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Valmoms Page
Valmom's Page We cheated and bought a pre-made shed! Then built the fence around it. Here is the lovely inside. Then put the chickies in it. (Gifted to us by someone who had to get rid of her chickens.)- valmom
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Soap Makers Help!
OK, a fan it is. It feels like fall now, but by this weekend it is supposed to be hot an humid again. -
Soap Makers Help!
I use 25% each of Crisco, canola, olive oil and coconut oil with the water suggested by soapcalc. I like the way the bars set up and cure nice and hard - usually. But the weather this summer and the humidity was killing the two batches I did. Yes, they did actually drip! I am 90% sure it was... -
Soap Makers Help!
I live in Vermont- we don't have air conditioning! (actually, I do have a window one but only in the bedroom and it only runs a few days a year- it gets humid and high 80's but not enough to justify AC running more than ocasionally). I do use at least 20-25% OO in my soaps. The main problem I... -
Soap Makers Help!
Anyone have any ideas where to store the soap to cure in the summer. I am suffering soap withdrawal! It is too hot and humid to cure upstairs where I usually do it, and I moved the last two batches down to the basement with a dehumidifier and mice (a constant ongoing probem) nibbled it! I guess... -
How do you clean frozen poop in the run?
I try to keep a deep enough sawdust layer that I can scoop it once it is frozen. I use Woody Pet in the coop which is really fine sawdust once it breaks up. Unfortunately, in the winter I have to wet it in the house and carry it out once it has dried or it freezes solid. My personal jury is...- valmom
- Post #5
- Forum: Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance
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Soap Makers Help!
Oh, poor Penny. Sending good healing and passing egg thoughts to her. Thank you, Morgaine. I was thinking that trace was when there isn't any change when I mix or stir. The color change looked significant this last batch- it was more noticeable than the first two batches. Three batches, and I... -
Soap Makers Help!
No, Crisco is only 50%- the first batch it was 50/50 crisco/olive oil that I had to re-batch. The one that went really fast was Crisco/olive oil/canola oil at 50/30/20 just to see what the difference was. The one I did today I dropped the Crisco to 40%, canola 40% and olive oil 20%. I actually... -
Soap Makers Help!
Thanks for the info on scenting. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, though. I think I need more practice. My first batch I poured at what turned out to be false trace- I rebatched it and it is fine. This batch I was determined to avoid false trace and get it right and it started setting up in... -
Soap Makers Help!
I am about to make my second batch of soap tomorrow and I am still keeping it small- about 1 pound batches. I want to scent this batch and I ordered the 1 ounce sample pack from Southern Scents- how much would I add to a 1 pound batch to give it a nice, not overwhelming smell? I assume the whole... -
Soap Makers Help!
Well, I re-melted my failed soap and stirred it some more, held it at 110* for awhile stirring it hoping to make it do something. It didn't seem to look too much different than it did last time, but it did get stiffer. I poured it back into the molds before it could set up in the pot, and it... -
Soap Makers Help!
I can try to get a picture, but my computer is severely limited right now- I don't know if I can get the picture on line. The temperature was down to 105 or so for both the lye and the fats before I could get them mixed. (I was trying to make soap and someone else was trying to get the snow plow... -
Soap Makers Help!
I just used regular olive oil that is in a can at the food store that we use for cooking. I also used Crisco because I had it on hand. Recipe was: Water:6.08 ounces Lye: 2.07 ounces crisco: 11.2 ounces olive oil: 4.8 ounces I didn't add any fragrances or other additives yet- I want to be sure... -
Soap Makers Help!
OK, my soap has been sitting in the molds since Wednesday, and I keep compulsively checking it There seems to be a layer of fat on top of each bar. Did I not use enough lye? Did I not insulate well? (well, I probably didn't- how much difference does it make?) I can't tell if the bars are hard... -
Soap Makers Help!
I read about Southern Scents a few pages back, and the sample pack sounds just right! There was also mention of a BYC discount which they accepted. -
Soap Makers Help!
That's a relief! I had visions of having to chip out the bars in a few days. Another question- how long do you insulate them? They must cool down eventually, even insulated- should I be keeping them in a warm spot in front of a heater? Why do you insulate? -
Your chickens fly?
Our bantam Gamecock rooster flies really well- enough to get out of the 8 foot chicken compound. The girls (EEs) don't fly much except for one who followed the rooster out. We clip her wings (as well as the rooster's).- valmom
- Post #12
- Forum: Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying
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Soap Makers Help!
I have soap! Well, I have a thick slurry that is poured into molds. Of course, I forgot to spray with Pam first- I had to forget something, right? Now I have ordered a sample pack of FO online- SO thinks Dragonblood sounds cool It went really fast- I was prepared to stir for hours, but it got... -
Soap Makers Help!
You guys are the best! I started to weigh the lye and water, and it looked like an awful lot of lye so I thought I'd ask! Off to make my first batch of soap- I'm trying to keep it simple to see if I can do it first of all. Olive oil and crisco. No scents, no colors. I will figure out how to do... -
Soap Makers Help!
OK, I haven't been able to read all 157 pages of this thread, but it sounds like you guys have all the answers! I ordered lye from AAA chemicals and ran the fats through the calcualtor at soapcalc. One question, though. It sounds like you buy liquid lye? What I have is granulated. Are the...