Can a Farner Take a Vacation?

With all of the things we have to do on our little farm how do we get away?  My daily work schedule starts at 5:30 am about the same time my wife leaves for work.  She commutes off the Island to a school in South Everett, I go up to the barn to start my daily chores.  I let the ducks, geese and chickens out, change the water for them and then milk and feed the goats.  In the afternoon, I change the bird water, collect eggs, put more feed out for the chickens and again milk and feed the goats.  Evenings after we walk our dogs, I lock up the chickens, ducks and geese.  We are lucky enough to have some neighbors that are very down to earth and have chickens and in the past raised goats.  When we travel (twice a year) we hire them to do all of the chores.  We pay them $50 per day plus they get all of the goat milk and as many eggs as they wish.  Our goats are giving me about 1.5 gallons of milk a day, and we were gone four days on this last trip.  The black market price for goat milk is $12 per gallon, and we charge $5 per dozen for our chicken eggs, so milk and eggs are worth another $80 or so.  It’s a good thing for our friends and allows us to take a break.  Our animals come first and there is no comprise there.  They give us a wonderful product and we give them the care they need to thrive.

One of the trails we hiked (this one 15 miles) in Eastern Washington

Each spring, mid-May, Pam and I travel to Eastern Washington where the chances are much greater than here in Western Washington to have sunny and warm weather.  Pam and I were both born in May and our wedding anniversary is also mid-May, and then we do a late-July family camping trip.  Pam and I love to hike in the back country.

The first evening back when I was up with the goats, waiting for Surely to finish eating, I thought vacations are nice but this is where I belong.  I really love our little farm.

Muscovy Ducklings

We kept three female Muscovy ducks last year (butchered and sold all the others) along with our one drake (the male).  Two of the ducks began laying eggs about a month ago, one in the chicken coop and one in our duckling house (where we raise the young ducks).  I was happy about their locations as normally they find some odd place and if the ravens don’t get the eggs and the duck does hatch them, I have a heck of a time catching mother and ducklings so I can move them into the duckling yard.  One of our ducks had not started laying yet (that I know of) and was eaten by an eagle.

Today when I went in to gather chicken eggs I say one duckling head sticking out – still wet.  It’s amazing that the duck will lay her eggs over a two week period and they’ll hatch all within two hours.

Ravens raiding the Hen House

We have been raising chickens for meat and eggs for about six years and have never had a problem with Ravens stealing their eggs.  We have been getting between 18 and 21 eggs per day from our 22 layers.  A week ago the count dropped to 13 and stayed at that number for the next few days.  I wondered if some of the girls starting laying in the nettle patches.  We have some very wild areas that the chickens have access to, so I began searching but with no luck.

Three days later while I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and looking out the window, I saw a Raven land on a tall hemlock tree with a brown egg in her mouth.  Mystery solved – the Ravens were going into the hen house and stealing their eggs.

The Chicken door to their coop with cloth strips hanging to keep out the Ravens

I have been told they will do this and the solution was to cut strips of bright color cloth and hang them over the entrance to the hen house.  I’m told that chickens will go in and out but the Ravens won’t.  So I did that.  That evening when I went out to lock up the birds for the night over half of them were outside the hen house and wouldn’t go in through the door with the hanging cloth strips.  I moved the strips aside and they all went in.  I had the same problem the next evening, but then the next morning I realized that five of the chickens spent the night outside hiding in the nettle.  So I started collecting eggs about 1 pm and pushed the strips aside.  No more problems getting the chickens in at night but my egg production still hung between 13 and 15.

Now the question became: are several chickens laying in a nest in the nettle, or is the Raven back?  Being some of the chickens were out all night and I have not seen any Ravens for a few days, I’m leaning toward eggs in the nettle.  There is probably one nest somewhere with many eggs in it.

Now what?  I decided to keep the chickens locked up until 1 pm as they are usually done laying.  I’m thinking that if I can do this for three days the chickens will get use to laying in the hen house again, and then try opening them in the morning.  The first day of doing this I collected 18 eggs – perfect – as I had an order for two dozen, and with the four in the fridge I had enough to fill it.

I brought the bucket of eggs in the house and instead of dropping the bag in my left hand I dropped the bucket of eggs on the title floor.  15 of the 18 eggs broke!  Oh well, so much for filling the orders for the next day.  Yesterday I again got 18 eggs and today will open them up at 1 pm for the third day.  Tomorrow I’ll let them out in the morning when I’m finished milking the goats.

Stirring the Curds for Cheddar Cheese

While writing this entry I’ve been making another 2 lb. block of cheddar cheese.  I just finished the most tedious part – stirring the pot for 30 minutes while increasing the temperature from 85 to 100 degrees.  Now it’s hanging in cheese cloth draining for an hour.  Next will be salting the cheese and putting it in the cheese press.

Cheddar Cheese ready to be waxed today

Waxed Cheddar Cheese ready to be put away to age

Meat Goats

Meat is the primary reason to raise goats in the world, which is why meat goats constitute the majority of the world's goat production systems. On our farm our primary reason is for the milk, with the male kids raised for our meat.  Per the Alabama Extension System “Goat meat comprises 63 percent of all red meat that is consumed worldwide. Currently, goats are the main source of animal protein in many North African and Middle Eastern nations. Goats are also important in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and other tropical regions.”

“Preferences and consumption patterns for goat meat are dictated by cultural, traditional, and religious backgrounds, and the socioeconomic status of the community. Cabrito, a delicacy in Central and South America, is meat from goat kids slaughtered when 1 to 3 months of age and weighing less than 50 pounds. Chevon is meat from older goat kids slaughtered when 6 to 9 months of age and weighing from 50 to 75 pounds. These two types of red meat are usually cut in bite-size or larger pieces to be eaten stewed, baked, or grilled. The meat from mature goats is used primarily in processed foods such as sausage or chili.”
 

Picking up the frozen Goat Meat from the Butcher

We have our goats butchered at about one year, every April.  With our births spaced out from January through May, some are older than one-year, some younger.  We have the butcher give us mostly Italian sausage and ground meat, some stewing meat and some for jerky.  The jerky I make for Pam and my hiking trips in the summer and winter as it makes a nice high protein snack on the trail.

 

Again from the Alabama Extension System  “Goat meat has been established as a lean meat with favorable nutritional qualities, and it's an ideal choice for the health-conscious consumer. Table 1 compares the nutrient values of prepared goat meat, chicken, and other red meats consumed in the United States.

Table 1. Nutrient Composition of Goat and Other Types of Meat [1], [2]
Nutrient	Goat	Chicken	Beef	Pork	Lamb
Calories	122	162	179	180	175
Fat (g)	2.6	6.3	7.9	8.2	8.1
Saturated Fat (g)	0.79	1.7	3.0	2.9	2.9
Protein (g)	23	25	25	25	24
Cholesterol (mg)	63.8	76.0	73.1	73.1	78.2
[1] Per 3 oz. of cooked meat [2] USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14 (2001)

We use a mobile butcher that comes to our farm where they dispatch the goats, clean them out and take them back to their shop.  We tell them what cuts we want and in a couple weeks later they call and I make the long drive to Stanwood to pick up our frozen meat.  Last year we butchered four goats averaging 60 lbs. each (hanging weight – bones and meat).  This year we butchered three, weighing 62, 80, and 96 lbs.  Same ages but so much more meat.  I believe the difference was the hay we fed them.  Last year, due to terrible summer weather the year before, out local hay farmer ran out of product and we had to purchase our hay from Eastern Washington farmers at the local feed store.  This year he had enough product.  His hay consists of young alfalfa and some weeds, his second cutting.  Milk production is also up this year using his hay