Consolidated Kansas

[JosieChick]

Has anyone else ever seen this before?
This hen hurt her legs some how. I put her in isolation and this is how her legs (both) heeled.
Now she walks on her Knees.

That is bizarre looking! I am amazed she can get around.

Josie, Our concern with doing both dogs at once is that there will be no guardian dog on duty at all & we have had a lot of barking going on every single night lately, which tells me there are a lot of predators out there trying to come after my chickens & other birds & rabbits. I would hate to have them both done at the same time & then have something coming after my birds & no dog out there to chase them off. We have a terrible time here with possums since we have this wooded area right in front of the house & two of my pens & the rabbits are right there under the trees, sitting ducks. I just don't feel good about having them both down & out at the same time.

Well my DH is out there cutting pieces for the back wall, so I need to go check & see how he's coming along. Enjoy this weather, it's supposed to get hot again after this short respite, ugh.

I bet if you did what Danz said and penned them right near the chickens that they would bark and be enough to deter anything that would come in. If you do them separately you will probably have to keep the surgery patient locked up away from the exuberant, normal dog.

I thought I posted this a few hours ago. So here it is:
LizzyGSR, Rather than the expense of hardware cloth why don't you buy some 2" X 4" welded wire. I use welded wire and chicken wire for all of my pens and it is safe and strong. I think the idea of placing the chicken wire on the ground will deter digging as well. I don't ever lock my ducks in the house at night. They prefer to lay out in the open unless it is cold out. I think if your pen is secure your duck would be fine without being locked inside.
Daren I have a chicken who splayed and walks on the top side of her foot and leg. Most of those splayed legged birds don't thrive but this little gal is doing great. Have you considered giving your duck Niacin? It could be a deficiency that caused her legs to go bad.Brewers Yeast works well too.
Michelleml, Are you speaking of the lavender orps I just hatched? I am just trying to get some breeding stock started. My first batch I hatched turned out to be all cockerels. I will have chicks next spring if I have any pullets. I'm not that far from you by my terms anyway. I live South of Topeka. We're probably 70 miles apart. We might be able to split the distance or meet in Topeka if I am going that way for anything.
Have any of you seen the blue partridge brahmas? Look at Greenfire farms for a picture. They are gorgeous. They aren't selling any right now. I am on a quest to find some. It may take a few years. I love my brahmas anyway but those things are just gorgeous. I am also planning ahead to get some Rhodebars and some Olandsk. I don't think I'm ever going to get my chicken hoarding under control!!! Looks like both of those breeds amay happen next spring unless I find another source sooner.
Trish I understand both schools of thought and I definitely see your point. I couldn't imagine having all of my dogs down at once. The one thing you would need is a place for one of them to convalesce while the other one is working. They do need that down time to get back on their feet. I might be tempted to have them both done and set up a temporary kennel right near the birds so they could still bark and keep predators away by their presence. If they have something come near, their bark will change for sure. There's a certain bark my dogs make when they have something cornered rather than just barking to keep them away. It always brings me to my feet.
I went out and fed and watered. Caught some roosters and a duck to take to town, gathered eggs, and got them ready to take in. Now I'm tired. I need to go feed and water in the brooder and get my rear in gear. I would rather just stay home. It felt so perfect out there earlier. Just the right temp for me to be comfortable in.

Danz- I am not even going to look at blue partridge brahmas! I have to get some pics up of my laced trio, I am just in love with them. They are so beautiful. I love brahmas!

Yeah, when I was pg with the kids, I did a lot of reading up on sonograms. And guess what, the jury is out on that one. They can't conclusively say that it won't harm the baby. Oh lets not get started on everything else I could start a rant on! LOL!! I mean, I do things within reason, but am always aware of the choices I make and realize that you do things with moderation. It's the excesses we get in trouble with.


I have a GNO (girls night out) tonight! Yippee!!! We do it once a month, and play card games, etc.. So fun, and looking forward to having a break from the kids!

Have fun on GNO!!! Woo hoo!!!

Thanks! We're planning on getting 3 Black Australorps.

Congrats on the ordinance! You will love your australorps, I have two and they are one of my favorites and great layers!

Thank you for the pictures! Those are nice looking coops/runs!

The chicken wire + the welded wire is enough to keep predators from reaching through and grabbing birds? I got about 150' of 8' tall chicken wire (and there's another ~150' out there that just needs to be taken down), so my pen will be chicken wire all the way around and on top with either hardware cloth or the welded wire around the bottom as reinforcements against predators.

I don't think welded wire and chicken wire will stop a raccoon or something from reaching in....they could tear the chicken wire off and welded wire is easily big enough to tear a chickens head or even part of their body through. If all your chickens go into their coop at night and aren't sleeping in the run up against the fence I think they would be fine. We have mostly welded wire fencing and haven't had any trouble but our girls go in their coops at night. If you want it to be predator proof you would have to use hardware cloth attached to the welded wire at least a couple feet up. A coon couldn't tear through that.

Well we got our shed in a box assembled today! I have been free ranging the chickens in the evening when I am there to supervise and I don't know what to do with the pup sometimes. She always stares them down and they run away and if I wasn't there I am sure she would take off after them. Ugh!

 

[HEChicken]

Trish- I would totally recommend doing them at the same time. We spayed both Molly and Lucie at the same time and it is so much easier because they were both down for the count for a couple days and kept each other company in the surgery recovery area in the garage. When you spay one, the other one feels fine and wants to play and roughhouse with the dog with the incision which is bad for healing. If they both feel kinda icky for a few days they will lounge around together and heal better. Because your girls are so bonded to each other I would think it would be a lot less of a headache for you. Plus you won't have to deal with a dog that had surgery twice, you will just have two dogs to recover then it will be all done with. It is especially important for your girls to stay quiet because they are so big now. Just my 2 cents.

This is a very valid argument.

I thought I posted this a few hours ago. So here it is:

Have any of you seen the blue partridge brahmas? Look at Greenfire farms for a picture. They are gorgeous.

OMG - I google imaged those and they are gorgeous but Greenfire is looking for $199 per chick!!! I honestly cannot imagine paying that much for a chick. We've all lost chicks in transit or in their first few weeks of life but can you imagine the pain of losing a $200 chick??? You're right - they are gorgeous though.

And then there is my favorite, sonograms monthly or bi-monthly for pregnant women. You CANNOT measure a system without interfering with and changing that system. I don't think you are crazy at all.

Oh you are so right - don't even get me started. I hate how much they treat pregnancy like its an illness that requires treatment. I remember when a girlfriend and I were pg at the same time and we got to 36 weeks or so and she got all panicky because she was 5cm dilated and her doctor said she could go any moment. I asked how she knew she was 5cm dilated and she said she had a pelvic exam at EVERY prenatal visit. I asked her how does she know its not completely normal to be 5cm dilated at that stage. I didn't have a pelvic the whole time I was pg so I might have been and would never have known it. For the record, both of us went full-term. It drives me nuts how the entire experience is treated like its not a perfectly normal stage of life.

And X-rays. For everything. Yes, sometimes they are necessary, but not every six months at the dentist and certainly not every time I get on an airplane. Antibiotics prescribed for everything, including viruses. Every new wonder pill the doctor claims has no side effects. Are you kidding? Everything has side effects. As a doctor on TV (can't remember his name) once said, "Every cure has a little poison in it." Hawkeye, I've been the sorta crunchy oddity in my family for many years, with my attitude about drugs and food and recycling and all that "hippy" stuff. They can make fun and roll their eyes all they want. I'm happy with it.

Oh yeah, that too. I switched dentists because the first I tried when I arrived in Wichita didn't approve of me declining to have x-rays twice a year. Fortunately I was able to find one who respected my wishes and noted in my chart I didn't want x-rays and his technicians knew to not even ask.

I don't think welded wire and chicken wire will stop a raccoon or something from reaching in....they could tear the chicken wire off and welded wire is easily big enough to tear a chickens head or even part of their body through. If all your chickens go into their coop at night and aren't sleeping in the run up against the fence I think they would be fine. We have mostly welded wire fencing and haven't had any trouble but our girls go in their coops at night. If you want it to be predator proof you would have to use hardware cloth attached to the welded wire at least a couple feet up. A coon couldn't tear through that.

Well we got our shed in a box assembled today! I have been free ranging the chickens in the evening when I am there to supervise and I don't know what to do with the pup sometimes. She always stares them down and they run away and if I wasn't there I am sure she would take off after them. Ugh!

I agree with you on the welded wire/chicken wire, and also that if you have a secure coop at night you can get away with more during the day since most predators are nocturnal.

Yay on getting the shed put together.

Also, thank you for the information on invisible fence training. I think our training is going well. Tonight Tory was running full out towards the fence and when I called her, she immediately turned around and ran back to me instead. That would never have happened before. I think she is starting to understand the sequence wherein I call her, there is a beep and then a shock, so instead of ignoring me calling her, she is starting to realize hearing me call is a good reason to turn around

 

[sharol]

My daughter had a home birth with her daughter 4 years ago and is planning another one in October. Her midwife is amazing, and she loves feeling like a healthy person. Pregnancy isn't a disease!!! I have to admit that I wasn't terribly comfortable with the idea at first, but it certainly worked well for her. Her philosophy is that 1 sonogram about 20 weeks can find problems that can be treated in utero, so she has 1. She is almost 37, so that makes sense.

On the wire thing, I have a fairly large pen constructed of chain link with a 2' riser of chicken wire along the bottom and folded out away from the pen at the bottom (grass grows through it and it is pretty invisible after 2 years). It has strong netting over the top fastened to the top of the chain link. I'm not kidding myself that it is secure from predators, but the girls are securely locked in at night, and most of our local predators are nocturnal. If they were going to be allowed in the pen during the night, I would have to make different arrangements.

Sharol

*** snip***

Oh you are so right - don't even get me started. I hate how much they treat pregnancy like its an illness that requires treatment. I remember when a girlfriend and I were pg at the same time and we got to 36 weeks or so and she got all panicky because she was 5cm dilated and her doctor said she could go any moment. I asked how she knew she was 5cm dilated and she said she had a pelvic exam at EVERY prenatal visit. I asked her how does she know its not completely normal to be 5cm dilated at that stage. I didn't have a pelvic the whole time I was pg so I might have been and would never have known it. For the record, both of us went full-term. It drives me nuts how the entire experience is treated like its not a perfectly normal stage of life.

*** snip ***

I agree with you on the welded wire/chicken wire, and also that if you have a secure coop at night you can get away with more during the day since most predators are nocturnal.
around

 

[chicken danz]

Yikes, Daren, I would have come unglued if someone treated me like that! I wind up in the hospital more than I care for health issues and I've learned that I have VERY difficult veins to access. I will not let anyone touch me anymore. I ask for IV team when I get there. The few times I've been in an ambulance-- more than I care to admit, they thought I was being combative because I fought with them and refused to let them try to stick me 10 million times. The one time I was totally out of and didn't have a say-- I woke up with black and blue arms because the EMT's totally messed me up. I calm down when you aren't trying to dig in my arm in 5 different places. Anyway, I've learned to speak up, that's for sure. And I don't blame you one bit for being so upset with the rough treatment. That WAS BS, for sure.

Could you possibly post a pic of what you mean when you say "I use welded wire and chicken wire". Specifically, I would like to know HOW you use them together and what you do to make your pen secure... We got the chicken wire for free, so I'm using that where possible, but I want the pen to be secure. I don't want to have to worry about my birds when I"m not around.

Can coons not reach through both the 2'X4" wire AND the chicken wire? I would love to not HAVE to lock my birds up, so if you could give me tips on how to make my pen secure, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you in advance!

Here are some pictures I took. My internet was down last night so I couldn't get on. I use 5/4" CCA decking boards for the bottom and the top. With 5 foot 2 X4 welded wire it makes a total height of 6 foot. I cover that with chicken wire. I use metal flashing screwed into the wood at the bottom as a dig deterent. I have used about a foot of chicken wire as well on some pens.

Danz- I am not even going to look at blue partridge brahmas! I have to get some pics up of my laced trio, I am just in love with them. They are so beautiful. I love brahmas!
Have fun on GNO!!! Woo hoo!!!
OH you should look! Give it a couple years to get established and I'll bet you can get them cheaper. You are just going to die when you see these beauties!

Well we got our shed in a box assembled today! I have been free ranging the chickens in the evening when I am there to supervise and I don't know what to do with the pup sometimes. She always stares them down and they run away and if I wasn't there I am sure she would take off after them. Ugh!

That pup of yours is a case. I'll bet if she ever grows up it will be a whole different story.
I really would love to have one of those sheds. I need a place for my yard tools and a place to store chicken supplies.

So I am working on getting some Olandsk Dwarfs. Looks like with shipping it will cost me about $50 a bird. We are talking 6-8 week old chicks. I would never consider paying that price per chick, but when I think how much I've wasted on shipped eggs it doesn't seem as bad. I only plan to get a trio. I am also considering getting a couple of blue english orpingtons. The jury is still out on those. I can get them sent in the same box without adding another $65 shipping. But still they would be $25 each.
I have a deal working on getting Rhodebars next spring if all goes right. I like them much better than cream legbars and they are auto sexing as well.
Did I say downsize????

 

[medawinks]

Well.... I need a time turner or some way to never need sleep. I am so overwhelmed with having my classroom moved at school and trying to remodel some here before kids show up at school, as well as get my three ready for school and to and from band and theater camp. It has been cool enough in the evenings that I have been able to go chicken watch a bit and I have greatly enjoyed reading here this morning

Danz, I loved the chicken video. Made me laugh! Hearing about your duck extraction.... Not so much. I hope you are both doing better!

I love reading about the GPs! Fern is definitely a keeper. I have never used an electric fence, but I used to breed and show papillons until my oldest daughter was too allergic to them to have them around. They are smart little dogs, but they might as well have got their name from their interest in barking at butterflies:-( I used shock collars to try to curb that and I had one really impulsive dog bark through the shock to the point she had burns on her neck from the electrodes..... I had her vocal chords clipped before I sold her to a pet home. I have wondered, if a shock collar or fence type situation would keep my big standard poodle away from my coop though. He is such a wimp, afraid of new things, that maybe a low level shock would convince him to stay away. I do fear he might eat one. My little dogs thing the chickens are dogs with pointy faces I think. They are oblivious to finding any reason to be interested in them except for what treats I may take them that they also want. Funny that they also like the water bottles! My big guy loves to shake them and if I put something in them and cap them, he is thrilled to use it as a noise maker. Scares the little ones and scatters them. I just thought he was totally bonkers! Funny as heck to watch tho!!

I totally get the whole foods etc... concept. I know I have had far too many orthopedic X-rays. My youngest has bone deformity in her ankles, knees and hips due to 3.5 yrs of severe rickets before she was adopted. I absolutely refuse to have her have surgical repair for that at this point, since the only time they hurt is when she runs. Seems much healthier to just limit her running, especially since she has other surgeries she has to have. She will have to have 4 this school year and won't be able to eat solid foods for about 2 months combined total. Scares me to death...

But, in any case, I love to use the whole foods freezer meals and bought a book recently on making most pantry staples from scratch, versus the chemical filled ones. I really want to try the home made mozzarella. I can't find the rennet or citric acid locally though. I may have to break down and order it and pay shipping.

We just discovered a freezer meal recipe our whole family loves, and since we all loved Trish's blueberry pie recipe I thought it might be with sharing with you folks I made up several batches and froze it in various size containers, since like Danz, I also cook for my elderly dad. He hasn't been eating so well this summer with the heat, but he loves this too. Pleased kids and adults

Cheesy Kielbasa Bake

12 oz uncooked macaroni or bow tie pasta
2 lbs polish sausage thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
2 medium zucchini quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
I can chopped black olives
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 egg lightly beaten
1 carton cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 green onions chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions

Brown sausage in olive oil and drain.
Add onions, zucchini, carrots, olives and stir until tender

Add spaghetti sauce

Drain macaroni

Layer macaroni in each of 2 13x9 pans
Add 1/2 meat and sauce mixture
Mix egg and cottage cheese and layer over sauce mixture. Repeat layer of sauce mixture and top with shredded cheeses and chopped green onions.

Cover with foil and freeze one casserole

Bake remaining casserole at 350 for 30 minutes

To use frozen casserole, remove from freezer 24 hours in advance and place in refrigerator. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.


I am trying to find recipes to use our eggs with and discovered my kids live scrambled eggs with all kinds of veggies and cheeses baked in muffin tins and frozen for use in breakfast sandwiches or even as a lunch item in a bento box.

Do any of you have some whole food ideas you like to use when time to cook is in limited supply? Especially ideas for the eggs I hope to be getting soon! my group of oldest pullets are 21 weeks. We are watching for eggs like crazy!!!

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks for that recipe Medawinks!

One of my favorite recipes when I'm pushed for time is something we have come to call "Kibble" which is an inside joke because I don't care that much for food. Obviously I need it for sustenance and do get hunger pangs but I quite often am in the situation where I'm hungry but literally nothing sounds good and I've said I wished there were a kibble for humans so we didn't have to make decisions about what to eat. When we're hungry, we just pour a bowl of kibble like we would for the dogs. So when I discovered this recipe, and realized this is something I could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, DH said "Well there you go then, there's your kibble" and the name sort of stuck.

What I like about it is it has just 4 ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
1 cup lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
14oz chicken stock

I usually mix up a double batch so just double all of that. A vegetarian can substitute water for the chicken stock. The only chicken stock I use is what I make from any birds I process myself so if I don't have any on hand I just use water.

Put all ingredients in a pan and simmer for 50 minutes. Serve and eat.

It sounds plain and simple but is actually very delicious. We usually squirt a little sauce of ANY kind from the fridge on top and mix it in. That gives it a little different flavor every time. I also prefer to use the diced tomatoes that come with the basil and oregano, rather than plain.

I also have some favorite dishes with eggs but will have to go look through them before I post....

 

[chicken danz]

I can't imagine not loving food. I live to eat..... not eat to live. I spent many years starving myself and was skin and bones. When I finally decided I was going to have to start eating I found I really really loved it. Now I eat like a pig. I do try to keep active somewhat to burn it off but I am still at least 40 pounds heavier than I was for many many years. I'm not proud to be heavier but I do feel better than I did back then. If I hate healthy I would probably do much better.

 

[Hawkeye95]

And X-rays. For everything. Yes, sometimes they are necessary, but not every six months at the dentist and certainly not every time I get on an airplane. Antibiotics prescribed for everything, including viruses. Every new wonder pill the doctor claims has no side effects. Are you kidding? Everything has side effects. As a doctor on TV (can't remember his name) once said, "Every cure has a little poison in it." Hawkeye, I've been the sorta crunchy oddity in my family for many years, with my attitude about drugs and food and recycling and all that "hippy" stuff. They can make fun and roll their eyes all they want. I'm happy with it.

Yep, I drive my recycling in every week or two. I've gotten a lot of flack for delaying vaccines, and everything else we do. I don't push my views on anyone and I don't spend a lot of time talking about it. No point in it, because most people just don't care anyway, or they won't believe you. I figure when the infertility epidemic rises to unfathomable numbers MAYBE people will start to look at all the chemicals being put in paper diapers and maybe people will start to wonder about all the chemicals they are putting in infants who have underdeveloped organs and systems and how it effects them. I discovered years ago after having my first baby that the cc amount of vaccine being put in a 6lb baby is the SAME as what they would use for a 40-60lb preschooler.... so why not wait a little longer, let the body mature a bit more, and not damage the body or risk what it could do to the brain? I'm not against them, just saying that putting crap in a newborn body is like playing with a loaded gun. My oldest son lost his ability of speech after a round of vaccinations when he was 2yrs old. It was completely unexplained and when I said that he could no longer speak hours AFTER the vaccines were given-- I was given a very stern lecture on how that was impossible by the Dr's. We saw many Dr's and I kept telling them it happened right after the shots-- and why is he now mute?? When I persued it, I was met with incredible back lash. We finally wound up at HeartSprings doing EEG's to check his brain activity and speech therapy for over a year. We found out his frontal lobe activity had been damaged...hmmmmm... THAT was when I found out I wasn't crazy and the therapist was reluctant to tell me then that she saw a lot of this happening hours or days after vaccinations, among many other horrible things. I could go on and on, but we were tentatively diagnosed with Autism, and it was then I refused to give any more vaccines until he was several years older. I fought with my Dr not to give any more, and I won that argument. I had to sign forms and fight the school to take him, but it CAN be done. My other kids follow the same delay, and so far, no problems.

BTW--- my son was nearly mute for 2 years-- after a while, he was able to make a sound like "uh, uh". He finally started speaking when he was 5 years old!!! He now has no further issues.

Have fun on GNO!!! Woo hoo!!!
Congrats on the ordinance! You will love your australorps, I have two and they are one of my favorites and great layers!
I don't think welded wire and chicken wire will stop a raccoon or something from reaching in....they could tear the chicken wire off and welded wire is easily big enough to tear a chickens head or even part of their body through. If all your chickens go into their coop at night and aren't sleeping in the run up against the fence I think they would be fine. We have mostly welded wire fencing and haven't had any trouble but our girls go in their coops at night. If you want it to be predator proof you would have to use hardware cloth attached to the welded wire at least a couple feet up. A coon couldn't tear through that.

Well we got our shed in a box assembled today! I have been free ranging the chickens in the evening when I am there to supervise and I don't know what to do with the pup sometimes. She always stares them down and they run away and if I wasn't there I am sure she would take off after them. Ugh!

I did have fun last night!! Wish I could do that more often than just once a month! ha! I agree with the chicken wire being ripped off. YAY on getting your shed up! Have you "moved in" yet? Yay for more space!

Oh you are so right - don't even get me started. I hate how much they treat pregnancy like its an illness that requires treatment. I remember when a girlfriend and I were pg at the same time and we got to 36 weeks or so and she got all panicky because she was 5cm dilated and her doctor said she could go any moment. I asked how she knew she was 5cm dilated and she said she had a pelvic exam at EVERY prenatal visit. I asked her how does she know its not completely normal to be 5cm dilated at that stage. I didn't have a pelvic the whole time I was pg so I might have been and would never have known it. For the record, both of us went full-term. It drives me nuts how the entire experience is treated like its not a perfectly normal stage of life.

Oh yeah, that too. I switched dentists because the first I tried when I arrived in Wichita didn't approve of me declining to have x-rays twice a year. Fortunately I was able to find one who respected my wishes and noted in my chart I didn't want x-rays and his technicians knew to not even ask.

I agree with you on the welded wire/chicken wire, and also that if you have a secure coop at night you can get away with more during the day since most predators are nocturnal.

Yay on getting the shed put together.

Also, thank you for the information on invisible fence training. I think our training is going well. Tonight Tory was running full out towards the fence and when I called her, she immediately turned around and ran back to me instead. That would never have happened before. I think she is starting to understand the sequence wherein I call her, there is a beep and then a shock, so instead of ignoring me calling her, she is starting to realize hearing me call is a good reason to turn around

oh wow-- GREAT point on the dilation! LOL I bet it is more common than you think. I walked around being 4cm dilated for weeks and weeks. I went full term on all of my kids. So glad that Tory is doing better with the fencing! This is probably going to make her more responsive to your call and better behaved. I love it!

Here are some pictures I took. My internet was down last night so I couldn't get on. I use 5/4" CCA decking boards for the bottom and the top. With 5 foot 2 X4 welded wire it makes a total height of 6 foot. I cover that with chicken wire. I use metal flashing screwed into the wood at the bottom as a dig deterent. I have used about a foot of chicken wire as well on some pens.





So I am working on getting some Olandsk Dwarfs. Looks like with shipping it will cost me about $50 a bird. We are talking 6-8 week old chicks. I would never consider paying that price per chick, but when I think how much I've wasted on shipped eggs it doesn't seem as bad. I only plan to get a trio. I am also considering getting a couple of blue english orpingtons. The jury is still out on those. I can get them sent in the same box without adding another $65 shipping. But still they would be $25 each.
I have a deal working on getting Rhodebars next spring if all goes right. I like them much better than cream legbars and they are auto sexing as well.
Did I say downsize????

The pen is beautiful!! Sounds like a lot more pens to build with the new birds.

Maybe you could just build a really, really long pen and put dividers in it to break it up into several. That is basically the idea I want to do in my barn. Going to box out the space and then divide it up. Then I will only have to use chicken wire between them to keep them separate and hoping less wood. Although, each one will need a door-- that would be a lot of doors. Ah well.

Well.... I need a time turner or some way to never need sleep. I am so overwhelmed with having my classroom moved at school and trying to remodel some here before kids show up at school, as well as get my three ready for school and to and from band and theater camp. It has been cool enough in the evenings that I have been able to go chicken watch a bit and I have greatly enjoyed reading here this morning

I totally get the whole foods etc... concept. I know I have had far too many orthopedic X-rays. My youngest has bone deformity in her ankles, knees and hips due to 3.5 yrs of severe rickets before she was adopted. I absolutely refuse to have her have surgical repair for that at this point, since the only time they hurt is when she runs. Seems much healthier to just limit her running, especially since she has other surgeries she has to have. She will have to have 4 this school year and won't be able to eat solid foods for about 2 months combined total. Scares me to death...
But, in any case, I love to use the whole foods freezer meals and bought a book recently on making most pantry staples from scratch, versus the chemical filled ones. I really want to try the home made mozzarella. I can't find the rennet or citric acid locally though. I may have to break down and order it and pay shipping.
We just discovered a freezer meal recipe our whole family loves, and since we all loved Trish's blueberry pie recipe I thought it might be with sharing with you folks I made up several batches and froze it in various size containers, since like Danz, I also cook for my elderly dad. He hasn't been eating so well this summer with the heat, but he loves this too. Pleased kids and adults
Cheesy Kielbasa Bake

Hope you catch up on sleep and can relax a bit. I think you are doing a great job with your daughter, it would be so tough to handle decisions like that. Sounds like a good casserole! I make a LOT of casseroles, because then I only have to cook once every couple of days -- the left overs are often better than the night I cooked it. Probably because it has time to sit and soak up all the flavors of the veggies in it.

I was listening to KFDI last night and it said rain for today. Hmmm... so far, not a cloud in the sky. Wonder when we will actually get a REAL rain storm-- not one that lasts 2 minutes, but a real soaker that lasts all day. Sigh.

 

[Trish44]

Danz, I can't imagine you 40 pounds lighter, you certainly aren't overweight! I have gained quite a bit of weight since I hurt my knee & had surgery on it & with my arthritis & fibromyalgia I just can't seem to get it back off. I keep busy with taking care of the birds & animals & all, but it just sticks. I have a yeast problem since I have had to have so many antibiotics for chronic UTIs so now that is contributing to the inability to lose weight also. I'm trying some supplements right now to try to get rid of the yeast. The Drs. sure don't treat people for yeast accurately & kind of look at you funny if you mention you have that problem, so I'm trying to figure it out on my own. There are just some things Drs. can't or won't treat & sometimes you just have to look for your own answers.

Well I got a truck load of that shredded cattail stuff from Sunflowerparrot last night so I'll take some pics in a bit so you all can see what we're talking about. I need to do another layer in my coop so I'm going to make this one the dried cattail stocks & we'll see how it goes. I don't have a lot in there of the pine shavings as of yet since I had just cleaned the whole thing out this spring, so it seems like a good time to try this experiment. There is an almost unlimited supply of the stuff & she has it so why not put it to use. I'm just amazed at this area they have down there that has so much ground water that even in the drought the willow trees & cottonwoods look as green as in a wet spring, wow. If it weren't for the drought I wouldn't have been able to drive down where I was last night without sinking.

My DH left this morning to go to Missouri & I asked him to pick up a rabbit for me Sunday before he comes back, a buck I'm needing for breeding purposes, he was thrilled of course. This is a lady I have bought most of my Mini Rex from that lives fairly close to where he will be & she is going to meet him in Springfield where he is staying this time with his sister, so it's not like he has to go to any big trouble. It just aggravates him that every time we go somewhere it seems like to him it's about my rabbits or chickens. Oh well, I asked him whether he would rather I just drive for hours to pick up these things or do it as part of another trip?

Either we or my DH are going to have to make another trip to OKC this coming week. My granddaughter knocked off the cap that the dentist put on her tooth again the very next day. So this time he's going to put on a crown, a lot more work & expense but maybe it will stay better. I don't know what we're going to do with this child, she's so rambunctious, hopefully she will grow out of it soon.

Oh & Medawinks thanks for the recipe, I will have to try that, I love casseroles.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Thanks for that recipe Medawinks!

One of my favorite recipes when I'm pushed for time is something we have come to call "Kibble" which is an inside joke because I don't care that much for food. Obviously I need it for sustenance and do get hunger pangs but I quite often am in the situation where I'm hungry but literally nothing sounds good and I've said I wished there were a kibble for humans so we didn't have to make decisions about what to eat. When we're hungry, we just pour a bowl of kibble like we would for the dogs. So when I discovered this recipe, and realized this is something I could eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, DH said "Well there you go then, there's your kibble" and the name sort of stuck.

What I like about it is it has just 4 ingredients:

1 cup brown rice
1 cup lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
14oz chicken stock

I usually mix up a double batch so just double all of that. A vegetarian can substitute water for the chicken stock. The only chicken stock I use is what I make from any birds I process myself so if I don't have any on hand I just use water.

Put all ingredients in a pan and simmer for 50 minutes. Serve and eat.

It sounds plain and simple but is actually very delicious. We usually squirt a little sauce of ANY kind from the fridge on top and mix it in. That gives it a little different flavor every time. I also prefer to use the diced tomatoes that come with the basil and oregano, rather than plain.

I also have some favorite dishes with eggs but will have to go look through them before I post....

oh wow, that sounds really good! I love all beans-- love lentils and love rice! I bet it would be good with a bit of shredded chicken thrown in.

I can't imagine not loving food. I live to eat..... not eat to live. I spent many years starving myself and was skin and bones. When I finally decided I was going to have to start eating I found I really really loved it. Now I eat like a pig. I do try to keep active somewhat to burn it off but I am still at least 40 pounds heavier than I was for many many years. I'm not proud to be heavier but I do feel better than I did back then. If I hate healthy I would probably do much better.

ME TOO. I look forward to the next meal and wonder what I could make or have. I love food. I love coming up with new combinations and different flavors.