The chickens seem to be doing their part to keep me away from the grocery stores .
WOW !! That is a good cat!
Hey, ours have started laying too. But some of ours are green this year.
I too have a hen that lays green eggs! Funny, as l breed my own and am breeding from the same stock for yearsā¦
Unfortunaly we suffered the first casualty on the farm. Found a tom turkey on the feald. Some predator must of killed him before the dog chased it away. Inly the head was missing and l saw no reason to waste 8 pounds of meatā¦
Ravno prav, bo pa dobro kosilo za materinski (oÄetovski) dan.
Right, but itāll be a good lunch for Motherās Day
When I worked on the turkey farm owls were known for removing heads. But not so much on 8 lb birds?? Depending on local laws easy to trap though
There has a been a run a eggs up here.
But a chum of mine gave me 18 from his hens last Sat.
My son is off school and decided to 1/2 eat them in that time.
I canāt say I blame him, very hard to resist fresh eggs
Sorry to hear about your Turkey Kris, but at least he has gone to a better place.
A roast pan HA HA.
Added:
One of my in laws had these Guinea fowl.
They are very noisy and bold birds that will alert you to predators.
Hard to catch, fast and very flighty.
I caught one once in day light with the help of a fishing net, but it was not easy.
Also good fun to watch and I think they are pretty, good eating too.
I had them guineas but unfortunaly lost them last year. It was the worst year for predatory loss we ever had. They are probably my favorite birds along with turkeys and apart from the reasons you described they are one of the best egg layers and preety much only pasture.
My neighbor watched a great horned owl take out several chickens at one time by decapitating. We donāt know why. We think the owl just wanted one, but decided to silence the witnesses.
When we got stuck behind the lines in Congo this past year the food supply gor pretty lean because of the closed border. When someone finally found some guinea fowl and cooked it, we decided it was our new favorite kind of flying meat. Extremely good flavor and doesnāt seem to get tough like a chicken.
There certainly are some interesting foul out in the skys. back when i was a kid about 55 years ago there used too be several large eagles flyining over head, man they looked big. There is a kmart and the huge parking lot there now,that used up the swamp they were feeding from.
I was out before dawn a couple of days ago and noticed what I thought was a burned out charcoal making barrel in a low spot near an oak tree. As I approached the ābarrelā, it turned into a feral hog. Told my dog to āget em!ā, and the big hog ran to the brush, but then I noticed a baby left behind. Turn out, the momma hog noticed, too, and came right back toward me. Then four more large hogs, which were chasing the dog. They collected the baby, and ran off, making lots of snorting noises. Then I saw another dozen little pigs running after the big ones. Holy Crap! Scared me and the dog. (For years, I thought the dog was a Louisiana cur hound, but the vet says she is part pit bull, part lab, maybe.) Anyhow, here is a blog on my Potato plots, which Iām hoping these hogs will not bother. (I have enough hog meat in the freezer, as well as some grass-fed steakburgers, and way too many greens in the garden.) Look at my blog to see some photos of the veggies, beside those Minnesota Red Potatoes.
Ya they are pretty nice.
The ones Betty had were more or less pets.
I may have eaten a few " lost birds ", I can admit that now since she passed away several years ago.
The meat reminds me a little of wild game, a bit dry, and the legs have a lot of tendens like turkey.
Butā¦ older birds of all types tend to be a little less desirable to eat.
Kriss says his were good layers.
I donāt ever eating any of the guinea eggs.
I do remember what a treat it was to get some duck or goose eggs when they were in season.
I wish I had some room for that sort of thing but its frowned on here int he burbs to keep chickens or any other food animals.
I read this article recently.
You know I might be inclined to try it if I saw someā¦
I aināt squeamish about food, but I do admit to feeling about conflicted about what and how much is appropriate to eat.
I grew up eating rabbit and pigeon raised for purpose.
It was not just good food but I think more ethical and definitely cost effective low impact and sustainableā¦
When you go back to traditional family farming decades ago the animals kept were not just to make money but part of a system that kept the farm safe and stable.
Coming full circle I think.
I am lucky to life in place where I can support small local family owned farms
Duck egg is still no1 in taste if you ask me, and l have tryed lots of different eggs.
I wanted to try breeding meat pigeons. Was never sucsessfull. Got any tips?
Guinea pigs are on the list to try too. They make sence to me, perhaps even more thain rabbits. That is if wife will get over that idea
What most people still dont get is guinea pigs were intended for food in the first place. Pigs and cows can be pets tooā¦
Yep it happens. Usualy there is no yolk inside.
I say guinea pigs are 10 times better than rabbits for eating
g. But most of them that I have eaten weāre in the Andes in s out h America when I was hungry so maybe I have a slanted view of it. But I really like them. Easy to raise also. Duck eggs are my favorite also. Then turkey eggs. Itās a shame that we only have dumb old chicken eggs at the store
Tame duck has to be my favourite eating, but sandhill crane is amazingly good, never had a tough one, you would think they would be tough, being as lanky as they are. I am not so fond of the idea of hunting them, but my dad has had no such reservations.
I agree that Guinea pigs are sensible livestock. I have never had one yet. But all the people of south America canāt be wrongā¦
I will add alpacas and llamas as good small stock, I hear the meat is exceptional.
That I canāt help you with breeding ideas.
My best friend growing up was a Slovak fellow and his parents were from the old country and brought the habit of keeping pigeons.
This was not something we ate at my home, but a treat when I was at their home. ( roasted or in a stew with a wine sauce YUM )
His father I think raced pigeons too at one time.
There is a big difference between a wild Pigeon ( a dirty pest ) and a domestic one.
Eating kind ( and racing ) are a bigger bird and they need to be cared for.
They can not look after themselves in the wild ( and pretty stupid )
They also kept hares large french style ones.
I seem to have an allergy to them I canāt handle one to skin it or my hands swell up.
I learned this the hard way
All this was in a regular suburban home here.
Small animals that do not make noise do not bother people I guess.
So true friend.
I think we are limiting ourselves, missing out on the finer things in life.
Take the potato.
Up here I can buy two or three different kinds.
But if you grow them you can get better ones, some for mashing some for roasting, some firm ones for soup and stews some make a better salad.
But we get the shit potatoes in the stores not good for much unless you want to just mash them.
Tomato:
You need to find some nice Italian fellows who grow their own to find the tastiest varieties that grow in your areaā¦
Grocery stores are sadly just full of the easiest to ship and fastest to grow food
Yup!
Sometimes you get what the hen is in the mood for.
Most Americans think that Potatoes come from Idaho our Ireland. Actually they come from Bolivia. There are 600 varieties of potatoes in the Andes. An endless variety of flavors and textures. Llama and alpaca is ok but gets tough when not aged well. But the flavor is amazing. I like it better than beef. And I donāt like much of anything better than beef.
There is also an animal wild there in the mountains that sort of looks like a cross between a rabbit and a Guineas pig. It is better than either one. I have forgotten the name of it. I only ever knew the quechua name, not the Spanish one.