Mushrooms Mushrooms Mushrooms!

Several weeks ago I decided I was tired of not having fresh mushrooms, and due to the immune enhancing properties I wanted to have them at my disposal. So I started yet ANOTHER venture.. Growing mushrooms!
We have Shiitake logs in the house, and outside. I have oysters in a bucket in my laundry room growing, and portabellas in my back hallway! The shiitake logs are slow. they fruit only a few at a time until the mycellium can spread thru the log. the older the log gets the better fruiting we will get each time. I also bought 300 spawn plugs and inoculated logs for out doors. they will sit and do their thing from 6-9 months before producing, but I should get several hundred per fruiting, and they can fruit ever few weeks. so I will have plenty (I HOPE) kinda like counting your chicks before they hatch, it never works well for me).
They oysters are recycling our old coffee grounds. This is a NEW project i am attempting without the use of purchased mycellium. so far it looks promising.
Now the portabella, I splurged and bought a kit. I found the best price available on the net and took the plunge. They started slow.. but then I moved them from the hallway to part time in the dining room. LITERALLY over night last nite they grew over an inch! its so exciting when you can literally SEE your project taking off right before your eyes. I took the biggest in the photo to my dad, as there was not enough to feed our family of 3 with it. the mushroom measured 6" across the top and weighed 8.1 ounces! How kewl is that a mushroom that weighed over half a pound!!
I have included a photo of our son holding the BIG mushroom just this am. If you would like more information on our mushrooms please email me!

PIG Project comes to an end

Yesterday was a bitter sweet day. After spending Monday morning loading the pigs, they slept in a nice warm trailer, full of fresh straw. We got up yesterday, as usual, to get our son off to school. I went out to feed the pigs, But much to my surprise, they were in NO distress, they were passed out all over in the straw, snoring and sleeping like babies. I actually got off 3 pictures before they woke.
Wig, walked up and wanted her head rubbed. I think they were trying to butter me up.
I decided not to feed them, as we were going straight to Ionia to the "packing company", and they usually sleep in till 10:30 ish anyway. So off we went. The trip went smoothly. As soon as we arrived, I went back to check on them. They did look a bit LOST but otherwise quite content. When it was time to unload, the gentleman was VERY patient with us. I had told him some time ago that even tho they were going to be meat, they were still a living breathing thing with thoughts and feelings, and I would not tolerate cruelness. I dont get the impression that he would have been even without the lecture. We expected the pigs to BOLT as soon as the door was opened, but they just stood there. Pig stuck his head out and went back in to lay in the warm straw. I opened the 2nd door, no change. I had to actually get up in side and push them out. They then quietly followed my husband to the back gate, then the other man into the holding pen. He called them by name and scratched their backs as they walked past. The probptly began ruting in the dirt and were not in anyway upset or frightened.
He guestimated they are about 200# we could have gone another month. These were VERY lean hogs. they were not skinny but lean. We will have little weight in fat.
Due to the calmness of the pigs and the man helping, we will also have no surge of natural hormones. This can cause your meat to taste different or be more tuff.
Imagine, adreanalin running full wide open just before hand! eewww.. so we took every precaution, not to mention.. they are still a living creature.
Now Im a pretty tuff person. I doesnt bother me to take the chickens or turkeys, but I have to admit, I have thought about it alot. Today is actually the kill day. Probably as I type actually. Pigs are very intelligent. The first one will not know what is going on, but the one that has to see it, will be scared for MOMENTS only, but still. If you cannot seperate yourself from these feelings, do NO do pigs. I was just as ready as any of us to be done with wading in the mud, and hauling feed and water. But I have to admit.. I will miss Pig and Wig.

Anyway, moving along.. after the pigs were in the holding area, we went to the front to speak with another very friendly and helpful lady. She had her job cut out for her. We had to tell her WHAT we wanted. And tho I had researched, I still was not sure what the best cuts for us would be.
We ended up with something like this:
all hams smoked
shoulders into boston butt
center cut ham steaks (from the center of the ham area, leaving large ham) 3/4" cut
Instead of pork chops, we went with pork cutlets, again 3/4" I HATE pork chops!
1/4" bacon from one side and 1/4" side pork from the other. (Bacon is smoked side pork is NOT)
2 racks of spare ribs
I took all the hocks, no one wanted them from the other hog, so they will be smoked for soup.
the jowls into bacon as well
scraps into sage sausage
and requested the lard from both hogs.

We are keeping one, which ever is the largest, for our family, and the other was sold to friends of the family for half and the other half is being seperated into half of a half for my folks and Mikes as well.
Our friends requested the hearts and tounges. this was not a problem for me. I like venison and beef heart but not crazy about pork heart, and the tounge, naaa I have seen them eat some nasty stuff. grin..
Thursday I am to call and they will give me hanging weight on the pigs.
as soon as I get this I will add to THIS blog as well as other information.

UPDATE: The pigs had a HANGING weight of 136# and 138#. Here is the Breakdown

Pig purchase $30.00/2=15$ each
DeWormer $17.00
Feed $80.00 X2= $160.00
-----------------------------------
$227.00
Kill fee 40.00X2 80.00
processing .44 lb x274# $120.56

It has definately been worth it.

October progress and Projects

Hi all... October has been a very busy month here on the farm.
First of all.. We finally called the butcher and the pigs go for their ride tuesday October 27th. Of course the weather has done anything but cooperate! We have had nearly 2" of rain in the past 3 days. The hill to get to the pigs is IMPOSSIBLE to walk let alone to try to drive a truck and trailer down it! With some brain storming from my dad, we have come up with a way to WALK them to the trailer. LETS hope it works. Tomorrow am we will be attempting this feat.

MUSHROOMS MUSHROOMS MUSHROOMS!!

Im not sure about everyone but im not sure how everyone cannot just LOVE mushrooms! I have started some Shiitake logs in the house, as well as a box of Portabellas.
We have had the first fruiting from the logs. it was very small but non the less tasty. The Portabellas have HUNDREDS of tiny pinheads and will soon be full blown portabellas for stuffing! YUMMM

Since I am into recycling.. I have found another MUSHROOM project!
So today I sent to Quality Dairy and got their days worth of coffee grounds and filters. fill a 5 gallon bucket apx. 1/2 full with grounds and filters. drill several small holes just about 2" above the coffee line.
Then.. get some Oyster mushrooms. You can get spawn if you like, but its not cheep. Instead, get the freshest oyster mushrooms you can find. tear into small peices and bury JUST below the surface of the coffee grounds. lightly cover the bucket.
In time, you should start to see the mycelium spreading. This is essentially the TREE. It looks like a vein work of white fuzz spreading thru the substrate.
keep the grounds moist, but NOT wet. soon the entire surface will be covered with this white fuzz. Next comes the shrooms. They are the fruit to the tree.
Oyster mushrooms produce alot of CO2 so be sure you have put those holes in your bucket. Remove the lid is growth is slow. Experiement with your garden to see what it needs the most.
In order to keep this going, you can get another bucket of grounds and remove some of the white fuzzy stuff and place into the bucket. It will n turn grow and spread.
You can basicly have non stop gourmet mushrooms all year around! What a money saver!
I purchased some from Horrocks for this purpose, and they are NOT cheep. $6.99 a lb! so.. you do the math!

AVOID THE FLU!
Well Im not sure we can actually AVOID the flu. I am of course talking of the H1N1 virus. I prefer to NOT call it the Swine flu, it is really quite inaccurate.
I have connections with a wonderful Shaman healer, who is also connected to a holistic healer.
Recomendations for avoiding the flu are of course some obvious and others NOT so obvious.

#1 wash hands.. yes BUT dont use that nasty antibacterial stuff. a good soap and hot water will take care of most of it. We need some bacteria and germs in our body to remain healthy, if we KILL everything with antibacterial.. well we damage part of our immune system.

#2 Avoid crowded spaces as much as you can. Of course we have to go to places on occasion, and many people work inside with constant battering of the virus, but dont go looking for it! And for GOD SAKE.. if you get the flu stay home! I was actually and well I guess still am INFURRIATED with a good friend of the family. I thought she had morse sense than this but... she had been cooped up since tuesday with her tennage daughter with the flu. Now keep in mind, she works at a Dr. Office. so I talked to her FRIDAY.. she was horriably ILL with the flu. Saturday afternoon, we get a call, her vehicle died at TARGET! WHAT! TARGET dont you have the flu. YA.. but she was sick of being stuck in the house! Well.. sorry all you Target fans! hope you were not on saginaw location saturday morning! Of course I refuse to shop Target, due to the military support that they dont lend! But thats neither here nor there.

#3 Air out your home DAILY.. Now I know the cost of heat is high, but you only need about a 10 min air out. open the doors and windows. exchange the stale stagnent air with fresh air.

#4 Get outside.. even if you ARE sick.. and have a fever, wrap up in some warm clothing and get OUT! You will feel much better for it.

now the not so obvious!
Maintain INTERNAL health.
Stay away from pop and artifical drinks, and replace with lots of water, gatoraid or sport aid drinks. Be sure you are HYDRATED so if the flue does hit you, you are not already fighting an uphill battle.

Eat pleanty of Fresh fruits and veggies, maintain any vitamins you may already be taking.

Add benifical bacteria and immune boosting foods to your diet.

Good items to have and start injesting NOW are

~Keifir.. fresh or from a health store..
~Kombucha tea.. This is NOT cheap to purchase at the health store, but it
contains many benifical nutrients and lends its self to the immune system
~ and what do you know.. medicinal Mushrooms!
There are several different varieties of mushrooms and tinctures that have
been proven to boost the immune system. If you are interested in a list
email me and I will tell you where to go to get them and what they are.
I can say one of my favorite sites for INFORMATION is www.fungi.com

MUSHROOM SOUP RECIPE Natural immune booster

make some broth or use store bought if you like. I made a fresh vaggie broth from carrots, onion, green pepper, small cabbages and garlic.
Some of the mushrooms to use are Shiitake, portabella, Oyster, shaggy mane, turkey tail. of course not limited to this.
You can easily get portabella, shiitake and oysters from many stores, Horrocks again had all 3 today.
I went hunting for the shaggy mane, and found several, (this is shaggy mane season)
I also used buttons. Of course I had extra of all so I sliced them up and put into the dehydrator for soup later.
Add the mushrooms to the broth, add salt pepper and fresh garlic.
I put some of the veggies back into the broth, but did strain MOST out.
Becuase no one in my house is sick YET.. i put some cream and starch as a thickner. VIOLA cream of mushroom soup! Make a BIG pot, and put some away for later. If you can eat some once a week.. this is a great immune booster!

IF YOU ARE KNOWN TO BE ALLERGIC TO MUSHROOMS PLEASE STEAR CLEAR..

Use the other methods. I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy!
As always.. if you have any questions or comments, please contact me I am more than happy to chat.

September/October Happenings

It has been a while since my last post, so I will bring everyonw up to speed.
Its currently October 5, 2009. Today was spend flushing the water heater so that we could fire up the outdoor burner and heat the water. Nothing like that hot water. I have been holding out washing the Merino fleece I have for the HOT water.

We attempted to get measurments on the hogs yesterday. As close as I can figure,the wiggley weighs 169# and piggly is 192#. I think that is actually a bit on the heavy side tho. We decided to call the butcher in 2 weeks for a first week of November delivery. HOWEVER.. weather will be a big determining factor.

My Husband has now been officially laid off for about 6 weeks. Thank god we had already purchased all the hog feed ahead of time. Coming up with the cash to butcher will be done over the next several weeks.

The hoop house had to have new plastic. The old tore just before the frost. EEKK
so hurried and got that repaired. The tomatos are slowing, but still getting ripe. have several plants with blossoms still on them.

I have transplanted many of the herbs into pots for the winter. they are still outside but in the hoop house slowly warming to house temp. I have to get them in soon as we have had the fire going in the house and it will be hard for them.

My parents offered their very fertile soil for my garlic for this year. Together with my folks we put in little over 800 cloves. I will add a photo of the garlic garden.

All the sheep that I purchased thru the summer are finally home. The ram is fattening up and preparing for his duty. the ladies are currently being flushed, (fed grain to increase egg production and multiple births)
One of the ewes came to us with a heavy worm overload. she is in quarantine from all others, and has currently had a good dose of garlic/cayenne. tomorrow she gets another dose. I am planning to breed the others in about 2 weeks. The last ewe, the one I MOST anticipated, WAY too small to breed, much to my dissapointment! She is only 24 days younger than MAY, the lamb we kept this spring, who is pushing 125#, the new ewe, is about 30#. its going to take some time with her.

We are in the process of building a COLD FRAME for the winter. this will grow lettuce for salads thru the winter for us.

Tomato canning is complete.. PHEW..

My newest and MOST exciting purchase (other than the garlic) has been shiitake logs.
I received them October 1st. One is currently sprouting "PIN HEADS" or baby muchrooms, the other is still on hold for another week, I will push that one then and will rotate the two logs. I also have a portabella mushroom kit coming. we will of course be eating mushrooms, BUT I will also dry the left overs for cooking with.

I think this about catches us up for the time. Photos will tell some of the story. If you are interested in the Muchrooms, let me know and I can send information.

Turkeys

I'm not sure exactly how much the turkeys weigh. They look huge when all showing off!
The Chocolate turkeys are definately our favorites. They very much resemble a wild turkey, and when the Tom displays he is breathtaking!
He is taller than the whites as well, but looks to be of a thinner build.
We will keep the chocolate hen and tom so we can produce eggs for hatching next year.
We will be offering hatching eggs and poults as soon as they begin to lay. If you are interested in some poults, let me know early spring. The price will be $4.00 each. We are hoping for a good season. But with only one hen, I doubt if there will be allot of extras. We will also keep several for our own use.

I think out of all the animals I have enjoyed the turkeys the most. They are easy to keep, quite for the most part and fun to watch. They are not the brightest bulb in the box but they are still alive so I guess I cannot complain too much. I cant wait till we can taste one! They still get their feed, but I find they don't eat much of it anymore. they spend all their time in the pasture foraging for bugs and eating grass. We took them some apples, but only picked at them alittle, until they rotted then they at them up. They seem to love tomatoes. I will attempt to get some good photos of them displaying this weekend.

Pig Progress

It has been a while since I last posted on the pigs. I am happy to say we have hit the hundred pound mark!
We have been saving scraps in the form of fresh veggies and fruits, and they receive these daily along with their ration of milk or whey if I have made cheese.
We are still placing a bag of feed every 3-4 days into the feeder, so the food consumption has not dropped. The water has increased, and I find it hard to keep up with the water needs of them at this point. They have a nipple drinker on the barrel, however they have never taken to it despite our efforts. This does causes its own problems. We were worried before about them having a mud hole to keep cool, well not a worry now. They LOVE to drink the running water from the barrel, then proceed to tip the bucket. The bucket started dug into the ground to the rim, however they rooted around enough to fill in the hole and the bucket. We will be looking for a different method of watering this weekend.
Their personalities have changed some. Wiggly is very loud and squeeky when we arrive with the food. Piggly has become more friendly enjoying scratches and nose rubs on occasion.
It looks like we will have to get another 500# of feed. that will take the cost per # up significantly. Course our pot bellie pig and the geese (5 of them) all have access to the pig feed, so i have to forgive some of that consumption. I dont think it will take another 500# to get them to weight, however that is where the price break comes in, the left over we can feed to the chickens and the turkeys.
I will take photos this weekend and add them on. I think you will be quite surprised in the growth.

Easy Vanilla Pudding

So How many of you have ever had REAL pudding??
We pretty much take for granted the wonderful fresh flavors of real pudding. NOT THAT BOX KIND that is full of preservatives and other nasty stuff.
Here is a very fast and easy recipe for REAL vanilla pudding. Once you try it you will NEVER go back.

2 C milk (we have raw milk with the cream still in it) goat milk works wonderfully too.
1/4 C cornstarch
2/3 C sugar
1/2 t salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 TBS butter
1 tsp vanilla. I like really vanilla flavored and I use my home made vanilla it does make a difference

in a 3 or 4C pyrex measuring cup add 1 1/2 cup milk. place in micro and heat on high till really steaming but NOT boiling.

while that is cooking combine the last 1/2 C of milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt. I use a large ceramic mixing bowl. mix very well.. and be sure there is no cornstarch chunks.

check the mix in the micro, stir it well and place back in for another 3-5 mins. until the mix is thickened and glossy. Stir well

remove hot mix from mircowave and SLOWLY add about 1/2 of the mix to the eggs.
BE SURE TO ADD SLOWLY AND MIX WELL THE WHOLE TIME.. OR YOU WILL HAVE COOKED EGG PIECES IN YOUR PUDDING.
once the eggs have been well tempured, add them BACK into the hot mix, and stir well.
place back in the microwave for another 3 mins. it will be very thick around edges. MIX in very well. Stir in the vanilla. I just dump it in without measuring.
you can either add to pudding/custard cups or leave in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, set the wrap right onto the pudding and refrigerate till chilled.

You can make variations to this by adding either un sweetened chocolate pieces, or butterscotch chips.
I always put some in small lidded containers for lunch's.
you can also decrease some of the sugar if this is too sweet.
Enjoy

Roasted Squash Soup

Im not sure about you all, but winter squash is always something we look very forward to in the fall. The problem is, there is always too much of it, and it goes bad if not prepared.
We can usually keep it for a few months in the barn but after that is goes fast.
Here is an easy wonderful tasting recipe that Im sure you will love if you like squash.

NEEDED:
large squash or several small.. any kind or mix and match.
1 can coconut milk
1 -2 qts chicken stock
salt
pepper
tyme
rosemary
ground ginger

wash your squash, and peel the outer skin off. I use my potato peeler. but you can use a knife or what ever else will remove the skin.
once peeled, cut squash, remove seeds and cut into 1" squares. toss with some olive oil and place in a roasting pan. sprinkle with seasonings.
Place in a 400 degree oven for 25-35 mins or until squash is tender to the fork.
Remove and place into Food processor. add some chicken stock and mix.
when it gets blending and becoming smooth add the can of coconut milk. add more or less chicken stock as needed for desired thickness. I like to make it like a BASE, and freeze it.
when ready to cook thaw and add desired chicken stock to let down the way you like. if serving for friends, place in pretty bowl and garnish with fresh parsley.

Cant go wrong. If you like it a but sweeter, you can add 1-2 apples that have been softened. this will add a sweet milk flavor.
You can use MILK, CREAM ,HALF N HALF but I tried to keep the fat down, the the coconut milk adds a sorta exotic fancy flavor!

Make your Own Sauerkraut its the best

I just finished jaring up my Sauerkraut. This was my first time of making this. Always intimidated by the idea of fermenting food, I always put it off.
This year we had bumper crop of red cabbage. They were as big as a basketball! how do you possibly eat that much cabbage.. well ferment it!
I have to say.. if I NEVER have store kraut again it will be too soon! Below you will find the directions for making your OWN sauerkraut! I didnt grow any green cabbage so I am hoping to hit the farm market and get a green one or two.
This is an easy recipe and OMG good when done.
What I did!
What is needed:
1 5 gallon food grade bucket or a large ceramic crock if you are luck enough to have one of those.
SALT and LOTS of it. I have a 1# bag of kosher salt that I used
1 head of cabbage OR more if you want to make more.
a plate that will fit inside of your bucket or crock
weight (Clean rock, gallon jug of water, qt jars filled with water, ect.
cheese cloth or towel to cover bucket with.

Thats all
Now wash your cabbage on the outside. remove all old leaves.
Shred your cabbage to the consistancy you like. I like a large kraut so I shred with a large kitchen knife. if you have a mandolin shredder that would be perfect.
Once your cabbage is shredded start to layer.
a layer of cabbage, layer of salt, and pack it down HARD. use a clean baseball bat, your fists ect. the more you squash it the better you are.
add more cabbage, more salt and squash it again.
Keep up this pattern until all cabbage is used. I didnt use the whole # of salt but used ALOT of it. This will be the preservative for the cabbage. The salt will DRAW the water out of the cabbage making a natural brine. If after 1 day the brine is not over the plate make a strong brine with boiling water and salt should be very salty, cool and pour over the cabbage.
The fresher the cabbage the more water will be drawn out.
place plate on top and press.
Add the WEIGHT to the plate and COVER. Place into a cool place. if you can remember to press the cabbage ever few hours for the first few days this is best. as soon as the brine is over the top you are out of the woods.
the longer you can leave to ferment the better off you are.
Mine sat in the living room, coolest room in the house, for about 4 weeks. there was really no smell until uncovering then OHHH the aroma.
PACK kraut TIGHTLY into jars, and pour over the liquid to fill jars. wipe rims.
I placed in clean jars and boiled my lids and bands. I did not heat the cabbage.
This made me 3 qts and 1 pint of HEAVILY packed Kraut.
Enjoy! I'm off to start another batch! YES its that easy and that good.
Photos coming soon!

Make your own Mozzarella

What a wonderful day. Mike spent day with family today, due to being laid off again.
After watching the cooking channel, we decided that french onion soup was definately in order for dinner today, since it was cold and rainy out.
Not just any soup, but the kind with a slab of french bread that is smothered in shredded cheese then broiled. OMG good..
Decided if we were gonna go that far to make a gourmet dinner, may as well whip up some cheese. Here is a recipe for those that have access to REAL milk. You can use other but WHY..


How to make this cheese :
The Milk:Make sure the milk you use for this cheese is NOTULTRA- PASTEURIZED--Homogenized milk will work fine.--Fresh farm milk will also work well but we encourage you to try with 1 gallon of store bought whole milk first.--Low fat milk will work but the cheese will be drier and less flavorful
You will need:--A 6 to 8 quart stainless steel pot. Aluminum or cast iron will not work.--A stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon.--A two quart microwave safe mixing bowl--measuring spoons--A thermometer which will clearly read between 80 - 120 degrees F.
Prepare your work area:Do not prepare any other food while you are making cheese. Put all food products awayMove all sponges, cloths and dirty towels away from your work surface, wipe your sink and stove with soap and water. Finally use your antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all surfaces.
Process:crush 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve in 1/4 cup of cool unchlorinated water and set aside to use later.
Heat this milk to 90F and add 1.5-2 tsp. of citric acid. This will bring the milk to the proper acidity to stretch well later. As you approach 90F you will notice your milk beginning to curdle due to acidity and temp.
When at 90F add your rennet (which you prepared in previous step) to the milk and stir in a top to bottom motion for 30-60 seconds...then stop.
Now turn the heat off (it may continue to rise as high as 105For so)
Let the milk remain quiet for the next 3-5 minutes during which it will form a curd as seen in photos above. A longer set will result in a firmer curd.
Cut the curds into a 1" checkerboard pattern (as in photos above) and then scoop with a slotted sp0on into a heat proof bowl to be used in the microwave. (If the curd is too soft at this point let sit for another minute or so)You will now press this curd gently with your hand, poring off as much whey as possible. Reserve this whey to use in cooking or making ricotta.
Microwave the curd on HI for 1 minute. You will notice more whey has run out of the curd. Drain off all whey as you did before.
Quickly work the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch (rubber gloves will help since the cheese is almost too hot to touch at this point)
Microwave 2 more times for 35 seconds each and repeat the kneading as in the last step. Drain all of the whey off as you go.
Knead quickly now as you would bread dough until it is smooth and shiny. Add salt near the finish.
At this point the cheese should be soft and pliable enough to stretch like taffy.
It is ready to eat when it cools. Form it into a ball and drop into ice water to cool and refrigerate. When cold you can wrap in plastic wrap and it will last for several days but is best when eaten fresh.
Option:--A substitution of reconstituted dry milk and cream is very viable and is a great option if you can not find the right type of milk--Lipase may be added to the milk to provide a typical italian cheese flavor--If you want a softer texture, do not let the curd set as firm and work less when draining and kneading.. this will make a moister cheese.
What you may need :
Citric AcidRennet
SaltLipase

Dont throw away the whey, reheat to 195-200 degrees then let sit for 10 mins. pour into cheese cloth and drain, this will be fresh riccotta cheese. I make it every time I do cheese, and freeze till I have enough to make a BIG batch of lasagna for winter. Can toss with some cheese salt, and spices if you like as well.

Fed the left over liquid to the hogs.. wow.. they thought they had died... HAHAHA.. not yet, but soon.....
If you have questions about this recipe, email me and I am happy to help you.

Fibers fit for a King.....

Our fiber animals seem to know that its going to be a serious winter to contend with.
The alpacas and llama are pushing coat slightly faster than the norm, and the sheep...wow.. they have unbelievable fleece already.
The photo is of our huacaya (wa-ki-a) alpcaca male. His name is Ollie, short for Oliver. He is going on 4 years old and has been with us since he was weaned at 6 months. Ollie is a very gentle fella. He is not regestered due to his larger than most size, and slightly crooked legs. The breeder and vet felt this was a deficiency while in utero. He is currently bred to our Mini Llama, Jazzy, short for Jasmine. she is a beautiful rose grey with the most amazingly soft fiber I have ever felt on a llama, and trust me that's ALLOT of fiber I have fingered thru.
we are hoping to keep her wonderful Llama personality, as well as her beautiful quality of fiber, but hope to add some density to hers with her cria. We are hoping that in July we will have a new addition to the camalid part of the farm. I am STILL washing fleeces and fibers, and have to get it finished soon as I Will be needing to make our annual trip to the processor.
As usual, we will have a blend of fibers from the llama, alpaca and sheep as well as angora rabbit. I personally like the colors of nature, so I always leave the fibers their natural color, and in order to create beauty I blend them carefully to avoid muted or muddy colors.
We do still have some fibers left from last year if you are a spinner or felter or would like to try your hand at a braided wool rug. If interested, drop me a note to totrllamas@yahoo.com.

Turkeys Gobble Gobble that tomato!

They turkeys have been a blast to raise. Such personality for dingy birds.

We purchased 7 birds, and surprisingly enough, we still have 7! We have decided to butcher the 5 belted whites, and save the 2 chocolates for breeding next year. The cost of keeping 2 turkeys through the winter I don't feel Will be too significant, as compared to purchasing poults. We can also get a MUCH earlier start one them. Plus with the demand of turkey poults and the ease of raising them, I am anticipating selling poults or hatching eggs to help them pay for their feed.

We ended up with 4 white toms and one hen, and a pair of the chocolates. Not too bad for picking them when they were so tiny.

They look gimungus when they display, but when smooth, they are only about 8#.

They have been SLOW growers, however. I am HOPING to have them ready for Thanksgiving.

I still have not decided where I will take them to be butchered. I am thinking I had better get to business on that soon.

The photo was a hoot to take, as we had thrown in a piece of tomato and they were chasing the one bird that was carrying it and running like his tail was on fire to keep it away. In the end, he dropped the tomato, and the flock converged and he was forced to share. LOL

If you want comical, definitely get heritage turkeys. And YES they are MUCH different than Broad Breasted Birds. Who are NOT at all active. They tend to be allot friendlier tho, as the heritage breeds are fast and they do fly. Ours could hop out of fence of their pasture, even with their wings trimmed, but they seem content where they are. The photo, also taken today, shows allot of growth but not like those chickens did.

Pigs 8-23-09 Making progress

As promised, we have new updated pics and information on the pigs.

We have, gone thru all but apx. 20# of the original 500# of feed purchased in July.

I go to the elevator and get another 500# tomorrow. They are currently eating at a rate of apx. 55.5# every 3 days. Since we were not convinced with the measuring tape method to figure out weight we are guestamating it. However.. the Wiggly, the female as well as the RUNT, is apx. 75# and Piggly, apx. 80-85#. Wiggly is catching up quickly.

There is a huge difference in body style as well. Piggly, is a very LONG bodied pig. Being part Landrace, they will often have an extra rib length. This is good for a few reasons.

will make apx 6" more length to loins, ribs, and bacon area. However, he is not a BEEFY boy.

He is rather lean, with allot of bone. So there are good and bad aspects to him.

Wiggly on the other hand, looks as tho she didn't get the extra rib genetics, she is much shorter and VERY stocky. She is wide and deep, with short fat hams and much smaller bone.

We will see what the final out come is at processing time.

As close as we can figure now, we will have less than $300 into feed and purchase of pigs.

We do have to deworm them soon. When they hit 100-125# we will hammer them with large doses of garlic and cayenne pepper. We are trying to keep all synthetic/man made drugs/meds. completely out of their system. The only thing thus far they have had is Iron shots when born.

I think if you compare the photos from earlier to the photos taken today, you will agree, they have definitely hit a growth spurt.

This week at WoodSpryte Farm "Reflections"

Photo of an Amish straw field... REFLECTIONS of days gone by...........
Taken by Tiffany Rich August, 2009.

August 22, 2009...

WOW.. where is the time going! Have been starting the canning "season". Did 2 rows worth of carrots. Robert (7) very much enjoyed REAPING THE HARVEST. Each carrot dug was like a personal achievement for him. If only we could all see thru the eyes of a 7 year old again! So much amazement to simple surroundings.. its just refreshing and I hope I never loose that feeling. Each day is total amazement. Beautiful sunrise's that graces our living room in the early morning, stretching its sleepy arms across the fog laden pasture illuminating the the livestock as they peacefully await the warmth of her embrace. or The brilliance of the orange sunset glowing upon the white wool of the sheep, as they eagerly devour the last of the days fresh greens, as the alpaca lay quietly upon the warm grass quietly enjoying the company of the sheep never far away. So... what do people in the city look at? Cement and sidewalks and smog, still makes me curious as to what people see in the confinement of city.

I have met a few new people, with similar interests. Its always fun and exciting and educational to meet new people with new ideas!

Chatted with some old new friends when I dropped off their delivery today. Was so nice seeing them. They are always full of energy and excitement.

I have started a new way of life.. well at least for a while. A little over 2 years ago I was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer. In September of 2007 had a hysterectomy. Feeling much better, but boy between the surgery, my ONLY daughter leaving home for the army, and the loss of my job, all within 2 week period, my metabolism went haywire.. or maybe should say it just plain went AWAY! went into surgery thin and 3 months later had gained 60#, despite what I do to loose. Then developed psoriasis of the scalp. Spent allot of time recently researching both. Treated the scalp with everything known to man with NO luck.. then started to read up on the garlic I love so much. VIOLA.. made garlic juice and scrub the areas once a day one time a week and its nearly healed up and gone! How is that for WOWING ya with the power of garlic. Began to eat a raw clove once a day as well, no wonder no one visits anymore. Decided to take it to the next step and do a total body detox and change my eating.

I did the detox starting last Sunday, did it for 1 1/2 days, then started a raw food diet. Feel great! RA is feeling much better, but boy am I tired of preparing 2 meals each nite.

Day 5 of the program, has been a positive influence, as I have actually LOST 8#. How exciting.. hoping I can keep it up for at least the 30 days.

I will attempt to get photos and information on the growth of the pigs and turkeys this weekend. We are pretty busy now preparing for winter. Its deworming time for everyone again, time to body score the sheep, and clean the clippers up for crutching.

The new ram and ewe will be joining the flock soon, and preparations for breeding in October are beginning. I am still washing this past springs fleeces, so that I can make the annual trip to Frankenmuth to Zellingers. If you have never been to Frankenmuth, it personally think it should be mandatory for everyone to see at least one time. The colors, smells and shapes are a beautiful site, at least once a year. We usually take a day and have dinner and "window shop".

I find it especially entrancing in the fall with the change of the leaves and the crispness in the air that carries all the sweet aromas thru out the town, and the clattering of freshly shod horse hooves upon the stone streets, and the beautiful lines of the husky carriage horses eagerly awaiting a pat on the neck from the passers by, or even better, the chance to share their view of the town from their highly polished carriages that they tow.

Hope you have enjoyed my "Reflections". If you have any to share please we would love to Reflect with you too..

Happenings..

August 13th, fall is quickly approaching.. I found myself becoming concerned yesterday as the leaves are falling ALREADY!
The pigs are growing rapidly. The turkeys are getting big and we got a second freezer. Preparation for the fall "Harvest" is under way.
I spent a good part of the day yesterday searching for "reasonably" priced garlic seed. Seems garlic is the thing to have! Most are selling for $18.00 a lb! How crazy is that!!!
I have decided to increase the garlic production on the farm. I LOVE garlic.. so took the plunge.
Hoping to plant around 500-1000 plants this year. We will be using MUCH of our organic fertalizer to add the the ground for the garlic. I am anxious for next harvest and the production of some garlic powder. We are also going to be using garlic to worm the livestock with.
Our SUMMER garden is progressing nicely. Not as well as I would like, but getting there. The ground needs work still, which will happen this fall when the hoop house comes down and the BIG daddy tiller comes out! We will also Increase the size of the garden as well.
We have been eating tomatoes since June.. a real treat, thanks to the hoop house. But they are starting to come on really strong now. Should have some to can in just a few days. Our cabbage are OUT OF CONTROL.. HUGE heads, 3 of the 6 are as big as basketballs! NO KIDDING!!
The onions are coming. some are small but have many that this fall will be wonderful. I will be drying many and making into onion powder for winter use. The leeks... not sure about them.
I did pull one early this week and eat it. Its not very big, but WOW.. talk about packing a punch! I suspect I will have many of them to dry as well. Soon we Will be able to set up our farm stand at the end of the drive.
We contacted a NEW butcher for the pigs. They are less expensive but not by allot. They are apx. .06 cents a lb less expensive to smoke the meat tho. They are in Ionia instead other side of Saranac so somewhat closer.
Well that is about all the HAPPENINGS on WoodSpryte Farm...
I am hoping to get a more accurate weighing on the pigs soon so will update when I do.

llama/alpaca/sheep beans for sale

We currently have large amounts of llama/alpaca and sheep pellets for sale. 99% of what you get will be llama/alpaca, but we do have some sheep so are bound to get some from time to time.
Being sold for $5.00 per bucket. let me know how much you want, and I will have it ready for you. Bring your own buckets or bags to transport in. This is a great price. If you look on the Internet you will find it for apx $40.00 for 10#. It does go a long way, but we have allot and its produced daily. LOL.. drop me an email with how much you want. Smaller packages are sold and can be shipped. Comes in a 1 gallon bag, and is labeled for use. cost is $5.00 a bag plus shipping.
still a good deal, but obviously the bucket is much better value.
We are located apx. 10 miles SW of Lansing, Michigan.
To place your order.. email me at totrllamas@yahoo.com

LLama Bean Information:

1.8 -1.4 -1.6
Llama Bean Fertilizer is an organic fertilizer and soil amendment consisting of processed llama manure. That's all. No chemical additives.
Naturally odor free, this product smells like dirt.
The benefits to your plants lie not only in the nutrients, but in the rich organic matter (soil amendments) which makes up the bulk of Llama Bean Fertilizer. This humus provides your soil with living earth.
The advantages of 'living earth' include:
~Supports living soil organisms
~Helps dissolve the mineral forms of nutrients from other fertilizers
~Improve water holding properties of soil
~Improves soil to provide aeration
~Protects soils from chemical imbalances
~Releases nutrients in rhythm with plant needs
We call it yogurt for your soil because it increases the viability of your soil, in much the same way that yogurt promotes good intestinal health.
Add approximately one cup of Llama Bean Fertilizer to 2 quarts of potting soil to enhance the vitality of your plants and soil. Use as a top dressing quarterly, to provide a continuous supply of 'living earth'.
The Chemical Analysis of Llama Bean Fertilizer:

Nitrogen =1.77% Phosphorus =1.43% Potassium= 1.56%Calcium 1.4% Magnesium .51% Sodium 652ppm

Potatoes

Back in the spring I had some potatoes from my parents garden that had started to sprout. I didnt want to waste it so cut them up as for see potatoes.
We had a wire pen that we had used for our pot bellie piglet when she was tiny, and a few bales that my son used to us for target practice but we starting to fall apart. We scattered the seed potatoes around on the ground and covered with straw. As the plants grew thru the straw we place anothe layer of straw around up to the height of the plant. The only thing I would have changed would have been location. The pen was already in a shady spot. The plants would have dont MUCH better in the sun. However, we did dig them today. Mostly because of the LARGE amounts of rain we have gotten hammered with in the last few days. I was afraid now that the plants were starting to die, that the potatoes may begin to rot from the wetness.
All we did is remove the straw. under the straw was a gold mine of beautiful potatoes. We harvested apx. 10# of small white potatoes. They were very easy to harvest and in beautiful condition. HAD they been in the sun, we would have allot of potatoes. We will do this again, but already have plan to move the fence. I will post photos of the potatoes as soon as I get a new set of batteries.
We also planted several in a tub. They were very productive but had small potatoes. If you have a large barrel or livestock trough Im thinking you could place in the sun in the back yard and have a decent potatoe crop. Be sure that you provide a drain hole or several.
This was a very fun thing for my son to participate in. There was NO effort involved really and a decent product. HAVE FUN with this one.

Garlic Powder

So far I have done up 2 small batchs of garlic powder. oohhhh what a beautiful treat.
I have seen different ways to do this, I put the peeled garlic cloves in my food processor and ground them till tiny. I then spread this, (sorta like a garlic paste) on a non stick dehydrator sheet and placed in the dehydrator at a low temp. Left the last one over night and it was complete in the am. took out broke into small piece's and place in my herb grinder.
I got a good SNOOT full when I opened it up. I then placed it into a wire rabbit ear sifting basket and sifted it. not many chunks left. what was too big I re ground. then placed in a used but now empty garlic bottle, removing the label to make room for my own. This is garlic like you have NEVER had in a powder!
I do think I'm going to try a different method tho. I noticed allot of the garlic oil left behind in the food processor when grinding. I am going to SLICE the next batch and dry and see if it makes any difference. I think it may, by just keeping MORE of the garlic oil in the garlic.
Next years garlic crop will be MUCH bigger. Look out China.. here come the garlic loving Americans!
Since I planted over 100 red and white onions as well as leeks, I plan to dry some of them and make into powder too. I think this could become a nice little hobby that could make some money in the long run.

Slaughtering and Butchering by Dynah Geissal Issue #23

Slaughtering and Butchering by Dynah Geissal Issue #23

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Hog UPDATE

HOLY WOW..
Talk about a growth spurt! The pigs are now apx. 10 weeks/71 days old. The last week has proven a HUGE in the growth department. They are now eating 55.5# of feed a week. Cost per bag works out to be $8.66. So while it SOUNDS like allot of food, the cost is still not absorbent. The growth however is amazing. We were slightly concerned with the growth but was assured that when they hit their growth spurt it would make up for it and then some.
We also feed them a quart of raw whole cow milk once a day. By mixing in with some of the feed this really makes them eat. We have also noted that since the co-habitation of the geese, they have grown. The geese tend to spend allot of time eating, thus frustrating the pigs, who then run them off and eat and eat and eat. This may be a contributing factor to the growth.
Found a wonderful site on the net. I have added a link to this below. The article can be a little graphic for those not used to dealing with this type of issue. However there are no ugly pictures. He is very respectful of life and makes sure to explain how to "take care of things" in a quick humane manner. The part I enjoyed the best is the recipes.
a very useful site.

Harvesting Garlic

Today I harvested ALL of the garlic. 116 plants. I spent nearly 3 hours sitting cleaning the garlics.
I will enclose a photo in the next day or so of the total harvest. I would say there is apx. 20# total. We are once again in Garlic Heaven!

Garlic and garlic scapes

Well.. fall is approaching quickly and a true sign is the ripening of the garlic. We have been picking garlic now for about 2 weeks. Having several varieties, they ripen at different times.

We started out by purchasing TOP quality garlic to plant. Planting time is (in Michigan anyway) mid October. If you can plant by the light of the moon its best. When you are ready to plant there are a few things I have been told work best. My garlic is awsome with large tasty cloves.

SO.. start out with a head of garlic. Keep it in tact until just before preparation for planting.

24 hrs before planting, seperate the cloves. Leave in the skins. soak in water for 24 hrs you can adjust this to your schedule but you get the idea.

Then just before planting.. dip each clove in rubbing alcohol or a strong vodka. Garlic cloves can harbor tiny UNWANTED micro organisms in the skins. This quick DIP (30-60 seconds) will kill those little buggers that may just decide to FEED on your crop before harvest.

You should already have your spot prepared. I have grown in a raised bed, but if you mound your dirt you can do the same thing. The idea is that garlic does not like to be wet. Watered but doesnt like its feet in the water all the time. this will result in soft, moldy heads of garlic.

Add LOTS of natural organic compost to your dirt. We use llama/alpaca poo. They are HIGH in Nitrogen which garlic seems to enjoy.

PLANTING:

I use a large stick.. just slightly larger than the garlic clove. punch into the ground, place 1 garlic clove into ground, pointie end up and cover. Do this every 4-6" until you have used all your seed. water slightly, just damp but NOT wet. and lightly mulch. I used grass clippings and leaves we raked in the yard. In a a week you will see these little green plants POPPING thru. YEA you have garlic. HA if it was only that easy! NOW its time to wait.......and wait...... and wait...

Dont worry too much about them they are tuff little critters. Mine often are sticking 4-6" out of the november snow. No worries.. they will be JUST FINE..

so you go to the house and HIBERNATE for the next few months. Meanwhile... the garlic tops have dissapered beneath the snow and you more a less forget about them.

In the spring.. they will be one of the FIRST green plants to pop! they grow rapidly.

Keep the garlic weeded.. this is a MUST.. you can use mulch to keep the weeds down, or weed by hand. Personally I use lettuce. The two plant very well together, and I find it keeps the pests out of my lettuce. so inbetween you will see the lettuce. (see photo below)

a few weeks later you will see these little curlie things stickout out of the top of your garlic. What the HAY is that thing.. Well my friends ... that is a SCAPE! a wonderous little peice of garlic that is rarely used and is wasted. What a sin! This is a gormet delight.

Pinching these SCAPES off the plants is actually a GOOD thing for the plant. This is basicly the garlic FLOWER. if left on, the plant will send energy to this and not as much to your bulb. By removing it.. well the bulb gets bigger.

WAIT>.. don't throw it away! omg.. there are many things that can be done with these little treasures.

they are similar to a garlic flavored scallion. you can roast them, grind them, bake with them, saute them.. you name it. I do allot of dehydrating. I'm gonna try that NEXT year and see if I can preserve some of that goodness for cooking with Thu the winter.

in this post is a photo of roasted scapes, with potatoes, red pepper and onion. How kewl is THAT!

So Get out there... order your garlic, and prepare the soil for the best taste treat of the century.

For those of you that have livestock.. garlic is an excellent dewormer for ALL farm animals. It is impossible to overdose with, and instead of killing the worms with chemicals, it makes the living environment UNSATISFACTORY to live in, thus resulting in the death of the worms, but also difficulty to repopulate. If you can worm, put in dry lot or stall for a day or two then put on pasture its best. also rotation of the pastures is good if you have the option. We are going to all garlic to worm our sheep, llamas, alpacas and pigs. I have NOT tried on chickens or other poultry. if you have information on this please post for us.

If you have questions about growing garlic, purchasing garlic or use of it as a dewormer, please contact me.

Heritage Breed Turkeys

We also added some Heritage breed turkeys to the growing list this year.
we have 5 Beltsville whites, and a Pair of Chocolates.
The Beltsvilles are going to the freezer, however the chocolates are so beautiful, we have decided to keep the pair and breed them for spring. Hoping for lots of hatching eggs and poults.
We will be hatching as soon as we begin to get eggs in the spring of 2010, and Hope to offer fertile hatching eggs as well. The Chocolate turkey is a fairly rare and difficult to find turkey.
The toms average around 22# and the hens around 12-15#. They are NATURAL breeders and fully capable of flight, and they know it too! We raised them in a small dog kennel in the pasture until they were big enough to not disappear thru the fence. They are let out daily to free feed in the pasture and the woods surrounding. They return to their safe place every night. I will attempt to get photos of the birds again.. however they really move quick and i end up with blurry photos every time.

Well we tried to get in to the Amish to process our meat chickens, and they had no room for us. would have been nearly 2 weeks after what we needed. spent 1.5 weeks trying to reach them as well. SOOOO we took a chance on Fowlerville Processing plant. I have to say we were VERY happy with the results! chickens came back clean and tagged with OUR color. They do charge for keeping necks and giblets so we didnt do that, and they charge for cutting them, So we had them left whole and cut when we got home.The insides were clean, in most cases even the kidneys were gone. found an occasional tracha peice, and maybe a pin feather or two.We did find one that looked like they popped the gizard or stomach, just alittle discoloration so we rinsed it. Otherwise very nicely done. Just thought I would share with every one. Also to those that may be interested, Most of our birds went 1/2-1 ounce under7# (dressed)we got them as day olds on April 15. Put them in a brooder for 1.5 weeks then in a large pen in barn until 4 weeks old. at 4 weeks we put them on pasture along with all the food they could eat for 12 hrs. and a 7 gallon waterer.We initially purchased 3 bags of 24% which lasted about 4 weeks. We then went down to 20%.we started out with 4 bags of the 20% and had to purchase 2 more bags. toward the end we were going thru a 50# bag every 4 days, and close to 7 gallons of water a day. they ate alot of grass, bugs and such in the pasture too and walked around quite a bit. we placed the food and water in different SHADYplaces daily so that they had clean area to sit.We butchered on June 11th, we lost one 3 days previous I think probably to flip.HE WAS HUGE.so they were 4 days shy of 8 weeks.so a total of 450# of feed, the out come with feed, purchase of chicks (Vantress Whites)and processing came $1.91 per pound of PROCESSED chicken. we threw one right in oven when we got home, as we were splitting with parents and had 21 birds so when they came to help cut birds we had the 21st one roasting. The flavor was UNBELIEVABLE! Juicy and fresh tasting. they are a bit tougher than the PEN raised birds that are full of CRAP, plus they did walk around alot. But the difference is not that noteable. We are all gonna do it again next year and likely do a few more. we started with 25 and 21 made it to the processor. NOT too bad. Oh and we used kolombach feeds, which I strongly recommend for any of your livestock needs. We are considering doing hogs next year too, has anyone got a break down of cost like the chickens?hope this post is helpful to someone.Tiffany

Farm Fresh eggs available

We have farm fresh eggs available for $2.50 dozen. Most are xtra large and some being jumbo. Due to theft problems of both money and eggs we are not able to sell at the road as much as previous. Currently have several dozen eggs. Mostly brown some green.

Our chickens are fed an antiobiocic free steroid free feed. They have free access to the woods, yard and pasture. We do not use pestasides on our property.

Other Happenings on the Farm

We have had a wonderful summer so far this year. We sold our herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats, and I do miss them ALLOT. However with our jobs they way they are, and the economy the way it is, we had to make some decisions about the way the farm is run.

#1. If it does NOT pay for its self~it goes

#2. If it does NOT pay for its FEED~it goes

Pretty strict guidelines...

So since we were not milking at the rate we used to the goats were sold.

The alpaca, eat very little and have made me about 20% over the cost to keep them with fiber sales. NOT allot but none the less.. they are carrying their weight.

The Sheep~Have been some changes there. We had sheep for some time, and sold due to PERSONALITY conflicts. IE: I hate skittish wild sheep! We FELL into Finns some time ago, helping the little old guy down the road with bottle babies. Last year we KEPT 2. A Ram and a Ewe. The intentions were to put them in the freezer, BUT the FIBER..OH THE FIBER! plus being bottle fed, I really don't think they ever made their growth potential.

We evaluated the pair. Both being very correct other than size which was NOT genetic factor. We allowed a breeding to occur. On May5th, our MAY was born. A beautiful little ewe lamb. She was xactly what we had hoped for with the breeding. Her fiber is VERY thick and dense. extreme curly coat. Added bone, Length of loin and back and a rapid growth rate.

Of course she was a single. I did not shear the sheep in the fall, recommended for finns.

May and her mother remain on the farm and we traded the ram for a a black and white merino/shetland X. She was a very sweet sheep considering the breed, but it came down again to items #1 and #2 above.

She was a twin, her sister did lamb this spring, she did not. Keeping with the RULES. she at best can give me 2 lambs a year. they are slow growers, and heavy in the grease for the fiber. I decided to sell her and stick to the Finns.

Since, I have made the purchase of a registered black and white finn ram and a solid brown registered finn ewe. Both will be joining the flock with a few weeks.

The ram, out of a litter of 5 and the ewe a litter of 4, both promising for heavy production.

We will have 3 ewes going into the breeding season and with ANY LUCK AT ALL..

we will have several lambs available in the spring. The average production for finns is 3-4 lambs per kidding. Fed properly, they can feed 3. That would provide me with 9 lambs available. We will of course put a couple into our freezer,and the remaining ones will be offered for sale for either freezer, or breeders or fiber. Registered or unregistered, colored and white will be available! We hope to re coupe our costs within the first 2 years!

GARLIC

in 2008 we ordered garlic seed.. this year is proving to be a bumper crop! I will have some available to the public soon. We just picked our first crop of Northern White Porcelain. These are LARGE heads of garlic with several large cloves per head. If you are interested in garlic please contact me before its sold out or

EATEN..I accept pay pal and will ship.

Price will be $5.00 per pound. SORRY SOLD OUT OF GARLIC One head of garlic will provide several garlic plants. I will send growing instructions with them. Use of a raised bed is the best way I have found for growing garlic. Garlic is easy to grow, and very rewarding. Can be stored for several months depending on the variety. We have several varieties and will be adding more next year. In the photo above you can see the raised bed, and the garlic growing. This was taken in Late May or Early June. I planted lettuce in between the garlic rows. This provided a natural weed barrier for them both, kept pests out of the lettuce and I didn't loose all that space. Before planting your garlic with OTHER plants.. be sure to check, because some plants just do not do well together. We do allot of COMPANION planting, but you can totally ruin your gardening if you do it wrong.

pig pictures

As promised.. here are the current photos of the pigs. Taken Aug. 1st, 2009. As you can see, they have grown quite a bit since we got them. We have had them for LESS than a month in the photos.

Our pigs are a Landrace/Durock cross. You can see in the photo the LONG levelness of the back.

Also a benefit of this breed (Landrace) is they actually have an extra rib compared to other hog breeds. This is beneficial for the reasons of Longer loin, longer ribs and more bacon. They don't get as HAMMY as some other breeds, but who really needs a 24# ham anyway. These should provide a nice 12#-14# ham per side.

UPDATE: we have just added our 3rd 55.5# bag of feed to the feeder. There will be some inaccuracy due to the fact that we just put 5 geese in the pen as well. They are eating the feed, but not at a huge rate. however, it is causing competition for the pigs, thus causing THEM to eat more. They are still not considered FAT pigs. To judge this, look at the pigs Jowls (under their chin) if this is becoming very fat and jiggly or if the pig is forming a fat hump at the back of the neck, remove FULL feed and feed allotment of feed per day. Ours are still a little young for this. They are very active running around all day, building up those hams. They spend allot of time GRAZING on clover flowers in their pasture, have their Bathroom spots as well and have dug a wallow.

pigs August 1, 2009

It has been a while since I posted re guarding the 2009 pig project.
The pigs are growing at a enormous rate right now. We did make a slight mistake with the feed.
We purchased a 15% feed from a local feed store, as we felt the pigs were too little still to go out and have the 500# made up at the mill. They did NOT like the pelleted form of the feed and took forever to complete it. I finally decided to just go ahead the purchase the feed. so call the mill in am and picked up 500# of fresh ground corn,soy ect feed for the pigs. WHAT a difference. since going on that feed apx 3 weeks ago they have gone thru 2 bags of feed. The bags are 55.55# PER BAG apx. so they are putting it down. We continue to give the whole cow milk. However switched it around some. I used to feed it in the am, but noticed more AGGRESSIVE behavior in the am than in the pm if fed the milk then. I think they were coming out in the am, hungry from sleeping all nite and just ravenous. So we have switched to feeding it at nite. We have tried to keep them on a fairly REGULAR schedule. They seem to thrive on routine as I have heard before.
The pigs (affectionately named Piggly & Wiggly) still have not figured out the nipple drinker. so I dug a hole in the ground in front of the barrel when the nozzle was placed, and I stuck a bucket in the ground.
each morning I dump the bucket in their wallow, creating a nice muddy mess for them to play, lay and root thru. Robert and I (my son) sit down there for sometimes 30-45 mins. in am just watching them play in the mud. It really is quite comical. we dump the water 2 times a day filling the pail which is just above ground level 2 times a day, at least for now.
I did find a formula for weighing the pigs. However, I really don't think it is very accurate at their age. have to look into it a bit more.
Yesterday we also gave the pigs some new playmates.
We put the geese in the pen with them. This has created quite a quandary for Piggly and Wiggly.
The geese, who have been solely on pasture, had to finally be put with feed. Here in Michigan we have not had allot of rain and pastures are NOT doing well. The most COST effective way to fatten the geese was to put with the pigs and let them eat. Well eat they have... they have chased the pigs RIGHT out of the feed... I do see the pigs in MORE often now tho. we will continue to monitor the situation to be sure they are getting ample food. 2 of the geese.. the oldest 2 leave tomorrow to go to a friends. she has a large swampy//pond thing in her pasture she is gonna put the geese into to clean up some of the bugs and larva. They will LOVE it there and I will only have 3 LOUD mouths to feed instead of 5!
New pics of the pigs to come soon.

Growth

We have had the young pigs now for 5 days. They have come a long way in that time. Upon their arrival they were frightened and skittish. They now have gotten used to be called out 2 times a day. They come running to greet us and happily accept the warm morning meal of apx 2 cups of warmed whole unpasteurized milk. I mix this with a small amount of their feed in a large bowl, and once finished I fill the bowl with water. They still have NOT figured out the water barrel. I put peanut butter on it being told by many that that was a fail proof way to get them to drink. NOT so in my case. Of course they MAY be getting enough water from the bowl during the day and not in NEED of figuring out the water. The small female is definitely the adventurist one of the two and the male the protector. LOL
They seems very interested in the sheep and alpaca in the next pasture. Alpaca and llama typically DO not like to even be in the same zip code as a pig so their response is nearly as humorous as the pigs chasing them around the safe confines of their pen.
The food consumption has increased as well as their activity level. I picked up the LITTLE one yesterday and it was amazing the weight she has gained in just 5 days.
They are too small to operate the automatic feeder, but we have successfully gotten them TO the feeder and are eating out of the base. The barrel is too heavy still for them to move, but with their current rate of growth, it Will not be much more than a week or two until they graduate to the full ability of the feeder.
With talking to my dad today, he recommended that we consider processing the pigs our selves. He worked as a butcher YEARS ago and is still very adept at butchering nearly anything that walks, flies, swims or crawls. I am going to call the butcher Monday am and see if they STILL allow this. What he said to do is take Live pig to them. the charge to uumm dispatch the animal is between $20-$40 each. then have them hang for 3-5 days in their coolers. IMO sure there will be some sort of a fee for this service as well. then at end of hanging time, pick up carcass and return it to home where we would make into the cuts we want, vacuum seal the cuts and begin any smoking/brining/curing of the meats. We have opted to AVOID the salt peter and other cures that are artificial and in my eyes dangerous. No sense in raising healthy animals on clean antibiotic/steroid free feeds only to taint the meat with chemicals. Kinda a NO Brainier there.
When I find out the details of the above proposal I will add the information on to the site. Until next time.

A productive weekend

Saturday was a busy day with the building of the pig feeder. Sunday proved to be just as busy with the building of the waterer and the A frame shelter.

We picked up the piglets at 3 pm today. The farmer picked us a nice chunky fella for one.

and the other he gave us which was a runt. Didnt really want 2 to start with but was told that they will grow much faster with 2. So the price was right I guess. But she is a tiny little thing being maybe 15# tops.

We brought them home and introduced them to the pasture. OMG.. Grass What is THAT~ too funny.. But they have settled in well. we are having to make some adjustments in feeding for a few weeks until they are big nuff to make it work.

Here are out pigs the day they were brought home.

July 3, 2009 Building a pig feeder

Well today we built a pig feeder. Im sure we could have found a cheeper and easier way to build this but it looked like such a great design we had to try.
Of course feed is a major part of the cost of raising pigs to finish weight. if the food is bad, cannot be accessed or runs out, well then the growth of the pigs is also affected.
This particular feeder I found plans for online. I will post the site. I took photos as we progressed. Nothing difficult, but tedious. The cost was MUCH more than we had planned, and we had some of the stuff laying around. But we also purchased the items for the waterer as well as a box of ice pops. LOL Robert out 7 yo went with us to menards.
We did make a minor change to the plans.
The roof was too small. this is going to be a feeder for outside. if not I guess they wouldnt have designed it with a roof. However the roof was too small. if it were to rain on it, the water sold pour right into the feed on the platform below. HUMMM kinda backwards. So Mike made the roof bigger with a bigger overhang. I think this will come in handy in our attempts to keep the food dry. Now thats not saying that if the rain is coming down sideways that its NOT gonna get wet, but we did the best we could to keep it dry. The rest of the feeder is rather ingenius.
the barrel, being on a large metal rod, it adjustable. The pig hits the barrel, causing it to rock/pivot and there for droping food out to the feeding platform below. depending on how muhc you want coming out will depend on how high you set the barrel.
I will add photos ASAP.
Tomorrow... the waterer... and hopefully setting up the pen. the pigs come home sunday afternoon.

Raising hogs summer 2009

We have decide to attempt to raise 2 pigs this year. in the entries to follow I will keep you posted on progress and costs involved.
I am doing these to help with a basic education for others wishing to do the same.
Our money is tight here, but we have found a very kind farmer with pigs out our way. He is selling us the pig for $1 per #.
Tonight I phoned him to verify that we DID want a pig. He strongly recommended getting 2, but the money just was not there. so we are gonna pick a NICE one and they he said he would give us a runt. I dont really LIKE the idea of a runt. everything you read advises staying away from them. However we are going to attempt to do it.
We will pick them up this sunday. I will enter more information as I get it.

Raising chickens.

Well we tried to get in to the Amish to process our meat chickens, they had no room for us. would have been nearly 2 weeks after what we needed. spent1.5 weeks trying to reach them as well. SOOOO we took a chance on Fowlerville Processing plant. I have to say we were VERY happy with the results! chickens came back clean and tagged with OUR color. They do charge for keeping necks and giblets so we didnt do that, and they charge for cutting them.So we had them left whole and cut when we got home. The insides were clean, in most cases even the kidneys were gone. found an occasional tracha peice, and maybe a pin feather or two. We did find one that looked like they popped the gizard or stomach, just a little discoloration so we rinsed it. Otherwise very nicely done. Just thought I would share with every one .Also to those that may be interested, Most of our birds went 1/2-1 ounce under 7# (dressed)we got them as day olds on April 15. Put them in a brooder for 1.5 weeks then in a large pen in barn until 4 weeks old. at 4 weeks we put them on pasture along with all the food they could eat for 12 hrs. and a 7 gallon waterer.We initially purchased 3 bags of 24% which lasted about 4 weeks. We then went down to 20%.we started out with 4 bags of the 20% and had to purchase 2 more bags. toward the end we were going thru a 50# bag every 4 days, and close to 7 gallons of water a day. they ate alot of grass, bugs and such in the pasture too and walked around quite a bit. we placed the food and water in different SHADYplaces daily so that they had clean area to sit.We butchered on June 11th, we lost one 3 days previous I think probably to flip.HE WAS HUGE. so they were 4 days shy of 8 weeks.so a total of 450# of feed.the out come with feed, purchase of chicks (Vantress Whites)and processing came $1.91 per pound of PROCESSED chicken.we threw one right in oven when we got home, as we were splitting with parents and had 21 birds so when they came to help cut birds we had the 21st one roasting. The flavor was UNBELIEVABLE! Juicy and fresh tasting. they are a bit tougher than the PEN raised birds that are full of CRAP, plus they did walk around alot. But the difference is not that noteable. We are all gonna do it again next year and likely do a few more. we started with 25 and 21 made it to the processor. NOT too bad. Oh and we used kalambach feeds, which I strongly recommend for any of your livestock needs. We are considering doing hogs next year too, has anyone got a break down of cost like the chickens?hope this post is helpful to someone.
Tiffany