Cute Spring Happenings

Hi all! I just wanted to share a few snapshots of some cute little spring happenings here at Edgington Farm.

Nothing says spring like daffodils blooming.

Our 8 wounded and picked birds were doing well enough that I decided to combine all of our new chicks (except the still tiny little bantams) in our handy brooder box. 

We've been letting Bacon bunk in with our older chicken flock, and judging by this picture, everyone is adjusting well. This was bedtime, and everyone seems comfy and cozy!

These were some of our Easter colored eggs. We had lots of fun doing them.

Toby had a nice upsetting faceplant in a puddle. 

These little bantam chicks are like feathery little ping pong balls. They love being held too. So cute!

Thanks for reading!

More chicks?!

Hi all. Ok, I'm big enough to admit it when I have a problem. I have chick fever.  I love raising the ones I've got so much, when I heard that TSC was desperate to get rid of chicks from chick days, I had to check it out! Yes, say it, even I'm thinking it. I'M A SUCKER FOR PEEPING!

So, as you may have figured out, we bought more babies. I bought 3 white leghorns at the price of $1 each! We got 4 ducks for $2 each. We bought 4 bantams, 2 ducks, and 2 golden laced wyandottes at regular price. They had a lot of picked and wounded chickens and I managed to get 8 white leghorns for free. If you're good at chicken math, you've figured out that we brought home 23 chicks.

They're all thriving and happy! I decided it's good since they will take places of our meaties we just butchered and the ones we intend to butcher in the next month or 2.

Thanks for reading!

Processing Meat Chickens Round 1-2013

Hi all. Well, yesterday was the day. We bid farewell to our 4 Cornish Rock chickens. So, our foray into processing our own meat chickens was overall a success! I'm pretty happy about the outcome.

We sequestered them for about 24 hours without food to help get their crops cleaned out. That was to make cleaning them easier. We, however, did not take their water away.

Mitch created a special cone like the ones you can buy at specialty stores. I think it really made the whole task easier, cleaner, and more humane.  It's designed so that you put the bird in upside-down. (This is actually very relaxing for a chicken!) It also hugs them so that they feel more calm.

We removed their heads, allowed them to bleed, scalded them with water, and then plucked
away.  The key to scalding them is to not have the water be boiling but hot. If it's too hot you'll cook the bird instead of readying it for plucking. The scalding really does aid in the picking quite significantly. After hand picking the feathers, we tossed them into a large plastic tote full of ice water to bring down their temp and keep them cold before butchering.

I was surprised by how quick and easy it was to do them all, and that was just hand picking the feathers instead of an awesome mechanical plucker. It was at times a bit stinky. It's not exactly for the faint of heart.

They all dressed out (eviscerated, plucked, cleaned) at about 3-4 pounds each. We weighed them on a small hanging scale. I'm pretty happy with this since it only took them 7-8 weeks to get that large. I'm actually impressed!

We had a quick crash course on butchering them properly and then I set about to bagging them up in gallon ziploc bags and used my cute little sealer for small stuff. We had scalded one a little too long and cooked it a little so, we just decided to eat it for dinner.

We ate one that day, cut one up to freeze, and froze 2 whole ones. We ended up with a pile of stuff to use for soups, broths, etc. that we also froze.

So, what's the difference in flavor? Our farm raised birds are far more tender and moist. I love that.  Our BBQ chicken was yummy!

Thanks for reading!

Strawberry Blackberry Jam

Hi all! Sometimes, there's nothing better than some good toast with yummy jelly for breakfast. Mmmm...making my mouth water just thinking about it! I have found that in our material world, it's very fun, rewarding, and educational to occasionally try it yourself. This is my philosophy for my whole life. Maybe it's not your style, but you still like a fun DIY now and again. Anywho, here it is! My attempt (efforts shared by my mom) strawberry-blackberry jam.

Strawberry-Blackberry Jam
4 cups of berries
4 1/2 Tbsp of classic pectin
3 c. Sugar
Jelly jars

1.  Cut the stems from the strawberries. Rinse both berries gently and dry well.
2.  Put berries in a bowl and gently crush the berries until some juice runs.
3.  Boil berries on high and add pectin a little at a time.
4.  Boil until it reaches a hard, rolling boil. Slowly add sugar (we used Splenda) until fully dissolved.
5.  Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
6.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving a 1/4" headspace.  Top with hot lids and dry bands. Screw bands on until finger-tight.
6.  Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes at a gentle boil.
7.  Cool for several hours. Check seals for flexibility. If flexible,  you may have to try reprocessing. If firm, you should have a good seal.

Notes:
-  Always follow safely guidelines for canning to ensure safety and quality.
-  This yielded seven 4 oz. jelly jars for us

New Addition To The Family

Hi all! I'm excited to announce the newest addition to our farm, barnyard and family. I present to you, our seven week-old potbelly piglet, Bacon!

Bacon is little, black, male potbelly pig brought to us as a gift to our son from my mother. He comes from Versailles, KY. He was the last little piggy from the litter to be adopted as he is very vocal! He is not afraid to announce how unhappy or scared he is with a series of very loud squeals or low grunts.

He happily gobbles up little piggy food and is currently residing in a large plastic tote. This will be his home until we figure out a more permanent fixture.

For those of you wondering, NO we will NOT BE EATING little Bacon. He is a PET. So,  those of you who are worried, worry no more. :)

I'm excited about this little venture. Pigs are very intelligent and I love having a unique little pet that fits perfect in our farm. Wish us luck!

Thanks for reading!

Spring/Easter Wreath

Hi all. I just wanted to share my latest project. I made a wreath! I gotta say, I impressed myself on this one. Hehe. I'm sure, like me, you've seen all those wreaths and nests people make on pinterest. I looked at them drooling and finally decided "Hey, I can do that too."

So, I did.I started by gathering some vines and young saplings from our woods. (In the rain, during a flood warning-yeah sometimes my eagerness outweighs my common sense.) If you plan on replicating this, I suggest using wet saplings and vines. Mine had been rained on for a couple of days, but if you're not getting rain you can soak them in the tub or a bucket. It sounds crazy but they're much easier to work with this way.  Making this wreath (it's about 12" across) used an armload of twigs. That is no lie. It takes a surprisingly large amount of wood to make this thing, so be prepared. Once you get your stuff together, you can start weaving everything together. Start with the most flexible twigs first.

I made the flowers with my Cricut paper cutter. As for the eggs, we poked a hole in the bottoms with a pin and just sort of scrambled the contents as best as we could. The key is to poke a hole in both ends for free flowing egg goop. Carefully wash them out and allow to dry for 24 hours. Now just glue it all together!

Happy crafting!

Thanks for reading!

The Dairy Aisle

Hi all! For me, the only thing better than recycling and gardening, is recycling in the garden. I've stated many ways in previous posts how this can be done, but this post is a special highlight of a certain section in the grocery store. The Dairy Aisle. It's not just for making strong bones or breakfast anymore! 

When incorporating recycling into your garden, look no further than the dairy aisle. It is chock full of great items you can reuse.

My Projects:

1.   Drain contents from an egg through a small pinhole, carefully rinse, and allow to dry. Now use for decorations. They can be painted, speckled, and more!

2.   Cut a milk jug into a scoop. Use your new scoop for potting soil, feed, etc.

3.   Compost your spent egg shells. They are great for putting calcium into the soil.

4.   Use empty egg cartons for starting seeds. 

5.   Using a large gauge needle heated by a flame (don't burn yourself) carefully poke holes into a milk jug lid. Now you have a watering can!

Projects to Try:

1.   Use broken egg shells to start seeds in.

2.   Cut a milk jug not quite completely in half, fill with soil, and use as a mini greenhouse.

3.   Cut the bottom off of a jug and use as a cloche to keep your seedlings and transplants protected from the elements.

Be creative! What have you tried? 

Thanks for reading!