Goats, goat, goats, and other stuff

If you are over on 'the facebook' then you know the reason I've been a little quiet lately is that I bungled up my hip again. Remember when this happened? Yeah.. I had to go back and get urgently cared for again. But they fixed me right up and I'm on the mend. Just watching a lot of TV with the cats.

 Baby goats are very adorable!

So here are some links to keep you entertained. Are you considering getting your goat this spring? Now is a great time to get set up. Folks LOVE goats. I do not. But they are the perfect addition to any barnyard, provided you have patience and good fencing.

Around this time of year folks get really interested in a couple of things:

1. How to bottle feed baby goats (complete with an adorable video)  and...

2. How to fix a broke down goat - an easy peasy way to treat goat polio. 

But there are some other topics folks ask me about including....

How (not) to milk a goat. - Be the Boss Goat.

Goat Milking 201 - once you've gotten up your courage here is how to take it to the next level.

Goat Pimpin' - My hatred for having a buck goat on the farm but why it's sometimes necessary.

How to butcher a goat. For when that buck goat just pushed his luck just a little too far.

If you are investigating getting goats you might wonder what surprises you might be in for or what everyone is NOT telling you. I'm here to blow the lid off What You Need to Know:

What goats are really like?

Not everyone loves goats. Here are five things I do not like about goats.

Just one example of goat foolishness I do not have time for - Goat on a Rope.

So what happens when you go out and and realize that you have too many goats?  One of the hardest thing about farming is that not every body makes it and not every body gets to stay. If you get goats the easiest thing is to let your goat herd get out of control. You must run your farm like a business for your own finance sake....and the sake of your livestock.

Right now we still have Nibbles and Debbie. Mostly to keep them around for grazing and also because they are the two we like. But now that another season is rolling around we may just be at the point where we may be entirely goat-less. But we are still mulling that one over.

Happy Sunday everyone! Are you thinking about getting goats? Any questions I can answer? You know I'll always tell you The Truth About Farming.

Just in case you chicken out.... King's Poultry

So we've been talking about meat chickens and the other day we had a huge butcher day. One of the things I suggest is that you start small in meat chickens just to make sure you don't "chicken out" and decide not to butcher them yourself. But what if you freak out and just won't do it? What do you do?

Hilarious 'Bucket o' Chicken' picture that always makes me laugh.

The easiest thing is to get someone to help you so at least you'll know if you really don't want to do it. However I will tell you that almost to a person, almost everyone that I've talked to has the same experience. At the end of the day they are convinced that this is a great project and one they can do. After they have a couple 'home made' chicken meals they are determined never to go back to store meat.

But for whatever reason it may just not be your thing. That's find too. There is almost always someone on Craigslist that will buy them from you.

Or you can find a local processor. This is more difficult than it sounds. Getting the right approvals and inspections is very difficult. Sure you might be able to find someone to do it on the sly.... but not a lot of folks are willing to take the risk.

In Ohio I know of one Department of Ag inspected facility and that is King and Sons in Bradford. I have never done business with them but I know of a guy who takes his turkeys there. For us this place is so far away it would never be "worth" it - but their prices seem reasonable.

I saw on their facebook page that they had a terrible fire in one of their barns... so I was wondering if they were still processing? Yep! Just got an email back from Levi that they are still doing processing. Make sure you contact them for an appointment. From the looks of it they can be really flexible - especially if you are coming from a distance.

Happy Wednesday everyone! Are you having chicken for dinner?

Sun. Shine. On Chicken Day!

Yesterday was terrific!  The sun was out, it was 65*, and it was chicken day!  All of this in February - can you believe it?

The sun was as golden as all of this chicken fat. 

We sent about half of our remaining creepy meats to their glory yesterday. It was fabulous to be outside. All the laying hens and the rest of the poultry mob were out also - everyone was soaking up the sun. Our winter will be back soon but these mild days have just been heaven.

I posted this over on the facebook.... it's my Top Ten Butcher Day tips. Can you butcher your own chickens? Yes, you can! We are just regular people and if we can do it... then so can you. Now is a great time to start planning for raising your own creepy meats... and stalking the feed stores. The farm stores will start having chicks soon.

Our Shine soaked up the sun on chicken day. He was very helpful. 

If you want to give it a go then I'd say start with 10 creepy meats. That is a good number because it allows for attrition and is enough for you to get a feel for what a yard of creepy meats is like....but it's not overwhelming. Also, if you "chicken out" and decide not to butcher them then it's an easy number to sell on craigslist.

Should you chicken out? Nope. You should give butchering a try - at least then you'll know if you can do it or not. But everyone is different so do what is right for you. 

But you should still give it a try on your own. Our process is extremely easy. We noodle around with chores in the morning, take our time getting our tools ready, and then put the dogs on the deck so they can watch the best show in town. The Big Man goes and gets a volunteer, dispatches it on the block, then I skin and gut them. We save the fat, liver, and hearts in a big bowl. The hardest part about the day is keeping the regular chickens from stealing my fat and liver.

Under all that creepiness is a chicken just like you get in the store... but usually without all the green muscle disease.  And yes, I'm still mad that the one package of chicken we got at the store was so gross. Talk about a message from the universe to keep growing your own! We got it, believe me.

The chickens we worked on yesterday are resting comfortably in our coldest fridge. Today I'll part them up and get them into the freezer. I'll make stock and can it the next day. I've already rendered the fat and made pate from the liver.

After we finished up I laid in a big pile of dogs on the dog bed with my crew and it was the best day ever.

Happy Sunday everyone! Are you having chicken for dinner tonite?

Ti's Baby Pictures

I was going thru some old files and found a treasure trove of Ti's baby pictures. He was so little! You'll remember the story about how we got Ti and Lucky.

 This is one of the first pictures of when we brought Ti home. He was just a little baby!

Why don't I have a ton of pictures when Ti was a baby? Well, I was a reluctant dog person when I first got here. So the dog thing was new to me. I had no idea I would end up with a house full of huge dogs. I couldn't understand why people would want big dogs.

At first it was just our old lady Shady and Ti. They were a terrific team.

Looking out for adventure.

But then I found out that working dogs are terrific. And so we grew our pack....and I found out I really really really love puppies. So that's why I have tons of pictures of Kai and Zander. Plus, I have a better camera now.

 He was so small in his big dog bed... now he barely fits on any of them.

 He started to grow into it. 

I was also busy shutting down my old life so I really didn't have a lot of puppy time with him. We got Ti when he was more toward the 12 week mark... it was very different than when we got Bubby as a very young pup.  Not everyone loves puppies - they are a lot of work but I just adore every second.

 He's always been a hard working dog and my best helper. Those ears tho..... ha!

Ti has alwasy been a very serious dog - he was never very really silly like our Wiggles aka Kai.

We were so excited to get him that big bone...but then Shady took it and buried it. 

We never saw it again. Ha!

I also found a few pictures of Lucky when he was little and his funny ear almost stood up straight!

Our first picture together.

This is my favorite picture of My Most Excellent Good Dog, Wolfgang Titan Big Bear. My Right Hand. First in Command. The Other Half of My Sky.

Happy Friday everyone! Did you find some baby pictures?

What a snow! And Bubby blows his coat.

Sometimes this blog is about my personal record keeping - like today. I need to note that we had a ridiculous snow over night.... so bad hat we have been under a "Level Two Snow Emergency." This means that pretty much everything is shut down.

There be dire wolves here. My Zander's paw print.

Our roads have been plowed but it's still a disaster out there. To make it worse it's a big ol' heavy, wet snow that is bending over all the trees. We had some flickering lights earlier. So far so good... for now.

Foolish me. I shoveled off half the deck so the dogs wouldn't have to sit in the snow. *sigh*

Of course the dogs love it. My crew can't get enough of mushing thru the snow. As you can see from the above pic.... that whole "If you are cold, they are cold. Bring them in..." thing is  a bunch of crap. Ha! Not my crew. They are happiest in the snow. I'm the one that gives up first and makes them go inside.

And as luck would have it, over the last couple days with our coldest temperatures of the year, Zander is blowing his coat. That means he is shedding all at once. There is fur everywhere. EVERY.WHERE. The local birds love it - there are a lot of nests being lined with Bubby fur. It's hilarious to find them. But pretty much the vacuum started crying when the fur started flying.

We are calling Zander, "Patchy" for the foreseeable future. 

Today will be about brushing out my Bubby and hoping the electric stays on.

Happy Tuesday everyone - are you getting a snow day?

What a loaf!

Thanks so much to my pal, S, who reminded me about this terrific way to make bread!  My loaf turned about beautifully.

Wow what a loaf!

I didn't exactly follow the exact receipe as there are a million ways to make bread. Mostly it's just flour, water, salt, yeast...and time. But how you combine those few ingredients make all the difference.

What is a good bread recipe? Take your pick....

• My pal used this recipe to make her bread.

• I've always used this method for "5 minute a day bread" - a classic from Mother Earth News. But for the full instructions you can check out their book.

• If I want a quick loaf or pizza dough then I use this recipe - be sure you get food grade plastic buckets from your local bakery or deli for the fermenting process.

But when I want to start a "real" loaf of bread then I start the day before with this method. The real key to making such a beautiful loaf was that I baked it in one of my Le Creuset pans.

Put the dough in the pan for the last rise (lid on). Just before baking rub a little olive oil over the bread surface, score with a sharp knife, then put the entire thing into the oven for about 25 minutes. Take the lid off and let the bread bake uncovered until it is a beautiful golden brown and the internal temperature is 200*. How easy is that? (read all the details here)

Bread making isn't magical.. it's mostly science. How you handle the dough, the time you let it rise, and the moisture you put into it really create the character of the bread. It helps if you have a $12,000 professional oven... or maybe a cob oven like this....  but you can make a good loaf right in your regular old oven.

If you struggle with bread making then here are a few tips:

1. Get good yeastand proof it - that is.. make sure it is fresh. Then put the yeast in a small bowl, add a little sugar, then some 100* water. Let it set until it gets foamy.
2. Don't be in a rush. Let the dough rise in a warm area.
3. Make sure your oven is hot. Turn it on about an hour before baking time. While the oven is heating up you can put your loafs on the warm oven to rise.
4. Let it bake long enough. Most recipes will tell you the internal temperature to check to see when it is done.
5. Let the loaf set for a few minutes once you take it out of the oven - this completes the cooking process.

You can also do your research. Of course, my favorite resource is Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. She has a huge section dedicated to bread making. She will tell you to put down the fancy kitchen equipment and just old school it. But I like to use my KitchenAid.

Another terrific reference is The Bread Bible.But I have to warn you... it might scare you off. There is a ton of technical information on this book that, frankly, makes me roll my eyes. But if you are more nerd than chef this might be the book for you. Just don't freak out over all the steps.

It looks like we are getting a break in the weather... after we are tormented with freezing rain and a rain/snow mix... but thank heavens our temperatures will moderate.

We had a great weekend laying around and baking bread. How are you doing? Did you bake some bread?

Happy Monday everyone!


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The Polar Vortex continues to vex.... but so far so good.

Yesterday I got all my livestock shuffling done. Everyone got bedded down and snuggled in. The cold is upon us now. While it's nothing like the -30* nights we've had before... it's still pretty bad. But we only need everyone to make it to Monday when the cold will ease up.

Baby Bubby! Remember when he was just a tiny little snow face?

The meat chickens took the longest because I had to scoop them up and then haul them into their new pen in the garage - one at a time. Ti helped me keep them contained.

The worst part about livestock in winter? Trying to convince them to live. It's like they are all born to die. It's like they try every single way to shuffle off their mortal feathers.... usually ingloriously and due to stupidity. It was a long day but I finally got them all resettled. Good thing meat chickens are delicious. They are almost too stupid to live.

Despite all our reservations and concerns... the heat lamps worked. The temperature in the garage actually went up a bit. Add to that all the bodies and soon they were right as rain.

Peep feets. The cats have been glued to the heated bed.

The goats were already packed and ready to leave for the Turkey House by the time I got over there. They made a beeline to the newly strawed in spot and belly flopped right on down. Then commenced to bitchin'. For a long time. Because I put them exactly where they wanted to be. Goats. They are like that. Ingrates.

This morning we were very glad that we did not burn down the garage or the Turkey House. Everyone seemed to be doing OK so we are tentatively calling it a success.

Do you need strategies for cold weather livestock care?  Here are a few of ours...

• We weren't entirely concerned with a big winter storm but if you need to Defeat The Four Horsemen of the Sno-pocalypse: Winter Storm prep... here you go.

• Our advice for extreme cold weather livestock care.

• Why we shuffled the goats around and why it works. 

• When you have sustained, extreme cold you need a strategy and not just to "hurry" thru chores. Here is what we do and how we handle having 45 minutes of chores when you can get frostbite in 10 minutes. 

• How do we decide who can go outside and who has to sit inside? It's a tough call sometimes.

In the end you can only give the barnyard the tools for success and do your best. Winter is tough. But with the right strategies you might get thru it..... but I'm still vexed.

Happy Saturday everyone! How are you doing with this cold? Everyone ok?