Newest Arrivals!

Our Nigerian Dwarf pair have just kidded twins: a boy and a girl, as luck would have it. :)

We named the girl "Cookie" and the boy "Scout."

They are ADORABLE! And smaller than our Chihuahua...or even our cat!

 Nigerian Dwarf twins *just* kidded! (4/10/13)

 Nigerian Dwarf twins *just* kidded! (4/10/13)

What We're Up To

Morning sickness. That is what we're up to! Even now, I am in the throes of a migraine headache while a blizzard batters the house, packing snow against the windows! But I just wanted to update really quick...if I can actually BE really quick!

Well, we are still raising our bull calves on pasture, hay and alfalfa. The Cane Corsos help keep things in line. :)

Jigsaw & Dolce (Cane Corso / Italian Mastiff) on the farm :)

We recently bought an "Eggmobile," which is a portable chicken coop. This has always been our plan, but basically what it will allow is for us to move the chickens to new pasture every day (once the weather warms up just a bit more and greenery really starts to grow), thus allowing the hens new forage, bugs, and yard to scratch and peck. (This will also keep them out of my garden, which they devoured last year!) We will follow the same model that Polyface Farm follows, more or less. (I may explain that in more detail later.)

"Eggmobile"

To add to that, I have had several requests for pastured eggs, and I am happy to say that most of our chickens and ducks (and even geese!) are now laying regularly. 

We are not going to raise broilers to sell for meat until we get a plucking machine. It's just too time and labor intensive to do it all by hand. We will still raise meat birds for our own family, however, and if someone wants us to raise birds for them to butcher themselves, we can work something out. I think that once you have butchered your own pasture-raised chicken, you have so much more appreciation for the animal itself, the sustenance it provides, and the labor that goes into the process!

At the beginning of the year, we acquired two bull calves. They are dairy crosses, but when I researched raising dairy calves for meat, the information I found was favorable enough for us to give it a try. Our calves have been raised 100% on pasture/hay/alfalfa after they were weaned, and we have left them intact and with horns. We want to see for ourselves how much difference, if any, it makes to go raise them "all natural" versus neutering and de-horning them. We're not sure when we will take them to the butcher, nor how much beef they will provide, but what is most important to us is that they are raised humanely and in the healthiest, most natural way possible.

Jigsaw -- grass-fed beef

We have consumed raw milk for years and love it, so we needed to find a raw milk option for our family. Our son worked for a (small but commercial) dairy farmer in Germany who gave him raw milk in return. The man took him in as his own son in many ways, and it was a sweet and cherished relationship! During that time, we made our own yogurt and butter, and siphoned the cream off the top of the milk to put into our coffee. We laugh at ourselves now when we still shake the store-bought milk jug as if it needs to be mixed before drinking!

We have been here for over a year, now, and have hoped to get our own dairy cow since before leaving Europe. I used to love trying to milk my grandmother's cows when I was a child! But since researching and giving it some thought, we decided to go with dairy goats instead. I drank my uncle's raw goat's milk as a child, as well, and couldn't BELIEVE how delicious it was! Generally, it is considered healthier (less of the "bad fats," and a closer resemblance to human milk than cows' milk is), and many times can even be consumed by people that are lactose intolerant or intolerant of products made with cow milk.

Luckily, we found a few goats nearby. We adopted a pregnant LaMancha x Nubian doe who kidded a beautiful little buckling yesterday, along with a pair of Nigerian Dwarf goats. The doe is due to kid any day, now, so we are anxiously awaiting Dwarf twins! In a few days, we will get our first milk to try, and with some luck, the goats can keep up with the demand. We LOVE our dairy products around here! ;)

Nubian x LaMancha Buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

Nubian x LaMancha Buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

LaMancha x Nubian with buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

Nubian x LaMancha Buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

Nubian x LaMancha Buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

Nubian x LaMancha Buckling (born 2 Apr 2013)

We have some animals for sale or trade at the moment, to include Rouen and Magpie ducks (laying now for the first year), Red Sexlink and Barred Rock laying hens, and Brown Chinese Geese, also currently laying. We'd like to get some RIR and/or Ameraucana (and / or Easter Egger) laying hens.

Barred Rock Hen

Brown Chinese Goose

Rouen Duck (Drake) with Magpie Ducks in the background

Rouen Duck (Drake)

Rouen Duck (Hen)

Magpie Duck (Hen)

Brown Chinese Geese

Magpie Duck (Drake)

Chicken, duck, and goose eggs are available now. We are located about halfway between Muleshoe & Earth. Just shoot us a message for more info!

And with that, I should go check on those goats to see if our highly anticipated additions have arrived yet! Many thanks for reading along!

~ FSHF ~

Happy New Year 2013!

At this time, we would simply like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2013!! :)

A1 Versus A2 Milk

After having read up on milking cows last year (still hoping to get a family milking cow...or two...), I had come across the information regarding A1 versus A2 milk.

In short, the A1 beta-casein protein found in milk, which is thought to be a genetic mutation and is often produced in the Holstein breed (main commercial breed, thus affecting most of the population), has been implicated in connection with many illnesses including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes and autism, as well as dairy intolerance and auto-immune diseases. Some breeds of cows, to include Jerseys and Guernseys, produce A2 beta-casein instead, or in much higher quantity. This protein is thought to be the original, un-mutated and more natural (or "wild") type of beta-casein, and is preferred by people that are concerned with the association of disease caused by A1 beta-casein.

By a simple DNA test which is accomplished from testing the hair of a cow, it can be determined whether the cow produces A1 or A2. Though more research would help, I am convinced that purchasing a dairy cow (or the milk thereof) which produces A2 milk could be beneficial. As we strive for the highest level of excellence in all areas of our life, family, and farm, I believe A2-producing cattle to be superior, so that is what we will be looking for when it comes to buying that family cow.

Hopefully we will be able meet that goal this year!


For more reading on the subject, please see the following:

http://hoperefugefarm.com/archives/243

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/09/the-devil-in-the-milk.aspx

http://www.a2milk.com.au/faq.php

We're Back! Sort of...

Doesn't this just show how Internet illiterate I am sometimes? I had no idea you could change your blog name!

I had planned on deleting this blog because we moved back from overseas, and a lot of the information was irrelevant (like, say, continent of residence!!). But then I noticed it was still getting a lot of traffic, particularly for the info on hobby farming quail. So, I did a little research, and instead of deleting, I learned that I could update everything! :)

So, some of the links in this blog are no longer working even though the photo albums that contain the images have not changed. I guess that's technology for us. I will try to get them fixed and get everything updated as time allows. We changed our location and our name, but our goals are still the same: to raise hand raise grass-fed, pastured, healthy food in sustainable, earth-friendly ways and have fun doing it! :)

For now, I will sing off with a photo of a good friend of mine.

     
~ Fresh Start Farm TX ~

What would you do if someone tried to give you a poisonous gift?

Manifest Haiti: Monsanto's Destiny

"Like any benevolent disaster capitalist corporation, Monsanto extended a hand in a time of crisis to the 65 percent of the population that survives off of subsistence agriculture. But not just any hand was extended in this time of great need, rather: a fistful of seeds. The extended fist was full of corn seeds, one of Haiti's staple crops, treated with the fungicide Maxim XO. With similar benevolence, not just any tomato seeds were donated to the agrarian peasants, but tomato seeds treated with Thiram, a chemical so toxic the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ruled it too toxic to sell for home garden use, further mandating that any agricultural worker planting these seeds must wear special protective clothing."

This is a most shameful manipulation and exploitation of a country that is suffering some of its worst natural disasters in history! Shameful!

Food, Inc. - Part 1/7 In German!

Egg-cellent Nutrition From Pastured Hens!

Egg testing found that, compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol   
• 1/4 less saturated fat
   • 2/3 more vitamin A  
 • 2 times more omega- 3 fatty acids  
 • 3 times more vitamin E
   • 7 times more beta carotene

These amazing results come from egg samples collected from 14 flocks around the country that range freely on pasture

Original article: http://handcraftedcoops.com/home-raised-eggs-offer-superior-nutrition

Who Taught You Turkey Wrangling? :)

No, no, I don't mean real wrangling! Our daughter frequently "chats" with our birds through the windows, and this day she went outside to record part of the conversation she was having with Taloa, our Beltsville Small White Turkey. "Taloa" means "sing" in the Choctaw language. :)

Something to think about

www.stopsmithfieldfoods.com/

The only way to implement change is to stop buying these kinds of products.

Raising Quail...to Raise Quail!

A great read for anyone interested in raising quail in a more natural way!

A Different Philosophy on Keeping & Breeding Button Quail

http://www.thatquailplace.com/articles/index.php?id=8

Saying Farewell to Summer!

Wow, what an eventful summer we've had! If you would have told me in the spring that it would be so busy, I would have doubted. It's funny how, even though you don't have much planned, life tosses things at you from all angles!

Since spring, we have raised more chickens,

Gideon the goose,

and more...and more...and more rabbits -- and we should have 3 pregnant does right now!

We still have the dogs, the cat, and we adopted kittens from the neighbors and placed them in new homes.

The garden we planted in spring has been a great experience, and we just pulled in 120 pounds of fresh veggies this past week! The corn is still growing, as well as some zucchini, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, and I'm sure a few other things, so we're not finished. Not only that, but there is just an excitement and a lot of gratitude that comes with the harvest -- a joy that some people will never experience, but one that is older than all of us. I should read up on how generations past celebrated harvest. Maybe a unit study for the kids... :)

Wishing you all Fall blessings from the farm... Now we have to get ready to go pick apples! :)

A few recent pictures of the flock

Four Myths About Eggs

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/132/four-myths-about-eggs.html

Our baby Embden Goose, Gideon

We hatched an Embden goose this month (some of the other eggs were infertile). His name is Gideon, and he's our first goose. He's so cute and funny! And he already loves to eat the dandelions.

We're hoping to start a good gaggle and sell some eggs next spring (2011). If we have enough, we might sell some geese for Christmas dinner, too.