Consolidated Kansas

[maidenwolfx80]

What don't you like about your pullets Kansas Prairie?

Welcome katoranger!!!!

Hawkeye, I love your posed pics of your Silkies! They're so pretty and cute.

maidenwolf, I always cook from scratch, I rarely touch box dinners. The kids make fun of me because the first time I did Hamburger Helper it was gross I couldn't get the cheese to be smooth. It was a clumpy mess. I don't find it more expensive to cook from scratch, I find the boxes more expensive. I do buy in bulk a lot too though. I buy a 50lb sack of bread flour every month, that's $20. This year our garden did well so I have veggies still, I'm so thankful. We watered from the pond this year, this was the first year we've done that and it helped so much. The last few years have been terrible for the garden. I rarely cook beans because beans give me a stomach ache, although everyone else here can eat them. They do eat them when we cook them. Chili seems to be what we cook most often, all of the tomatoes are from our garden. I'm buying milk from a neighbor, I pay for the whole month at the beginning of the month as my dh is paid only once per month. That way I know that no matter what I have bread and milk, until the cow goes dry that is. I'm just sort of scrounging for meat which makes it seem less of a burden to just NEED one thing. I've got 2 fresh chickens in the fridge right now, we will cook them in a few days. I never know how we will get through the month, it seems it's not a worry for 1 week out of the month then the rest of the time we just figure it out as we go. Usually by the end of the month we are having breakfast for dinner a few times per week. I also canned apples and sweet potatoes, I should have done pears. I kept forgetting about them. The kids say they are still good. That's great that you are helping out others with what you can, I'm sure it will come back to you one way or another. I do wish I were closer, I love to share.

Anyone have some milk base soup recipes? I have some canned beef that needs to be used too. Anyone have any good ideas?

I use what I have and throw stuff together alot, sometimes it is good and others,, not so much.. We dont seem to have much time were we arent worrying about food or what utility is about to be shut off. Sometimes I only have $40 to buy food and whatever bathroom products we need for 2 weeks or supplies we need for me to make it. My DD takes a snack to school every day because her grade has a later lunch and sometimes I have nothing to send her and I feel terrible. I get zero help from my family, long story, and in laws are a huge help they supply my DH with gas for work and sends food items here and there. I do wish I could find people share with or maybe do odd jobs for a little grocery oney. We got an eviction notice and shut off notice for electric monday, I am pretty devestated. DH is trying to work something out with the landlord and electric will go ina few days because it is $1600 and they wont do a payment plan sith us which is frustrating. Water is set to be shut off the 15th. It is just all piling up and it feels like the more money, that we dont have, we pump into it the more we owe. My sons 14th birthday is the 17th, he made me ball my eyes out when he told me he didnt want anything this year because he wanted to make sure we could buy food and pay bills. That hurts as a mom to know he is concerned about this as well but also I am very proud that he is turning into a responsible young man. I cant let him go with out, he does too much and is generous, he deserves alot. So I am now sucking it up and asking for help, wherever and however I can. Xmas is also not far away, I have a little girl who is depending on Santa. Any suggestions and or tips to point me in the right direction, please PM me I am desperate and will find a way to repay all of you.

 

[HEChicken]

Just joined. Currently in Parsons, but hoping to close on a house in Altamont soon.

No chickens yet, but the coop and tractors are one of my first projects planned.

Good luck with the house closing!

What on earth is going on with this site? I tried doing multi quote and I've lost my post twice, this will be my third time.

HEChicken, your story about your cat was beautiful.

What browser are you using? Perhaps the issues you have are related to that?

Thank you - I guess my cat is kind of the feline version of "Marley and Me"

maidenwolf, I always cook from scratch, I rarely touch box dinners. The kids make fun of me because the first time I did Hamburger Helper it was gross I couldn't get the cheese to be smooth. It was a clumpy mess. I don't find it more expensive to cook from scratch, I find the boxes more expensive.

Anyone have some milk base soup recipes? I have some canned beef that needs to be used too. Anyone have any good ideas?

Oh yes, I meant to comment on this too Maidenwolf because I was also surprised to hear that you find cooking from scratch to be MORE expensive. I've always thought of it as cheaper to cook from scratch based on the principle that the more a manufacturer has to do to a product to get it marketable, the more expensive it will be. As an example, I can buy a 2-lb canister of rolled oats for about $3 that will last for several weeks worth of daily oatmeal for 4 people, or I can buy a 10-pack of individual servings of oatmeal, that will cost more and not last nearly as long. My kids far prefer the home-cooked version of mac and cheese to those boxes, too. I found a bunch of boxes of wholewheat pasta on a clearance rack at Dillons one time. Actually, they had a whole cartful and they were all 69c apiece. If you regularly shop for wholewheat pasta, it is usually over $1 a box, but as the dried pasta really lasts almost forever, I bought the entire cartful. I still have a couple of boxes of that left. Using that, it makes for some really cheap mac and cheese.

As mommahen said, it is good to find local sources for products. I have a lady I buy flour from. I get a 5-lb bag of freshly ground flour with no additives or subtractions - just plain old stone ground whole wheat flour - for $3 and because it is a local transaction, there is no sales tax to pay. I also barter my eggs with neighbors for produce I was unable to grow. Where my son plays baseball, they have a bunch of apple trees planted that I guess are owned by the city. In any case, no one cares for the trees and no one picks the apples either. I went a couple of weeks ago and filled a feed bag with apples that had fallen off the tree onto the ground. When I got home, I separated them into "people grade" and "animal grade". I.e. anything with bruising or rot went in the animal grade bin. Since then the chickens have had several apples cut up for them a day and I've taken some to the horse as well. Out of the people grade bin we've been eating fresh (and super sweet, delicious) apples for a couple of weeks, plus I've searched for recipes (main dish, not dessert) that use an apple or two as well. Cost: free.

If you look on CL, you can sometimes find some good deals. That is where I found my flour lady. I also bought some pork on CL one time. This guy had raised two pigs but found he had way more meat than he could use so he sold the excess for a straight $2/lb. I had to buy a minimum of 50lb at that price but that is an awesome price when you compare it to pork prices at the store and again, there was no sales tax. Plus, it was the best pork I've ever tasted!

Sorry mommahen, I am not much of a soup maker so I don't have any recipes to share. I've also never had canned beef. When I bought my canner a couple of years ago I was surprised to see you can can meat but I haven't been game to try it yet.

 

[HEChicken]

I use what I have and throw stuff together alot, sometimes it is good and others,, not so much.. We dont seem to have much time were we arent worrying about food or what utility is about to be shut off. Sometimes I only have $40 to buy food and whatever bathroom products we need for 2 weeks or supplies we need for me to make it. My DD takes a snack to school every day because her grade has a later lunch and sometimes I have nothing to send her and I feel terrible. I get zero help from my family, long story, and in laws are a huge help they supply my DH with gas for work and sends food items here and there. I do wish I could find people share with or maybe do odd jobs for a little grocery oney. We got an eviction notice and shut off notice for electric monday, I am pretty devestated. DH is trying to work something out with the landlord and electric will go ina few days because it is $1600 and they wont do a payment plan sith us which is frustrating. Water is set to be shut off the 15th. It is just all piling up and it feels like the more money, that we dont have, we pump into it the more we owe. My sons 14th birthday is the 17th, he made me ball my eyes out when he told me he didnt want anything this year because he wanted to make sure we could buy food and pay bills. That hurts as a mom to know he is concerned about this as well but also I am very proud that he is turning into a responsible young man. I cant let him go with out, he does too much and is generous, he deserves alot. So I am now sucking it up and asking for help, wherever and however I can. Xmas is also not far away, I have a little girl who is depending on Santa. Any suggestions and or tips to point me in the right direction, please PM me I am desperate and will find a way to repay all of you.

Oh dear, I feel awful for you - I am so sorry, I didn't realize things were that bad for you.

I know right now this is the least of your worries but.....to save a little money on paper products, have you considered switching to cloth? I know at first blush that sounds awful (and trust me, the first time I heard of it, I thought "no way"). But I was reading on another forum and it was a thread about doing everything more naturally and "greener" and that was a suggestion put forward. I decided not to knock it until I had tried it, so I got a couple of cheap microfiber cloths at the dollar store (2-pack for $1) and for the past two years that is what I have used. Now, I will say, I could not go whole hog and use the cloth for #2 since I really didn't want the clean up, but for #1 I have actually come to prefer it. I keep the cloth in an innocuous place in the bathroom and switch it out with a clean one every time I do laundry. My kids opted not to do the same, and I decided it was one thing it was best not to push on, but just with me switching, the amount I have saved on toilet paper has more than paid for the purchase of the micro fiber cloths, which are still going strong now. Rather than purchase new cloths, do you have some rags you can start with, and go from there?

 

[Hawkeye95]

Howdy Kansas chicks!

Busy here, hope to have time to catch up on the reading later today. Cold weather rolling into Kansas Saturday evening. I've got some projects I'm trying to get done by then.
I also need to do some extra cooking for a couple of family funeral dinners at church.

I went out early this morning to open the people door so my turkeys could come out....On the way to the barn I found a part of a chicken foot and lower leg. My heart sank, but I didn't recognize it, it was the wrong color. Did a head count in the barn and the coops and everyone is accounted for. The more I look at it the more I think it may be a guinea's foot/leg. Our neighbors have guineas she started off with 25 and is now down to 3, they won't roost in a predator safe place. We live by 108,000 acres of Cimarron National Grasslands...predator safe roosting is a must.

I'm not pleased with my May batch of TSC RIR pullets. What hatchery does TSC use for it's chicks? I've never been unhappy with laying pullets before and I've had chickens most of my life. It's my first time to use TSC for chicks.

Yikes! I would have been pretty upset to see poultry parts on the ground! Glad your birds were all okay. Our TSC uses who ever the manager decides to go with. I think around here, they have used Ideal-- because they are in TX.

Just joined. Currently in Parsons, but hoping to close on a house in Altamont soon.

No chickens yet, but the coop and tractors are one of my first projects planned.

WELCOME to the Kansas thread!!! YAY on your soon to be working on the chicken coop project! It's a fun project for sure! Keep in touch, we have lots of great ideas for building coops of ALL kinds! From recycled woods, pallets, hoop houses, etc... to just going out and buying new wood to converting already standing buildings and sheds. Most of us have created a page where we blogged about our chicken coops and it might give you some ideas. If you get stuck on how to cut or measure something or just want to know how to install shingles or corrugated roofing-- we can help!

Arrrgghhh that would be a heart-stopping moment for sure. I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago except the remains I found were the color of one of my hens. I was so glad to go back to my coop, do a head count and find them all there.

As I understand it, each TSC orders from a different hatchery, according to distance. I guess maybe each manager has carte blanche to place the order wherever he or she sees fit.

Those are silkies and the ones in the picture are already full grown!

Hawkeye - gorgeous pics!

Thank you! I knew when I was taking the pictures that I just HAD to be nuts. Ah well, I guess I give up on being normal. Forgot to say-- glad you caught the mouse!

Thanks for the help with the Planning Comission e mail! I am so grateful for the support you have all been giveng me. I really hope they will approve my application and make it easier for anyone else who wants hens. No one should have to got through all this to keep chickens so thanks again!

What breed are the super fuzzy chickens in the posts after this? Are they fuzzy like that when they are full grown?

HeChicken is right-- they are Silkies. They are fluffy because they are missing the barbs in the feathers that keep the strands together. So they end up looking like they have hair or fur. They are very docile and laid back. They don't fly, and they are often broodie. They are also terrible layers! LOL But I love them anyway and raise them for the purpose of showing them.
Okay, so I finally got my own comment sent via the email link that HeChicken posted for us!

I sure hope it helps! Here's what I wrote:


Greetings dear Sirs,

First off, I am a poultry owner myself. I have discovered in ownership that hens in particular have individual characters and are entertaining and loving animals. In a day and age where more people are becoming concerned with their food sources and what chemicals might be in them, poultry ownership is becoming more and more popular and on the rise within city limits. Backyard chickens create fantastic opportunities for families to produce organic and chemical free eggs. The magazine "Mother Earth News" even states a study recently done that proved that home raised chickens produce eggs with 1/3 LOWER [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]cholestrol in the eggs, 1/4 less saturated fat, 2/3 more vitamin A, 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids, 3 times more vitamin E, and 7 times more beta carotene and between 4 and 6 times more vitamin D! Simply put, home raised chickens produce more nutritious eggs than commercially raised chickens and eggs. So not only are backyard chickens becoming a popular trend to living more healthy and becoming more self sustainable, but it flat out makes sense to have such a nutritious source of food that is so incredibly healthy in a time when our Nation is facing rising concerns about food safety, healthy diets and commercialy raised food sources. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Also, there is a growing community on the internet called BackYardChickens.com that is enlightening the public to the benefits of having chickens in small backyard settings. They have discovered how they work well with gardening and the daily workings of a family. For example, chickens eat scrap foods out of the kitchen, and they produce wonderful manure that is rich in nutrients that can be composted and worked into the soil and in gardens. Did you know that farmers producing hard hitting crops like corn that suck out nutrients in the soils have already been using poultry compost and manure in their fields for years and years? Now obviously, a small backyard flock of 5-10 hens could never hope to produce anything along the lines needed for a tract of land like that. But they could produce enough in a year with added composting materials like Fall leaves, kitchen scraps, etc to make a nutrient rich amendment that would be extremely beneficial to small backyard gardening plots each Spring. Chickens also eat pests like ticks, grasshoppers, and other insects that are problems.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Here in Kansas, forward thinking communities like Wichita (and surrounding cities), Lawrence, Topeka, Shawnee, Merriam and many others in the State have already been allowing backyard flocks for years and have had surprising support and enthusiasm for the idea. This is a growing trend that "Mother Earth News" predicts will not flag or lose interest in, but continue to grow in support. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So what are the down sides to poultry? One would be that chickens are social birds, and they thrive in numbers. You can't just have one, they would not survive alone as they do need company. They thrive best in numbers of 3 or more. Number two, is salmonella really a problem with backyard chickens? I found the perfect answer to this on "MyPetChicken.com" and they state: [/FONT]

"Humans do not catch salmonella from chicks or chickens the way you would catch a cold from your neighbor. Salmonella is food poisoning; you get it from eating infected meat or eggs. Even then, in order to get a case of salmonella, the meat and eggs you have eaten must be improperly prepared, that is, not completely cooked through. Or, you can also get salmonella by getting your hands or something else contaminated with feces and then putting that thing in your mouth. People more at risk for contracting Salmonella are very young, very old, pregnant or have immune systems that are already compromised in some way. The best way to keep your children and family safe from infection is by keeping your own hens whose conditions you can monitor, and by having your family members wash their hands after dealing with chickens. You want to have them wash hands after dealing with any pets, for that matter. Alcohol is an effective sanitizer for salmonella bacteria."

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Another concern might be how loud and obtrusive are backyard hens? I can speak from experience that my own hens are very quiet. MUCH quieter than my neighbor's dog who likes to bark all night long and annoys everyone with incessant barking. My hens will make soft clucks to each other to "talk" to each other and that is about the extent of it. Also, we use deep litter bedding in the coop, so there is no smell of chicken. They range around the yard during the day and again, no smell of anything that I can detect. As crazy as it might sound, they are fairly clean animals. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The way I look at it is that you are now presented with the opportunity to create a better community and future for your citizens by allowing backyard chickens. Urban chickens are definitely becoming the wave of the future. Taking the initiative from other large cities like San Francisco and their suburbs like Alemeda who allow flocks of laying hens in backyards -- this is showing the growth all over the Nation and the understanding of the public where they are trying to become closer to their food sources and looking for more ways to be self sustainable and care for their families better. And lastly for no other reason than to selfishly boast about my own birds; they have become lovely lap chickens who enjoy treats, and cluck happily when they see me coming and are so fun to pet and watch in the yard. They are an awful lot of fun and have taught my kids to be more respectful to animals and have taught them kindness and a gentle touch and a compassion for feeding and caring for them.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Thank you for your time,[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Regards,[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](my full name)[/FONT]

What on earth is going on with this site? I tried doing multi quote and I've lost my post twice, this will be my third time. I'm sure it'll be shorter and sweeter. Sorry.


Hawkeye, I'm sorry to hear about your internet issues, that is always frustrating. I'm so glad that you were able to copy your post to rescue it. The brooder with the fridge shelves is ours. Thanks. I was a little concerned about it at first but it's working great and was very cheap so I'm happy with it. I enjoyed hearing your stories about how your family came up with meals when you were a child. I never remember food shortages when I was a child, but that's not how it is here. I think a survival recipe book would be an amazing idea. We have a couple of those meat grinders adn we use them once in a while. I want to hear how your dh responds to the Christmas light. I think my dh would really think I've lost it. I plan to leave our lights out handy after Christmas this year. Hawkeye, the pics really do help in understanding the differences. Thank you. I will look up removing the spurs on YouTube, I may still be too "chicken" to do it.
I feel reasonably comfortable with Sevin Dust. I do think that if mites are just tiny insects that I should be able to rid them by our usual natural means but that involves water and I don't want to get them damp when it's cold out. Do I need to treat all of the chickens? Kansas Priarie mentioned using wood ash. We were considering that but then thought about wood ash and water make lye so it would have to stay dry.

I hope that no one minds that I'm copying the breeding info only for future reference. I seem catch more of it everytime I read it. I don't want to make you all crazy asking questions that were already answered so I will refer to the notes first.

HEChicken, your story about your cat was beautiful.

checoukan, I'm so sorry about your kitty but I would have to do the same thing. It's that part about not knowing if anything would really help and quality of life and I don't want to make them suffer longer than they need to.

Well the xmas lights were a let down! I must have set the timer wrong, because they didn't come on when they were supposed to. I ran out there to override it and have them turn on. By the time I came back in, my DH was already suspicious when I told him to look out there. Sigh. It wasn't nearly as funny as I had hoped! LOL Not only that, but he let on later that he had seen the clips on the roof and knew I had done something out there. But when I got the light on, it did look great!! I was so excited about how festive it looked. I'll have to try to get a photo tonight of the coop for you all. I'd stick with the Sevin Dust-- if it becomes wet, it just becomes inactive. Best to dust all the birds. I do it at night when they (my layers) are up on the roost. I sneak in and turn on the light so I can see and sprinkle them all down and fluff them a bit! Now, with my silkies, they are easy-- I just do them during the day, they don't run away or freak out on me.

What don't you like about your pullets Kansas Prairie?

Welcome katoranger!!!!

Hawkeye, I love your posed pics of your Silkies! They're so pretty and cute.

maidenwolf, I always cook from scratch, I rarely touch box dinners. The kids make fun of me because the first time I did Hamburger Helper it was gross I couldn't get the cheese to be smooth. It was a clumpy mess. I don't find it more expensive to cook from scratch, I find the boxes more expensive. I do buy in bulk a lot too though. I buy a 50lb sack of bread flour every month, that's $20. This year our garden did well so I have veggies still, I'm so thankful. We watered from the pond this year, this was the first year we've done that and it helped so much. The last few years have been terrible for the garden. I rarely cook beans because beans give me a stomach ache, although everyone else here can eat them. They do eat them when we cook them. Chili seems to be what we cook most often, all of the tomatoes are from our garden. I'm buying milk from a neighbor, I pay for the whole month at the beginning of the month as my dh is paid only once per month. That way I know that no matter what I have bread and milk, until the cow goes dry that is. I'm just sort of scrounging for meat which makes it seem less of a burden to just NEED one thing. I've got 2 fresh chickens in the fridge right now, we will cook them in a few days. I never know how we will get through the month, it seems it's not a worry for 1 week out of the month then the rest of the time we just figure it out as we go. Usually by the end of the month we are having breakfast for dinner a few times per week. I also canned apples and sweet potatoes, I should have done pears. I kept forgetting about them. The kids say they are still good. That's great that you are helping out others with what you can, I'm sure it will come back to you one way or another. I do wish I were closer, I love to share.

Anyone have some milk base soup recipes? I have some canned beef that needs to be used too. Anyone have any good ideas?

Potato soup!! Oh my, I can eat that all the time! I eat it even in the summer months! I make casseroles too, that way a 1 lb ground beef will feed us 2 nights.

 

[cherwill]

Yeah, I know-- CRAZY. I think I set this up last week and never got around to posting the pictures. The blacks are my new ones. The rooster is not in condition. I hate showing him off when I know his crest has been picked out. He also was a little freaked out and he was not showing his good type by holding his tail as high as he usually does. But these were too cute not to post! I love the black pullet-- nice type.

My best cockerel in the Splash-- LOVE this little guy!! He's so pretty and can't wait to see what his offspring look like. I was really worried about his wings earlier (a month or two ago) but they've filled in nicely and have turned out fine. (whew) The Splash pullet won 2nd Place at Nationals. The Splash cockerel won 1st Place at Nationals.

Oh my stars -- cuteness overload!!!

Just joined. Currently in Parsons, but hoping to close on a house in Altamont soon.

No chickens yet, but the coop and tractors are one of my first projects planned.

Welcome!


I have some more serious things I hope to remember when I get back on later. I'm sad that so many are having troubles. I'm pressed for time now and I don't want to say something that doesn't make sense because I didn't take the time to read or write carefully.

 

[Hawkeye95]

I use what I have and throw stuff together alot, sometimes it is good and others,, not so much.. We dont seem to have much time were we arent worrying about food or what utility is about to be shut off. Sometimes I only have $40 to buy food and whatever bathroom products we need for 2 weeks or supplies we need for me to make it. My DD takes a snack to school every day because her grade has a later lunch and sometimes I have nothing to send her and I feel terrible. I get zero help from my family, long story, and in laws are a huge help they supply my DH with gas for work and sends food items here and there. I do wish I could find people share with or maybe do odd jobs for a little grocery oney. We got an eviction notice and shut off notice for electric monday, I am pretty devestated. DH is trying to work something out with the landlord and electric will go ina few days because it is $1600 and they wont do a payment plan sith us which is frustrating. Water is set to be shut off the 15th. It is just all piling up and it feels like the more money, that we dont have, we pump into it the more we owe. My sons 14th birthday is the 17th, he made me ball my eyes out when he told me he didnt want anything this year because he wanted to make sure we could buy food and pay bills. That hurts as a mom to know he is concerned about this as well but also I am very proud that he is turning into a responsible young man. I cant let him go with out, he does too much and is generous, he deserves alot. So I am now sucking it up and asking for help, wherever and however I can. Xmas is also not far away, I have a little girl who is depending on Santa. Any suggestions and or tips to point me in the right direction, please PM me I am desperate and will find a way to repay all of you.

I know here locally there are so many churches, organizations and clubs that are looking for families like you to help out. Our 4-H club is "adopting" a family this year to give xmas gifts to their kids because the family has nothing. If you let the school counselor know, perhaps they can get your name to any of your local organizations that are looking to help. Our church also picks several families to help. There are local radio drives that adopt out families that the Police Dept have listed as in need. Perhaps you can call your church and tell them you need help for xmas and ask if your kids can be "adopted" into one of those programs that will make sure they have gifts to open. Here in Wichita, we have local Food Pantries that are set up for people in need where you can go in and "shop" for basics. We also have a Hygene Pantry for similar needs, but obviously for personal care and health. If you were in Wichita, I could give you names, locations and numbers to call. But I'm betting your area has something similar. For the last year I've sort of "adopted" an elderly lady that cant afford to buy food. I run our own income to the limits because I buy her groceries once a month and get her toilet paper, tissues, basic foods, etc... I also drive her to Dr's appts when I can convince her to let me! It drains us, but there is no one else to do this for her, and I feel compelled because she is such a wonderfully fun and loving person. I have gotten her to accept Meals on Wheels and some other offerings that our city provides. At least I know she will have ONE meal a day if I don't get over there. She is in a position where she has worked her butt off all her life and then had medical set backs in her 70's that have drained her monthly income from Social Security and she has a tiny bit coming in from retirement too, but that is quickly taken for medical bills that she will never be able to pay. But I would start with your school counselor and see if there are churches that they know of or other clubs, etc that are looking for xmas opportunities or even could help with a Food Pantry.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Oh dear, I feel awful for you - I am so sorry, I didn't realize things were that bad for you.

I know right now this is the least of your worries but.....to save a little money on paper products, have you considered switching to cloth? I know at first blush that sounds awful (and trust me, the first time I heard of it, I thought "no way"). But I was reading on another forum and it was a thread about doing everything more naturally and "greener" and that was a suggestion put forward. I decided not to knock it until I had tried it, so I got a couple of cheap microfiber cloths at the dollar store (2-pack for $1) and for the past two years that is what I have used. Now, I will say, I could not go whole hog and use the cloth for #2 since I really didn't want the clean up, but for #1 I have actually come to prefer it. I keep the cloth in an innocuous place in the bathroom and switch it out with a clean one every time I do laundry. My kids opted not to do the same, and I decided it was one thing it was best not to push on, but just with me switching, the amount I have saved on toilet paper has more than paid for the purchase of the micro fiber cloths, which are still going strong now. Rather than purchase new cloths, do you have some rags you can start with, and go from there?

I will check around CL and see what I can find, good idea. I guess it is mainly the produce that is awful. It is that the more ingredents you have to buy for one dish takes money from another dish. I am compiling a bunch of reciepes for things that take about the same ingredients give or take something here or there.
I have talked to my husband about finding another way to save on paper products, I mentioned this to him a couple years ago and you would have thought I asked him to go naked in public. I always look for ways to reuse,reduce or recycle. that is how I was brought up. We were poor growing up but my dad always found a way to teach us how to make it better. My family comes from farmers who didnt have much and you used what you had,, all of it. My DH's family comes from the city, no past poor farm families, so they are all about prepackaged precooked food. I had never had instant potatoes or instant rice until I started dating him and we went to dinner at his mom and dads and I felt terrible because I had to fake a stomache upset because the food was terrible. Not because she cant cook but because she was never taught to do anyting but tear open a box and pour it ina pan. So when I started cooking for my DH he was amazed at how things tasted. I want my kids to grow up cooking like I do and knowing how to do it. So many families dont know how to cook let alone a homemade meal. That is my goal, to teach kids how to cook and to teach them were the food comes from.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

I know here locally there are so many churches, organizations and clubs that are looking for families like you to help out. Our 4-H club is "adopting" a family this year to give xmas gifts to their kids because the family has nothing. If you let the school counselor know, perhaps they can get your name to any of your local organizations that are looking to help. Our church also picks several families to help. There are local radio drives that adopt out families that the Police Dept have listed as in need. Perhaps you can call your church and tell them you need help for xmas and ask if your kids can be "adopted" into one of those programs that will make sure they have gifts to open. Here in Wichita, we have local Food Pantries that are set up for people in need where you can go in and "shop" for basics. We also have a Hygene Pantry for similar needs, but obviously for personal care and health. If you were in Wichita, I could give you names, locations and numbers to call. But I'm betting your area has something similar. For the last year I've sort of "adopted" an elderly lady that cant afford to buy food. I run our own income to the limits because I buy her groceries once a month and get her toilet paper, tissues, basic foods, etc... I also drive her to Dr's appts when I can convince her to let me! It drains us, but there is no one else to do this for her, and I feel compelled because she is such a wonderfully fun and loving person. I have gotten her to accept Meals on Wheels and some other offerings that our city provides. At least I know she will have ONE meal a day if I don't get over there. She is in a position where she has worked her butt off all her life and then had medical set backs in her 70's that have drained her monthly income from Social Security and she has a tiny bit coming in from retirement too, but that is quickly taken for medical bills that she will never be able to pay. But I would start with your school counselor and see if there are churches that they know of or other clubs, etc that are looking for xmas opportunities or even could help with a Food Pantry.

We have a food pantry, it is pretty small due this being a small town, I go there once in awhile when the lady can meet me over there. They dont let you take much but it is something. They do have organizations that help, I will have to call the school on that and see how I can get help. Thank you for the ideas. It is wonderful of you to help her out. I help a lady in town with housework because she is having back problems and found she is struggling to get food also. I am going to start supplying her with eggs. It is great to know there are still plenty of people willing to help others.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Hawkeye - WONDERFULLY WRITTEN letter! You need to do that sort of thing professionally! Also, the pictures were adorable!!!

For all those that asked, they told me that it might be 7-10 days before I feel the full effects of the botox, so I"ll only get worried about it if I don't notice a change by the middle of next week.
Took today off to catch up on the sleep that missed while in the hospital. It's funny how you are supposed to be there to start feeling better, yet you can't get more than a couple hours of sleep at at time!

So I did go ahead and stick a small bowl of food and water in with Raine (The silkie). I stuck the water bowl in front of her and she gave a good long drink, so i'm assuming that she's not getting up and out at all. I do know that she'll go right back to sitting on the nest because DH picked her up and put her into the coop with the rest of the birds last night (doh!). I asked him about how she was doing and he said "bird about took off my hands when I put her up. I freaked. I'm like "You have to let her keep sitting on them if they are to hatch anything!" He said it was the first time he'd been able to grab her, so at least it hadn't been every night. It had only been about 20 minutes, so I went back out to the coop and let her out. She immediately ran back to the nest and started pushing all the eggs back under her. I swear I heard her purring while she was doing that. Do chickens purr??

Thanks for the idea about candleing them! I wouldn't have thought about that. If they are all duds and I do get some fertilized eggs, will she keep sitting if it's an extra 10ish days before they hatch? I was thinking that if the weather gets to bad by the time they are supposed to hatch that I might have to put them into a crate and bring it inside, or do you think mama will keep the babies warm enough? Is hatching in the middle of fall/winter common?

 

[checoukan]

Well, I brought "Spikey boots" home a little while ago. I feel so evil, cause if not for the "problems" we were having, there would have been no problems. I have to wait for my husband to get home, and then we will lay him to rest.

Thanks for all the thoughts, it is helping. I always thought I would just find him alseep somewhere, as he loved to sleep.


hawkeye the picture with the blacks looks like the cock bird has the pumpkin attached to him. Oh, and I am bringing 11 birds to Hutch too! Other than 1 silkie in junoirs, there were not silkies at Fayetteville.!

maidenwolf. where are you close too? Missouri rifle season for deer will be opening soon, are you where you can go huning? I have to talk to my son, but I could get a game tag, and see if it is legal to give the meat away. Have you ever made Hamburger soup. I make that,
1 lb burger
2 cans, or l bag frozen vegtables
l can diced tomatoes
water
brown the burger, at the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, simmer. Really good with corn bread and butter. I like it better than any canned soup.
So many posts, and I just don't know all who has been here today, my mind is numb.