I haven’t touched this blog in 3.5 years. I still can’t say why I have held onto it, when I have not felt a desire to write in all that time. Yet, here I am. Trying to cobble together my thoughts in an attempt to help process the recent events I have been struggling with.
Three weeks ago tomorow I said goodbye to three sows. They represented half of my small breeding herd, two generations of breeding, and a whole lot of time, effort, and love. For those that know my girls by name, I said goodbye to Bri, Mandy, and Jenny. It was planned for months, which allowed plenty of time to prepare emotionally, and I was unwavering and absolutely certain in my decision and the reasons. Still, it broke my heart and left me in a bad state mourning the loss of my beloved sows even though I still know it was the right thing to do.
The Necessity of Culling
Culling is a necessary evil for the betterment of breeds/species. In the homesteading or farming world, it is common practice and is an act of love. Choosing to care for, steward, and be responsible for livestock is hardly easy, and there is a reason a lot of people aren’t cut out for it. For most of us that shoulder the responsibility, we love our animals, want to do right by them, and are passionate about our chosen species or breed. Some admittedly more so than others. Ultimately, we want them to have good lives and be happy, healthy, and productive as long as possible. For those who don’t homestead/farm, they may struggle to understand how you can love and care for an animal day in and day out and then turn around and make a decision to cull. It can be difficult to convey that it is for the betterment of the species, the breed, the welfare of the animal and/or future progeny, and for the longevity of the homestead/farm. Some inexperienced onlookers see it through a skewed lens. They are quick to write you off as heartless, accusing you of “using the animal up”, or only caring about your bottom line. My personal favorite is the unsolicited Disnified alternative solutions that are offered. “Wouldn’t they be better off if X or can’t you just give them to X”. No, no they wouldn’t, and no, no I can’t. Again, the lack of experience is blatantly obvious as they do not understand the grass is not always greener, and some fates are far worse than death. Horror stories upon horror stories exist of animals that are given away or sold as a “pet”. I would never, ever subject one of my animals to that fate.
Unless you’ve experienced the heartbreak of the decision much less the follow through, you can’t possibly understand the toll it takes. Particularly on a small homestead, even more particularly when it is an animal that was born and raised on your property. Even MORE when she has served you well and it an act of compassion. It can be heartbreaking, soul crushing, and excruciatingly painful… even when it is the right choice.
Culling is for the greater good. When it isn’t practiced bad genes, poor temperaments, crappy moms, inferior performance, unthrifty animals, bad conformation, etc gets perpetuated in the gene pool. Translation: the bad traits that are a detriment get passed onto the next generation . Not every animal is cut out to be a breeder. Just because an animal has its respective reproductive parts does not mean it should use them for a myriad of reasons. The betterment of the breed, the species, and the genetic line should always be front and center in your mind. Is this animal going to take my herd forwards, backwards, or maintain? Not all animals are going to be superstars and take your herd to the next level, but still these are questions that should be asked.
As the old saying goes “breed the best and eat the rest”. It’s short, catchy, and rings true. If humans weren’t in the equation to interfere, natural selection would be the driving force at work weeding out the inferior as opposed to people. In the natural world, if a sow is such a terrible mom that she consistently lays on and crushes her litter, well, she won’t have many or possibly any surviving piglets to perpetuate her line would she? Nature has its way of weeding out the weak. Instead, some humans despite this glaring offense that screams “not fit for breeding” continue to knowingly breed her. Or, even worse, sell her to some poor unsuspecting victim.
Not all culls are cut and dry. I sure wish they were. It would make decisions far easier, and dull the heartbreak. It is a hell of a lot easier to have to say goodbye to an animal with a nasty or aggressive attitude. The one that’s final offense was the last straw, and you’ve adopted the “don’t let the door kick you on the way out” mentality. This is a stark contrast to bawling your eyes out and repeatedly screaming “I’m sorry”, cradling your deceased beloved mama who has been nothing short of wonderful in every way, knowing you saved her from an inevitable and painful decline. I have experienced both, and will take the former over the latter any day.
The Why
Now onto the reason that I’m sure most of you clicked on this blog post. The “why”. What was my reasoning behind my choice to cull Bri, Mandy, and Jenny? Three sows, three different track records, three different histories, three very different reasons.
Baby Bri
Bri had all the promise I could ever hope for out of a gilt. She had it ALL. The growth, the obvious heats, the incredibly laid back personality and strong maternal instinct. Then, she went on to farrow 12 piglets in 65 minutes completely unassisted her first litter, and weaned all 12. I had stars in my eyes and thought I had a true rockstar on my hands. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
Ever since weaning her first textbook perfect litter, Bri has been a notorious problem child. A sweet, endearing, and absolutely loveable problem child. The one that allll the weird and unexplainable things seem to happen to. The one that you’re always trying to problem solve or troubleshoot. Why she isn’t settling, why she lost her pregnancy, etc. She has been my special case for years. The one that always gave me something to figure out and left me scratching my head. I would be lying if I said I regretted the work and effort I put into her. She is the first sow that I had to truly investigate and figure out the cause for many repeat services. I sleuthed, came up with a theory, executed a solution, and solved the problem. She went on to give me Geillis and Mandy that next litter.
After that, the writing was on the wall and part of me knew it would only be a matter of time before I couldn’t continue to make excuses. It wasn’t if, but when. I have never had a sow with a better temperament or personality and there was no greater mother than her. She loved her babies harder than anyone, and even ones that weren’t hers.
Unfortunately, being an absolute rockstar of a mom isn’t good enough if you fail to breed back and/or have trouble doing so. I simply couldn’t count on her, and when everyone gets bred and carries to term without issue it becomes glaringly obvious it’s a problem at the individual level. The final nail in the coffin so to speak was failing to breed back for a fall litter last year, then settling on a fall breeding for the following spring, miscarrying the litter with no obvious cause as to why, only to get rebred and have a whopping three piglets. An animal that weighs 665 lbs takes up a lot of space and feed. In one year’s time she gave three piglets and ate nearly 1 ton of food herself in the process. Unfortunately, even though she was the sweetest thing ever, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that she was dead weight any longer.
Overall, I lost a lot of money on keeping her around as long as I did over the years. But, working through her problems taught me a lot that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn. I will be better equipped to identify and solve problems early not only in my own herd, but also for those in my Patreon that I support thanks to her. I do not regret my choice to work through the problems as long as I did, nor do I regret the decision I ultimately made to say goodbye.
Mandy
Mandy was one of the replacement gilts that I kept out of Bri’s second litter along with her sister Geillis. I was really excited about the Large Black sired girls, and everything that entailed from a maternal instinct standpoint. There was no lack of that to inherit from Bri, but adding in Large Black genetics too? I was sure that was a recipe for success. Confession: I actually only wanted to/needed ONE gilt and I had fallen in love with Mandy and her pink splotch on her nose just like her mother. But, she would need someone to grow up with as a companion, and I thought well, might as well keep two girls just in case one doesn’t pan out. That is the only reason I kept Geillis and thank God I did.
Everything leading up to Mandy’s first farrowing screamed promise. Her growth rate was incredible, she was hardy and an easy keeper, absolutely sweet as could be with a laid back personality, wildly strong and obvious heats and settled on first service. As a gilt, her underline resembled one more like a second or even third parity sow, and I was chomping at the bit to see what she was made of when farrowing came.
She farrowed middle of the night. Piglets came out like rapid fire just like her mother and I was on cloud 9 watching her quickly pass piglets unassisted without moving much less getting up. The dream state quickly turned into a nightmare. Once a good chunk of the litter was born, squirming to the udder and all around her making noise, she came unhinged. Full blown psychosis. Snapping at/biting piglets, lunging at them, trampling them, and literally spiraling out of control. Some were immediately killed by being trampled to death, and the rest I saved by swooping in and scooping them up as quickly as I could.
This is not uncommon behavior out of gilts unfortunately. To make a long story short, I worked some magic to calm her down and she did accept her babies. She loved them hard, was an absolutely fantastic mother, and weaned every single piglet that I scooped up and saved their first traumatic night of life.
With how well she did after the farrowing itself, I gave her another shot. Again, these things HAPPEN with gilts. Because she quickly accepted and loved her babies after the fact, I was certain it could be chocked up to #giltproblems. If it happens as a gilt it by no means is a guarantee it will happen again.
She bred back right away without issue, and then her second and final chance came. Unfortunately, round 2 went much of the same. Rapid firing of piglets only to start biting them and tossing them across the room combined with spiraling out of control. A full blown 550lb tornado out of control with me scooping piglets up, trying to save them and whisk them away from her. Then, much like the first time, when the dust settled, she turned into a completely devoted and nurturing mother.
What was wrong with Mandy wasn’t fixable. She had textbook perfect nutrition as a gilt as well as throughout gestation, no stress environment, etc to set her up for success. What she had was a hormone regulation problem, and was dependent on ME to externally regulate her through farrowing. It was a HER problem, and the only thing that could be done would be for me to have to be there for every farrowing to save piglets and band aid the situation until she got through it and calmed down. This is a trait that is unacceptable in a breeder. If I hadn’t been there both times to intervene, I cannot image the bloodbath I would have walked into the next morning.
Again, I do not regret my decisions I made. I gave her a second chance and I am so happy I did because it just as easily could have gone another way. Unfortunately, it didn’t. But, I know I set her up for success and gave her every opportunity to prove herself. Sadly, she just didn’t have the goods and I had to do what was right and say goodbye.
Jenny
There simply are not enough pages on this blog to sing Jenny’s praises enough. She was an absolute rockstar of a sow in every way imaginable. I have shared plenty on my Instagram about Jenny’s impressive breeding and farrowing history, and I am going to bank on that if you’re reading this you have some understanding of her history. Simply put, she was an absolute powerhouse and a monster breeder in the best way possible. Very fertile, prolific, milky, maternal, and ultimately just a wonderful sow. I could always depend on her. To settle on first service, to bring the litter size, and to have a high weaning rate. She had it ALL and over the course of her seven litters she had an average litter size of 14 (range 11-17) with a born live to weaning rate of 97%.
I have said for years on my Patreon that Jenny’s undoing would be her knees, not her performance. She was the second gilt I ever kept for myself and while I had learned a lot by the time she came around, I still made some mistakes. Mainly, I didn’t set her up for success with proper bone mineralization for longevity. If she were a less prolific or milky sow, her body may not have ever had to pay for my mistake, or at least maybe not so soon. But, that’s not how things worked out. Those large litters and heavy milk production come at a high price, and unfortunately, her body wasn’t properly prepared and paid the toll. With each litter, I saw her knees knock more and more. Her body was breaking down and the writing was on the wall.
This past winter when she far along in gestation, she struggled to walk on the pitted and bare frozen ground without snow as insulation and cushion. She couldn’t leave the shelter because it hurt her too bad to walk on the uneven ground. This meant she couldn’t walk to her water source. So, for a week I lugged buckets multiple times a day to hand deliver her food and water praying for snow so that she would be able to leave. Snow finally came, and she was once again able to leave her shelter.
Several weeks later after she was moved into the farrowing area and had her 7th and final litter, much of the same happened. I didn’t have to deliver her food and water due to the infrastructure, but it quite literally was painful to watch her walk. It was very clear she was hurting despite not carrying the massive weight of her litter anymore, and it hurt me to watch her. I knew she wouldn’t have another winter in her. I bawled like a baby sharing videos of her walking in my Patreon gutted that my prophecy from years ago had come true and I had to do what was right by her. I didn’t have a choice. She had been so good to me, and I owed it to her to do right by her. This meant I couldnt be selfish and keep her around knowing the pain she was in, how hard the previous winter was, and that it would only be a matter of time before she went lame. She deserved better after everything she has done for me and I cared way too much about her to let her suffer. She deserved to go out at the top of her game coming off a carefree summer versus injured and suffering.
August 3rd, 2024
When you get down to it, I have very basic hopes for my animals whether they are a culled breeder or one that is destined to be a feeder from the start. I want them to be born here, live here, and die here. I don’t want them to ever know mistreatment, stress, or suffering. That’s all I ask, and at the end of the day it isn’t too much to ask for.
The easiest thing for me to do would have been to load Bri, Mandy, and Jenny on a trailer and send them off to a processor. Save myself the pain, and not have to see it for myself. But, that would have resulted in an incredible amount of stress for them leaving the only home they have ever known. Easier for me, but harder for them. I believe so strongly in my most basic hope that I would knowingly put myself through more anguish and heartbreak to spare them stress and suffering. Truly putting my beliefs and ideals to the test.
I am NOT knocking those that send animals off to a processor. Do not read between lines that don’t exist. But for me, that was never an option, it didn’t exist. The only option was for them to die at the only home they’ve ever known, without stress or a worry in the world. Thanks to my friend Hogan at Kerev Butchery, my beloved sows got exactly that.
I will not go into the details of their death, but all that matters is two things:
- I was there with them and for them in the end
- It couldn’t have gone anymore textbook.
They died instantly with me by their side, the one face that has been the constant day in and day out over the years. I was there when they were all born, every day in between, and I was there when they died. It was painful for me to be there, but again there was no other option for me. I needed to set my heartbreak and pain aside and put their comfort and needs in those final moments above my own. It was me that they knew best, me they were most comfortable with, and me that should be there. It was every bit as emotionally excruciating as you may imagine. I bawled, whaled, was an absolute mess, and I knowingly put myself through that for them. The last act of love I could show them.
There was not one ounce of suffering or stress experienced on their part. Ultimately, that is what I am most grateful for and I will forever be thankful and in Hogan’s debt for that. I couldn’t have asked for better for them, and as soon as it was done I felt an incredible wave of relief wash over me knowing that it couldn’t have gone any better.
It has been almost three weeks since I said goodbye, and I still miss them terribly. But, in a sense they are still here. I look around at my gilts and sows, and I am reminded that they live on in their daughters. Every time I look at Geillis, I see Bri in her eyes as well as her sister Mandy. I see some of Jenny’s early personality traits in her daughter Maggie. While they may be gone, they will live on in the generation I have, the ones that are still to come, and will never be forgotten.
Today feels like the end of an era. After many talks with my husband, serious reflection, and hard thinking on the direction of our homestead going forward, I sold my beloved dairy goats. My Nubians Ruby and Rory to be specific, and they are getting picked up today. We originally got started with home dairy a few years ago, and for many reasons we went with goats over cow. They were 100% the right choice for us at the time, and have served us well the past few years. I owe so much knowledge to them, and they have repaid me with all the milk for delicious recipes.
But, not all animals are permanent. Some you raise and love, and they are a standing member of your homestead/farm forever. Others you don’t particularly care for and are here and gone. While others, are temporary stepping stones along the homesteading journey. They become a source of your knowledge, confidence, and the lessons they teach you and the mark they leave stay with you long after they’re gone. This does not make them any “less”. Dairy goats for me are the latter. I learned so much from them about fencing, housing, and most importantly, keeping a dairy animal. Deciding to sell them was no reflection on them, or anything they did wrong. If anything, how good they are is what made this so much more difficult. It would be an easy decision if they weren’t such good girls. What it was, was a necessary step to take our homestead in the direction we desire.
A cow has always been the end goal for us. I want the heavy cream, and the abundance of milk to fatten our pigs and offset our feed costs. We have no allergies or intolerance in our household, so goats are not our only option from a dietary standpoint. But, for all the reasons mentioned in my blog post on our choice to raise goats for dairy, they really were our only logical option before. But, things have changed. After spending a few years clearing our land and creating pasture, and creating even more this year for next spring, we have reached the point where we feel we are able to sustain a dairy cow.
We are practical people however. We cannot and do not want to have a cow and two large dairy goats that aren’t producing milk. Not to mention our Nigerian Dwarf males I am selling as well. The reason why I am able to give every single one of my animals such a high level of personal care and the best in terms of nutrition, is because I am intentional with who we keep. If I had twenty goats “just because”, the quality of care would suffer. I couldn’t feed organic 2nd cut hay, provide the chelated mineral supplement, or the organic grain ration to that many animals. With greater numbers, the quality of care would suffer. To me, it’s quality not quantity.
Every animal here (except for Wyatt 
) serves a distinct purpose, and we don’t need four goats to help with clearing. Our two Nigerian Dwarf does Audrey and Alison are still needed here for this, and so they are staying. But the two Nubians as well? It just didn’t make sense, so we had to choose. Pursue a dairy cow now, or continue down the dairy goat road and acquire the necessary breeding stock for our existing does. This would just mean more goats to sell later. So, we decided it was best for us to bite the bullet and go through this transition now.
It was not an easy decision, but one that had to be made. I know that I made the best decision for us going forward. As far as Ruby and Rory are concerned, before listing them for sale I made them a promise. I would not allow them to be separated, nor would I sell them to a farm that was any less in terms of accommodations they were used to here. I can’t bear the thought of this bonded mother-daughter pair being split up, or them being confined to cramped accommodations.
Not only did I come through on my promise, but I am not ashamed to admit they are moving on to bigger and better things themselves. They are going to the Remick Country Doctor Museum Farm in New Hampshire where they will become part of their new goat milk CSA program. Not only are they moving on to a farm bigger than our small homestead, but they will be fulfilling their higher purpose of providing the community with fresh goats milk. They will be well cared for, and have no shortage of attention or pasture to run in. I couldn’t have asked for a better home for my beloved girls.
Send in the Cows
Behind the scenes I have been looking for a Jersey cow on and off for the past few months, and got really serious about it over a month ago. First of all, I cannot get over how difficult of a time I had finding potential quality prospects. I’m not entirely sure what I expected, but the process has been more difficult than I anticipated. I scoured Craigslist, called farms, asked everyone I knew, put it to Instagram, etc. I came up empty handed a lot.
We had an ideal scenario that we were looking for. We wanted to avoid a heifer (never calved) at all costs, because we wanted a cow with some experience under her belt. We also wanted to steer clear of a cow that wasn’t already bred back. I am still working out the details of AI and talking to my vet about it, so I didn’t want to have to scramble. Plus, if an animal hasn’t been bred at this point in September, we wouldn’t be looking to calve until late next summer, which just doesn’t work for us. Why would I want a dry cow during the summer when I have my feeder pigs and quality pasture?
The biggest part of the hunt of course was the quality of the cow. A family milk cow can serve you for many, many, years in a homestead setting. And if properly cared for, can be productive into their late teens. I want this long term relationship, and wanted to get it right the first time. So, I was doing my homework, asking the questions to weed out the cows that wouldn’t work for us, or had more question marks than answers. I wasn’t afraid to take a pass on a cow I felt was a risk even if it meant not finding anything.
Finally, the Jersey Cow gods took pity on me and sent me a lead via an Instagram follower (thanks Natalee!) who personally knew some farmers that were selling some of their bred cows. I wasted ZERO time making the 7+ hour round trip visit to Orb Weaver Creamery in Vermont to meet Zack, one of the owners. They’re a farmstead cheese creamery that raises Jerseys, and specifically breeds for udder longevity, high butterfat, and high protein. Check, check, check. Upon my arrival, it took me all of five minutes to decide that I needed one of their cows.
As if the bucolic setting wasn’t enough, I consider myself a good judge of character when it comes to what kind of stewards people are to their animals. Maybe it’s because I’m a helicopter mom myself with my livestock, and am fanatical about their care. So, perhaps I recognize some of these traits in others. Whatever the reason, I see when people care, truly care, and that is reflected in the quality and personality of their animals. While standoffish with me being a stranger, the cows were affectionate and personable with Zack as he showed me around. He knew everyone’s name, age, individual personality quirks, and who would be the best “hand milker” for me in terms of teat size and milk flow. I didn’t just want a cow, I wanted one of their cows.
A Bonny Lass
Based on the personality I was after, the size of our homestead, and being a hand milker, Zack already had a few prospects in mind for me. One of which was Lassie who immediately caught my eye. Lassie or “Lass” as I will surely refer to her as, is a 4 year old cow who is pregnant and due in December. This will be her third calving so she is old enough to have the experience we were after, but is young enough that she has a lifetime ahead of her of productivity.
One of the first things that I noticed about her was her shorter stature in comparison to the others. In comparison to other dairy breeds, Jerseys are smaller but can range in size from a mini (which I didn’t want) to a standard size. She is 47″ at the withers, which puts her right in that mid-sized range we were after. Given our smaller homestead, this is the sweet spot. The other thing that caught my eye was those hand milking teats. One thing Zack cautioned me about just in general education when looking for a cow, is the teat size. Because so many dairy farms milk with machines, larger teat size has largely been selected against in breeding. While teats will get larger with each calving to an extent, like I experienced with my dairy goats, some just naturally have larger ones than others. This is a mistake I was not going to make twice, and her larger teat size was a major selling point for me.
I left Orb Weaver and thought about Lassie the whole way home. When I got home, I couldn’t stop talking about her or Orb Weaver Creamery to my husband. Then, when it came time to go to bed she’s all I thought about. I woke up the next morning, and put down a deposit on her. She is officially mine.
So, where do we go from here? We are in the process of doing some infrastructure changes in preparation to bring Lass home. When that will be, I am not sure of yet. We are knocking out the dividing stalls of our goat mini barn and opening it up, siding in the overhang, reconfiguring fencing, and figuring out a covered round bale feeder. Lots of moving parts and things happening, but we are very excited about it in anticipation of bringing our first milk cow home.
It is a bit nerve wracking for me, starting over with an entirely new species. But, I know I have a mentor in Orb Weaver, and I will figure things out and make it work just as I always have in the past. I am anxious to start bonding with Lass, and am looking forward to the strong bond we will develop over the coming years. I am hopeful and excited for this new adventure ahead, and hope you will stick around to watch it all unfold!
Moooooooo,
In May of 2016, I met the other future love of my life next to my husband and I didn’t even know it. We were doing the first showing of our house and made our way into the garage. The garage was tidy and neat, and then there under the stairs under boxes of junk I saw her…
Underneath the boxes was a rusty, dusty stove that clearly hadn’t been used in quite some time. I knew nothing about stoves, was it busted beyond repair on the inside? Was it worthless? I had no clue. But I turned my head to our real estate agent (aka cousin) Crystal and said “this stays with the house no matter what”. Clearly I had already made up my mind we were going to buy the house. I had no idea the deep love affair that would come about.
Well, we bought the place, and some time passed. If you follow me on Instagram you know that our place and property has been quite the project and kept our hands full. Money to restore a stove wasn’t exactly top priority, so she continued to sit in the garage. Unused and covered in boxes. I would go out occasionally, check in on her, give her a good look over, and whisper sweet nothings into her rusty nickel warming shelves. Her time would come soon enough, but we weren’t quite ready for her.
After several months I started to get curious. I had no idea what I had in the garage, if it could even be restored, and if it could, how much money it would cost. After some quick googling, I found a local stove guy that specialized in antique stove restorations. Seemed like the man to call. So, I did and what proceeded felt like an episode of antique roadshow.
“You have a WHAT? Does the number on the back left say 8-20? And it has all of the nickel warming shelves, the side shelf, AND the queens shelf?” David (who would soon become “my stove guy”) was in shock. He couldn’t believe that not only was I in possession of a Villa Crawford, but that it was complete with all of its shelves, burners, and without any major visual defects or damages. In his over forty years of business, he has seen three…THREE! He demanded I send him some pictures to confirm, and I did. Turns out that I had a true rare gem on my hands. I was that person that showed up for an appraisal with some crummy old vase expecting $20, was worth $20,000, and had “no idea what I had”. Turns out I was sitting on a gold mine. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but still it felt very Antique Roadshow-esque.
I made it my mission to give this stove a complete restoration, and look like the day she left the foundry. So I saved, and I saved, and saved. I saved for two years. Then, our existing subpar kitchen woodstove developed a major structural and safety malfunction in the late spring of 2018. Not worth repairing, we were in need of another woodstove. It was time for Lady Crawford to shine again.
This stove underwent a complete restoration, down to the nuts and bolts. It’s more solid than the day it left the Crawford Foundry in Watertown, Mass in 1898. It was sandblasted to remove all rust and residual paint and debris before being repainted in a period correct finish. The nickel was re-plated. Any cracks or breaks within the stove itself were reinforced and welded. The firebox intended for coal, was converted to wood with an extender added to accommodate longer logs before being reinforced with fire cement. Each burner that was “worn out” had a metal bar added to allow the handle something to grab onto to lift them. There is not a corner of this stove that wasn’t inspected, reinforced, and refinished.
A Brief Little History
So you’re probably thinking what makes this stove so special? Aside from the sheer beauty of it, it is pretty incredible. Prior to 1900 these stoves were functional works of art. Intricate scrollwork and filigree, with raised emblems, and totally nickeled out. The amount of detail in this stove is unbelievable. From 1900 on, the stoves went more steamlined as this was the “modern” direction people were going. Filigree and raised scrollwork gave way to flat surfaces, and they became pretty plain. Nice functional stoves, but you certainly don’t look at them and go “wow”. This was what was appealing at the time.
Now, here we are over a hundred years later and these pre-1900 stoves are highly coveted for their level of detail and “fanciness”. But, the timestamp isn’t the only thing that makes this stove so special. It is COMPLETE with no missing major components. Typically, these things got moved around over the past hundred years with the addition of modern gas/electric stoves into peoples kitchens. These wood burners would get moved out to a garage or barn much like where we found ours. They get neglected, bumped by a tractor, shuffled and moved around and things get lost. Most commonly the removable shelf on the right as well as the top “queens shelf” were the most common victims of this. They are removable, so they easily get bumped off and lost forever.
Not my Lady Crawford. I didn’t know it when I saw her sitting there in the garage for the first time, but with the exception of the kick plate and simmer trivet, she was complete. Aside from the fact that this is such a rare stove to begin with, David could not believe the condition that it was in. Thankfully being an antique stove restorer, he has quite the cache of random original parts and during the restoration replaced the kickplate and simmer trivet. Both original Crawford items.
Another incredible thing about the stove? The heat indicator is not only clean and clear like the day it was made, but it works. Due to being exposed to the elements and severe fluctuations in temperature, the glass on these is commonly cloudy and hazy, full of condensation. And even more commonly, they just plain don’t work. Despite the stove being kept in a garage for who knows how many years, it is perfectly functional and clear.
A Modern Twist
You know how when you’re burning in your woodstove and you get that awesome bed of glowing red hot coals and you think “man that would be awesome to grill over?”. Well, with one little modern twist you can!
David has a cast for the standard opening seen in Crawford and Glenwood Models where the two burners over the firebox lift up and out. So, what did he do? He made a grill insert that fits perfectly over the firebox. The ductile iron pan is slightly pitched down to allow the juices to collect in the reservoir on the left side with a pour off spout. Once you get a good bed of coals, you open the drafts (this will suck any smoke down, out, and up your chimney) throw this baby on and you can get your grill on in the middle of winter. Wood fire grilled chicken breasts in January by the comfort of my warm stove? Yes please!
Another incredible invention that didn’t come about until several decades after this stove was made, was the multi burner lifter. Wood is loaded into the firebox from the top, and there are two burners and one middle plate to remove in order to load. When this stove was built in 1898, the only way to load was to individually lift each burner and the center plate out with the single lifter, load, and then put each one back. So, we are talking six lifts per load. Tedious much? Post 1900, and don’t quote me on this but I wanna say it was around the 40’s, a new lifter was invented that allowed you to lift all three at once. You have a good enough grip to be able to hold it as you load your wood and then place it back. Amazing how such a simple design can make such a difference in the practicality and use.
My love for this stove knows no bounds, and I am just as amazed by it two years later as I was the day it came back from the restoration. I told my husband that my final wish is to be cremated in it 
The number one question I get asked is it’s it horribly inefficient? People equate old to inefficient or subpar. I will fight anyone on this topic – modern stoves have nothing on this girl. This is coming from the person who ripped out two Woodstove Soapstone stoves to put in hundred year old Crawfords. They just cannot compare in craftsmanship and design. Its design turns it into one big cast iron radiator that allows it to pump out the heat as well as the food all winter long. The best seat in the house is right next to the stove, and is usually where you can find me with knitting needles in hand.
If you’re interested in a video walk through and the ins and outs of how the stove works, what does what, etc, I highly suggest you check out my IGTV video walkthrough below, and all things #villacrawfordstove on Instagram.
There is no question that we are incredibly busy on our small homestead. Between working our “real jobs” full time, taking care of our slew of animals, clearing, cutting wood, putting up fence, etc, we have a tendency to always be doing something. But, there is always work to be done. I used to feel guilty if I would want to just sit and relax for a short break. I would try, but then all I could think about is the things I should be doing, which made me anxious, unrelaxed, and then I would just get back to work.
Recently though, things have shifted. There is still plenty to do around here at all times, but we are more established than we were two years ago or even last year. We have pasture established, fences, and systems in place. While there will always be wood to cut and animals to tend to, we have reached a point to an extent that with some things we are in “maintenance mode” rather than “getting established mode”.
It’s because of this we are able to sit back and ENJOY what we have worked so hard for from time to time. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy the benefits from our animals year round whether it be their company, entertainment, meat, or milk they provide. But, there really is something about just sitting and observing them in their element we have worked so hard to give them.
For me, one of my favorite ways to relax and take in and enjoy all of our hard work is to spin on our patio overlooking the pasture. I can watch the sheep, the grass, and spin up some yarn. This is me we are talking about, so I still have to be doing something “productive”at all times, and creating yarn fits the bill 
It’s incredibly relaxing, and is a wonderful way to soak in all of the fruits of our hard labor.
Below I have a recording of a recent soothing spin. Nothing but wind, birds, a visit from the sheep, and the metronome rhythmic click of my vintage wheel. A little spinning therapy does the soul good.
Happy Spinning,
Well, the day finally came. Integration Day. Big Marie our resident sow is officially fully retiring (for reals this time) and it was time for her to join our gilts Red Jamie and her daughter Claire.
A quick trip down memory lane on Big Marie: When we got her over two years ago, she had up until that point been a solo pig. Aside from when she was rearing a litter of piglets, that was the case here as well. With the addition of new gilts we are retaining for breeding, and the feeder pigs we raise for meat, we weren’t going to keep Big Marie separate too. She needed to join the rest of our breeding stock if she was going to stick around.
Doing this isn’t as simple as just putting them all together and walking away. Well, it could be, but it could also take a very nasty turn very easily. Some pigs will brutally fight and if you’re lucky, they are only bloodied and beaten up a bit. I have heard first hand accounts of some pigs killing each other when integrating. If this was the case here, Nick and I both know that there is nothing we could do but watch if 1,500 pounds of pig are duking it out to the death. It’s a very scary thought.
Pigs (like most other animals) have a pecking order that they need to sort out. When you throw a new animal into the mix, it upsets the current order and things need to get re-established and settled amongst themselves. While there is nothing that we could have done to make 100% sure that without a doubt nothing really bad would happen, we took some precautionary steps to help ease everyone into the integration and minimize the chance of a really bad scenario as much as possible.
Look But Don't Touch
Like I said previously, aside from when she had a litter, Big Marie has always been a solo pig. So, I was worried about her not only because of her physical size advantage and ability to hurt Claire or Red Jamie, but I didn’t know what kind of social skills she possessed or lacked. She didn’t know what it was like to be a part of a passel. Would she just instinctually know how to act? Would her otherwise very mellow and laid back personality suddenly shift towards the aggressive? Or, would she just not care and be indifferent?
After weaning her last litter, we moved Big Marie back to the woods into a paddock adjacent to Claire and Red Jamie. The only thing dividing them was a three strand electric fence set up. They could see each other, smell each other, and to an extent, interact with each other. This is the closest contact Big Marie has had with other pigs, and we wanted them all to get used to each other. Being able to see and interact with each other all day every day allowed them to get familiar with and used to each others presence.
We kept them separate like this for two full weeks, and by the end of that time they were completely indifferent to each other and it was old hat.
Keep the Hormones Out of It
At this point Claire and Red Jamie are both well over a month post breeding and pregnant (yay!). Big Marie on the other hand, is fresh off of weaning her last litter of piglets. So, during that two week transition period where she has been adjacent to them, her hormones have been all over the place. Not only has she been extremely hangry from having her food cut back from a lactation to a maintenance ration, but she also went into heat shortly after moving into her new paddock. In my experience, this first heat cycle post weaning is always a bit on the extra crazy side. It always seems to me like the proestrus phase is way longer, and more exacerbated and volatile than normal. Simply put, she is out of her mind with hormones and I don’t even want to be in there with her. This again is being compounded by how incredibly hangry she is, I’m sure.
Nothing is ever easy to do with pigs when they are in heat, so I wanted to make sure that this was not a factor whatsoever when integrating. I wanted that first cycle to be over and long passed, so that we weren’t dealing with any extra crankiness thrown into the mix adding more stress to the situation.
Other Key Factors
In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are some other key things I took into consideration that I feel are just as important:
- Keep the food out of it as much as possible and always do the full integration when everyone has had a nice big breakfast. Food will only be another thing to fight over, and it’s a good reason to fight too.
- Give them as much space as possible. When integrated, the area that Claire and Red Jamie are in combined with Big Maries paddock is about 1.5 acres. Even if it’s not sunshine and rainbows at first, all of this space makes it so they can get away from each other if they want and they aren’t forced to be together. Keeping them tightly restricted will only cause more fighting and issues. We also have two shelters, (one in each other their former “separate” areas) so that again, they each have their own space to go to and don’t have to fight over one.
- Personality and the animal’s breed also plays a pretty big role in how rough or smooth your integration will go. Some breeds (and individuals) are naturally more aggressive than others, while others are more docile. Personality is always something I harp on with any of our animals, and is another reason why we stick with the heritage crosses with pigs. We like our laid back ladies.
The Big Day
So, after two weeks of being near each other and used to each others presence the big day arrived. Big Marie’s heat cycle was long over, and her hangriness was starting to subside. It was time to officially integrate. So, we fed the ladies a nice hefty breakfast to make sure that they were extra satisfied with full bellies. Once everyone finished their prospective dishes, we removed the three lines of fence that divided their paddocks and hoped for the best.
Like I said before, there really is nothing that can be done by humans once you’ve reached this point. You just have to let them sort things out for themselves, and hope they are able to get it all out of their system with as little physical harm as possible. Blood can and usually will be drawn. They’ll bite, chase, and knock each other around. This is all normal. There is no way to sugar coat it, it sucks to watch your animals beat up on each other. But again, it’s just the way it is and you just have to hope for the best.
There were some initial squabbles that were to be expected. But for the most part, Big Marie didn’t want to be bothered by Claire and Red Jamie. True to form, she was just doing her thing and taking in the new space. Claire and Jamie were way more interested in her than she was in them. There was some pushing, chasing, some biting (as seen below), and only a little bit of blood. The interest in each other only lasted for about an hour, and then everyone basically went back to their regularly scheduled day of wallowing and napping.
By dinnertime less than twelve hours later, they were eating within eyeshot of each other followed by a post dinner wallow session. It was like they had been living together all of their lives. I am extremely happy with how well the integration went, and I don’t think there is one thing I could have done differently to make it go smoother than it already did. Considering the fact that I had two pregnant gilts that are under 400 pounds integrating with a 900 pound sow, I’d say it went swimmingly.
Now all three ladies will spend the remainder of the summer back in the woods together. Come late summer, we will have to move them back to the farrowing house in preparation for Red Jamie and Claire’s farrowing. Jenny, the gilt that I retained from Big Marie’s last litter is growing out with her brother and sister that we are raising to harvest this fall. Once she has grown and is big enough to handle herself, we again will have to go through this again when we integrate her in with Red Jamie, Claire, and Big Marie to make one big happy family.
Happy Integrating,
This morning started pretty much like any other morning, but turns out forecast called for an assisted lambing. I woke up, grabbed my milk bucket, and headed down to the barn to milk Ruby. It was a bit chilly, right around freezing, but was a sunny and clear morning. After milking, I opened up the gate from the paddock behind the barn (that I have been shutting the mamas and their babies in at night) to their larger pasture. As each one was running by me, I gave them a good once over like I always do when I saw it. Stimpla’s water on the verge of breaking. It was too late to grab her to reel her back in, so instead, I lured the rest of herd (minus Reykja and her lambs who were with Stimpla) back into the paddock and locked the gate.
Now if you don’t follow me on Instagram and are a little unfamiliar with the personalities and relationship I have with Reykja and Stimpla, let me quickly recap. When we brought them home earlier this winter, they were a bit on the wild side. Stomping, heat tossing, untouchable. Reyjka was clearly tamer than Stimpla, and it was easier to win over her affections in the coming months. Stimpla, was and still is, much harder to win over. At this point, I still cannot walk right up to her and freely pet or scratch her like I can Reyjka. I always have an eye on her, and the slightest bit of skin on wool is a win. This was a real concern of mine when it came time for her to lamb. What if she required an assisted lambing and I couldn’t catch her? What if she ran away from me, or turned on me?
Fast forward back this morning at 6:45 am, and Stimpla is running around with her water hanging out her backside, following Reykja, who is chasing after her twin lambs. She desperately needed to settle, and find a place to bed down. But, she wasn’t ready and any physical pressure I put on her trying to get closer stressed her more.
So, I let nature take its course and I hung wayyyyyy back. Like, binoculars back. After about an hour, Reykja and her lambs finally decided it was time to settle down. Then, Stimpla finally bedded down up on a knoll next to a fallen down pine. Her water still hadn’t broken at this point, and she was getting restless. For about the next hour, I watched her get up and down, scratching at the dirt no less than fifty times. About every ten minutes or so when her back was turned to me, I would take a few leaps closer to her and sit. I needed to get closer to see what was going on and how she was progressing, but I was afraid if I just freely walked up to her she would spook and bolt.
Finally, her water broke and the pushing began. She was straining silently, and it was tough to watch. Up and down, repositioning. Each time those hooves and nose she worked so hard to get out would get sucked back in. After watching this for I don’t even know how long, I realized she wasn’t going to pass this lamb on her own. She just couldn’t get the head past the bridge of the nose. I then spent what felt like eternity contemplating what to do? I was so afraid she would run if I tried to assist and I’d never catch her. But she wasn’t doing this on her own, and letting her exhaust herself with no lambs passing wasn’t an option. I kept running all of the worst case scenarios through my mind, putting off the inevitable. It was now or never, and I mentally was preparing myself to pull (if I could) a dead lamb. So, I intervened and hoped for the best.
I managed to capture the entire assisted lambing on video which can be seen below. It took a few attempts on my part to intervene, but thankfully she didn’t completely run away. By the third try, I think she finally had reached the point where she was exhausted, and realized I was there to help her.
After pulling the first ram lamb, she quickly passed a ewe lamb on her own while I was getting my kit. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. I truly believe this will establish a level of trust with her. I hope you enjoy, and I will say this is one of my prouder homesteading moments, and I am starting to rack up little collection of them
Happy Lambing,
I am not a New Years Resolution person, but I am a “plan ahead” person. Looking back on 2019, I cannot get over how much our little homestead has changed. Working on the house or clearing our land aside, we made some pretty big decisions in regards to our animals while going through some pretty significant learning experiences. We got rid of all of our laying hens in lieu of ducks and added our first lambs Bonnie and Clyde to the homestead. We went through the heartbreak that was Big Marie’s first farrowing, her successful second farrowing, made the decision to retire her, and THEN changed our minds and decided to rebreed her again after she turned the corner after those first critical few days. 2019 was full of baby animals, lessons learned, heartbreak, and growth.
So, what does 2020 bring for us? This year we plan to proceed very much like we did in 2019. Focusing on what we really want/need to do, cutting out the “extra” while focusing on continuing to clear our land and restore our house.
While we very much enjoyed raising lamb this year, my growing interest in tanning hides and fiber projects made me look into other breeds as our sustainable meat source besides Katahdins. After much research, we added a beautiful pair of bred Icelandic ewes at the end of 2019, Reykja and Stimpla. They will lamb in April, and the lambs will be raised through spring, summer, and fall where we will then butcher them for grass fed lamb. Their hides will be brain tanned by me, and their mother’s bi-annual shearings will provide me with fleece for felting projects and potentially to be spun into yarn.
2020 will prove to be a big year for pigs, as we begin to ramp up our breeding with the addition of Red Jamie and Claire, our new gilts. They will be bred in the spring for a fall litter and we have high hopes for them. While we will always have a couple of pigs each year we retain to raise for meat, we have decided we want to focus on selling piglets/feeders, versus finished pigs. We enjoy keeping sows and farrowing, and there is a very big market for us to easily sell them whether they are a spring or fall litter. Eventually I could see us running anywhere between 3-5 sows at a time. We truly love breeding pigs, and are anxious to expand in this area on our homestead.
With the expansion of our farrowing program, we need a larger scale and better farrowing area. The summer of 2020 we plan to convert the existing barn foundation the pigs have cleared out into our new farrowing area that can accommodate our sows. While we are still in the initial planning and design stage, it will be an overhang type design running the entire length of the foundation. It will be an “open” design interior with the ability to easily section off into individual farrowing pens should we need to. The goal is to get it done in the summer when all of the females are spending their summer in the woods, and will be ready by fall for when Red Jamie and Claire are ready to farrow.
2020 will also be a big year for us in terms of fencing. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the pasture we began to establish last year will be ready this spring to fence in its entire perimeter. This is a project I am extremely anxious to get started on as it has been years in the making. This fencing project as well as fencing in a new section of woods for the sows and feeder pigs to clear are projects that we hope to tackle early this spring as the weather breaks.
So, with all these plans and changes for expansion, what will you see less of? With a focus on breeding/raising our own meat, the garden will be pared down even more than last year. By focusing heavily on pork and lamb, we will still raise meat chickens but are happy to be able to cut down the numbers into the 30’s as opposed to the 70’s. This also very well may be the last year that I breed Audrey, as Rosie will be able to be bred next fall, and we want to focus on Nubians moving forward as our source of goats milk. 2020 will surely be an exciting year, and I’m sure there are many projects that will present themselves unexpectedly that we will take on and tackle. Thanks for tagging along for the ride!
Today is a sad bittersweet day. Today the piglets are three days old, and seemingly all is well. Big Marie is killing it as a mother again after largely farrowing on her own. The piglets are not physically removed from her, and are free to co-mingle with her as they please. They have a creep space they can go to when they choose, or they are free to snuggle up next to her. I trust her completely, and have not intervened. I watch as she gingerly tip toes around each individual piglet as to not step on them with the grace of a ballerina, then gently eases her body down careful to not crush any babies as she rolls over to nurse. It truly is a wonder to behold and I can’t help but watch in sheer amazement and awe of her.
In order to gauge Big Marie’s milk production and ensure everyone is gaining weight as they should I spot weighed them. We weighed them when they were a day old as a benchmark. So with that to compare to, I can know without a shadow of a doubt if Big Marie is giving them what they need to thrive. I went into todays weighing cautiously optimistic, but hopeful because things really seemed to be so much better this time around. Numbers don’t lie, and sadly every single piglet has lost weight.
Big Marie’s milk production is certainly better than last farrowing. I can tell by her udder development and the more “settled” the piglets seem in comparison. But, she still has never been engorged (her milk didn’t even come in before farrowing), it has always been a struggle to express milk, and while they piglets seem more settled, the agitation that comes when they aren’t getting any milk is there. It’s better, but isn’t good which isn’t good enough. In order for them to thrive and grow, I have no choice but to supplement them with milk. Not only does this mean no more goats milk for me this year (it will all go to the pigs), it also means no more breeding for Big Marie.
Whether her first farrowing set her up for poor milk production due to low demand on her udder from a small litter, or genetically she just isn’t a good milk producer I don’t know. And there is no way to know. But, I do know that I can honestly say I did everything I possibly could (diet change, supplements for deficiencies in our area, udder rubs, milk boosting herbs, trimming her down ) to improve her milk production and all around set her up for a better farrowing this time. This was her second and last chance to determine if it would be worth continuing to breed her. Sadly, it wasn’t good enough, and wanting something bad enough doesn’t make it so
Nick and I had this funny dream of being 60-70 years old and our sow being a descendant of Big Marie. I think the fact that this isn’t going to happen is what’s hardest for me, not that SHE won’t be having anymore piglets. There truly is no other pig like her, and she has the most phenomenal personality, temperament, foraging/grazing abilities, and is a wonderful mother. I could go on and on about her, and I wanted to keep a little piece of her with me forever. But, she cannot give her babies the milk that they need to thrive. I could breed her again to a boar with excellent milk genetics, hope she has a quality gilt, and hope that gilt inherits the sires milking genes. I seriously thought about it in a desperation to keep Big Maries legacy going.
But, after serious thought and logical thinking, I decided it is best to just cut our losses and start fresh rather than risk yet another disappointing situation in an effort to desperately hold onto a dream. We want quality genetics, with sows that have great milk production to wean their own piglets and farrow with ease. I fear we may never get there with Big Marie.
I have so much thank her for from a learning standpoint. I learned how to artificially inseminate from breeding her both times. I learned some hard lessons in what to look for when choosing a gilt. I learned about the sorrows and heartbreak that farrowing can bring. I learned SO MUCH about different problems that can arise medically and how to address them. I learned how to be a proper midwife, trust my instincts and think on me feet faster.
I learned, I learned, I learned.
She may not be the matriarch that I had hoped for that I could carry her line on for as long as I breed pigs. But without her, I wouldn’t know a fraction of what I know about breeding pigs and caring for sows. The hard lessons and knowledge I gained from her is something that I can carry on with future sows, even if they aren’t her descendants.
She will always be special to me, and I will be forever grateful for all the things I learned as a direct result of raising her. To some they may think “geez she’s just a pig”. Well, to me she is so much more. People don’t know the journey I have been through with her, the energy I have put in, the hopes I had and dreams pinned on her success. They don’t know the sleepless nights, or the tears. It is is extremely difficult to know that I gave everything to give her the best shot, did everything I possibly could to set her up for success and despite both of our best efforts, it just isn’t good enough. From a pig standpoint, she was my “first” for so many things, and throughout it all she was patient and trusting. I have to accept her for the many wonderful things she is, and things she isn’t.
So, I am moving on with a new gilt full of promise. I am picking up a six week old Gloucestershire Old Spot x Duroc gilt in a little over a week. I am wiser this time, and I know what I’m looking for in terms of teat conformation, size, body conformation, and lineage. She comes from a sow that has repeatedly farrowed without human intervention. Who boasts large litters with low mortality rates, and with no problem weaning even a litter as large as 13 on her own.
There is always some level of risk and things that can go wrong of course. Sometimes good genetics skip a generation, there are no guarantees. Even champions throw duds. But, bringing in a young gilt with such desirable qualities in her bloodline is the best way I can start over. As sad as I am about not breeding Big Marie again, there is a sense of a fresh start and starting over that feels promising and relieving.
As for Big Marie? Typically a retired sow is destined for slaughter, that’s just how it goes. We are adamant about not raising pets when it comes to livestock. We are meat eaters and are proud that we raise our own, and are no stranger to eating animals we have bonded with and the emotional toll. But, some animals truly are special and I believe they deserve a free pass. She is one of those animals. She makes us laugh, smile, and is the best land clearer we have. After everything that I have been through with her, I cannot bring myself to say goodbye to my third dog. Life around here would truly not be the same without her. So, we are making an exception to our “no pet” rule. She will live out her life clearing our woods, creating neatly stacked piles of brush for us to burn, and living her best life all while respecting a single line of electric fence. Even though I will miss seeing her be the fantastic mother that she is, hopefully I have many years ahead of me to enjoy her company and the joy she brings to our lives. We love her.
Why The Chickens Have to Go
It is the end of an era. For the first time in a very long time I am chickenless! Yes, after keeping laying hens for several years I got rid of my entire flock today…by choice. And unless it’s ranger meat chickens, I will not be getting anymore. I know some of you are like WHAT?! How in the world could I do such a thing? Blasphemy! Chickens are ultra trendy right now, so of course me going against the grain on this one may be looked at with some skepticism. But please, let me explain!
I have been raising laying hens for several years. For years when I lived in PA and then when I moved to Mass, and I have always let them live freely and happily. Not restricting them to a run, or only allowed out when supervised. I open the door to the coop in the morning first thing, and shut the door at night. They run out and take on the day, and then put themselves to roost at night on their own. They can go wherever they want and under the watchful eyes of my roosters they’re truly free.
We have acres of property for them to roam and forage on, and they do. But, they also cause a ton of destruction close to home. They will go into my goat barn and fly up into the loft and crap all over my organic hay, fly up on our brand new John Deere tractor and poop and scratch and peck it, fly over the electric fence surrounding my garden and wreak havoc, and the greatest of all sins? They have pecked several spots of my 220 year house down to the bare clapboard. We are having the house repainted next month which is an extremely expensive project and I am not going to just let it all get pecked off by birds!
So, this has really only left me with two options. 1. Keep them contained in a run or 2. Get rid of them. Now, I will be frank here and say I don’t particularly care for chickens. I know, some people think that’s blasphemy but it’s true. Yes, I care for them in the sense that I give them food, water, and shelter, but I don’t particularly like them. The longer I have kept them the more I have grown to dislike them, but I have kept them and taken care of them because they give us eggs. Because, pasta. Despite these feelings, I still would never confine them to a run. These birds have all lived their entire lives being free, running around, and just being chickens. I would truly feel terrible seeing them shut in a run pacing back and forth dying to escape. So, that leaves me with option 2, which is to get rid of them. This is something I have no problem doing because as I said I don’t particularly like them, and I am very pleased I found someone who was willing to come take my entire flock roosters and all.
Enter the Ducks
I added ducks to my existing flock of chickens about two years ago, and I love them! They don’t scratch everything to death, fly up in my hay or onto my tractor (can’t fly at all actually), and most importantly they don’t pay the slightest bit of attention to the siding of my house. It’s like it doesn’t even exist. Did I mention they are great layers? And they’re just cuter with their quacks and waddling? Yes folks, there is more to the world of eggs than just chickens.
The ducks I have stick together along with the goose, and while the chickens are off wreaking havoc and destroying something, the ducks are off in a puddle swimming or taking a nap in the tall grass. They have never caused any issues around here.
With the switch to solely ducks I can continue to allow them to live as they should, waddling around free and nibbling on grass without having to worry about everything getting destroyed. They are also more winter hardy than chickens, the breeds I have are prolific layers and can even outlay production chicken breeds, the eggs are larger and richer, and they are just all around easy keepers. For us, this is a no brainer.
I am very much looking forward to life around here post chicken, and not having to cringe every time the garage door accidentally gets left open scared of what the tractor and my husbands work bench is going to look like. Or, having to worry about my brand new paint job on my house getting pecked off. I totally get why people like chickens, I’ve had them for almost ten years! But, I fell out of love with them long ago and it was time for us to part ways.
So, I’m happily entering the exclusive duck era and looking forward to all of our hard work around here not being destroyed by the beaks and talons of my chickens. I am also looking forward to just enjoying the birds I have again, and not having to constantly chase them away and off of things they shouldn’t be in. The one thing that I truly will miss? Not listening to the sound of a rooster crow everyday. That is going to take some serious getting used to.
