Variety is the spice of life.
Today I was mugged in my own back yard. However I'll get back to how this happened.
Having decided to render the remains of the beef suet I got for the Christmas puddings I was left with some beef fat crackling. Vegetarians, apologies for the mental image, it's not pretty but I get such things from a local butcher who humanely slaughters his own animals which are pasture fed, locally raised and free range. I believe in using the whole carcass and not throwing away the bits we're not used to eating.
Back to the suet crackling. Yesterday we introduced the hens to bacon rind. They behaved as though we'd never fed them before. Chickens eat anything. They have particular fondness for live protein-worms, ants, grubs, butterflies etcetera. We are looking forward to a reduction in cabbage white numbers next season. So we got the suet out of the freezer and put it in the oven on a low temperature (80 degrees C) to render or melt for about 6 hours. At the end of that time we had a tray of melted fat and the crackling.
This morning (OK this afternoon-I'm still not that well. I didn't drag myself out of bed till after midday and even then not for very long) I chopped up the cooled fatty crackling, put it in a bowl and, taking my life in my hands put my new welly shoes on and opened the back door.
Within seconds the bowl had been torn from my hands and four chickens were noisily fighting over the bigger pieces. There was clucking, there was pecking there was actual SCREECHING. This morning, even early afternoon it was much colder than recent days. The frost still silvered the grass and chickens need extra calories to keep themselves warm.
I'm hoping this will reduce their tendency to head for the cat food which-I'm starting to discover-does not always come from the most reliable sources, however renowned the brand. A friend of mine who is a packaging expert and has spent many hours in human and pet food factories said that while unpleasant human food factories do have a genuine commitment to hygiene. In his words "Pet food factories? Not so much." oh-oh "I saw 3 different types of cockroaches. When I raised the matter they told me it all cooks in"
I'm starting to question whether I want to used any brand of pre made food especially since the oldest cat (around 10 years old) has, since being placed on a kibble and meat diet, been diagnosed with diabetes. Reading around can be quite uncomfortable-I have to remember that for every thesis there is an equal and opposite thesis but I'm getting the idea that at the very least a diet should be SPECIES APPROPRIATE if you want to avoid health problems.
The plan with the chickens is to use the rendered suet to make home produced fat balls containing seeds, grains, meal worms and other tasty treats to keep them happy in the winter. I have yet to work out whether it's cheaper to make my own but that isn't the only criteria at play.
Whatever we're doing we're doing reasonably right by the chooks. If you compare the above picture with earlier ones you can see the healthy upright red combs on their heads. This is distinctive of vitality and health (as is their turn of speed down the garden at the first rattle of a feed bucket) These bossy, glossy healthy ladies are certainly much happier than the day we collected them by which time they had no doubt improved dramatically since their liberation.
Whatever we're doing we're doing reasonably right by the chooks. If you compare the above picture with earlier ones you can see the healthy upright red combs on their heads. This is distinctive of vitality and health (as is their turn of speed down the garden at the first rattle of a feed bucket) These bossy, glossy healthy ladies are certainly much happier than the day we collected them by which time they had no doubt improved dramatically since their liberation.
Watch this space.
Happy New Day.
Katherine xxx
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