Sleepy Piggies, Thirsty Ducks

These little piggies are 10 weeks old and growing fast.  They like to eat, sleep and test the social order (someone has to be the alpha).

Sleeping in the sun on a cooler day-

The solid black Mulefoot pigs, though smaller, typically sleep on top of the Hampshires.  Wondering if this is also a sign of dominance.

In the shade today, she looks happy-

These duckies are growing fast too, finally getting their real feathers.  And they like to drink ALOT, emptying this 2 gallon waterer daily between the 3 of them.  There is plenty splashing it about too.

Isn't drunk as a duck a saying, or is that because of how they walk?  I remember in some older Disney cartoons ducks being portrayed as barnyard drunkards, anyone else remember that?

Baby sweet corn coming up, first plot planting.  Second plot will be planted in 2 weeks or so.  Not an exciting note but I just like the picture.

Short and sweet for today.  All for now......

The BIG PIG News of 2016

THE PIGS HAVE ARRIVED!  And here is why this is the most exciting pig year yet----

Two of these wee ladies will become long term residents on our little homestead!!

We will be keeping two girls, then soon purchasing a boar to start breeding and raising our own pigs.  We will sell some of their piglets but also keep some for raising for meat.

Why are we raising our own?
The main reason is we are striving for higher quality meat.  We put a lot of work, time and money into this yearly investment so it only makes sense to focus on the best end product possible.  All pork is not created equal.  Some pork is lean, some is more fat, some have darker meat, some have better hams, some make better bacon, some breeds have longer loins giving more cuts in that area.... the list goes on.  (The same goes for cattle and their beef as more are probably familiar with.  I myself was raised to love those Black Angus.)

Here's some pics of them before I go on-

The two girls we will be raising to become breeder sows are a purebred Hampshire and a purebred registered Mulefoot; both heritage breeds.  We will be breeding both to a purebred registered Mulefoot.



Hampshires are a very old breed of pig but very common still because of their many good qualities.  They are a very muscular and possibly THE leanest pig breed in North America.  Hampshires are known for excellent carcass quality, hardiness and the ability to forage for their food (a trait of most old breeds).  The Hampshires are the ones with the white belt around their shoulders.

Mulefoots are also a very old breed and actually endangered, it is the rarest swine breed in America!  They caught our eye as soon as we started researching them.  Mulefoot's meat is dark, marbled very nicely and apparently very flavorful.  It is a unique rosy red color and very tender (only rare heritage breed pigs have this type of pork, common pork we are used to is considered 'white meat' pork and fairly dull in flavor).  In a blind taste test of 90 food connoisseurs, chefs and writers, Mulefoot pork won top prize over 8 other heritage breeds and 1 commercial breed.  Specifically they are known for their superior hams.  In the 1900's they were THE premium ham breed.  Mulefoots are extremely hardy, excellent foragers and highly disease resistant; once vaccines became a norm in farming this trait was no longer as important.  Another factor that made them less appealing is their small litter sizes, averaging only 5-6 piglets compared to 11-13 piglets born to commercial sows.  From my other research the demand for a larger size hog was another reason for their decline in popularity.

8 weeks old-

The name comes from their unique solid hoof, not split or cloven like regular pig's feet.

Cloven hoof

This trait was to help protect their hooves from rot while living in moist areas.


As far as pork FOR SALE --

• We currently have : Bacon, Italian sausage, Breakfast sausage, Bone-in chops and Ham steaks for sale.  Message me for price if interested.
• We will be sending 3 of the current pigs (2 mulefoots and 1 hampshire) away in the fall.  Their meat will be available for sale then but preorders are preferred.  We do large portion shares, such a 1/2 pig, and piece by piece as well.  Just FYI that large portion shares are flat rate per pound for all cuts and therefore cheaper.
• We will have piglets for sale from both the Hampshire female and Mulefoot female next spring.  And of course we will continue to sell pork.

Enough selling for now. :)

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References:
Blind Taste Test - The Grit
Slow Food USA - Ark of Taste
American Mulefoot Hog Association - Gourmet Meat






   

Is It Officially Spring!?

"I declare that spring has finally sprung!"

And man oh man we are off and running.... maybe a little too fast.

Surprisingly, we got the garden turned over probably earlier than we EVER have.  I haven't checked any stats but I think this has been a dryer spring than normal, hope that trend does NOT continue into summer.  Nevertheless, it is always exciting to get the initial dirt turned over... to let it sit while the weeds rot for the final tilling.  Good husband-

We did plant plenty cool weather plants and hope to be enjoying some of those in the coming weeks:  beets, carrots, radishes, leaf lettuce, collards, leeks, cilantro, red spinach and sugar snap peas.  I also got some red seed potatoes in.
We have been enjoying our asparagus harvest, it's our new kickoff to the season food along with the well established chive bed.  So tender when fresh, and SO easy to prepare.  And SO tempting to grab-

"Read my face, dirt playing season is here"-

Speaking of those chives and what we like them with, we replenished our egg laying operation with four three new RI Red, Delaware cross pullets (one is no longer with us and the investigation goes on to pin point the intruder).  Signs still seem to point to a feral cat.

We also, for the first time, are raising chicks-

In just a few weeks, they have dropped their chicky fuzz and are growing feathers.  We think they are around 5 weeks old.  They should start laying around 18 weeks old.

Typically we buy pullets around 17 weeks old, so our "investment" of $10/pullet starts laying almost as soon as we buy them (a return).  No special equipment is needed at this age either.  We chose to get chicks this year because I have always wanted different varieties, specifically Plymouth Barred Rock Hens.  The other chick varieties we got are New Hampshire Reds and Golden Salmon Maran (we think, or maybe Welsummer).  Hopefully one day we will have the set up to sell eggs to friends.

Last but not least, we also got our piglets for the year!

Three gilts (young females), Landracer and Hampshire crosses.  This is different from our previous year breed- Yorkshire, Hampshire cross.  These girls have much more length in the loins and those cute floppy ears.  Goodness though, they are HUGE for being only 9 weeks.  Our farmer never disappoints us with his stock-

Picture taken by little man-

So like I said, we are up and running, ready for another attempt to grow some of our own food.  I am really behind on sharing what's going on around here, guess I better stop sitting around.

2014 Piglets Are Here!

We got our piglets a recently!  They are only 5 weeks old but already at a strong healthy weight and looking excellent.  We estimate they are somewhere between 20-30 lbs.
Our farmer friend who raises them usually decides when to wean by watching the mother.  He decides to separate them when the mother is looking stressed and tired and when she is becoming irritated and nipping at them (ie, the sow is ready for them to be weaned and is doing it herself).  From my understanding and reading, the sow is usually NOT successful at fully weaning her piglets herself.  Piglets are VERY persistent feeders and their quick growth is evidence of that.  When they are little they are constantly following their mother around waiting for her to lay down so they can nurse.  Once she does they hop right on eat, eat, eat.

Stock photo

Once the piglets get taller they are able to nurse from the mother even when she is not laying down.  Pig farmers will tell you they will pester the mother until she gets pretty irritated at them.... sometimes the mother will even get aggressive with the piglets to ward them off.  Mothers will lay flat on their bellies to keep the tits from the piglets.

Stock photo

A blog post from Sugar Mountain Farm in Vermont explained how they attempted to let the piglets wean naturally, he said they never did and had to intervene due to the mother getting "a bit peaked".

Most farmers wean their piglets between 5-10 weeks from my understanding.  Factory farms wean theirs around 10-15 days.
Piglets start on other sources of food around 4 or weeks..... usually this is feed.  Just like human babies they need more calories eventually than what is found in mother's milk.  Also, sow's milk is devoid of iron.  Therefore piglets being kept on a concrete floor will need an iron supplement.  Piglets with access to dirt will root and get their needed iron from the dirt.
Last, before I share our piglet's photos, I want to mention that I am researching and plan to blog about farrowing crates (stalls where sows are kept while giving birth and through the early days following labor).  Our farmer informed me that they are illegal to use in Massachusetts.  I understand both sides, but I don't think most other people do.  Stay tuned for that if interested.

Now for the our piglet pictures!  Here are our two little gilts (gilt is a female pig before she becomes a mother).

We decided to get only females this year because in the past the females have been cleaner (only using the bathroom in the pasture and not near the food or bedding).  Maybe just a coincidence?  We will see how these do.

Just as previous years, we got Hampshire/Yorkshire crosses.  Long bodies mean more meat capacity.

Cute little hams.

Good hand sniffing form.... back of hand so there's nothing to possibly nip.

Already rooting, look at the little muddy noses-

I think someone else is as happy with these piglets as I am-

She does like animals.  Here is little lady last month at my parents farm.... who doesn't like a good game of peek-a-boo.