The ladies are not slowing down anytime soon. It will be definitely an egg Christmas around here! (lots of baking, egg gift giving and egg breakfasts for guests).
30 of the 45 turkeys residing in the barn will make their way to the abattoir next week and end up as the main feature in many a Christmas turkey dins. That should make chores a little easier for this rotund farmer, waddling my way to the barn with full buckets. The 15 left behind will live another season hopefully proving themselves useful in the breeding pens and hopefully meaning more turkeys for sale next winter. This years brood didn't last long before customers snatched them up. If all goes well this could turn out to be a profitable venture (a girl can dream right?). It feels really satisfying to see something through to the end and know that you gave your livestock the best you can offer (quality feed, raising them on pasture, letting them live the most natural life possible) and then knowing that these beauties will be someones special Christmas feast.
The food we eat should be this special! Lets take time to find a farmer who cares and direct our money elsewhere then the Butterball from the grocery store and chose our meat that actually had a life. A life that was respected from the pip of the egg to the humane slaughter. It feels so self satisfying to be a farmer and be able to cherish life and respect the meat that goes into my family's bellies. I will sure savour and cherish my heritage turkey stuffed with a our own sausage dressing this Christmas and might even shed a tear or two because, the gift of raising your own meat and growing your own vegetables to share with your loved ones is an amazing gift.
Egg nog anyone?
What an egg harvest! We're down to a few a day in winter, but there's enough to make eggnog and bake a pie or two.
ReplyDeleteI wish you every success with your turkey farm. Are there small abbatoirs that kill and process your turkeys for you?
The abattoirs are few and far between. Government regulations are making it harder for them to operate. We had a scare here a while ago, a big corporation called Maple Leaf killed people with listeria coming from their big meat processing plant. Since then the government has been cracking down on the little guys. I do get my turkeys processed in a licensed processor so I am able to sell to the public.
ReplyDeleteYou're very lucky to have a small abbatoir that will process poultry. We have a great, small and considerate to the animals, abbatoir near us but it only processes pig / sheep / cattle. I would love to produce my chickens etc on a larger scale to sell to a local market but I have to kill and pluck them myself. To try and meet all the UK government regulations makes it prohibitively expensive. And we're not even that strict in the UK.
ReplyDeleteJust found out yesterday that our abattoir officially closed for good, looks like they got tired of trying to keep up with all the government regulations...it is a crying shame, I will have to find another...
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