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Home : FOOD : Livestock and Animals |
 Chickens – eggs, meat and a good source of entertainmentWe first added chickens to our family when we were living in Texas. A lady in town called us one day and said that she was moving out of the area in a few days and hadn’t found a home for her chickens, did we want them? We’d talked about getting chickens one day, so without hesitating we said yes, we’d be there in a day or so to pick them up. At the time, we didn’t have much of a scrap materials pile, nor did we have any inclination to drive 60 miles to the hardware store. So we improvised. We went to a local dumping ground. We found an old, metal cistern, which, once we’d cut out a door and vent, became the coop. Scrap lumber, tin and chicken wire formed the walls of the pen, and for the roof we used sheep wire and sotol sticks. With a couple of days and no money, we had a fully functional chicken set-up. We have since moved, and though we had a whole new homestead to build, chickens was one of the first things we set up. To go back to eating store bought eggs was just not an option. Besides, it's not just a great source of protein that chickens provide, you also have to factor in bug control and entertainment! They wander around all day, pecking at the ground and making weird noises. They are vicious to outsiders, ruthless to prey (we’ve had a couple of hens catch mice and birds). They take dust baths, and when they find a good spot, they’ll often take turns in accordance with the pecking order. In springtime, when we’re putting compost in the garden, they hang around outside the fence. If we find a grub we don't want in the soil, we throw it over the fence. The rooster catches it and gives it to each of his hens in turn, before eating one himself. Neighborhood dogs and cats can be a problem in some areas, as well as hawks, owls, wild cats, coyotes, raccoons and anything else that eats meat! Chickens are easy prey because they sleep soundly, and are just sitting there for the taking. They usually can't fly too well, or run very fast for that matter. Normally with a predator, they will take the chickens at night, so make sure your chickens have a good, secure shelter. An electric fence around the perimeter very low is a good addition. Guard dogs are great as well. Rabbits - meat Rabbits are one of the most efficient converters of plants into protein, thereby making them a great animal for people who have little space. Even folks that live in cities and just have a yard can keep rabbits in a moveable pen, called a rabbit tractor. The pen must be stout to protect them from predators, have a bottom to prevent the rabbits from burrowing out, and have a safe, dry and warm substitute burrow. Bear in mind that it is the heat, and not the cold, that is more of a problem for rabbits, so make sure you provide them with shade as well. The males and females must have separate pens, as the male is a danger to its young. The female is then put in with the male when you want her bred. One doe can raise 7 to 10 babies at a time, 4 times a year. Gestation period is 30 days. She can be rebred 6 weeks after she gives birth to a litter. The babies are ready to eat at 8 weeks old, when they are about 4 to 6lbs, yielding 2 to 3 lbs of healthy, lean, chemical free meat per baby. If you have a pen of 8 feet by 4 feet in reasonable grass, you will need to move it once every 10 days to ensure a doe has enough food to feed her babies. A supplement of grain and/or kitchen scraps, especially in winter, is never a bad thing. Make sure you know what food a rabbit can eat. For example, spinach, Johnson grass, potato leaves and peel, amaranth are all bad foods for a rabbit, and might even kill them.  Goats – milk, cheese, meatWe have 2 milk nannies, and they keep us and our friends in milk. They have to be milked twice a day, which puts a strain on trying to take a vacation, but you get all the milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice-cream you can eat! Goats are intelligent creatures, which makes them hard to keep. Fencing is a big concern, because a goat will figure out how to get through just about any fence. We have tried many different methods, and a 5 strand electric fence seems to be the best. They'll touch it once or twice, but never again. Goats are prolific grazers as well, although not just of grass. They are browsers, which means they try a little of everything, but not much of any one thing. If you are in shrub land or a deciduous forest, you are in goat heaven! It is important to let them graze as much as possible to avoid problems like worms, parasites and overgrown hooves. They are also much happier when they have plenty of room to move around. We rotate our goat grazing so they don't destroy the shrubs. On average a goat can graze about 1/8 acre in 1-2 months, depending on the quality of the land, without causing any long term damage. They do need some sort of shelter, even just a simple a-frame, and milking areas are a must. I like stalls or stanchions where each goat has a specific area for milking, and no one gets loose until everyone has been milked. Goats can be great fun or a royal pain in the ass, depending on the situation and their mood. If you have an orchard, you'll want several lines of defense, a 6ft fence, electric barbed wire, dogs, armed guards, whatever you can find! They'll stop at nothing to get to food once they know where it is. Milk Goat’s milk is much richer than cow’s, and man is it good! When we make ice-cream, we do not use any additional cream, just milk. Goat cheese is also easy to make and is quite good. One of our favorite summer treats is “liquado”. You take frozen bananas (or any other fruit) and milk, and put them in a blender. The result is a thick, cold, delicious milkshake-like piece of heaven. Cream Cream is very finely emulsified within goat’s milk, so it is hard to separate. One way to get around this (separators are expensive) is to make Devonshire cream. Put milk in heatproof pans for 12-24 hours, then warm slowly to 187ºF When you see the surface start to crack and wrinkle, remove from heat. When cool, skim the crust off the surface Butter and buttermilk If you allow the cream to ripen a little, the butter will be more flavorful and easier to churn. Do not let it ripen too much or the butter will be sour. Get the cream to about 60ºF Churn (hand whisk works) for about 15 minutes until the cream feels heavy. Adding a couple of tablespoons of cow’s milk at this stage can make the process easier. After another 10 to 20 minutes of churning, the cream should separate into buttermilk and clumps of butter. Drain off the buttermilk (great for baking or milkshakes) Take the clumps of butter and beat them with a spoon until it’s all joined together. Add salt – ½ tsp per pound of butter (unsalted butter spoils faster) Wrap butter in wax paper and put it in the fridge. Cream cheese Combine 2 cups heavy cream with 2 tbsp buttermilk Suspend mixture in cloth over a bowl for 24 hours Season Basic hard cheese You need rennin to curdle milk. This is naturally present in the stomach of newborn kids, calves and lambs, but you can buy rennet, which contains rennin, from dairy suppliers and some pharmacies. Allow milk to stand for a few hours at room temperature Mix in rennet (1/8 cheese rennet tablet/gallon milk), and leave mixture undisturbed at about 86ºF Wait until the white curd can be separated cleanly from the sides of the pot Cut curds Mix curds gently with hands to break up large pieces. Continue for 10 – 15 minutes to allow time for curds to release whey. Heat curds for about an hour gently up to 102ºF. Stir frequently Leave curds in hot whey until they separate after being held in your hand Strain through cheese cloth Add salt, a little at a time Leave curds in cloth and squeeze it into one mass Weight lightly for about 2 hours, then increase the weight for another 12 hours |
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