Chickens, from start to finish (the intern blog by Courtney McDonald)

Last Sunday (Mother’s Day) was the day that Dan and Samia decided was perfect for killing and processing the chickens they had been raising for the last 8-9 weeks. Julie, also an intern with Flying Mule Farm, came along with her parents, and I brought Eric, my boyfriend. Since both Julie, Eric, and I have all been or are currently chefs, the killing and processing of the chickens is especially interesting to us. I hold the belief (as many others do) that if you can eat an animal, you should at least know how that animal got to your plate.

A few months ago, Eric and I tried processing some spent hens ourselves without really knowing what we were doing. Our research involved watching some YouTube videos of other amateur attempts and reading a few books-each of which recommended a different method. We settled on chopping the head off with a hatchet, not scalding the bird before plucking (I don’t recommend this), and ended up doing the evisceration after dark, outside by flashlight. It was a great experience still, but not very efficient (and a little traumatic).

Last Sunday was a completely different chicken processing experience. By the by the time Eric and I arrived at the farm to begin, all of the equipment and prep areas were already set up. There were a total of ten Cornish cross chickens to be processed, and they were HUGE! About five pounds each!

After killing the chickens and keeping them in upside-down metal cones off the ground to bleed out completely, they were scalded in 145 degree water for about 45 seconds. Then they were plucked using a very efficient machine called a chicken picker, which used it’s rubber knobs to quickly pluck the feathers out in about 15 seconds per bird. Into the house next, where Samia demonstrated how to cleanly remove the head, feet, and insides of the chickens. Since she is a veterinarian, we were able to learn the correct terminology for the chickens’ anatomy.

Finally, after being washed well after every step of the processing under cold water, the chickens were put into an ice water bath to chill to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Ready to eat!

Eric and I roasted our chicken on top of the chicken feet and had it for dinner on that same Sunday evening. It had fantastic flavor, and a much different texture than a store-bought chicken. I will have a hard time eating any other kind of chicken from now on!

Horses in the Woods

Allen Edwards, our friend and partner in the sustainable forest products we offer, likes to say that he has lots of flat ground - it's just tilted at 45 degrees! His family's property in Colfax is beautiful, but it's also very steep!

Since we're trying to convert our firewood and lumber production to the use of draft animals, the steep ground can be challenging. Pulling logs uphill is virtually impossible, and many of the slopes are too steep for horses or mules to stand on while we're hooking up to logs. A further complication is the need to remove slash (limbs, brush, etc.) from the slopes before skidding the logs.

At our last Sierra Nevada Small Farm Progress Days last Friday, we got to try a new system (new to us, anyway) that combines long cables with draft animals. In this system, we use cable "chokers" and long lines to hook into logs upslope from Allen's road system. Using pulleys, we then hook the horses to the long cable and skid the logs downslope while keeping the horses on the road. It worked wonderfully!

We'll keep trying to improve on the system, but it sure seems that we've finally figured out a way to use horses efficiently and safely in Allen's woods!

Mending Fences

Arghhh! For the 5th time in two grazing seasons, I'm mending fence on our leased property in Lincoln. The property, which is owned by the Placer Land Trust, sits south and west of Gladding Road. The road makes several 90 degree turns, and people sometimes take the corners too fast. This time, they took out about 50 feet of fence and a power pole. As usual, the person who was responsible was long gone by the time we discovered the damage.

Holes in the fence are dangerous for the cows and dangerous for other drivers on Gladding Road. Thank goodness a neighboring rancher usually calls me before there's a problem.

One of the greatest challenges of farming or ranching in a rapidly urbanizing region is that most folks don't understand the consequences of this type of action. I was taught to take responsibility for my mistakes, which would include repairing a fence that I damaged. I'd sure like to teach this latest driver how to build fence!

Dan's Top 10 Reasons for Farming with Horses

With apologies to David Letterman...

10. Tractors don't show affection

9. My daughters have never shown any interest in taking care of a tractor!

8. Horses (and mules) nearly always start.

7. You can't take your tractor on a pack trip in the mountains.

6. When you plow with a horse, you can hear the worms scream.

5. Tractors can't reproduce.

4. I can grow my own fuel for my horses and mules.

3. Horses and mules are voice activated.

2. The exhaust from a horse builds soil fertility.

1. I'm married to a veterinarian, not a diesel mechanic!

Working in the Woods II

Working in the woods after a spring rain is one of my favorite things to do. Yesterday, I cut firewood at Edwards Family Farm in Colfax. After receiving more than 4 inches of rain over the last 5 days, the woods were spectacular. Even though this has been a relatively dry year, the rains have come at just the right time for the wildflowers, which were incredible yesterday. Stay posted for photos!

Our work in the woods serves several purposes. Allen and Nancy are working to make their land more firesafe and more productive. This means thinning the trees so that the remaining trees get a larger portion of nutrients, water and sunlight (thus enabling them to grow faster). This thinning process also removes the excess fuels that create dangerous fire conditions - removing these fuels will help keep a future fire on the ground and out of the trees.

This thinning process creates a product for us - firewood. We're currently processing live oak and Douglas fir for firewood and Ponderosa pine for kindling. Allen falls and limbs the trees, and we work together to move the logs to our processing sites. I then cut the wood to length, while my interns help with the splitting. Our goal is to begin selling wood this month.

Being in the forest is a nice balance in a week that is spent mostly in more open country. I like the different variety of bird life that live in the forest, and as I said earlier, this year's crop of wildflowers is amazing!

Spring Rain

Since last Friday, we've measured over 2 inches of rain here in Auburn - more than we usually get in May. While it would have been nice to get this kind of precipitation in March or early April, I'll definitely take it now! It means we haven't needed to irrigate this weekend, which is a wonderful break!

The rain means we can't do some things. It's not safe to cut firewood in the rain, and we need to let the ground dry out a bit before we continue working our soil for our market garden. Other things need to be done regardless of the weather - we need to move the sheep and cows onto fresh grass, for example, even in the driving rain.

For farmers, weather teaches acceptance. When I was a kid, I remember my dad and my uncle (who were setting up a farm equipment auction in southeastern Washington) talking to a wheat farmer who had just watched a summer thunderstorm wipe out a good portion of his crop. "What are you going to do?" my dad asked. "Guess I'll just let it rain," the farmer replied. While this early May rain isn't nearly so devastating for us, I guess I'll just let it rain, too!

Art and Stockmanship

This weekend, I volunteered for two very different, but oddly related, community events. On Saturday evening, I was the auctioneer for Placer Arts Outside the Box 2 fundraiser. Today, I volunteered to bring sheep, goats and cattle for an emergency response training for Placer County Animal Control. On the surface, these seem like apples and oranges, but they are related in my mind.

The Outside the Box event featured 80 pieces by professional and amateur artists using a wooden box as the foundation. This is the second year I've done the live auction, and I really enjoy it (so much so that I'm trying to convince my oldest daughter, Lara, to partner with me on an entry next year).

The emergency response training was designed to train a cadre of volunteers who can help evacuate livestock in the event of an emergency (like a wildfire or flood). More than 50 volunteers should up at Stage Stop Ranch in Auburn for the training, which also included horses and alpacas.

The connection for me comes in the mix of art and science that I find in our approach to farming. Even in high school, I found myself attracted to the applied arts - woodworking, metalworking and drafting were among my favorite classes. Function doesn't preclude beauty, and I still find that I most enjoy the tools that are aesthetically pleasing and highly functional.

There is an art to my daily work. Understanding animal behavior is a science, but applying this understanding to loading sheep in a trailer using a border collie is an art. Managing grasslands requires an understanding of range science, but the daily activity involved requires creativity and technique. Objects that I use in my profession also reflect this balance. A well-made gate, one that I constructed from wood that I milled, has both beauty and function (at least to me). This balance between the rational and the creative is one of the things I love about farming.