Cancer is an overwhelming epidemic. The number of people affected by cancer is simply heartbreaking. We are learning more about preventive measures and we become more knowledgeable about the causes.

We know their is a relationship between what we eat and cancer and this creates lists of what not to eat such as french fries. We also have identified some foods that we should eat like artichokes and red wine. Many people are so concerned with convenience of their fast food supper, they don’t stop to think about what they are ingesting. First rule in the grocery store is to stay away from prepared prepackeaged meals.

Here are some suggestions found in the book Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic (New Society Publishers, 2007) the authors Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey and Anne Wordsworth consider and list the importance of eating specific foods and drinks for cancer protection. Many of these you may eat but not realize how good they are for you. Others of you may turn up your nose but you should weigh the pros and cons, then search for ways to include them in dishes even if you don’t want to eat them ala carte.

1. Cruciferous vegetables:

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale. These score high for containing many anti-cancer substances such as isothiocyanates. If you don’t like to eat them as a stand-alone dish, try incorporating them into casseroles in small pieces. You will still be able to get some of the advantages without being able to really taste them.

2. Artichoke:

Globe artichoke has very high levels of salvestrols and should be included in your diet. Try adding it to salads and casseroles.

3. Dark greens and vegetables:

Dark greens such as spinach and romaine lettuce add fiber, folate and a wide range of cancer-fighting carotenoids to your diet along with other dark colored vegetables such as beets and red cabbage.

4. Grapes and red wine:

Snack on grapes or add a glass of wine to a meal for the reservatrol.

5. Legumes:

Add beans, peas and lentils for the saponins, protease inhibitors and more.

6. Berries:

Berries particularly blueberries or raspberries should be added to the diet for the ellagic acid and anthocyanosides.

7. Flaxseed:

Flaxseed is good in the diet if you grind it yourself and consume when fresh for the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, lignans and other “good fats.”

8. Garlic, onions, leeks and scallions:

These are good in the diet for many anti-cancer substances including allicin.

9. Green tea:

Green Tea is known for its anti-cancer catechins which is a potent antioxidant.

10. Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are added to the diet for the famous flavenoid lycopene.

Regardless of you time constraints, there are ways to add healthy, nutritious foods into your diet. In these fast times where we search for convenience, are we sacrificing the quality of a lifetime for the sake of a little time at the moment?

All summer you have had nice fresh peppers to use in your cooking and with the coming of the first frost and cold weather, you know those days are coming to an end. But…. they don’t need to end because there are several ways to keep peppers long into the winter so you can continue cooking those nice spicy dishes without having to visit the grocery store.


I put up Jalapeño peppers in two forms, sliced and chopped. To can sliced Jalapeño peppers, first prepare your jars by washing them in hot soapy water, rinsing well and then leave them in a sink of hot water while you prepare the peppers. (You may want to wear gloves while working with a lot of peppers.


Slice all of the peppers in thin slices, discarding the tops. Pack them into the jars (I use both pint and quart size jars) and fill the jars with white vinegar leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rim and close the jar with a NEW lid and ring. (Never reuse the lids. Your health and the possibility of bad seals and food spoilage is not worth the cost of a new lid.)


Once you have all the jars packed process them in a water bath canner for about 15 minutes AFTER the water starts to boil. Remove the jars to cool on a cooling rack. Check to make sure the jars sealed. Store in the pantry to use during the winter. Use same as you would fresh sliced ones.


If you don’t want to slice them and have a food processor, chop them up and can them the same way as the slices. They’re excellent to add into anything where you want to add the flavor but not big bites of peppers. I usually keep some of both on the shelf to tide me over until the garden starts producing again.


Cayenne peppers can be strung up just like Chili peppers to dry. Once dried you simply chop or cruch them up into your favorite dish. I actually don’t string my cayenne peppers, I lay them in a wicker basket and just turn them periodly. They dry nicely that way.


Habanero peppers are a little different. Make sure you have gloves on for these peppers!! These I remove the stem connection, clean the seeds out of the insides and cut into 1/4’s. I then use my dehydrator to dehydrate them and then I use my seal-a-meal to vacuum seal them for storage.


Red, Yellow, Orange, or Green sweet (Bell) peppers are easy to save if you have a little freezer space. Clean the peppers removing stem, core and seeds, pat them dry and cut them into strips. Put the strips in a freezer bag for current use an vacuum seal to save for the winter.


For those of you without a garden, you can pick these peppers up at your local farmers market or a the grocery store when they go on sale. This will provide you with a nutritious low-cost source of peppers for cooking.

The Pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) is a ray-finned fish and is one of our many endangered species. It is found in the waters of the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins of the United States. Its pale coloration gives rise to its name and it is closely related to the more common shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhyncus platorhynchus).


The Acipenseridae (sturgeon) family of fish originated during the Cretaceous period 70 million years ago. Pallid Sturgeons have remained basically unchanged and considered a relic of the dinosaur era. It even looks like a dinosaur with its flattened, shovel-shaped snout, bony plates and long tail that looks like it belongs on a reptile. The pallid has been called “one of the ugliest fish in North America”.


The fish is similar in appearance to the shovelnose sturgeon. The Pallid’s mouth is toothless and positioned under the snout like other sturgeons so they can suck up small fish and other food items from the bottom of the river. Its known habitat extends starting from the Missouri River in central Montana to St. Louis, the Yellowstone River of eastern Montana, and the Mississippi River around St. Louis all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The pallid sturgeon boasts to be one of the largest fish found in these river systems.


This member of the Sturgeon family is much larger averaging between 30 and 60 inches (76 and 150 cm) in length and can weigh up to 85 pounds (39 kg) when matured which takes 15 years to reach maturity. They don’t spawn frequently or on a set time schedule so this may affect their population numbers. Once they are born, barring an untimely demise, they can live up to a hundred years.


The pallid has managed to survive over millions of years withstanding events that caused many other species of fish to go extinct. Even still, their future is still uncertain. Populations of the pallid sturgeon are so small now that one of these big fish are rarely seen or caught by fishermen today. Habitat loss caused by man’s intrusion is blamed as the primary cause in the decline of populations.


Pallid sturgeons evolved for millions of years in a natural river system that had waters with meandering, braided channels and backwaters which provided different depths and flow velocities. Their habitat has been altered by dams that modify flows, reduce turbidity and lower water temperatures in vital habitats. The river habitats of the Missouri and Mississippi also have been altered by various channels and construction of dikes that narrow the rivers and cut-off backwater areas.


The impounded waters created by the addition of man-made structures, apparently do not meet the requirements of the species and successful reproduction has never been documented. It is also likely the forage base once used by pallid sturgeon has been altered affecting growth and reproduction. The largest remaining populations of pallid sturgeon appear to be in the upper Missouri River above Ft. Peck Reservoir in Montana, in the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers above Garrison Reservoir in North Dakota and Montana, in the Mississippi River below St. Louis, Missouri and near the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana.


The Pallid was listed as an endangered species on September 6, 1990 in accordance with provisions of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). River sturgeons that were captured in the Mississippi River at Grafton, Illinois about the early 1900’s report only 1 in 500 were pallid sturgeons. The species continued to decline even further with development of dams and reservoirs on the Missouri River. There are only remnant populations of pallid sturgeon remaining in each of the remaining river habitats.


It is doubtful that any natural reproduction has occurred during the last decade (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). The first Pallid sturgeons to be successfully artificially spawned were in Missouri in 1992. A number of Federal and State hatcheries are conducting studies they hope will benefit management of the pallid. The studies include methods to improve spawning techniques in order to insure survival of brood stock and to increase production of viable eggs and fry.


Finding wild spawned pallid sturgeon gives biologists hope that efforts to restore the side channels and floodplain habitats along the lower Missouri River are being successful. In the summer of 1999, Jim Milligan and his staff of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fisheries Resources Office in Columbia, MO were able to collect the first known wild larval pallid sturgeon from the lower Missouri River. While performing a study, a search at the Lisbon Bottoms Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge reaped a special reward. A young sturgeon was collected in a restored side channel (aka as a habitat bead) where biologists and environmentalist are trying to recreate habitats.


They are creating habitats essential to the continued existence of this ancient species but these habitats will be beneficial to many different species. The location where the young sturgeon was spawned may not be known but what it is known the shallow off-channel habitats provided by the Lisbon Bottoms chute were being used by the young sturgeon as a refuge from the swift main channel currents.


Federal and state agencies are also working on identification of foods and feeding techniques to hopefully improve growth and survival of both fingerling and adult Pallid Sturgeon fish (National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee 1992). It is due to the dedication of so many, that we are slowing but surely reversing destruction we have caused on this planet. Much needs to be learned and so much more work needs to be done.


Due to the efforts of those concerned along with dedicated volunteer groups such as Friends of the Big Muddy, wildlife refuges, habitats, and sanctuaries are being recreated to help many species find a home among us to survive and replenish their numbers instead of fading into history. I have worked with Friends of the Big Muddy in the past and hope to do more in the future.


I encourage everyone to look inside yourself and find a way that you, too, can help. There are many organizations that work on habitats; others dedicated to recycling; still others promoting a green way of life. Everyone can do something. Even if only a single drop of water is placed in a bucket at a time, eventually the bucket will become full.


The information used to bring you this article is provided by the men and women working hard to preserve this species as well as many others. To them we all owe our gratitude. Reference: National Paddlefish and Sturgeon Steering Committee. 1992. Framework for the Management of Conservation of Paddlefish and Sturgeon Species in the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.

Whooping Cranes are named for their unique calls. They are America’s tallest birds standing at four to five feet tall. These birds have a very energy-efficient style of gliding. They ride upwelling currents of warmed air and then drift back down. This movement is repeated over and over again so they are capable of flying long distances.


Hunting and habitat loss have caused whooping cranes to go nearly extinct. Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada is the only place there is a breeding wild population. At one time the Whooping Crane population had dwindled to just fifteen birds.


A breeding program for whooping cranes in captivity was started at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin and known as the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership Reintroduction Project. Once a population in captivity was established, the group decided the birds should be trained to fly south to Florida during winter months.


This migration of whooping cranes will be led by humans and started at a wildlife refuge in Wisconsin on October 10th bound for Florida. Three ultra-light manned aircrafts will lead eleven whooping cranes out of the refuge area towards their first stopover 23 miles away. Any dropout birds will be caught and caged for transport since they are unable to make the journey on their own.


In Operation Migration, the birds were trained using tiny manned aircrafts in order to prepare the birds to make the journey. Planes have been used in working with the cranes for ten years. This group of birds in training is known as the Eastern Migratory Population and is estimated to be comprised of 96 cranes. The total number of wild whooping cranes including those breeding in Canada is about 400. Approximately 260 wild Canadian Whooping Cranes fly to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas each winter.


This year, the group is trying to lead 11 young birds hatched this year on the migration route. Kudos to the men and women dedicated to this project. If you want to follow their progress: http://operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html

You can turn a space into a garden plot, simply by utilizing a blanket of cardboard and/or newspaper. Yes, cardboard along with a thick layer of shredded mulch will do the tilling for you (You may also add and/or substitute several layers of newspaper). Come time to plant, the weed patch will be weed-free and soft enough to plant anything you like.

If you decide to use cardboard, you will need lots of it and preferably huge pieces. There are many places you can find enough cardboard for the job. Supermarkets, big chain grocery stores, furniture stores, and appliance dealers, all have lots of cardboard. Most of these may recycle their cardboard but if call and ask nicely or show up and ask in person, most will give you what they can.

Depending on the size of your garden, you may want to bring a pick-up truck, station wagon, or SUV. You might find yourself with enough cardboard to put to bed every tree, shrub, and perennial in your yard. Rest assured you can order all your favorite plants and seeds throughout the winter without wondering where to plant them in the spring.

How does it work and why does it work so well? Plants including weeds, need light to germinate and grow. Cardboard blocks the light and it kills everything beneath it, except the worms which will help to turn it into wonderful mulch. It keeps the ground from freezing tender perennials. You can hide the unsightly evidence with a two inch layer of shredded mulch on top.

Cardboard can be cut into any shape you want or don’t cut it at all. Spread it around in straight lines, curves and circles using the shredded mulch to shape the desired area. Do not cover your perennials and shrubs with the cardboard! Simply place the cardboard around the plant (cut to fit) and pile-on leaves, composted grass clippings, or pine needles over the plants.

Cardboard will slowly decompose and enrich the soil. It is a paper product made from trees and earthworms love to over-winter underneath its snuggly blanket. Best of all, cardboard kills weeds and grass. Come spring, you can simply cut through the soggy cardboard with your gardening knife, dig a hole, and easily plant your new perennials, shrubs, and annuals. You can even plant seeds or bulbs by simply by cutting an X through what’s left of the cardboard. It will provide you with a wonderful incubator for your new plants.

Overlap the edges of the cardboard so weeds receive no light to germinate during those warm winter thaws. After you lay it down, soak the cardboard with a garden hose, pile on the mulch and soak the mulch on top, too. The cardboard will help to hold moisture and keep your plants and shrubs safe through the winter. Keep adding shredded mulch throughout the next growing season and by the time the cardboard has decomposed completely, you will be able to say “bye-bye” to the weeds, their roots, and its seed.

Cardboard will retain moisture, helping plants make it successfully through intense periods of drought. I live in the Ozarks and I joke about growing rocks. My gardens were a weedy expanse of clay and rocks that we called topsoil when I moved onto the farm 6 years ago. Now, I have a healthy large garden, over-flowing each year with vegetables. My flower beds are filled with shrub roses, lilies, spring flowering shrubs and trees, and spring and summer flowering bulbs.

Try this in your garden or flower beds. You’ll be adding value to your home, growing food for your family, and recycling newspapers and cardboard into useful organic mulch.

The one thing certain about raising babies is that they don’t stay babies. In November, 5 calves were purchased at a local stock sale and brought to the farm. These were calves just pulled off of their moms, so each one had to be bottle fed. Once weaned onto grain and hay and off of the bottle, they started to grow.

Three boys were kept to raise and have names: Big John, Jasper, and Sonny and they love to have their head and horns rubbed. Even though I can walk around them and pet them, they were purchased to raise for freezer beef and the first one will be processed sometime in November at a year of age. This is still young beef or veal, but will produce quite a bit of beef for the freezer until the next one is processed around May.

It is very important for anyone getting into homesteading to understand that they shouldn’t get too attached to the stock. Always keep in mind that the animal you’re naming or petting is going to be butchered for meat. Quite often I talk to people who when the time came to butcher, sold the animal rather than butchering it. I have talked to others who went ahead and butchered the animal, but a member or members of the family wouldn’t eat whenever the meat was prepared for the table.

Part of the whole idea of a homestead farm is to raise things to feed your family. By raising them yourself, you know what they were fed and how they were raised. This allows you to control the chemicals and additives in your food supply.

Living a natural homestead life is not glorious or simple. There is a lot to it but going green or going back to basics is quite satisfying and brings a lot of control back to you and your family.

Twizzler presented us with two beautiful black ewe lambs on May 2nd of this year. For a homestead farm, this was a multiple blessings event. Our small herd increased in size with two ewe lambs that are not related to our ram. This means next year the farm will have four breedable ewes.

Our natural lawn mowers have done an excellent job of keeping the back yard mowed and have learned how to stay in an electric fence. This has given us the ability to turn the sheep out with the horses or the cows, increasing their grazing area and preventing them from over-grazing the yard.

There is another section of yard which will be fenced for them to graze, but other projects and work schedules have stood in the way of its’ completion. One project at a time and things are changing and getting accomplished. With so much more left to do, there’s never a dull moment.

The ewes were named Rebecca and Sharon. Sharon has a little more white around her face if you want to tell them apart. They are still small enough that they are able to move freely from section to section, but seemed to learn rapidly why they shouldn’t come out of the fence. Although my Aussie/Heeler mix (Angel) won’t hurt them, she does herd well and got in behind them to show them the way home. They only tried it twice.

I am looking forward to breeding the two ewes again this fall. Ram lambs will be made into wethers and raised for the freezer while ewe lambs will be sold. Fall of 2011, I’ll be able to breed all four of the girls and then there will be babies everywhere!



If you are thinking of adding sheep to your farm or in keeping a pet lawn mower in the yard, you should check out Shetland Sheep. They are quite adaptable, non-agressive, good mothers, and have beautiful wool. Since they are a little smaller it is easy to maintain a small herd on small acreage.

Raising turkey poults has some similarity to raising chicks but there are a few differences that you need to be aware of. As with raising any type of animal or poultry, if you’ve never done it before, research the issue first. Do not assume! We all know what happens when you do.


Baby turkeys like to play follow the leader. When setting up your brooder, make sure the water dish is shallow or put a rock in it if you aren’t using commercially made poultry waterers. If the dish is too deep, a turkey poult could drown and if one does, the others will probably follow.


Do yourself a favor and research the different ways you can set up a brooder for young poultry. I’ll tell you what I do, but you need to make sure how to set one up using the materials you have. Do Not Use A Cardboard Box! Cardboard holds moisture and you will have a fly breeding ground in no time at all with your little ones walking around on maggots. Sorry if it sounds a little graphic. I would rather you know the reason than try it and find out the hard way. You really need to use something made of plastic or plastic and wire mesh.


If I only have a few birds, say 6 or less, I use a medium to large pet taxi. They are easy to clean and it is easy to open up the taxi on the backside and insert a clamp lamp for heat while keeping it from being too close to the baby birds. On the bottom I usually put aspen or pine shavings. It makes it easy to clean and keeps them clean too. You can use newspaper but as the paper gets wet it tends to bleed the ink onto the birds. I would rather use a natural material without the ink and chemicals.


Into the pet taxi I place a small chick feeder filled with feed. Some use chick starter and others use game bird starter. I prefer to use game bird starter for my turkey poults. They seem to get a better start with it. You can use whatever type of feeder you have as long as it doesn’t take up too much space and the poults can’t scratch the feed out and waste it.


Next place a chick or game bird waterer into the pet taxi. It is best to sit this up on a block of wood. I usually use a piece of 2×4 cut to a 4″ length. This keeps the birds from kicking the litter into the water and keeps the water fresher longer. If the block is too large, the poults will perch on it and mess into their water.


This setup should last the birds for a couple of weeks until they are feathered enough to be moved into a non-heated habitat (unless you’re climate is still on the cool side, then keep them with heat a little longer). Once the poults are mostly feathered (unless you have nice warm temperatures) you can move them into an outdoor pen to continue their growth.


Remember that predators such as raccoons will climb into any enclosure after the young birds unless you have it fully enclosed or have an external gaurd (such as a dog) that will keep predators away. Also be aware that hawks will swoop down and carry off young birds if the pen is fairly large and the poults are still fairly small. Once you have raised them up to about a third of their adult size, they will look less like a quick snack and you won’t have to worry about them as much.


I have several small pens within a fenced area that are approximately 4′ x 9′. These pens are an ideal size to house several young poults, ducks, geese or chickens (young chickens can fly really well so make sure the fences are tall enough to keep them in). Each pen has a small house, waterer, and food dish under cover. For ducks I use the bottom trays off of rabbit/guinea pig cages that I pick up at the auctions. For bigger water fowl I use kiddie pools.


Once the poults have grown enough to determine sex, then I divide them into family units with one tom for every two or three hens. I try very hard to make sure the eggs or young birds come from different sources to ensure better bloodlines.


At this time we have Black Spanish Turkeys and Bourbon Red Turkeys. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck with the Narragansett eggs, but I’ll keep trying!

The farm has new additions to its’ livestock… Shetland Sheep. Although mowing the yard is one of the reasons they came to Belle Manor, it’s not the only reason. These sheep will provide meat for the table, wool pelts for craft and sewing projects, and wool fleece for spinning.

I will give you a little background on these sheep.

Shetland sheep are a small, fine-wooled breed of sheep originating in the Shetland Isles, but now also kept in many other parts of the world. They are one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep, a group which also includes the Hebridean, Soay, Finnsheep, Norwegian Spaelsau, Icelandic, Romanov and others. Shetlands are classed as a landrace or “unimproved” breed. This breed was raised primarily for meat but is rapidly becoming more known for it’s fine quality wool.

Although Shetlands are small and slow growing compared to commercial breeds, they are hardy, thrifty, easy lambers, adaptable and long-lived. The Shetland breed has survived for centuries in difficult conditions and on a poor diet so they thrive in better conditions. Shetlands retain many of their primitive survival instincts so they are easier to care for than many modern breeds.

Breed Characteristics

Shetlands appear in a wide variety of colors, many of which are called by their traditional names by breeders. The Shetland is one of the smallest British breeds. The ewes are usually polled (hornless) and the rams usually horned. The breed is noted for its very fine, soft wool and the high quality of its meat, though its smaller size limits its use in commercial meat markets. They are small-bodied animals with no wool on the face, nose or legs, and have small erect ears. The legs are of medium length and finely boned. A distinguishing feature of northern short-tailed sheep is the short, fluke-shaped tail, broad at the base, tapering to a point, and covered towards the tip in hair instead of wool.

Shetlands occur in very many different colors and patterns, most of which have particular names.

Rams usually weigh 90 to 125 lb (41 to 57 kg) and ewes about 75 to 100 lb (34 to 45 kg).

Shetland Wool

The wool produced by the Shetland has historically been a valued commodity. Shetlands produce numerous shades of wool colors, and this variety made it commercially important to the wool industry of the Shetland Isles, where natural wools are often used undyed. Tweed is also produced from the coarser Shetland wool but the Isles are best known for their multi-colored knitwear and for the traditional knitted lace shawls which are so fine they will pass through a wedding ring. Fleeces usually weigh between 2 and 4 lb (0.91 and 1.8 kg).

Lambing

The usual gestation for sheep is approximately five months (150 days), but Shetland ewes tend to lamb at about 146 to 148 days. Ewes become fertile in October and November (in the northern hemisphere), lambing in spring or summer. On the poor grazing of the breed’s native Isles the lambing percentage is about 130%. However, when the ewes are on better pasture, twin lambs are common, especially from mature ewes. Shetland ewes are hardy, easy lambers, good mothers and produce a lot of milk. Healthy lambs are born weighing around 4 to 7 lb (2 to 3 kg).

Colors and Patterns

Many of the numerous colors and patterns have Shetland dialect names. Eleven main colors are recognized (most including many different shades): Light Grey, Grey, White, Emsket (dusky bluish-grey), Musket (light greyish-brown), Shaela (dark steely-grey), Black, Fawn, Moorit (reddish), Mioget (honey-toned, yellowish-brown), Dark Brown.

Over thirty different coat patterns are recognised, incorporating various combinations of the colors. They include Katmoget (dark belly and dark shading around nose and eyes, lighter elsewhere), Gulmoget (light belly, dark face with light marks around eyes, dark elsewhere), Yuglet (generally light with dark “panda” patches around eyes), Bleset (dark with white blaze down face), Smirslet (white marking around muzzle), Bersugget (irregular patches of different colors) and Bielset (with a collar of a differing color).

The farm’s new ram is a beautiful grey and looks quite different since he was sheared. His registered name is Whipping Cream (who would do that?) but he’s usually called Little Man. His disposition is so nice it is a real pleasure having him around. You do have to watch your backside if he’s too close behind you, but he’s only wanting attention. Here he is before he was sheared and again after he was sheared.

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One of the ewes is due to lamb on April 29th. I’m hoping for twins as big as she is. Her name is Twizzler and this photo is before she was sheared. She’s a little shy but is getting friendlier.

The other ewe is also bred but not due for a little while. She wasn’t sheared last year so was a little matted when she came here. TwoStep is allowing a pet here or there as well.

Although each has a black face, the body wool on all three is quite different. This will give me a variety of natural colors when spinning the wool for weaving or for knitting and crocheting.

These wonderful creatures are a delight and a good addition to a homestead. Since they are not real large sheep, they also fit in well on a smaller homestead while providing many benefits. Sheep do not compete with cattle for graze preferring the broader leaved grass and weeds to the tall grass cattle prefer. This helps to keep the pastures in better shape in a natural way. This is just another piece in the puzzle on the way to becoming more self-sufficient while also helping heritage and endangered breeds.

It is time to start hatching your heritage poultry eggs if you haven’t already. Depending on the locale or hatchery you purchase your eggs from, the turkeys and geese have either started to lay their eggs or will be soon. There are many heritage breeds to choose from but consider the breeds that are on the threatened or critical lists. These birds are endangered and could become extinct, so help build the numbers while raising meat for your table. There is a good market for the eggs and goslings.

The incubator was started up 24 hours before the eggs arrived. Right now it has 4 Pilgrim goose eggs and 6 Bourbon Red turkey eggs in it with more Pilgrim eggs on the way. I have prepaid for Narragansett turkey eggs and look forward to the hens laying so I can start those eggs as well. Each breed hatched will be housed separately so there will be no chance of cross breeding. When the hens aren’t laying then they can free-range on the farm.

Due to economics and the will of the people wanting more white meat, turkeys have been genetically bred for large breasts. The large white turkeys coomonly raised for the table are so out of proportion that many are unable to stand up and walk normally by the time they reach butcher weight. These birds also have to be artificially inseminated because they cannot mate naturally. All of this just so the general public can have a little more white meat.

The heritage turkeys are beautiful birds and will make an attractive addition to your farm and a good protector for your flock. The meat is full of flavor and the birds will produce an excellent meal for your family. Any extra eggs or poults are easily marketed to halp offset your costs. The satisfaction is also in knowing you are producing quality food for your family while helping to increase the population numbers of one of our heritage breeds.



Bourbon Red turkeys are handsome birds with brownish to dark red plumage and white flight and tail feathers. The tail feathers have soft red bars crossing them near the end. The body feathers on the toms may be edged in black while neck and breast feathers are chestnut mahogany, and the under-color feathers are light buff to almost white. The Bourbon Red’s beak is light horn at the tip and dark at the base. The throat wattle is red, changeable to bluish white; the beard is black; and the shanks and toes are pink. Standard weights for Bourbon Reds reach about 23 pounds for young toms and 14 pounds for young hens. Since, however, the Bourbon Red has not been selected for production attributes, including weight gain, for years, many birds may be smaller than the standard. Careful selection for good health, ability to mate naturally, and production attributes will return this variety to its former stature.

The Bourbon Red is an attractive bird for either exhibition or just for the backyard. They are active foragers, and would probably do well in a pasture production system. They also present an attractive carcass when dressed, since the light pinfeathers leave no residue of dark pigment showing the feather follicles as with the Bronze. This breed is on the watch list so it’s numbers are increasing.



The Narragansett turkey is on the threatened list. Its’ color pattern contains black, gray, tan, and white. The pattern is similar to that of the Bronze, with steel gray or dull black replacing the coppery bronze. White wing bars are the result of a genetic mutation which removes the bronze coloration and is not known outside the United States. The Narragansett’s beak is horn colored; its head is red to bluish white; and its beard is black. The shanks and feet are salmon colored. The standard weight for young hens is 14 pounds and a tom is 23 pounds.

Narragansett turkeys have traditionally been known for their calm disposition, good maternal abilities, early maturation, egg production, and excellent meat quality. As recently as 50 years ago, they were used for their production qualities. This historic variety is unique to North America. The Narragansett turkey would make a useful and beautiful addition to the family farm.



Pilgrim geese are a new breed but are listed as critical and definetly worth the time and investment.They were first documented in 1939 so they are a ‘new’ breed but one develoed here in the United States and worth saving.

The Pilgrim goose is known for being calm and personable. It is also the only American goose breed that is auto-sexing. Day-old gosling males are silver-yellow with light-colored bills while the female gosling is in contrast in olive-gray with darker bills. Adult ganders [males] are mostly white, usually with gray rumps (which are covered by the wings) and traces of color in the tail and wings. Mature geese (females) are a soft gray like a dove with varying amounts of white on their face. The bills and legs are orange in both sexes but there is another distinguishing feature. The eyes are blue in ganders and dark brown in geese.

Pilgrim geese are medium-sized geese usually weighing in about 13 to 14 pounds at maturity. The head is trim and the crown is often slightly flattened. The neck is average in length and thickness. Their bodies are full and plump with a smooth keel-less breast. They should have two rounded fatty lobes on the abdomen. Pilgrims can lay 35-45 white eggs annually, each weighing about six to seven ounces.

Pilgrims are adaptable birds being rugged and good foragers. They are quiet and docile. Both are excellent natural parents and they are good medium-sized roasting birds. It is a simple matter even for a beginner to properly mate Pilgrims and to keep the correct ratio of males to females when selecting young for future breeders since they are sex-linked for color. Ganders can be mated with three to five geese. Pilgrims are an excellent choice for the home goose flock.

Our farm is trying to make a difference even if it does appear to be a small one. Not to do anything to preserve these breeds would be a shame. Many of the heritage breeds are better producers and sturdier stock than the new genetically modified species we have to consume now. I like knowing where my food comes from and what it eats. I also like knowing I can make a difference.