Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

I forgot to comment on this in the other post I just made! I went out and brought her inside today. I figure if anything it will be warm and give her a chance to sleep and rest. I gave her some VetRX. I am not quite sure how to get it down the thoat, so I swapped some on her nose and she got a bit off of the swap in her mouth...her eye is more open today so thats good, but her nose is running not clear.

You can just rub it on their nose, it can be put in the water, but since it's oily it won't dissolve.

Awww Danz, if you weren't so far away you could come down & have Thanksgiving with us, it's just the two of us today. We are cooking a ham in the oven right now, but we're not doing a big production since it's just us. We're having the bigger dinner next weekend for our granddaughter's birthday, so we'll have the turkey then.

It's 50 degrees here today & sunny, I almost didn't need my heavy coat when I went out. The birds sure are enjoying it today, taking dust baths & having a good time. Maybe it will spur them to lay more today & the next few days when it's warmer. I will hate it if I have to go buy eggs for next weekend, it's been a long time since I had to do that.

Josie, I took my new kitty outside today to have her look around a little but I was holding her. She is terrified of the chickens, I just hadn't thought of her being so scared of them. She tried to hide under my arm & get as far away from them as she could. Do you have any suggestions for me for getting her integrated other than just taking her out each day? She has had a very protected place there in the garage & she feels safe there, but she can't stay there forever, she will need to go outside eventually. I wish I could just make her a house cat, but we already have two cats in the house & one of them doesn't like any other cats, not even the other one in there. I would love to put her outside & bring in the other one because she is nicer, but Opal is the one that has had two broken legs & she can't run fast enough if something was after her to put her outside now & it would be cruel at this point. She was an outdoor cat before I got her, but after I got her she broke the same leg the 2nd time that she had broken at her other home & now she has a crooked leg since it didn't heal right. Anyway, I guess maybe I'll just try since the weather is going to be decent for a few days taking her out & sitting outside with her for awhile. She has met quite a few of the other cats we have because they run into the garage all the time when a door is opened, but she has not seen all of them at once.

 

[chicken danz]

Well I decided to take a chicken out of the freezer and made dressing to stuff it with. It's in the oven now, and I made a pecan pie. So by evening we'll have a Thanksgiving meal of sorts. Some taters and gravy and some home canned green beans ought to be plenty. I told my little white orp that is what happens to chickens that poop on the floor!

It's sunny but only 43 degrees here. It still feels pretty nice cause the wind isn't blowing.
I decided to click a picture of my white orp who has become a very needy, follow you around the house pet. Since she regained the ability to walk she hates to be alone and follows us where ever we go in the house. She thinks we're her roosters and does the squat when we pet her. She is helping DH on the computer here.

 

[Trish44]

Well I decided to take a chicken out of the freezer and made dressing to stuff it with. It's in the oven now, and I made a pecan pie. So by evening we'll have a Thanksgiving meal of sorts. Some taters and gravy and some home canned green beans ought to be plenty. I told my little white orp that is what happens to chickens that poop on the floor!

It's sunny but only 43 degrees here. It still feels pretty nice cause the wind isn't blowing.
I decided to click a picture of my white orp who has become a very needy, follow you around the house pet. Since she regained the ability to walk she hates to be alone and follows us where ever we go in the house. She thinks we're her roosters and does the squat when we pet her. She is helping DH on the computer here.

Oh she's so cute! How funny that she's a house chicken now. You're going to have to get her some chicken diapers you know if you let her stay much longer.

 

[HEChicken]

Danz and Trish, it sounds like you are going to have a great Thanksgiving dinner. We are having ham as well! I am making a green bean casserole from scratch, the apple pie is already out and looks delicious (not made by moi!) and the pumpkin pie is ready to go in the oven. Bread is in the bread maker. Kale salad is in the fridge. Butternut Squash will be roasted. First glass of wine already enjoyed. Best of all, it is a day when the alarm didn't go off, we got to sleep in, the sun is shining and we have much to be thankful for. Life is good.

 

[Ralph Moyer]

My wife isn't up to doing the big meals anymore and our daughters all had in-law dinners to attend, so we took our single son to the Golden Corral in Joplin for dinner. So did several thousand others! We arrived there at 10:40 AM and the two lines were outside and the full length of the building, on both sides. We got to a table about 11:15AM. When we were leaving, the lines were longer then when we went in. So We had a wonderful meal and superb service with the population of Joplin, MO and Southeast Kansas; as I saw people I knew that live in Parsons and Pittsburg..

 

[chicken danz]

I didn't plan to do a thing for Thanksgiving but just the idea of having something similar was nice. I got lots of texts today from my sister, brother and one of my sons which made it really nice. My brother is in Florida visiting a new grandson. His first wife had been there last week and dropped off a picture of a ship I painted for him back in the late 70's right after he got out of the Navy. I had no idea the painting still existed. It really made my day. I used to paint and actually made some money doing it many years ago. But in 86 I got my right hand and wrist injured and had three major surgeries to it. It is mostly titanium now so I can't do artistic things I used to; mostly because of angles I can't get to and pain caused by repetitive use. I was just thrilled it wasn't thrown in a dump some where.
So I am thankful that my brother got it back.
I'm very very thankful for my friends..most whom I've met through BYC.
And I'm thankful to have few hours of not so miserable weather to take care of the birds today.
Trish I do have a chicken diaper but I never planned to use it. I ordered a couple to use on Chopper and then Hawkeye made one for me. The one Hawkeye made fits a chicken. I plan to put her back out as soon as I am sure she is strong enough and it's not miserable cold that day. She's the one that St. John's wort took from being totally unable to do anything but lay on one side to getting up and running around the house. She was nearly starved to death cause she could only eat if food was on the floor. I almost culled her. I am so glad I didn't. I'm still not positive what was wrong with her. I did check the stuff on Mereks and she didn't have any of the classic symptoms. So I am thinking she must have had some kind of spinal injury. The St. John's wort is supposed to relieve nerve pain and swelling and it must actually work.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I have 3 ducks in the freezer. I was thinking about cooking one of them for my in-laws while they are here for Thanksgiving break. Any suggestions on how to prepare a duck? At the recommendation of a local friend, I have Tender Quick on hand to use for them, but I'm not really sure how to go about preparing them. Suggestion/recipes please!!!

 

[Trish44]

Lizzy, usually some kind of fruit sauce usually is good with duck. You should find recipes online. I did cook one in the slow cooker just after processing it recently & it was really tender & good.

 

[cherwill]

Danz and Trish, it sounds like you are going to have a great Thanksgiving dinner. We are having ham as well! I am making a green bean casserole from scratch, the apple pie is already out and looks delicious (not made by moi!) and the pumpkin pie is ready to go in the oven. Bread is in the bread maker. Kale salad is in the fridge. Butternut Squash will be roasted. First glass of wine already enjoyed. Best of all, it is a day when the alarm didn't go off, we got to sleep in, the sun is shining and we have much to be thankful for. Life is good.

I made green bean casserole from scratch, too; great minds think alike! Mine was minus the mushrooms, though.

I always have turkey, dressing, cranberries, and a vegetable or two, but the way I make them is different every year. This year I went all retro and roasted the turkey, made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries with orange and vanilla. This was scaled back for me. I think I'm getting to where I don't want to go too crazy with it any more. I did try out a recipe for pumpkin caramel tart for dessert, and Dad said it was just as good as the usual pumpkin pie. If you knew how much my dad loves pumpkin pie (he often requests it for his birthday), you'd know what a big deal that is.

Well I decided to take a chicken out of the freezer and made dressing to stuff it with. It's in the oven now, and I made a pecan pie. So by evening we'll have a Thanksgiving meal of sorts. Some taters and gravy and some home canned green beans ought to be plenty. I told my little white orp that is what happens to chickens that poop on the floor!

It's sunny but only 43 degrees here. It still feels pretty nice cause the wind isn't blowing.
I decided to click a picture of my white orp who has become a very needy, follow you around the house pet. Since she regained the ability to walk she hates to be alone and follows us where ever we go in the house. She thinks we're her roosters and does the squat when we pet her. She is helping DH on the computer here.

How cute! My dogs would have a major objection my having a lap-chicken, though.

I have 3 ducks in the freezer. I was thinking about cooking one of them for my in-laws while they are here for Thanksgiving break. Any suggestions on how to prepare a duck? At the recommendation of a local friend, I have Tender Quick on hand to use for them, but I'm not really sure how to go about preparing them. Suggestion/recipes please!!!

If you score the skin a little bit, a lot of the fat will render out. There's nothing better than duck fat to cook potatoes in. The last time I cooked a duck was about a year ago. I seem to remember having watched Chef Jamie Oliver roast one and thought it would be good. If I remember right, he rubbed it with Chinese five spice and maybe some orange zest, then stuffed the orange in the cavity. We liked it, but we can't raise our own ducks and they're too expensive to buy very often.

 

[chicken danz]

Lizzy, I have a wonderful recipe for duck. In fact I was thinking of cooking one just for my DIL this weekend. (She loves duck!) I have the skin on on my ducks and cook them with it. Before I serve them I remove all the skin. I think the fat in the skin helps keep it moist but then you don't want too much when you are done.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Mix
1Tbs kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
Sprinkle duck inside and out with spice mixture
Quarter half an orange and put it in the duck cavity with a sprinkle of thyme, marjoram and a couple wedges of onion.
Place the duck on a baking rack with 1/2 inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown. (about 30 minutes)
(If you don't have an baking rack you can raise the duck on more onion slices, carrots or celery.)
Reduce temperature to 325 and continue roasting until a thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees. About an hour to an hour and a half. Let duck stand 10-15 minutes before carving.
I don't use a thermometer. I just bake it until it is done looking.
Also....hope your in laws are enjoying their new grandson and you are getting a little break!!!
I had to laugh at my DH last night. He said, "Do all chickens poop that much?" (referring to the white orp) He does have a point. I am going through a ton of paper towels.
I've been looking at on line adds this morning and can't say I'm impressed with anything I've seen. The only thing I was interested in was sold out on line.
Dinner was so-so last night. I got busy and didn't get the pie out of the oven soon enough so the crust was kind of dark. Instead of saving the leftovers of the chicken and dressing I am cooking up some broth from them to go on the dogs' food tonight. They deserve a treat now and then for all the protection they give. I did fill up on potatoes and gravy cause I rarely make them any more and I love them. Comfort food at it's best!!!
I've got to do some cooking today for a family thing tomorrow. I'm really not looking forward to it.