Big honkin' update

OK, so the honking is courtesy of the neighbor's ill-humored goose ... actually, is there any other kind?  Big update - pretty much a month's worth because I've either been busy, or been sulking because I'd rather be busy instead of my back hurting.

Chocolate is getting fat.  She is starting to look like she swallowed a whole watermelon and it got stuck sideways in her midsection.  She's the first I expect to kid, around Valentine's Day.  Prim is about two weeks' (at most?) behind her there, with Tangie supposed to be after that, then Molly.  Flora is still not pregnant, but then again she still looks to be growing.  She's now almost as tall as her mother, Molly.

Pigs are still doing fine.  It looks like they may be done growing up for the most part, so that means Boston Butt's days are numbered for sure.  He's still the smallest in the pen, and Cerridwen is still the biggest.

Still no baby bunnies yet ... I have not figured out where I am going wrong on this project.  At least they all let me pet them at feeding time now.

The two hatches of Wyandotte chicks are growing, growing, and growing!  I'm planning for a third hatch soon.  Checking the calendar, it says February 5th & 6th are good days to set eggs.  I've decided not to replace any of the Silkies from here out.  They just don't seem hardy enough to thrive here with my management style.  Either that, or I got very high-maintenance Silkies.  That ought to give me more room to grow out more Wyandottes.

Now, for the planting idea.  When I talked to Sis for my birthday, she said an indoor herb garden is her big 2017 project.  I mentioned that I've been researching to grow a big ol' mess of herbs here as well, and she says I need to post up everything I find out.  Those will be separate posts, but to start with: put ALL seeds in the refrigerator.  Store them there, until you are ready to plant them.  Off the top of my head, parsley and sage both need one and two weeks fridge time, respectively.  I don't recall what others you mentioned having, so either comment here or send an email to give me the list to look up.

I think I can now say I have graduated from a black thumb to a brown thumb.  No, I am not suddenly overrun with mint (though I would welcome that) but I am having a lot better success with starting seeds.  In the case of the Roma (VF) tomato seeds, a little too much success for me to handle on my own.  So, here's the story:  I ordered seeds directly from Burpee, including a true-breeding strain of Roma (VF) tomatoes.  They mailed it out on December 5th, and tracking had no other updates so I emailed their customer service on the 15th.  They canceled that order, made a new one, and mailed that out on the 18th.  That package arrived between Christmas and New Year's, so I was happy and forgot about it.  A little before my birthday, I open up what i thought was a scrip refill from VA, but it was seeds from Burpee ... the lost shipment.  I plant those seeds first, because I figure at best I'll get half to sprout.  Oh yeah, and I planted the entire package - which said 250 seeds, but there was more like 270.

I have 264 Roma tomato starts!  And this is after my neighbor Marty bought a couple last night.  I've also put 50 Little Gem lettuce starts in a bed, and probably the same amount of "Toy Choi" pak choi in another bed, with some of both left over for Marty again.  (She also got the Old German sucker that I knocked off the parent plant while transplanting.)  Pretty much all those seeds from the lost package are sprouting quick, fast, and in large numbers.  Now add to that a second flat of seeds, with 51 Boxcar Willie tomatoes, and 81 Pruden's Purple (actually a dark pink) tomato starts.  It's probably a good thing the Black Krim, Aunt Ruby's German Green, and Big Rainbow seeds were all too old to sprout.

I also have Red Russian kale, three varieties of broccoli, a colorful mix of cauliflower, Bloomsdale spinach, four kinds of sweet pepper, and six kinds of greens sprouted.  No joke.  Lynn (my friend who owns/runs a plant nursery) says it's because I am using better quality seed, actual seed starting mix, and am doing things at the right time.  Along with all that, I've also been reading and learning how to plant, along with when to plant for Zone 9b and by the astrological calendar.  Laugh if y'all want, but it is all coming together a lot better this year than the past five years.

This should give y'all an idea of what I've got going.  Meanwhile, I'd like to get another bed planted before it rains this afternoon.

3 little piggies

I went and got our three little piglets on Sunday - and boy what an adventure that turned out to be.  Dragon-Momma Miss Piggy led a jailbreak, so it was more challenging than expected to get the piglets separated from her, and there was one little shoat (uncut male) we could not catch.  In fact, Frank said he didn't finally catch that little monster until this morning.

Meanwhile, I had a front-row "seat" to learning how to castrate pigs ... I had to hold them because Caroline took a wrong step the day before and had a swollen knee under her knee brace.  Castrating pigs is a lot like caponizing chickens; just no rib spreader needed.

I got picks of the litter, since Frank and Caroline plan to eat the remaining pigs, including Miss Piggy.  I picked the solid, heavy black gilt (baby female) as soon as I netted her.  She ended up breaking the net frame, she's so heavy compared to her siblings.  Even without catching the one, I am sure she is the biggest of the six.  Her name is Cerridwen (pronounced "Kerr-a-dwynn", the Welsh goddess who sometimes appeared as a big black sow).  I compared the red gilt to the spotted gilt, and saw the red one was wider through the body, so that was my second girl and I named her Annie Sue, from The Muppet Show.  As for my newly-cut barrow (pig equivalent to a capon), his name is Boston Butt.

3 little piggies
my only somewhat-clear pic of Boston

Cerridwen and Annie Sue,
each trying to HOG the food

Right now they are in dog crates, with Boston being by himself until his incisions heal.  This also keeps them from running too far away from us until they get more used to us, and realize we are the source of food, water, and yummies like eggs and whey.  The other reason they are in the dog crates is because hubby is still working on the pig pen.  He'd like to get it right the first time, and when Lynn brought the cattle panels down on her flatbed truck, she had some advice ("Dig it in a lot deeper than that!") which hubby is incorporating.  Here's where he's at today:

working on the pig pen

Finally, a goat picture ... just because.  Usually, there are four or five lined up on the downed tree, but every once in a while when it isn't too crowded, Flora lays down on it.

Molly, Flora, and Tangie

I'll need to get a pic soon of Flora standing up.  She's just gone through another growth spurt.

Ground broke for pig pen

So while I was stir-frying up some zucchini and leftover rice, Caroline calls.  The piglets are pretty much off the teat and eating solid food, to Miss Piggy's disgust, and four of the six are getting out regularly.  They were finally able to sex the piglets (Miss Piggy is from the school of dragon-mothers) have a half-and-half litter, with the spotted one, one red, and one black being gilts (young girl piggies).  When she called me, they had just picked up the bander and bands for all the boys.

the piglets and Miss Piggy, mid-July

The piglets sunning themselves, mid-July

So hubby and I - being King and Queen of procrastination, respectively - went out with the tape measure, six sections of PVC pipe, and the rubber mallet and began seriously discussing where the pig pen will be.  Hubby only wants to build it once, and I fully agree on that sentiment.  We also briefly discussed the layout and concept, and that is a go at this station.  The main difference of opinion was which side of the property to build it on.  I insisted it be on the southern side, where it is always shady to keep them out of the heat.  Hubby prefers the northern side, where it will be much more protected from predators, although that is also where we have the solar charger for the fence due to the sunnyness.  A little bit of haggling, and it is set up on the southern side, but we'll be getting another section of fence to put it inside the goat perimeter.  We'll also be moving the grape vine that was here when we bought the place, and Lynn has commented that it doesn't produce because it's in far too much shade.

I am buying two gilts and one barrow (cut male) as "quality control".  I am not certain which I am getting just yet, but I suspect Caroline will want to keep the spotted gilt judging from how she talked about that one.  One red and one black are fine with me, and I shall name them Miss Piggy and Annie Sue.  Annie Sue was the younger girl-pig on The Muppet Show in the second season.  I think I'll let hubby name the feeder boy.

Progress for today is the pig pen laid out, measured, and six fence post holes dug in the right places.

Hammy died

I'm actually a bit upset about it - Hammy died in his sleep overnight sometime.  I was not ready to be pig-less yet ... we have a 50 pound bag of pig feed we just opened this week, and for whatever reason the chickens don't drink the whey from cheese- and yogurt-making.  When I noticed Hammy was not flipping his metal water pan or oinking and grunting at me to hurry up and bring him breakfast, I went over to investigate.  He looked like he was racked out for a nap, except as I got closer I could see all the flies and ants.

It isn't just about all the meat that went to waste.  Hammy has provided much amusement, even when he got out Wednesday morning, and was running around, barking, wagging his tail so hard it looked like a propeller on his rump, scaring the chickens, and in general having himself a great-good time.  We got him back in the crate  in the usual way: pour some whey from the recent batch of butterkase cheese in his dish, and in he went.  He took a couple gulps while hubby got the door closed, then Hammy started to roll in the whey, which was still quite cool from being in the refrigerator overnight.  Feel free to joke about us playing with our food ... we make that joke quite often.

I had been meaning to get a picture of Hammy recently, to show how big he'd gotten as well as hopefully showing how shiny his hair was in the sunlight, but hadn't done it yet.

Slaughtered Pork Chop

We slaughtered Pork Chop this morning - it was definitely a learning experience.  He noticeably went off his feed yesterday morning, and hubby said he had looked "off" and listless Monday evening at late feeding time.  I couldn't see any other obvious symptoms, so rather than lose him or let him suffer or waste away, we decided to slaughter him this morning.

Hubby was able to stun-kill him with an air rifle and  .22 hollow point bullets.  Porky was not inclined to stand still to give hubby a chance to aim perfectly, and neither of us could really blame him for that either.  I tried to stick him, and discovered pigskin  is tough!  I'll need to study up on pig anatomy a little better to hit the vena cava and branching vessels like I need to, but Porky was already dead from the bullet so he didn't suffer from my ineptitude.

Rough estimates on feed versus meat:  It cost approximately $21 so far to feed him (half of three bags at $14 per bag) plus the initial purchase price of $2, and the broken bathroom scale says we have roughly 25 pounds of cleaned meat with some fat (and the bones).  We skinned him instead of scalding and scraping, and I can see a lot of fat adhered to the skin.  It won't go to waste, as I have it in the 23 quart pressure canner, along with the head and all the organs, cooking out on the back deck on a hot plate for Hammy and the chickens and maybe the guineas, too.

Slaughtering and butchering even a young half-Pot Belly pig is some work!  I don't know about hubby, but I am wiped out from it.  I'll do the big chicken update later.

Whole lot of busy

Today is one of those days I realize just how many different things I have going on here.  I've been working with Chocolate on the milking idea, and as long as she has Goat Chow in the feeder, she could not care less.  The instant she's done inhaling her Chow though, she tries to get away.  Hubby has been holding her for my to milk, except this morning he is up in Jacksonville because his brother just got back from a rotation to Korea.  I tried to get Lynn out here to hold her, but business is picking up fast at the commercial nursery she owns/runs so no dice there.  As a result, I only got about two ounces this morning, whereas I got over six ounces yesterday morning, and the difference is someone holding her.  A milking stand is en route here from Pennsylvania, but FedEx tracking says it won't be here until Wednesday.

Also in transit are: a meat grinder, patty mold, and bell hog scraper to get the hair off the pigs' skins after slaughter; hoof trimmers, hoof knife, goat halter, and a lamb/kid bottle in case I need that for my next goat; and two cheese making kits plus another cheese making book so next year when I have three in milk, I will be able to make cheese from the excess.  One Nigerian Dwarf doe can give up to a quart a day even with kids on her, depending on how good a milking bloodline she's from.  That is enough for hubby and me, but Cocoa will grow up, as will the registered doeling I am on the hunt for, so for a couple years I will be having three kidding and milking, so cheese making has been on my to-learn list for a couple years.

The guineas are finally acting like proper guineas: they are flying or hopping out of the enclosure and moving off in a gaggle to hunt for bugs.  May they find every tick nest not just on our property, but the neighboring properties as well!  I find it amusing they just started doing this the day after Craig, Marty, and me were discussing how to cook guinea.

On the chicken front, more hens are getting into the spring mood and starting to camp out on eggs or golf balls ... including one of the Big Butt Girls, the black phase BLR Wyandottes I got from Luanne.  Luanne has now had a grand total of two Wyandotte hens go broody on her over the years (one last year, just to prove her wrong when she told me they don't go broody) so having one out of only three in the back of the tractor all fluffed up and growling was a surprise.  Kids and critters will make a liar out of you every time.  Having another Silkie go broody wasn't much of a surprise, but having it be one of the black dragons still tending Silkie chicks was.  Let the daily battle over marked versus unmarked eggs begin.

Hammy and Pork Chop continue to grow and eat like pigs should.  I have decided not to keep either one, and instead go hunting for a pair or trio of full blooded Pot Belly pigs for my pork project.  Hammy will go first, as he is the smaller one and not putting on fat to the extent Pork Chop is.  Pork Chop has the fat jowls and wrinkles around the shoulders that Potbellies are known for, so I am curious to see just how big and fat he'll get.  I even had to buy the second bag of pig food for those two last week, making my total investment still less than $35 for pigs plus feed.

I was going to including planting notes and greenhouse update, but wow this has gotten quite long with only part of the critter update.  Oh, no pics this morning, as I set my camera down somewhere and don't recall where.

New critter pics, part one

Before I hit the highway to get my goats, I felt inspired to snap some pictures of the new critters.

new castor (black agouti color) buck

Pork Chop and Hammy, my four dollar lesson in pigs

nine Meaties chicks and two Wyandotte chicks, hatched Feb 18th

setting eggs for March hatch,
from Feyd's, Silkie Dude's, and Spikey's groups

OK, now to finish coffee, have some breakfast, then hit the road.

New critters

Just got in from the livestock auction, with three new critters.  One rabbit, some kind of meat line buck, and ... two pigs.  I got them both for $4.  No, not a typo - I paid four dollars for two male potbelly pigs.  These were the largest of the potbellies, and people tend to want the itty-bitty ones that are fed only so much a day to stunt their growth, so I got these two for only two dollars each.  Try buying more than 12 ounces of bacon for that at the grocery.  I told hubby, "Meet Pork Chop and Hammy."

The rabbit will also end up on the dinner table, but I want to fatten him up a bit first, and also give him a chance to breed Brooke.  George has tried, but the first time she refused to lift her rump and the second time he was more lovey-dovey, grooming her face and ears while making little snuffle noises.  I threatened to play Aerosmith for him to get him in the mood.  I even put Brooke in with Jack to see if he was ready, but still nothing.  I need to get my rabbits to breed like chickens - the roosters waste no time.

Pork Chop and Hammy have a day or two before they meet their destiny, as tomorrow I will finally get my dairy goats!  WooHOO!  I was going to drive out today to get them, but I called before leaving Palatka, and she said they needed to run out for the afternoon, but tomorrow around lunch time/after church was good for her.  I will be coming home will no less than two goats, and no more than four.

It's dark outside, so no pics unless hubby snaps some tomorrow while I drive to the other side of Gainesville to get my goat.