The Front Porch Swing

[Loc20chick]

My grandmother always tossed the chicken feet in the soup pot. I presume she scrubbed them REALLY WELL first. Grandpa got them in his bowl. Not sure I, as a non farm kid, would have wanted them, but he sure liked to suck the meat off. Must have been pretty tasty. The outer skin of the feet comes off easily when dipped in hot water same as when plucking, I made them last month how my SIL taught me and they were delicious, My 2 year old sucked the meat off and asked for more.

Definitely want to get on that. So much is lost when one dies but since there is "always" tomorrow, sometimes it is too late. I emailed my sisters today for that hoping they will add to it, I realized tis when my grandma passed last month before I video taped her, she had a lot of wisdom.

I SUPPOSE I could figure out what to do with the stinging nettle other than weed whack it down. But for now, that is what I am doing. I have plenty, I'm sure it won't be a problem if I decide to use it for medicinal purposes. Most people use it to make tea. I haven't done that yet, there is lots of info on the net but no proven benefits

I love to learn about medicinal stuff. do you know the tree names?

deb

I'll try to find out for you.

Awesome.... Did you put vinegar in there to extract the last bit of Gelatin?

My Great Grandma was a midwife. Back in the late 1800's When She had a delivery where she didnt know if she was going to be a bleeder she made up a special tea for them. She never told them what it was. But it was loaded with Vitimine K and helped with blood clotting... She never told them she made it from horse maneure... freshly collected before it hit the ground.

deb

LOL!!!!

I just learnt today about putting vinegar and will be doing so next time I make it.

 

[Beekissed]

My handyman finished the wooden door on my coop and did an outstanding job. Also installed my grinder. Hand crank. A quick $200 bucks.. He did use his old wood and it looks really rustic with brass fittings.
I went to grocery store, picked up my Meds at Fred's and brought a layer feed, a gamebird and a bag of catfish feed. Deb, I'm going to do it like you 4 to 1 and see which I like best. Cost really close. Gamebird @ $18 and catfish @ $17.

Bee, how much more feed do your CX eat over the other chicks. Just calculating.

Count on feeding the CX twice what you feed the layer chicks...and also when they are older. Depending on how big you want them to get, you may up that to three times as much.

 

[Loc20chick]

Neat! What kind of flavor (or benefit) does the nettles add? What country are you from, if you don't mind me asking?

I can't really describe the taste but it's different, I like it. After having my baby mom told me to use it a lot as it increases milk production, also helps with allergies I used to take allegraD daily but not anymore, don't know if its the nettle or not. This site gives some more benefits, http://consciouslifenews.com/29-nettle-tea-benefits-sipping-nettle-tea-better-health/# I have not used it in tea yet though. I have to ask mom what other uses it has and from Kenya

 

[Blooie]

Okay, gang, family is waiting for me to get in the hot tub but got a couple of quick questions....Little Diane, Dustin, and Ken can all keep standing around laughing at me for posting while I'm sitting in my swim suit and I really don't care! A few pages back (well, okay, MANY pages back) I asked about how soon some of the girls would be laying if their combs and wattles were turning red, and I was advised that "squatting" is the behavior most of you rely on.

Just before supper I went out to add some PDZ to the poop board, and Matilda was acting weird. She is usually one of my flightier chickens - managing to stay as far from me as possible while not missing out on any goodies, and she wasn't one of the ones I'd asked about before. I just stood still and watched her as she came right up to me, then she flew onto the roost making this oddly pleasant kind of "churring" noise. When she got closer I could see that her comb seems to be a little darker all of a sudden. I slowly reached out to pet her and the soft noise got a little more intense, but it was still pleasant - almost like a cat purring. She not only let me pet her, she gently moved over closer to me and then she looked like she was trying to sit on the roost. Is this what I've been watching for? Does this means a first egg sometime in the next week or so? And what do I do about the boys? (I think we are up to 4 roos in this little chicken family, and frankly I was beginning to suspect Matilda was a Maurice until tonight.) Do I need to separate them if I have no plans for a breeding program or do the hens usually start laying before the boys are truly mature enough to mate? Do I need to get the nest boxes prepped? Anybody got a cigar?

 

[Triple Willow]

I can't really describe the taste but it's different, I like it. After having my baby mom told me to use it a lot as it increases milk production, also helps with allergies I used to take allegraD daily but not anymore, don't know if its the nettle or not. This site gives some more benefits, http://consciouslifenews.com/29-nettle-tea-benefits-sipping-nettle-tea-better-health/# I have not used it in tea yet though. I have to ask mom what other uses it has and from Kenya 

I sure could use something for alergies lately. I'll have to check on that. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

Okay, gang, family is waiting for me to get in the hot tub but got a couple of quick questions....Little Diane, Dustin, and Ken can all keep standing around laughing at me for posting while I'm sitting in my swim suit and I really don't care! A few pages back (well, okay, MANY pages back) I asked about how soon some of the girls would be laying if their combs and wattles were turning red, and I was advised that "squatting" is the behavior most of you rely on.

Just before supper I went out to add some PDZ to the poop board, and Matilda was acting weird. She is usually one of my flightier chickens - managing to stay as far from me as possible while not missing out on any goodies, and she wasn't one of the ones I'd asked about before. I just stood still and watched her as she came right up to me, then she flew onto the roost making this oddly pleasant kind of "churring" noise. When she got closer I could see that her comb seems to be a little darker all of a sudden. I slowly reached out to pet her and the soft noise got a little more intense, but it was still pleasant - almost like a cat purring. She not only let me pet her, she gently moved over closer to me and then she looked like she was trying to sit on the roost. Is this what I've been watching for? Does this means a first egg sometime in the next week or so? And what do I do about the boys? (I think we are up to 4 roos in this little chicken family, and frankly I was beginning to suspect Matilda was a Maurice until tonight.) Do I need to separate them if I have no plans for a breeding program or do the hens usually start laying before the boys are truly mature enough to mate? Do I need to get the nest boxes prepped? Anybody got a cigar?

I wouldn't count on any eggs until you see them in the nest....but you can get your nest ready as it sounds like it will be soon enough. You need to get rid of the boys altogether unless you are keeping them to eat because soon you will have sexually mature girls and boys and they will be doing nothing but breeding the hide right off the hens. It can also upset them enough to disturb laying if they are being bred too often and too roughly by a bunch of young cockerels they can't escape.

If the girls are old enough to lay, it's likely the boys are old enough for eating....I'd say it's time for a BBQ.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Been on quite a few hatching lists.... I say cover it with a little patch of celphane tape. Some use wax.... Its worth a try

deb "who has only incubated one batch of eggs ever"

I thought of putting some wax over it, but afraid it would rub of when it got warm. I thought of duct tape also, but wasn't sure about the glue.

 

[OHhappychicks]

What a cool idea!!!!!

Is there a recipe for this type of jam, or did you invent it? Is is so clever!

There is a recipe. I found it on pinterest. Actually there are a few of them. These are the 2 I pinned. I used the 2nd one.
http://purelyelizabeth.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/strawberry-chia-jam/
http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/04/healthy-jam-recipe/

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I thought of putting some wax over it, but afraid it would rub of when it got warm. I thought of duct tape also, but wasn't sure about the glue.

Well what is the most sticky substance that is most like eggshell? What about taking a little bit of cracked eggshell from an egg you are cooking and taping or band aiding that on top of the cracked space?

 

[OHhappychicks]

Duct Tape!! Ha! Just kidding I know zero about hatching. But what about a little bandage? Didn't I see something like that on one of these threads?

Actually I did think of that!

Was afraid of the glue though. I'm trying to think of something that won't come off.