Category: Daily farm life

Pulling feathers

I had my first chicken processing experience today! My poultry-loving friends who are also our neighbors let us bring our two roosters over to process along with their number of roosters. I never realized how easy the feathers come out after you dip them in hot water. I also never knew the figure of speech, “running around like a chicken with your head cut off” had a literal meaning. And I now understand why processing chickens requires a line-up of people to do different tasks and how quickly it goes when you have all of those hands. 

  

I was a little sad to see the roosters go and not hear their “cock-a-doodle-doo” anymore, but they are slow cooking in the crockpot as we speak, and there is nothing like fresh chicken that we know lived a happy life on our farm.

Seeking behavior

 

I read a Temple Grandin book recently that described in depth what domesticated animals enjoy doing, naturally, by describing what their wild counterparts do.  Pigs have a seeking behavior that is very strong, that is why they dig up and root up anything they can. Grandin believes that straw is vital to the behavioral health of pigs. They can spend hours searching, biting, eating, rooting through the straw. 

I recently was very undecided on whether to put my gilts out on pasture or not. I really wanted to pasture farrow to finish but would have had to ring them multiple times, which I don’t believe is very humane. They get to smell and feel the soil beneath their hooves but never get to root through it.  And if they do, they risk nerve damage to their snout, their most important part of their body that helps rule their natural behaviors.

So I decided to keep them on concrete and provide them straw bedding to nest in and root around in.  I give them some hay every once in a while and supplement their grain diets with nuts, apples, fresh greens and other veggies.  On the edges of the lot are areas they can burrow their noses in the dirt. I feel confident in my decision and feel like I am giving them a healthy  and happy life where they can do what comes naturally.