Ramesses wrecks the henhouses

 

Ramesses, our latest goat kid, is growing remarkably quickly. This video was filmed a month ago. He had taken a shine to jumping on the henhouses. The bigger and heavier he got, the more damage was done. One of the henhouses ended up with a smashed up roof!

Gooseberry, blackcurrant and apple jelly

 

14 jars of gooseberry, blackcurrant and apple jelly came off the self-sufficiency production line this morning. Sone of the jars will be swapped, some will be sold at craft fairs, the rest will be used by us.

Jam production line

 

Coming off the self-sufficiency production line today: gooseberry jam.

More chicks

 

5 chicks have hatched in one of our incubators over the last 24 hours. They were timed to hatch when one of our hens had been brooding some plastic eggs in the hedge on our livestock allotment and had done her 21 days. I'm pleased to report that the hen has now adopted the chicks.

Making brawn

 

The pigs went to slaughter a couple of weeks ago. We then had five pig heads to use. We made one into brawn,

Dolly back from the vet

 

Just back from the vet where Dolly had the cast removed from her leg. She is well and walking properly. (Above photos before the cast was removed, below afterwards.)

The pork arrives

 Pigs were back from the abattoir last week. Here are a few pics of what is now in the freezer.

Making brawn

 

As I write this post, I have on the cooker a large pan containing a pig's head and vegetables for a stock. I'm making brawn - a useful way to ensure none of the meat on a pig's head (and there is a great deal of meat!) is wasted.

Rendering fat

 

We found a large bag of unprocessed pig fat in one of our freezers last week. We urgently needed the freezer space to accommodate the pig and offal that had just come back from the abattoir so the fat was removed from the freezer. I'm rendering it this morning.

Cherry and gooseberry ketchup

 

I made cherry and gooseberry ketchup recently. It is a by-product of a jelly I made so making the ketchup was a useful way to reduce waste (it is made from a fruit puree extracted from the cherry and gooseberry pulp).

Fruit purees can be extracted from other pulps. In one of my freezers I have some plum puree from last year which I'm going to make into ketchup as well.

Featured!

My self-sufficiency blog is featured on the website of Waltons, a supplier of garden sheds and buildings. They have a page about the 8 best self-sufficiency sites. Seems as though I am in good company! You can see the other 7 sites (and my own!) on this link.