Time for Murphy to move in with the rams

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As lambing season approaches, I make changes in  the pasture/barn set up to keep the ever widening ewes safe and comfortable. 

Murphy's protection is important, especially when the flock is moves across our fields during the grazing season. Murphy moves his flock around with a stomp or head swing in response to perceived and real threats. Now that the ewes are a little slower, I want to limit rushing around the round bale feeder and narrow spaces in the barnyard.

After some "how-do-you-do" head butting, the rams and Murphy have settled down.

 

 

 

 

Boat barn to sheep barn

The Boat Barn sits across the drive, behind and a little to the right of the Barn.

The Boat Barn sits across the drive, behind and a little to the right of the Barn.

The Boat Barn stores our assortment of homemade,wooden boats and farm equipment. With its access to the North Field and physical separation from the Barn Field, it is a great location for overwintering the vacationing rams,weaning lambs from their ewes,and providing an extra pen for sorted sheep.

Sliding door on the north corner of the Boat Barn

Sliding door on the north corner of the Boat Barn

A sliding barn door works best,especially when piled snow is on the ground and would impede a swinging door. If we need to keep the door closed,the opaque window panel opens,adding ventilation to the pen inside.

The hay feeder and water bucket are accessible from outside the pen.

The hay feeder and water bucket are accessible from outside the pen.

I can add hay and water from outside the pen which is especially important when the rams are unhappily separated from their ewes. The Boat Barn has electricity to keep water in a heated bucket unfrozen, running water,and an easy to clean concrete floor.

High stall walls should keep separated sheep in place.

High stall walls should keep separated sheep in place.

Tucked around the small craft, there is room for some convenient hay storage.

Just for this winter,we pounded posts and wired on temporary fencing for a winter ram paddock. In the spring we will permanently fence the North Field with small grazing paddocks,access to the orchard,and long gates so that big boat can leave on its next cruise.

The Barn

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One of my favorite writers, Gene Logsdon wrote  The Sanctuary of the Barn in a recent weekly post. His essay reminded me that I love our barn. It was sited in the hill, barnyard facing the low winter sun  by wise farmers before us. Repaired and renovated, it still serves as a haven for our livestock and us.

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Lilac Hill Farm Cassoulet

Cassoulet is a rich, slow cooked bean  dish, traditionally prepared with pork sausages, duck/goose pieces and pork skin.  The combination of the tender meats, creamy beans and caramelized crusty top is very satisfying, especially in winter. Once the dish is assembled and set to slowly bake, it requires little attention.

 A few cooking notes for adjusting this recipe:

  • Since our larder does not always have the exact meats listed in the recipe, I follow the techniques listed in this recipe, but substitute lamb shoulder chops, lamb or pork sausage and our pasture raised chicken and duck legs and thighs.
  • Until our next pig butchering when I will add enough garlic sausage to our cutting order to satisfy our cassoulet cravings , I add garlic to our ground lamb or pork. 
  • I do use rendered duck fat from our birds. Even if we do not raise many ducks this year, I will raise a few especially for the fat.
  • Our cassoulet has more beans and less meat than recommended in the recipe because we really like the beans and my cast iron pot fits fewer pieces of meat neatly on top.
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American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

Membership in APPPA is a valuable tool for managing poultry on this farm.

Our flocks are small, but the topics shared on the Yahoo group site, weekly podcast and bi-monthly magazine supply solid information to support planning. APPPA members share their feed costs per bird, seed mixes for side by side pasture trials, and techniques for handling predators and weather variables.

 Let's face it, if you buy chicken or duck from me, you pay a premium for the certified organic grain and the labor of keeping the birds clean and healthy on pasture.Until my customer base increases and I have a more efficiently sized flock, it will be hard to drop prices. That said, I feel an obligation to my customers to make flock management choices that keep my operating costs as low as possible while optimizing poultry health and welfare. Last season, when I decided to try a non-Cornish Cross hybrid, I went to my APPPA Grit magazine to compare the data on the different meat bird breeds when selecting a hatchery. 

The discussions about all those labels (organic, certified organic, transitional organic, soy-free, GMO-free, conventional, humanely-raised, locally raised, heritage breeds, Cornish Cross, Red Rangers, to name only some topics customers are interested in) is open and respectful. The conversations about choosing breed, feed and management style is balanced with realistic business planning.

If you are considering buying your poultry from a smaller producer, now is a good time to contact a farmer since many farms are finalizing their production and pricing schedules. Most small farmers that I know are interested in what you are hoping to buy.

Here's a few things you might want to ask your farmer:

  • what kind of feed to you use and why?
  • where do you source your feed and chicks?
  • if the poultry is raised pasture pens, what is the square footage per bird in the pen?
  • if the poultry is day ranged, how often are the paddocks moved?
  • what options do you the customer,have in the cutting order,packaging and pick up schedule

The time you invest in finding a small poultry producer will have a very delicious return.

 

   

 

 

Flocking Behavior

Our sheep are content the the company of other sheep. Each sheep is aware of the actions of their flock mates.

Our sheep are content the the company of other sheep. Each sheep is aware of the actions of their flock mates.

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Some ewes stay closest to their pasture buddies.

Some ewes stay closest to their pasture buddies.

I use the natural flocking behavior of our sheep to move them around the farm. With only 26 ewes I can move the flock into the barnyard, across the road to the Hill Field and between pastures without the assistance of a herding dog. 

Once a sheep, usually one that is most curious and friendly, starts moving towards me in the field, the others follow. To complete the move I circle around the back of the flock, forcing the stragglers towards the rest of the group.

 

 

 

Jamaican Jerk Lamb Chops w/ Sweet Yam Mash

From Kate Krukowski Gooding's SIMPLE GOURMET LAMB

From Kate Krukowski Gooding's SIMPLE GOURMET LAMB

I needed a cold day meal with spicing that did not resemble holiday fare and could be assembled with ingredients in the house. Of course, we didn't have everything in the ingredients list so I made the following changes-

  • the 2 yams were replaced with 3 sweet potatoes
  • we didn't have Scotch bonnet peppers so I opened a can of jalapeno peppers instead
  • after scraping the marinade off the chops (I used shoulder chops) and searing the chops, I added the marinade to the cast iron skillet, covered the pan and put it into a 300' oven for about 45 minutes 

The combination of warm spices, ginger and hot peppers was perfect. 

 

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WHy I don't sell eggs but keep hens

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I like barnyard hens.

I like the sounds they make as they scratch the ground in search of tasty tidbits; I appreciate how a couple of chickens in a pen can clear a garden bed and prepare the soil for seeds; and I like how they turn kitchen scraps and barn floor gleanings into friable compost for topdressing my plants. I love watching a broody hen set, protect and teach a clutch of chicks too.

We all like to eat eggs. Thanks to our kitchen waste and hoop house weedings our hens lay beautiful eggs with orange yolks, even in the winter.As much as I would like to share the bounty with customers, I don't regularly sell eggs. To produce eggs on our small scale is an expensive, labor intensive project. I do not want to raise enough hens to achieve an efficient economy of scale , nor do I want to subsidize egg sales by underpricing each dozen.

So why are eggs an expensive farmyard enterprise?

  • Farmyard hatched chicks don't usually produce eggs until they are about 6 months old-eating plenty of feed and requiring daily care before they produce one egg.
  • Ready-to-lay hybrid pullets are worth the $7  I spend annually for each, but concerns about disease brought onto the farm and their clipped beaks keep them in the relatively protected garden run and coop.
  • Feed is expensive. I could change to something cheaper but the feed I buy is grown and blended locally, certified organic and my birds thrive. I have not found a reasonable alternative to fix what is not broken.
  • Like eggs available in much of the world, my eggs are not refrigerated. Refrigerating and washing fresh eggs is customary in the USA. Managing two sets of eggs adds complexity to the pantry and refrigerator. That said, I do refrigerate eggs for sale when we have plenty on the home shelf.

This winter's flock, 10 hens and two roosters, seems to be the ideal overwintering flock; the size is a manageable balance of labor and eggs. The biggest challenge to this balance is that first statement in this post, "I like barnyard hens." The lure of breeding my own Australorps and Easter-eggers, not to mention the Cream Legbars peeking out of the hatchery catalog is fierce. 

Although I am not always able, I might have an extra dozen if you stop by.

 

 

 

Setting the calendar w/ A Pipestone Sheep Management Wheel

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For me, now is the time of year for blocking out the calendar. 2016 will be the first year we try an accelerated, three times in two years, breeding schedule for the Katahdin flock. With a turn of the Pipestone wheel I can discover if my list of "wants" is even possible.

So as I combine family and farm, what's on the list of "wants"?

  • no lambing in Jan/Feb
  • November lambing to catch the 2017 Easter (4/16) market
  • flexible blocks of family time in June and late fall

I am not sure how the flock will respond to an accelerated schedule, but using the wheel, I will set dates for moving the rams in and out of the breeding flock to keep the bitterest months lamb-free and our family time intact.

New Year's Pork and Sauerkraut

On low heat, I rendered a bit of the trimmed fat in a cast iron Dutch oven.

On low heat, I rendered a bit of the trimmed fat in a cast iron Dutch oven.

After removing the trimmed pieces, I turned up the heat and browned all sides of the pork roast.

After removing the trimmed pieces, I turned up the heat and browned all sides of the pork roast.

After browning, I covered the pot and put it into a 250' oven for about 2 hours; added the sauerkraut and covered the pot for another hour and a half; and pulled apart the meat for serving.

After browning, I covered the pot and put it into a 250' oven for about 2 hours; added the sauerkraut and covered the pot for another hour and a half; and pulled apart the meat for serving.

We served the pork with mashed potatoes, a spinach (from the hoop house garden) salad, a bottle of red wine and the last of the Holiday sangria.

Notes to self: when loading the pork into the freezer from the butcher shop-label a pork roast to reserve it for New Year's dinner. Ask friends with the pork and sauerkraut New Year's tradition what kind of farm-made sausage could be added to our first of the year feast. When the cabbage comes into the root cellar, make sauerkraut.

Slow cooked pork roast

Yesterday morning we took the chickens to the butcher shop. Because we like to have some of the whole birds vacuum bagged, pick up is delayed until late afternoon. After a day of errand running, returning to a delicious meal, not chicken, is soothing.

I have slow cooked pork roast in the past; yesterday I followed Shannon Hayes' recommendations for a slow cook pork roast. I rubbed the thawed roast with a slurry of olive oil, half a head of garlic, salt and pepper. I placed the roast into the slow cooker , topped it with a sprig of rosemary and set the cooker on low. I did not add any liquid to the pot. During the cooking process, some of the fats melted and mixed with juices of the roast. At the table yesterday evening, I served the sliced roast with a small bowl of the strained liquid from the bottom of the crockpot. Without my usual tomato puree, wine or cider added as a braising liquid, the flavor of our pork was the star. Delicious.

Mid-August Pig Tractor update

The good news--  The moveable pig pen is effective, the pigs are ripping apart the briars. Everyday I move the pen forward 16' and leave behind tilled ground. Depending on the weather, I refill the water tote from our cistern and move it uphill from the pen. The feeder holds 350# of feed but at this point I only add 150#s at a time.

The not so good news--  The pen is on a slope so those pigs can take a running start and jump out of the pen. The pigs do not wander far and they come to me, especially when I shake the scoop with corn. Last night we set a swine panel over the top of the pen to prevent jumping.

The figuring it out news-- The rooting action of the pigs leaves craters in the field. I need to smooth out the rutted swath left by the pigs. Whatever method I come up with, I want it to follow closely behind the pigs so I can plant soon after the porcine disturbance; I need to manage it with my small skidsteer or Farmall Cub tractor; and I should not add considerably to the time spent managing the pigs and pasture.

Moveable pig pen, AKA the pig tractor

All the animals on the farm must do more than fill our freezer and grace our table. Beyond eggs,meat and broth,the chickens turn table scraps and pulled weeds in the compost pile, tend the next generation of poultry, and scratch and fertilize sparse pastures. The ewes and lambs repeated rotations through fields and orchard improve the quality of our pastures while filling freezers with delicious grass fed meat. Like the birds and sheep,the pigs must work for the farm. Last year's pigs lived behind two strands of electric fence in the woods that border the orchard. I increased the size of the paddock over the course of the summer and this spring sowed a pasture grass mix into the almost bare ground. Later this summer the sheep will graze in the improved woodland pasture thanks to those busy pigs' snouts.

In addition to providing meat and lard for the table,this year's pigs have a formidable task: to renovate the Hill Field,a worn briar patch of a pasture,across the road from a plug for a fence energizer and a yard hydrant for water. With profit margins close for small farm raised meat,the pigs management system must be efficient as well as effective.

Applying the knowledge we have gleaned from our moveable chicken pens,outfitting with built in feeders and improved water systems,a pig tractor seemed the sensible choice.

When planning our pig tractor,we knew the pen would have to be heavy to keep the pigs from lifting it,yet light enough for an old Subaru or small skidsteer to pull it across uneven ground;provide shelter;support our feeder (which holds 300lbs of feed) and  the gravity fed nipple waterers;and have a gate for easy access. Since we like pork and plan on raising pigs for years to come,the pen must be durable and house pigs of all sizes.

Our pig tractor is 8'x 16',set on 16' skids,with a metal roofed,rough-cut lumber sided shelter at one end. The short side, opposite the shelter, has two gates. Adding two heavy 4' x4' posts across the pen, supports the feeder we built last year and braces the frame to limit racking when we pull the pig tractor. Metal cables on each short side permits pulling from both directions

This is the gate end. The shelter end cables attach on the top of the cross piece.

The pigs are happy this first 48 hours of the pig tractor "experiment". We have successfully moved the pen three feet and will add the two nipple water founts on the weekend.

Field mowing

With the help of our 1947 Farmall Cub, I mowed the tall grasses in the North Field.

In the spring, the growing pasture grasses outpace the appetites of the grazing sheep flock. The stems of are tough and unpalatable to the sheep.

Mowing with the Cub is slow work,but just the right speed to observe the ground below. The density and variety of the plants in this field has improved since we started rotationally grazing; frost seeding and just mowing,not taking off the hay. From my tractor high perch, I can see that the best pasture is on the south end of the field, where poultry pens have left behind increased fertility. The grazeable vegetation at the north end of the field is sparser and covered in an understory of wild strawberry.

To speed the rejuvenation of this pasture I believe I should add more poultry. The hens in the eggmobile, protected by electric net fencing, would add fertility and scratch in the mowed stems of grass. Adding a batch of Ranger broiler chickens would also benefit the field and fill our freezer with more meat.

Discovering the sweet spot of livestock numbers and improving ground is my challenge, The seat of the Cub was a perfect place for concocting a plan.

Pigs Training 2015

The three spotted piglets have finished their electric fence training in the barn.

They started their training with a stall and a small outside run, fenced with two strands of electric polywire, backed by pig panels. The panels kept shocked piglets from running forward when they encountered the electrified fence.

Once the sheep were out of the barn, the piglets had access to the rest of the barn where they rooted and turned the bedding.

I built a second run with electric fence , not closely backed by panels, but surrounded by fence and the winter coop.

I backed the trailer, with modified livestock pen sides to the barnyard. With a filled grain bowl and eventually a fresh bale of straw, the three pigs walked up the ramp, into the trailer. It was time to move the trio to the prepared garden pigyard.

The garden pigyard is at the edge of the yard, close enough to the house to monitor the pigs' antics. To prepare the garden for the pigs' arrival, I left last year's turnips, weeds and volunteer rye to stand and I topped scoops of corn with wheel barrow sized piles of barn bedding.  The pighouse was dragged into place and filled with fresh straw.

The pigs got right to work, rooting and digging.

With two strands of polywire and a strong fence energizer,the pigs are working for the farm.After they finish working the soil of the garden pigyard, we will move the spotted trio to the Hill Field, where they will tackle weeds and work in leftover …

With two strands of polywire and a strong fence energizer,the pigs are working for the farm.

After they finish working the soil of the garden pigyard, we will move the spotted trio to the Hill Field, where they will tackle weeds and work in leftover winter bedding and a lambing season's load of barn waste.

Meat birds-18 days old

This Cornish Cross chick is 18 days old. The group of 30 chicks is well into a second 50lb. bag of organic chick starter and I have bedded them out with a half a 3.25 cubic ft. bale of wood shavings to keep them clean.

 

 

These chickens are not genetically modified organisms, but hybrids,  selectively bred to grow quickly and efficiently. For a market that demands a plump bird with plenty of white meat, they have a proportionally large, almost featherless breast, atop very large, stocky feet.

In many agricultural systems, a bird this age will be ready to slaughter in 24 days. On our locally sourced organic feed, without 24 hour light and grazing pasture in moveable, open bottomed  pens, the chickens will be off the farm in around 52 more days.

Yes the longer grow out time frame is less efficient at converting feed to meat, but the manure the birds deposit on our fields is very beneficial to pasture rejuvenation and the meat from these actively grazing chickens is firm, but not tough, and flavorful.

Roasting a whole lamb, without a spit or a deep hole.

In an effort to expand my repertoire of lamb recipes, we roasted a whole lamb for Easter.

With a wether lamb in the barn, a houseful of easy to please guests, roasters locally available and an experienced pig roasting friend, I was ready to attempt this new venture.

Honestly, the recipes I read on the internet were a bit daunting. The ground is still partially frozen, so digging a big hole for a fire was out of the question and an expensive spit did not seem like a good investment, for our first try.  So we decided to apply the “low and slow” method of roasting meat to create a tender, evenly cooked product.

Here’s what we did:

I brought the lamb in from the cooler an hour before roasting.

We started the charcoal with two chimney starters in the belly of the roaster. Once the coals in the chimneys were hot, they were poured  out and 50 more pounds of briquets and a few pieces of apple wood were piled on top. Our roasting expert ( friends with skills are this cook’s blessing)  used a shop vac to blow air on the briquets, to get the coals burning quickly.

While the fired was building, I blended a rub for the lamb: olive oil,chopped garlic and parsley, and homemade basil, lemon and chili salts. We covered the whole lamb with the seasoned olive oil and added a few heads of garlic and quartered oranges to the abdominal cavity and stitched it up.

Once the coals were hot, the drip pan was set in the roaster then the grate to heat.

We placed the lamb, belly side toward the fire, legs splayed and inserted  digital thermometers into the leg and shoulder.

Thanks to the wise advice and watchful eye of our friend, the grill was kept at 225’.

Although I would have preferred to take the lamb off the grill at around 145’, it cooked much quicker than expected, and we pulled it off the grill when the leg thermometer read 166’. (This took about 2 1/2 hours of roasting.) The shoulder, which takes longer to cook was about 145’.

We set the lamb on a clean tablecloth on the picnic table and covered it with pieces of foil.

After half an hour of rest, I sliced the lamb.

The meat was moist and slightly smokey.

Perfect for our celebration.

Next time, to protect the bottom of the legs from over roasting, I’ll wrap them with foil.

And, I will remember to take pictures.

 

Non-GMO pig feed again this year

Last Friday I made my final “before-the-pigs-arrive” decision.

That we were going to raise pigs this year was a given. We love the meat and the land needs the rejuvenating work that pigs provide.

Because this region is full of enterprises that support large and small agriculture, I have feed sources beyond the more mainstream offerings at our local ag store.

We were very satisfied with last year supplier, Grove’s Mill, 20 miles away in Lewisburg. Our pigs grew well and with little notice, they could bag my feed in 50lb bags instead of the standard, 100’s.

There is a feed mill only 8 miles from Lilac Hill, and in an effort to “shop local” I asked about their feed. They were able to offer me almost everything I wanted, a custom mix with our preferred Fertrell’s minerals and local grains.

The major difference in the feed is that Grove’s uses locally grown, non-GMO corn.

Do GMO’s negatively influence the health of my pigs, of the people that eat our pork or of the environment? Discovering the answers to those questions would put me in front of a computer, sifting through research and diatribes, not moving fences, watching sheep and growing food.

In my mind, choosing non-GMO, removes uncertainty and I can focus on caring for the animals on the farm.

 

Feeding chickens in winter.

To add a bit of protein to the Buckeye's diet on these cold mornings, I serve them beef or sheep liver. After the frozen package thaws a little, I cube the meat and toss it into the scraps bucket. When the girls find the tidbits they greedily run off to a corner of the hen yard and feast.

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