Doing the switch

As we have said before the excitement of our new fodder system has us thrilled.  The more we research the nutritional value of fodder and see how simple it is you wonder why we did not do this sooner.  We have started feeding the animals our fresh stock every morning along with their normal grain.  Each day we are cutting back on the store bought grain.  The pigs took to the fodder right away.  Chickens and rabbits the same way.  The goats love their grain so it is something they have to be weaned into.  The goats will eat all the store bought grain first and then throughout the day they will go back for the fodder.  They do eat it, just after the grain.  So again we will be starting to cut down on the store bought grain and increasing the fodder for the goats until they have a diet of all fodder and no store bought grain.  We will still give the animals hay.

Here are some nutritional value comparisons:
Barley                                                                             Barley Grass (Fodder)
Vitamins B,C & E                                                           Vitamins A,B,C,E & K
Calcium, Iron, Magnesium,Pantothenic Acid                     Calcium, Chlorophyll, Iron,Lecithin, Magnesium,
Phosphorus                                                                    Pantothenic Acid
Amino Acids                                                                   Amino Acids, Trace Elements, Phosphorus,
                                                                                      Potassium
Protein: 15%                                                                  Protein: up to 30%

to have an increase of up to 30% protein never mind the added vitamins and minerals.  Wow. For the cost of feeding the animals we have calculated it to be an average of .29 cents an animal a day to feed the fodder.  You feed one pound of fodder per every one hundred pounds of animal.

  I am not sure what we have been spending on the store bought grain but I know it is a lot more than that.  We are sure we could get the cost down on the cost of barley we just have not found the right source yet.  Also we are putting thought into growing our own barley.  Savings could be endless.  I would like to say this system takes some work.  You have to put some time in the morning to put your grain together for the next day and your daily feed.  But not to much more than you do normally.  You do have to water the fodder once or twice a day.  That may depend on your humidity levels in your home.  I have found covering the containers with plastic helps with humidity.  As we get the hang of the system we will continue to blog and share so we may help others that want to try it.  So far we would highly recommend this for any farmer big or small to try.  For a small investment you can see if it will work for you.  Really you have nothing to loose.  Everything to gain.

Building a smoke house out of recycled materials

On the farm we started raising pigs as soon as we could make a place to keep them.  We have had a lot of fun with them.  They really are easy animals to raise.  We have been raising them for the purpose of feeding our family.  For myself that is not always an easy thing.  I have said in other blogs that I don't eat meat.  I have not eaten meat in over thirteen years.  I don't think I ever intend on eating meat again.  I really don't miss it.  The animals we raise on our farm I spend a lot of time with.  So the thought of seeing them every day  and knowing that they will end up in our freezer gives me mixed feelings.  I have to look at the facts.  I treat them humanly.  Every day of their life I give them the best quality they can have.  I treat them like I think they should be treated.  We make sure they have plenty of food, water, space, shelter and whatever care an animal should need to live a happy life.  It's funny the children don't seem to be bothered by the fact of raising the animals knowing that in the end the animals will be slaughtered and the family will end up eating them.  They have no problem naming them.
We did raise two pigs that we slaughtered over the fall.  With slaughtering pigs there is quite the process to it.  I will have to say most everything we have done to this point on this farm we learned from a book or from and online video.  YouTube has been our best friend.  When it came to learning how to process a pig that was the first place we went.  There are hundreds of how to videos.  We found one we liked and watched it over and over again.  Felt confident we new what we were doing.  When I say we I mean Russell.  Then we did it.  With the first pig it went well.  It took a little time.  But went OK.  We were able to slaughter and process our own pig.  Now with doing this you have to make sure your meat is cured properly.  We brind it for 24 hours and then smoked the parts that needed to be smoked.  We smoked the hams and bacon for 24 hours.  Well it turned out great.  They say they have never tastes pork so wonderful.  Its March now and we are all out of fresh pork but two pigs did last a long time.
We built our smoker from all recycled materials.  Everything we picked up from the local dump.  Basically the frame of it is made out of pallets.  Then the rest is made out of other salvage wood we found at the dump week after week.  Then we picked up an old wood stove from the auction for $25.  But I am sure you could get one from the dump if you kept a good eye out.  The pipes we picked up from a salvage yard for only $5.  So the total cost of our smoker was only $30.

The best smoke house!

Breeding time, so much to learn

Owning a farm has been a daily lesson.  Before we purchased our first animal we purchased about five books about animals and farming/homesteading.  It is something you just don't open the door of a home and say, OK I want a farm and lets do it.  It takes some planning.   Some things you find out along the way.
We have found out farmers are very friendly people very willing to help out other farmers.  They are willing to give advise to get you started.  To talk to an ole timer is interesting to say the least.
Their whole mentality is why we wanted to take this journey on in the first place.  A farmer has an inner peace, I think like no other profession.  Farming is a job that is never ending, 24/7 days a week.  You are always on call.  But the pride you have from your bounty is unremarkable.  The way you feel about your family, homestead and all your sweat equity gives you a better quality of life.  I truly believe this.
In our plan we have vegetables, compost, rotation, animals, breeding, butchering, meat, eggs, milk and whatever other uses we can think of our land can provide us.  Now we would love to add more to this like grains in the future but we have some work to do on our land to provide the quality soil for this to happen.  This will take equipment we don't have at this time.  Our limited funds hold us back from doing things fast.  We must take baby steps on every process.  But we are doing it.  This home and farm need a lot of work.  We did know this when we bought it.  But we took on the task because my husband is handy and we have a strong son that can help him.  They work well together.  It takes a family to make a farm work.  Most of all takes time nothing happens overnight.
First we started with some chicks.  But first we had to build a chicken coop.  That cost money.  We try to use recycled materials as much as possible.  With chicks soon came eggs.  With eggs and chick also came compost for the garden.  This helps with our organic homestead.
Next we purchased pigs.  I have written some post on our pigs.   We have butchered a few of our pigs and stuffed our freezer with the finest pork we have ever tasted.  Now we are in the process of breeding two sows for a couple of litters of piglets.  Our plans are to sell some and to keep some for our meat for this years freezer.  We look forward to the bounty of raising pigs.
Now our goats.  We have blogged about our goats.  We just love our goats.  Recently we added a new goat to our herd.  We call him Master Billy Goat.  He is our Buck and will do our breeding for our two girls.

We have been so lucky with our animals.  He is just the kindest buck.  Most people say bucks can be mean or ornery but not him.  We are lucky, I think he has done his job so if all goes well we will have two baby goats coming in July.
With babies coming that means we will have two goats in milk.  That just thrills us.  We have been waiting for goats in milk for a while.  It will be in the plan to get at least one more goat.  But we must take things slow.  So with goats milk we will be able to have of course milk but also we can make cheese and soap.  This will help the farm out a lot.
So by July we should be full swing with piglets, baby goats and maybe even baby chicks all over again.  Our garden should be full swing by then also.  We are hoping it will produce even better this year.  Day by day the hard work that takes 24/7, 365 days a year does pay off.  When you sit at your table and eat your own grown food and drink a fresh glass of milk I don't think you can get any better.

Pigs

Last fall we were so excited when we purchased our first piglets.  We purchased two male piglets that had been, what they call, cut.  That means they had been fixed.  The breeders of the piglets will do this when the piglets are just a few days or about a week old.  The breeders state this will make the temperament of the pig better during the process of raising them.  Plus it will let you keep them together with the little girls without the problem of breeding happening.

Our two boys we picked up from a local farmer and we put them in a crate in the back of my SUV to bring them home.  At this age they are small enough to do this, if it is a short ride.  They will go to the bathroom so you will want to make sure you have a bottom on the crate and shavings in the crate.  But for a short ride it works out fine.  

Our plan for these two pigs were to raise them for the meat.  The plan was a five or six month process.  When we brought them home they were placed in our garden area.  It was spring before planting time.  We had plans of the pigs tilling the area and doing some composting of the soil before we would plant our garden.  That plan worked out well.  

Just before we were ready to start our garden we set up some electric fencing in a wooded area with some grass section for them to make their new home.  Then we would rotational graze them every week or so when they would till up the land.  They would grow and thrive that way.  

The process of raising pigs was going so well we decided to purchase a couple of sows ( female pigs).  Our plan is to breed them when they are old enough and have piglets of our own.  Then we found the right Boar one day and brought him home.  This will be our daddy pig.  He was so gentle he came home on Russell's lap.

We named him Big Red.  He is the cutest and the nicest pig ever!  Now lets count we have five pigs on the farm.  Well the town of Skowhegan has a fair every year.  During this fair they have what is called a pig scramble.  I had never heard of that before.  But to let you in on it if you have never heard of it either, its when you put about 4 piglets in an area with about 10 children and if you catch a pig its yours.  Well my daughter had to go with her friend in hopes she would catch a pig.  

Well the results were, my daughter did not catch one but her friend did.  Her Best friend lives in town and they don't have a place for the pig to live.  So we became foster parents for her pig that they named Betty.  So now we have six pigs on the farm.  Six pigs with three of them being raised to be butcherd.  

Three will be raised for breeding purposes.  Here on our farm we are trying to raise all of our animals as organic and natural as possible.  We believe in rotational grazing all the animals and organic food whenever possible.  The owners of Betty happen to own the Grist Mill in the town of Skowhegan that process all the grain for Maine.  So for raising their pig they supply our farm with the natural grain for the pigs.  You cant get any better than that.  Our pigs eat better than we do.  They love it.  

Time has gone by and the growing and slaughtering process has happened for three of our pigs.  Please let me tell you the quality of meat that was raised here on the farm.  I would say like no other meat that my family has ever tasted.  I can not speak because I eat a vegan diet and did not try any of it but I cooked it all and I have never seen anything so juicy and you could just tell it was the best quality pork.  

Humanly raising animals make all the difference in the end result.  What you feed them and how you treat them and how you let them live gives you the best quality of meat.  

Today we have our Big Red, Lilly and Lola our two mommas that we hope will be due in the spring with piglets.

Going through the winter has not been easy raising pigs.  Not on them, they don't seem to mind.  It is cold on us to feed them and make sure they have fresh water.  Water freezes here so fast.  So making sure they have fresh water is the most important thing.  And if someone ever tells you that pigs don't eat hay well they are wrong.  Pigs love hay.  They love to eat it in the winter when the ground is frozen and it is hard for them to till the ground.  It helps keep them busy.  I hope you liked the information about our pigs and please ask questions and I will keep you posted on the status of the litters of piglets.

A lot has happened in a year!

Well it has been a whole year now and we have survived. We made it through the coldest part of the year, at least I think. So much has happened since my last blog. I will write to catch you up in a few blogs over the next couple of days.

But one thing is for sure this has been the best move for my family. The children are doing great in school. They both are making great friends and doing great academicly. They have stated they are very happy living in Skowhegan Maine and that they are happy we made the move. 

Round House Farm continues to grow and we work on improvements as we can afford them. All the animals seem to be doing fine through the cold winter, so far. We do our best to keep them as Warm and dry as possible with plenty of fresh water. That's the biggest chore, water freezes so fast around here. 

Well it's late so I will write in the morning!

This is our newest goat master Billy Goat, we hope he will bring us some summer babies. 

Silly Chickens

Today we found a nest in some brush in the woods near the chicken coop. Well when we looked closer, to our surprise, there was 17 eggs in it. Those silly chicken made their own nesting box outside the coop.
We took all the eggs out. Then cleared all the brush away. We hope this will make the chickens use the coop's nesting box.
I will see if there is an increase in eggs in the coop then I will know if it worked. If not I will search the woods for another nest, ugg.