Bug Scuffle Farms

Last Wednesday, the first thing I did after landing back home was to head out to Bug Scuffle Farms.

I needed some lamb, you see.

Backtracking a bit; Zac was doing pretty good on his quinoa trial, but then, of course, the ruptured eardrum from hell came and forced us to use antibiotics on him. So we had to halt the quinoa trial for the time being.

After messing with his gut flora with antibiotics, we decided to put quinoa on hold for a little longer and move on to broth, a la GAPS Stage 1. (We haven’t decided if we’re going to do full GAPS or not yet, though we both agreed that the idea of Stage 1 was a good one.)

Now the question was: what broth do we pick?

Beef is out, because that’s what I’m eating and I can’t afford to lose it if he reacts to it. Chicken is one of our suspected FPIES triggers. Turkey is just another form of poultry, so, probably not good.

After going to my resident experts, the FPIES Mama’s, we decided lamb sounded like a good bet. It seems to be easier to digest, and while some kids do react to it the number of successes is higher with lamb than with other foods.

Now to find lamb!

The two online retailers recommended on the boards were currently out of lamb. So I thought “Why not?” and checked the freezer case at my local health food co-op.

What do you know – they had lamb!

So I called the number listed for the farm the lamb came from and spent a good 20 minutes on the phone with the man in charge asking him how he raised and processed his lambs.

He was very forthcoming, and at the end of the conversation the only remaining question was how the butcher processed the meat – and that was easily solved because he gave me the number of the butcher!

So I called the butcher and asked them, and the nice lady there said she would investigate and call me back. A few days later, the call came: no sprays, no dusting with starches, no nothing that could possibly be derived from corn. She had even called the manufacturer of their plastic shrink wrap to ask about it!

We’re in lamb, now, baby!

So as soon as my plane landed we headed off to pick up the lamb meat. 

I will tell you right now that I am very impressed with the farm and the people at Bug Scuffle Farms. The lambs looked healthy and happy, and the people were friendly and helpful.

Jed liked the farm, too, because they had guard dogs! And baby lambs! And he could barely contain his excitement at trying to hug all those furry animals at once!!

Marc is the owner/operator of Bug Scuffle Farms, and he was gracious enough to GIVE me 5 packages of lamb soup bones to use as a trial for Zac. All he asked was that we “remember Bug Scuffle Farms if you need more”.

Not a problem there, Marc! If Zac can handle lamb, we’re already planning on buying at least 2 whole lambs to take to butcher for our freezer stash.

I told Marc that I had lots of friends *wink wink* that were often on the lookout for safe lamb meat and that I would be happy to send business his way.

He’s happy to have your business, too! The only caveat is that he runs a small, family owned farm and hasn’t been able to compete with the larger operations due to shipping costs. He doesn’t ship enough to get the big bulk shipping discounts (on packaging or shipping), so his meat costs will be fair, but his shipping costs will be higher.

But if you need some safe, grass fed and finished, organic, raised-the-way-God-intended lamb meat, I have nothing but good things to say about Bug Scuffle Farms and Marc. 

From his business card:

“Lamb and goats are 100%  grass-fed, no hormones, antibiotics, or grain. Sunshine, grass, and minerals. Raised in a low stress environment out on beautiful Ozark Mountain Pastures.”

And it really is beautiful out on the farm. Rolling, windy roads and green pastures everywhere you look.

You can contact them on Facebook, or via email: Mbarjkennel@pgtc.com

Tell them Carrie sent you. 

(We really did have to force Jed to leave. He loved the lambs!)

Oh, and since we’re now on Day 7 of the lamb trial, you might be wondering – how’s it going?

So far, so good! Zac has had some sleep disturbances and was nursing like a crazy man when I was home (I’m off at work at the moment) but I really believe he’s teething and that would explain those symptoms quite well. Otherwise, his behavior is good, his poop is excellent, and it’s looking good for lamb!

I’ve left instructions for the family to pull lamb broth on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’ll be home on Sunday, and then Monday we’ll begin lamb broth again to see if he reacts.

My fingers are crossed that it is a success! I’ll keep you posted!

(And, by the way, do you want to know how excellent Marc and Bug Scuffle are? He called me on Tuesday to ask how Zac was doing on the lamb! Wanted to see if he was doing okay with it or not. How’s THAT for knowing your farmer, huh? Really – if you need lamb, order from them, okay? That kind of awesomeness needs rewarding.)