We rely on our livestock to provide us with nutrient-dense food, so giving them the best nutrition possible is high on our priority list. Enter fermentation. If you know us at all, you know how highly we esteem the health benefits of traditionally Lacto-fermented vegetables and bread! Those health benefits can be translated directly across [...]
It’s time to update you on how the chickens have been doing! As chicks, they were brooded with zero electricity. Instead, we used a cold brooder and a Mother Hen box (you can read that blog post here). It has yielded some interesting anecdotal results, most notably: The Delaware and Blue Australorp started laying eggs [...]
In 2021, we needed to start a new laying flock. Living off-grid with only a small amount of solar power, we needed to learn how to brood chicks with very little- or preferably zero- electricity. We saw kerosene set-ups to provide heat. In pondering over it though, for one thing, Krystal is highly sensitive to [...]
On March 20, 2021, a batch of new chicks arrived on the ranch! Being that we have yet to find a breed that fits what we’re looking for in a sustainable homestead flock, we decided to try two new heritage breeds: Delaware and Australorp (the blue variety.) We are also using some techniques to brood [...]
Can it really be so long since I last posted? Apparently so. As you can guess, it's been busy on the Ranch. Life in general get's that way! We've dealt with personal health challenges, installed a septic system, welcomed another granddaughter into the family, raised a litter of Havanese puppies, and survived a pandemic... among [...]
We love, Love, Love fresh eggs. Scrambled, fried, soufflé-ed. Any way you fix ‘em, we’ll eat ‘em. One of our favorite ways is in a frittata, which is a kind of oven-baked omelet along with all sorts of goodies. And it’s a great way to use them when the hens are in full production and [...]
The new flock of Brahma chickens is doing marvelous. We really, really, really (did I say really?) like the breed!!! So far we are quite impressed. They started laying the end of January, albeit only one hen to begin with, but it’s still earlier than the other breeds. One month later they are laying [...]
Oregon Grape new dark Brahma chicks! irresistible tummies!
