Consolidated Kansas

[michelleml]

How do u guys do your eggs. I tried boiling them and they are hard to peel. I tried putting baking soda in th water. Putting them in ice cold water. Iheard about baking them but haven't tried it

 

[sharol]

Fresh (up to several days after laying) aren't like store eggs.

Put your water in a pan deep enough to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil before putting the eggs in the water. While it is at full boil add the room temperature eggs gently with a spoon. reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, drain them and cover with cold water. If you peel them while they are warm, the peel will come off easily (can't speak to refrigerated eggs, though). The yolks aren't green and the whites aren't tough that way. Got this method from a seller at a farmers' market in Reno, NV when I was at my daughter's and it works like a charm.

Sharol

How do u guys do your eggs. I tried boiling them and they are hard to peel. I tried putting baking soda in th water. Putting them in ice cold water. Iheard about baking them but haven't tried it

 

[michelleml]

[qu
ote name="sharol" url="/t/248925/consolidated-kansas/21800#post_10814408"]Fresh (up to several days after laying) aren't like store eggs.

Put your water in a pan deep enough to cover the eggs.  Bring the water to a boil before putting the eggs in the water.  While it is at full boil add the room temperature eggs gently with a spoon.  reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.  When the timer goes off, drain them and cover with cold water.  If you peel them while they are warm, the peel will come off easily (can't speak to refrigerated eggs, though).  The yolks aren't green and the whites aren't tough that way.  Got this method from a seller at a farmers' market in Reno, NV when I was at my daughter's and it works like a charm.

Sharol
[/quote]

Thanks I will give it a try

 

[HEChicken]

How do u guys do your eggs. I tried boiling them and they are hard to peel. I tried putting baking soda in th water. Putting them in ice cold water. Iheard about baking them but haven't tried it

I've recently started baking them and really prefer that method now. Preheat the oven to 325, then place the eggs in a muffin tin. Conveniently, a muffin tin holds 12 and so does an egg carton so I just do a dozen at a time. Put them in the preheated oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. Done.

I've peeled them both warm and cold but found that they peel better cold with this method. If you allow them to cool on the counter top, they will peel easily once they are cool to the touch. The nice thing about them is they aren't messy this way. When you boil them, water gets in through minute cracks so as you're peeling you're dealing with the water draining out as well. Baking them they are moist but there is no wetness to drain away. They taste just like hard-"boiled" eggs.

Oh - I will say that when I collect eggs, I stack them so that I know which are the freshest eggs. I use the freshest ones if I am making breakfast, but use the oldest eggs when I am making hard-boiled (or baked) eggs.

Hawkeye - sorry to hear how overwhelmed you are with everything. Hang in there and look forward to enjoying your "new" house, even if it does turn out to only be for a few months.

 

[HEChicken]

Have already planted carrot, pea, romaine lettuce & kale seeds. Will be direct-sowing a lot in the next couple months. Tried a seed starting method called winter-sowing & excited about the results I'm getting...

http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/11/winter-sowing-101-6/

I opened this tab when you posted it but just now got a chance to sit down and really look at it - thank you so much! I have bookmarked it so that this winter I can try this.

 

[Trish44]

Trish~~ these are birds I got from Ivy, and I only have a pair. The hen lays a very pretty blue egg. She is a two year old, and the cock is 1. I just don't need 3 colors of ameraucana.

It sounds like they're about the same age as the lavenders I got from her then. I've found out that people around my area really like the idea of the wheatens & you can't find them close by either, so I have more orders for them right now than I have eggs. With only the two hens, one of which is a blue wheaten I can't build up eggs very fast. I'm hoping some of these little chicks I'm growing out turn out to be hens so I can expand my egg production. My lavender hens just started laying again a couple days ago, they just quit for months. None of my Ameraucanas or the EE I have laid in the winter at all. The EE just started up about the same day the lavender hens did. I think she is from a silver background because she has some of that coloring, she just doesn't conform to the standard, so she is an EE. She is still a very pretty hen though & lays a pretty egg. She is one of my special hens that I have named & I would hate to lose her. Most of the ones in my layer flock I try not to get too attached to, but this one is an exception.

I'm not going to remember much, and I didn't read through all the pages I missed. It's been crazy lately.

HeChicken-- funny that your silkie is no longer wanting to be broody. Typically, it doesn't matter where you move them, it won't break them. She must have decided she really liked that first nest. It's she's truely broody, she'll pick a nest and get with it.

Josie, cute babies! I would love to see a pic of your new pens! I hope your baby room gets all pulled together quickly! Our house is coming together, but it's going to be another week I think. We got everything moved back in downstairs after having all the new carpeting put in. We painted all the walls and ceilings down there and it looks so fresh and brand new down there! I will get to enjoy it for a while, at least! We also got rid of our huge projection screen tv that was down there. It was a beast-- 65 inches and just heavy. We are waffling on the idea of buying another tv or waiting to see if we move so we don't have to move another huge tv! ha!

Don't remember who mentioned the horse manure for mulch--- but I know HeChicken said that it sprouted. And that was the BIGGEST mistake I made years ago when we first moved out here! LOL I put dry manure-- it was my own horse manure that had been sitting out for nearly a year-- BUT-- I spread it all around my trees and into my garden and then I had milo, wheat, corn and who knows what all else sprouting up in that!! It was a mess and it was terrible. I'll never do that again. Now I make a big pile of the manure with the tractor and I don't use it for a good two years. After it's been sitting out there, then I use it around my trees. They love it-- they really perk up and grow, but don't ever use fresh manure!

I've no idea what all else was said, I'm sorry. I'm really, really drug down and tired. Just barely been keeping my eyes open the last few days. Been busy at church-- been there almost all day long for the last few days and then working on the house here-- and it's just been over whelming. We had guys here this morning helping us unload the POD and dragging all our stuff back down to the downstairs. Then we started to move stuff from up here. All the flooring is being ripped out and having new brought in. The bathrooms and kitchen are now tiled and look amazing. We even had them re-do the front entry way-- so there is new tile there too. It's just gorgeous. We've been painting walls and getting everything all nice and clean/fresh and looking great. It sure helps when you have a team of 4 guys working on the house all day long for weeks. I think we have one more week left and they will be all done. I'm sooooo ready, because my stove and fridge are in the living room right now! LOL When we get those back in, I think I'm going to start hunting down some granite for the counter tops. I'm not sure what colors I'm going for, but whatever is most popular and will appeal to the widest selection of buyers. I think I could sleep for a week after this is all done.

I have more chores to do. I only got the layers and the birds in the garage done. I need to run out and feed horses and replensih Mr Meat and the silkies in the barn. Sigh.

I hope things get done soon so you can rest & relax. I would hate to have to do all the work & then know you probably won't be there to enjoy it. It will make it easier to sell the house for sure with the updates. I know if we ever sell this place there are quite a few things that would need to be updated here. I started trying to paint the sunroom area more than a year ago & my DH wouldn't help me, so the part that is open up to the next floor is still not painted. I'm just not good on ladders & really we just need to hire someone with big scaffolding to come in & paint that area & be done with it. Convincing him to do that though is a big hurdle. We also have supplies for the kitchen floor, new tile & tile for the shower upstairs & everything we need for that is sitting here, yet undone. All of that was bought last summer & nothing has been done with it. He keeps saying yeah we need to get working on that, uh yeah.

My son came in for a few hours today & brought the girls over. We had to go to a soccer game my granddaughter played in this afternoon & then went out for pizza before my DH had to go to work. During the game my granddaughter had an episode where she was running & stumbled then didn't feel right, so they pulled her out of the game for a few minutes & sent in a report on the monitor. Some 45 minutes later when we were sitting at the table eating pizza Lifewatch called & talked to her mom, they said that during the game her heart rate had gone to 214 & stayed that high for 20 minutes. Her mom is of course very scared something bad is going to happen with a heart rate that high & asked at what point should she be getting her to a hospital. She would have to go to Wichita an hour away because they really don't handle dire emergencies here at the little hospital in Winfield. If you have anything at all wrong with you they ship you to Wichita anyway. I got sent there for my kidney stone because they don't have equipment to handle that. Anyway, the person on the phone really wasn't too helpful with answers & said they would be reporting the incident to the Dr. & it would be up to him. They went ahead & came over & we had their Easter egg hunt & she seemed to do OK the rest of the afternoon. I know this is really very frightening for her, she doesn't understand what is going on, what is wrong with her, or why she feels the way she does. She has been having stomach aches because she is scared & kind of panicked over it. Her mother talking about her right in front of her all the time also doesn't help. I got her distracted after we got to my house today to help keep her mind off of it for awhile because I know that is the topic of conversation at home all the time & I think she needs a break from it sometimes. She is tired of dealing with wearing this monitor & she has two more weeks to wear it unless the Dr. decides he has enough data to make a decision. I'm kind of hoping for her sake he cuts that time short since the episodes she is having seem to be getting more often & more severe. He has been testing her with trying to keep her doing all her regular activities including playing soccer to see how her heart will react. I guess he found out today, but I guess she also has episodes even when she's just sitting in class at school. She gets very fatigued after these & gets all clammy. I just want them to find out what is wrong with her & treat her so she can feel better. It's just a lot for a child to have to deal with.

 

[RoosterLew]

Finished the brooder finally,lol. All that's been left was the hardware cloth and cutting the hole for the light. Chickys like the covered side better. They can easily hop the divider now, was going to remove it but they like it for roosting.

"OB" ( for odd ball since we don't know what she is) is feathering up nice and pretty- anyone think maybe Wyandotte?

Lil Rosie gettin pretty as well! She is such a sweety, has become Shannon's favy chicky!

 

[pikeman94]

RoosterLew - I don't know about anyone else, but that second pic of OB looks like she has a beard and that would scream Easter Egger. Anyone else?

 

[chicken danz]

I couldn't sleep after DH got up at 4:30 this morning to go to work so I got up and started cleaning up the hatcher cause I have more eggs to transfer into it today. I was cleaning up my water pan and accidentally knocked a gallon jug of newly activated oxine off the counter. The lid broke and Oxine went everywhere. I had to open the windows. It made my eyes burn and burnt my throat. I guess if I had any germs in there they should be dead by now! I was afraid the fumes in here would hurt the chicks but they seem fine. I don't think they traveled that far. I'll bet I have the most germ free bathroom floor in Kansas today.
My last little Sebbie that hatched died during the night. It just didn't ever seem to get steady on it's feet and wasn't very interested in eating or drinking. I knew it wasn't feeling good last night so I moved it down to a bin with some chicks. The two older Sebbie chicks were a bit rambunctious for it. I am trying to hatch these the way the people with all the know how do this year and I have to say I had a lot better luck doing it my way last year. I just hope some of the others that are due to hatch later do better.
DH said we had another big rain shower during the night. I must have slept through it.
Night before last the power went off during the storm. I didn't think too much about it cause it was only off maybe 5 minutes. But it made one of my incubators go haywire. I looked in the middle of the day and it was up to 102. It took me a few hours to get it adjusted back to where it should be and I think it is finally stable again now. It is entirely full of eggs so I sure hope it didn't kill all the embryos. That incubator has always been ultra dependable so I don't constantly check temperature. So I have no idea how long the temp was up high. I guess if the eggs start stinking I'll know it killed them.
Happy Easter everyone!

 

[HEChicken]

Awwww....sorry about your sebbie gosling and the oxine. 102 isn't too high so the eggs are probably fine.

Rooster, I was going to say Barred Rock on OB but after Pikeman made the observation about beard, I went back and looked again. I'm not seeing the beard but the cheeks do like kind of puffy. EE's aren't usually barred but I don't know of any reason they couldn't be.

I woke during the night to hear it storming again - yay! Unfortunately I don't think we got a ton of rain but I'll take all we can get. The funny thing is I was just saying to someone the other day that I wish we could have 75 degree sunny spring days, and rain at night and the last couple of days that's exactly what has happened. It is a gorgeous morning this morning - so nice that we had coffee on our front porch this morning for the first time since it got cold last fall.

Miss Silkie still wants out of the hoop coop but I'm leaving her in there since I think if I let her out she would make a beeline for the broody nest with Miss Duck. She's fine where she is with food, water and Broody Aloha for company. Plus she can visit with the rest of the flock through the wire fencing of the hoop coop. I need to make a start on my second hoop coop. I had a change of plan for how to do it which means I need to go to the lumber yard and get the lumber I don't have and that is the only hold up. Hopefully today I can get there, although it is shaping up to be another busy one so I don't know.