The Goshawk

We have a Goshawk in residence -- actually, a mating pair.

The environmentalist in me is pretty excited about it -- the farmer, not so much. I had never really heard of goshawks in these parts and it took a while to figure out what was getting at our chickens -- that is, until one managed to get itself caught in the brooder pen.

We have had all kinds of predators: coyotes, fox, owl, red tails -- each can be handled with a little ingenuity and some understanding of the animal you're dealing with. A bit of electric fence; strategic placement of fishing line; careful timing when the chickens go in and out -- there is usually a simple change that can encourage a predator to look elsewhere for dinner. The goshawk is different.

For those who might not know, goshawks live and hunt in the woods. They are very comfortable swooping through brush and tight places to get their prey. Unlike the wary red tail hawk who likes wide open space and will avoid any situation that it doesn't completely understand, the goshawk throws itself with reckless abandon at anything that seems like food. They are amazingly patient. I have had one watch me do chores for well on forty minutes from his perch high up in the willow above the chicken house.

Worst of all, these guys will fly right into a chicken house and hang around until it has finished it's meal. I knew I had trouble when I was finding partially eaten chickens and guineas lying in the middle of the coop floor. It never occurred to me that my adversary had less than four legs. It started as a one bird loss a week; then one every other day; then nearly every day. At that point, there was no sign of what was getting into the coop. Clearly it was happening in the late afternoon when we were either at work or picking up the kids from school. We started shooing the chickens inside and locking them down earlier and earlier in the day. It seemed to be working. And then...

One chilly Saturday afternoon in January, my eldest came running into the house screaming "Papa! come QUICK!". Out in a brooder pen was a dead chicken and a very alive goshawk. I had put the guineas and a few chickens in the small house with an enclosed pen attached to keep the guineas (who aren't too bright) from roosting in a tree and freezing to death. The top had only been rigged well enough to keep the guineas in. Unfortunately, there was enough of a gap to let the goshawk drop himself in as well. Getting out was another matter.

It was really fascinating to get such a close look at our intruder. Fear is not a word I would use to describe his behavior -- mad is more like it. He climbed around and hung upside-down and stood in defiance. These pictures are from that event. His talons are extraordinarily long and thin. Not as brutish as a red tail -- more like surgical instruments.

We let him go and started fortifying the chicken houses. He still has managed to get himself stuck inside a few more times and we have responded with more fortifications. This is difficult for me since I will not hurt this noble bird, but I am also committed to getting my girls on grass at least part of the year. Necessity is the mother of invention -- I have a few ideas -- we’ll see what we come up with.

Yesterday morning, I went out to feed the chicks and there was the goshawk as proud as you please. We are quite used to each other at this point. He was sitting on a stump watching my next batch of pullets scratch around in the wood chips. He looked at me as if to say: "well, you got those young'ns locked up pretty good."And then he flew up into the top of a locust tree. I watched as he launched himself out of the tree only to see a second goshawk also take flight -- this one with a twig in it's grip. I guess we'll be living with goshawks for a long time to come.

New Piglets Arrive!

This Sunday, I made a trek up north to Hogwash Farm to get ten frisky, squealing, Tamworth/Gloucestershire Old Spot feeder piglets. I consider this a near perfect cross. Lots of vigor, rich dark meat, friendly disposition, and self-sufficient in field or wood: these pigs are ideal for the smallhold farmer with semi-tamed land.

The Tamworth provides a long, lean, bacon-type body shape with lots of genes carried forward from the ancient wild British Isle boars. They are not particularly large and have fairly narrow shoulders. Tamworths are considered the oldest and most pure continuously bred line of pork. They have survived in large part because of their rarified genetics. Since most other “modern” or “improved” varieties share a lot of genes with China pigs, crossing one of them with a Tamworth provides the farmer more “hybrid vigor” then if crossed with another modern breed. Even in their own right, Tamworths were considered a great “bacon type” right into the 1950s since they tend to make long, meaty bacons - far better bacon than a typical “pink pig.” But like so many of the superstars of the old-school farmyard, the industry passed over the Tamworth for breeds that did better in dense confinement eating mostly corn. In fact, in the 1970s the USDA promoted the idea that hogs should be raised near large factory corn operations to help prop up the price of corn on commodity markets. This is not the environment nor the diet where Tamworths thrive. Their numbers declined at an alarming rate until they eventually became listed as “endangered” on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy’s watch list in 1977. Fortunately, the Tamworth is making a comeback. While still listed as “threatened”, so many small farmers have rediscovered the virtues of Tamworths that their numbers are increasing nicely.

Gloucestershire Old Spot, on the other hand, are large and affable foragers. They provide some of the girth and marbling in the crosses; improving the butts and hams and rounding out the compact Tamworth frame. Another very old breed of questionable origin, the GOS was known as an “orchard pig” since it was used to clean up the windfall apples and pears in the orchards of Gloucestershire, England. Unfortunately, their numbers are even smaller than the Tamworth with a “critical” designation on the ALBC watch list.

Anyone who has eaten pork from these breeds (or their crosses) knows that it shares precious little with the dry, faintly flavored, “white meat” of supermarket pork. It is truly another type of food entirely. So rich and flavorful, tender and marbled: there can be no more stark an example of why preserving older breeds is important work. As a consumer, the superior quality of the meat alone should be enough. For me as a farmer, its the whole package. Livestock that can be productive on forage and wholesome leftovers from other farm activities -- rather than mountains of grain -- is an important start. But more interestingly, it is precisely the things that make these pigs thrifty that define their quality on the table -- a nice example of how sustainable agriculture improves human culture in a simple, tangible way.

This is why I admire folks like Nancy LeRowe and Dave Yesman of Hogwash Farm. Unlike folks like me who buy in feeder pigs in the spring and then take a break in fall through the winter, keeping a herd of registered stock requires a deep ongoing commitment to the breed. These are some mighty fine piglets. My hat is off to you Nancy and Dave -- thanks again.

More Piglet Pics =>

March Madness on the Grill

Jeremy Stanton clearly can't wait 'til summer to get the grill going. Actually, he's making a pitch for a spot on Bobby Flay's new show Grill It!. Well known in these parts for fantastic pig roasting and his unique brand of apple hooch, it's fun to see him dabble in a little "viral Internet marketing."

I think you local foodies may recognize many of the folks who show up to Jeremy's spring cookout deluxe.

Tim Newman provided the yard and shot the video.

Makes me think of summertime. Georgene has these great weekly potluck cookouts down by the river. With kids and dogs running around, swimming, playing games; parents chatting in the cool shade; and our own pork, beef, and veggies on the grill - it serves as an important reminder of the profound pleasure of growing great food and the community of people who make it possible.

I think Jeremy has inspired me to build a better grill pit for Georgene this season...