Hay for Mildred

Husband cleared a bit of snow so he could drop a round bale into the chicken pen this weekend.  Now Mildred gets to go outside and munch, and chat over the fence with the rest of the critters.  Well, after she stopped trying to swim through the snow to explore the entire pen. 

Toothless and Mindy were quick to come and say hello.  Or maybe to ask who the heck the 'royalty' was who got her own bale of hay!  Sharlotte tried to visit, but Mindy chased her off.

Toothless was very friendly.  They rubbed noses through the fence.

Shiloh came to visit, bringing Tori and Knightmare along with her.  Shiloh is the self appointed welcoming committee around here.  They shared some hay with their long necks reaching over the fence.

Mildred mooed and mooed, calling to Dorie, we think.  Our herd matron will NOT EVEN LOOK AT MILDRED!  #1 thinks she's jealous.  I think she's stuck up.

After Mildred went to bed the first day, as we were getting ready to milk, Mindy decided she just had to have some of that hay.  You know the old adage, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...  Well, miss Mindy got herself STUCK on the fence.  The snow is deep enough that she could balance halfway with her back legs on one side and her front legs on the other.  On the pasture side where they've got it all packed down good- no problem.  But then she sank through on the chicken pen side, leaving herself in a bit of a predicament.  Luckily for her she was able to roll off onto the pasture side.

#3 got to help #1 with the milking while Husband and I cut some small poplars and put up a new top rail.  The fence is still sagging under the poplars, but there's not much we can do about that until spring.

Hopefully everyone will stay where they belong until then.

Making Butter

The first time I made butter, I started by shaking the jar in my lap.  It's doable, but time consuming.  Then I bought the little red paint mixer attachment for the drill, seen below.  It worked fairly well, and fit right into the 4L glass jars. 

Last time, I stacked the fresh milk in the fridge waiting for the cream to come to the top, then I'd skim it off, and then I'd have three or four days worth of milk to use up.  This time I'm using sun tea jars for the milk in the fridge.  The cream still rises to the top, while the milk below can be used.  No waiting.

This time I'm spoiled, since I now have the kitchenaid stand mixer.  Pour in the cream and set it to whip.  Watch as the cream turns to whipped cream to slush to butter, in just minutes!

It does splatter a bit if you fill it too full, and again once the butter chunks up.  All stop!  Pour off the buttermilk.  And that, right there, is the cause of the backlog of milk in the fridge!  I started with this little jar to pour the buttermilk into and had to grab a clean 4L jar to finish.  I had forgotten how much buttermilk you get back out once the butter forms. 

I switched to the beater attachment to beat the butter with cold water to get out the last of the buttermilk.  Then I beat it dry.  Then I added 1/2 tsp salt.

I lined these square salad containers with saran wrap.  

And smooshed in the butter.  I probably should have let them stiffen up before pulling them out of the containers.  They lost some of the square shape.

Two 'pounds' of butter (I didn't weigh it) went in the freezer, plus a small dish for the fridge.

Now to use up that buttermilk...

First Day Of Spring

On the calendar, anyway. I took a few pics the other day- before I declared that it is indeed spring, due to a lactating cow and two hungry babies- to show that spring is a far off dream in the land of snow and ice.

This is the garden, as 'seen' from the road.  In truth, you can't see the garden at all, just the huge snowbank.

From the house to the road.  We are running out of room to pile the snow.  

The corner of our road.  The snow banks are so high this year that you're halfway through the intersection before you can see if anything's coming.  Good thing it's a quiet little road.

And what would the weather bring us on the first day of spring?  More snow!  Just tiny little flakes in a cool north wind, but snow none the less.  I'd be surprised if all of this melts before the end of April without getting any more!  It's certainly a far cry from last year, when we were out quadding in the bush.  This year the birthday boy will just have to be happy with a snowmobile ride instead!  Even that's a bit odd this year, as the snowmobile trails are usually at least softened up beyond use by now.

Everything is looking good on the home front though.  The weatherman is calling for rising temps and sunshine.  The heat of the cow makes the milk room a pleasant place to spend half the day.  And this bundle of cuteness running around makes it easy to remember, spring is on it's way!

Maximus and #1

Mildred

Some time last spring I started debating whether or not I was ready for a real dairy cow.  We milked Dorie, a beef cow, the first year when she lost her calf, and attempted it again when Casper was born.  Casper gobbled up every last drop of milk though, turning it into some mighty fine beef.  By the time Sharlotte came along last summer I had pretty much given up on the idea of ever milking Dorie again.

I had my sights set on Nelly, our bottle baby, becoming our next milker, because she's so lovable, friendly, and agreeable.  But she never calved.  She might calve this year.  She might be agreeable.  She might have enough milk for her calf and us.  She might not.

I wanted milk.  I did not want a Holstein, which I could buy any day at the auction.  They're very common around here.  Those udders are just too intimidating for me though.  How many hours would it take to hand milk a Holstein?  And then what would I do with ALL THAT MILK?  Nope, too much.  I was leaning toward a jersey, Guernsey, or a Canadienne.  I've seen each breed at the auction from time to time, so knew they were available in our area.

A couple of months ago I started searching in earnest.  I placed an ad on Kijiji, started talking to farmers, searched the online sale boards.  I had one guy in Sarnia offer me a jersey.  Sarnia!  That's only about a ten hour drive.

Yesterday I was going to stay home and vegetate clean up after March break.  Then Husband found out he had the day off work.  He figured since it was Monday, and sunny, that he would drag my butt outside using the auction as a lure.  Big mistake on his part! lol

Someone came in with a basket full of Saanen billy goats.  We need a new stud.  Doesn't he look like a stud?  Meet Maximus.

Then I bought the first of several calves I'm planning to raise for beef this year.  He doesn't have a name yet.  So far he hasn't responded to anything we've tried.

I so wanted to buy a couple of piglets.  There were about thirty that came through the auction, from kitty cat to nearly ready to butcher size.  Most of them were male.  I sat on my hands.  I really have no place suitable for raising piglets until we lose a couple feet of snow.  Now watch, I won't be able to find any in the spring.

And Mildred.  I named her before I bought her.  It was early.  Hardly anyone there.  She was all alone in a stall.  I talked to her for a bit.  She mooed at me.

I told her her name was Mildred.  She mooed.  I told her she was going to be a family cow.  She walked away.

I told her she was coming home with me.  She came back and let me pet her nose.

She's a little thin.  I don't think she's very old.  First calf maybe?  Or second?

I bid hard and fast against the meat guys.  Once she was over their profit margin it looked like she'd be mine.  Then the other hobbyists, homesteaders, and such got started.  I went slower with them.  I tricked some of them.  Right after she sold one guy came over and asked how much I wanted for my jersey.  He thought I had brought her to sell and was just driving up the price.  Nope, not for sale.  She's mine!

She didn't get home until about 10pm.  Then we had to milk her.  She was in a new place, with new people, engorged, and accustomed to machine milking.  It took three of us until midnight to get her drained.  I brought nearly 4L in the house, after feeding the calf, spilling the bucket, dumping the bucket she stepped in to the chickens, and making a mess while filtering.  Just look at those udders!  How much can they hold?

We got her haltered this morning and brought another 4L in the house.  Round two went a little quicker.  She's very calm and agreeable.

After the auction strangers started coming up to us and telling us what a good cow we bought.  That's never happened before!  One lady told us she had three jerseys from the same farm as Mildred.  She knows the people who owned them.  They sold Mildred because she produces TOO MUCH MILK for their dairy line!  This lady has the jerseys raising other calves, two to three at a time.  She says they're great adoptive mothers.

I am declaring this the official first day of spring.  I am going to ignore the snow that is currently falling, the snow that is forecast for the next three days, and the bitter north wind that is blowing.  I have babies and a cow to milk.  It is spring.

Sprouts for the Ladies

When the new ladies arrived I went through the cupboard to see what I had available to sprout for them. These mung beans remain from when I attempted sprouts for human food. I still don't know what I'm doing wrong with them, but they don't resemble bean sprouts from the grocery store at all.

I poked holes through the bottom of 6 ice cream buckets with a knife.  They hold the seeds, while the bottom buckets catch the drips.  One stack should be plenty, but I haven't quite figured out the appropriate amount of seeds yet.  Once they start growing and expanding the upper buckets tend to squish them.  Dividing them into two stacks allows today and tomorrow's sprouts to both rest on top of the pile.  I add about an inch of water to the top buckets a few times a day, and it drips through to the bottom.

 Right now I have northern beans, two batches of red lentils (the goats' favourite), popcorn, mung beans, and soft wheat sprouting.

I bought a variety of seeds and grains at the grocery store to sprout; Congo pigeon peas, yellow peas, amaranth, quinoa, red lentils, green lentils, soft wheat, northern beans and popcorn.  I bought poppy seeds and chia seeds at the bulk food store.  I also sprout a wild bird feed mix.

Keeping the hens in fresh greens while we wait for spring.

Because even though it's warming up, we still have a bit of snow to melt before we see anything green outside.

Incubating

14 eggs went in the incubator on March 7th. 

Which means I get to eat fresh farm eggs for the next week or so!  If I can convince the ladies to keep laying.  We had a power outage in the coop- a short in the barn actually, that left the girls with no extra lighting.  It kind of sent them reeling back into the dark days of winter and they quit laying!  Until yesterday, when we got one fresh egg. 

So I get to eat farm fresh eggs for a week or so, and then start saving eggs for the incubator again.  With any luck, we'll have a few new chicks by the end of the month.

Critter Update

 

 Little Toothless

Little bigger.  I love how he still stands and looks at me in the goofiest positions.

He is getting a lot bigger now, almost as big as Mindy standing behind him.  Sharlotte, behind her, isn't much smaller than him now, and they're a year apart.  It's amazing how much faster those beef calves grow.

The only one who looks remotely pregnant at the moment is miss Nelly- but she fooled me last year too.  Toothless may have been too small to get the job done last fall.

From the drive, towards the road, across the perennial bed.  We've got about as much snow this year as we did in 2008. 

Mama is looking pretty plump these days, but not showing any signs of an impending explosion just yet.  Which is really good since we need to get the milk room cleaned up and a layer of fresh hay in before kids arrive.

Sheila is nearly as big as Mama.  I don't think penning her in with the turkeys last fall did the trick.  Of course there were a couple of escapes at the time, but I think maybe we let her out a little too soon.  We were late selling Shaq, and if she is pregnant, he's probably the daddy.

We're in no rush yet- it's still pretty chilly outside.  They can all keep those babies warm and cozy in their bellies for another month or so.

I am looking at ordering poultry for spring.  Husband has had a number of people at work asking about chickens, so I think I have been talked into raising a few.  I called the abbatoir and it all sounds pretty simple and straight forward.  I am worried about making enough sales to make it worthwhile, so I've decided to cut back on my turkey order this year.  If we end up with a lot of chickens in the freezer I don't want to be wondering where I'm going to put my turkeys!

That said- the turkey pen repairs never happened last year, so it's still on the to do list for this spring.  Except- it's not going to be a turkey pen.  The meat bird's- Frey's Dual Purpose- will get my turkey pen.  Or at least part of it.  The plan is to reinforce the outside fence, nailing logs along the bottom all the way around.  Then dividing the pen in half-ish.  Another line of higher fence posts are to be put in about 10 feet in from the outside fence, and top rails to sit on both.  Poles to go across from the lower fence to the higher fence.  Confused?  Yeah- the boys get that glazed look in their eyes when I try to explain it to them too.  Basically- we'll be adding a roof to a very large pen.

The part I haven't figured out yet is housing.  The turkey shack is pretty well centered in the pen.  I don't think it's large enough to divide in half, and the location will make it hard to build a second shack.  My current thought is maybe building three or four smaller shacks in the corners, which would then be suitable for nesting- if I ever get to the point of overwintering the turkeys to breed the following spring.

Ah, spring.  I'm tired already.