Local, Natural, Non-GMO
In spring you go and check the garden. Here we see kale and another green that wintered over and have revived.
And you check the perennials – no asparagus yet, some chives, and here is the rhubarb.
Then you check to see how the garlic is growing. This is planted in the fall and harvested in July.
Next you prep beds for new plantings of onions, potatoes, and other vegetables.
And finally you plant peas, Swiss chard, spinach and lettuce and wait for them to grow.
Such a lot of things to observe this time of year. Here are flowering trees and spring bird observations.
Peach Tree
Peach Blossoms
Serviceberry Blossoms
Serviceberry Trees
Pear Tree
Pear Blossoms
Turkey Vultures soaring
Old Oriole Nest
Ball-like thing in the middle of the pic
Ahh…spring beauty and life!
Our ewes have given birth. Both twinned, and each gave a ewe and a ram.
The white one gave birth during a snow storm.
The black and white one gave birth about a week later. All four were up, walking and nursing within hours of birth. And they are all doing well.
Here is the white one with her lambs nursing, one on either side. A little blurry, but you get the idea.
Late last fall we got 30 Barred Rock chicks to add to this year’s laying flock.
These birds have matured and are now in the Taj Mahal. Here you can see some of them out in the grass and at the feeders.
At around 4 1/2 to 6 months chickens will start laying eggs. At first the eggs will be small. Then sometimes they will be really large and have double yolks, though we also see that as they get older.
The two eggs on the top come from our current layers. You can see how they are a bit bigger than the other three eggs.
The lower three eggs are from the barred rocks. They would have normal yolk and white inside, but they are smaller than what a mature hen would lay.
The one in the middle bottom – That egg doesn’t have a hard shell. Eggs have two shells – hard outer shell and the soft inner shell. When you peel hard-boiled eggs, you might notice that there is a soft lining that you need to use a nail to grab and peel away from your egg. That is the soft inner shell.
Eggs with soft shells can happen because the chicken is immature and her body just hasn’t figured out how to put a shell around the egg. It can also happen because she doesn’t have enough calcium in her diet to produce hard shells. So we give our chickens free choice oyster shells that they can peck at to add to their calcium supply.
We are improving our winter pens. Cattle pen from left to right: locking head gates, skirting, fix roof poles. (Skirting reinforces wall where cows will rub.)
Here is a close up of roof pole showing the base rebuilt with concrete.
A second pole has been dug out, a frame built, and concrete poured.
The locking head gates will serve primarily as feeders while open, but when closed will secure cows for inspection, medical care or breeding.
Here are the cows using the unlocked head gates to eat their hay.
On the opposite end we have walled off the space for the chickens.
This involves putting netting up to keep them out of areas they should not be.
The space between the chickens and the cows (not pictured) will be where the sheep will live.
About two years ago we purchased two bred ewes. Like all our animals we raise sheep outdoors. In the summer our sheep are grass fed and supplemented with a mineral block. They live in the pasture they are grazing.
In the winter they live in a three sided shelter and are hay fed. The hay they don’t eat becomes part of their bedding. This bedding pack is then added to our compost and aged manure pile, which is used on our gardens.
Our sheep are a cross of Dorper and Katahdin, two varieties of hair sheep. This means they are self-shedding. We will see small pieces of wool in the field where they have left their wool behind. We don’t collect their wool or shear them.
Last year we purchased a ram. We breed the ewes sometime in the fall. A ewe’s gestation (pregnancy) is 5 months. We keep the ram separate from the ewes except when we want them bred, so that we have a better idea of when they will lamb.
Our lambs are born in March or April. We process them in October. This allows the meat to have some fat which adds to the flavor.
This year we have boneless leg roast, bone-in leg roast, bone-in stew meat, chops, and ground lamb.
Farming outdoors allows for more mammal predators than farming in barns or greenhouses. In our squash patch we have a woodchuck this year. It has gnawed on these squashes. These are useable. However, with the skin broken and the flesh bitten into, they are more vulnerable to mold and bacteria. So they will need to be used sooner or cooked and frozen. We won’t sell them or store them as squash for winter.
Sometimes the mammal predator is our own dog. We let her loose among our layers. Then one day we saw her chasing a chicken and grabbing it with her mouth. So now her area is more restricted to protect the chickens she is to be guarding. She is good at barking at what should not be around. I guess she just didn’t think to bark at herself.
Sometimes the predator is a pack of dogs. This used to be common for us. We would lose 25 meatbirds in one morning. Since getting a guard dog, this doesn’t happen as much.
However, it did with this year’s batch of turkeys. Our turkeys were not near our guard dog, and the dogs got into the turkey enclosure and damaged or killed about 10-12 turkeys. We were left with 7 turkeys.
Where do dogs like this come from? Probably someone owns them but just lets them run and fend for themselves. They didn’t have collars, and they don’t come to us if we call, so they aren’t real tame. Our turkeys looked good to them, and that was breakfast. It is annoying, disappointing, and upsetting.
With any predator, after grieving and feeling the pain, then it is time to look at what happened and why, and decide how to prevent destruction of our vegetables or livestock and also what we can do to live with the mammal predators. And so we continue to farm, growing food and working to live in balance with the natural world around us.
UPDATE – Turkey Preorders are closed. We had a large loss to dogs recently. The remaining turkeys are spoken for. Thanks for considering local pastured turkeys for your Thanksgiving.
We are raising turkeys for Thanksgiving. These birds are moved regularly, getting fresh grass which they love. They also receive locally grown organic grains. As they get larger, they will be allowed to free-range during the day, which they really enjoy.
We are taking preorders for these turkeys – $20 down which will be put toward the total when you pick the turkey up. Preorder price is $5.25/lb through Saturday, November 4. November 5 and following they will be $5.50/lb. They will probably be 12-16 lb. We can try to accommodate your size preference, but please be willing to take something a little smaller or larger as needed.
Turkeys will be ready on Saturday, November 18 after 3 p.m. They will be fresh and can be refrigerated for up to one week. Let us know what you would like – how many, what weight range, if you want the giblets (heart & liver) – and how you would like to pay $20 down (in person or by invoice). Email us at sales@tojfarm.com , call/text 315.200.2341, or use our order form.
When we cut up chickens to sell recently, we ended up with the chicken carcass, which consists of the neck and the back, the breastbone and rib cage, a skin-fat portion from the lower back, and some meat and skin. We packaged these, two in a package and are selling them as chicken carcasses for broth. (My daughter-in-law doesn’t like the word carcass, but the synonyms are remains, skeleton, and body, so I think carcass it is.)
I thawed these carcasses and then covered them with about 6 quarts of water. As with all my broths, I covered the pot, brought it to a boil, turned it to low and let it simmer for 2-3 hours. This pic is of the broth with the carcasses still in the pot.
I then made 2 batches of soup with the broth.
The first one had the leftover meat, probably about 4 cups, some greens, celery, summer squash, cauliflower, and carrots. I had rice on the side for those who wanted that.
The second one was broth with vegetables. The broth had cooled in the refrigerator. It had a layer of yellow fat on the top. Very tasty! I used the vegetables that I had, in this case, carrots, celery, yellow beans, summer squash, and Swiss chard, and made enough for however many I was feeding that day.
As I thought, the chicken carcasses make a really nice broth. More meals for our fall and winter meats!
Meaty Shank Soupbones and Short Ribs are beef cuts that do well with moist slow cooking. They both have a bone, some fat (marrow in the shank bone), and some meat. I tend to saute the meat, saute companion vegetables, almost cover with broth or water, and let it simmer on the stove top for 2-4 hours. (After the sauteing, this could also be cooked on low in a crockpot for 6-10 hours.)
The flavor will change depending on the vegetables used. Winter squash, like butternut squash, or sweet potatoes will thicken the mixture. Diced or crushed tomatoes will give it a tomato flavor. Consistency will be more stew like if less water or broth is used. And if more water or broth is used, the consistency will be more soup-like.
Here are some links to similar dishes – Osso Buco , Meaty Shank Soup Bone, or Beef Barley Broth – many ways to enjoy meat shank soupbones or short ribs.