The Atavistic Croft

On an adventure to rediscover raising animals in a way that honours their wisdom and nourishes the land.

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@Korteacres 😆

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@ExtropiAna 💗

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

Like a fresh citrusy bite of forest with a little astringent linger of resin, and almost a hint of rosemary.

They are best when new buds, but don’t over pick on any tree. Once you remove the bud, there is no more growth for that branch until next year.

I like to take from the lowest branches of established trees.

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

We love eating spruce tips fresh as well as in tea. After chatting with @daybreak957, I searched my brain for a good way to preserve them.

I love preserving garlic, ginger, and turmeric in raw honey, so thought maybe I would try that! I will also be trying in olive oil, but I do not think the spruce tips will keep quite as long that way, I am not sure though. I know the flavours will be lovely together.

When preserving in honey, make sure it is RAW honey, and ensure that all parts of the plant being preserved are completely covered in the honey.

I will let this ferment for at least a month before trying it!

See attached post for how we sustainably forage our spruce tips!

🌲 🍯

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

The spruce are just about at the perfect stage to harvest! Spruce tips make for such a refreshing tea!

I have seen them dipped in chocolate too, which sounds interesting.

I love foraging, but I believe it is important to do so sustainably. When you pick a spruce tip, you are ending the growth of that branch for the season. With this in mind, I follow these guidelines:

🌲 Never take from the leader (centre branch).

🌲 Avoid small/young trees. They are putting a lot of energy into growing, let them get big and strong.

🌲 Choose new tips from lower branches of mature trees, and minimise how much you take from each tree (I like to keep it less than 20% of the new growth).

💚 Happy foraging! 🌲

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@MagistraNCSWIC @daybreak957 Oh, that sounds great! I will have to try it!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@AliciaAmarilyn Rosemary would be delicious with these beautiful cuts!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@Elisabeth677051 @AlpacaAurelius Well, cage free just means they have a larger cage - it would still be in a sanitary factory environment with no bugs for them to eat.

Where did this push to make chickens vegetarian come from! My goodness, chickens like to catch and eat mice, frogs, worms, insects . . .

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

Good morning from the croft!

Mama is definitely producing too much milk for one kid - poor girl, her udder was just so full, and babe couldn’t even get a hold.

Milking is now part of our morning routine, and I have to say, the taste of the warm fresh milk is amazing!

🥛

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@savngmy_sol Tobacco 💚

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

What might we be growing here . . .

The ultimate medicinal (including anti-parasitic) plant! 🌱

These little babies are from seeds I saved from last year’s crop.

[Homesteading4sovereignty @sovernTranch]

The grass is really growing with all this rain

Knee to waist high in places that hasn’t been grazed in the last few weeks

I’ve found at least a dozen ticks on me and not a single one has bit me

I’m telling y’all… look into tobacco as an anti parasitic

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

You do make a good point though. When I first got chickens, I realised that not a single feed available for purchase had good ingredients - not one! I had to make my own. Finally, I found an organic (uncertified, but ACTUAL organic) farmer who would do a custom blend for me.

So, yes, if you aren’t getting a custom chicken feed - it is loaded with ingredients that you don’t want (and problematic above and beyond the soy and corn).

Raising your own animals for feed does not give you control of what you’re eating if you are still buying their feed from a farm store.

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

Well, store bought pasture raised, yes. My pasture-raised chickens are in the field and the forest and topped up with custom soy-free, corn-free mash.

You just need to find a farmer with the same values and support that producer - or start raising your own.

Grocery store chicken meat and eggs are gross.

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@FAFOFarmsTX Love this one thousand times over! ❤️

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@gregcello We currently have about seven different salts in the cupboard. Salt is wonderful, and there are so many different varieties!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@feralforager Stunning photos!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@dalerwills Perfect!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@1ManNhisDog Oh my that is windy! Hat’s off to you for trekking through that storm!

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@CaryKelly11 Oh, this looks amazing! 🤤

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

@_donutninja 🙌🏼

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

Chick’s first water:

I want to make sure my chicks get the best start. When I transfer them into the brooder from the incubator, I have the waterer filled with my Power Tea (I may need to work on the name).

The day the chicks are hatching, I simmer the following in water on the stove top (keep it warm but never reaching a boil):

Oregano
Thyme
Ginger
Garlic
Sea salt

I let this steep for several hours, then add raw honey and apple cider vinegar.

This mix becomes the concentrate that I dilute with water to 50% concentration, then give to my little chicks.

In the repost below you can find the first feed I like to give my chicks.

I have never used medicated feed (or any commercially available feed for that matter), nor have I ever vaccinated my animals.

They are all very healthy, and I think that this immune boosting tea really helps give them a solid start.

I use this same tea for my adult chickens when I am worried about any potential sickness - like right now when it is very wet from the endless rain we have had.

If I have chicks with a long difficult hatch, I will add some cayenne pepper. The capsaicin in cayenne pepper promotes circulation by stimulating the release of nitric oxide and other vasodilators, which relax and widen blood vessels so blood can flow more easily.

Some people say it is pure coincidence but that my birds are healthy, and I will not dismiss that possibility. I do know that this lovely herbal concoction does not harm them in any way, and is loaded with nutrients.

I would love to hear what other people give their newly hatched chicks!

🐣

Note: I use marbles or coloured stones to prevent the little ones from drowning in the water. We did learn that lesson the hard way, sadly.

[The Atavistic Croft @AtavisticCroft]

Chick Starter Feed 🐥

This is how we give our chicks a strong start:

1. We start with a high protein feed (this is turkey feed we buy directly from the producer).

2. For the first three days we add the yokes of hard boiled eggs from our own chickens.
🥚 Day one is a 75/25 egg yoke to crumble ratio.
🥚 Day two is a 50/50 yoke to crumble ratio.
🥚 Day three is a 25/75 yoke to crumble ratio.
🥣 Day four and onward is pure crumble.

Apple cider vinegar can be added to the water or the feed. I usually add it to the water, but I forgot this past time, so the liquid you see in this picture is ACV.

Over the past two years, and many hatchings, this is the mix I have come to like the most.

This is for chicks. Ducklings have different nutritional needs, so I will cover how we approach that in a different post.

Happy Hatching from the croft in the far north! 🐣