I don't know about anyone else, but I am itching for spring!
Our brooders are filling up, and more eggs are hatching almost every day. We've got 3 Frizzle chicks now...one of which already shows the feathering, so I'm very excited about that!
I think I enjoy watching the ducks the most, though.
We are so blessed to have these, considering there for a while we thought we had a total loss with the ducks. Duck has become an important meat for us. When you consider we raise at least 90% of our own meat....and we don't have beef....it's nice to have a variety when it comes to poultry.
But until they go into the freezer....I enjoy watching them bathe and play. I am glad that our animals have a good life.
Some of the critters around here are living in the lap of luxury for sure. Holly and Rita are the new monster kids. Holly weighs 45# and Rita weighs 42#. They are about 10 weeks old...
We have a couple more weeks until the next round of babies are due. Hummus went to his new home this week, what a handsome buckling....
I think his sisters are enjoying the extra attention...
I have actually squeezed in time to finish making our breakfast sausage for the year! I'm glad to have that finished! When we butchered the pig, we just ground the meat for the sausage and put it into the freezer. I finally pulled it out and got it done...
I did some of it at Christmas time, but never got it all finished. This is our supply of breakfast sausage....until we do it all over again.
I found my new favorite biscuit pan. It's actually a pie pan. A cast iron pie pan. It was a real splurge for me, but I believe it was money well spent. After running it through my seasoning process, I made the first pan of biscuits in it....and I have to say folks....cast iron is a beautiful thing for baking.
I'm not trying to be greedy....but I do have my eye on a cast iron bread pan. It's one of the few things I don't have in my collection, and after seeing how nice things bake in iron...I'm adding it to my 'must have' list. Until then, I'll keep using this fabulous pie pan...to make fabulous biscuits and pies!
I was also able to wrap up another project.....the sauerkraut! It is wonderful....
I'll be thawing a MsPiggy pork roast to grind to make some sausage worthy of this kraut. I'm thinking a spicy smoked bratwurst. Home made roll, add the kraut to make a bed for a spicy smoked brat and top it with a bit of mustard. I'm drooling. I'd better get to work!
Oh, and another project in the works. Remember that crate that I brought home and painted to use as a potato growing bin? Well I'm finally getting it ready to plant!
It still looks a bit rough, but trust me it's gonna look nice when I'm finished...and hopefully the Pontiac Reds that I'm planting in there will like it as well!
I need ideas for another re-cycle treasure. It's a very small fiberglass bathtub.
I thought about using it in the aquaponics, I thought about using it as an herb bed....but wondered if y'all had any ideas?
3 comments:
Congratulations on the frizzle babies!!!
Your biscuits and pie look heavenly!!! I might have to splurge and get me some new cast iron pans too!
My MIL said duck meat was oily and that ducks were messy, of course she has never kept ducks or ate the meat. I'm not quite sure where her info came from, but she made me question if I even want ducks. Do you keep the ducks seperated from the chickens? And how can you tell the males from the females? With chickens I can tell the boys from the girls pretty quick by their personality and combs. I was just curious if it's the same for ducks. TSC had some ducks yesterday. The urge to get a couple was there, but I'm not educated on them so I walked out with no ducks :( I need to do a little research.
Could you bury the tub in the ground and make a nice size pond for the ducks?
And completely off topic of your post. How do you get your does trained to the milk stand? I'm afraid I'm going to get trampled if I even attempt getting her up there. And when the kids are born do you milk the doe for the colostrum or let the babies get it from their mom for a few days before you bottle feed them? And last thing. Would you let a first time mom feed her kids to get her teats bigger? Sorry for all the questions, my doe is starting to make an udder and I'm freaking out! I can't wait to get this first time out of the way so I won't be so clueless!
Kelly, duck is fattier than chicken; however, it depends on how you raise the ducks and what they are fed. Of all the duck breeds, I like the Buff the best. They grow fast, have a good feed:meat conversion, and are active. They go from hatch to freezer in less than 8 weeks.
Turning the tub into a duck pond is a genius idea! I think I'll build them a deck around it....and since it has a drain in the bottom it will be easy to clean. Thanks!
I train the goats with cookies. I actually start training them to the milkstand while they are babies. They are a bit apprehensive at first but it doesn't take long. As far as colostrum feeding, the kids are pulled at birth (the mother never meets them) and bottle fed CAE negative colostrum from the mom if she is CAE negative, or fed frozen colostrum that is negative, or powdered colostrum (my least favorite choice but good to have on hand for emergencies). I milk the does shortly after giving birth, and every 12 hours thereafter. The teat size will increase as the doe begins milking, but teat size is genetic. If a doe has a buckling that will be for meat, a lot of times I will allow her to raise him rather than bottle feeding. Once the kid is a month old, you can lock him up at night, milk the doe in the morning, then turn the kid loose with the doe to nurse all day. You don't get as much milk, but you don't have to bottle feed. You'll figure out what works best for you.
Thank you so much for answering all my questions! Can you imagine my brain, it's a mess LOL!!! I deal with things as they come all the time I don't know why I'm freaking out so much. There is just so many different opinions in books and online that I'm not sure what to do :/ I got her on the stand today, she didn't like to be touched too much but she loves sweet feed so she stayed for awhile ☺ I really appreciate you sharing your wisdom with me. Some things you just can't get from books or google. I think I'm going to get a couple of ducks and try it for myself, they are soo cute!!! I had thought about the bathtub drain after I commented, very convenient!!! If you had my clay dirt the idea of digging that deep wouldn't thrill you though! Have a great weekend and thanks again ☺
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