New feeder pigs for Easter!

Last Tuesday, between the rain showers, Darrell went to pick up 9 little feeder pigs. We also have 3 little ones that were born to a sow here, which means that toward end of summer and into fall, we will have pigs to sell - finally!

We had issues getting feeders, tried farrowing a couple of sows this winter, which didn't work out well due to the cold. We are set up better for that, but now that spring may actually be upon us, things will be easier on that score.

I wanted to take photos of the little pigs in the field pen, but it has been so wet and nasty since they came, they are penned inside the big shelter - we didn't want to risk them getting too cold and too wet and ending up dying of hypothermia. They have plenty of room inside the shelter, and are bedded in deep straw to keep warm. They sleep in a pile like puppies and kittens - so cute! When it dries out some, they'll get turned out into the larger pen - I'll get some photos of them at that time. Several of them have big white blazes on their faces - cute little critters!

When Darrell got back with them in the stock trailer, he backed down the lane as close to their area as he could get, but the lower lane and big pasture area are so saturated, he didn't dare get off the main lane. So, he carried the nine little ones in a big feed tub with a piece of plywood over the top - 1 or two in a trip - took him 6 trips, walking several hundred feet from the trailer to the pen in the pasture, to get them there. I stayed by the shelter, keeping the arrivals in the shelter - Tuesday was so cold and nasty! After they were all in, we put a length of hog panel across the entrance to the shelter to keep them inside.

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Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey - fun with Corn Chowder!

Many of you who know us know we usually make Turkey Pot Pies (see the recipe on our blog) with leftover Thanksgiving goodies. We still love Turkey Pot Pie, but we still have so many from last year (an even bigger bird than this year!), we decided we would do other things with this year's leftover turkey (we roasted a 33# bird from the flock we raised). So I made a Turkey Corn Chowder that is savory and yummy out of part of the leftovers. Here's how it came to be: Finished Turkey Corn Chowder First, right after Thanksgiving, I put the turkey carcass, from which most of the large meat pieces had been removed, into our 22-quart stock pot, along with some carrot, onion, and celery, to make turkey stock. When the stock was done simmering, I had pulled the carcass bones and all the meat that had cooked off out of the pot, picking out bones from the meat. I had about 2 quarts of small chunks and bits of turkey, most of which was the very tender, sweet meat that is around t

Big turkeys from our farm - happy customers at Thanksgiving!

Well, our turkey raising experiment this year went well - probably a little too well. We had a lot of orders for birds in the 15 - 25# range and our smallest bird was over 21#. They REALLY thrived out in the pasture. We plan to raise more next year, but probably start them somewhat later (these birds were 22 weeks old) and manage their feeding protocol a little differently. We used the two biggest birds - 41.25# and a whopping 41.90# guy . . . whew! Darrell had written an informational piece about " How to Handle Roasting a Big Turkey ", and I had some of those big disposable roasting pans to give to people who feared their regular roaster wouldn't cut it. So, several of our customers shared their story of what they did with the bird and send some photos. There're also photos at the end of what we did with the two monsters. Leah C. sent these photos and a note about their experience. She had been leery of doing a big bird, so Darrell's instructions and

Salvaging Corn

When the first two rows of corn came ready in the garden, we had our grandson here and no time to process. After he was gone, I picked half the rows and got a bunch of corn in the freezer, but the other half of those rows sat there as hay had to be put up, last of the pickles made, etc. So, I was thinking this over-ripe corn would just go to the piggies. But then, we remembered creamed corn, so I did an experiment and made a lovely small batch. It was so good that last night I picked the rest of the over-ripe corn, boiled it, cut it off the cob, mixed in cream, milk, butter, a little sugar and a little salt, and spread the mixture out in glass pans and roasted it in a 300-degree oven for about an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours, until the liquid reduced to carmelized goodness. That will make a wonderful alternative vegetable choice this winter!

Good Food Down on the Farm

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