Farm people problems: Fresh Eggs

A little background:

In fresh eggs: the egg white reacts by sticking to the outer membrane unlike in old eggs. This is due to the low acidity of the white that naturally occurs after a hen lays the egg.

When the chicken lays the egg, the egg is protected by a coating called a bloom. When the bloom wears off or is forced off by the egg distributer (supermarket eggs), it becomes more porous, absorbs more air, and releases some carbon dioxide. This makes the albumen (white) more acidic, causing it to stick to the inner membrane less. The white then shrinks slightly, so the air space between the eggshell. 

More space between the white and the membrane = eggs that are easier to peel once they have been hard boiled.

Your eggs are so fresh and beautiful

Until....

You hard boil them. 

Then they look like you went at them with a chisel. 

#farmpeopleproblems

Cutting and wrapping: Pork Life

 Today we cut and wrapped our pigs. It was an educational process to say the least. Let's talk money first. 

Slaughter day: $75 per pig - this includes kill, skin/scald, gut and cut into halves

(Wait 5 days)

Cut and wrap day:

Pigs are weighed. This is hanging weight. 

 $0.57 per pound of hanging weight to have butcher cut and wrap for you. 

$0.43 per pound to have butcher cut and you wrap.

(Meat goes in giant freezer to be transported and to prevent getting too warm. A day later, non-cured meats are frozen solid and ready.)

Smoke fee: $50 per pig - ham, bacon

To smoke additional meat is extra. Smoked meat takes 5-10 days additional time. 

We were taxed on smoke fees but not on any services. 

You are asked how you want the pig cut up now. This is by far the hardest part. You can research this all you want but when you get in there you will suddenly have no clue what you are talking about.

I am going to draw a chart so I can simplify where these cuts come from, what they are used for and what kind of cut variety you can get from one hog.

Today was pretty Farmy

My goats got loose twice today. They ran across the street and into the neighbor's yard. This of course, was the neighbor we have yet to meet. I met him today. We haven't yet met the neighbors because they don't look at anyone, stare at the asphalt while walking the dog and don't wave back when driving by. My goat wanted to meet the anti-social neighbor today. I met the Brother-in-law and wife while chasing down Kuzco and our blind/deaf/old dog in my socks.

I retrieved the goats and they came back into our yard so I went back to attempting to cook a heart. I feel as though I need to honor the pigs by using all of their bodies. The heart was an essential organ for me to try. I needed to try it for spiritual reasons that I can't really explain. Keep in mind, I have never cooked nor eaten any organ meat and the idea creeps me out.

Then the goats decided to visit our other neighbor. I had to go retrieve them again. Our goats hear the next door neighbor's grandchildren playing and run over to visit. They like to eat a bunch of ivy so when they come home they are vomiting. Ivy is not healthy for goats. After learning the eldest grandson "does not touch himself," I went home with my goats.

I finished cooking a stew of sorts with the heart. The gravy was tasty, vegetables were cooked properly and the meat was cooked to an ideal consistency. This leaves us with the hardest part of the day: Eating a pig's heart. The first bite for me was just vegetables and gravy. I wanted to ensure I had done a good job with that. It passed the test. I continued to my second bite: a small chunk of meat with vegetables, gravy and rice. It again, passed the test. I swear this was like a science experiment.

The third bite went to Meri. She responded with "not bad" and continued working and drinking wine. That of course meant "I will not be eating that, Brynn. Good job on your science experiment, but cook something that isn't an organ."

Meri ate pasta.

I ate I small plate of heart and veggies. It took about ten bites in and a half bottle of wine to stop thinking with every bite "this is Ham's heart." More drinking. Pig heart meat honestly tastes like a combination of venison and beef. It is tougher than most meats I am used to, but not an offensive flavor.

Instructions for barrel waterers

I have two designs for making rain barrel waterers. It makes things much easier to water 50 gallons at a time. I will attach links to amazon for the specific items that I used to make it easier for you to get the project done without the hangups that I had. It is extremely important to get the proper size hole, PVC and bulkhead fitting or you will have leaks.

1. Hog waterer

2. Chicken waterer


You will need (Chicken waterer):
Any large barrel (Rain barrels are costly. I used old soap containers that I got on craigslist for $10)
Drill with 1 1/4" Hole Saw bit
file with curved side or sand paper
PVC joint cement (I used wet/dry)
Plumbers Tape
1/2" bulkhead fitting
Chicken Fountain (The fountain I used in this instruction page has been discontinued. I will provide alternate instructions to adapt to the other variety of fountain on another page.)
PVC Fittings and an elbow - I used the ones listed below because I wanted to use a flexible line so my goats could bump it without leaks. You can go to the hardware store and find a 1/2" female and use that to fit things together.

• Reducing male adapter 1/2" x 3/4
• flexible coupling 1/2"
• Reducing female adapter elbow 3/4"  x 1/2
• male/male adapter

You will need (Pig waterer):
Any large barrel (Rain barrels are costly. I used old soap containers that I got on craigslist for $10)
Drill with 1 1/4" Hole Saw bit
file with curved side or sand paper
PVC joint cement (I used wet/dry)
Plumbers Tape
1/2" bulkhead fitting
Hog Nipple 1/2"

1.  Clean the barrel thoroughly. Chickens in particular are sensitive to changes in water quality. If you bought an old soap barrel to save $50 like I did, wash it very well.
2. Use the 1 1/4" hole saw to bore a perfect hole. Do not press into the barrel with your bodyweight as it is drilling. It can torque the bit onto the drill and you will have a hard time removing it. Press just hard enough to get the job done without moving drill to the sides. This will make an even cut and closer to a perfect hole. 
3. Sand or file the raspy edges off the hole
4. Unscrew bulkhead fitting. The large part of the bulkhead goes inside the barrel and the threaded end comes out of the hole you just made as shown below. If your barrel has a removable lid, this should be easy. If you have bungs only, like I did, reduce your cursing fit by using a tent stake to guide the fitting through the hole. Once you have the threaded side in your fingers, screw the end on a few times so you don't lose it. 

5. For a better seal: I used PVC cement but you can also use exterior rated caulking. Put a thin layer of caulk or cement on the barrel side and then screw the fitting together by hand. When it is too hard to turn by and, use a wrench. That worked for me. The whole fitting will turn and break the seal if you can't keep the threaded part still.

6. Hog Waterer: place plumbers tape on threaded end of hog nipple and screw into barrel. Fill barrel to above bulkhead and check for leaks. Adjust connections if you get a leak. Listening to the pigs drink out of this thing is the perfect hobby. 

6. Chicken Waterer: insert male threaded adapter into barrel (use plumbers tape if needed)

7. insert pvc pipe (In my case, goat-proof flexible coupling) using the PVC cement to bond if the connection is smooth to smooth PVC. If the connection is threads, use tape.

8. insert pvc elbow using the PVC cement to bond if the connection is smooth to smooth PVC. If the connection is threads, use tape.

9. If the final end is female, add the male/male  adapter or smooth/male adapter to make sure the final tip that points down is a 1/2" male threaded end

10. screw on the water fountain. fill barrel to above the bulkhead fitting with water and check for leaks. make sure fountain is level or it will drip over the side making a muddy mess. barrel needs to be elevated enough so fountain isn't on the ground but not so high chickens can't reach it.

Pig Slaughter Day

I realize on days like today that my blog is serious too. It is to teach people like me (with no experience in these things) what to expect, how to prepare and if you ever want to get started! I hope to answer all the questions you may have. Things I have learned and I feel are important points will be bulleted.
What is it like to hire a mobile butcher?
What should I do to prepare?
When should I schedule?
How much does it cost?
What does it cost to raise a pig?


(1 month before) Preparation:

• Pigs should be ideally be 6-7 months old to butcher
• They will weigh 250-320lbs - "Live Weight"
• If they get too old, there will be a second layer of fat over the ribs. There is a distinct line where the second layer starts.
• Call the butcher between 2-4 weeks BEFORE you want them to come out to schedule. If you are lucky enough to have more than 1 mobile butcher, call several and get pricing, practices.... interview them. We had 3 mobile butchers to choose from and I only liked one. Lucky!
• If you want to flavor the meat naturally, start 2-4 weeks prior to butcher. We fed walnuts and apples every day for a few weeks in hopes the meat will have a slightly nutty/apple flavor.

(1 day before) Preparation:

The mobile butcher truck is huge and heavy. Be aware of where your septic tank is, well head, power lines, tree trunks, tree limbs or any other items that might get in the way. The truck needs to pull up to the pigs so the guys don't have to drag 300lbs of pig far.  You will need to find an area to put the pigs (if their current pen does not meet these requirements) prior to the butcher coming out that is:

1. accessible by the truck - truck is able to drive very close to pen
2. small in size - you don't want the pigs running around an acre pen

I will be building fencing that meets these parameters a little better. It will be used for cattle and pigs. You don't want such a small or scary pen that the animals are stressed.

The day of the slaughter:

[This is what happened today. I am going to tell the story in detail with a few pictures so you know what to expect. I had no idea what to expect and I wish I did so I could prepare my property and myself.]

A winch pulls animal to truck

1. The guys pull the truck up to the pen
2. Shoot the pig in the brain with a .22 rifle
3. The animal will twitch or thrash around from nerves still firing
4. While the animal is twitching, the butcher will cut the throat leaving a giant puddle of blood on your lawn
5. A hook is inserted in the mouth and attached to a winch on the truck. the animal is mechanically dragged closer to the truck
6. Two 3 ft sections of wood are placed on either side to prop the pig on it's back
7. Animals are hosed off
8. feet are cut off
9. Butcher begins to skin
10. removes head
11. cuts through ribcage with a hacksaw
12. back legs are hooked individually on a different winch device and hog is lifted up by the truck
13. Butcher guts pig
14. Skins pig
15. Saws pig in two halves with a air compressor powered short chainsaw
16. Pigs are tagged and put into refrigerator inside truck
17. You are able to choose to keep feet, organs (heart, kidney, lungs, tongue, ears, snout, liver etc.)
18. Halves are brought into a controlled environment in the butcher's business to hang. Hanging takes 5 days. At this point, meat that is not smoked can be cut and wrapped. Based on the hanging weight cutting and wrapping costs .57/lb. If you help wrap it costs .47/lb.
19. Items that are going to be smoked go through that process. Depending on your butcher and the process they do, this may take as little as 5 days (to use nitrates and chemicals to quicken the process) or 10 days to cure with salt naturally. 

Being hosed off

feet cut

start of skinning -it looks like filleting a fish

getting through ribs

winch hoists animal up by back legs

gutted

cut in half

Silly Homestead Pictures

Chewy laughing or yawning

Seriously, Kuzco?

This is one of my favorite pictures in a long time. Whistler fell asleep while I was sitting next to her snuggling. I snapped this picture from the ground beside her. I love her baby filly teeth!

The goat family hanging out with the chickens.

Porter likes the trampoline. I think it is her favorite addition to her room. Yes, the bunny has her own room. What? She is the most well behaved creature on the property!

My chicken waterer is not just for chickens....

Kuzco, what do you smell?

Is it me??

Maybe it is me.

Hammy Pants getting her special apples, apple butter and walnut meal. Happy Hammy!

Bacon busy guarding the apples

Kuzco keeping watch

Elk in our backyard - I was able to spot three, but there could have been more behind the barn.

Pigs pigs and bacon

So far the most stressful part of owning the pigs has been the idea that I need to come up with a pricing guide for them. I have no experience on what they produce but I guess they are about 250lbs each. 

Slaughter date is rapidly approaching and I know how much I have invested, I know how much time and effort I have invested, but I have no idea how many pounds of what cuts they will produce. 

I found a guide online for a 250lb pig live weight and generally what that produces. For instance, a 250# pig produces 6# ribs. So that is 3# per full rack? What about long bodied pigs? Ours are long with short legs. I'll post on the actual weights and cuts of the pigs when I know them and what the process is like. 

It is all very confusing for us converts from city folk. 

Flow Hive

Flow Hive

www.honeyflow.com

You can't prove I am allergic to bee stings and I really like honey. 

Therefore, we have ordered a flow hive.  It will arrive in December. I foresee a bee suit for Christmas.  I am super stoked about this. The hive will go behind the garage near the garden. Bees will pollenate our plants and I will eat the honey.

If you are interested in purchasing a flow hive, follow the blog for updates when we receive it, I will write a review. I will also be reviewing the bee suit, veil, smoker, bee species and random bee keeping accessories. I'll let you know how docile or aggressive our bees are and if they seem to be susceptible to beetles, mites, etc.

If you want bees,  but are hesitant, following the bee thread will be a great opportunity. I know little about bees so I can give the lowdown for you as I learn about the process.

Summit

Summit

Age: 6

Breed: Husky

Crimes: runner

About four days ago Summit was acting slow and sick to his stomach. We monitored him for a couple days and made a vet appointment for yesterday at 5pm when he cried in pain from having his chin tilted up. 

His trip to the vet was fine. He got a shot of morphine for pain and was due to come back in the morning for sedation and X-rays. 

The whole night he cried and whimpered from discomfort. He was good for a few hours before we went to bed but as soon as he needed to sleep, he was complaining. It was a rough night for all of us (except Lady. She's bulletproof.) Meri and I were up trying to make him comfortable, moving beds around and eventually put him in the office with a bed. There was nothing we could do for him. He just cried. The vet even said no for antinflamitories. 

After a really poor nights sleep, we found the highway packed. There was a bus accident and all routes out of the country were slammed.  We sat in traffic for 40 minutes on a trip that should take 15 with crying Summit. 

[dropped him off. Went to work. Saw attorney. Went to gym. Ate smoothie. Came to get dog.]

Dog X-rays were inconclusive and are being sent to a special X-ray reading vet. $400 later we get home and Summit got out of the car and walked like a an old man to go pee. Meri told him to get inside. He sideways looked at her, saw she was out of reach and bounded through the bushes into our neighbors yard. 

It is currently an hour later and dog is still gone. Can't we lure him back with a chicken?

Update:  we got a call from James the neighbor. I was so grateful I forced him to take two dozen fresh eggs and my eternal thanks. James apologized for Summit smelling of tuna. I still made him take the eggs. 

Update Updated: The vet called. Summit is officially a giant baby. He has a pulled muscle. There is no spinal problems or degenerative anything.

Spring came early and so did the bugs (horse edition)

Right after I had surgery, I noticed River had a fly bite her ear and draw blood! I had my surgery Feb. 27. Early for flies, right?

I grabbed her flymask and threw it on her. Whistler did not seem to be bothered, but she seemed itchy. River kept her mask on for about 1.5 hours and then she takes it off. This trend went on for the next 4 weeks.

Then, I am busy doing my snuggling with Whistler and I looked at the skin on her neck. There was a very small orange wiggly insect on her neck. The insect was smaller than a grain of rice with a big head, flat striped body and it ran away when I tried to pick it off of her. It clung to the hair all the way into the house where I placed it on white paper and checked Dr Google.

Dr Google was not super helpful. I tried botflies, I tried pests on horses.... it was feeling hopeless.

I just went into the kitchen and decided to treat the horses naturally for bugs and dry skin. Whistler got vegetable oil mixed with garlic powder (bugs don't like garlic and some bugs will die when coated with oil). River got just straight oil.

That evening, I was consulting with Dr Google again and thought about lice. Lice had not come up on any of my searches before, but it would make sense. Dr Google confirmed lice. Flat bodies, stripes, very small, orange color and clinging to hair.... yep. my little girl has lice. *shivers* Can horses get lice from chickens? from goats? humans? pigs? I checked the whole farm. Lice seems to be species specific. Chicken lice like to catch a ride on a horse periodically, but it isn't their primary source of transportation.

 After a triple tequila and a scalding hot shower, I went to bed.

The next morning, we went to Coastal Farm Supply. I had a list. Not all of it was related to the lice. This was my grocery list:

• equine coat supplement
• any equine immune system booster
• two equine dewormers
• one equine 4 way vaccine
• CDT goat vaccine
• brushes and equine bathing accessories
• equine fly spray
• equine pesticide for treating lice

Over $200 later, sheep vaccine instead of goat, a cashier that counted every item 6 times and ended up not charging for Sheep CDT, an "exchange" for goat CDT, we were on our way home.

Whistler has never had a bath. She was cool until I got the hose going. Oh goodness, her person was straight up trying to murder her! It took 5 minutes of squirting her with the hose on a low spray and standing there talking to her before she calmed down. I wish I had gotten her on video when she tried to drink the water. She would put her nose near the stream of water, get wet and pull away. Then she would do it again. The last time, she tasted it. So cute. 

That was one seriously dirty horse. Whistler got adopted in the winter and we don't have a warm hose or wash rack. This was the first time we had a chance to bathe her. Once I soaped up her body and scrubbed dirt off of her, little orange rice looking things were visible on her pink skin in her white coat. The longer I washed her, the more bugs I found. The more bugs I found, the worse I felt. 

I realize that I have fairly good vision up close and identifying those things as bugs to someone with less than perfect close vision would be impossible. It makes me think the bugs have been hibernating on her since her time in the kill pen and once the weather got better, they came out. Apparently lice get bigger with age. If these are as big as they get then I am not sure how an older person would ever see them! 

After the bath, I mixed the pesticide formula in a bucket and saturated her fur with it. Meri cleaned both stalls out so they looked pristine. I went in with the pesticide and sprayed down the floor and walls. It seemed to do a good job on the flies. 

Now for River. That silly mare thought every time I sprayed her I was the boogeyman. I have never seen River act so Arab. If you had any doubt River is an Arab, get a spray bottle.

Both horses have clean and pesticide sprayed stalls. They are not allowed to turnout for 10 days. all blankets, halters, brushes etc are being bleached.  I have electrolyte paste for their immune systems and dewormer when they feel better. 

Battle of the bugs continues! 

Spring came early and so did the bugs (pig edition)

So I hesitated writing this one because I generally like to make posts cheerful. However, the point of blogging is to entertain, educate and give an unbiased view of what living on a hobby farm is like. So here it goes.

Spring came early because winter never came. All the bugs came early too.

Meri comes in the house and says "The pigs have worms. I'm going to work. Fix it." and leaves.
I began dosing both pigs for roughly 175lbs with Ivermectin. There was no way I was going to be able to give them a shot, so I chose orally as the best course of action.

Bacon ate his medicine (on a hamburger bun) and Ham just looked at me. Bacon wanted to eat hers. No, he can't have a double dose of dewormer.

I went inside and tried a new hamburger bun with peanut butter and medicine. No go. Bacon wanted to eat it. No, he can't have a double dose of dewormer.

I went inside and tried a blueberry yogurt with medicine stirred in. Again! No go. Bacon wanted to eat it. No, he can't have a double dose of dewormer.  Good thing I had a backup plan. While I was inside making the yogurt, I filled a syringe with a topical dosage of dewormer. when she denied my yogurt, I squirted medicine all over her back.

Two hours later, my job is done. Right?

No.

I don my muck boots and proceed into the pig pen to try to kill any worms in the ground. After identifying the worm in question as one the pigs will try to eat again, I had to kill them too. What awesome farmer bought 50lbs of food grade diatomaceous earth weeks earlier without knowing why?

I began spreading DE all over their pen concentrating on the muddy areas where the gross stuff lives. Once done, I spread a pile on their food. DE when taken internally, kills parasites. It is safe for human consumption, dog, horse, goat, chicken... everyone on our farm.

The next day.... worms are dying and Bacon is acting lethargic.

Will it never end?!

Bacon was not feeling great after his deworming. I worried about him all day and continued spreading DE in the pen. I checked on him hourly. It took about 48 hours before he started to get his energy back. This pig is wearing me out.

Bacon is totally fine now. Still trying to feed a lot of DE to keep his body as natural as possible while keeping him healthy. They're getting close to being slaughter weight.

Idea for the Farm

I have been thinking of ways to turn our property into a dual purpose non-profit education center/working farm. I went to the zoo a few days ago and saw the goat herd having social time. It then struck me: How many elderly goats have I seen?

It made me think about the baby bunnies that are bought for kids for an Easter pet. By August, Mom is the only one changing the litter box. By December, you find them at the Humane Society.  I love my goats. They are going to be running around getting into mischief for the rest of their natural days on my hobby farm.

There is a goat and chicken movement around Seattle. People are getting goats for clearing brush or because the kid was the cutest thing they've ever seen. Some folks want to milk. What happens when your goats run out of brush to eat? Many people are getting chickens for eggs. What happens when the chicken stops laying?

I want to use my hobby farm as an education center for the greater Seattle area. I want people to come take classes to learn about an animal BEFORE they get one. I will give you an honest reality of what it is like to take care of pigs, goats, chickens and horses. I will send you home with reading material on that particular animal and if you decide you are ready to take on the challenge, I will have a forum, help desk for challenges you may run into.

You may get answers to:
Is you goat projectile vomiting?
Is your chicken not moving or sleeping a lot?
Is your goat crying like it is on fire?
Is your chicken crowing?
Did your chicken lose it's feathers?
Is your goat starting to stink like urine?

I got this. I have had so many learning experiences with these animals. I wish I had a place to learn from or a person to go to. I am by no means an expert, but I am a jack of all trades. I want to help people find the best way to hobby farm. I want the animals to have happy lives and homes until their time is done.

Is this something people would be interested in?
Speak up! I will get some work done this summer on the farm and hopefully by next summer I will be ready to take this on. I may start with a few starter classes this summer if I get enough interest.

Sleepy Baby Chicks

Baby chickens sleep with their heads on the ground, stretched out and wings back. They pass out anywhere like tiny down cloaked drunks. The creepy red light is on all the time so it is hard to get a good picture. The red heat lamp prevents the chicks from getting all cannibalistic on one another.

I'm sure this post raises some questions so ask away!

Daily Goat Attack

Anything that comes in a bag is goat crack. This includes, but is not exclusive to: chicken layer, scratch, burn pellets, stall pellets, chicken starter, hog feed and  horse grain.

Bags of things are primarily kept in the red shed. Goats know this. Goats are naughty. 

Every day we feed the animals we have to use a bag of food. This creates a psychotic herd of needy goats jumping on you and trying very hard to knock the bag out of your hands. They succeed about 50% of the time. You will walk away cursing with your clean clothes soiled in several varieties of poop mixed with mud.

I outsmarted the goat swarm today.

Score one for the human.

Green Filly

I was told I needed to write on my blog tonight. I'm getting scolded for not writing enough now! Maureen, this is a blog for you.... about poop.

My trainer/friend.... Frainer.... said "you sure you want a white horse?" when I was first looking at taking Whistler home. Whistler was rescued from the Enumclaw feedlot as a 9 month old filly. She is a beautiful brown and white pinto with blue eyes. At first I was confused why a white horse is an issue.

I understand now.

Horse folk joke about "greys" becoming "bays" in the spring.

Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish brown body color with a black mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds.

Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat.

Spring is a season characterized by rain and mud.

A green horse (or rider, for that matter) is a horse that has little or no training.

It seems our little Whistler prefers poop to mud. I call her our "Green Filly" not because she is untrained, but because she is constantly the color green. I brush her daily to try to scrape the poo out, but when a horse rolls in poop daily, it is useless.  

Whistler works daily at grinding mud and poo into her coat. She manages to get it on her face, ankles, neck, under her mane....  Perhaps Pintos turn their sheen Green in the Spring while the Greys turn Bay. 

   

Mice in the Manure

Our "sick" day old chick didn't make it. We are now on our way to Baxter Barn to buy new chicks. For every sick chick you have to get exponentially more. I'd be shocked if we left Baxter with any less than 50. 

This morning, Meri was dumping a wheelbarrow full of horse manure to the compost pile. She lifted the tarp (poop is only compost while it stays dry and warm. Otherwise it is just a poop pile) and saw a mouse run into a hole in the compost. We have mice living in our compost pile. Meri's response? Stomp the manure pile to destroy the mouse house. She proceeds to come inside and complain about allergies. 

Update: my good friend has informed me we have "field/deer mice". The CDC says 14:100 field mice have some horrible disease transmissible to humans. When a human gets it, there is a 1:3 chance of death.  

We may need to hire someone. 

Time to get paranoid. 

Abscess

I've been treating Whistler, our Pinto Filly, for an abscess for a couple days now. Usually you hear about horses getting them on their feet, but Whistler has one on her butt. 

Don't worry, I called the vet. 

I'm applying a warm compress for 10 minutes to try to coax puss out. It's pretty gross. 

Whistler likes it.