Goat Update

What have our goats been up to since November? 

It's been a hot debate among our animal caregivers (and us on our short visits home) if either Gerda or Svetlana are bred. I took these pictures Dec. 8th. Are those the beginning bellies of babies?

In this picture, Svetlana does look pretty big... 

No udders or kids appeared in December, January, or February. It's typical for first time moms (like Gerda) to not show as much and for udders to not be noticeable until close to giving birth. Svetlana doesn't have that excuse; she's two years old. We decided Fritz was a dud and discussed what to do with him. So disappointing. No babies = no milk, our main reason for the goats. Where could we get another billy? 

This past Sunday, our neighbor texted that when checking the animals, she found a baby goat dead in the shed. The back legs had been chewed on by something; we assume that's courtesy of the cats. Svetlana was very anxious and wouldn't settle or let anyone close to her. My guess is because she couldn't find her baby.

Lots of things we don't know: When was the kid born? Is Svetlana a bad mom who didn't get the baby up and moving and eating? Or was it too cold? Or was the baby premature? Does this mean Gerda is bred too? Why did it take so long for them to get pregnant?

That last question we might have an answer for: 

Based on goats' 150 day gestational period, Svetlana got bred in early October. Gerda's belly has always looked smaller than Svetlana's, which means that she's a little further behind. Guess we need to keep our eyes open for more babies... Hopefully Gerda will hold off for another week or two until we can be home and checking regularly.

Fermenting Update

When last the fermenting veggies were mentioned, I was waiting for them to ferment to perfection. Well, with the medical situation our family had going on, that didn't happen. 

We turned our heat way down to conserve energy while we were away. Great for the gas bill, not great for the bacteria's energy. So, even though the veggies sat for the proper range of time, they were still on the crunchy side when I chose to put them in the fridge. I could've let them sit out longer, but since we didn't know when we'd be home next, I decided to put them away.

Here's what I found when I took off the tops:

Unfortunately, mold on each one. 

The good news is that the mold doesn't mean the whole thing has to be pitched. The cabbage leaves keeping the cabbage and brussel sprouts under the liquid allow for the mold to be contained. So, according to internet fermentation experts, take off the layers the mold has come into contact with and the lower levels are okay. I pulled those out plus the top layer of each jar (just in case)

I put the ferments in new jars in an attempt to keep more mold from growing, keeping the headspace in the jar low for the same reason.

The brussel sprouts are okay. Pretty crunchy, not much fermented flavor. The red cabbage has a beautiful color. Also pretty crunchy. 

 They've been sitting in the fridge for the past three months. I wonder how the taste and texture have evolved.

Poultry Update

I have to admit I made a mistake...

In the post about our first eggs, I said that the chickens were laying. What I forgot is that when birds first begin to lay, their eggs are smaller: pullet eggs. 

The first eggs found were about the size of a regular chicken egg... actually duck eggs! The color should've been a clue too. Our chickens are Americaunas and lay bright green eggs. The first found eggs were a blackish grayish color that appeared uneven. Here is our first actual chicken egg (left) next to a store egg (right).

More duck eggs:

The birds only laid for a short time when the weather was warmer. They stopped for the coldest days of winter, and now they're back to laying. Our neighbors report that there's one chicken egg and one duck egg per day on average.

Last fall, G and I debated incubating eggs to get more chickens but decided not to so that we wouldn't have to care for chicks over winter. Now that spring is in the air, it's time to contemplate that decision again...