A Jesusfreaks tales of farm life with soon to be Six kids

[Jesusfreak101]

Well I will say I am getting to much milk lol. We actually havent been able to keep up. We have five and half gallons in our fridge. I am going to have to start baking more, make ice cream and learn how to make cheese and ect to cut back on the amount. The goats are doing great. My doe daisy is starting toget wider. II happy she starting to look fatter finally. Buck has gain weight as well. I been letting the girls out in the pasture with out him (he naughty and won't stay in the field he come back home and start knocking over my feed barrels). I am deciding what to do with my turkey hens whether I am going to keep them or go ahead and process them they extremely friendly however that makes them not afraid of the kids and every once in a while one will go over and grab the two year olds fingers and shake acting like she trying to rip food apart that happen when they where out (I haven't let them out since or near the kids since it happened the kids have never hand feed them either that I can recall) so with out a Tom I don't have much use for their eggs either besides eating and I have 20+ chicken hens so eggs aren't really need. I just tend to get rid of any animal that has threatened the kids. The geese we have are afraid of the kids so I am conflicted about the turkeys they are one of my favorites. I also can't a afford a Tom and I would be waiting for several years before getting one because of the kids and moving...I am stuck with the rabbits and geese (Lucy loves the bunnies Joshua loves the geese) decision decisions...

 

[Latestarter]

Great pics of the DH & kids! Thanks for sharing. Dad looks like he's ready for a nap (kinda reminds me of me ) I have a good excuse though... I'm old and fat!

 

[Pastor Dave]

Holding a sleeping baby is a good sleep aid. Any time I did, always got tired and fell asleep with them. Maybe the heart and breathing rhythm, not sure. Good napping buddies.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol they where all three asleep I woke daddy up by using the flash on my phone lol.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I have three and they all adjusted well and doted over the next. I think that allowing them to help and participate whenever possible was a huge way to encourage the older kiddos to not be jealous.

Surplus milk! Yay! You could try homemade yogurt too. It’s yummy. It’s like a plain Greek yogurt. We added things to it and it was quite wonderful. I look forward to making more when we have more milk.

I wouldn’t take a chance on a turkey that could be a threat to my kiddo. If you don’t really have a use for them (you have the chickens you mentioned) and won’t be able to get a Tom for sometime, I’d put them in the freezer and wait until I could start over. That would be money in the bank too! Less feed and each could provide meat for several meals. (I love to cook up a turkey and freeze the leftovers in like cubes-small chunks- to make turkey and noodles, turkey noodle soup, turkey pot pie, turkey wraps, turkey enchiladas. One of my go-tos for when I don’t have time or energy to start a meal from scratch!)

Nothing like sleeping with a kiddo on your chest! I miss it!!!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I think all the recipes I been looking at have overload my brain some of the cheese recipes claim they simple but then you look at the recipe and its confusing lol could just be my brain. And yeah I been leaning towards processing them just disappointed I guess. Plus adds more birds for me to process lol I am behind I have five-six chickens, two or three geese and now three turkeys. I dreading the geese so many feathers.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Haven’t made cheese yet as I haven’t had excess milk but I plain on starting with chèvre and/or mozzarella. Both are supposed to be on the beginners list. I know that @Southern by choice makes chèvre and some kind of dessert cheese that she posts yummy pics of! @Devonviolet has made homemade mozzarella and several other types. They might be able to give you some pointers or share their recipes.

I want a plucker! I’m sure you will now too! Lol
https://louisville.craigslist.org/grd/d/chicken-turkey-feather-plucker/6493168391.html
We have some friends that built one too! Very interesting idea and makes processing chickens so much more fun!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I need up looking at a plucker last year when I processed 10+ birds it took me three days to finish. The kids helped for a few minutes lol the quickly tired of pulling feathers. I probably start with one of those I was looking at cottage cheese and a few others the cottage cheese recipe (one of the several recipes for the cheese) grossed me out I am not sure I would be OK with letting my kids eat it. It calls for you to leave it on the counter for 1-2 days I am not to comfortable with that one

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I don’t know about that either! I know that cellars are used for some aging...I need to look into some of that more.

I just had the thought that @babsbag if starting a dairy! Duh! I’m sure she could offer some guidance on cheeses!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I need all the guidance I can get. Milk products aren't something I care to miss handle.