Good Tutorial on How to Gut and Process a Deer (Goat)

Update on our American Guinea Hogs

On November 14, 2014, we bought two young American Guinea Hog gilts (un-bred female pigs) from Cathy Payne's Broad River Pastures. (Broad River Pastures is located in Elberton, Georgia.) 

The video below shows an update on the two girls. They are smart, growing rapidly, and very healthy animals! We love them.

We are function stacking with these animals. They encourage soil life on our property. We intend to rotate the pigs to different areas over time. For now, we have them rooting about in a small stand of white oak, hemlock, dogwood, pine, and beech trees. The pigs are digging in the ground for acorns, roots, and nuts, and at the same time, enhancing the soil quality by encouraging aerobic microscopic soil life. 

Improving our soil biology is just one of the functions of our cute AGHs. If you want to know about the improved soil biology that we are aiming to achieve with all of our diverse set of animals, we recommend you read the scientific work of Dr. Elaine Ingham at her blog.  

Paul Wheaton's PEP1 Certification Tasks

Paul Wheaton is a permaculture leader that created the forums at permies.com. He has developed some interesting certifications he calls "Permaculture Experience Paul" or PEP. He has created a list of tasks the permaculturist must complete to achieve the certification. Note: the "Paul" in the an acronym refers to standards created by Paul Wheaton. He acknowledges that other permaculturists may have differing standards to accomplish their own certification levels.

Paul has created an interesting list. I am reproducing the lists he created for Gardening and Chickens below. The links take you to the forums of permies where the people discuss Paul's PEP certifications.

Gardening

white belt:

- grow 30 pounds of tomatoes (without transplanting)
- grow 20 pounds of peas (without transplanting)
- grow 50 pounds of potatoes
- grow 20 pounds of onions
- grow 20 garlic bulbs
- grow 5 pounds of raspberries
- grow 5 pounds of rhubarb
- grow 5 pounds of green beans (without transplanting)
- grow 5 pounds of summer squash (without transplanting)
- grow 20 pounds of winter squash (without transplanting)
- grow 10 pounds of broccoli (without transplanting)
- grow 10 pounds of cabbage (without transplanting)
- grow 10 pounds of carrots
- grow 3 pounds of sweet peppers (without transplanting)
- grow 1 pound of hot peppers (without transplanting)
- grow 5 pounds of lettuce (without transplanting)
- grow 2 pounds of kale
- grow 5 pounds of cucumbers (without transplanting)
- grow 20 pounds of daikon radish
- grow 10 pounds of strawberries
- grow 20 ears of corn
- grow 3 pounds of basil (without transplanting)
- grow 20 pounds of sunchokes
- grow 3 pounds of celery
- grow 1 pound of grain
- grow 4 pounds of stinging nettles
- grow 2 pounds of sunflower seeds
- grow parsley
- grow chives
- grow cilantro
- grow rosemary
- grow sage
- grow thyme
- grow daffodils
- grow crocus
- grow comfrey
- grow buckwheat
- grow caraway
- grow a grape vine
- grow horseradish
- grow marigolds
- grow nasturtiums
- grow sweet alyssum
- grow sweet clover

- plant apple seeds and have 50 seedlings at least four inches tall
- plant black locust seeds and have 50 seedlings at least four inches tall
- plant nut tree seeds and have 50 seedlings at least four inches tall
- plant mulberry seeds and have 50 seedlings at least four inches tall
- plant seaberry seeds and have 50 seedlings at least four inches tall

- mulch
- polyculture
- zero irrigation, although a watering can is allowed to help seeds to germinate in a timely fashion
- hugelkultur
- mitigating deer/vole/pest problems

green belt

- grow double what was grown for the white belt, in one year
- grow enough (in one year) to feed one person for a full year (one million calories)
- grow melon
- seed saving
- encouraging volunteer plants
- chop and drop
- using rock mulch
- using sticks/branches mulch
- using straw as mulch
- using hay as mulch
- use rhubarb leaves as mulch
- using sawdust/woodchips as mulch
- sell at least $200 in food
- ruth stout composting
- zero irrigation - not even a watering can to help germination in the beginning
- grow at least two pounds of edible mushrooms

brown belt

- grow double, in one year, what was grown for the green belt
- grow enough, in one year, to feed four people for a full year (four million calories)
- sell at least $1000 in food


black belt (note that black belt is not required for PEP1 - this is put here for those that wish to pursue a black belt beyond PEP1)

- grow enough to feed 20 people for a full year
- sell at least $10,000 in food



Note: The average person needs about one million calories per year. A pound of sunchokes has about 300 calories. A pound of sunflower seeds has about 2500 calories. A pound of potatoes: 300. Tomatoes: 80. Peas: 350. Daikon: 100. Apples: 200 Nettles: 300. If a person was going to eat only sunchokes for a year, they would need over 3000 pounds.

(fyi: a pound of beef has about 1100 calories)

Chickens

:ote: I'm no chicken expert and I certainly have not done everything listed here, but this list is based on my own experiences and what I've learned from others, particularly Paul.
Feel free to split up, move around, add/remove, change stuff.

White:
-read Paul's Raising Chicken's 2.0 article
-listen to both podcasts on chickens 003 - Chickens, 014 - Chicken Presentation
-design and build a portable coop that isn't a hassle to move, is effective, and reaches a level 10 on all of Paul's grading factors.
-respectfully harvest 10 birds (Alexia Allen videos here 1, 2)

Yellow/Orange:
-raise 20 chicks as meat birds to slaughter (with respectful harvest method) with no grain feeder, in paddock shift system
-raise 20 chicks as laying hens to slaughter (with respectful harvest method) with no grain feeder, in paddock shift system

Green:
-design a year-round fodder system that is effective even in Montana
-plot paddock systems for grazing around other farm systems for mutual benefits
-raise double the number of birds as the yellow/orange belt but through natural hatching by a broody hen, without an incubator
-manage breeding colonies to ensure genetic diversity, number of hens per rooster
-sell $300 in eggs, meat, feet, other value added products from chickens

Brown:
-raise double the number of birds as the green belt using the same methods
-sell $1,000 in eggs, meat, feet, other value added products from chickens

Black:
-raise double the number of birds as the brown belt using the same methods
-sell $8,000 in eggs, meat, feet, other value added products from chickens

Greenwood Woodworking 

make 50 shakes with a froe and wooden mallet
make 5 wooden mallets out of a single piece of wood
make 5 wooden mallets out of 2 pieces of wood
Create a wooden mallet within half an hour
grind and hone 5 hand tools to shaving sharpness using only sharpening stones/sand paper
carve a spoon using hand tools only
make three greenwood benches or tables without any screws or nails used for joinery
make a pole-lathe
Bodger 4 chair legs using your pole lathe
make 5 bowls using your own pole lathe
Create a shaving horse without any screws or nails used for joinery
Make two different types of chairs (ladder back, bow back, comb back) out of greenwood without any screws or nails used for joinery

Books-
Green Woodworking- Mike Abbott
The Woodland Way, Living in a Wood in the 21st Century- Ben Law
Sweedish Carving Techniques- Willie Sundqvist

DVDs/TV-
17th Century New England Carving- Peter Follansbee
The Woodwright's Shop- Roy Underhill

Websites-
Lost Art Press 
bodgers.org 
Fine Woodworking

This is what we have to look forward to with our American Guinea Hogs!

See these links to Charleston, South Carolina, Chef Deihl's blog posts.

Project American Guinea Hog

Project American Guinea Hog Part 2

Going Hog Wild

Thanksgiving

What a great weekend! All our children were here for T-day. We spent the rest of the time right at home. It was better than a permaculture sustainability conference. Katrina and I learned so much.

As some of my friends know, we are striving to live a healthier lifestyle, including a radically different diet than that prescribed to us by the chem-ag industry. We are quasi-Paleo now, and that means eating more local foods. You don't get much more local than this hamburger. Blessed.

It is hard to put your animals down. That is the most difficult part of it especially when you have taken care of them since they were born. We have three justifications for the process.

First, we remember how we cared for the animal while he lived. He was free to roam on pastures. He lived with his herd and shared comradeship. His pen was regularly cleaned. He lived in a dry, roomy, and comfortable shelter and pen. He was loved and treated kindly by his human care-takers. 

The care and treatment of factory farm animals, on the other hand, is troubling. In most cases, the factory-farm animals are caged from birth. There is minimal human interaction. They eat food that comes from who-knows-where with the main goal to drive them to a market weight as quickly as possible. They are killed mechanically in large numbers by persons or machines that do the job without remorse. 

If you are a meat-eating human, you eat animals killed in one of the two systems. We think ours is a more ethical one.

Second, the quality of the meat produced in our system is significantly higher. We take care to raise our chickens, guineas, goats, and pigs on pasture and in woods where they can self -regulate and eat appropriate herbs. The animals are periodically rotated and ingest a high mineral content from a polyculture of pasture grasses and browse. The supplemental grain we feed is exclusively organic, soy-free, and non-GMO. Animal de-worming treatment is weekly and consistently herbal (not chemical). No hormone-laced feed was ever used. The meat produced is highly nutritious.

The third justification is that we benefit spiritually. Becoming directly involved in the harvest strongly reinforces an appreciation of the sacrifice all animals make so that humans can eat meat. I think a lot of people miss that component, detached as much as possible from where their meat actually comes.

In the story of the Passover lamb told in ancient sacred writings, the people were instructed to bring the young lamb (or goat) into the home with them for four days before its sacrifice. A greater attachment to the animal was formed by living with it. And therefore, a greater appreciation of its sacrifice was realized. 

The third reason is more intangible and woo-woo than the first two. But it may be the more important of all three. We are blessed by the reminder of a sacrifice that makes our life as a human being possible.

Processing Goat Meat

Here are a couple of diagrams:

Building a Winter Shelter for Two Young American Guinea Hogs

We just bought two female American Guinea Hogs from breeder Cathy Payne of Broad River Pastures. The weather is getting colder and the young pigs (gilts) needed a good shelter from the elements. A cold front was approaching and we needed a shelter fast. So, Katrina and I built one on Sunday.

We considered a few designs, but decided we wanted to keep the hogs in an unused plastic doghouse we already had on our property. The hogs sleep together and the doghouse is small enough so that their body heat can help to warm the small space.

The walls of the doghouse are thin, and there is a crack in the roof which would have let in water in heavy rain storms.

Plus, we wanted a structure that would allow the pigs to leave their house to eat food and still stay out of the rain and wet conditions.

Finally, we wanted a structure that was flexible enough so that it could be modified as the pigs grew to their full size of more than 100 pounds, or for when the summer heat would require a more airy structure.

The video below shows what we came up with for our shelter. We think it will work out well in our climate here in western North Carolina.

A couple of the features are used in our other animal husbandry. First, we like the base of our system. We use plastic pallets because they do not rot in wet weather. They also keep our livestock up off the ground so they stay dryer.

Next, we use rubber horse mats. Sometimes we cut these if necessary with a reciprocating saw, but in this case we did not need to make any adjustments. The mat fit down neatly on top of two pallets. These two features give our animals a nice base, and it makes it easy to clean up with a hose when we need to tidy up their space.

Straw bales are used in a lot of instances for insulation. It is cheap and works well. We just piled it up around the exterior of our shelter with the doghouse in the middle. I think the hogs will stay cozy in their house in the coldest of North Carolina nights.

We used metal roof from some scraps we had on our place from earlier construction projects. The problem with metal roof is the condensation will form and drip onto hay. This could cause mold which is not a healthy situation. We sought to minimize it with some insulation.

The last thing I will say about our shed is that it is probably not appropriate for a more northern climate with frequent heavy snowfall. I don't think the roof will hold a very heavy load. If you live where you have a lot of snow, consider adding another set of posts and a beam in the middle. Also, you could make the pitch a bit steeper to encourage the snow to slide off the shed roof.

That is it. This is a very, very simple structure that can be made easily with very minimal carpentry skills.  Here's the video.

Herbal Treatment of Goats

Like all domestic goats, internal parasites can be a problem in a goat herd. In the wild, goats are nomadic creatures who roam the countryside. Domestically, goats are confined to paddocks and pastures where they continuously re-graze. Thus, parasite infestations are more likely in domesticated goats than their wild cousins. 

My friend Amicus and I use herbal treatment for internal parasites in our goat herd. We have found that Molly's Herbals Original Worm Formula System works well to keep our little herd in the North Carolina Piedmont healthy. 

Chemical dewormers are harsh and kill certain species of worms indiscriminately.  Other species are unaffected by the chemical dewormers. Unless you get a good fecal test that is well interpreted, you may often have to buy a regimen of different chemicals until successful.

Chemicals in our dairy goat is not desired. We are drinking our goat Edna's milk, making cheese for us and our chickens, and yogurt. I am not willing to risk chemicals passing through the goat system and into ours.

Jean Duval, agronomist, M.Sc., the author quoted above suggests indiscriminate killing of the worm species is unwise.

gastrointestinal parasites play a role similar to earthworms in the soil; that they "aerate" the digestive system when it is overloaded by too much silage, grain or green hay. 

Ecological Agriculture Projects, CONTROL OF INTERNAL PARASITES IN RUMINANTS, Jean Duval, agronomist, M.Sc. (McGill University Oct. 2002). 

One response to the Vet's suggestion may be to use Ivomec Plus.  This is a stronger herb that ivermectin. It has an anthelmintic (clorsulon) designed specifically to eliminate Liver fluke worms.

Guinea Harvest

We ate two of our guinea fowl last week. Both were males about one year old. The birds were leaders of an older set of guineas.

We still have four birds from the older flock. These birds, which join the younger flock of 21 birds from time to time, seem to interfere in the larger group roosting in their safe coop. 

Katrina has requested that I turn these four into meat for our freezer. I suspect that this weekend we may be harvesting four more guinea fowl --meat for the humans.

I am at peace with eating our livestock. We give them a good life. Our job as the human is to be a good steward. We do our job. We keep our guineas safe from predators. We see that they have shelter and quality food. We keep their environment clean and healthy.  

They are very happy animals. They range around our place clucking, trilling, bee-bopping, squawking and occasionally screeching at our old cat. They run here and there, clowning around, and eating bugs. That is a guinea life. A good one.

respectful chicken harvest kill and pluck - how to

Video of Bluebell and Ricky Taken Today

Post by Edwin Turnage.

Identification of our Chestnut Trees: I am calling them hybrids for now.

Here are pictures of our Chestnut tree elements.  The leaf looks like a combination of the American and Chinese variety.

Our Tree leaf is to the right

From left to right: American, Chinese, our chestnut tree burr

From left to right: American, Chinese, our variety.

Based upon review of these images and our tree, it looks like we have a hybrid chestnut tree. The leaf in the top picture resembles both varieties. The lentles in the second picture look like American Chestnut lentles. The burrs resemble the Chinese chestnut variety. The nuts are big like Chinese chestnuts, but they are hairy like the American variety.

I am calling our trees hybrid chestnuts until I can get the definitive word from the American Chestnut foundation.  

The leaves of my chestnut tree will be submitted for analysis via the instructions in this link.

The Useful and Pretty Rose of Sharon Bush

On our homestead, we are well pleased with the summer flowering plant species, Hibiscus Syriacus. The plant is from the Malvaceae family of course from the Plantae kingdom. The plant is species native to Syria, as is indicated by its name. Below are pictures of our plant taken in September 2014.

Our hibiscus syriacus is identified from the cultivar as, "Notwoodone" or "LAVENDER CHIFFON® - Rose of Sharon." This post is written to delve into the meat of this useful and pretty plant.

The flowers of hibiscus warn of the waning summer. Here in North Carolina, we sometimes view this with relief! It is also a reminder that we need to prepare ourselves for approaching wintertime.

Interestingly, the plant will grow beneath the allopathic Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) which inhibits growth of many plants.

Hibiscus Syriacus is favored by professional landscapers as a hedge plant.  It is a low maintenance plant with pleasing flowers.

Uses:

The young leaves and flowers of Hibiscus Syriacus  are edible in salads. The leaves are less palatable than the flowers, which have a mild flavor. They also can be made into a tea.

Hibiscus Syriacus is a medicinal herb. 

A decoction of the flowers is diuretic, ophthalmic and stomachic. It is also used in the treatment of itch and other skin diseases, dizziness and bloody stools accompanied by much gas. A decoction of the root bark is antiphlogistic, demulcent, emollient, febrifuge, haemostatic and vermifuge. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, dysmenorrhoea and dermaphytosis.

Medicinal Herbs

Propagation:

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, Hibiscus Syriacus is, "[e]asily propagated by stem cuttings." Stem cuttings with produce a clone of the mother plant. The plant also will grow from her seeds, but she may not be true to type in terms of flower color.

Chestnut Tree identification

That is highly unlikely. But if we do, our trees could be the champions if they can pass along the resistant genetics. (Something other would-be champions have not been able to do at this stage.)

First we found an excellent Internet chestnut tree identification resource: The American Chestnut Foundation. Using the site, we compiled the following data to undertake this project.

Why I Need to Know if My Trees Are Champion American Chestnuts

We have two large, fruitful chestnut trees on our homestead. 

In the early 20th century a lethal Asian fungus infestation (known as the chestnut blight) swept across native habitat of the American chestnut tree and wiped out about 4 billion American chestnuts.  In circa 1925, the fungus reached our ecosystem in western North Carolina killing the American chestnuts here.

Most chestnuts growing now are Chinese chestnuts or hybrids. The Chinese chestnut species has an immunity to the blight. However, the American Chestnut Foundation is using science to seek out and restore blight-resistant American chestnut trees to our biome.

The first option for the American Chestnut restoration project is to locate naturally-resistant all American (not hybrid) trees. Champion trees could save the species. A champion would have a natural immunity to the blight, and would be capable of passing that immunity down to her children through her seeds. Here is an article about the ACF restoration project: Restoring the American Chestnut Tree. Another good piece is Chestnut Champions by Meghan Jordan, TACF, Page 12. 

There is only a very slight possibility we have American chestnuts on our homestead. There is an even smaller probability still that our chestnuts are champions. But even the faintest possibility of a champion chestnut tree on our homestead creates a duty to check. That is why we must identify our chestnut trees. We owe it to our ancestry and progeny. Stay tuned.

Television Shows I like

Help me add to my list.

Follow Edwin's board Television Shows I Like on Pinterest.

Questions about Worm Cycles in Goats

The Story

We love our small herd of American Alpine dairy goats. Edna, pictured to the right, is a fantastic Momma goat. She likes to move slowly and has her own pace, which can sometimes frustrate impatient human beings. 

Edna is a kind, gentle, and loving goat. She generously provides our family with 1/2 a gallon of milk every morning. She has been producing this milk for more than 18 months. We are thankful for Edna and love her. As her human caretakers, we are also responsible for the care of Edna and her goat family. That means it is our job as the human to do research and learn as much as possible about goat husbandry.

The Problem

Amicus is a dear American Alpine goat-raising friend who lives nearby. One of Amicus's goats became ill with a runny nose. She invited a Veterinarian to her property. The Vet ran fecal tests over a two week span and told Amicus the worm count was increasing. The Vet suggested the data argued that Amicus' herbal deworming treatment was failing that she should consider the traditional chemical deworming methods. 

I was not surprised that a Vet, trained at a Chem-Ag university, would quickly advocate for chemicals. Amicus already told me the Vet was surprised when Amicus told her (on the Vet's first visit to Amicus' farm) she did not use them. However, I was not buying the Vet's fecal test conclusions yet. I already knew that research published at Fias Co Farms (where we buy our herbal dewormers) had convinced Amicus and I of the efficacy of herbal deworming. Comparing Alternatives for Controlling Internal Parasites in Dairy Goats Herbal vs. Chemical, Chrissy Orr. 

BioDynamics and Lunar Cycles

When Amicus and I were talking about what to do, I wondered if the Vet's assumptions about the cause and effect of the increase might have been associated with the lunar cycle instead of Amicus's herbal treatment method. I took to the Internet to confirm my hunch by researching internal parasitic worm life cycles. (Oh, the fun!!!!) 

Turns out my speculation was confirmed by biodynamic farming researchers.  First, I found an article by Jean Duval about de-worming goats.

"According to a traditional French practice, deworming treatments are performed preferably when there is a new moon. The worms are more active at this time and therefore easier to dislodge. On the other hand, Rudolf Steiner, the father of biodynamic agriculture, recommends performing deworming treatments during a full moon."

Ecological Agricultural Projects, AGRO-BIO - 370 - 04E, THE CONTROL OF INTERNAL PARASITES IN RUMINANTS, Jean Duval, agronomist, M.Sc. (Jan. 1994)

Next, I found a biodynamic website, BIO-DYNAMIC ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (BDAI), The Rhythms & their recommended Farming Activities, that recommended de-worming animals homeopathically for parasites beginning three days before the full moon. 

Drench animals for internal parasites, on an empty stomach with, for example, garlic and cider vinegar. (48 hours before Full Moon)

Then, I found a horse husbandry site that cited homeopathic veterinarian C. Edgar Sheaffer, VMD. It advocated for worming in harmony with lunar cycles. Quoting Sheaffer: 

most parasitic conditions can be addressed best with a natural wormer, used between the new and full moons.

The Holistic Horse, Worming in Harmony with Lunar Cycles

Dr. Sheaffer confirmed that the lunar cycle must be considered when evaluating fecal samples in horses:

Attention to lunar cycles is also important to fecal samples, Dr. Sheaffer says.  "We can't get lulled into a false sense of security with fecal counts." The most successful assessments collect fecal samples between . . . the new-to-full moon phases, when parasite egg-laying is at its peak. Samples taken between [the full-to-new moon phases] may not show eggs because it may not jibe with a parasite egg-laying cycle. Daily fecals, and quantitative egg counts could perhaps best document this cycle in an individual horse.

Id. It stands to reason that the same consideration applies for goats husbandry.

CONCLUSION

The Vet's assumption about worm count in Amicus's herd was premature and unscientific. Depending on when the sample was taken, the lunar cycle would have influenced the fecal test data. To reach an accurate conclusion, Amicus should analyze fecal samples taken at the same time during the new-to-full moon cycles.

In addition, individual worm species may have different life cycles. A farmer should identify the specific worm species with fecal samples, a microscope, and photographs before taking definitive actions.

Timing of herbal treatment is important. There is some conflicting information. Considering everything I have learned, the best time to treat is after the new moon and before the full. This period gives the best opportunity to interrupt the egg cycle of the internal parasites.

Finally, our current herbal only treatment may not be the most efficacious way to treat our goats. Maybe Amicus' Vet was right in this respect. 

Dr. Sheaffer recommends alternating between herbal and homeopathic worming treatments for horses. Therefore, it stands to reason that we should consider incorporating alternating homeopathic and herbal treatments into our goat deworming plan. 

I stayed in a downtown Chicago youth hostel

This weekend I stayed two nights in a downtown Chicago hostel, the Parthenon. My partner said it was too dangerous and that I would get bedbugs and diseases. My partner was way, way wrong. I had a great experience.

The hostel was in Greek town. It was operated by a welcoming and fastidious Greek family. The entire place was tidy, uncluttered, and extremely clean.

My room was on the third floor. A spiral stair led upwards past unique art. I humped my backpack up the stairs to the room.

My room was about 250 square feet in size and it had three sets of bunks (6 racks). My rack was on the top. I'm 6 foot and I took up the entire length with only about 6 inches to spare on each end. Just the right size.

I never talked to my five roommates except brief whispered hellos as we grabbed showers and wash-ups. My roommates were all quiet, polite, and considerate people. The only minor incident occurred yesterday morning. As I stuffed my pack, my roommate awoke with a shout. Thinking I disturbed him, I apologized. He said something in German, and then said, "nightmare."

The hostel had communal bathrooms and showers. If you don't like meeting people while you're naked in the shower, you should not attempt this hostel thing. But if you don't care or like a little adventure, it is no biggie and actually makes for a good story.

In the mornings, the Parthenon serves free breakfast.

If you're up for adventure in Chicago, this is the place to stay. Here are some pictures.

My Visit to the Windy City Weasels

Next week, I am making a trip to Chicago to see some of my Dip friends and play in Weasel Moot VIII. I expect to get stabbed and totally slaughtered in Chicago as far as the Dip goes, but nevertheless, am anticipating the fun will be huge. I am using this blog post as a means to keep a running log of my trip and to store information I might need to access.

I am trying out taking a backpack to a Chicago youth hostel as an adventure and because the cost of hotels in downtown Chicago is really high. Two nights at a hotel are approximately $400 and that is for a two star.

Today I booked a room through HostelBookers.Com to stay at the Chicago Parthenon Hostel. It is a 8-bed dorm style room at a cost of $34 per night. The Hostel is in a Greek neighborhood. A picture from Google Street view is embedded below.

My friend Jim O'Kelley bought Cubs tickets for Friday afternoon and I am looking forward to going to Wrigley Field again and enjoying a nice afternoon of baseball (Cubs v. Cards). (I am a Braves fan. Baseball is my favorite sport in the summer.)

Afterwards or maybe during the game, I may test out a couple Chicago pale ales. They have some good micro-breweries in the Chicago area.

If the Friday-night, Big-city festivities are not too much for my old bones, I am hoping to wake up and go to the Dip tournament. It starts early on Saturday morning and runs through Sunday.

From the Hostel, it looks like I can catch an El train at the UIC Halstead Station and ride it to the Clark Lake Station. There, I disembark and walk north across the Chicago River and about another two blocks to the fancy Hampton Inn and Suites. There, Weasel Moot happens.

Please comment for any inside Chicago tips about my planned itinerary.  For example, I suspect the Greek restaurants around this hostel are pretty decent and might be worth exploring.

Here is a map to the Dip tourney.
Here is a map to Wrigley from the Hostel. Take blue line to Jackson Blue. Switch to the red line. Ride to Addison.
]
Here's a map from the airport to the hostel. Blue line all the way.

In 2013 I named my goat after Stephen Garcia

On April 9, 2013, two baby goats were born on our homestead. As soon as I saw his face, I named one goat after Stephen Garcia.

Garcia is an enigmatic figure. Steve Spurrier's first big-time quarterback recruit, Garcia came to South Carolina from Tampa, Florida, as a brash, long-haired, five-star player. During his career he played extremely well at times. In 2009, he was the starting quarterback when the Gamecocks began their current five game winning streak over Clemson. In 2010, he led the Gamecocks to their first and only SEC East football championship.

However, on October 11, 2011, then Athletic Director Eric Hyman, who had no patience for Garcia's antics, kicked Garcia off the Gamecock football team for a failure to follow, "established guidelines." Garcia Dismissed from Football Team. The sudden and shocking dismissal followed a tumultuous career of highs and lows. The lows in many cases involved bad luck and poor choices associated with Garcia's love of partying. His love of fun did not correlate well with also existing under the media microscope trained on starting SEC quarterbacks.

The Gamecock fanbase was divided over Garcia. Some fans were critical or upset because Garcia's partying allegedly meant that he was unable to meet high expectations associated with his five-star talent. Others were more understanding and sympathetic, recollecting back to their own lives as students at the University of South Carolina. I am one of the latter. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Stephen Garcia's of this world. 

This past week, I was thrilled when Garcia emerged as a celebrity at the unofficial beginning of college football -- SEC Media Days. (SEC Media Days is a huge event for college football fans in the deep south.) A  few weeks before SEC Media Days started, a self-described "non-corporate" sports media site, Saturday Down South, hired Garcia as a reporter/blogger. This was a brilliant PR move by SDS! Garcia made a huge splash at SEC Media Days and the SDS brand is exploding.  

@thejournalist44 We're just getting started... #VivaGarcía #CousinTy @itISwhatITisSG5 @thardin52
— Drew Roberts (@DrewSDS) July 17, 2014

SDS took full advantage of Garcia's celebrity status, and plans a Garcia clothing line to go with his video blogging. As a celebrity-reporter, Garcia already has an avid following. Garcia was interviewed over 150 times by reporters, bloggers, and broadcasters covering SEC Media Days. Seemingly everyone wants a piece of Stephen Garcia.

I need one of these #vivagarcia shirts @JOXRoundtable pic.twitter.com/7IBbZRuJIB
— Keith Wallace (@RKeithWallace) July 15, 2014

@SDS @JOXRoundtable I MUST have one of those! #VivaGarcia
— ✋Anti-Clemson ✋ (@TaterSpeak) July 15, 2014

Second. RT @mtRoth29: @itISwhatITisSG5 how do I get a Viva Garcia shirt?!?
— Dustin Tucker (@dustintucker) July 15, 2014

@itISwhatITisSG5 how long do I have to wait to get one of the #VivaGarcia shirts? Should I just have @BrandiCMills bring me one?
— kbruce (@kbruce) July 16, 2014

I will marry anyone who gets me a viva Garcia tshirt @itISwhatITisSG5 #vivagarcia #hebeatbama
— Caroline Garris (@carolinegarris) July 16, 2014

I am so happy to see Garcia succeed! I named my goat after Garcia more than a year before he burst on the scene again this July.  Thus, with this post, I am claiming my status as the first generation of true Stephen Garcia fans. I am publishing this and tweeting to SDS hoping to snag one of the Viva Garcia T-shirts! 

Besides the fact I am a huge Stephen Garcia fan, here's a clue about why I named my goat Garcia after Stephen Garcia. 

Viva Garcia. Viva Saturday Down South.

#HomesteadProblems What To Do With The Young Roosters

I have a rooster problem and need help. It wouldn't be as urgent a problem except our strong Wyandotte rooster died suddenly leaving his sons to a tyrannical reign over our five hens. Consider my story and please comment so I may find a solution.

Katrina and I have raised chickens here in Tryon, North Carolina, for about two years now.  We have good egg-laying chickens and picked out the best  eggs in our flock to incubate, hatch, and raise. However, the three eggs we hatched (this spring) all were roosters. Two of the roosters are nearly identical twin hybrids except one rooster has golden earrings, and one silver. I chased them into their coop this afternoon and took the picture above. 

As I mentioned, just as these young roosters were starting to crow, their father (a Wyandotte) suddenly died. (We think it might have been a poisonous snake or insect.) That left the hens temporarily in charge until the young hybrid roosters got big.

Their father, the Wyandott rooster who died, was an excellent rooster. He was respectful of the hens, frequently locating food for them and always looking to defend them from harm. He interposed himself between the threat (whether dog or human) and the hens. He once intervened to repel a dog attack, leaving him with a severe wound (from which he recovered). His intervention likely prevented other hens from dying (one died). The young hybrid roosters really had no time to learn discipline from their father.  

We also hatched a pure-bred Black Copper Marans (BCM) egg. This egg came from dear homestead friends who raise BCM chickens. The BCM is a wonderful breed. We have one BCM hen, and she lays the highest quality chocolate colored eggs. Her eggs are easily the most beautiful of all our chickens. Naturally, instead of another egg-laying hen, when this egg hatched we got a third rooster. (See picture.)

The two young hybrid roosters are now dominant and are terrorizing the hens. Neither has yet become dominate over the other. They prefer to exercise their dominion over the hens in tandem. This is weird and brutal. You hear a hen scream, and see the second hybrid rooster hurry so he can join in the action. It is no wonder that most of our hens just hide out in the coop all day long.

Because of the situation, we decided to cull the two hybrid roosters. They are great beautiful roosters, but on balance, we believe the BCM rooster would make a more awesome sire.  

This is all just background for the problem. Ok, here it is. What are your opinions on what we should do with the hybrid roosters?  

1. Should we sell them on craigslist; or 
2. Eat them.

One final factor to consider before you comment. We think the quality of the meat will be excellent. These birds have been raised on non-GMO grain and free range food. We expect the meat to be different from anything you can buy at a grocery store, and we are curious to taste it. 

Save Money By Growing Your Medicine: Starting A Maitake Mushroom Patch

The Japanese word "maitake" means "dancing mushroom" because people in ancient times were said to dance for joy when they found these mushrooms, which were literally worth their weight in silver. In North America it is called Hen of the Woods because its appearance looks like the ruffled feathers of a chicken.

Now, we will try our hand at growing the dancing mushroom.

Why Grow Maitake

Even Web MD touts the health benefits of Maitake mushrooms.

Maitake mushroom is used to treat cancer and also to relieve some of the side effects of chemical treatment (chemotherapy) for cancer. It is also used for HIV/AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), hepatitis, hay fever, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight loss or control, and infertility due to a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome.

We had pretty good success with our Shiitake mushroom log culture inoculation last spring. Thus, I am hopeful that our temperate zone 7 climate will favor the maitake.

There is a good bit of money savings associated with good health.  Adding home grown mushrooms to your diet of other garden foods, saves money. If nothing else, that is another expense you have eliminated. If it is a pharmaceutical expense, then all the better. A lot of those chemicals they sell just make us dependent and weak due to side effects, and there is often a natural alternative that is just as good with fewer unintended consequences.

Procedures for Growing

It may be that the log culture used for growing shiitake will not work so well with maitake. My research indicates that the best culture for naturally growing maitake (and reishi) mushrooms is on decomposing oak stumps. We do not have any freshly cut stumps presently so we are trying log culture. 

First, I ordered some spawn from Mushroom Mountain in Liberty, South Carolina. The mycelia produced locally will give me a better chance of successfully growing this mushroom. As you can see from the picture above, the mycelia are contained in small dowels.  

About three weeks before the spawn arrived, I cut a large branch from my white oak tree, and cut it further into three three foot-long sections.  The log was between 5 - 8 inches in diameter.

Next, I used a drill to cut holes the same size as the dowels in a diamond pattern around the logs. The holes were about 4-5 inches apart. The idea is that the mycelium will spread throughout the wood and produce fruit next year or maybe two years from now.

I tapped the dowels into the holes and sealed the top with melted bees' wax.  It's rainy season here in western North Carolina. I set the logs against the north side of a large white oak. This should keep them protected from the sun and the prevailing wind. You want the logs to stay moist to promote growth of the maitake mycelium. 

The best practice is to bury the logs in sandy soil so that they will stay moist. I will probably do this later when I figure out where I would like to set up my maitake patch.

Poison Ivy as a Productive Crop

One thing that I have noticed about poison ivy is that it produces quite a bit of organic material. The trick is using the stuff in a productive way. In this post, we look at how we set up a system to use goats to convert a poison ivy patch to food.

Most people give up on making use of poison ivy and spray it with a herbicide. Aside from the health risk, there are three practical problems with this approach.

1. Herbicide detrimentally affects other plants and animals;
2. Herbicide costs a lot of money for each application, and takes a lot of energy to apply; and
3. You lose the stored energy manifested in the poison ivy plant.

Besides, we are natural gardeners and do not want to use herbicides on our place. We don't like it.

We bought the following supplies for our temporary fence project:

1. From Timeless Fencing, fifty 40" Step-In Posts.

2. From Premier Sheep Supplies, three 660' spools of 4.5 Intellirope electric fence cord, three Supareel T-post brackets, and a Patriot P10 battery energizer kit.

3. From the local Walmart, a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery.

I know these were capital expenses that probably exceeded the cost of a few gallons of Roundup. But unlike Roundup, this was a one time expense, it is natural, and using them, we will make productive use of poison ivy.


To set up the system, we connected one end of the Intellirope to a post. Then, using the spools, we strung the wire around the circuit hanging three strands on the Timeless temporary fence posts. At the end of the circuit, we hung the rope spools on a T-post using the Supareel brackets. Next, we installed the ground rod, wired the strands to each other, and hooked up the energizer, fence, and battery. The electric rope fence energized as soon as the clamp hit the post.

Our goats are very happy to be out of the sun. They are enjoying the browse in the wooded area and eating a lot of poison ivy. They love it.

I will post an update later to show you how the plan worked.

In the future, we can move our temporary electric fence and goats around and into any 500 foot patch of brambles on our place and it will not cost us anything but the time.

We now look at poison ivy as a free food source for our goats. The ivy plant converts solar energy into lots of leaves and vines. The goats convert the poison ivy leaves and vines into meat and milk.

Voila!

Poison ivy is a productive crop.

June 14, 2014 UPDATE: Three strands does not seem to be enough to contain my does in the electric fence area. They just get a running start and dodge through the lower electric rope lines. I am ordering a fourth spool, to see if that will stop them from escaping. 

The other possibility is the Patriot P10 may not pulse frequently enough to deter goats. It is rated at 40 pulses per minute. This is good for preserving the battery, but makes the charger less effective if the goats can time out and scoot through between pulses. 

My goats generally are not escape artists. I think there may be some bugs that are bothering them, and perhaps the shelter situation is less than what they are used to experiencing. They are pretty spoiled goats who like to hang out in a horse barn.