Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[bigzio]

Glad you all found the forum. We have alot of good information here to share. Stay a while....this is the best place for local friends to meet and share all we know, and would want to know....eh?

~ bigzio

 

[jvls1942]

I use peanut butter for everything. for the squirrels
I also use apple wedges in the live traps. after a while
the apple starts to rot and gives off a nice come check
me out smell.
when we rented a house in Minn. we had a mice
invasion when the weather turned cold. they were coming
through a hole in the wall where a gas line had been removed.
I didn't even bail the snap trap. just set it in front of the hole.
we caught a mouse every ten to fifteen minutes. I finally plugged
the hole.
I was drinking a cup of tea. when I noticed something in the
bottom of my mug. It looked like a bloated mouse. kind of
turned my stomach. I dumped the tea into the sink and that's
when I realized it was just the tea bag that I forgot to remove.

 

[EagleEyes]

Well I went to the show and saw lots of big beautiful birds. Also learned alot, but especially that those beautiful birds were bred to a standard, not like a hatchery bird bred for quantity, which I'm sure mine are.
Anyways I did take a small crate just in case. And I did find my new, Rooster/cockerel.
He's a Salmon Faverolle born earlier this year. Named him Eddie

 

[growanstede]

This is such a bizarro weather time we live in, man. I'm loving the sun and everything, missing having my wood stove going, worried about this summer's heat and water situation, and working on setting up our greenhouse if possible, because it blew away spectacularly in that wind storm 2yrs ago. Duct tape equipped, y'all! Oh but I did finish staining the glass on this chandelier yesterday to give it a facelift. I didn't want to pay to replace it just now and since we painted this staircase it looked sad. I still have to paint all the trim. MY FAVORITE ​

 

[Chopper923]

The liquid drained off, wonder what nutriunts are in it, use it for houseplants, low grade fertilizer?

You can use the liquid to start a new batch. I read that you can continue the process for weeks, some do it for months. The key is to keep adding water and food. I think the longest I've done it is around 12 or 14 days. When I decide to start over, I will take the remaining liquid out to the coop with me, grab some of the leftover feed that is too small for the chickens to pick up, and mix the two together and give it to the chickens right away. It might not be fermented, but it makes the feed easier for the chickens to eat because they can actually pick it up. I posted pictures of the jars again...look at how much they've expanded in 7.5 hours (1st pix were around 2:15 today, and I did add some more water after taking those 1st pix since there was less than an inch of water above the feed...I think when the feed isn't covered with water for a certain amount of time, mold can start to form.) I have 38 hens, and they will polish off a little bit more than the amount that is in the black strainer in the picture. It doesn't look like much, but it's thick and heavy. I only do this once a day, and probably 3 or 4 days a week, so I think my girls look at it as a treat.

 

[growanstede]

I really want to do kraut this year. I haven't yet since we've been here (five years already!) because my fella hates sauerkraut and so do half of the kids. They're horrible German descendants But it is nice to can and I can do enough in one summer to last three years. Okay, this'll have to be the year. Mmmmmmm......

I woke up with a hefty headache today and now I have the pleasure of sitting at work again trying to stay sane and caffeinated. Lots of plates in the air right now with kids, farm, work, and home. We're waiting to hear back about a HELOC so we can get moving on some repairs, and an NRCS irrigation/hydrant grant, and my youngest's support from the county (he's special needs) and I can't even get into work stress out loud. Sigh.

 

[bigzio]

Chilly St. Pattie's to all! Not going to complain with the gentle winter had this year for sure.
Ho-made kraut with venison wieners for supper tonight.
Caught up on prolly 4 pages of reading. I prefer to freeze my kraut in quart bags. It stays as crunchy as fresh and so easy to do. Share the juice among all the bags after filling the bags to have nice juice when thawed in an ice cream pail.
Good luck with any health problems you are having with your flocks. I springle 5% sevin dust in the dusting bath and have no problems. It must be 5% though and not anything else...easy does it and not a lot is needed or that often. I've been raising poultry since 1971 and back than it was a common practice....frowned upon about by most young fanciers today...but they have the problems and of course know more than me. It's what works for me and I won't argue the issue.
Don't overdo it and see nothing but results.
Been making firewood for months. What an easy winter working in the woods this year!

Stay Safe, .... bigz

 

[jvls1942]

I took this at lunch time today.
do you think I have their attention ?

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Hello fellow Wisconsin people! I just joined BYC last week and will be inheriting BBZZZZTT's 3 extra chickens as soon as my coop is built. Yep, I'm her Mom. We're only allowed 4 per backyard and she has 7, so I will soon have 3. I feel bad separating them since they will have been a nice little flock for a while but it's better than having them crowded and neighbors possibly counting them.
I too love all things nature, camping and hiking (go figure!). We have a family camping trip every summer at one state park or another.
I'm excited to be here and excited about the chicks!

 

[babylady4]

Slow Sunday!