Thankfully

So much to be thankful for.

My sons. I have memories of them growing up that never fail to make my heart swell. I laugh recalling their antics and when I close my eyes, I can sometimes still feel the soft little hands on my face and arms around my neck as I hugged them tightly and hearing them speak my favorite name in the world, “Mama”. Nothing can take that away. Now, when I lay eyes on them, I am breathless at the amazing men they have become both as husbands and fathers. I am pleased and proud, even though my heart often feels it will break because I miss them so very much. 

There are our daughters and daughters-in-law, raising their own broods of little ones, navigating life’s waters with an eye to the future and the kind of people they are molding their own children to become, learning to balance life between being mother, wife, friend and career woman, giving their all to each endeavor. I remember well those days.

Then there is unrelated family. That is, those who we love and love us back as if we were family. Sometimes it’s hard to believe I have not known them all my life.

This includes our ranch family. People we are blessed beyond belief to know and share life with.

Things have been so hectic here recently, I have had NO time to blog. Cleaning out cabins and houses for both visitors and new ranch family members. Moving stuff in, moving stuff out. The ranch is putting in pivots and much needs to be done, keeping Randyman hopping. Some of our little people came to visit and their dad worked hard taking down a mile of fencing among other things, helping out, while 9/10’s of the ranch crew was out fighting fire. It was a blast to have them here and it already seems like they have been gone too long.

A new family moved in to fill the cowboss position opened by our nephew leaving, a sad event in itself. I didn’t see him much, as he was always working and I have been sick the past couple of years, but it was comforting to just know he was here. On the bright side, Randyman’s mom, sister, daughter and newest grandson came up for a long weekend to help him get moved. It was bittersweet. A few tears were shed as goodbyes were offered.

An old friend is moving in with us, to help me on those not-so-swell-days, so everything stored in our back bedroom needs to find a new home. New shelves had to be built and there is much going on. 

The rocketcar people are coming back and there are supposed to be 42 of them staying at the ranch in various situations....cabins, tents, motorhomes. I think there has been more activity and more people here lately than I ever saw in the city. It's fun and exciting but I am also looking forward to the quietness of winter again, when things are not quite so hectic.

My sons and their families are due next weekend so I am excitedly making plans and figuring out strategy of how to get things done and still have time to enjoy them. If I can do the food planning ahead of time we will have a little better chance to do some fun stuff. One set will be hunting all week, the other will have but a day to see their way around. I'll be trying to fit a weeks worth of stuff into just a few hours that day.

I personally, am in a period of transition and also one of great expectation. My mind and body can’t quite keep up and grasp it all, hence no blogging. A great percentage of the time, my mind has been pretty much a blank. Trying to settle into a 'new normal' has proved to be a little more challenging than I had expected.

The ranch kids have gone off to college, all but the boys. I sent them along with 'care packages' of home canned soups and meats as well as sending some along with one of our daughters, which has left our own shelves kind of bare. I got some beef chunks canned this morning in the new All American Canner (which I LOVE). In a couple of weeks I will begin to restock the rest of the shelves with soups and stews and more sandwich and dinner meats. Unfortunately, our cold summer kept my tomatoes from ever ripening or even getting close, so there won't be any bruschetta, BBQ sauce or any of the other goodies I had hoped and planned to put up.

Beyond that, two amazing cheesecakes are in the freezer, a special salad is marinating, turkeys are defrosting and plans are in the works to get yams and stuffing made before Saturday so I can just stuff the bird, bake the breads and heat everything else up. It is the first time in 8 years the whole family has been able to get together so I am celebrating with a very early Thanksgiving Dinner. Bread cubes from the last loaf of homemade bread are drying in the oven and will be seasoned tonite, after we eat homemade pizza. There were just enough basil leaves left for me to make pesto for the sauce on one of them.

More good news, EmmaLou is about 3 months pregnant, per the vet and SushiMoo is big enough to be bred, whenever we can get her to a bull or a bull to her. The Polarbears are diligently protecting the sheep from what sounds like record numbers of coyotes. One night they woke me up, the howling was so loud and pitched. I went out with a flash light and the hair stood up on the back of my neck as I listened to large packs in three different directions around me. I was concerned for the dogs, that they may have become separated, attacked and overwhelmed. But they returned in the morning, as usual, unharmed and the coyotes seem to have moved on as its been pretty quiet lately.

I've managed a couple of rides with my friend which makes all the difference, not having to ride alone. Even though I am getting on and off to open and close gates, it helps tremendously for her to be there to block Mister when necessary from stepping away while I balance precariously on rocks, stumps or next to ditches to remount.

It's all good.

In the Company of Company

It’s been a whirlwind of a month. 

I can’t remember a lot of it as we have been very busy, but it was great seeing so much family and friends. Randyman’s sister, niece and her family came up for a surprise visit to see our nephew, the cowboss, who will sadly be leaving for another job somewhere in October. (I think I was the only one surprised by the visit, the guys often forget to tell me stuff, but at least it’s always a GOOD surprise!) We also have a new guy, who is an exchange student from Okinawa and speaks english very well...probably better than I do, but with an accent. He’s fun and laughs a lot. The boss was gone so we had him for meals the first few days to welcome him to the ranch. That put 8 at our little 6 person table for a few days.
It was great to see everyone and I hope the kids all come back to visit again, even though their uncle will no longer be here.

They are putting in several large ‘pivots’ here at the ranch. These are 1/2 mile long irrigation systems that will pivot around the center, watering a square (actually a round) mile. Lots of fence needs to be removed and ditches filled. It will change a lot about the landscape of the ranch and will be a big improvement for feeding and irrigating,  I think. Randyman put out a distress call, and we have some great friends who we also consider family, that answered. They all arrived the day after his sister left. They stayed for 2 weeks helping us all out and the second week a friend of mine arrived for her scheduled visit. That kept 8 at the dinner table.

Of the 8, three were my little people. The little people had a great time. They played at the pond, hugged on the polar bears, played with Thomas, who allowed them to pet his little bumply head. One of them made the observation "It looks kinda like his brain is on the OUTSIDE of his head..."

they helped  process the last 7 meatie chickens, which became a source of great hilarity as well as a biology lesson. The oldest little people person can now identify a chicken's heart, gizzard, lungs, liver, intestines and crop.

Chicken calisthenics

Grabbing the tendon to do the 'chicken wave" 

They climbed with Annie in the Octopus tree where they also found 'sheep hair', a dead hawk (most likely caught by the Maremmas who take offense at predatory raptors attacking their flock) and underwent construction of what we were told but were afraid to investigate, was an outdoor potty.

 They rode Wimpy and Mister, pushed the leppies, Sushi and EmmaLouMoo  to the top of my pasture for a little experience in moving cows...

...helped move portable fencing, made fettucini noodles...

... we also made homemade ice cream, flaming banana crepes with dark rum, leg of lamb and lots of other good stuff. Oldest little people person learned to sew a little and made a skirt for school, collected eggs and cleaned out the lambing shed, while their Daddy worked like a machine taking out over a mile of barbed wire and hog wire fencing, etc. A combat experienced US Marine, he also shared his warrior's perspective on Bible passages that was really awesome to hear and gave us a greater understanding of some OT passages that described the massive armies of their time in the mornings while evenings we all spent watching Duck Dynasty reruns, laughing and being grateful that finally there is a show the whole family can enjoy together.

Their Mom worked on my house, organizing things I didn’t even think could be organized and helping out with every possible thing. They were all like little ants, each day carrying out their missions. It was great to see them and I hope next visit they can just rest and enjoy the ranch, although a little of that was done too.

They brought a new family member with them, a little Rottweiler puppy named Achilles. Cute as a bug, he’d play out front with the kittens and dogs then flop down on the ugly, old, turquoise linoleum floor that graces this house, seeking to cool off. He’d flatten out like a rug. One day the guinea fowl ventured into the front yard. That was their BIG mistake. Achillies took out after them, anxious to play with a living squeaky toy, but the Maremmas saw him through the fence. That was HIS big mistake. My big white polar bear-looking dogs are pretty flexible, but they do hold a grudge. From that point on, Achilles was on their hit list. It made for some interesting times, as the polar bears are used to coming inside if its very hot, but so was Achilles. There was a lot of dancing around going on, pushing dogs in and out in a hurry every time they nearly crossed paths. I’m not sure how future visits are going to turn out, I guess I hope it’s when the Polar Bears are content to just stay outside.

Meantime, a friend from long ago, that I haven’t seen for many years, came by bus to visit. It began as a visit for her to just get away from the heat and bustle of the city she lives in. We went horseback riding, took the 4 wheelers up to the weir...

...fed leppies and handled the sheep, calves etc. She enjoyed the little people and their family as much as we did, in fact they were giving her very big hugs when they left. She has helped process meat birds in the past (well...actually she helped process one turkey but it counts). She likes riding, loves dogs, likes fresh fruits and veggies so the garden is a plus. All in all it seems a perfect fit, so I took her back to the bus station a week later with plans for Randyman and I to drive down with the trailer to pick up all her worldly goods as she is moving in to help us out, as it is getting more and more difficult for me to do regular things.  

It's great the way things work out sometimes.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Things have been quiet on the ranch lately. The trainer who does his “ranch schools” here is done for the year and the boss’ kids are ready to return to college. We are down to one hired cowboy and Randyman, plus a pair of brothers, one who is manning the hot springs and the other assisting Randyman. A crew has come to put in giant pivots which will water a square mile of pasture each, which should be pretty exciting. This year was pretty droughty and all the snow is gone off the mountain. I believe this is the first time I have ever seen it all melt before the new snow comes. All in all, there hasn’t been too much activity around the houses here. This weekend the ranch family has been at the Idaho ranch working cows for a few days so it’s even quieter than usual.

Our nephew, the cowboss has his nephew which would be our...great nephew? He’s been here for a week helping bring strays down off of the mountain. I haven’t seen much of anyone but the good news is, I have been feeling great! I had 5 days in a row with NO Ra pain at all. I have been struggling with pretty nasty sciatic pain from my back and down one hip to my knee, but the REALLY good news is, horseback riding helps it. I got old Mister out one day and padoopeedooped around the pasture a bit and felt pretty good. When I got off, there was no pain and I was not limping. I did a few chores that night however, and it all came back. A day or so later, I got Wimpy and went for a three hour ride. It was so awesome to be out again after all this time. The grass is still green and more than belly deep where I was riding. The colors and textures of the limey green grasses, the grey blue sagebrush, purple lupine and some kind of yellow daisie like flowers was breathtaking. The sky was clear blue and the mountain looked awesome, in all its craggy splendor. It just felt so wonderful and in my head I could remember past rides, moving calves or gathering with the kids and whoever the current cowboss would have been at the time. Good times, always. Maybe not so far away to do again.

Meanwhile I do what I can. Yesterday I grabbed up Mister only to find him with a snotty nose and cough. Hopefully it is just a cold virus. He has a very low grade temp so antibiotics aren't called for at this time. I am hoping against hope he is well by next week. I took care of him and caught up Wimpy and we went for a short cruise to the bottom of the pasture to get a closer look at one of the new pivots going on the ranch. It will water a square mile of grass...well, technically it will water a round mile of grass. On the way back up I looked to the North and saw blue skies, whereas to the South, it was squalling over the lakebed. The storm was going to hit us pretty soon. EmmaLou, SushiMoo and their cohorts were huddled up by the octopus tree having an afternoon siesta.

I was reminded however, of how I truly wish that when a wife buys a gate to make it easy for her to get her horses in and out of a pasture, that her dear husband didn’t repurpose it somewhere ELSE and leave a crummy chunk of cattle panel with very sharp edges on it, in its place. Luckily, as they say, it’s a long way from my heart. I am more horrified over how hairy and swollen my hand looks than anything else. Gak!

No harm no foul. As long as I can ride, it works.

Meanwhile, we are getting ready to wean the leppies and are kind of shifting things around. I’ve been weaning the 3 lambs as well, so they are in electric netting which has to be moved every couple of days to keep them in feed.

They eat down some of the thistle which has been trying to take over the pasture. There is a huge difference in 48 hours, with 3 little lambs and 2 small goats in a 1600 sq ft. pen, as you can see.

 They are like pasture piranhas. We wanted to lock the sheep in the big corral to take down some of the weeds so I had to call them in.

I couldn’t see them and they weren’t responding to my voice. There was a cow not far away in the tall weeds. Bruno suddenly charged her and ran her back aways. I hollered at him because we don’t want the dogs chasing the boss’ cows. It does no good to call an LGD when he’s doing something like that anyway, they won’t listen. When he’d gotten her to jump back about 20 feet or so, he was satisfied and headed back my direction. He cleared the brush and stopped, looking back over his shoulder. Moments later, the sheep appeared, walking single file and I shook my head and marveled as he led them past me to the corral. He had clearly understood what I was wanting as his behavior was so deliberate.

This morning I let the sheep out and again, there was a cow close by. Bru ran past the sheep and placed himself between them and the cow. One ewe went to pass him and head that direction and he gently nudged her and changed her course. He stood until he was satisfied all the sheep were heading where he wanted them to, then he sat and made direct eye contact with me. It was as if to let me know he understood I didn’t want him chasing the cow off, so he used a new tactic. These dogs are just scary smart! 

It truly saddens me when people dump these dogs or abuse them because they think they aren't working out. Usually it is a case of owner stupidity and not  being willing to learn how these dogs think and react. They are NOT like other dogs and often dog handling experience is a deficit not an asset unless your experience is with bonafide LGD breeds. (Pyrenees, Maremma, Akbash, Anatolian, etc.) They are extremely deliberate in their behaviors and almost never do something without good reason. I've learned from experience, I am often wrong about them more than right, when I criticize something they have done. I've had to eat crow more than once.

Speaking of which, we invited the nephews for dinner. Randyman wanted fried chicken so I grabbed the meatie roosters I had parted out and decided to cook it all up. It would be nice to have leftovers for lunch. I fried it all up in two batches, 8 drumsticks, 8 thighs, wings, the works. I made some corn bread to go with it, and mashed potatoes and gravy made with home canned chicken broth, milled some pastry flour and made some whole wheat brownies with it. It all came together perfectly and the boys dug in. One of the brothers from the hot springs showed up and hadn’t eaten so we invited him in as well. By the end of the evening all that was left was a couple inches of the original 9x13 pan of brownies. So much for leftovers! But they went to a good cause and I love to think the bachelors enjoyed something besides ramen noodles or beanie weanies for a change. I think we will need more chickens next year, for sure.

Petey's Most Awesome, Pretty Good Day

The freezers are full. In order to relieve some of the ‘congestion’ I grabbed the few chicken carcasses left from when I parted out meaties and tossed them in the stock pot, along with some onion, peppercorns, carrots, a couple ribs of celery, fresh from the garden thyme and parsley, a little rosemary and some garlic. I added a couple of necks and of course, the feet, which had been cleaned. Chicken feet make the best kind of stock because they are mostly cartilage and supply all the glucosamine and chondroitin you could want. I let it simmer all day and the smell is heavenly. Once it is done and everything has been pretty much leached into the broth, I let it cool down some, then strain it into another large stockpot. That goes to the walk in to chill, while I pick through the solids that remain, putting bones in one bag, the veggies in a bucket to throw on the compost and the meat into a bowl. I gleaned enough meat off of the 3 carcasses to make  Chinese Chicken Salad, with more than half a bowl left over. This is one of my favorite summer salads so I was tickled to have it readily accessible. The only things I don't always have on hand are fresh celery, bean sprouts and the chinese noodles, but I grabbed some last trip to town. The dry noodles will keep a pretty long time so I’ll be picking up extra next trip and I have ordered mung beans to make our own sprouts, as they don’t last long and often, I can’t find them in the stores I go to. Green onions are always available in my back yard, winter and summer. I always have dry celery on hand, but not fresh, so that is something that is always on the grocery list and I always make something that requires it when we get it home. Then whatever is left over, goes in the dehydrator for soups and stews later on.

Uncharacteristically, I awoke before dawn one morning and not from being in any pain. In fact, I felt like a million bucks, so I quietly snuck outside in the dark under what was left of the moon and headed to the back pasture. I’d heard Cletus barking so I figured something was out of place back there, although he was quiet again so whatever it had been, had already been handled. I snuk up to the alley fence and peeked over to see all the sheep had been huddled together out in the open at the top of the pasture. Both Maremmas were trotting toward them so apparently it had been an encounter of the sheeple-threatening kind. The pups suddenly became aware of me and seconds later I was met in the corral by 200+ lb of highly enthusiastic, wagging polar bodies. After establishing that our infatuation for each other had not dimmed, we watched the sun rise together. It was a wonderful beginning to the day.

EmmaLouMoo has been out back with the bull and about a dozen cows for the past several weeks. SushiMoo has been isolated as she is too young to breed, and we were using the opportunity of her being lonely to get her to bond with us and become a bit more social. She was able to come and go from the corrals and out to the horse pasture as she pleased. Unfortunately, she found a way thru the fences and was loose out with the rest. I was able to capture Wimpy and saddle him (something I had not been able to do in months) and rode down to bring all the cows up from the bottom of the pasture and separate Em and Sushi out into the corral. They tried to pull a sneaky by racing back around the octopus tree and trying to double back on me while we were caught up in the wet, mucky ground, but Wimpy was a good boy and we managed to head them off and accomplish our objective. It made me a very happy camper.

A couple of days later Sushi came in heat which was a relief because #1 she for sure didn’t get bred over night and #2 it means she can go back out there for a couple of weeks until she is due to come in again, at which time I will bring her up and separate her again until her heat is over and turn her loose again. It makes her a much happier little cow.

The Red Rangers are STILL not ready to butcher. We definitely won’t be buying anymore of them as they don’t hold a candle to the cornishX as far as being economical and quick to finish. I know a lot of folks like them because they are hardier, but as we’ve not had problems with the CX, we’ll happily stick with them. 

When I had gone to visit Wimpy and Mister, Thomas followed me into the big corral and waited at the gate. When I returned, he wouldn’t let me pass. The next thing I knew, he began attacking me. He was running at me and jumping up, flapping his wings and kicking at me with his feet. I was using a foot to kick him back each time but he continued. I finally hollered for Bruno, who rescued me by body blocking Thomas and keeping him from getting too close to me. The heavy socialization and bonding I did with the Maremmas, once again paid off. It looks like Thomas might grace our Thanksgiving table, after all. He’s happily residing beneath the raspberry bushes with the Rangers for now.

It’s been unusually hot this summer and the garden has suffered for it. The flowers and hidden veggies have been making a valiant effort to survive and compete with the weeds.

I love sneaking stuff like cabbage and squash into the flower gardens

Hopefully, next year I will be more successful in my battle with weeds and dirt. For now, I'll just settle for what we have and plan on starting more perennials next spring to fill in the spots that need it.

Going out with Randyman to feed the other night, Cletus roared and took off out of the corral toward the orchard. He was upset because THIS guy and his co hort were parked in the trees. Apparently, Cletapotamus has not forgotten that they killed a bunch of his meaties and he was unable to stop them.

As for the rest, he's been fairly vigilant so I've got no worries.

Yesterday I pulled the stockpot out of the walk in, skimmed the fat off the top and canned  2 gallons of chicken broth as well as 7 qts of mixed veggies-carrots, potatoes, corn, peas and butter beans. The plan is to be able to grab a jar of veggies and a jar of chicken I have canned, dump them in a pie crust with some gravy and have a quick chicken pot pie. I tested the theory last night and it was a GOOD plan!! I think I will can more veggies and perhaps a couple different mixes with mushrooms and such as this would be good for sheperds pie, beef pot pies and some other stuff too. It's been a pretty good week for me and I'm looking forward to August!

 Hope you are too.

Meatiness-Harvesting our Cornish X

We are wealthy beyond description. In spite of my poor health, a bad economy and extreme isolation, we have God’s presence wherever we go. It’s a comforting and reassuring feeling.

Living as simply as we can, in a small rock house provided by our employer, I have found untold riches in the things we do. First of all, the boss and his fanily have been more than generous and allow us the privilege to live as we like, painting or doing whatever, on the little house and yard, as well as keeping my dogs, milk cow and other critters in the pastures around us. They have even made donations from time to time.

 What was originally dirt and thistle is slowly becoming a back yard full of flowers and a vegetable patch. One day it will be my sanctuary where I can sit in the shade and let my eyes lazily follow the flight of the many butterflies who grace the landscape. Even now, I revel in the glimpses of flowers in rioting color, purple coneflowers, white and yellow daisies, pink zinnias, red hollyhocks, blue flax and others. It’s pleasing both to the eye and to the soul. I love to look out and see the climbing roses, 7 and 8 foot tall sunflowers and hollyhocks against the backdrop of the old rock wall, with 4 O’clocks and lavender resting at their feet. The emerald green of the backyard lawn keeps things cool and keeps the dust down while providing a beautiful background for the old water troughs full of marigolds, foxglove, petunias and trailing sweet potato vines. The vegetable patch has had a rough year this year, between the odd weather, the heavy winds and my back injury which allowed the weeds to get a foothold and provide fierce competition with my corn, potatoes, broccoli and other plants, but they will do the best they can. The strawberries were struggling this year as well, as my water system for them is less than adequate and they are too crowded and full of weeds. I’ll have to dig them all up and replant them later this year. Nevertheless, they were sweet and delicious. The raspberries however, have been practically giddy. I have picked a couple gallons of them and they just keep coming. It looks like we will get our first blackberries this year too. I can’t wait.

This was meatie week. We had to process all of our CornishX chickens as they are nigh onto 9 weeks old and that is about the age their hearts begin to fail them. We usually like to process at 8 weeks, but I wasn’t able to do it because of some bad flares last week. We’ve got a system going. We get up early and do about a dozen before it gets hot, then Randyman can go to work and I can clean up and rest. We withhold dinner from them the night before we process, so their crops will be empty, as its kinda nasty otherwise.They have all day to forage so it’s not hard on them at all. They just go in the shed with their water for the night. We grab two at a time and quietly carry them to the traffic cones which hang upside down from a piece of fence by our BBQ. We slide the chickens in, and they get quiet and woozy from being upside down. They are then dispatched by cutting the main artery on the neck. Having been in several accidents myself as well as having graced a few surgery tables, I know that the initial cut may be uncomfortable, but unconsciousness comes rapidly. Their death is quick, sure and pretty trauma free. It’s not a bad way for them to go. I’m happy knowing my chickens lived a happy and carefree life with only a brief flash of discomfort in their passing as opposed to commercial chickens who live a miserable life from beginning to end. Ours are appreciated and I even say a little prayer over each one before we dispatch them. Some people might find that silly, but not me. If He knows every sparrow that falls, I think He cares about chickens too. 

The process is pretty clean cut. Dispatch, let them bleed out, then dunk them in the turkey fryer which is full of water at about 150 degrees. When the wing tip feathers come out easily, they are ready to throw into the drum plucker. We turn that on, use a hose to spray the feathers off the sides as they are removed, and after about 45 seconds they are clean as a whistle.

The set up.

Next, onto the table where I do the eviscerating as Randyman’s hands are too big and clumsy. I only told him they are too big though. Once the insides are all cleaned out, the heads, hearts and livers are thrown in a bucket for the dogs as we don’t care for them ourselves, the cat and her kittens clean up the gizzards and some of the other entrails. The clean bird is put in a cooler full of ice water to quickly chill. We do only about a dozen a day as Randyman still has to go to work. We got up early in the morning so we’d be done before then and before it was hot. Once they are chilled, they come in the house. I rinse them again with cold water, set them two at a time on a ‘beer butt chicken stand’ to drain, while I heat more clean water to 180.

I bag the birds in a shrink wrap bag, tie the ends off, make a little hole in the breast then dunk it in the hot water. Lots of bubbles come up, the bag shrinks and tightens and after just a few seconds, I pull it up out of the water and shazaam!! A beautiful, professional looking bird. I weigh them then use a label with the weight and date to cover the little hole over the breast and they go in the fridge for 48 hours. After that, they go in the freezer. Our biggest bird this year was 6.7 pounds and the smallest was 5.15. Not bad.

I always part out a few birds instead of freezing them whole. This makes it a lot easier to make meals with as we don’t always roast them. Wings are separated, thighs and legs go in a bag for frying and breasts are individually wrapped and frozen. There are still a few of the Red Rangers or Freedom Rangers to process, but they are not yet ready. They will be parted out for frying and a couple of them will be canned. There will also be a few culls from the laying hens that will be canned as well. These are great for using in casseroles, quesadillas, BBQ sandwiches and other things where shredded chicken is good.

The left over carcasses and feet will be used for stock. The feet will be cleaned by scalding and removing the ‘socks’ and nails. The best stock in the world is made with feet because of all the good chondroitin and glucosamine in it. Once chilled, it becomes a beautiful golden gelatin. This gets canned and put in the pantry. Not much is wasted. Blood goes in the compost pile and feathers go to the dump. I haven’t yet found a use for wet chicken feathers and they take too long to break down in the compost. That is all that is wasted.

The 23 birds we have done so far have produced over 120 lb of meat for us. In addition to that, nothing tastes better than pastured poultry...except maybe pastured lamb...or raw milk and butter from grass fed cows...well...its good stuff, to say the least. If you ever get a chance, try it!

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