Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Same here. I tend to work better under pressure though cause I keep postponing things to the last minute. I plan to brine my turkey as well. I saw a new way to do it on line so I am going to try. I guess I need to be thawing it out. I'm not sure how long that will take in the fridge.
I worry about making stuff too early so it isn't fresh but I at least try to do most the day before and in time to run back to town to the grocery store if something goes wrong.

 

[tweetysvoice]

I've heard a lot about brineing the turkey, what difference does it make? I've never done it.
I usually prep the turkey by separating the skin from the meat, and then stuffing a butter mix of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme between the skin and the meat and letting it sit for a day, then baking.

 

[chicken danz]

Just went outside and decided to take a couple of quick pics of my white cochin hen. She is just coming out of a molt and not totally feathered but almost. I love this bird. She is always clean.

 

[PrairieChickens]

My white chickens are like that... They're usually spotless, especially Mars. I don't know how they do it.

 

[pikeman94]

Welcome Lee! I am up in northwestern Olathe.

Another question for the group....My order of Vet RX came in and I have been trying to administer it. What is the best way? From the bottle doesn't work so well.

 

[JosieChick]

Yeah, it is totally worth it to wait and play it safe. These guys do take forever to mature.

My geese from Trudi have very distinct calls and are very different from my original gang. The grey saddleback gander I call Foggy because he sounds like a big old foghorn when he honks! He is actually really sweet and friendly.

That is a very white bird, love the random dog paw in the bottom pic!

Hey, I bought you a bottle of ACV with the mother at wal mart in Paola. Thought we could get Flo the turkey to you soon and bring the ACV at the same time. I need to get up the guts to butcher the turkey. He is having a hard time moving around but I am having a tough time with the idea too. I hate to waste him as he could easily feed a family for a bit but it is so hard to butcher him. Wish I could give him a sleeping pill first so he wouldn't know what was going on!

I am loosing some multi posts too. I just remembered I was going to comment on your post about me breeding Cloud. Years ago I had kennels. I learned from that experience. You had more emergency C sections and birthing problems if a dog was young. A GP supposedly isn't mature until she is about 2.5 years. So I figure waiting until they are two anyway is the only responsible thing to do. I figure that would be like having an 18 year old girl pregnant. I did okay at 18!

So far she hasn't been in heat yet so I am waiting for that. (Or at least I hope she hasn't!!!) I think I will put a chastity belt on her when she does the first time!! Marshmallow went through 3 heats before I let her get bred and we still had problems.
I'm kind of in the same frame of mind. I would give up the pheasant and most of the chickens before I would ever give up my goobies. Trudi just told me the other day my little lavender headed girl was named Debbie. I didn't know she had a name. I can tell her yell from the others. It is higher pitched. I was kind of hoping she would decide to lay this fall but nothing so far.
I don't know how the cat pan thing works and am waiting for an explanation as well. I have sprouted seeds before though. I just used a damp paper towel under them and a place where the bottom of the pan was warm. But with that method I had to use them quickly cause they would either dry out or mold.

Just went outside and decided to take a couple of quick pics of my white cochin hen. She is just coming out of a molt and not totally feathered but almost. I love this bird. She is always clean.

 

[chicken danz]

Rob, I just drop some in their nostrils then squirt a little in their drinking water. I don't worry about being super neat about it.
Seems I spent my whole afternoon feeding and watering again. No wonder I never get anything done. It's getting colder and cloudier out there by the minute.
Brining a turkey puts the flavor of the salt and spices into the meat. It also makes the meat more tender and juicy. I've always been proud of cooking a nice moist turkey but whatever I can do to make it better I will. My sons like to fry or smoke turkeys which is fine but it isn't the same as a good old roast turkey to me.
I normally put my turkeys in a bucket of cold water and put a weight in to hold it under water and a lid on the bucket to thaw. But I need to thaw this one in the fridge. Does anyone have any idea how long it will take to thaw out about a 14 pound bird? I feel so dumb when I decide to do things different than normal!

 

[HEChicken]

I'm cleaning house today because from Tuesday on, I'll probably not be doing much but cooking of some sort. I have to bring things to DH's family's Thanksgiving Thursday, and I do all of Thanksgiving for my family. This year it's on Saturday. I always try to do as much ahead as I can so the actual day isn't so hectic. I can make pies and prep veggies and make the cranberry sauce in advance, and I like to brine the turkey (this year we have to do two, one for each celebrations because somehow no one else thinks they have time, even though they only have to deal with ONE Thanksgiving!) and that takes time. DH is smoking them this year, so that will clear up some oven space. I love Thanksgiving, but I don't love having two of them so close together -- Christmas is always the same way.

Same here. I tend to work better under pressure though cause I keep postponing things to the last minute. I plan to brine my turkey as well. I saw a new way to do it on line so I am going to try. I guess I need to be thawing it out. I'm not sure how long that will take in the fridge.
I worry about making stuff too early so it isn't fresh but I at least try to do most the day before and in time to run back to town to the grocery store if something goes wrong.

I've heard a lot about brineing the turkey, what difference does it make? I've never done it.
I usually prep the turkey by separating the skin from the meat, and then stuffing a butter mix of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme between the skin and the meat and letting it sit for a day, then baking.

Okay, these three posts were all quite fortuitous because I got on here specifically to ask some questions about Thanksgiving and found that you all had beat me to it

. I am hosting this year and it will be my first time ever. Keep in mind that we don't have Thanksgiving in Australia so the holiday was new to me as an adult, and my in-laws have always hosted. Typically we split the cooking so one person wasn't doing it all but the person hosting usually does the turkey so this will be a first for me - buying a turkey big enough for the number of people and cooking it appropriately. Gaaahhh - I am so nervous about messing this up. So I came on to ask for tips and here they are. Keep them coming, by the way.

Danz, I did read to allow for 24 hours per 4-5 lbs of turkey to thaw in the fridge. It said absolutely NEVER thaw on the counter and if the fridge isn't an option, you can thaw in a sink of cold water but the fridge is the recommended method. I plan to buy my turkey tomorrow and bring it home to go straight in the fridge.

Any other favorite dishes to go with it? Personally I like Green Bean Casserole so I'm making it even if I'm the only one who eats it. So there. (In past years it was vetoed from the menu because most people in the family say they don't like it but since I'm hosting this year, I'm over-riding them all. I'll also serve steamed beans for the weenies who don't like casserole.)

Just went outside and decided to take a couple of quick pics of my white cochin hen. She is just coming out of a molt and not totally feathered but almost. I love this bird. She is always clean.

Oh, she is gorgeous. I have to say, I am new to Cochins, having just a few "Silchins" from Josie that she thinks are 3/4 Cochin and 1/4 Silkie. They look all Cochin and though they are bantams, I can already see the appeal of the breed. They are now about 10 weeks old and turning into little balls of fluff that are truly adorable. I have a splash who is such a light splash she is almost white and she just as the sweetest little face.

Well, I am tired but we got a lot done this weekend and it feels good to check a bunch of things off the to-do list.

I decided to try fermenting a batch of feed in the house to see if I can tell a difference from doing it in the colder temperatures of the coop. Within 2-3 hours it was already starting to bubble and smell really good. They will get this batch tomorrow. I got so busy I ran out of fermented feed and they had to eat dry feed today.

 

[HEChicken]

Rob, I just drop some in their nostrils then squirt a little in their drinking water. I don't worry about being super neat about it.
Seems I spent my whole afternoon feeding and watering again. No wonder I never get anything done. It's getting colder and cloudier out there by the minute.
Brining a turkey puts the flavor of the salt and spices into the meat. It also makes the meat more tender and juicy. I've always been proud of cooking a nice moist turkey but whatever I can do to make it better I will. My sons like to fry or smoke turkeys which is fine but it isn't the same as a good old roast turkey to me.
I normally put my turkeys in a bucket of cold water and put a weight in to hold it under water and a lid on the bucket to thaw. But I need to thaw this one in the fridge. Does anyone have any idea how long it will take to thaw out about a 14 pound bird? I feel so dumb when I decide to do things different than normal!

I was posting about this the same time you were. I also plan to get a 14 pound bird and will get it tomorrow morning to put straight in the fridge. That will give it 3 days to defrost which according to the 4-5 pound per day rule should be just about right.

Does anyone cook their turkey the night before Thanksgiving? It seems like I heard someone say that once and then they just heat it up for Thanksgiving dinner. It takes off some of the pressure of planning a bird to be done by a certain time and then having it take more or less time than you thought, but now I can't remember who told me they do that and how that works for them.

 

[chicken danz]

Yeah, it is totally worth it to wait and play it safe. These guys do take forever to mature.
I would like it if they would mature with the way they act a little faster. Holy cow Cloud can be such a pain sometimes.

My geese from Trudi have very distinct calls and are very different from my original gang. The grey saddleback gander I call Foggy because he sounds like a big old foghorn when he honks! He is actually really sweet and friendly.
Isn't that strange they sound different? This one is sweet but of course my boys try to run interference between me and the girls. Or at least until they give their girly little scream and run off with their wings in the air.

That is a very white bird, love the random dog paw in the bottom pic!
Uh well you know if 'Mom' has something in her hand they all assume it is going to be something good to eat or at least they can sneak in some random petting. I was turning and twirling just trying to get a shot of her without a big dog mug in the picture.
Hey, I bought you a bottle of ACV with the mother at wal mart in Paola. Thought we could get Flo the turkey to you soon and bring the ACV at the same time. I need to get up the guts to butcher the turkey. He is having a hard time moving around but I am having a tough time with the idea too. I hate to waste him as he could easily feed a family for a bit but it is so hard to butcher him. Wish I could give him a sleeping pill first so he wouldn't know what was going on!

Oh thanks! I was wondering today where I might find some. I understand about the turkey. I am going to have to get over that with mine. The day will come I will actually have to butcher some rather than sell them, cause that is why I wanted them in the first place. My boys will be happy to have Flo come join them. I'll bet the girls get jealous though. Sometimes they bicker when I go out to feed them. They act like kids fighting over who gets to be the closest to me and the feed bucket. It doesn't matter how many pounds of feed they already have left either. It's all about being first.
They're almost as silly as the geese.