Blackberries in Framboise

Those who follow me on facebook got a sneak peek at the end result of my first canning foray this year. I've  been canning -- or assisting in canning -- since a very young age. I can remember being in the kitchen as my grandmother and mother put up muscadine jelly before I was even tall enough to see into the pot...but I still got to lick the spoon. ;)

But as much as I love jam and jelly making, I wanted to try something I hadn't done yet this year. So I bought the newest edition of the Ball Company canning guide and sniffed out a recipe. That's how my mother and I ended up going to three different wine and liquor stores to find Framboise for these blackberries. When we finally got back from that and other shopping, it was already well into the evening, and it ended up being well after midnight before we were done canning.

But it was so worth it.

If you enjoy putting up preserves, you have to try this recipe. The tartness of the blackberries pairs perfectly the sweetness of the raspberry liqueur, and the nutmeg and cinnamon adds another depth of unexpected flavor. It's perfect over ice cream or in kefir or yogurt. It would also be the perfect match for a lemon pound cake.

It's a very simple recipe with few ingredients. Just blackberries (more in the stainless bowl), lemon peel, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, sugar, water, and the Framboise. (Ignore the olive oil bottle in the background.)

The first step is juice one pint of blackberries, which is very simple. You just heat the blackberries until they are all hot and soft, then press them in a sieve or cheese cloth.

The end result is a beautiful purple juice.

Next is making an infused simple syrup with the cinnamon stick, fresh ground nutmeg, grated lemon peel, and sugar; then you strain it to remove the cinnamon. Your kitchen is going to smell so good during this step.

Next everything is added back into the pot: the simple syrup, remaining blackberries, reserved juice, and the Framboise. It is then brought to a boil and put into the jars to be water-bathed.

The end result is 3-4 half-pints of blackberries (we got three, but I packed them very full) and a lot of leftover liquid. I was unwilling to just waste the remaining sauce, so I jarred it up and processed it as well. In the end I had three half-pints of berries and four of liquid. In the future, I will probably pack my berries looser.

I enjoyed a bit of the sauce over ice cream before canning the rest of my berries (which I just put up as for baking). It is so yummy. 

It is a bit pricey due to the expense of the Framboise, but I believe at least two batches could be gotten out of one bottle. Alternatively, the left over  Framboise could be used in mixed drinks as well. Either way, I think the berries are yummy enough to warrant a little extra expense. :)

Next spring the first thing I will be making with my goats' milk is fresh homemade ice cream, and you can guess what I'll be topping it with!

Blackberries in Framboise 

3 pints blackberries
2 cups sugar
1 stick cinnamon, broken
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups water
1/2 cup Framboise, or other raspberry brandy
Extract juice from 1 pint blackberries. Measure 1/2 cup juice; set aside.
Combine sugar, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, nutmeg, and water in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
Strain syrup; return to saucepot.
Add blackberry juice, remaining blackberries, and raspberry brandy; bring to a boil.
Pack hot blackberries into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Ladle hot syrup over blackberries, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles.
Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Recipe from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, 2013 edition. I highly recommend the Ball Blue Books to home canners, new and experienced alike.

Being Wildlife Friendly: Dealing with Natural Predators and Livestock

This is sort of a part deux to my earlier post, but I felt like there was enough to say about the topic to give it its own post. Also, this round is focusing more on natural predators, whereas the other post is focused on predation by domesticated canines.

Owning livestock means dealing with predators. There is no way around it; it's a part of life with livestock. Livestock species are all natural prey animals, and therefore attract the unwanted attention of natural predatory species. Predators can be skunks, possums, raccoon, predatory birds, coyotes, wolves, bears, or even humans. In warmer climates such as the deep south, alligators also end up on this list. But the existence of predators does not have to mean a death sentence.

Predators and Nature

In most cases, predatory species are also an important part of the natural ecology of a given area. The presence of natural predators is essential for a healthy balance of wild prey species. If a predatory population drops too low, the number of prey species can get out of hand. In my area, the deer population is out of control due to a lack of sufficient natural predators. While in some states hunters are only allowed 3 deer a season, here hunters are permitted to shoot three doe a day because their numbers are so high. Disease has increased. Crop farmers, including my uncle, are issued special permits that allow them to shoot deer out of season because the population is so high that they are stripping crops and damaging yield and profit. I have seen with my own eyes the tops eaten off of almost all the soybeans in a field. The sad thing is that these off-season kills cannot be eaten; they have to leave them in the field where they fall. Clearly we need predators here to take the deer population back to a healthy level, and predators in this case include human hunters.

While nature has a way of righting itself, it still causes damage when things get out of whack. Often disease strikes and drops a population, other times a new predator will move into town and start taking out the over-plenty prey. My personal opinion about the deer in my area is that we will eventually see a population of mountain lion or possibly even black bear, both of which were once native here, regrow and start feeding on the deer if their numbers continue to remain high. Black bear sightings have already occurred and been documented in this area of the state, and many people -- some of whom are friends or family -- have claimed to see cougars in the area.

Only time will tell for the deer in my area, but nature is a naturally balancing, sustainable force. Each thing plays a part; the predators, though they kill them, work symbiotically with the prey. Without prey, predators die from starvation; without predators, prey die from disease (and cause problems for humans in the mean time). Exceptions to this rule include invasive, nonnative species, but overall if nature is left alone it balances itself quite naturally.

Unfortunately, humans are not a part of nature anymore, at least not to the extent that they once were. The numbers of hunters and fishers who act as predators in the ecosystem have fallen. Now most people get their meat and fish from the store, wrapped up in nice plastic packages. This isn't inherently wrong, but it does change the balance. Humans also encroach on wildlife habitats, which in turn drives out certain species. Though some animals do quite well adapting to human presence (like raccoon and squirrels) others are driven away by or clash with them. It is also an unfortunate fact that in most cases, people attempt to work against nature instead of alongside it. They fight it out of selfishness or greed, or even just sheer ignorance, and they cause problems when they do so. The buffalo massacres of times past comes to mind, as does the more recent introductions of nonnative animal and plant species by well-meaning but no less stupid and nearsighted humans. Nature is here for us to responsibly utilize, but often times we abuse it instead.

Predators and Livestock Owners

One way in which we often work against nature instead of in symbiosis with it is in livestock farming. People all too often either a) take the easy way out and deal with predators by killing them or b) ignore the very existence of predators until an attack occurs and they must kill them. In both cases, losses are going to be inevitable, and life will be an uphill struggle. Killing a predator only opens the door for either prey species to become overpopulated or another predator to simply move in and be the next threat to one's livestock.

I want to make clear right now that this is not me saying that predators should never be killed. If a predator is caught attacking livestock, they should be put down. Once that behavior is learned, it's there forever and that animal will always recognize livestock as a smorgasbord. Also, predators that do not fear humans are a dangerous thing. A quick Google search of wildlife attacks on people (especially mountain lions and bears) will assure you of that fact. That said, I 100% believe that the best way to deal with predator attacks is to prevent them.

Preventing predatory attacks on livestock has twofold benefits: 1) livestock does not die and 2) predators do not die. In short, nobody has to die if livestock owners simply take measures to ensure the safety of their stock rather than waiting until an attack occurs and acting after the fact. There are a number of ways to live in harmony with nature, including natural predators, and drastically lower if not completely prevent losses of livestock to predators.

Guardians

In my opinion, the presence of livestock guardian dogs is the best deterrent. The guardian breeds, when bred for the job and trained accordingly, are better at protecting livestock than even humans. With sharp eyes, ears, and noses they can detect threats long before a human could. They also add the benefit of being able to be with the flock 24/7, and the ability to deter most predators before they even attack. Unless a predator is desperate, they will most likely move on to easier targets before ever even attempting to go after the ones guarded by large dogs. Dogs, especially males, will also mark their territory to alert predators to their presence even when they aren't in that specific area.

How many that are needed depends on the predators native to the area and the amount of land the livestock are on. I have a small acreage with goats and chickens. Each goat pen is less than an acre. The only natural predators here that could feasibly attack a goat are coyotes. Therefore, I only have two guardians (though I do have plans to add a third in the future when our perimeter fencing is complete). If I had more land or lived in an area with mountain lions, I would have a minimum of two guardians in every pen, and if I had bears to contend with I would run three or more in a perimeter fence. Other things to take into consideration when choosing how many dogs to run include how big the predator population is, how ample their natural prey is in the area, how bold they are around humans, and how far spread out your livestock may be when grazing (i.e., the size of the actual livestock areas).

Fencing and Housing

This is also an important aspect of owning livestock. It's important that your fencing is able to keep your livestock and guardians in while also keeping predators out. After all, even a guardian can't protect a kid, lamb, calf, or what-have-you if it's running outside of the fence. Be sure and take into consideration the size of the stock that will be in the fence; for example, baby goats can slip right through the holes in cattle panels. Be sure to research proper construction if you aren't familiar. A well built fence will be useful for years, but a poorly built one with be nothing but a pain. Don't take short cuts -- it's not worth it in the long run.

I highly recommend using electric fencing around the bottom of the fence when housing small livestock, especially goats, or dogs that are known to roam or dig. For dogs that like to climb, a string around the middle or top also works well. Electric is difficult to maintain, but it prevents goats or other animals from damaging fencing by going under it or rubbing along it and using it as a scratching post. In order for it to work properly, it must have the correct size charger for the distance, the correct voltage for the species inside it, and no dead leaves or live vegetation grounding it out.

For extremely heavy predatory areas, electric can also be run around the bottom and middle or top of the outside of the fence. This helps deter predators without permanently injuring them. The bottom strand is most important in areas with canines predator species, while the middle and top are important in areas with climbing predators such as big cats or bears. Obviously a potent shock would be necessary to deter a bear.

Housing also needs to be a secure place, but understand that it must also be well ventilated. Housing cannot be your sole defense against predators for this reason, and because the livestock need to have free access to move in and out of the housing during the day. If a prey animal can get into and out of the housing from the field, so can a predatory animal. Therefore, fencing and guardians are the first line of defense. It is possible to lock livestock inside of their barn at night while predator activity is typically at its height. This is the recommended method for poultry, and is not a bad idea for young stock or for areas where predators are dense or of particular threat.

Birthing pens should be especially secure, both in fencing and housing. The sounds and smells of birth draw predators looking to make an easy meal out of vulnerable young or mothers in labor.

Other Habits of Prevention

This is a list from PredatorFriendly.org of other methods of preventing predator attacks. Predator Friendly is an organization dedicated to promoting wildlife stewardship practices by farmers and ranchers. They promote coexistence between livestock owners and natural predators and offer certification to those farmers who work to coexist.

• Schedule pasture use when predator pressure is low

• Graze cattle with smaller livestock to protect sheep, goats, and calves

• Time calving and lambing to avoid predation risk

• Lamb in sheds, secure fenced lots, or protected pastures

• Make frequent and unpredictable patrols in pastures

• Fence out predators

• Learn the ecology and habits of area wildlife

They also recommend the use of guardian animals. All of these are methods of preventing predator attack, and they all relate to two core principles: 

1) Create safe environments for livestock that keep them separate and guarded from potential predators. Having secure areas, especially for small livestock and for young and birthing animals, guarded by dogs bred and trained to protect them ensures safety and often negates the need for action against predators.

and 

2) Be aware of wildlife habits and the local ecosystem. Understanding the way predators operate, and the important role that they play in their natural habitat, is key to operating a farm that is beneficial rather than harmful, that works with the natural processes instead of against them.

Conclusion

I have always believed in being sustainable and as naturally responsible as possible. Coexisting with native wildlife and plants is just one small part of raising happy and healthy livestock in as natural a way as possible. It is a common desire among small or hobby farmers such as myself to raise animals humanely and naturally as possible -- to step away from the modern conventions of putting profit above all and quantity over quality -- but all too often we leave out this important part of the equation. Wildlife, predators included, are important. It would be remiss to seek to responsibly raise livestock with our right hand while our left hand blindly struggles against nature.

*You will notice that I did not mention dogs in this post. This is because dogs, domesticated or feral, are not a natural predator. They are instead an introduced threat that become predators and problems for small livestock owners when the owners of the dogs do not act responsibly and keep them on their own property. However, the practices listed here also work toward preventing attacks on livestock from wandering dogs as well. Furthermore, my statement that wild predators attacking livestock should be put down applies to dogs as well. There is more about dealing specifically with dogs as predators in this post.

Wandering Dogs

I have been silently following a thread on social media by someone who lost two of her goats to a neighbor's marauding dogs. The neighbor, after having her dogs shot and being taken to court, has made blog posts and fb statuses about how her dogs "never could have done that" and that the owner of the goats was in the wrong. Of course, after reading the posts by the dog owner, I'm convinced she has more air in her head than brain. The woman's dogs were caught on the goat owner's property having killed on goat, maimed another to the point it had to be euthanized, and were in the process of attacking a third; she (dog owner) is responsible for her dogs roaming and the goat owner was not at fault. Period, end of story.

However, as my grandmother would say, I don't have a dog in that fight. This post isn't about that situation, and I would personally rather not link to the woman in question as I feel that she is getting far more attention than she deserves.

Instead, I simply want to go over my experience with wandering dogs and make note of some dog characteristics. I'm going to recount some instances where I have lost animals to stray dogs.

My Experience 

The first animals I ever lost to a neighbors dog were rabbits. I bred rabbits when I was kid-preteen, and they were the first livestock species I owned (other than the family horse). However, I was raising them as pets, not commodities. At the time when I had first gotten three does, a huge mastiff was routinely doing his rounds through the neighborhood. Long story short, the mastiff literally broke into our rabbit hutch -- which was well constructed with wood and wire -- and killed my rabbits.

The second rabbit loss occurred at a later date and was caused by my own dogs. A storm came through in the night with strong wind. It blew over our rabbit hutch and opened our dog fence. You can probably put together what happened after that.

I have also lost chickens to a neighbor's dogs. This was the worst encounter. A German Shepherd and a Lab mix continuously got out of their owner's fence and came to our property to get our chickens. Our birds were in a fence; however, the dogs learned how to double team them and make them fly out. One would bark and run them from one side, and the other would do the same on the opposite side, until finally a terrified chicken would fly out and into their waiting jaws. This happened almost every day, and almost every day my parents (who wrongly believed that she would actually keep her dogs on her property and wanted to keep a good rapport with her) called and told her to keep her dogs up and that they were killing our chickens.

The neighbor's obviously did not do this, and we lost almost our entire flock. Then one morning while I was sleeping, the dogs caught one of our Pomeranians outside and killed her. The neighbors then took their dogs to be euthanized, and the story ended unhappily for all involved.

Misconceptions

The saddest part about all of this is that it could have been avoided. First of all, in our county there is a leash law, meaning that all dogs must be kept either on the owner's property or on a leash. Secondly, one of the many misconceptions that dog owners have is that their dogs will not kill other mammals. 

The attitudes of our neighbors (at least, as they appeared to be -- I don't know what they thought or felt, I can only go by their actions) was that it was "just a chicken." Of course anyone who owns chickens knows that losing them is a financial drain as well as an emotional one. Adult laying hens sell for $20 and up from individuals, and much more from hatcheries. Then there is also the value of the eggs, the time and money that was put into raising them from chicks, and the time and money that is required for us to replace them with chicks which we then had to spend time and money raising again before they reached laying age at around 6 months old. Also, in my experience, hens do not lay consistently until they are older than that.

Furthermore, once a dog has learned the behavior of killing, they will not change and the behavior can easily progress from killing one species to another, as was evidenced by our neighbor's dogs. No, not all chicken-killing dogs will also kill other animals, but for the most part it can be assumed that they likely will. If a dog ever learns to hunt and kill, it is very difficult to rehabilitate them and is many times impossible. It is for this reason that most dogs who have been trained into dog fighting must be euthanized and cannot be adopted back out by a rescue. Once that instinct has been ingrained in them, it is there to stay. Many older people will use phrases like "having a taste for blood" to describe this type of behavior. 

People believe that their precious Fluffy and Fido could never hunt and kill because they have been domesticated. As much as I would like to live in a world where that were true, it's simply not. Dogs have been bred down over many, many years into the breeds that we have today, but they are still a predatory species. Many breeds were actually originally bred to hunt, such as my grandmother's dachshund that was quite skilled at hunting and killing rats. He had never been trained to this behavior, but it was in his blood. Canines are built to hunt and kill prey, and though some breeds have been selectively bred to bond to certain species and only attack threats (LGD breeds), or to be typically non-aggressive in general, that is not only not the case for most breeds, but there are also still exceptions even within breeds developed to be non-aggressive. For example, one of LGDs will kill chickens if they fly into his pen. He was not raised with foul, so despite being kind and gentle with goats (including babies), cats (who he will let eat his food), and our other dogs, he will go after our feathered friends.

Just as we cannot train a cat not to catch a bluebird or dig up a mole, it's impossible to undo thousands of years of predatory instinct in dogs. While many dogs, especially those who are raised around other species from puppy-hood, do get along just fine with livestock species, the ones who have not been trained to be safe around chickens, goats, sheep, or even larger livestock like cows often still see those species as prey and not fellow pack members.

With the dogs that killed our chickens, even though their owner believed them to be dog safe and "couldn't believe" (her words) that they would do such a thing as kill another dog, the problem lay in the fact that they had learned how fun and tasty killing smaller animals was. Dogs don't necessarily differentiate between a chicken and another dog that isn't any larger than a large hen or a rooster. Bree was small, and therefore Bree was prey. Again, that isn't always the case, but it can be expected. I expected it and  gave this warning, but others did not understand or believe it. I understood because I had researched the issue of predatory dogs while preparing for my goats and again when prepping for my Livestock Guardian Dogs.

Yet another common misconception is that a livestock owner has no rights over dogs on their own property that are posing a threat to, or have already killed, their livestock. This is not the case. In my own state, as in most if not all, it is entirely legal for a livestock owner to kill a dog that is harassing, preparing to kill, in the process of killing, or has just killed livestock as long as it is on the livestock owner's property. It is not legal to follow the dog off of the property to kill it; if it has left the property, the owner of the livestock must go through the court system. The owner of the dog is legally liable for damage and losses caused by their dogs. 

These are the facts:  

1. It is the dog owner's responsibility to keep their animals on their own property. 
2. Dogs will hunt and kill livestock. In fact, they are notorious for this behavior among livestock owners, and for good reason.
3. Livestock owners are within their rights to take action against such dogs and to seek reparations from the dog owners.

Dealing with Wandering Dogs

I can't tell you how you should deal with stray dogs on your own property, or what you should do if you have incurred a loss. That is a judgment call that only you can make because only you know your situation. But I will tell you how I handle them.

First of all, I have livestock guardian dogs in with my goats, and have plans to add a third for my chickens when our perimeter fencing is complete. I believe that the best way to deal with livestock loss is to prevent it, and one thing that I will tell everyone to do is to have an LGD if they have small livestock like goats. For those living in an area with predators larger than dogs and coyotes (cougars, bears, wolves), I say have guardians for any species of livestock, and to have them in pairs. But unfortunately it's hard to convince some people that they need LGDs, and then those same people end up hurting after stray dogs kill their beloved goats (or sheep, chickens, what have you).

Secure fencing is also important, but fencing fails. Predators like dogs can dig under or even break through fencing with ease, or simply scare animals out of it like they did with my chickens. It's not enough to put up fences and have secure barns, because animals find ways into and out of fencing even when it seems completely secure. We have recently added a perimeter fence as well as our individual fences to add further protection and to protect our own dogs when they go outside, but I still do not trust it to keep other dogs out 100%.

When dogs roam through the part of our yard that isn't fenced -- like this huge bloodhound that has been running around the neighborhood lately -- I leave them alone so long as they don't bother things. I know that sometimes dogs run off. We have had dogs hit by cars, so I do completely understand that sometimes dogs go where we don't want them to. I also get that, just as fencing doesn't always keep them out, it doesn't always keep them in, either. We've had breakouts of our own.

But I have zero tolerance policy for any dogs harassing my livestock. I have tried the playing nice game, and it got me nothing but heartache and an anger that still has not completely gone away. If I could go back and do things differently and save Bree I would, but unfortunately that's not possible. What's done is done, and though we did the best we could at the time, we made the wrong choices. I won't make those mistakes again, and my parents wouldn't either.

Thankfully we have not had another instance of dogs harassing or killing our livestock, but if we did there would be no warnings to the owners to please keep them up. There would be action, and yes, I might go to court for reparations next time depending on the extent of the loss. 

I have been a dog owner much longer than I have had livestock. I have volunteered for dog rescues, and I have even fostered dogs for rescues. As I type this, there is a Pomeranian laying on a pillow by my desk and a rescued Collie mix sprawled out behind my chair. I love all animals, dogs included, but I still have a no tolerance policy with dogs harassing my livestock. I understand that the owners of dogs who have to be put down because of killing livestock hurt because of it. I would hurt if I were in their shoes, and yes I would be angry at the situation, but when it comes down to it if one of my dogs somehow escaped and attacked someone's livestock, I would accept the fact that they should have been on my property. (Of course all my dogs have been trained to be livestock friendly, but that isn't the point).

When it comes down to it, dogs owners accept a responsibility when they buy or adopt that cute little puppy. They have a responsibility to give it proper care, and they also have a responsibility to keep it on their property. At the end of the day, if the dog isn't where it belongs no one is at fault but its owner.

In Memory of Bree.