Arizona Chickens

[Bob's Henhouse]

AZCat, I forgot you said you had processed your CornishX. Did you pluck them or?

 

[ca]

Bob's Henhouse :

SNIP
AZKat, ca, AZBootsie, Beckyhsinglsc, and anyone else, (preferably someone who knows what they're doing) we should all get together and give it a go, re: processing the excess roos. I've heard skinning is way easier than plucking. I'll volunteer my yard, but it's not centrally located. The upside is don't have to worry much if there is a feathery or smelly mess. It's desert on 3 sides, and can bury the remains. If there is a serious interest we should try and work it out.

Bob's Henhouse, just noticed the "nuthouse"

. I am very serious about coming and helping. You live oh so close

to Wickenburg. Unfortunately I am one with no experience (do trout count?) but I am also very bloodproof and intenstines don't faze me

. I can come Fridays through Sundays 5am to 10pm or so (work Monday through Thursday).​

 

[GoneHomeGrown2]

TT! :

Quote:
Hrm... I wouldn't go that far. When I graduated college everything had crashed, and I couldn't find a job. We ended up on foodstamps for a year. I was already so humiliated I used a credit card to pay with groceries half of the time anyways. I think I would have killed myself if they had to send someone to check on my ability to decide what was best to feed my kid. I wouldn't want to do that to someone else.

I do think that there should be guidelines (or maybe suggestions) that a certain percentage should be spent on each food group. Or maybe just more information provided to people on proper nutrition. Maybe even an hour long crash course on nutrition.

I've met many people on foodstamps, including one that was taking advantage of the system (she wasn't buying drugs. She was buying groceries for someone in exchange for money, which went to her rent. She was more concerned about having a place to live than eating).

Most seemed like good people and many were in the same crappy situation that I was. Some were on the dumber side of things, but meant well.

I tried to post last night and my computer went on strike all of a sudden. GRRR Oh well

I certainly did not intend to suggest any kind of crazy gustapo style monitoring or anything and appologize if it came across that way. I too have known several people who at one point or another have needed either food stamps or some other kind of aid, myself included. The aid is meant to help get through those hard times. I am just driven nuts by the ones who do take such advantage of the system at others expense and get away with it over and over again. I have known directly of cases such as the drug addicts or another specific one that would buy her and her boyfriend top quality steaks, shrimp and other luxury food items and then use the kids as leverage to get money for diapers and food. Most of the ones that are willing to let their kids suffer for their own selfishness are already on some type of probation or otherwise and if the agencies could just work together to manage these types of situations. But there will always be those people out there, and I have had inside looks on so many other simular abuses of goverment assistance programs that it is a topic that I rattle on. So time to stop before I type a page and a half.​

 

[Lyongirl]

Quote:
Houses out in San Tan Valley are almost just as cheap and in a bit nicer of neighborhoods (if you or your kids would be willing to move that far). When we were looking for houses we saw some as low as $50,000 that were in superb condition, just needed a little cleaning up. These were not super small houses either and they had nice yards. I know there's lots out for really cheap right now. We bought our house for $79k and it's a bigger house than I have ever lived in my whole life. We have nothing to fill it with really but it was such a good deal we couldn't pass it up.

On another note look at what we came home to last night

:

Looks like Vanessa's chickens that we bought are already returning the favor of living here

. The silkie girl seems to not be broody anymore as well which is awesome and everyone is for the most part getting along. Oddly enough the white Ameraucana is picked on more than anyone else (even the silkie picks on her lol).

 

[GoneHomeGrown2]

Kristopher - Welcome aboard. Very nice youngsters there. I really like the self blue game. Very nice.

Congrats Lyongirl on the eggs.

Bob - Depending on the day you all shoot for, I may try to come down that way. I have not processed a lot, but have done some. I have tried both plucking and skinning and think that skinning is alot easier. I still have not tried using the wax yet though and think it would help alot with plucking.

Sorry for anything I may have missed, but have to head out for classes. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[mclevinson]

Kristopher - Welcome aboard. Pretty Chicks!

(I always wanted to use that smiley)

Lyongirl - Eggs! Yea!

rufuf - wow. scary.

Gonehomegrown2 - Computers drive me crazy. The "m" key is broken and really slows me down.

 

[squeakyballs]

Kristopher - I love the pictures, especially the self blue! She is beautiful!

 

[5pinkarrows]

Kristopher--HOWDY!

Your chickens are very cute!

Lyongirl--Wow! I can't believe houses are so cheap there! After the crash, I think I could only get about $130k for mine, and it isn't spectacular or anything. It's about 1750 sq ft. It's rural, so it is a little cheaper. I actually like that, though. We are only 7 minutes from the interstate, but we are the only house on the street. I just don't think I could handle a real neighborhood. I have 5 noisy kids, 3 noisy dogs (that are quite large and only confined about half the time), and 2 noisy roosters, and nobody cares! The house is big enough for us, but I really would like an extra room to put the homeschool stuff since it makes it seem like the walls are closing in on us. But, I will take the yard space over house space, I guess. I always thought the Phx area would be more expensive, but maybe not. The only way we could move there is if my hubby got transferred to the airport, and I don't think he wants to do that. He is a US Customs canine officer, and is used to a LOT of action on this crazy border. I think he would die of boredom in an airport.

As for welfare and foodstamps, that is always a can of worms, isn't it? I think it is great to have something to help people temporarily. And let's face it, there are a lot of people that just don't have the mental capacity to work anywhere that would pay enough to live on. I have no problem helping folks like that. The problem is that government programs lead people to a sense of entitlement. They forget that the gov't has no money that it doesn't take from someone else, or borrow from some other entity. In my humble opinion, if things were like they used to be and people had to ASK for help from churches or others, they would be much more motivated to become independent. I know a family where the husband likes his job building trains. He only works 4 days a week, and the pay is lousy. He is completely comfortable with keeping his wife and 6 kids on welfare so that he can have a job he likes instead of one that supports his family. He has no intention of finding another job. But, I bet if he had to go to the food bank and churches each month to ask for support from real people, he would be motivated to find something else. This is the whole reason that illegal immigrants have to do our less desirable jobs in this country. Because people are too dependent on unemployment benefits (hate that word for it) and would make a lot less with a real job. Any gov't that forces its citizens to be dependent is on shaky ground. PHEW! Sorry about that. I really only intended to type a couple of sentences.

 

[squeakyballs]

Mahonri and Cheese: Have you ever managed to break a broody? I think it is impossible!

I'm kind of wishing I had a broody. Eggs are so fun!

5pinkarrows: Well said!

GoneHomeGrown2 - Food stamps or not, some people are terrible parents!

 

[Tanichca]

Good morning my AZ amigos! Anyone need a silkie or two?