Consolidated Kansas

[prairie]

Hubby usually collects them and gives a small bucket of them to the horse and mules and was going to give some to the chickens but they can free range down there to eat them. Our dogs love them == the only thing is if left on the ground the coyotes and deer love them too. I bet we will have several bushel on the ground by the time we get done thinning. I should have done it a couple of weeks ago because everything is so far ahead of schedule this year. Usually there is a June drop that takes care of a lot of the thinning process but this year it didn't drop many. I go by the rule I read in a book about 30 years ago that you should leave one fruit per 4-5 in on the tree limb -- or the length of your fist. Well I don't have time to figure that out so I just whack the trees with a pole until they look sufficiently thinned out.

Cherwill, I used to do a lot of canning and freezing but do very little anymore -- too lazy I guess. However I do freeze some things every year simply because it is easier than canning. I have a pressure canner I have used once and want to sell it if anyone needs one.

I freeze tomatoes by just washing them and plopping them into freezer bags and into the freezer. A friend told me this easy method about 30 yrs ago and it is wonderful! When I take them out of the freezer either let hot water run over them or just let them sit on the counter until partially thawed. Then make a slit in the skin and it just slips off. I use them in everything in the winter -- salsa, soups, juice, sauces, etc. I do use a smaller tomato -- not the great big tomatoes.

I also freeze lots of peelings, greens, etc so that in the winter I can pull out a bag of greens and thaw it out and give it to the chickens. They love the little treat when they don't have much green on the ground. Of course I have a huge freezer and plenty of room I don't use.

 

[chicken danz]

Cherwill. had one of those old wash tub stands. I put it in the chicken pen and it was like their favorite roost. One leg finally fell apart form being outside for years so I just made another one as a temporary prop. It finally got pretty unusable but if yours ever gets to the point it won't hold the wash tubs remember it has an afterlife.
On canning, tomatoes are about the hardest thing in the world to can. You have to really stuff those jars and then make sure that absolutely nothing is left of the top of the jar. If even a minute bit of that tomato fiber or juice is left there it won't seal. If you want to get serious about canning buy a pressure canner. I bought my son and his wife a full sized 7 quart capacity pressure canner, the most expensive canning book I could find, and a kit with all the utensils you'd ever need for just less than $100 for Christmas. I bought from Amazon and I not only got a great deal but I didn't have to pay shipping on any of it. That is something they can use for the next 50 years. I bought my pressure canner nearly 40 years ago. I need to buy a new rubber seal this year because it has been sitting in storage for a few years now. They last if you use them regularly and then lubricate them when you put them up for the year.
The last several years I freeze my tomatoes. It's easier and the flavor in cooked things is out of this world. It's so much better than canned tomatoes. Anything you want to know about I'll sure help you if I can. The secret to pickles is to buy a pickling cucumber. I always bought one called Liberty. They make those small little gerkin sized cucumbers. You can let them grow but the young cucumbers are the ones that stay crisp. You don't want to use them over 6 inches or so long. I am hooked on bread and butter Jalapenos. I've purchased many jars of them and told my son I would make some this year if the jalapenos produce. I've found several recipes on the internet. I use them mixed in cream cheese as a dip. It is to die for!! I actually have 3 jars in the pantry right now cause they had a special at Sam's club around Christmas when the vender was there. I'll bet mine are even better though. I planted both mild and hot jalapenos and think I might make some with a mix of the two kinds.
I was making my Dad some stuffed peppers for his dinner this morning and when I cut the tops and centers out of the peppers I through them out for the chickens. Boy! Talk about happy chicken sounds. I am thinking these peppers need to keep producing if the chickens love them that much. I wish all my other plants would get going a little better. After all, this garden was as much for them as it was for me.
I have a very old apricot tree. I've never gotten fruit off of it before. It either got blown off or froze off each time before. This year there was a bounty crop but of course the wind has blown 90% of them off. I went out and picked one off the tree the other day. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I forgot how wonderful a home grown apricot tasted. Most of them are on the ground by the hen pen. The birds are having fun picking at them. Of course it isn't a dwarf tree so most of what is left is too high to pick.
I was talking to an old friend the other day. We were talking about back when we dated how timing was always off. He is now in a good relationship and of course so am I. Anyway he commented , "Well at least you are doing what you always wanted now." It kind of left me speechless.
I thought, "No, this isn't what I thought I always wanted at all. My long term dreams were entirely different. I had no desire to have 100s of birds and work hard every day when I was this age. I thought I'd be able to live in a nicer place, dress nicely, wear the nice jewelry I never wore because I saved it for good, work on my little craft projects and just enjoy the easy life. But the funny thing is we don't really know what we want. I still think about those long term dreams but in the end I am happier than I've ever been right now. So maybe... just maybe it was what I wanted, but I just didn't know it.

 

[lizzyGSR]

My day started off not-so-well. Every morning, I go out and get the ducks from the duck house and carry them to their temporary pen one-by-one. Today, I was taking them to a wire cage inside the house because I don't like to leave them outside when I'm gone, and I was planning on going to church. Well, when I went to get the ducks out of the duck house this morning, one of them got loose. The one that got loose is one of the one's I got from my DH's grandma only about a week ago. The ducks I got from her and almost wild and won't let me get very close to them. So, needless to say, this duck is still loose. I lost track of her when she went into our tree line, and I haven't been able to find her again. I'm hoping and praying she comes back. Today and the next couple days are supposed to be in the triple digits and, that I know of, there isn't any water close by except for the stuff we put out for our animals. Not to mention that we're out in the middle of nowhere so there are a lot of possible predators out here. I feel terrible. I've had this duck just under two weeks and already one of them has gotten loose. I opened the "gate" on their temporary pen outdoors in hopes that she'll come back for water. I've also put the big dog inside so he won't chase her if she does decide to come back. I'm inside eating breakfast now, hoping the peace and quiet will encourage her to come back. If not, I guess I'm gonna go out and look for her.

 

[chicken danz]

Lizzy the duck will come looking for his buddies and water. They DO NOT like being alone. Ideally if you can put the other ducks where he can hear and see them he'll come join them. Ducks are the easiest thing in the world to coral. Just don't chase him. If he comes back and there is a way to open the temp pen he will walk right in.

 

[HEChicken]

Lizzy, I hope the duck comes back. I've noticed with my muscovies that they really don't like to be separated from the group so hopefully that will be the motivation yours needs to return. I agree that coming inside and giving him some peace and quiet is more conducive to encouraging him to come into the yard when he does come back.

I bought a canner a couple of years ago and have used it a LOT for pressure canning - I love it. I actually haven't done as many batches as I thought I would have by now as my plan last year was to grow so much that I could can enough to keep us going over the winter. Well, with the hot summer, my garden didn't do that well, so I didn't have much excess.

One thing I learned to do that I've really liked, is beans. I like to use dried beans in cooking but by the time I'm ready to cook, I don't have time to do the overnight soak thing. So I took a bunch of different dried beans, and cooked them in the pressure canner. Now I have a ton of canned beans ready to use at a moment's notice. DH thought it a waste of energy to run the canner to do the beans, but usually what I do is get a load of stuff ready to can and if the canner isn't full, add enough jars of beans to fill it up. That way I'm not using any energy I wasn't already going to be using to can the other stuff, and over time I've built up a good collection of beans.

I got my canner on eBay. I knew how much they were on Amazon, so I kept bidding on eBay until I got one for less. I knew what my top bid was going to be and it took a few weeks but finally I got one for about $10 less than the same one on Amazon (and it was new). Plus, the seller threw in a bonus. When FedEx delivered my package, I was expecting only one box, but there were two. The second box contained a case of the large, wide-mouth jars. Such a bonus because I use the wide-mouth jars anyway, so already had the lids.

Lizzy, did you say you're going to be in triple digits this week? Let me just say I'm glad I don't live where you do. It is only forecast to be 90 here today and that is quite hot enough for me, thank you.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy, I hope the duck comes back. I've noticed with my muscovies that they really don't like to be separated from the group so hopefully that will be the motivation yours needs to return. I agree that coming inside and giving him some peace and quiet is more conducive to encouraging him to come into the yard when he does come back.

Lizzy, did you say you're going to be in triple digits this week? Let me just say I'm glad I don't live where you do. It is only forecast to be 90 here today and that is quite hot enough for me, thank you.

Thank you all for the well-wishes. before I read your suggestions, I went out and searched the tree line. I saw the duck once, but she quickly disappeared again. So, at least I know she's still close. I went ahead and took the other ducks out to their temporary pen. She should be able to hear them out there, and if she comes out of the tree line far enough, she should be able to see them as well.

Yes, I did say triple digits this week. The forecast for tomorrow says 108, and I've heard from members of the local NWS that it could be warmer than that. THey're saying 99 for Tuesday, and Wednesday is supposed to be a "cool" 87 degrees. HOT sounds like a good word to describe this week.

 

[lizzyGSR]

Thank you all for the well-wishes. before I read your suggestions, I went out and searched the tree line. I saw the duck once, but she quickly disappeared again. So, at least I know she's still close. I went ahead and took the other ducks out to their temporary pen. She should be able to hear them out there, and if she comes out of the tree line far enough, she should be able to see them as well.

She's back!!!!!

She is back, safe and sound!!! As you all said, she came back to be with her friends and I just had to open the gate and let her in without scaring her away.

 

[JosieChick]

Oh good!! I am glad she is back. It is sooo stressful to have a loose bird and worry about them being ok! Ducks really do love their buddies.

She's back!!!!!

She is back, safe and sound!!! As you all said, she came back to be with her friends and I just had to open the gate and let her in without scaring her away.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye, the silkie babies are sooo cute!

I didn't think I'd ever be interested in eating our chickens, but now I'm not so sure ... the darn things barely lay eggs any more. This week I got 4 eggs from my 6 layers, and one was broken. Old Sophia is, in DH's words, our big fat fatty and she lays the odd shaped eggs. The shells have become so thin, and she's so heavy, they're nearly always broken. The dogs are enjoying it, but I'm not. We've put some oyster shell out for them, but so far it hasn't made much of a difference.

I'm so envious of your fruit trees!

Remember the strawberry pallet fiasco? I replanted them in my washtubs. $20 worth of strawberries and not one made it, but I do have these volunteers:

Yeah, I think I could eat my chickens. Probably not Cocoa, though. (the Polish that got injured). But my nice big fat barred rocks and Wyandottes... yeah. I want to get more fruit trees too! I have a few apple trees, but that is it.

Hubby usually collects them and gives a small bucket of them to the horse and mules and was going to give some to the chickens but they can free range down there to eat them. Our dogs love them == the only thing is if left on the ground the coyotes and deer love them too. I bet we will have several bushel on the ground by the time we get done thinning. I should have done it a couple of weeks ago because everything is so far ahead of schedule this year. Usually there is a June drop that takes care of a lot of the thinning process but this year it didn't drop many. I go by the rule I read in a book about 30 years ago that you should leave one fruit per 4-5 in on the tree limb -- or the length of your fist. Well I don't have time to figure that out so I just whack the trees with a pole until they look sufficiently thinned out.

I freeze tomatoes by just washing them and plopping them into freezer bags and into the freezer. A friend told me this easy method about 30 yrs ago and it is wonderful! When I take them out of the freezer either let hot water run over them or just let them sit on the counter until partially thawed. Then make a slit in the skin and it just slips off. I use them in everything in the winter -- salsa, soups, juice, sauces, etc. I do use a smaller tomato -- not the great big tomatoes.

I also freeze lots of peelings, greens, etc so that in the winter I can pull out a bag of greens and thaw it out and give it to the chickens. They love the little treat when they don't have much green on the ground. Of course I have a huge freezer and plenty of room I don't use.

What a great idea about freezing the tomatoes.

The secret to pickles is to buy a pickling cucumber. I always bought one called Liberty. They make those small little gerkin sized cucumbers. You can let them grow but the young cucumbers are the ones that stay crisp. You don't want to use them over 6 inches or so long.

I was talking to an old friend the other day. We were talking about back when we dated how timing was always off. He is now in a good relationship and of course so am I. Anyway he commented , "Well at least you are doing what you always wanted now." It kind of left me speechless.
I thought, "No, this isn't what I thought I always wanted at all. My long term dreams were entirely different. I had no desire to have 100s of birds and work hard every day when I was this age. I thought I'd be able to live in a nicer place, dress nicely, wear the nice jewelry I never wore because I saved it for good, work on my little craft projects and just enjoy the easy life. But the funny thing is we don't really know what we want. I still think about those long term dreams but in the end I am happier than I've ever been right now. So maybe... just maybe it was what I wanted, but I just didn't know it.

I was telling the kids today next year we'll build a new garden and do cucumbers to pickle. I've NEVER pickled. I certainly don't want a soft pickle. I'll have to remember this and buy one specifically labeled for pickling! Good to know! I do think I am doing what I am happiest at.

I got my canner on eBay. I knew how much they were on Amazon, so I kept bidding on eBay until I got one for less. I knew what my top bid was going to be and it took a few weeks but finally I got one for about $10 less than the same one on Amazon (and it was new). Plus, the seller threw in a bonus. When FedEx delivered my package, I was expecting only one box, but there were two. The second box contained a case of the large, wide-mouth jars. Such a bonus because I use the wide-mouth jars anyway, so already had the lids.

She's back!!!!!

She is back, safe and sound!!! As you all said, she came back to be with her friends and I just had to open the gate and let her in without scaring her away.

That's GREAT!!!! YAY!!

 

[WichitaKidd]

Question for the chicken experts on the forum. Buffy still isn't doing much better. Stumbled across a couple posts on the forum about medicated chick feed with amprolium, which is what I've been feeding all my birds from the beginning, can cause neurologic problems in some birds. Had never heard this before. Is it true? I've been thru one entire bottle of vitamin E & it doesn't appear to have done much for her. Think I'm going to make a quick trip to TSC to buy some non-medicated chick feed to give her. Figured it can't hurt.

While I'm on the topic of feed, I still have all of my chicks on chick starter. The bag says I should feed it to them until at least 18 weeks. Two of my birds are almost there (16 weeks), but the rest of my birds are only at 10 weeks. Is it OK to switch them all to just regular layer feed or should I keep everyone on chick feed for a while longer until the young ones are a little older?
Thanks for the advice.