Two birds with one stone
This is where I have been lately. Sorry for the lack of posts, lots of ideas and pics, just no time… .
Due to a scheduling snafu when I received the chicks and then fitting the butchering in with my friends schedule, I processed the chickens a week earlier than normal. The timing actually was good, one less chore for me, and this time of year, there are usually a 100 other chores to take that ones place. Average dressed weight – 5.2#’s. The chickens did well, I put a miniature one out of its misery, and one died of a heart attack. So I lost two out of 75. Processing went fast and the livers and hearts looked great.
My friend also happens to be the Fertrell dealer, so I was able to pick up my cattle minerals for the summer and fall. Saves a trip, since he lives 40 miles away. As the crow flies it isn’t so far, but he lives across the river in Washington, so we have to do some road miles to get to the closest crossing.
Don’t call me a hoer unless you really mean it. I like to hoe in the garden. Melvin loves the garden, I think because his first job here was helping plant garlic. So he is always in the garden being the supervisor.
Pretty boring work, I guess.
And, the grazing schedule (self-imposed) is keeping me very busy in a good way. Here’s a quick video of Lula and Lana from the other night. Lots of pics on file of how the grazing is going, and I am hoping to do a coherent post here soon about rotational grazing and how much I absolutely lovvvve electric fencing :)
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Food Renegade
Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op
Oh, that chicken looks great, and you’ve got to be pleased with that average weight. The Foster Farms chickens waiting in my fridge to be roasted don’t look nearly as plump.
I’m so pleased to see Lula and Lana. She’s growing into a real beauty. Do you ever get your ‘L’ names mixed up? Two of my kids names start with C (the K sound), my husband’s name starts with K, and our two cats start with K. My youngest’s name was supposed to be Cassidy (I still like that name), but we changed our minds literally at the last minute. Thank goodness, because I’m forever tongue-tied with the similar sounding names around here!
The sun is shining here today. Hope it’s made an appearance over your way, too!
I like the Foster Farms commercials about the plumpness of the chickens. Haven’t tried one yet, since I still have a few from last year, that I need to use up. But they are all safe and sound in the freezer
Lana is a pill extraordnaire! As you can see in the video she is on the wrong side of the fence. Right after that, her mama was getting tight and needing milking and the bawling was getting too loud. Needless to say, while putting Lana back on the right side of the fence, we lost a few others…
We started naming calves with the same initial as the moms because Hangdog couldn’t tell anyone apart. We quit doing it after we realized he STILL couldn’t tell them apart, no matter what their name is! Most of the time we just call them the same name as their mom even if they are boys. If it looks like we might keep a heifer as a cow, she might get a real name, and definitely I have quit naming cows after bitchy, bratty girls/women. Hmmmm, Paula sounds like a good name…
Looking forward to reading about rotational grazing.
Love the pic of Melvin lounging in the dirt. My citified Boston Terriers always seem to prefer a nice spot of open dirt for lolling about (freshly weeded patches of garden, my raised beds); I had thought it was their quirk, but am now wondering if its an instinct inbred in dogs?
That chicken looks great! The ones I helped to butcher did not look so pretty – the legs on the ones I helped butcher stand straight out instead of to the sides like yours. Hmmms.