When you think of the village, the first thing that comes to mind is animals. Village life is impossible without them. Some have fewer animals, some more, but they are always there. So, I'd like to tell you about our livestock "wealth."
Cows
Our main breadwinners are our cows. They provide our main income. We keep a couple of liters of milk daily, and the rest goes to the dairy. Sometimes we make cottage cheese or make cheese for the family. But it's a budget hit, so it rarely happens. It's like a shoemaker's children have no shoes—we have cows, but we buy our dairy products at the market or from the dairy.
Pigs
Pigs are considered second in importance. We have one adult sow and a couple of piglets. We used to keep 5-6 piglets and breed them. Now everything has changed. We buy piglets from a local farm, raise them, slaughter them, and then buy new piglets to replace them. It's more profitable this way. Buying an adult pig or a young pig for slaughter is undesirable, since you don't know what supplements and medications are used to speed up their growth. Therefore, we feed them our own feed from puppyhood.
Last year we bought a sow, but she aborted, so we were unable to produce offspring and raise “our own” piglets.
We keep most of the meat after slaughtering the pig—a six-month supply for two families! We make ready-to-cook foods: cutlets, pelmeni, manti, kebabs, sausage, and more, and salt the lard in jars. Before Easter, Dad always makes sure to cook a ham and loin in a homemade smoker.
In this photo, our Khavrosha is resting, practically snoring! It's a shame the picture doesn't capture the sound))) She's quite the snorer!
Bird
Poultry is third in importance. We have chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guinea fowl. The eggs and poultry are always home-raised. The chickens, guinea fowl, and ducks are kept in a pen next to the barn.
Our geese are free-ranging. They graze near the yard, go to the river on their own, and return home in the evening.
The ducks and their ducklings are currently living freely in the farmyard. Their home is an old doghouse.
Other animals
They live in cells handsome rabbitsThese are the most favorite animals of children.
Until recently we had and nutria, but at a family council, it was decided to keep only the rabbits. Keeping so many animals is very troublesome.
This year grandma “rewarded” us with young goatsWe haven't really gotten along with them—no one in the family likes milk or meat. But we've decided to take care of them for now and sell them later.
Well, how could we do without our main favorites? cats And dogs)
These are the kind of animals we have. Each one requires attention and time. Maintaining a large farm is not easy, but it's very interesting. That's what the village is for.