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.

Bunny update

No pics, as it is a grey and blah day here.  It's just not as wet as was forecast so far - we'd actually like a little more rain for the new fruit trees.  Along with putting up a post to let family and friends know we are still very much above water, there have been some significant bunny changes here.

The first is in the addition column of "rabbit math."  Five new rabbits - yes, five - have been added: four just weaned and about six weeks old (born April 27th) and cute as baby bunnies can be, and one adult that I have been hoping to buy for months.  I bought all four baby bunnies because the lady said she isn't good at sexing them at such a young age, and neither am I.  I stopped by Lynn's on the way home with them to have her look, since she used to raise rabbits by the hundreds (literally).  She looked, and said I have two and two, so Saturday I took the runt male up to the farm swap to try and sell him as a pet, since not only is he flashily marked, but has the perfect balanced temperament for a pet - not too adventurous but not too timid.  Animals just weren't selling this month, and I was not inclined to hang around at the auction to sell him there.  So, I'll feed him for a month and try again next time.

The adult addition to the rabbit row is a beautiful dark blue Rex furred female.  I had thought she was larger, but that was probably because when I first saw her at the auction she was in a very small cage.  Lisa had named her Shalimar, and I'll likely keep that name.  Lisa told me Shalimar is shy and submissive, and needs a week or three of sniffing noses through the wire before I try to put her in with Jack the gigolo bunny.  Oh yeah, part of the payment for the baby bunnies was bringing Jack out to spend some time with the babies' mother.  Tabitha is really hoping this results in a litter, and I of course am curious to see how Jack's first kits turn out.

Now, for the subtraction column of the rabbit ledger - Beau is fulfilling his destiny, and weighs in at 3 pounds, 2 ounces of meat and bone.  I salted his skin with canning & pickling salt, then left it out for a few hours to somewhat dry (as best as can be expected in our humidity) then folded it salt-side-in and put it into a freezer bag in the freezer to wait until I have a couple more.  We're looking at various rabbit recipes.  Lynn came down yesterday morning to demonstrate proper slaughter and dressing-out of a rabbit, so now I know how to snap a rabbit's neck quickly and with as little stress as possible.

So, to summarize: still alive, still above water, and still weird.

Crazy critter week

Very, very busy week with the critters here, starting on Monday with first baby Silkie chicks that had to come out into the brooder tub because the two black dragons were so deep into nest setting mode they pecked at anything moving too close to their nest ... including the newly hatched chicks.  Then Monday afternoon, hubby called to me to come outside and identify something ... "Baby bunnies!"  Except only one of the three was still alive.  I hadn't put the nest box in because Brooke gave no hint of impending labor or delivery.

We've had some heavy downpours this week (though no flooding, thankfully) and the first really heavy wall-of-water rain flooded the brooder tub.  Hubby just happened to hear baby chicks cheeping, and went out and saved three of the four in the tub, which he moved into his workshop until last night.

The squirmy little bunny kit started off a bit chilled, then I held Brooke on her back, cradled in my arm like a babe, so the kit could nurse.  The kit kept going from teat to teat, and I could hear it sucking vigorously, but it would take 20-30 minutes before I could see the milk belly.  Brooke wasn't making much milk.  We also caught her using the nest box as a litterbox, so I pulled the nest box out and set it in the brooder tub so baby bunny would stay warm and dry.  When I got home Thursday afternoon from Tractor Supply to pick up some feed and kitten bottles, the kit was lethargic, barely responsive, and looked emaciated ... so I called up Lynn, who used to breed and raise a LOT of meat rabbits.  She told me Brooke sounded like the textbook problem "newbie" mother, and that she usually figured her first timers would have small litters and then lose them all through clumsiness or benign neglect.  I found the kit cold, stiff, and dead the next morning.  Lynn says I can breed Brooke back two weeks after the kits were born, and she ought to do better with the next litter.  If she doesn't, Lynn recommends "into the frying pan with her!"

I sold Harry Houdini and Cocoa to my friends Caroline and Frank yesterday, then today I drove to the other side of Gainesville (good grief, there are a lot of goat people on that side of Gainesville!) to pick a new Nigerian Dwarf doe/nanny, who is registered and looks to be a great compliment to Brownie if I feel inclined to sell registered kids.  The option is there.  Here she is, Honey Road FRP Tangie, or just Tangie for short.

Honey Road FRP Tangie, Nigerian Dwarf doe

Ain't she purty?  She's technically oversized, as in too tall and would be disqualified from the show ring, but I didn't buy her to show.  While she hasn't been milked this year, the lady said she did milk her last year and Tangie produced quite decently with tolerably good milk stand manners (especially when grain is involved).  She's two years old, a couple months younger than Chocolate, and kidded twice now - single birth both times - with this year's kid born four weeks ago.  The lady said she wanted to finish this year's kids on the bottle, as that makes them a lot more people-friendly.

So, two kids leave here, and one nanny sans kid arrives ... and all that milk will be MINE!  Mine to make all sorts of cheese with, and still have plenty to keep us in caramel coffee creamer and me in yogurt.  Now all I need is a decent cheese press, so I can make colby, cheddar, brick, swiss, and whatnot.

Oh, almost forgot to mention sending out guinea eggs - 45 to Lynn (who also has my incubator to hatch them with, along with her whites) and then 15 went home with Frank and the kids, but he probably won't let the kids have anything to do with them.  LOL

Just think - this is the short version, and doesn't cover planting.  It's been quite the busy week.

Goats and goat cheese

OK, I thought hubby had put up the pictures from last week, but apparently not ... so here are the first pics of the goat who is helping to keep me busy.  Meet Prim, and her buckling Harry Houdini.

little Harry Houdini nursing his dam, Primrose

Prim and her buckling Harry

While we're at it, here's a nice pic of four out of the five goats resting in the shade and chewing their cud (yes, goats are ruminants like cows).

relaxing in the shade

Prim produces a good amount of milk - between a quart and five cups a day.  This gives me a decent amount of milk to work with, although Prim's milk has a more pronounced "goaty" flavor than Chocolate's milk does.  Last weekend, I made my first batch of feta, and we finally tried it last night.  It has the flavor note from Prim's milk, and may need a little more salt, but is definitely feta and does taste pretty good.

Earlier this week, I made caramel coffee creamer from a recipe in the Raising Goats Naturally book I've mentioned before.  It's just milk, sugar, and a bit of baking soda to keep it from boiling over, then you simmer for however many hours it takes to get it to a consistency you want.  Hubby pronounced it good ... in fact, he had urged me to make it so he could find a way to appreciate the goat milk.  He says he really does want to find a way (this was before the feta was ready to try).

Now, I have queso blanco in the cheese mold - with pasilla peppers mixed in it.  My inspiration was here for a photo tutorial which used jalapeno peppers, which don't agree with me (but hubby loves).  Depending on how it turns out, we may fry up some for posole (Maria and Perla gave me the recipe last night!  Yay!) or just make tacos or burritos out of it, or pop it onto tortilla chips for nachos.

queso blanco with pasilla bajo peppers
(in the mold)

Goat and dairy update

First off, I will get pictures later when my back isn't bothering me.  Miz Chocolate is being a bully out there any way - once again she is very jealous.  Of whom is she jealous?  The new dairy doe (nanny) and her buckling, Primrose and Harry (Houdini).  I had been thinking while reading about the dairy breeds that what I really wanted would be an Oberhasli, once called Swiss Alpine but now considered a separate breed.  Then, Tuesday after slaughtering Pork Chop, I was browsing the Gainesville Craigslist ... and there it was, just posted: "Package deal: Oberhasli mother and son."  Sounded like fate to me, and the price was certainly right - $200 for both.

Prim isn't a pretty Oberhasli, but she certainly does produce.  I got about twelve ounces from her last evening, then just under a quart this morning ... and this is from just one side of her udder, as the other side is empty, flaccid, and may be what dairy goat people call "blown out."  She is likely registered, but I didn't ask about papers and he didn't offer.  It is not a big deal to me right now, as I doubt I'll be selling any of her offspring.

Harry will definitely not be staying with us.  He still has his horns, and he also shimmied right out of the enclosure last evening before we could even get the fence turned on.  That is why he and Prim were for sale - he is an even better escape artist than his older sister, who was pointed out to me as the goat with the cast on her leg from a previous escape attempt that didn't go right.  They have solid wood horse fencing ... and a coyote problem.

I mentioned I doubt I'll be selling any of Prim's offspring, and that does include Harry.  He will more than likely be our first cabrito - goat meat.  We'll wait until I get back from Kentucky next month, so Prim stays in milk while I am gone as hubby says he just does not see himself milking a goat.

Meanwhile, with such great milk production, I'll have enough to make a batch of cheese tomorrow after the morning milking.  There is two and a half quarts in there right now between the two does (nannies).

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.

My first cheese making attempt

So, I ordered two cheese making kits, plus another book on the subject, and have been itching to give it a try.  Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and scratch that itch.  I intend to practice on store bought milk for a while, at least until I can get a good milking goat, that will hold still for a full milking.  Don't get me wrong, Chocolate is making a bunch of milk right now, and I am penning Cocoa up at night so she doesn't nurse her mother dry.  This morning I managed to get about nine ounces before Chocolate decided she had enough of the rain, feeder full of Goat Chow or not.  The gal I bought Jack the rabbit from has Nigerian Dwarf goats who give up to a quart a day ... I want one.  Meanwhile, she wants to upgrade to La Mancha goats.

making my first batch of cheese

I was following the recipe and instructions for mozzarella, but I made a couple of newbie mistakes, and what I have is a soft, spreadable cheese that is tasty on a Ritz cracker.

my first homemade cheese

I had stirred too much after adding the rennet, then I didn't drain off enough of the whey before heating and trying to stretch the curds.  I'll try again soon for mozzarella, and also probably try some small batch recipes for goat cheese.  As long as the results are edible, I'll not complain about the learning curve.