Dusty Elm Homestead

10/13/2024

I thought y'all would find this interesting - we processed a batch of roosters today, and we came across this guy with mixed black and white meat (it was skinned rather than plucked). It is actually a silkie chicken cross (did you know that silkies have black meat?)!

We have encountered black chicken meat one other time, while processing ayam cemani chickens. It is so fascinating! It does all taste the same, if you're curious. 😉

If you are interested in participating in our next rooster processing day with us, please comment or message for more details!

10/03/2024

Here's your chance to learn how to dispatch, skin, clean and butcher your own excess roosters (and old hens). Knowing how to humanely dispatch an animal and turn it into food on your plates is such an essential skill!

Even if you have a chicken that is injured and just needs to be put down, it is empowering to know you have the necessary skills if that situation comes up in your homesteading journey (I can almost guarantee it will, sooner or later).

Don't be swayed by current events and supply chain threats. Spend time learning skills that will help your family be more sustainable. 💪

10/01/2024

If you are in the market for TAMUK meat rabbits (excellent temperament, extremely heat tolerant, lovely colors), I have 12 week old breeding stock available. Let me know ASAP, as they are scheduled for processing on Friday.

If you are interested in learning how to process rabbits and are available to join us on Friday, also let me know!

09/26/2024

Upcoming rooster and rabbit processing classes in Oct - comment/msg if interested!

09/18/2024

Did you know that our products are available in Glen Rose at The Farmacy on the River? They have a really neat shop and a monthly food co-op straight from the farmers to your kitchen. You should check them out (and grab some delicious peach nectar)!

08/06/2024

Here's the handsome Katahdin ram himself! Now we just need a name for him....

We have a theme of old testament Bible characters and places, such as Zion, Cana, Bethany, Judea and Gideon. What ideas do you have?

08/05/2024

These lovely ladies are excited about the handsome Katahdin ram that will be joining their flock today! (Or maybe they don't know yet, but at least I'M excited! 😜)

07/27/2024

My 3.5 month old Jacob ram lambs are looking so handsome! 🐏

07/24/2024

If you've been waiting for a homesteading education class from us, here's your chance to learn how to raise and harvest meat rabbits!

We are huge proponents of meat rabbits because of how sustainable they are. They're easy to raise, take up little space, produce lots of meat annually, and taste just like chicken but are way more fun to raise than meat chickens (IYKYK).

You do not need any experience with rabbits to attend our class. Likewise, even if you've been raising rabbits for awhile but are leery of the harvesting process, you are welcome to join - this class is for you!

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like to register for the class. You can comment, message me, or email [email protected].

Space is limited, so don't wait! Take charge of your food independence and learn these valuable skills that will enable you to put food on the table and fill up your freezer.

07/22/2024

If y'all are wondering why our homestead page has not been updated to Redeeming Winds Homestead & Rabbitry - as it should be - it's because Facebook is blocking me from updating it, and there is no support to be found from FB! 😠 So with that, we have updated the logo and hopefully we haven't confused everyone too much with the name incongruity.

We were formerly Dusty Elm Homestead at our last property at the Joshua/Cleburne TX line, and now we are Redeeming Winds Homestead & Rabbitry at our new property in Grandview, TX! We appreciate each one of you for joining us on this homesteading journey!

Our other page, Redeeming Winds | Gathering Grounds, is set up to handle the publicizing of the events that we host on the new property, such as Antique Alley and the Hometown Grandview TX Farmers Market. You can visit it here: www.facebook.com/redeemingwinds

Formerly known as 3 Red Barns - Community hub for events such as Antique Alley the 3rd week of April and Sept, as well as a monthly farmers market the 1st Saturday of each month from May-Nov!

07/20/2024

We have lots of beautiful TAMUK rabbits available right now that will make great fall/winter breeders! Please let me know if you're interested in starting or adding to your own meat rabbit program.

Remember, in only a pickup truck sized space, you can house one buck, two does, and raise approximately 200 lb of meat annually. They are pleasant to raise, and you get the benefit of fertilizer for your gardens. You can't say that about many other types of animals! You can raise them in nearly any living situation, whether you're in a neighborhood HOA or out in the country.

I'm always happy to answer questions and share my passion of raising rabbits! Where does your meat come from?

07/18/2024

This speaks to me so much. 🥹

06/24/2024

This is super informational! PS - you should follow this farm - one of my favorites!

Theo is here to be a part of my yearly farm PSA to remind fellow graziers that eating “w**ds” is a learned behavior for most species.

I see lots of folks in farm groups, upon seeing another farmer’s sheep/goats/cattle/horses/pigs eating thistle/burdock/mares tail/ragw**d, “Mine won’t eat it! They will scream and starve before they will eat the w**ds.” And I am sure they are right—their stock is absolutely sure anything but a fine-leafed grass is entire inedible.

If you look in front of him, you can see Theo has a highly refined palate for Canada thistle. He was not born this way. He learned to not just eat it, but seek it out over grasses, from his mom and his mom learned it from our older sheep when she arrived at our farm at age 4. And someday, Theo will likely teach another sheep here how darn good it is!

If you watch livestock, they are masters at learning from each other. What to eat and what not to eat are some of the most important life lessons young animals learn from their mom and their herd. But even older animals can learn new tricks if they have someone to show them…nobody wants to be left out from the tasty buffet! Or, as some folks have learned, if you just put some molasses in a sprayer and tempt them to nibble. 😂 (I’m serious, it’s one way to teach them!)

And “w**ds” in many cases are a kind of superfood. The long tap roots and nutrient scouring habits that make many w**ds so tenacious and hard to kill also mean they are bringing up minerals that might be less accessible to other forage species. In fact, Theo’s beloved thistle has about the same overall feed value as farmed alfalfa—with up to 27% crude protein in growing plants!

This is not a new idea but maybe a forgotten one as we have developed w**d sprays to knock out unwanted broadleaves from our beloved grasses. As a kid, an older neighbor taught me that his dad eradicated thistle patches by simple pasturing the work horses there for a summer—they preferentially ate the thistles, especially reveling in the newly opened flowers and their churning of the soil around the plants made it easy to over plant grass in the spot. Over the years, I’ve found my own horses to adept at the same skill…even when it pains me to think about having my lips touch a thistle. Ouch! It must be worth it because I’ve seen them pluck patches entirely clean of flowers in minutes. 😱

So if you have some w**ds to work on (as we do) and you want to avoid chemical control (as we do) and your stock looks at you in askance when you fence off a spot and say “now eat that!”, maybe ask your fellow farmers if they have some “lead foragers” you can buy or borrow to teach them the ways of the thrifty and the wise.

06/15/2024

🤘🤘

05/26/2024

Drum roll please! Our new name is..... Redeeming Winds | Homestead & Rabbitry (formerly known as Dusty Elm Homestead). We will continue to share content about our homesteading journey on this page, and we will post about our events such as Antique Alley and the monthly farmers market on our sister page Redeeming Winds | Gathering Grounds (formerly known as 3 Red Barns). Thanks for following along with us!

05/20/2024

Are y'all ready to see our new name and logo?! We have been working hard on the rebrand and can't wait to reveal it in the next few days!

The new name is a better fit for our new property, since we don't have any elm trees and minimal dust here (it's all black gumbo clay!). 😜 We are sad to sunset our original farm name and logo, as it is pretty dear to us, but we are excited about all the new things that God has enabled us to do at our new place, and we feel like the new name captures that forward movement and new beginning! Stay tuned....

04/24/2024

These blue eyed beauties went to their new homes today to become breeders for other homestead meat rabbit programs. They are all so lovely!

04/23/2024

I'm so thankful that we still have local small farms like First Earth Farm producing crops on small scale for our community. If you're nearby, check them out!

04/19/2024

Y'all come on out and visit with us this weekend!

04/17/2024

Spring is definitely in the air! We have welcomed many new animals to the farm in the past couple weeks, and I would like to share them here with y'all!

We have a couple adorable dairy goat kids, many TAMUK rabbit kits, brand new Jacob ram lamb twins (they look like tiny Holsteins!), and we also bought a mama white Dorper ewe and twin ewe lambs from some good friends of ours!

If you visit us at 3 Red Barns this weekend for Antique Alley, there's a good chance you'll get to glimpse all the baby cuteness while you relax, shop around, and eat some yummy food.

04/13/2024

I got to the Johnson County Master Gardeners plant sale first thing this morning and loaded up on some Texas tough native perennials for my pollinator garden installment. I was for sure in my **happy place**. 🤗

The plant sale is ongoing until 3pm or until sold out at 201 W. 1st St. in Cleburne. They are also having a couple guest speakers give educational talks. Lots of lovely plant people there!

04/09/2024

If you've been wanting to learn how to process chickens, here's a local class opportunity!

We aren't sure when we will be hosting another chicken processing class on our farm (we will, at some point), although we do have plans for a rabbit processing class in June.

Learn the skills. Grow your own food. It is more ethical for the animals to be lovingly raised and humanely dispatched by you, rather than grow up in a feed lot!

(And PS - Even if you live in the city with a very little yard, nearly everyone has room for rabbits, since they only take up a truck sized space for a breeding trio!)

Want to learn how to butcher your own chicken? Need to get rid of a pesky rooster and turn him into delicious soup? Or maybe you have your own older hens who need to be retired from your backyard?

Our farm is hosting its first class! In this hands-on class, Richard (yes, that Richard of Symbolic World and Amon Sul fame!) will guide you through all the steps to slaughter, butcher, and package a chicken. And you'll get a recipe for broth and chicken noodle soup! An individual ticket will get you one chicken and a family ticket will get you two.

Bring a picnic lunch and hang out with us afterwards!

The listing will go live on our store TOMORROW and there will only be 10 spots! Look out for the announcement tomorrow!