Tag: Winter Storm

Lara and Her Three Daughters Weather The Winter Storm

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Lara and Girls Weather The Storm

After a pretty mild Winter, Nova Scotia has been hit with a major Winter Snow Storm! More snow in one Weekend than All Winter! Compared to other areas like Halifax, and Cape Breton, where they declared a State of Emergency, we got off easy here in Bear River.

However, after a pretty decent Saturday, We got hit over night as the Temps dropped and the snows moved in. Leaving our Berkshire Sow, Lara, and her three daughters out in the cold. So to speak. It also used up most of the battery on our Solar Power Electric Fencer. Thankfully, even in these conditions Lara and Her Gals respected the fence and stayed in their pasture. Although they were waiting and glad to see me when I got there today!

Pigs really are incredible creatures, and while they only need minimal shelter to weather storms, it was a bit much! They were ready to get out of the elements, but we’re also patiently waiting for me when I got to them today. They, as they most always do, faithfully followed me back up the hill from their pasture to the Barn.

Once inside they were, of course, happy to eat, but they weren’t shivering, nor were they overly food aggressive. Pigs are always happy to eat, and always at least a little too excited and somewhat aggressive when they are presented with Food. So, even though, as the video shows, the tips of their hair was covered in snow and mostly ice, they weren’t really as bad off as I thought they might be! Thankfully.

See, Lara’s daughters are part Mangalitza, also spelled Mangalitsa, or Mangalista, and they have woolly hair that covers them and help keep them warm. Pigs also have a layer of fat under their skin that helps act as insulation.

What happens, even with Lara who’s a Berkshire Pig, is they grow a somewhat thinker coat in the winter. This helps, as the heat from their bodies keeps the hair closest their bodies dry and the ice forms on the tips. Even when faced with cold temperatures, I think it was about -7°C or 20°F over night, with mixed precipitation. While They’re usually not out in that, the best laid plans of mice and men, and apparently pigs, often go awry! To loosely coin a phrase from Bobby Burns in His poem, “To a Mouse“.

Anyway, by the end of the day all were back in the Barn and as warm as Pigs in a Blanket! Well… Almost! 😉

 

Rappie Pie And Chicken Soup

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Rappie Pie and Chicken Soup

Two things that make a Winter Day a little warmer, and a Winter Storm more bearable, are Rappie Pie and Chicken Soup! Today we made both!

We were recently given four roosters, and yesterday we processed three of the four! I made a mistake of looking at the beautiful feathers on the their and he’s looking for a new home now! Actually, I think we have found one for him already! 

I know to some processing animals and birds for food may seem rather mean, but the truth is it’s part of survival and it’s part of farm life. Especially on a working farm. 

Certainly the end result of our efforts helps make it a little easier! A life, any life, from the smallest to the greatest should never be taken lightly. Always with Thanks, reverence and respect, for the life taken, and the food provided. The sad fact is there are too many Roosters, and while every would like to keep them around it simply isn’t possible. In nature the males, the protectors often get killed by predators protecting the females, and around the farm when there’s to many Roosters they’ll attack and kill each other! So, in many ways, it’s more humane to process them! We give them the best life possible, for as long as possible, but when it comes time we dispatch them as humanely as possible and they help feed us! 

Most people, who think this is cruel  or inhumane, don’t generally stop to ponder all these things when they pop into their local Grocery, or Deli, to grab a BBQ Chicken on their way home from their 9-5 job! However, on the farm, among farmers and their livestock, it all takes on a far more intimate approach! It’s a symbiotic relationship where we feed them, give them the best life possible, for as long as possible so that they can better feed us!

For us, one of the best ways to make use of these Roosters is to make Rappie Pie And Chicken Soup!