Slapdash Farm

Okay, you can now try www.slapdashfarm.blogspot.com. I will start posting there exclusively starting now. Goodbye...

decisions, decisions

Ok, so I think I have decided I like Slapdash Farms. The question now is how do I proceed. Do I leave this blog and start a new one with the new farm name, or do I keep using Rocking Rabbit Ranch address? I'm thinking I might start a whole new blog with a new address. This one will still be here for posterity.

Whats in a name?

I've been thinking, I don't want to be a ranch, I want to be a farm. Sooooo... What do you all think about....Wait for it.... Wait for it...Slapdash Farms? Misty and Jeff said they liked it and Stef chuckled when I told him. Let me know!

Got Pig??

We do! We picked up our pigs today. They are a barrow (castrated male) and a gilt (young female) about 4 months old and around 85 lbs. They Berkshire/Hampshire crosses.

We put them in the old buck pen with JD and Jake. JD is a little apprehensive about them right now, but Jake wants to make friends right away.

Sleeping outside

The boys have started sleeping outside with the animals. And before you even ask... NO, we are not making them. They are doing it of their own volition. They sleep on a tarp and a sleeping bag on the ground and some of the animals sleep with them.

I Did It

The ranch is now 7 roosters lighter. The boys and I did it ourselves today. I was able to cut the heads off okay. The boys need to get faster at plucking though. We lost the last few roos to dog food. They were getting so dried out from being dead when I tried to eviscerate them the smallest knick and they leaked out yucky stuff and soiled the meat. Oh well, at least they won't go to waste.

I was going to do the ducks today also, but couldn't do it. I had a few chicken heads that didn't come off clean enough. I think the butcher knife needs sharpened and I didn't want to risk it with the ducks. And honestly, duck feet kind of freak me out with the claws at the end of them and all. They will just have to wait for Stef.

More Dogs...

...than goats now! I am very happy today. I put an ad in Craigslist for the remaining goats and someone came to look at them today. He told me they were going to use the girls for breeding and possibly milking. I was very happy because I didn't want Frosty turned into a taco. He only took the boys because they were such a good price. Well he showed up with his wife and their 4 young children and I was beside myself knowing all of the goats are going to a happy in their new home. YEAH!!

We are thinking about getting a couple of pigs to put in the old buck's pen. J.D. needs someone to protect now that the boys are gone. He gets too nervous around all the other animals and dogs.

Stef also finished getting electricity to the barn today. Now we don't have to go to the shed to turn the light on in the barn anymore. We can also put a radio in the barn now.

So, yes we have 4 Great Pyrenees and only 3 goats. Next week we will be getting another Alpine doe that is already in milk and don't forget about the pigs! So we will start evening out a little bit!

Some goats are gone....

...more to go tomorrow. Our neighbors took Big Mama, Elvis and the kids today. They also took Taco. Everyone seems very happy in their new home.

Tomorrow some people are coming out to take a look at the Nubians for sale. I hope they take them because they are going to try and breed Frosty and try to milk her again. At least they will give her a chance and not just turn her into tacos right away! WE will see how it goes.

Right now I have Lil' Bit in with the Nubian Bucklings. I'm trying to get her bred to one of them before they leave.

Bye, Bye, Goaties

Edwin, our neighbor, and a dad of the boys' friends will be taking 4 of our goats this weekend. They are taking our Boer goats, Big Mama, Elvis, Sissy, and Dekley. They are also buying one of the puppies, Taco.

Now I can take pictures of the rest of them and put them for sale on Craigslist. We are only keeping 3 does and one buck. We are keeping Holly, Lil Bit, Flower and Rocky. So that means I am going to try to sell Trouble, Alvin, Tipsy, and Frosty. I am so torn on what to do with Frosty. She has become such a pet goat, always looking to be loved on. I don't want to keep her and have her get mastitis again. I can't put anymore money into her. Plus, her daughter, Tipsy has fish teats, and I don't want to feed her through the winter and her give me more does with messed up teats. I might see if I can give her to someone willing to give her a chance and not eat her. Actually, if I decide to do that, I bet Edwin would take her.

After, or probably while, I am rehoming these goats, I am looking to acquire 2 new ones. I am looking at a new Alpine buck. Fran and I are going to take a field trip to His Fruitfulness Farm to look at a couple of registered bucks. I am also looking for another registered Alpine doe.

Then we will breed Rocky to Lil Bit, and the Alpine buck to Holly, Flower, and the other new goat.

Garden Update

Yesterday Stef took the boys out to the garden and fixed it. He put new gates, set up the drip hose, watered all of the still living plants and fixed the plastic. I haven't gone out to look yet so this is all still hearsay but I am feeling a bit better about this subject.

Gelato

Forget about ice cream. We have discovered Gelato! We were watching the show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network about gelato. It looked so good I searched for a recipe and found this one from Cooks.com



CHOCOLATE GELATO

4 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
2 c. milk
3 1/2 o. bitter sweet chocolate
1 1/2 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar

In a bowl beat yolks, gradually add sugar. Beat until creamy and pale yellow. In saucepan bring milk to boil, remove, slowly pour yolk mixture, stirring constantly and quickly. Melt chocolate in double boiler until smooth and satiny. Stir. Pour into custard mixture. Add cocoa powder; mix. Pour into large saucepan, medium heat. DO NOT BOIL. Stir until thick and coats spoon. Heat 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 tablespoons water until dark brown and caramel colored. Add to custard. Pour in clean bowl. Chill. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. Serves 6.


It is not as simple to make as it sounds. I think I used up every bowl in the kitchen, but it was definitely worth it. I found out too late I didn't have the bitter sweet chocolate and it still tastes fantastic. Niko says it is better than store bought ice cream, Deklan thinks it is about the same.

A Rant

I give up, I give up, I give up!

I can't even begin to do justice to the feelings of helplessness overwhelming me this morning.

You all know I have been struggling with the garden. The spring garden was first pillaged by the chickens. We put a temporary, flimsy fence around it to keep goats and chickens alike out. The fence didn't even have a real door, we had to disassemble the fence a bit to get in and out. To keep the goats off the fence we surrounded it with hot wire. It didn't take long to figure out the garden was not going to recuperate in the Texas heat of July and August so I took the hot wire down and opened the fence up for the goats to clear the rest of the garden and get rid of some of the weeds. Well, in this process the goats managed to tear up the fence around the garden.

A week ago I decided it couldn't be put off any longer; I needed to get the fall garden put in. I fixed up the fence with the help of Stef and hooked up the hot wire. I was completely stumped with what to do about all of the weeds in the garden area though. The goats had eaten them down but without the goats they would come back. Let me tell you, these are not just ordinary weeds. These are stickers or sand burrs or weeds from the very depths of hell, whichever you prefer. You simply cannot just pull them up. They grow a foot a day. If you till them they still come back. So after telling Stef then that I give up on the garden and then him telling me I couldn't, I decided to just cover the entire garden with plastic. Clear plastic for any spot that was not growing garden produce and black landscape fabric for where plants would be. Not pretty and I really don't know how practical or even long term it is but I did it. Then I went to the nursery and got plants. Tomatoes, green peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, and my favorite red peppers (I really had to hunt these down). Stef and I got the fence really patched up and I finally get my garden in. Planting in the plastic was not easy. I start watering everything and found that the landscape fabric that is suppose to be water permeable, isn't. At least not enough to water from the top. Ok, fine. I say once again to Stef it is not worth it, I GIVE UP. He said no. He would go out and put down the drip tape underneath the fabric. While he was at it he also put a real door in the fence for easy in and out. Ok,fine.

This morning, after chores, I went for a little peak at the garden....I give up, I give up, I give up.

The new door Stef put on the garden fence apparently didn't have a lock, and the hot wire was apparently not put back up around the fence after installation of said door. The goats had been in the garden. Little tell tale goat berries lay everywhere. Good news is they don't like eggplant (just pulled them up by the stem and left them on the ground)and they also left most of the cucumbers and tomatoes alone. Bad news they do like greens, and broccoli and cabbage and they LOVE pepper plants. Especially, apparently, red peppers. Not one is left.

I can't keep putting this much effort, not to mention cash, into the garden for it to get ruined. I'm not sure what we will do now. I guess I will just be an even more frequent buyer at the farmer's market. Better my time and money go there than into the stomachs of any 2 or 4 legged fiends around here.

Crazy Chickens or Crazy Goat?

Why do the chickens think it is more comfortable to sit on a goat's back than on the ground? Usually Awkward, the chicken, is sitting on Lil Bits back. I saw this and went in to get my camera and when I came back they were on Big Momma's back. It's not like they just sit up there for a second and get down either. They hunker down and stay on for quite awhile.

Goat pics

Just a couple pics I took while doing chores tonight.

Woodpecker

I have been trying to get a picture of these woodpeckers all summer. They are wiley suckers though. This is the best I could do tonight ( you can see it's outline at the top of the pole). We think he is an Acorn Woodpecker. They live in families of 15 or so and hoard acorns in trees and utility poles. They are pretty big too. Sometimes they will swoop low in the woods and it looks like a giant squirrel.

Big puppies

Here are some pics of the puppies some of you were asking for. This first one is Jake. Jake is the best puppy. At dinner time he just lays near his bowl and waits for me to come and hook him up to the leash. He is very calm.

The next pic is of DeeDee. She is also a very good puppy, not quite as laid back as Jake, but still pretty good. She will follow us around and during mealtime will follow me while I get everyone ready and then calmly waits to be fed herself.


The last puppy is Taco. Oh Taco. Right now this pup is the bane of our ranching existance. He is the reason for all of the scratched legs and arms you will see around here right now. He is very hyper and NOT laid back at all. He cannot lay still to save his life. I am working with him on not jumping and being a little calmer during mealtimes, but boy is he testing me. He has the sharpest dang claws too. He caught me off guard tonight during chores and I about kicked him accross the yard, (sorry Grandma, I really didn't mean to).

Chopping, Plucking, Butchering

We killed and plucked and butchered 6 or 7 chickens yesterday. I caught some of the roosters and put them in the chicken tractor overnight so they wouldn't be full of food and they would be easy to retrieve the next day. When Stef got home from work we started. Stef chopped their heads off and bled them out, soaked them in hot water and brought them to the boys. The boys plucked and then brought them to me. I, after Stef showed me how, butchered them. I was pretty proud of myself. A year ago I would have let the guys do all of the dirty work. Now, I'm pretty confident I could do it all on my own. I still "let" Stef chop the heads off, though, I think I will do it next time. I got pretty good and fast at eviscerating them though.

Some of the chickens were pretty skinny. The types we have are dual purpose breeds so they are not overly meaty. I am looking into getting more meat birds. They will grow out faster but not be good layers. I am going to go with either of two french breeds; Marans or Freedom Rangers. Cornish Xs are the usual meat bird for large scale and a lot of smaller scale operations, but they are very sorry birds. They gain weight at such a fast rate the rest of their body can't keep up and they are prone to broken legs and heart attacks. They also do not forage, basically they don't act very chickenish. I read somewhere someone called them Franken-chickens. That is a good name; very unnatural.

Jealous much??

Okay, this post is directed at Misty. I made focaccia bread yesterday! It was so yummy!!! I made it the same as at the farmers market, with tomatoes, goat mozz, and fresh basil. My basil came out a bit crispy though. I think they may have sauteed theirs. I also added some fresh rosemary to the actual bread. OOh, it is good. For dinner last night, and I admit, for breakfast this morning, we had cheese raviolis, with tomato sauce, fresh mozz, and fresh basil with the focaccia bread. Good, Good, Good.

Herd Reduction

Stef and I have decided that we are going to get rid of our meat goats and focus on the rabbits and chickens for meat and just dairy from the goats. I have been struggling with what to do with the animals, eat them or try to sell them? Today we were invited to a bbq at one of the boys' friends (they live up the road a bit). They are fencing in their land and will be wanting meat goats in a couple of weeks and wants us to hold the goats for them. I think this is the perfect solution. The boys were very upset at the news of loosing these goats, but now they can still visit.

Mozzarella!!!

I made mozzarella!!! I honestly did not think it would turn out, so now that it did I am super excited. It tasted so good! I guess the next cheese to try is cheddar. Cheddar needs to be pressed and aged and all sorts of new stuff, so it might be awhile before I do it.
This is a picture of the pizza I made today. For the crust I used tortillas that turned out too hard, tomato paste for the sauce, and topped it with cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, and red peppers. Oh boy, was that good!

I got the idea for the whole basil leaves from a foccacia bread Misty bought at the farmer's market yesterday. I am thinking that when I get better at this bread and cheese making I might start selling at the farmer's market. Stef is building me a very large solar oven that I could bake several loaves in at the same time.