Spring... Finally!!!

There is a sense of anticipation in the air around the farm. Last week it was cold and rainy. This week it has been warm and dry. The bees are starting to be active, the grass is starting to get a tinge of green at the tips, the fruit trees are about to burst forth in blooms and I've already seen some bugs flying around. Spring is almost here.

Along with the coming of spring are a whole host of tasks... herd maintenance, pasture maintenance, shearing, garden preparation and planting. I can't wait to work in the warmth!

So, now that we have survived Punxsutawney Phil's wintry prediction, we get on with enjoying the pleasant warmth that comes this time of year! Happy spring to everyone!

Preserving an Alpaca Hide

Here is Sangria

We're not sure why, but Sangria the alpaca had not been well for about two weeks and we have been trying to nurse her back to health. After two trips to the vet, daily medications and lots of effort it became apparent that she was not going to make it. On Friday afternoon she died quietly in the shelter with her alpaca friends sitting watch.

Not being one to miss an opportunity, we turned her death into a learning opportunity. For those who are a little squeamish, stop reading here.

One of the main reasons for raising alpacas is for their fiber. Since Sangria was no longer going to need her's anymore, we decided to learn about tanning hides.

When I found Sangria dead on Friday afternoon, I picked her up and moved her to the back of the property. I had already prepared her grave there the day before because it was pretty apparent that she was not going to survive. I approached the task with some trepidation. While I looked forward to the opportunity to learn a new skill, I was not looking forward to the task of skinning the alpaca. It turns out it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

The skinned hide

Once we had her in position, my son and I worked together to skin her. It was relatively easy once we got it started. We started on her chest and worked our way around her body. The hardest part of the job was working around her legs. We skinned down to her elbows an around the leg. Once we got past that part it was easy and the skin just pulled away.

Scraping the hide. I really had to get into the
work to hold the hide in place while scraping.

After skinning her, we placed her in her grave, sprinkled a little lime on top and buried her. The next task was to scrape the hide and remove any fat and muscle that was still attached to the skin. This was the hard part. It doesn't come off as easy as you might think. At first I tried to scrape the hide with a knife, but I found that to not be very effective. Then I moved to the machete and worked on the curved surface of the log. That worked much better because I could apply firm pressure against a 1-2" section of the hide at a time. I worked from the center of the hide to the outside edges, making sure I removed all fat and muscle.

Once the hide was scraped, we had to salt the skin side to help remove the water from the skin. We laid the hide out, skin side up, on chicken wire stretched between two saw horses and poured about 5 pounds of salt on the it. Since then we have had to change the salt out several times because it soaks up the water and stays wet. I figure that can't be good for the uncured hide.

Salting the hide with about 5 pounds of
non-iodized salt.

I'm not sure if this little experiment will work, but we'll soon find out. I halfway considered doing the tanning myself as well, but didn't want to mess with the chemicals and the proper disposal of those chemicals. I think I'll leave that to the pros. In the meantime, we will continue salt-curing hide. Here are some of the links I used to educate myself before attempting this project:

This Mother Earth article talks about how to tan the hide:  http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-tan-a-hide.aspx#axzz2hhLGreFl

http://www.dutchhollowacres.com/2010/03/28/alpaca-death-preserve-alpaca-hide-fur/

Also, YouTube has a wealth of information on how to prepare a hide for tanning. There were several videos that were particularly helpful, but I can't find them now. 

Guinea Fowl Update

Back in May of this year we added 9 guinea fowl keets to the Red Clay menagerie. The idea was that they would patrol the garden and property for insects and eliminate them. We were able to control the keets until they were about 5 weeks old. At that point, they were too large to keep in the brooder and it was getting warm outside so we moved them to their own place out behind the garage.

That arrangement didn't last very long. Soon after they moved outside they found a way to get out of their enclosure, which, at first, wasn't a problem. They hung out around the house most of the time and went inside to roost each night. But as time went by, they began exploring further and further away. First it was the front yard, then they were in the front pasture. One day I went to pick up the mail and found them on the far side of the highway foraging in the grass along the road as cars wizzed past. I figured they were gone for sure at that point. Every night they would find their way home but their numbers would dwindle each time we saw them. One morning we awoke to find a pile of feathers in the front yard. We never did figure out what got that one (I suspect Buddy the Farm Dog had a good meal that day).

And then one day there were just two left. These two must have been the smarter of the group because once it was just them, they decided to stick around the house and do their jobs. They have stayed in the area ever since and hang with the other chickens in the pasture.

They have proven to be very useful birds. I don't know how much of a dent 2 guineas can put in the insect population, but they do a great job of scratching up and spreading the horse manure which is good for reducing parasites and improving the soil quality. On top of that they are hilarious to watch. I'm pretty sure that these must be some of the dumbest birds on the planet and they provide hours of entertainment for the whole family.

Adventures in Microbiology

I am trying two experiments this evening... The first is my experiment to ferment some EM-1 (I'll explain what that is later). The second is making yogurt.

Crockpot Yogurt in the making

I'll start with the yogurt since that's the easiest. Let me start by saying that I like Yoplait yogurt. I'll eat at least one cup a day with my lunch. Unfortunately, the government shutdown has impeded my ability to enjoy yogurt. You might be wondering how that could be. It's really quite simple. Because of the shut-down, our military commissaries closed and I was forced to shop at our local Food Lion grocery store. At the Food Lion, Yoplait yogurt is almost .35¢ more a cup than what we pay at the commissary. Did I mention that I was cheap? Hence, a science project is born, and let's face it, with bacteria, heat and milk, making yogurt is much more science than it is cooking.

I found the project list at the everythinghomewithcarol.com blog at this link. It was pretty straight forward. The supplies for my experiment cost about $4 which will represent a HUGE savings if it actually works. I'll update tomorrow and let you know.

My "new" bottle of EM-1 (if it works).

The second experiment is fermenting some EM-1. For those of you who are not familiar with EM-1, go to this link. I purchased a bottle of EM-1 from teraganix earlier this year for an experiment in Bokashi composting (more on that in a later post, but it is essentially a method of fermenting waste to break it down). Since that time, I've used it for a number of purposes. It's supposed to be good for the septic system so we've tried that. It's supposed to be a good pro-biotic as well. While I have not tried it personally, I have given to the animals and they have not yet died (before anyone calls PETA on me, I did some extensive literature reviews before I started feeding it to the animals). We mix it in the chickens' water and with the four-legged animals' food. I don't know if it makes them any healthier, but I guess it can't hurt.

Anyway... I digress. Today I found myself with the last 1/4 cup of EM-1 in the bottle and I started to wonder if I could culture some more. It's just some bacteria and yeast so how hard can it be, right? After a short Internet search, I found a recipe for fermenting more EM-1 at this link (third post from the bottom), so I decided to give it a shot. It seemed pretty easy... EM-1 starter, molasses and water in an air-tight bottle. We'll see how that one goes. It takes about 7 days to ferment properly at lower temperatures so I'll report back on that in a week or so.

More later.... 

Alpacas Join the Team

I've always said that I would like to raise alpacas. They are great animals. They are clean, pretty easy keepers, easy on the land and just so darn cute!

Well, this week, Mrs Red Clay Farmer purchased three learner alpacas for me as a Army retirement gift. These girls have been pets for the past year or so and the previous owner decided he was too busy to keep them. They are named after the characters from the Golden Girls. Dorothy is the white one, Rose is Brown and Blanche is the black one. They came with two donkeys as well - Scarlet, the mom and her son, Harpo.

The girls and Harpo have made the transition to the farm and seem to be well adjusted. Scarlet, on the other hand, has not made it to our place yet. She has proven to be a challenge to catch and seems to be very happy at her old home. We are going to make one more attempt to bring her home later in the week.

My Hairy Ass

The Jennet hanging out with her new friends, Moe and Curly.

Yesterday we drove up to the Raeford, NC area to pick up a donkey. It is a rescue donkey that had been mistreated and abused at its former location some friends of ours had acquired and tried to keep it at their place. Unfortunately, their neighbors didn't appreciate the braying of the donkey and our friends asked us to pick her up as soon as possible.

So, how do you load a stubborn, scared donkey into a three horse, slant load, stock trailer? Very carefully! After 1.5-2 hours of coaxing, bribing with food, brute force pulling/pushing, we finally got the jennet  loaded on the trailer. Then it had to be properly restrained, which was a whole other challenge. The problem was she was just short enough that she could get herself under the dividers if she worked at it. We tried a number of different tying configurations before we found a way to restrain her that we felt comfortable with.  

The ride home was uneventful and she rode well. By the time we got home, it was dark. We considered the idea of giving her food and water and leaving her in the trailer over night, but she was eager to get out of the trailer. Rather than traumatize her further, we lead her into the pasture and put her into a paddock separate from the horses. The horses were very excited to see a new pasture-mate! I hope they get along.

So, the jennet has some issues... Her feet are overgrown and need trimming bad. I think she has thrush based on the smell I smelled as I struggled to load her. She also has a very hard fat deposit along the crest of her neck which indicates some metabolic and nutrition issues. If I can catch her this morning, I will clean and treat her hooves for thrush and we have the farrier is coming out on Thursday to fix up her feet. In the meantime, I think we're going to have to put her on a special diet to lose that fat on her neck. 

More to follow... Let the hairy ass jokes begin!