Sebastian and BigWig are sharing some dandelion and clover (neither of which were intentionally grown in our yard) they also had the pleasure of eating some of our parsley and oregano. Happy bunnies in the afternoon!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Bunny Love & Lawn Maintenance
We have placed the buck and doe together for the delicious purpose of bunny love. Sebastian and BigWig spent the afternoon outside in our very long front grass. Our lawn is rife with dandelions and yet it is excellent rabbit food. Our cage has a pull out tray that gives the bunnies access to the lawn when they are outside. Today they ate our lawn for free and hopefully gained valuable nutrition for the sake of their future copulation. It is cool to know that even our weeds are useful in our little farm. As far as the rabbits are concerned, we have begun our research on slaughter and butchering. In four to six weeks we will have kits and in another six weeks we will have viable meat to harvest. We are excited about not only growing our own produce but our own meat. There are so many other things that are going on this weekend and there will likely be at least another blog. 
Sebastian and BigWig are sharing some dandelion and clover (neither of which were intentionally grown in our yard) they also had the pleasure of eating some of our parsley and oregano. Happy bunnies in the afternoon!
Sebastian and BigWig are sharing some dandelion and clover (neither of which were intentionally grown in our yard) they also had the pleasure of eating some of our parsley and oregano. Happy bunnies in the afternoon!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Eating Meat for the first time in 80+ days
Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate by breaking an almost three month fast from meat. The fast came about from Josie talking to us about the way animals are treated in factory operations. Additionally, we have known for a long time that eating meat is both hard on the body and hard on the environment. Our decision was that we would no longer eat meat that came from a factory. The end result was we stopped eating meat altogether.
In the meantime, we looked at our rabbits in a different way. With one surprise litter we thought about the plausibility of breeding our pets and using their offspring as a food source. That seems to make sense. We make a contract with our animals to treat them humanely and by the time they are ready to be harvested they are harvested in a way that is more humane than anything that would be found in a commercial slaughterhouse. We haven’t started breeding our rabbits yet; but that is in the near future. We also have plans to allow our duck to breed once we determine it’s sex. We will acquire a combination of hens to go with a drake so we can raise duck as well. I have only ever killed and gutted a fish. This is going to be a new and radical experience. I think it is an experience that will make the food we eat more real. It will also grow our appreciation for food and gratitude for the animal.
When we ate meat this weekend we ate at places that have food values that are similar to ours; Laurelhurst Market and Little Big Burger. We would highly recommend both. We ate bone marrow and pate’ – things we never imagined trying before. Right now we are getting ready to eat bacon from the butcher shop at Laurelhurst. Tomorrow we will be back to a meat free life. I can’t tell you how different meat tastes when you allow yourself to go without and then you eat it as a delicacy. I can’t wait to harvest our own meat. You will know when we do.
In the meantime, we looked at our rabbits in a different way. With one surprise litter we thought about the plausibility of breeding our pets and using their offspring as a food source. That seems to make sense. We make a contract with our animals to treat them humanely and by the time they are ready to be harvested they are harvested in a way that is more humane than anything that would be found in a commercial slaughterhouse. We haven’t started breeding our rabbits yet; but that is in the near future. We also have plans to allow our duck to breed once we determine it’s sex. We will acquire a combination of hens to go with a drake so we can raise duck as well. I have only ever killed and gutted a fish. This is going to be a new and radical experience. I think it is an experience that will make the food we eat more real. It will also grow our appreciation for food and gratitude for the animal.
When we ate meat this weekend we ate at places that have food values that are similar to ours; Laurelhurst Market and Little Big Burger. We would highly recommend both. We ate bone marrow and pate’ – things we never imagined trying before. Right now we are getting ready to eat bacon from the butcher shop at Laurelhurst. Tomorrow we will be back to a meat free life. I can’t tell you how different meat tastes when you allow yourself to go without and then you eat it as a delicacy. I can’t wait to harvest our own meat. You will know when we do.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Our amazing Easter Eggs (We get them everyday)
This won’t be a daily blog; but for the sake of the day I find the topic relevant. EGGS. If you eat eggs in any quantity, and have a yard, acquiring chickens can be a very rewarding and economically wise investment. Our four chickens give us two to four eggs a day; more in the spring and summer months when the sun is up longer. We could get them to produce more with lights but have chosen not to. Each egg is roughly between the size of a large and jumbo. I would estimate that we get about six dozen eggs a month. We feed our chickens a layer pellet that costs less than $20 a month. If you were to go to a grocery store and buy six dozen eggs they would cost about $12 for standard white and upwards of $20 for brown, organic, or cage-free. Economically, this is a push with some very great side benefits
We have our own Easter looking eggs in our refrigerator every week. That is because we have two Araucana chickens that lay bluish green eggs. We also have two that lay brown eggs and I forget what their breeds are at this point. Our yolks are much darker than store bought eggs. We also have a consistent source of fertilizer. Yes, they can be a bit messy, but they are no more hassle than a cat. When the kids are home they take on many of the responsibilities of maintaining the chickens and get the reward of first shot at the eggs, an all-around good thing.
As far as today being Easter, if this is a day full of garbage candy and plastic eggs I would appeal that it could be much more. Much of our belief stems from a feeling of gratitude that there is a God that is bigger than us. One that trusts us enough to take care of His Creation and loves us enough to save our souls. Happy Easter.
The egg on the left came from our chicken. The yolk is bigger and much darker. The cloudiness around it indicates freshness. They taste amazing.
We have our own Easter looking eggs in our refrigerator every week. That is because we have two Araucana chickens that lay bluish green eggs. We also have two that lay brown eggs and I forget what their breeds are at this point. Our yolks are much darker than store bought eggs. We also have a consistent source of fertilizer. Yes, they can be a bit messy, but they are no more hassle than a cat. When the kids are home they take on many of the responsibilities of maintaining the chickens and get the reward of first shot at the eggs, an all-around good thing.
As far as today being Easter, if this is a day full of garbage candy and plastic eggs I would appeal that it could be much more. Much of our belief stems from a feeling of gratitude that there is a God that is bigger than us. One that trusts us enough to take care of His Creation and loves us enough to save our souls. Happy Easter.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
We Have a Farm: How we got this far
We have a farm. In the interest of space I will keep every post under 500 words. I know how boring some blogs can be. This is the first post so I will keep it simple. Our family moved into my great grandparent’s house in the fall of 2009. Well, most of our family. I met Carly about the same time. She is my wife and didn’t move in until later. What she did do, along with me, is take our suburban house and turn it into full-fledged farm. It started with my desire to keep my grandparent’s legacy of being proficient gardeners. On the cusp of our first spring together I mentioned this and she asked if I had ever considered getting chickens. In less than an hour we had five chicks in a cardboard box. Today, they lay almost every day. Gardening has been a venture of reward and frustration. Our kids have seen the investment of planting seeds and the disappointment of watching them wither. We have all learned a lot about stewardship and that food doesn’t come from nowhere.
Today we have four full grown chickens. One died last year. Last week we got a chick and a duck too. We also have three rabbits. This spring we acquired a few pear trees and berry bushes. Our lot is fairly large and we have a big spot that is set aside especially for gardening. We also have placed edible plants throughout our yard because they are pretty and because they are food. We have a long way to go. This is one of the reasons we wanted to write about it; because we have learned a lot in the last two and a half years and now we more intentional about taking the next step. Let me tell you why.
We believe that living simply and being content is ideal. We see food as a way to express love. When food is cheap and meaningless then it is easy to forget where it came from and who produced it. Our oldest saw a video about the way meat makes it to the grocery store earlier this year so we decided to no longer eat meat that comes from factory farming. Because of that we have been meat free since the end of January. Today we are considering breeding rabbits for meat. We have ideas about getting another duck to breed as well. If we follow through with this we will slaughter them in our garage.
As far as the garden is concerned, we have had many successes and failures so far this year. Today we planted kale and bok choy. Our radishes are looking strong and so are our cabbages. We have trays of starts in our dining room that are waiting for sunnier days and warmer nights. There is much to say about what we have done, will do, and why; but that is for another time. We have a farm.
Today we have four full grown chickens. One died last year. Last week we got a chick and a duck too. We also have three rabbits. This spring we acquired a few pear trees and berry bushes. Our lot is fairly large and we have a big spot that is set aside especially for gardening. We also have placed edible plants throughout our yard because they are pretty and because they are food. We have a long way to go. This is one of the reasons we wanted to write about it; because we have learned a lot in the last two and a half years and now we more intentional about taking the next step. Let me tell you why.
We believe that living simply and being content is ideal. We see food as a way to express love. When food is cheap and meaningless then it is easy to forget where it came from and who produced it. Our oldest saw a video about the way meat makes it to the grocery store earlier this year so we decided to no longer eat meat that comes from factory farming. Because of that we have been meat free since the end of January. Today we are considering breeding rabbits for meat. We have ideas about getting another duck to breed as well. If we follow through with this we will slaughter them in our garage.
As far as the garden is concerned, we have had many successes and failures so far this year. Today we planted kale and bok choy. Our radishes are looking strong and so are our cabbages. We have trays of starts in our dining room that are waiting for sunnier days and warmer nights. There is much to say about what we have done, will do, and why; but that is for another time. We have a farm.
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