- Our dog Bouncer got fixed today. He's a little puny right now, but I'm sure he'll perk up.
- Abigail saw a snake in our chicken coop. The way she described it, it must have been as big as an anaconda.
- We got a dozen more meat bird chicks last Saturday. They'll be ready to slaughter in early July.
- Our hens (one duck and one chicken) are still sitting on eggs. By mid-to-late next week we should be seeing some chickens hatch, and ducks should follow about two weeks after that.
- We're about to have birds coming out of our ears over here. If all of the eggs hatch, which is not outside the realm of possibility, that right there will be 26 birds. In that case, we'd have -- are you ready? -- 51 birds living on our farm. That's nuts! Yes, we're nuts. But ... out of those 51 we'll end up killing probably half of them by mid-to-late summer. Come early fall, we're going to have a lot of bird meat around here.
- We've enjoyed eating natural, grass-fed beef for the past couple of weeks. I don't think we'll ever go back to the other stuff.
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Dani,
We've kind of kicked around the idea of selling. We'll see how the meat harvest goes later this summer. We've even had a gal at our church inquire.
I've heard of those $25 birds. I'm guessing they're 5-pound Cornish X birds that they're selling for $5 per pound. That's an expensive chicken. I think the gal at our church was paying more like $13 to $15 per bird, but not sure.
The more Brandi and I read and learn about processed meat and/or food industry meat, the more we want to avoid it.
The grass-fed beef we buy is $3.50 per pound for hamburger, and around $3 to $4 a pound for other types of meat (sausage, stew meat, etc.), but steaks are pricier. Haven't tried those yet. I could email you a price list. They're really a quaint operation, but it's all professionally butchered and packaged. The farmer's wife met Brandi for a delivery this a.m. at our little Food Mart in Gholson. Nice people.
Well, if you guys ever do decide to start selling let me know. I'd be really interested in eggs.
I can't remember what kind of chicken it was that I bought although I’m sure that I was told. The couple I bought it from had a photo album of all their chickens. I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t 5 lbs. It barely fed us all. The couple has a chicken farm somewhere out towards you guys. They seemed very sweet.
Did Abby see a full grown snake? Snakes are the one thing I would seriously dislike about living in the country. I can’t stand snakes. I was bitten by one when I was a child and I spent the night in the ER. Luckily it turned out not to be poisonous. But now I have nightmares every time I see one. The other day I was lifting a rock in the backyard and sure enough there was a tiny brown snake under there. Needless to say, he got squashed and tossed over the fence.
I would like the price list for the meat. Do they ship or would I have to pick it up? Do you know of anyone who sells safe raw milk?
Eggs might be a while. Despite all the birds we have, we only have 9 laying hens right now. That'll change within the next few months.
Did Abby see a full grown snake?
Her story is changing a bit, but it seems like she did see some sort of adult snake. One of my coworkers here ran over a 6-foot rattlesnake the other day in a friend's driveway. There are literally serpents and scorpions out here. But I've heard there are many things you can do to keep them down: 1. Keep farm animals (their presence keeps them away apparently, although snakes are attracted to eggs), 2. Have a cat (cat's are indispensable in the country), 3. Keep the yard mowed low.
I'll email you that price list and ask them about shipping, etc.
About the milk, we buy raw milk from two families who have dairy cows. They're not "open to the public," so to speak. You really have to know someone to get that kind of deal ... or have your own cow. Otherwise you can pay something like $8 a gallon from government-approved raw milk farmers.
Thanks.
Yikes. About the snake. Make sure the kids always carry big sticks with them if they are out wandering around by themselves and teach them to make a lot of noise when they walk. And to stay away from wood piles. We are supposed to have poisonous ones around us as well. I was actually out back on a "farm" (like what you guys have) when I was bitten by the snake.
Sorry, as I was reading your answer about the milk I realized that I’ve asked you about it before. Maybe if we ever make it out there to visit I could tell you guys in advance and you could buy me some.
Rob's supposed to come visit late June-early July. Possibly he'll go back on the 6th? Anywho, maybe we and Eva could help you guys slaughter! Rob actually worked at chicken farm, which is why he doesn't like to eat store-bought chicken much -- cause he knows how they're handled and killed.
Cool deal, Boo. Do you know what date he's coming over, or is it not solidified yet?
Maybe if we ever make it out there to visit I could tell you guys in advance and you could buy me some.
That would work. We've done that sort of thing for people ... on the down low. :-)
He'll prob come around the 23rd of June and leave around the 6th of July. But no plane tics are bought just yet..
Ya know that y'all have a lot of family here in H-town that would love for you to spread the love and share some of your bounty once you have more than you need. In fact, we would probably even pay you for it.
Have you priced chickens at the farmers market? A little tiny guy (not sure how many lbs) can cost as much as $25! I bought one once and I vowed that I'd never do it again.
How much did the grass-fed beef cost you?