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Today we de-horned the baby goats. This is one of the most unpleasant things I think we have to do around here - but we got it done. Pretty much, the de-horner heats up to 500+ degrees and burns around the area of the horn which causes a scab and it falls off and the horn doesn't grow back (hopefully).
Why do you get the right stuff to do this? Easy - this STINKS (burning hair etc).... 3-5 SECONDS is all it takes per side if you have a good piece of equipment! If you had something that didn't heat up fast enough or reheat fast, didn't hold the temperature well this can take forever.
13 goats..... 1 hour including clean up and also the fixing of all the male goats (now they are all walking funny and will for the rest of the day - but they survive)
Fingers crossed I did it right as this was my first time ever doing the de-horning thing. I was pretty proud of myself and even my daughters who hung out there with me grabbing goats as we went and tolerating the nasty smell right along side me! Got to give them an A+ for that one.
So our first round of goats is done...... now we just wait for the rest....
Monday, February 21, 2011
So yesterday I made butter from our raw cream - awesome if I do say so myself. A secondary product of making butter is BUTTERMILK. So what do I do with this stuff?
My first thought - BREAD.
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
So the main recipe which is super easy and yummy was my trial.
Buttermilk Bread
3 cups butter milk
1 1/2 TBSP Active Yeast
1 1/2 TBSP Coarse Salt (I used Himalayan Sea Salt)
6 1/2 Cups Unbleached White Flour (I'd like to try this with a sprouted flour but I didn't have any)
Preheat oven to 450 with a pizza stone inside and a tray with a little bit of lip underneath. I suggest the middle
rack.
Mix all ingredients together then let rise 45 minutes
Pull off a piece (recipe makes 1-4 loaves depending on the size you want) and shape into your loaf.
Let rise for another 45 minutes
Put on the pizza stone along with 1 cup of cool water on the bottom pan and shut the door quickly
Cooking time is approximately 35-45 minutes
The water in the bottom pan creates wonderful steam which will cause the outside of the bread to crust!
Since there was no bread leftover - I'm going to say the reviews from the family rocked. It didn't even last long enough to take a picture of!
We had a really good weekend and enjoyed everything about it. Some thoughts popped into my head though as I had many conversations.
#1 - All because something is "Amish" it doesn't mean it's organic. Joe took me to Lancaster the May before we moved in here 6 years ago. Our goal was to find a farm and "see how it's done". Well, we found a "free range egg" farm and headed over there. Walking on the property we didn't see or hear 1 chicken. They took us to a barn (still no sound), opened up the door - and sure enough 3000 chickens were in this building. The eggs were being sold to larger operations as "organic free range" but from where we stood we couldn't see any way for them to be outside! However, they gave them access to the outdoors so they qualified. People pay higher $$ because the eggs come from an Amish farm - yet even though no power was being used (though they had an incredible conveyor belt system to collect eggs!) these chickens in my opinion qualified as a commercial farm.
#2 - It costs a lot to live in Loudoun County. I think this is a given. But, it comes into play when people are talking to us and want the same prices they can get in other states as they can here. I know my products and can't speak for other products - and the amount that goes into farming in general - I applaud everyone who does it. I talked to someone the other day who purchased 170 acres in Southern Virginia for $129,000! If you live up here you will look at that number and wonder if I am missing a 0 or 2 - but I'm not. Go an hour north into PA - and the prices are lower there as well. No, we aren't "raking in the money" with this operation - I don't think we are even breaking even out here when you have to pay taxes and such. Our goal is, and has always been, to cover our cost and help pay for food for our family - I'll let you know if that ever takes place.
#3 - By supporting out of state and out of county people, you really aren't contributing to the "local" economy. If you pay someone in PA, guess where that revenue goes? Not into VA - they probably grocery shop in PA and of course they pay PA taxes. I'm more frustrated with the out of state vs out of county - but you get the idea.
#4 - I enjoy this. I don't like mornings and I don't like the cold (come ONNNNN Spring!)....but I like the farm. I find a lot of it relaxing if I don't have somewhere to run off to later and have to rush through it all. I enjoy taking my time with the animals and looking at them all. I like giving them treats and talking to them. They might not talk back - but they never argue with me or yell or fuss (too much). I enjoy looking out my window in the morning and seeing peace - I think it's as simple as that.
#5 - I still have a lot to learn. No amount of school can teach you what you actually need to know. Experience counts - and through mistakes you will achieve success.
That's my rambling of the morning!
Just my quick thought of the day.
1) Went to milk the new cow (doing this by hand until we get the machine parts)
2) Cow knocked over the feed and got grumpy about it
3) Cow kicked my arm
4) Cow stepped on my leg and foot
5) Cow knee'd my head *twice*
6) I swear she laughed when I came up and just looked at her
Got my milk - let her back out - she followed me to the gate then promptly pushed me in the butt....
Yep - I love my job :)
