Nugget is no more! We had to cull one of the little chicks about a week ago, I was afraid he was sick with something contagious but it turns out he was a victim of Nugget's aggressive behavior. So this past Saturday, even though he could have used a few more weeks to fatten up, we took Nugget out back and made him into, well, nuggets. I would have taken pictures but it was dark out and it was cold, so we were trying to get it done as fast as possible. But here is a picture of the final product. Look at all that nice, dark leg meat!

So last night I cooked up the bird and some potatoes, carrot and celery and tonight we are having chicken and dumplings. I use bisquick for the dumplings and they always turn out well. The trick with making the stew flavorful is to slowly cook the chicken (with listed seasoning), bones and all, until the meat falls right off, then remove the bird and debone. I then return the meat back into the pot and ad the vegetables. I added 2 bay leaves, some parsley, and a little rosemary for seasoning along with salt and pepper. The stew thickens a little because of the potatoes and dumplings, but I normally add a little flower dissolved in warm water to the mix prior to dropping the dumplings in to make it a little thicker.

Jeff wants meat goats…. which I’m fine with, but I like sheep better. I LOVE my Shetlands, but raising the breed just for meat doesn’t make sense and I have no idea what to do with their wool. (If anyone knows how to shear sheep I will give you their wool in exchange) So I have found a breed of sheep I think would work great for us. They are a larger sheep, are naturally disease resistant, birth easy, you don’t have to dock their tails, and they shed in the spring so no shearing! Unfortunately there are only a handful of them in the US. They are called Wiltshire Horn Sheep and they are super popular in Australia, and gaining popularity in the US. Because their coat adjusts to the climate they are in they can be raised in cold and warm climates. The Wiltshire is an ancient British breed of sheep that nearly went extinct in the early 20th century. The breed was exported to the US where they were used to breed the modern Katahdin sheep. 

I would love to get my hands on a small herd of these sheep, but it looks like if I want them I am going to have to travel and pay out the noise for the real deal and not a hybrid. Most of the other heritage hair sheep breeds are smaller and used primarily for trophy hunting, so they have big horns but their bodies are smaller and they are more adapted to warmer climates. If anyone knows of where I can find a few of these beauties either leave a comment below or send me an email KaylaP@theimpulsivefarmer.com

We hope to build something like this for our chickens. It's the chicken coop at Cerridwen Farm in Poultney, VT which is run by Green Mountain College. P.S. This picture was taken by this guy, not me.

The deadline for submitting our paperwork is today! Luckily we finished everything up last night and submitted it this morning. The meeting is going to be on Tuesday February 8th. Hopefully everything goes well and we won't have to deal with anymore of this bull sh**.

The two older chicks that were born in October are almost full grown and they are both rooster! Good thing is the little white one, that has been dubbed Nugget, is an evil little creature and I can't wait until he is big enough to eat! Plus, just a few days ago the little bastard started crowing and he crows more then his dad! Errr, so annoying!

On the other hand, Dumpling, the little black chick is a sweetie! He is so cuddly I might have a hard time butchering him. Dumpling is such a sweet little guy I bring him up into the living room at night and he watches TV with me and the dogs and cats. As you can see in the picture below. :) Although I don't think my cat Shiva is very happy that a chicken has taken over what is normally his spot on my lap.