our ochre way | a homesteading blog about gardening, farming, and permaculture in north carolina

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Bath Time!

February 23, 2015 / jason / Comments Off

Our new Khaki Campbell Ducklings sure love water! They have been drinking so much that it’s been hard to keep up. Ducklings need more water than chicks and turkey poults, for both drinking and for bathing. It’s important that they be able to “duck” their heads in the water to stay clean and healthy.

One problem here is that this makes a big mess in their brooder with all the splashing and playing that accompanies their impromptu bath times with their drinking water.

Our solution is to give them plenty of drinking water in the brooder with “nipple waterers”, which limit spillage, but then provide them with a separate bath time outside the brooder.

This should keep the brooder cleaner and dryer, but also make sure our future duck egg layers are healthy and clean. Bathing for them is not only hygienic, but the water also stimulates the oil production that will eventually lead to their “waterproofness”.

It’s also quite adorable and fun to watch!

*Don’t forget to pre-order your GMO Free Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving!

A Big Pig, Turkey, Duck, and Chicken Update!

February 20, 2015 / Emma / 2 Comments

This year we’re hitting the ground running with a lot of new ideas and plans being put into action!

Pigs

You might have already read about our new potbellied pigs and their new weather-proofed pen! Here is the lowdown on our pigs: We have…

One adult male who is about 3 years old. His name is Gandalf and he is our breeding male. He still has his tusks, which makes him more dangerous than the other adults. Even though he is generally friendly (his old owner told us that Gandalf thinks he is a dog), he can still push up against you or rub up against you affectionately with his face and hurt you. We have to be sure that when we are near him, we wear thick pants and gloves.
Two adult females who are about 2 1/2 years old. They are sisters and we haven’t named them yet. They look very similar but one has yellow at the end of her tail and the other does not. We’re just calling them The Sisters for now. They are less interested in human contact than Gandalf is but are not unfriendly. They just have not been socialized as much as Gandalf, but I have noticed that they have become more interested in us when we come over to their pen.
Four piglets. Three of them are from one litter and are 2 1/2 months old and the fourth one is from another litter and is 1 1/2 months old. Half are males and half are females.

Our long-term plans for the pigs are to keep the breeding trio as just that, and to allow each mother to have 2 litters per year. Their litters will be humanely harvested as meat once they have grown up.

Turkeys

You might have read our most recent post about beginning our turkey operation and raising birds for this year’s Thanksgiving!

We just ordered our turkeys the other day: 50 Bourbon Red Heritage Turkeys and 20 Heritage Turkeys that will be a mix-and-match of 6 heritage breeds. We plan to keep a couple breeding groups so we can hatch our own eggs in subsequent years. We also plan to eat many of them ourselves! Yum!

A baby turkey (called a poult).

Ducks

Around the time that we get our baby turkeys in April, we will also be getting some ducks to start a laying operation. We haven’t ordered these guys yet, but it looks like we’re going to be getting Cayuga ducks which are a beautiful black/green color, lay gray or even black eggs, and are very personable. We’ll also be getting another breed as well, to be determined.

A beautiful cayuga duck! We can’t wait for those gray eggs!

Chickens

Since the winter weather has shut down a lot of our outside chores except for feeding and watering the animals, some of our ideas and projects have shut down too. For example, the chicken tractor that we began building a few weeks ago is covered in snow right now and still incomplete. Since our chickens have gotten even larger since we began the chicken tractor, we realized that we can simply add them to the adult flock in a few days once the weather gets a bit warmer. The bantams will leave their bantam tractor and live with the standards for a while, and the younger female chickens will leave their basement home and join the others. The tractor can then house the younger male chickens until we butcher them (leaving one barred rock and one hybrid male for breeding).

And, in three more months the new hens should start laying eggs, adding to how many eggs we’ll get!

.:.

Heritage Turkeys for Thanksgiving 2015

February 18, 2015 / our ochre way / Comments Off

The information below was last updated February 2015. If you are interested in ordering a Heritage Thanksgiving Turkey for this year’s Thanksgiving, please refer to our Heritage Turkeys page for more up-to-date information!

…

What? Thanksgiving turkeys? There’s snow outside!

I know, I know, but Spring is coming and we at Kuska Wiñasun Homestead are going to be raising pastured, GMO free, heritage turkeys this year. We are in the planning stages right now, and in order to more accurately prepare for next Thanksgiving we want to gauge your interest in ordering your family’s turkey from our small farmstead in North Carolina’s Triad.

This could be your Thanksgiving turkey!

These birds will be raised OUTSIDE, on pasture, where they will act like turkeys, forage and eat insects, acorns and non-GMO grains. They will breath fresh air, drink fresh water, and live a happy life free of antibiotics and hormones. They will be humanely harvested, with dignity, and will make a one of kind centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table.

Heritage turkeys are different than your typical turkey from the supermarket. They have more dark meat, more flavor, and take longer to grow. They are not bland, but instead have a rich flavor more like their wild ancestors than like chicken.

We expect to have birds available weighing 8-16 lbs. in November.

Reserve your Heritage Turkey Today!

Ordering Information

If you would like to reserve your turkey now, which is recommended, email us at ourochreway@gmail.com and let us know!!!

If you reserve now, there will be a $15 deposit. This locks in the price of your bird at $4.99/lb. The rest is due when you pick up your turkey in November.

For example: You reserve a turkey for $15. You then pick up your 10 pound turkey. 10 lb. @ $ 4.99/lb = $49.99. $49.99 – $15 = $34.99 due at pickup.

If there are any turkeys available in November that have not been reserved, we will sell them at $6-$8/lb. By ordering and reserving your turkey in advance, you not only help us order the correct number of birds, but you experience significant savings as well!

Think of it like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), only with turkeys. A CST… Community Supported Turkeys!

You will be able to pick up your turkey in Greensboro, at times and places to be determined, or at our homestead in Stokes County, by appointment.

If you have any questions, feel free to send an email to ourochreway@gmail.com, or better yet, leave a comment if you think your question might be relevant to other people.

Soon we will be setting up an email list specifically for Thanksgiving turkey orders. This email list will allow you to keep tabs on your turkey through updates and pictures!

We will also be updating you soon via our website and facebook.

Pigs in a Blanket (and Hay)!

February 16, 2015 / Emma / 4 Comments

Yesterday and today have been pig-filled days… Tonight we ate pigs-in-a-blanket while watching an awesome video about butchering pigs, but not until after we finished creating the wind-and-snow-proof, new pig hideaway. Our original fence was working just fine for mild weather, but we knew that we need something a lot sturdier and weather proof considering the incoming 6+ inches of snow!

The side of the shelter. Old doors we found in the barn are lashed down for sturdy wind breaks… Emma’s idea! The 2 perpendicular sides of the shelter are situated like this.

The 3rd side of their shelter… A partial cattle panel with a tarp wrapped around it for blocking the wind. This side runs diagonally across one corner of their pen… This was Jason’s idea!

: The one small opening they have for getting in and out… This minimizes the wind and snow that can fly in!

Looking in at the pigs from a little peep hole in the opposite corner from their entrance… We’ve stuffed it with hay so they can fully bury themselves if desired (since they love this so much!).

Pigs in the hay! Stay warm tonight!

.:.

Pigs!

February 10, 2015 / jason / 4 Comments

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the newest members of Kuska Wiñasun Homestead! The Pigs!

New Pigs on the homestead

This weekend we jumped on an offer to buy a breeding trio of Asian Heritage Hogs (aka Pot Bellied Pigs) and 4 piglets. The two beautiful ladies above are sisters, and they are mated to Gandalf. According to their previous owner they are proficient procreaters and have been successful at raising litters of 7-11 piglets multiple times per year.

Now, we were so excited to get these guys that we kind of underestimated what it took to load, transport and unload a passel of pigs. Our original plan was to load the big guys into our small trailer, and the little guys in the back of our pickup. Well, to keep a long story short, all hell broke lose.

At first, we tried to guide/cajole the pigs up a ramp and into the trailer. This resulted in all of the pigs escaping as they barreled through walls, and over and under the makeshift fences we tried to use as chutes.

So then after about 20 minutes of chasing down pigs, we tried again. The idea this time was to manhandle the sisters into the trailer by grabbing their back legs and walking them up wheelbarrow style.

Yeah, that didn’t work either. Instead, we were treated to the loudest most horrifying squeals of bloody-pig-murder, and when we finally got 1 onto the trailer, she immediately barreled through our lame attempts to keep her there, and again, we had to chase pigs.

I don’t know how we finally got them on the trailer. But we did. The two girls that is. Gandalf, tusks and all, was still waiting. We decided not to risk letting the other ladies out and opted to load Gandalf into the back of our enclosed pickup truck.

Yet again, we concocted a plan that involved ramps, chutes, and makeshift walls out of plywood, pallets, and bales of straw. For some reason we thought that if we let him out near the back of truck we could use wooden shields to guide him up the ramp and into the back of the truck. Ha.

This turned out to be a pretty exhilarating 5 minutes of life. I feel like I combined my years playing shortstop, with some unbeknownst to me skill as a rodeo clown, to somewhat successfully not get gored and block Gandalf’s attempted escapes. But escape he did, and after another round of chasing pigs, we eventually pinned him down, grabbed him by the legs and flipped him into the truck like a sack of potatoes.

3 down, 4 to go.

Again, not wanting to risk any escapes, we decided to transport the piglets in the back of our SUV. The plan was to catch them, one at a time, and carry them to the car to be loaded through the hatchback window. I’m sure you can guess how this turned out.

Squeals of bloody-pig-murder and chasing escaped pigs? You betcha!

Pigs on a blanket

We finally got them all, and after 1 hurdled over the back seat and almost got loose, we headed home, all 7 pigs in tow.

We got home fine, set up a temporary pig house made out of cattle panels and chicken wire, and successfully unloaded all of the pigs with a shade less hilarity and emotion.

Gandalf and his buddies

They are currently enjoying a nice patch of yard where they are helping to eradicate some poison oak and happily munching on acorns, old apples, and cull sweet potatoes while they plot their escape.

First Planting of 2015!

February 6, 2015 / Emma / Comments Off

We’re really excited to have finally planted our first crops for the new year!

They have a temporary, cozy home… Set up in our guest bedroom with the chicks’ old heat lamp pointing at them, willing them into existence through the warmth and wetness that is their damp, soil filled tray! So poetic (can you tell we’re excited?)!

Our two trays of cabbage varieties, basking in the warmth!

The first crops we’ve planted are both cabbages! Sauerkraut is not only one of our most favorite side dishes, is also super good for your body. Filled with plenty of healthy bacteria that promotes your digestive and intestinal health, it’s a “medicine” worth having around during all time of the year (especially during hot dog season).

We decide to great started right on time this year, since last year we waited too long to get some of our crops started. Planted a few days ago, the seeds have not yet sprouted, but it’s just a matter of time! We’ll allow them to grow in the their trays until they get a few leaves and/or until we think the threat of freezing has passes. Cabbage can take some chilly temperatures, but we want to be sure they grow up into large and delicious (multiple) cabbage heads!

The two varieties that we’ve planted are the Early Jersey and the Golden Acre. We’ll keep you posted about when these great varieties finally sprout!

.:.

Starting the New Mobile Chicken Tractor!

February 4, 2015 / Emma / Comments Off

With the chicks getting bigger and bigger (and messier and messier!) it is high time to get them outside and into the “free” world!

This weekend Jason and I started with our new chicken house/tractor idea. Since we started the homestead almost 2 years ago, our idea of the best chicken houses and pens have changed. Our first chicken house is still in use, housing our standard chickens and just a few bantams (these standards are the parents of our new chickens). This house is larger than the newer one and the associated pen once enclosed the house but now uses the house as a fifth side of the pen, giving the chickens almost as much space and making the entire contraption easier to move. More recently, the bantam mobile has become even more of a favorite. Its small size and light weight allows us to move it everyday, which gives the bantams access to fresh turf and cuts down on damage to the yard and grass.

So, based on our experience with a semi-mobile house/pen and a very-mobile house/pen, we realized that we really like the very-mobile design better. Our idea of the new house is this: a 12 foot by 8 foot chicken tractor that can be moved as often as we desire, by dragging the entire structure.

This structure is being made out of 1 1/4 inch black polyethylene pipe, the flexible kind! This will be really lightweight and allow for easy sliding!

We started on the base of the tractor, cutting the pipe to the right length and attaching plastic connections so that 3 arches can be added to the top of the frame. We anticipate that the arches will be about 4 feet tall at their highest point.

The joints that will allow us to add the arches.

The corner joints!

The final product will be half-cylinder shaped, like many greenhouses. But for now we have to deal with the issue of straightening out the pipe, since it has been tied in circles and kept behind the barn for the past half-year!

Look how crooked these pipes are now! Don’t worry, though! We can straighten them out in the heat of the sun.

After we get the pipe straightened out a bit, we’ll add the arches to the frame and finish connecting the corners. The entire house will be covered by chicken wire (but the bottom will be open) and one half of the structure will be also covered in something (perhaps black roofing liner and a tarp) to keep out the rain and the wind and also house the roost bars.

We have yet to figure out where the egg box will be and how the water and food trays will be designed, but it’s exciting to finally get started!

Wish us luck!

.:.

The Eggs are Back in Town!

February 2, 2015 / jason / Comments Off

This winter our flock of barred rock and buff orpington chickens experienced a significant drop-off in egg production. 1 egg days were common and 3 eggs in 1 day was a cause for celebration. This was due in part to the changing of the seasons, with the short and cold winter days translating to less egg production. This is pretty standard for chickens, but did not account entirely for our huge drop in eggs.

This winter, our chickens went through their first molt. Molting is when chickens lose all of their feathers and then regrow new ones. This takes a great deal of energy, and during the molt, chickens gradually stop laying only to pick back up after they have grown back all of their feathers. Chickens will go through their first molt at about 18 months, and then once every year after that.

So, for the past couple of months we were pretty low on eggs, and even had to stop selling to our loyal customers. However, the eggs are back in town! The chickens have come home to lay eggs again! We started getting 2-3 eggs everyday about 2 weeks ago, and now we are consistently getting 5 or 6 standards and an equal number of bantams everyday.

To me it feels like another sign that spring is actually coming and that soon the grass will be green, the clover will be blooming, and the trees will leaf out.

Farm Food Friday: Sausage Breakfast Casserole

January 30, 2015 / Emma / Comments Off

This recipe is one of Jason’s favorites, and he insists on calling it “eggs” even though eggs are the least of its important ingredients. Oh, boys. :)

It is a variation on my Aunt Jill’s recipe. Here it is (a double batch, of course):

In a pot, cook 2 cups of dried grits (follow the directions on the bag to see how much water you need). Be sure to add salt to the water!

In a large pan, cook 1 or 2 pounds (it’s really up to you, meat-eaters) of Neese’s sausage. Once the sausage is nearly cooked, add a large onion (diced) to the pan. Also add 2 diced peppers.

Then add a lot of sliced mushrooms to the pan. Be sure to add salt, pepper, basil, and oregano (or whatever your favorite spices are).

When all this is done and the grits are also cooked, mix these ingredients and the grits together in a large mixing bowl.

Add 12 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of butter, and 2/3 cups of milk to the warm mix. Stir all of this in thoroughly so that everything melts and blends together.

This is when I also add more of my spices: extra salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and some cayenne peppers for spice! Add more than you think of all of your spices (except maybe the cayenne)!

Beat 6 eggs well, and once the large, hot mixture cools down a bit, stir in the eggs. Be sure that the mix is not so hot that it cooks the eggs!

Butter your casserole dish(es) and pour in the mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for at least 45 minutes but for less than 1 hour. Enjoy!

P.S. This recipe is so hearty that we usually eat it for dinner. But it’s also so easy to warm up for any quick meal, like breakfast. Just never freeze it! We tried that once and the texture was horrible!!!

.:.

Counting Future Hens and Roosters!

January 28, 2015 / Emma / 2 Comments

4 weeks ago, when the chicks were 4 weeks old, Jason and I decided to take a tally on how many we thought would be hens and how many would be roosters. At that point, they were starting to grow little combs, but it was harder to tell than it is now at 8 weeks. So far, as well as we can tell, we were right about our guesses!

Before we thought about their sex, we divided them up based on their assumed full-blood or hybrid status. Then we guessed about the males and females within each type.

When we were guessing, we looked at:

Comb size and color
- Males have larger and pinker combs
- Females have smaller and yellower combs
Leg color
- From what we read about the Barred Rocks, males and females have differnt leg colors. Even though some of the chickens are hybrids and not full-blooded Barred Rocks, we though we could at least use this trait to help us think about the Barred Rocks in the bunch.
- Males have oranger legs
- Females have grayer legs
Feather color
- Among the Barred Rocks, males have more white in their feathers, since having “barred,” or “speckled” feathers is a sex-linked trait of which males carry 2 genes while females have only 1.
- Males are lighter
- Females are darker
Body size
- Males will grow to be bigger than females, but at 4 weeks guessing based on body size is a lot harder. We still tried, though!

Deciding on the sex of the hybrids was a lot harder than the Barred Rocks, for obvious reasons and for those listed above.

Barred Rock Male

Hybrid Male

Barred Rock Female

Hybrid Female

These are the numbers that we came up with:

13 full-blood Barred Rocks
- 7 males (we included Gimpsy in this count–even though he was small-bodied and didn’t have much of a comb–because he had lighter feathers)
- 6 females
8 Barred Rock and Buff Orpington Hybrids
- 3 males
- 5 females

And what do you know? Gimpsy is a boy and we are mostly sure that our guesses were correct. We can’t wait to tell for sure!

This puts our total at 11 hens and 10 roosters. That sure is about a 50/50 split! This means that in a month or so, we’ll have 11 more hens that we’ll raise to be layer hens, 1 Barred Rock rooster for breeding purposes, 1 hybrid rooster for breeding purposes (we’re for sure keeping my favorite, friendly rooster), and Gimpsy–who we’ll probably have to take care of in special ways.

And that means we’ll have 7 chickens in the freezer for eating! Thank you, Mother Nature.

And then, we’ll start the cycle all over again with another batch of eggs…!

.:.

KW Homestead

Pasture Raised Poultry & Edible Landscaping Plants Since 2013