Wild Turkey Farms News- July 22
MISERABLY HOT & HUMID. That's the only way to describe the majority of this week. I (and all the critters) am hoping that we'll get a break soon but it looks like at least a couple more days to go. Things at the farm have been going full bore for the past couple weeks.
The Great Goose Roundup 2011
This spring we thought it would be a great learning experience to let Rosty and Charlie hatch some goose eggs from our pair of Chinese geese. Fortunately (or unfortunately- however you want to look at it) we had good luck hatching them off and have been awash in geese ever since. After a few semi-successful ads in the local feed stores and on Craigslists, we were still plagued with 11 of these increasingly aggressive, hissing, leg biting, pasture alarms. Lucky for us, our neighbor Andy was going to the livestock sale in Shelby on Thursday and had room for a few extra hitchhikers. About 20 minutes until dark we began the attack- Domisty, Rosty, Charlie, & myself. After a few failed attempts at herding them to the barn we decided to try the "crowd, dive, and grab technique". Now this may sound cruel and borderline on animal cruelty but I can assure you that the geese fared quite well. Domisty and he boys fared quite well since they left all of the majority of the "dive & grab" part to me. As if being hot, sweaty, and out of breath weren't enough, the geese seemed to stay in the areas covered with bull nettles, spiny pigweed, and goose poop which made the "dive" part of the technique rather unenjoyable. This went on until about 30 minutes after dark and all but 1 goose had been caught. I unfortunately underestimated the amount of attachment that Rosty & Charlie had for one small goose in the group, so this was followed 30 minutes of crying about having to sell "Baby Goose". Lucky for them there was only enough room on Andy's truck for 9 geese so Baby got a reprieve for now. Who knows, perhaps one of you would like a goose for Christmas.....
The turkeys are in!!! We got 200 baby turkeys in this week and so far they are doing good despite the heat. Some of you may recall that last year the heat claimed a large chunk of our turkeys but we're hoping it won't be the case this year. We'll plan on starting our Thanksgiving turkey list in mid October (but we have plenty of time to get you the details on that so stay tuned).
HOTDOGS ARE BACK!!!! We picked them up Thursday so come by the markets and stock up on this summertime favorite.
WE ARE RELOADED ON OUR GRASS FED LAMB & BEEF TOO!!! Picked it up on Thursday too. Ground, Chops, Kabobs, Steaks, Short Ribs, Etc- we've got it all (even if it's only for a while)
Pepperoni and Salami are still a couple weeks out.
Elizabeth Ave Farmers Market (8am- noon)- We've just started at this brand new farmers market. Our friends Chef Charles Catering, Landis Gourmet Mushrooms, Customshop Restaurant, and Stone Seafood are all in attendance so come visit see us on Elizabeth Ave (1 block back toward uptown from Customshop). Send us an order and we'll
Davidson Farmers Market (8am-noon)- Courtney and Joe will be covering for us again at Davidson so come check them out. Come find us in the town hall parking lot and stock up on our delicious pork, beef, chicken, and eggs.
Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow. 7am-noon To make sure you get what you want, send us an email & we'll have it ready to pick up.
We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain
Know Your Farms Buying Club- Davidson/Charlotte
Bread Riot Coop- Salisbury
Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.
Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie
Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC
MISERABLY HOT & HUMID. That's the only way to describe the majority of this week. I (and all the critters) am hoping that we'll get a break soon but it looks like at least a couple more days to go. Things at the farm have been going full bore for the past couple weeks.
The Great Goose Roundup 2011
This spring we thought it would be a great learning experience to let Rosty and Charlie hatch some goose eggs from our pair of Chinese geese. Fortunately (or unfortunately- however you want to look at it) we had good luck hatching them off and have been awash in geese ever since. After a few semi-successful ads in the local feed stores and on Craigslists, we were still plagued with 11 of these increasingly aggressive, hissing, leg biting, pasture alarms. Lucky for us, our neighbor Andy was going to the livestock sale in Shelby on Thursday and had room for a few extra hitchhikers. About 20 minutes until dark we began the attack- Domisty, Rosty, Charlie, & myself. After a few failed attempts at herding them to the barn we decided to try the "crowd, dive, and grab technique". Now this may sound cruel and borderline on animal cruelty but I can assure you that the geese fared quite well. Domisty and he boys fared quite well since they left all of the majority of the "dive & grab" part to me. As if being hot, sweaty, and out of breath weren't enough, the geese seemed to stay in the areas covered with bull nettles, spiny pigweed, and goose poop which made the "dive" part of the technique rather unenjoyable. This went on until about 30 minutes after dark and all but 1 goose had been caught. I unfortunately underestimated the amount of attachment that Rosty & Charlie had for one small goose in the group, so this was followed 30 minutes of crying about having to sell "Baby Goose". Lucky for them there was only enough room on Andy's truck for 9 geese so Baby got a reprieve for now. Who knows, perhaps one of you would like a goose for Christmas.....
The turkeys are in!!! We got 200 baby turkeys in this week and so far they are doing good despite the heat. Some of you may recall that last year the heat claimed a large chunk of our turkeys but we're hoping it won't be the case this year. We'll plan on starting our Thanksgiving turkey list in mid October (but we have plenty of time to get you the details on that so stay tuned).
HOTDOGS ARE BACK!!!! We picked them up Thursday so come by the markets and stock up on this summertime favorite.
WE ARE RELOADED ON OUR GRASS FED LAMB & BEEF TOO!!! Picked it up on Thursday too. Ground, Chops, Kabobs, Steaks, Short Ribs, Etc- we've got it all (even if it's only for a while)
Pepperoni and Salami are still a couple weeks out.
Elizabeth Ave Farmers Market (8am- noon)- We've just started at this brand new farmers market. Our friends Chef Charles Catering, Landis Gourmet Mushrooms, Customshop Restaurant, and Stone Seafood are all in attendance so come visit see us on Elizabeth Ave (1 block back toward uptown from Customshop). Send us an order and we'll
Davidson Farmers Market (8am-noon)- Courtney and Joe will be covering for us again at Davidson so come check them out. Come find us in the town hall parking lot and stock up on our delicious pork, beef, chicken, and eggs.
Salisbury Farmers Market tomorrow. 7am-noon To make sure you get what you want, send us an email & we'll have it ready to pick up.
We hope that you'll support some of the chefs & businesses that support us & other local farmers.
Customshop Restaurant- Charlotte
Chef Charles Catering - Charlotte/ DFM
Black Mountain Farmers Market- Black Mountain
Know Your Farms Buying Club- Davidson/Charlotte
Bread Riot Coop- Salisbury
Thanks for your support, have a great weekend, and we'll see you at the market.
Lee, Domisty, Rosty, & Charlie
Wild Turkey Farms
China Grove, NC
