they were still there. These holes became know as The Pits and "Don't fall in the pit" quickly became an often-spoken warning to all quests (and sometimes a caution to each other on a Friday or Saturday night after a beer or two).

We lived with The Pits for almost 10 months, but I am pleased to announce that they are now filled with soil (thanks to the help of our daughter and Neighbor Jim). Not only are they filled in, but they have plants in them. Yesterday I transplanted a couple of volunteer tomatoes and some herbs into them, and I will soon be starting some lettuce seeds. This means we may actually have fresh tomatoes and lettuce over the winter. Can you imagine?!

Peace