Meat in the Compost

Wood chips are a good balancer for the compost

This is a question that is frequently asked by new gardeners, What can and Can't I put in the Composter?

The standard answer is that any fruit and veg matter, nothings cooked, no meats, no dairy. Now, there are reasons for this, and it has nothing to do with the fact that meats and dairy will break down and add just as much nutrients to your soil. It has everything to do with rats.

If you live in the city, or even a semi-urban area attracting rodents to your compost is going to cause serious issues with your neighbours. It's not just rats, but skunks, raccoons, even foxes depending on where you live.

I have continued this thinking into my country compost and this morning after reflecting on another one of the red-stars I buried yesterday (dropped dead over night), well that's meat, all I do is bury it in the compost.

And the same thing is true of a city compost. Dairy and meats breaking down do make the compost a bit smelly, but if you can get it far enough away from anyone, or balance it properly so you're not adding tons of that in there, there is no reason you can't put it in your home compost. If possible the best option is to be burying it in the middle of your compost while you add it.

I have the benefit of having lots of stinky half decomposed hay and shavings and lots of manure to cover up my little fox treasures, but I have found I only need to get down about a foot or two into the compost to keep any scavengers away.

Of course, my favourite solution, to what to do with table scraps, is just to get some adorable pot belly pigs!

The End of Uggo

I finally caught the little bugger, and despite my son's suggestion that I "put him down, I don't want to eat him" it was the end of Uggo.

And I felt more then a little bad about it, but he had the awful cross-beak and wouldn't stay away from the ladies. We tried keeping him in the barn and it just didn't work. So instead of having a whole new generation with that terrible genetic problem (hopefully) I had to cull him.

I really like Joel Salatin's saying about how they have really great lives and just one really bad day.

Well Uggo got a great year, one most people (and definitely never a commercial hatchery) would have given him and then one really bad day.

For the curious my kids went inside with daddy so they didn't have to be around for Uggo's end, and we didn't eat him. Because of his cross-beak he had almost no weight, but I did keep some beautiful feathers.

Compost/Chickens

Lost my favourite hen this morning. I noticed #3 seemed slightly out of sorts last night (although I couldn't put a finger on what was wrong with her) and her comb had flopped over. Didn't seem like a big deal, but I found her dead on her roost this morning. Very disappointing, I have no idea what happened to her.

I also noticed one of the turkeys has a nice slice around his tail, probably from big-bruiser rooster. So we're getting our butts in gear about sectioning off part of the coop (although that means hanging an extra heat light),  then I can put our little chickies (who are still in my house) back in the coop.

The only upside is that the compost is working well. We had one of our sickly red-stars die late last week, and I was able to dig a nice big hole for her in the compost. I only got about 2' this morning as I went for the other side of the compost which isn't as high. Composting carcasses is a good way to dispose of dead poultry. You don't want to do it when you suspect a communicable disease, which might survive in the compost & spread back on the field. 

The OMFRA has some great pdfs on how to compost deadstock. Either good or bad, you can get full skeletons back out of compost if you leave the deadstock in for a specific amount of time. I have heard many stories about people composting horses to preserve the skeletons.

(Blog note: sorry this was supposed to go out yesterday, someone got distracted and didn't press send, so it is actually Saturday today)

Cook: Beef Jerky

Jerky's in the oven!

 Long story short, I had some top sirloin steaks de-frosted that were very lean, too lean. So they're sitting in the fridge while I try to wrack my brains about what to do with them. Right when I'm thinking I'll marinate over-night and bbq the next day, I think, marinate, what else have I marinated meat for? JERKY!! I haven't done this since the last time we bought a 1/4, and it's been awhile.

Now, I'm no expert, AT ALL, in fact this is the 3rd time I've ever made it. We were given the smoker by my lovely in-laws because they don't use it very much in GTA Toronto. The first attempt at jerky was a nasty salty disaster, the second was a little better, this time I think I've done it!

If I could change the name of this
vaguely racist product I would....

I used a really simple salt, sugar & water recipe for the marinade. I've got to reduce the salt again for next time, or just remember to rinse off the meat before smoking... which I always forget.

I know there is a little bag of hickory chips floating around the house somewhere, but unable to find it & unwilling to drag the kids out to Walmart, I improvised. Using just hardwood firewood we already had, I got a better smoke, and even though we don't have the flavour, the jerky is great! Maybe for next time I can just buy a log of hickory or something?

So I'm feeling a little more adventurous now, perhaps even enough to try smoking salmon again, or even a whole chicken! Stay tuned for further smoker developments...

Murder Most Fowl!

One of our little 6 week old chicks was killed in the coop, so if you're soft at heart you may not want to see the next picture.

The end of Hen & Pen

Penny died last night, she'd be acting a little funny the last few days, just not around as much as normal. Not showing up for her normal struts around the yard with Teddy, wing in wing (almost).

Lesson we learned: we should have eaten them when we had the chance.

They didn't live long past when we had that conversation, and they ended up being kicked out to the barn instead. If the meat birds had gone in when they were supposed to both these ladies probably would have found themselves on their way as well.

So, no more naming the chickens, and we're going to keep buying dual purpose because the layers we have now are going into the pot when they are finished laying.

Goodbye Henny

Sad news from the farm today, Henny has taken ill. I'm not sure what is wrong with her but when I found her in the goat's stall this morning she couldn't walk a straight line, or get her head up off her chest.

For now she's found a nice quiet spot, I made sure she's has food & water close by and she's enjoying her last day. If she's still unable to stand by tonight we'll have to make sure she's not suffering.

We don't actually know how old Henny is (she came with the house) so this may simply be the end of a long life. I am going to miss her though. We'll definitely have to get more Delewares in the future, she's got a lovely disposition for not being a tame chicken.

Henny (left) and Penny (right)

Don't Count 'em Out, Till They're Down

Poor chickie!

When I moved the tractors this morning I had one that was very pale, frazzled, and sickly looking. It happens with meat birds, they get too big for their hearts and just fade out. So I took him to a quiet shady spot beside the muck pile to let him live out his last moments... so I thought.

Go to check on the chickens 4 hours later, and guess who is sitting outside the tractor waiting to get in? Glad I didn't put him out of his "misery" this morning! Guess he just needed a nap because he looks much revived!

Evening update:  He did eventually expire today. I picked him up again and noticed how under-weight he was compared to the others. I've been trying to find some time to weigh them and will hopefully get a heads up if any others are that underweight. As it is there are 2-3 that are way too small to go in 3 weeks. We'll probably hang onto them until the turkey go (end November/early December).

I assume there was just something wrong with his system, happens a lot with these meat birds. In the tractor they all have equal access to any food; plus I've still been feeding them grain by spreading it out all over the ground when I move it.

He's Dead Jim.

Okay this one was my own stupid fault. The chicks have been drinking & eating a LOT (since that is pretty much all they do, eat, drink & sleep). So I thought I'd put in a small dish of water, only 2" so they could stand in it if they did actually fall in, and no one would drown and they'd have extra water.

Nope. So we're down to 50.

Proper waterers

The rest of the chicks now have a date of September 12th to be processed.

1 out of 52 ain't bad... knock on wood!

Brought him in because he was acting very lethargic, perked up after a poop, but dead the next morning.

You're bound to loose a few, so loosing 1 out of 52 (they always pack 2 extra) isn't bad. Lets hope he's the only one! We've got a hungry family.

Lost Our First Hen

When I went in to feed the chickies this morning Jenny was looking pretty pale and not well, after a trip to the feed store & back she was gone. Sometimes it's hard with chickens, like lots of animals they hide that they aren't feeling well.

It's quite possible she was sick before we got her. Oh well, I think I will get some BSL in the future though, she was quite pretty!