In which I catch up with spring and jump into summer
What a busy spring it has been! Since the last of the chickens went into the freezer the garden, the hoop house, and the barn have taken much of our time. In May we celebrated my husband’s 75th birthday –…
Butchering chickens at home using a steel cone
Today Kip and I butchered the first ten of this season’s 120 chickens. At 4 weeks and 4 days these Harvest Whites from S & G Hatchery in Alabama have been fast gainers – the dressed birds weigh on average…
In which with the help of family we build a hoop house
This is what we did last Sunday. It seemed to be the first real day of Spring, bright, warm, and lovely. Kierk, Bjorn and Zoe were the crew while Kip was the foreman and I was the cheering squad. Oh,…
In which 251 beef, pork, turkey meatballs are bagged for the freezer
Early this month I spent part of a day grinding a large piece of beef, a loin of pork, with added ground turkey for a BIG batch of meatballs! We love them for adding to pasta sauce and for sub…
Raising baby chickens
The new chicks – 100 Harvest White, 20 Red Ranger – are here. Each tiny fluff ball has to have its beak dipped in in water as they are removed from their shipping box. We have lost 5 – no…
Lamb Chops: from barn to freezer
On Jan 3rd we bought a 125 lb. ram lamb to fatten for the freezer. He had horns and had not been castrated. Of course I named him Lamb Chop lest anyone forget he was intended for food. [Do you…