Consolidated Kansas

[maidenwolfx80]

Thank you. That is a good idea but I have a son and my daughter doesnt play with dolls anymore. But that does spark my interest. I could make some things for them. I am going to get ahold of salvation army and see what programs they have available too.

Does anyone have tips and tricks for mommahen in incubating the eggs I gave her? We both were not certain if things were different with bantams. I really need those to hatch, if they do it is an xmas gift to my daughter because some of them are from the sister to the duccle I lost to a hawk, it is a surprise and I hope they hatch.

 

[Chickies-duckies-etc]

Does anyone have tips and tricks for mommahen in incubating the eggs I gave her? We both were not certain if things were different with bantams. I really need those to hatch, if they do it is an xmas gift to my daughter because some of them are from the sister to the duccle I lost to a hawk, it is a surprise and I hope they hatch.

Some banties hatch in fewer days than LF chicks. My little banties tend to hatch fast, in that once they start to pip, they pop on out of the shells fast. I seldom know exactly how many days they take to hatch as almost all are broody hatched.

Is it possible for mammahen to find another incubator for a few days when they are getting close to hatch? Check with schools, 4H clubs, etc that ;might have one to borrow.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Some banties hatch in fewer days than LF chicks. My little banties tend to hatch fast, in that once they start to pip, they pop on out of the shells fast. I seldom know exactly how many days they take to hatch as almost all are broody hatched.

Is it possible for mammahen to find another incubator for a few days when they are getting close to hatch? Check with schools, 4H clubs, etc that ;might have one to borrow.

Thanks I will ask. all the eggs are bantam mixes except the 3 EE eggs and the 1 welsummer( I think I put a well in there) or it may be a buff rock but 4 out of 20 are LF

 

[checoukan]

Congratulations on the buck! My husband got a doe on the first day of hunting season and just got another tag yesterday. He plans to go out and try for another one this evening. We have A LOT of deer here. They even come up into the yard (despite our large dog, a lab, in the yard outside) and rub on our trees, eat my strawberries, etc. This is the first year that I will be responsible for cooking venison. Do you have any recipes or suggestions as to how to process the meat? I'm told that the deer out here have a pretty strong flavor, thanks to the amount of sage that they eat... The one time in the past that I've tried deer meat, I didn't like it. I was thinking of making jerky and sausage with it, but my DH really wants to keep some of the roasts and stuff. So, we're gonna stick a roast in the crock pot as soon as it is done soaking to see if I'll like the meat...

I've heard that bucks don't taste as good as does because of all of the testosterone. Have you noticed a difference? I told my DH NOT to go for a buck this year because of the rumor I heard about them not tasting as good.

Lizzy, the only time I have ever noticed strong flavor, was on deer that did not have much to eat. But, you can correct that. Im not sure where you are out west, but you need to let the meat age for several days. That helps the natural process of tenderizing take place. All beef is aged. You said something about soaking the meat? I have never done that, in fact heard of it before!

Before you cook your roast go to wal-mart, or a larger store, and ask if they have any "BEEF BASE". I know wal-mart has it. Place your roast in your crock pot, that is what I use or roaster, at water, onion, salt, pepper, and mix like 2 tablespoons of base in the water, cover and cook, "SLOW" but not to long, the longer you cook the dryer and tougher the meat will be come.
The base will help tame the "Wild" taste. But everybody has different taste. You may require more base or less. Write down what you did, and if it is not what you like, you can look back and try again, with more or less. It is the only way to really remember what you did for sure. I did that when I was learning to cook. Saved meat for me back then cause I could look, and then try again differently.

We like to make sausage sticks from the ground meat. We use a sausage seasoning, mix and stuff in casing, man they are good for a quick snack.

Oh, the back strap, we slice that meat in to 3/4 inch pieces, and we cook that like you do a chicken fried steak. Oh, man really good, You have questions, just ask, plenty of us girls here to help out all we can.

 

[HEChicken]

So my newest dilemma is that the inlaws want to build our chicken coops and horse run in. I don't even know what to tell them. We had planned on having a builder come in and do those things and they are like loading the post hole digger onto their trailer. I am super frustrated. I appreciate their desire to help but they are not builders and I don't even think they have ever built a big building like that. Plus I have spent weeks drawing and re drawing plans for these buildings. I also want to have someone who can assess the location and tell us the best place to put them, how to prepare the ground to aid in drainage and run off and help us with building permits etc. They always want to help with the most ridiculous thing that they are not qualified to do. Its like me saying I am going to go refuel a jet and change its oil before it takes off with a load of passengers! Ugh. I told them we really needed help getting the place finished up here to list more than we needed them to build a run in for the horses.

I am sure that they can help us build fencing when the time comes but that is a ways off....sigh.

FWIW, the brooder your DH and MIL (I think?) made looked great so maybe they have a few building skills tucked away in there. It is nice they want to help but I understand wanting it done your way not their way, and wanting it done right from the get-go.

I almost forgot. Back when we were talking about homemade deodorants, I mentioned I couldn't use the baking soda/cornstarch mixture, even with coconut oil added. I found a recipe that is just 2 parts water to 1 part cider vinegar. I added enough lavender essential oil to not smell like salad dressing and I've been using it for 2-3 weeks. I love it; it works better than any other recipe I've tried and just as well as store-bought deodorant. Probably not as well as an actual anti-perspirant, but I'm very happy with it.

Thanks for this tip. So do you put it in a spray bottle and just spray it on?

Does anyone have tips and tricks for mommahen in incubating the eggs I gave her? We both were not certain if things were different with bantams. I really need those to hatch, if they do it is an xmas gift to my daughter because some of them are from the sister to the duccle I lost to a hawk, it is a surprise and I hope they hatch.

Bantam eggs are incubated under the same conditions as LF but may hatch a day or two earlier.

We like to make sausage sticks from the ground meat. We use a sausage seasoning, mix and stuff in casing, man they are good for a quick snack.

Oh, the back strap, we slice that meat in to 3/4 inch pieces, and we cook that like you do a chicken fried steak. Oh, man really good, You have questions, just ask, plenty of us girls here to help out all we can.

Congrats on the deer - I would so love to have that much meat to put in the freezer but we have never been hunters. We had a buck run across our backyard one day last week and leap over the fence to keep going - that was a beautiful sight.

Congrats also to Tweety on the silkie chick!

Lizzy, those quail pics are amazing. I used to raise Coturnix and even though they were hatched by me and handled every day of their lives, they still weren't very tame. I can't believe you were able to pick these up to take the photos!

I am really sore today. The pulled muscles from Tuesday took a couple of days to really start to hurt but now I am hobbling around like an old woman. I rode again yesterday though, since I figured working the muscles would probably be better for them than letting them stiffen up.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Thank you HEChicken for the tip on hatching.

 

[tweetysvoice]

Baby Silkie Pic!! There was another in there that just hatched, so it didn't come out from under her! Two more eggs left!





I also took a couple more pics of the flock while I was out there:



My Java - Butterfly



My two GLO's - Goldie and Lacey


My EE, Bunny and my other Java - Crow




My other EE, Rabbit and Amber, my non-broody silkie

 

[JosieChick]

FWIW, the brooder your DH and MIL (I think?) made looked great so maybe they have a few building skills tucked away in there. It is nice they want to help but I understand wanting it done your way not their way, and wanting it done right from the get-go.

Oh I know! The brooders are awesome, BUT, and here is the but, they were only allowed to work on them when DH was there and he had explicit instructions on how they were to be built. The trouble is when his parents start a project they have the best of intentions to do a really nice job but then they get bored of it really quickly and take all kinds of short cuts. They "helped" us work on our big crate chicken coop when we weren't there and everything they did was very sloppy. I now have a pop door that won't close most of the time due to swollen wood and windows that warped outward so even when they are closed they don't seal properly. If we are there and can control for sloppy work it is fine. But they want to go out and just build it the way they want it but they don't have to use it every day and deal with doors that don't close etc. Sigh. And they don't take no for an answer very well either. I figured we would have the main structures built and then we could be down there to all work on the inside frame work so it isn't done poorly or quickly. Hopefully I can stall them long enough!

I am really sore today. The pulled muscles from Tuesday took a couple of days to really start to hurt but now I am hobbling around like an old woman. I rode again yesterday though, since I figured working the muscles would probably be better for them than letting them stiffen up.
Oh yuck. You need a nice soak in the tub and some tiger balm! Have you tried that stuff? It is super strong, if you use it be sure to put a glove on to apply it and warn your DH before you hop in bed!

AWWWWWWWW!!!! Love, love, love the baby. SO precious!

Baby Silkie Pic!! There was another in there that just hatched, so it didn't come out from under her! Two more eggs left!





I also took a couple more pics of the flock while I was out there:



My Java - Butterfly



My two GLO's - Goldie and Lacey


My EE, Bunny and my other Java - Crow




My other EE, Rabbit and Amber, my non-broody silkie

 

[HEChicken]

I love the Tiger Balm idea - if we don't have any I'm sure we have something similar. Will definitely be doing that tonight!

Gotcha on the building - yes, hopefully you can stall them until you are there to supervise. Perhaps if you can keep them busy up at your old house getting it prepared for market they will forget about building down here...

 

[chicken danz]

It seems I've been on the phone all day and got absolutely nothing done. I am not feeling good at all. I was running a fever last night and fighting a 3 day headache. The headache is still here and I feel like crap. I did get the birds fed but that was about the size of it.
I still haven't done anything with my olandsk babies and I have some poo to clean up now. I did manage to sell my washer today however, so that is a plus. We will take it out and deliver it to town tomorrow. I guess i should dry the load I did in there today!
I made the deal of the century. I am trading birds for a hog. Not only that, but I get the hog as soon as I can get a pen and shelter up for him and the birds will be traded to them next spring. Makes me very very happy. What a great barter that was. I am going to be fattening up my own pork. Woot! Nothing is better than fresh hog meat. Now if I can just afford the grain to feed it out!! Best thing about it is, these people have chickens. The hogs are in a pasture and the chickens go in and eat all the grain the hogs miss. So no danger of the hog thinking a chicken is dinner!!!
I had an old acquaintance contact me. I thought she had died in the Murrah building in OKC. She was on lone for the DEA when that happened and I heard all of her unit were all killed. As it was she had gone on an assignment with the Attorney general or she would have been there. She lost 9 coworkers but luckily she wasn't one of them. She was kind of a barracuda and a bit insensitive sometimes, but it was nice to touch back with the only other female police officer I worked with back in the old days.
Josie, Flo has totally blended. The only way I could tell her from the others initially was she was doing more talking than the others. She was doing a call and the others were doing their normal sweet talk they do when I feed them.