California - Northern

[ronott1]

I live in town and have lots of predators. Our lot is big and we are surrounded by other houses but we seem to be avenue central for possums, raccoons, skunks, roof rats, and hawks. We even had a dog tunnel under our 6 foot fence last year and make off with our 1 Polish pullet. This weekend, my DH is predator proofing our aviary area with hardware cloth. I'll post pics of it when he is finished. The Pita Pinta are currently in that area and they are under his feet constantly except when he is using the saw or drill. He keeps complaining about the squishy presents they are leaving for him on the wood. They are inspecting everything he does!

If I lived in the Western part of Davis, I would have predators. This part of Woodland only has Kitty Cats--None are feral now. They could show up and the coops are predator proof. I have read about places that had been safe for years and then something changed--boom there were feathers every where.

Silly Pita Pintas! How old are they now?

 

[chrissyr]

I found this site on chickens and thought it was a cute idea. We all can't wait for the "first egg", so this lady immortalized it with gold leaf and in a display box. A bit costly, but so cute! http://www.gardenbetty.com/2012/03/the-golden-egg/
Also, her fermented liquid for feed she keeps for months. How long do you fermenters keep the liquid. I thought it would go bad before then.

 

[PetRock]

Silly Pita Pintas! How old are they now?

They are just over 10 weeks now. I'll take some new pics this week once DH is finished with their pen. I'm off to homeschool co-op for the day. No Veterens' Day off for us!

 

[chiqita]

Good Morning Lual!

I am getting the mash out of Sweet Pie pumpkins now. They were in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil over night at 200 degrees. The Mash will become pies for Thanks Giving. It freezes well. I also have overnight Cinnamon rolls proofing in the oven. I get to bake them in 20 minutes or so. It is nice to have a day off.

Happy Veterans Day!

I will take new pictures of the Horstman Pullets for you today.

Yum! I learned a pumpkin fact this year, you are not supposed to home can pumpkin puree, only freeze it etc. I don't remember why, it was a long article,. I might do that this week too , the boys love pumpkin pie. Do you put spices in it for the pies before you freeze or just do they puree?

How do I save these pics Ron ? it is exactly what I want to build. How many boys fit in there and what are the dimensions...I am thinking I want something to handle 10-15 at a time...should I build 2? Going to start cruising yard sales for toys with wheels. Today I was pushing a wheelbarrow and thought about just using a wheelbarrow wheel on a tractor. The wing nut to raise the wheel and make it sit flat on the ground is genius and I had NEVER thought of of that.

If you are looking for something very simple, another idea is a triangle tractor. MArio got clamps used for making saw horses and we used tall wood from Home depot to make the tractor, and used leftover 5 ft wire fencing for the sides. Mind you, I have not made the door yet, ( I use a metal sign on one side) but other then that it took about 2 hrs to make it. Id show you a picture, but I dropped my replacement phone in the toilet last night and i'm trying to save it.
This has been the year of terrible phone mojo...

Speaking of it, anyone have Sprint? We are debating switching becuse my boss thinks verizion is evil.

I found this site on chickens and thought it was a cute idea. We all can't wait for the "first egg", so this lady immortalized it with gold leaf and in a display box. A bit costly, but so cute! http://www.gardenbetty.com/2012/03/the-golden-egg/
Also, her fermented liquid for feed she keeps for months. How long do you fermenters keep the liquid. I thought it would go bad before then.

I keep it till is has a smell. It all depends on the heat and how much feed gets stuck in the buckets.
I do wash the buckets every 2 weeks or so, and if its not the middle of summer you can keep reusing the liquid for quite a while. But It is not hard to start new liquid, and i get lazy and stop fermenting frequently, so I make new liquid a lot too, lol. I use brewers yeast in it so i don't have to wait for 3-4 days to get the whole thing started, its a nice hax.

One of our neighbors told us they saw a fox with one of our chickens! I have not lost anyone since the attack, so it must have been that day, ( they thought it was not that long ago, but Im guessing they just don't remember) so It must have been a pack of foxes down here. This worries me because we did not catch any foxes in our trap.

When do they have kits? If it is a family, id hate to catch the vixen and not her babies if they still need her.

 

[alibra]

still looking for D'uccles after 3 months & 2 failed attempts!!!

SQ stock! I want porcelain, blue/black mottled , golden neck, millie fleur, blue millie fleur.. & anything else

I'm looking for hatching eggs/chicks/juveniles/adults. I'd prefer to have them shipped only if were within a state or two of each other

Any recommendations?

 

[ronott1]

Yum! I learned a pumpkin fact this year, you are not supposed to home can pumpkin puree, only freeze it etc. I don't remember why, it was a long article,. I might do that this week too , the boys love pumpkin pie. Do you put spices in it for the pies before you freeze or just do they puree?

I spice up the pie when I bake it. Freezing can mess up the flavor of the spices.

I am having trouble getting attachments to post. I think I need to renew my Golden Feather Membership. I can get text in by using the spoiler alert, so I will get the recipe to you that way.

Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie

​

Rated:

Submitted By: Randy Scott
Photo By: PatiO
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour
Servings: 16
"Chunks of pumpkin are boiled on the stove and then mashed with evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and spices to create the filling for a shortening based crust in this delectably rustic Thanksgiving classic."
Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup cold water

2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.

Prepare pie crust by mixing together the flour and salt. Cut shortening into flour, add 1 tablespoon water to mixture at a time. Mix dough and repeat until dough is moist enough to hold together.
3.

With lightly floured hands shape dough into a ball. On a lightly floured board roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. With a sharp knife, cut dough 1 1/2 inch larger than the upside down 8 to 9 inch pie pan. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it right side up on to the pie pan. Unroll, ease dough into the bottom of the pie pan.
4.

In a large bowl with mixer speed on medium, beat pumpkin with evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into a prepared crust. Bake 40 minutes or until when a knife is inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.
· To Prepare the Mashed Pumpkin:
· Use 1 1/2 pounds of skin-on, raw pumpkin to yield 2 cups of mashed. Halve pumpkin and scoop out seeds and stringy portions. Cut pumpkin into chunks. In saucepan over medium heat, in 1 inch of boiling water heat the pumpkin to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool and remove the peel. Return pumpkin to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher.

Overnight:Completely wrap the pumpkin in foil and bake on a baking sheet overnight (6 to 8 hours) on the lowest setting (200°F). Put on your PJs (just checking if you are paying attention). In the morning, take out the pumpkin, crack it open, and scoop out the flesh, separating the flesh from the seeds as you go. Reserve the pumpkin meat.

 

[chiqita]

still looking for D'uccles after 3 months & 2 failed attempts!!!

SQ stock! I want porcelain, blue/black mottled , golden neck, millie fleur, blue millie fleur.. & anything else

I'm looking for hatching eggs/chicks/juveniles/adults. I'd prefer to have them shipped only if were within a state or two of each other

Any recommendations?

The only person I know who has SQ has MF and is not close. They are friendly birds however, and they shipped pretty well, i got a 60% hatch rate. Almost everyone I sold them too wanted more chicks, they were very friendly little things.
I don't know HOW SQ they are, she sells to the local 4h ers and they show them, but I know nothing about d'uccles so I can't give a critical opinion.

The Cal facebook page has a few people, could check there, and possibly phange has them? I dont remember.

And Ron, Thanks! That looks good. My go to sweets cook book The Pastry Queen dosn't have a pumpkin pie recipe. I have a few saved but none were perfect....

 

[ChickNmamma]

I found this site on chickens and thought it was a cute idea. We all can't wait for the "first egg", so this lady immortalized it with gold leaf and in a display box. A bit costly, but so cute! http://www.gardenbetty.com/2012/03/the-golden-egg/
Also, her fermented liquid for feed she keeps for months. How long do you fermenters keep the liquid. I thought it would go bad before then.

I do the one bucket fermentation method - and I always leave some food/slop in the bottom and add more water (wash down the sides into the bottom too) and let sit another day. I have only replaced my "liquid" once - and that's because I stopped feeding fermented feed when I left for two weeks. I didn't want to ask my neighbor to mix the food and feed the chickens once a day so I went back to the dry food in automatic feeders. My chickens were very happy to see me back and get back to the fermented food. I had been using the same bucket/slop for about 9 months at that point. If you keep adding food you will keep it alive. It will die if you don't keep it fed, just like sourdough starter. It never goes bad if it is always cut with new food. I only used vinegar to start mine, and it was fermenting in one day. I do use warm water when I add water - and it sits out in the sun and gets nice and warm during the day.

 

[ronott1]

still looking for D'uccles after 3 months & 2 failed attempts!!!

SQ stock! I want porcelain, blue/black mottled , golden neck, millie fleur, blue millie fleur.. & anything else

I'm looking for hatching eggs/chicks/juveniles/adults. I'd prefer to have them shipped only if were within a state or two of each other

Any recommendations?

Oddly, it seems that shipped eggs from farther away sometimes do well. Eggs shipped by truck from Washington have not hatched well. Eggs from Arkansas did very well. The time on the truck seems to be very bad for them.

Bantam eggs seem to hatch better than large fowl when shipped so hopefully you will do well with the breeds you want.

Do you plan on being part of the New Year Day Hatch? I said yest to being the Host this year so get ready for a Hatch a Long!

 

[chiqita]

Oddly, it seems that shipped eggs from farther away sometimes do well. Eggs shipped by truck from Washington have not hatched well. Eggs from Arkansas did very well. The time on the truck seems to be very bad for them.

Bantam eggs seem to hatch better than large fowl when shipped so hopefully you will do well with the breeds you want.

Do you plan on being part of the New Year Day Hatch? I said yest to being the Host this year so get ready for a Hatch a Long!

oh dear, Mario is going to be mad at me!!