Changing seasons
May 10th, 2009 - Posted in Kaimata Croft, chickens, sheep, wellbeing - by Sarah|
Well winter is definitely here in the South Island – this week’s weather warnings are for heavy snow rather than torrential rain 
.
Moulting chicken with tail feathers growing back and others feathers fluffed out as much as possible to compensate for missing ones.
It is not really that cold here in our micro climate at the croft and the grass is still definitely growing down in the paddock. Sitting typing this requires 3 tops and thermal leggings under my jeans though. The sheep are happy with the cold as the grown ups haven’t been shorn since spring and the lambs were done in March. The chickens have been busy moulting over the last few weeks. If you read the chicken care books they all talk about moulting happening gradually over a long period but ours tend to go from fully clothed to almost bald overnight and then spend a couple of weeks looking more like a hedgehog as their new feathers grow through.
There are bigger changes than a new coat of feathers on the horizon for me and Brendhan though. We are heading off to Queenstown for the winter. For many months now we have been considering whether the Croft is the right place for us and we’re hoping that a few months away will help us to reach a conclusion. There are many things that we really enjoy about living here such as growing our own food and building. However, we have found ourselves feeling the lack of the kind of cultural and social opportunities that really suit us on the coast.
The fact that we have spent over 2 years living with temporary accommodation has also ground us down and a few months away (with an inside loo!!!) may enable us to get a clearer perspective on the place. By the end of the winter we will decide whether to start the house foundations or put the croft on the market and move elsewhere permanently.
woven scarves
So in the meantime Brendhan has been offered a job with one of Queenstown’s main wireless internet providers, Headquarters, and I am hoping to combine selling my weaving and felt at local markets with running fibre craft workshops for people looking for a break from the ski slopes. Much more on this to follow over the next few weeks.
I will also be coming back here regularly to keep an eye on the sheep but we have decided to find other homes for the chickens. So if any West Coast readers would like some or all just respond to this post.
chickens looking for a new home
Births, Marriages & Deaths
March 31st, 2009 - Posted in chickens, self-sufficiency, sheep - by Sarah|
Hen and chicks
We recently decided to see if our new rooster was doing his stuff and put half a dozen eggs underneath one of our perpetually broody hens. Lo and behold, 3 weeks later we have 3 chicks. All of the eggs had developed to some degree but we think that the fact that the hen had been broody for quite a while before we gave her the eggs, coupled with our first really cold nights since last winter, may be to blame for only 3 hatching.
They are now at the stage of getting massively bigger every day and our main concern is keeping them away from the local Wekas who seem to be very hungry at the moment.
The hatching took place while we were away in Martinborough attending the wedding of Nathan and Lisa which was a nice opportunity to catch up with the extended family and for me to meet some of Brendhan’s relatives that I’d never encountered before. All the best to you guys!
Anyone who has grown emotionally attached to our sheep through reading this blog should probably stop here as we finally took Cardigan and Mittens to the butcher last week.
Off to the butcher
We debated killing and butchering them ourselves but decided in the end to go for the easier option of taking them to Hokitika Homekill. I feel a bit guilty about not being there when they were killed but not enough to stop me eating them when we get them back again .
Hanging sheep (Mittens on left) and Keri from Hokitika Homekill
We dropped them off on the Thursday and I went along the next day to collect their skins as I am having a go at tanning them. Their carcases had been hung to cool down and I persuaded Keri to pose beside Mittens for a photo to give it a sense of scale.
They are being hung in their cool store for a week before being chopped into joints, chops etc and bagged up for us to collect.
Meanwhile, I salted the skins and then spent today stripping all the last bits of fat off them and trimming unwanted extremities off (eg ears). Then I washed them and put them into a tanning solution. I’m using a Leder pack that I got from a local outdoor/sports shop. I’ve been told that it tends to give white wool a slightly blue cast but hopefully it won’t be too noticeable on darker wool.
They will sit in the solution for about 10 days and then will need washing, stretching and greasing until the leather is soft and supple.
Salted Mittens skin complete with ears
