LuckyDuckFarms

The News

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Well, crap! What is going on over there?

We are experiencing some changes around the farm. As a result, Lucky Duck Farms will NOT be producing eggs or meat this season. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.
I do hope to be back up and running again soon.

I do, however, intend to keep on blogging.

Also, as I still plan on eating, I will be looking into sourcing some quality local meat. I loved my butcher last year (Owasco Meats in Moravia, NY), so I'll stick with them. If any folks are interested in a hog or beef share, please message me.

And last, but not least, even though I won't be able to provide meat this year, I'm still thinking about schwag.

Any interest in t-shirts, calendars and/or the blog book?
Just a straw poll at this point, no committments yet, but let me know.

See you all soon. Hope you had a great winter!

Voyage to the Abattoir - no photos, please

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:29:00 +0000

This has been a wonderful journey for me.

I never imagined how much I would learn in this process. The benefits of stewardship, and producing food for friends and family cannot be measured by the hours of sweat, cost of feed, or repeated incidents of having dirt on one's face (or worse).

At this point, I really don't know if I'll do it all again. I need the winter to process all of this, intellectually and emotionally. I do think there is some merit to my plan of having livestock that is big enough to put in a truck and drive to the abattoir.

This distance, created by a few transactions, has allowed me to sleep better. Knowing that a professional has done what needed to be done is a great source of comfort. The load in went very well. My craigslist ad paid off and the man I hired was worth every penny! He was prompt, reliable, experienced and kind. I really appreciated that he brought his wife along both for the load in and the trip to the abattoir & back. She was sweet and chatted with me along the way. If you need animal transport help or junk removal/hauling, contact me for details.

I chose Owasco Meats in Moravia for several reasons. I didn't want to drive for 3 hours in February with a truck full of hogs. There are relatively few USDA inspected meat facilities around any more and I didn't want custom processing the first time.

The folks at Owasco have been great to me. I had a ton of questions and they were very patient, but I would not be surprised if I am known as "that reformed vegetarian Ithaca woman". Or worse yet, another reformed Ithaca vegetarian woman!

Aside from my awkward foray into a room that was clearly NOT the office, and general uselessness at unloading the pigs, all went very well at the abattoir. There were 2 beautiful black angus steers in front of us ( so I won't be doing beef anytime soon). They were just magnificent.

The whole process has made me think more about where our food comes from, how it is raised and how and why it's life is ended. I am okay with the choices I have made for our family. I still feel a bit strange about my day. I guess I won't really know until the pork comes back.

No matter how it all turns out, I have peace of mind knowing that we did the best we could. What a long, strange trip it's been!

Thanks to all of our supporters (shout out to the Gustke-Wallace family for pork, more pork, even more pork and turkey!!!). And thank you to all of the folks who have helped move pigs, herd flocks of ducks, eat millions of spring duck eggs and suffer through my enormous Sunday dinners with 4 different kinds of potatoes!

Stay tuned for details on pork priced by the pound, turkeys and more ducks.

Famous Last Moves

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:20:00 +0000

Over the Columbus day break, my folks came to visit. Good news because I could sure use the help with the pigs!

The last move to the back garden was making me very nervous. After all of our hard work, and the emotional toll of impending trips to the abattoir, I was dreading this last move. I started having dreams of the pigs escaping and running off into the woods.

Of course, the pig part of the move took 30 seconds. They took off at full gallop to the back gardens and compost pile area. I figured - why should I turn all of this compost when we have pigs? They loved it. Until they destroyed the compost bin. But that patch of ground will look great next spring! I hope.

At any rate, it was great to have my folks up for a visit and for my Dad to get to meet the meat. I don't think he believed it, until he saw (and heard) everything.

Hoggin' down the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:53:00 +0000

In one of our biggest moves yet, I let the pigs enjoy a moment in my veg garden. Again, they ignored the rutabaga patch, ate all of the sunflowers and tomatoes they could find and generally made a mess. They loved it. I still can't get over how big they have grown.

As usual, our big barrow had no interest in moving to a new spot. He seems quite content to lie around in the sun.

It's Turkey Time!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:15:00 +0000

This whole summer has just flown by us! I can't believe it is already Labor Day Weekend! We are making heaps of progress around here.

All of our turkeys are now out on pasture. We have very sturdy, but portable pasture pens. The turkeys have protection from the wind, rain and sun and perches for roosting. We have them separated by breed and as they grow bigger, we will divide them again so that they have enough room.

Looking to purchase Thanksgiving Turkeys for your holiday table? We are now taking orders!

We will be using a price band scheme for 2010.

Turkeys will be sold fresh, whole, by weight.

To reserve your Thanksgiving day bird, send a $30 deposit. Let us know which size bird would best suit your holiday table. We will do our best to honor that.

Prices are: 9-12 pounds $55

12-15 $65

15-19 $75

20-25 $85

25 + $100

The pigs are still growing. The other day I was in a rush. I fed the pigs in my flip flops. Bad idea for so many reasons! They were curious about my toes, but were more interested in the food bucket. Because of that, my toes got trampled by one of the sows. Greedy pig!

Other than that, they have really settled in and have quite a nice deal. For now . . .

Caroline Farmer's Market Debut!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Lucky Duck Farms products will be available at the Caroline farmer's market starting this saturday from 10am to 2 pm. The market is held at the old Fire Hall in Brooktondale, NY. We will have frozen Muscovy duck and duck eggs (a mix of khaki campbell and Muscovy) for sale. Stop by to purchase some tasty treats! I hope to see you there!

But, what about the Muscovy Ducks?

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:32:00 +0000

Some of you have been asking, "what about the Muscovy Ducks? Are they a heritage breed?"

Well, no, they aren't. They don't really fit into to my scheme of raising heritage breeds.

Muscovy, or Barbary ducks, as they can be called, are not from Moscow or the Barbary coast (the Maghreb). They come from Mexico, Central and South America.

Muscovies are large birds with dark, flavourful meat. They can hatch up to 3 clutches each summer. They lay many, many eggs.

They don't quack. The drakes (males) hiss and the hens make a trilling coo noise.

Even though they don't fit in to my goal of all heritage breeds, we will keep our Muscovy Ducks. We have had the flock for several years. They are healthy and happy. Most of their time is spent wandering all over the property (and the neighbor's) and swimming on our pond.

It doesn't seem like such a bad life, now does it?

Not for the squeamish!!!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:54:00 +0000

We now have Muscovy Ducks for sale. In the freezer.

As this was my first time butchering, I was quite apprehensive. I overslept and missed church. Not a good omen. I really didn't know what to expect, so I planned for the worst. Before I get into the nitty gritty details, let's discuss what I've learned.

Ducks have fur. Apparently, this slipped my mind. It's not really fur. It's down. And until I find a better way to pluck ducks, I will never buy, wear, or sleep on down. At least until I get it all out of my hair. It's everywhere.
I'm not good at this. There are some things I do very, very well. There are many things in which I do not excel. I realize that. When was the last time anyone saw me dance? Plucking a duck has a very steep learning curve.
Chris is very, very good at his job. How do I feel about that?
I have many more ducks to process. And so much to learn.

So, those were my initial thoughts. I must say I am truly shocked at how calm I was about the whole process. Everything went very smoothly, thanks to Chris. He's very good at his jobs. I seemed to bottleneck the process in the middle, but we are working on that.

This proved for very long days. I think in the future, I will get faster, but probably not that much. As a result on the tremendous time if takes to process the birds, we will have to charge more for the birds. But after the months of caring for the birds, feeding them quality grains and chasing them back up the drive, not to mention the emotional toll of processing, I cannot justify letting them go any cheaper. The whole process made me even more skeptical of mass produced poultry & thankful for this opportunity of stewardship.

We have looked into ways to speed up the plucking. Waterfowl (ducks & geese) are scare in the marketplace - mostly, I think, because they are so hard to pluck. The feathers that are to insulate and work well in the water are by their very nature, difficult to remove. There are ways in which this can be done. We have chosen to hand pluck, and to work at it. The primary alternative is to use a mechanical plucker. If you are truly interested, by all means look it up online. But, for most folks, just trust me. It is a great convenience that may or may not be helpful for our birds.

We won't be using one. Ever. And if we have some change of heart, I will let you know. It is just not the thing for me or my farm.

That being said, pin feathers & down are my new enemies. Well, those and arthritis.

Ducks for Sale Now!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:19:00 +0000

Hello!

We have just processed a load of our Muscovy ducks. They range from 2.5-3 pounds for hens and 4-5.5 pounds for the drakes.

All are sealed in shrink bags (just like the supermarket) and ready to cook, wings on. No giblets included (please ask if you'd like some). Ducks are hand plucked & waxed.
All ducks have hatched from our own stock and range free over the property & pond (and the neighbor's property). No antibiotics or hormones!

Price is $5/pound.
Call or email us to order!

Let's get this party started!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Another pig party! We have just finished our most challenging pig move so far! We moved them the very back of the property to the front paddock near the end of the drive. Surprisingly, everything went well. For the most part. Sort of.

I set out early in the morning and made 2 lanes with hot strands. Then I filled in the extra bits with spare net fencing. The whole way to the front paddock. The pigs were so hungry that I knew they'd follow the pink food bucket anywhere. Or so I thought.

The ladies were fine. They marched along and were happy to get to fresh grass. The boar (well, he's a barrow, but we don't speak of this. . .) got half way down the lanes, then decided he'd much rather take a nap under the apple tree where he had been dozing all of last week. Things would have been better if we had several helpers to shuffle pigs along, but we managed in the end.

When I set up the pool, all the pigs piled in together. I had the hose in the pool, but they pushed it back out so that it sprayed in a small fountain. Once they cooled off, they seemed pleased with their new digs. By the next day, they started digging their own giant mud bog beside the pool.

Another pig move down! Only a few left to go!
Don't forget to order your pork. It's going fast.

Transformer Turkeys

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:28:00 +0000

The turkeys are doing very well. They are growing and growing and growing. And flying.

So far, I have seen four toms, so that is excellent. I think they look like little fluffy transformers when they are all puffed up and strutting around!

My little Toms!

We will move them to pasture pens (hoop style) in just a week or two. They have had to stay in the brooder pen for the first few weeks because of weather and to ensure that they are safe and healthy.

I can't wait to see them out on pasture!

I think we will be in fine shape for Thanksgiving & Christmas this year.

The latest moves

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:49:00 +0000

We have moved the pigs again! This time we had some help from family- which was a life saver.

The pigs seemed happy to follow their hot pink food bucket, but there were a few distractions -like 600 acres of wood and pasture along the way!

But in the end, we made it and the pigs are set up in their new digs, yet again.

Summer Sale Extended!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:20:00 +0000

We are still here, trying to beat the heat.
The recent heat has really slowed down life on the farm. I spend a lot of time making mud for the pigs. The ducks are lounging in and out of the shade. The turkeys seem unaffected by the heat, but despite my efforts, still no gobbling, yet!

I have been upgrading our irrigation systems with more hoses, new soaker hoses and even more hoses. Everything seems to have perked up and there is less water work for me to do.

And the sale!! Due to our wild success, I have decided to extend the summer pork sale until the end of July! 20 pounds of USDA purebred Tamworth pork for $100. What a steal! The pork will be available in late October/early November ( and you'll get plenty of notice).

I have also decided to add a Junior sampler pack pre-buy. I realize that not everyone has as much freezer space as we do! So, folks can order the 10 pound Jr. Sampler pack for $50, which like the will include a selection of (but not limited to) chops, bacon, ham/gammon steaks, roast cuts, hot dogs and sausage, totaling at least 10 pounds.**

These prices are good until the end of July 2010.

Photos - early July

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:50:00 +0000

Turkeys are looking good and setttling in. Jasper is eyeing up the ducks. The pigs taste their first watermelon. Phinny howls, while Janey pulls a face.

The Big Pig Move

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:16:00 +0000

Saturday was moving day, again.

After two weeks on the old garden plot, plus a bit more space, the pigs have rooted up heaps for rocks and roots. The ground is ready for some easy tilling and then a fresh seeding of pasture mix.

This move was more challenging than the last move. Here we had to move the house and water station. We also needed to corral the pigs in a smaller length of fencing, so that I could move all of the other fence sections.

In the end, it was the hot pink food bucket that saved the day and made the move work. The pigs were quite happy to follow me (with the bucket) anywhere. Good to know!

The new spot has a nice weedy jungle section where the pigs hang out.

The pigs also had their first taste of watermelon! And they loved it, of course!

It's turkey time, folks!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:10:00 +0000

Our turkeys have arrived! Today at the post office I picked up a peeping box of turkeys from Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys. We now have White Holland and Jersey Buff turkeys to start our flock.

They are strange little things. They don't seem to huddle together like our ducks. They are even starting to get just a hint of flight feathers.

Check back to see how our latest adventure progresses.

Why I plant radishes. . .

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:21:00 +0000

Yesterday, I spent a fair amount of time pulling up flowering radishes. But, what does a radish flower look like? I'm sure you are all wondering.

They are actually pretty, little, dainty flowers. I can tell you - because mine flower every single year.

I used to feel a twinge of procrastination-based anxiety about this. I don't anymore. As you can see from the photo, I did get some edible radishes from the garden, and a good photo.

I finally realized, that for me, radishes are a true sign of spring. I plant a few rows in the garden as soon as I can work the soil. Then on those lingering, dreary days, when I fear that winter might return, I can head out to the garden and see my little radish crop growing through snow, sleet & frost.

So, for $1.35 each spring, I get a jump start on the garden season. I can look out the window and see a nice tidy row or two of radishes. No weeds, no bolted lettuce or overgrown tomatoes. And then I think, maybe this year, I'll keep the garden tidy until October. . . And then I laugh & pour myself another mug of tea.

Moving Day!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:22:00 +0000

Another pig move under my belt! This one was pretty easy. We had it down to 2 hours! I just had to move the fencing, charger and water system to a new area.
The house and trough stayed put. The pigs seemed pretty chill while we worked around them.

The pigs were so happy to get fresh grass, but I will be eternally grateful to them for digging up the back garden beds for us.

This little piggy went to market.

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:17:00 +0000

PORK Prebuy

While I have grown fond of my pigs, I'd like to remind remind everyone, self & husband included, that these pigs are going to market. In October. For sure. (Notice there is no cute pig picture on this post).

Lucky Duck Farms is proud to announce it's first season of Pork Prebuy. At this time, we are offering a sampler pack of USDA-processed purebred Tamworth pork - 20 lbs for $100 (2010 price). What a deal!

**The sample pack will include a selection of (but not limited to) chops, bacon, ham/gammon steaks, roast cuts, hot dogs and sausage, totaling at least 20 pounds.**

Sample packs will be available beginning in late October/early November, as soon as we pick up our pork from the butcher. Pork will also be available, priced by the pound at that time.

Support local food and family farms. Order your sample pack of pork early!
** Many thanks to all early birds.**

See the new pig paradise!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 26 May 2010 11:16:00 +0000

We had a relatively successful pig move this weekend. I now understand why many homes are pig-less. Pigs are amazing animals, but they are very difficult to move from one place to another. As a result, many folks raise them all in one spot. Since we don't have enough space for that, we need to move ours- frequently.

In these photos, the pigs are settled into their new spot- my old garden. After it is sufficiently dug over, I'll pick out the rocks and plant some new stuff there.

The whole move was a giant ordeal taking several hours. We had to pen up the pigs in the hog panels, take down the electric netting, move the charger & the water system, set up lanes, move the food & house -then finally move the pigs. But all is over for a while and we can relax. And the pigs can relax under their new canopy. I think they live better than we do!

Pig paradise completed.

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:48:00 +0000

The pigs had an upgrade in housing last night. It's not straw. And it's not bricks.

It's actually pretty awesome! Chris spent most of the afternoon constructing the new pig digs. They have much more room to move around and it should be large enough to use until October. And it certainly won't blow away! I have been told that it will have some wheels very soon.

The house will provide shade in the summer heat and warmth for these cold nights (and days!) that we are having now.

They seem to spend loads of time sleeping of lazing around the house - I guess they are just lazy pigs.

Moving on up - or down as the case may be. . .

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 16 May 2010 19:46:00 +0000

Our pigs have now moved out into the expanded pig pen. I added a 100' electric net fence to the hog panel pig pen.

They seem reliably trained to the electric fence and are enjoying access to fresh grass and brambles. They can still get back to their old house and are happily exploring the shady hillside. The best part was when one of the gilts (female pigs under a year, that haven't been bred), laid down in the grass and began to roll down the hillside in slow motion.

It is starting to look more and more like a zoo around here!

New Khaki's!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:01:00 +0000

Maybe it's the teacher side of me, but I love new Khaki's! On Tuesday afternoon, our new Khaki Campbell ducklings arrived from Hoffman Hatchery. As usual, they sent more than we ordered. So, we now have seven new ducklings to replace our four drakes that flew off last summer.

Then, the power went off. Around midnight we had to head out to the barn, disturb everything along the way, and bring them into the house. As our downstairs bathroom has a cat flap, we brought them upstairs. Eventually, the power came back on. In the morning we put them back in the barn, with the heat lamp & all is well.

Snow On Mother's Day?

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sun, 09 May 2010 12:24:00 +0000

This morning we woke up to find a dusting of snow everywhere. It's Mother's Day. It shouldn't snow in May. But sometimes it does around here.

So, I went to serve breakfast to our little pigs and I found them all huddled together in the house. They seem to be adjusting well and keeping warm, so I left the food, checked the water & encouraged Buddy, our black cat, to leave them alone. So far, so good.

The pigs are here!

noreply@blogger.com (LuckyDuckFarms) — Sat, 08 May 2010 21:56:00 +0000

We collected our three Tamworth pigs today. The pig pickup went rather well. The farmer was great and answered all of our questions and was very kind. We drove straight home to the starter pen (pig paradise) and got the piglets out of the supervan. We fed them and sat down to watch.

All went well- for a while. They are very curious animals. They had no trouble figuring out the water system and found the food within a few minutes. The log sections were added entertainment, but not enough to stop them from rooting straight away.

So, the step in posts are already in. We ran a single hot strand inside the hog panels at snout level and yes, according to Christopher & his giant shovel-hands, the fence is hot! This training pen will get the pigs ready to respect the fence on pasture.

Fingers crossed & we're all set. Of course, I plan to check on them at least every 2 hours.