Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Jam vs curd : I was given a basket of Seville oranges (I think that's what you call them ? Bitter oranges ?) and made jam on monday. Then I had a bunch left, so I made curd : two jars and a pie.

Jam made from Seville oranges is called marmalade and is a classically English thing. My mother was addicted to making marmalade - she couldn't bear to see the oranges at the market and not grab them. My Dad loved marmalade, but there is a limit to how much you can eat in a year.
I am the proud inheritor of my mother's marmalade stash. I like marmalade in moderation. I started making a chocolate marmalade cake which uses up a lot and is very delicious.
I am now into the 1995 vintage and my mother died in 1999, so only a few years left to work through!
And yes, it is perfectly good after all these years!

First, what a fun reminder of someone. I always want to like marmalade but I am disappointed every time I try it. It's just not for me.

Now, I need to request a tax payment for the marmalade talk.

Here's mine

 

[SimpleJenn]

It's settled. In two weeks my tonsils will be removed. The ENT took one look and went "yep those are bad tonsils let's get them out." The lady who was supposed to measure them focused on my thyroid instead and forgot to measure the tonsils. The surgery scheduler kept talking about how bad recovery will be and how much it will hurt. Lady, I can hardly swallow and it's affecting my sleep. I will take two weeks of severe throat pain to be rid of my tonsils! I should have had them out as a child!!!
/rant

It's been over 24 hours, incubators have been reset and eggies are placed. I have two extras that were stacked (breeder says it's fine until first candling when I remove duds)

Blue one's temp is off

I may adjust it down another degree to tune it further.
I mixed the two batches in the incubators to even out my chances in case of failure. Wish us luck!!!

 

[BY Bob]

Seville oranges grow everywhere in Nice, there are even trees in the streets, and it's also a local thing. The difference with the english marmelade is that we don't put as much orange peel, so it's less bitter. In french we call marmelade the english version and jam ours !
The other thing we make with those oranges is wine.
I also use both the marmelade and the oranges soaked in alcohol left over from the orange wine to bake cakes.
Cultural cooking similarities from such different places and culinary traditions .

I might like the Jam. It's the rind flavor that puts me off marmalade.

Tax from warmer days

 

[ValerieJ]

Anyone who has more than 40 chickens and takes care of them like you do, and stays smiling most of the time, is my hero.

I'm glad I had forgotten about that, because it's heartwarming to read that story again. It's incredible to have daughters from all those threes .

And all that just because your cousin moved up North. I thought you already lived "Up North" !

To me it feels like a very useful tool to help a hen that's generally healthy, but has laying issues. But I would not be able to afford it for more than one or two hens.
RC mentioned a few times that progestogen only human contraceptive could be an interesting alternative, if they are easily available where you live.

I hadn't thought of that at all, but it's a possibility.
The vet did warn us that the effectiveness and the duration of the implant varied greatly from one chicken to an other. Laure had such a hard moult at the start and she immediately stopped laying, so it seemed like she was very receptive.

I have an appointment for her next wednesday. I hope she doesn't moult so be bad this time with the cold !
Such a strange hen she is. Both terrified and extremely curious !
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*******
Jam vs curd : I was given a basket of Seville oranges (I think that's what you call them ? Bitter oranges ?) and made jam on monday. Then I had a bunch left, so I made curd : two jars and a pie.
It took almost an hour and a half, not including heating, to make 2 kg of jam that I know I'm not going to eat. The honey from our bees taste so good that all the jam we make keeps piling up in our cupboards.
Meanwhile the curd took about ten minutes, it took ten more minutes to make the crust, and both the pie and the two jars will be gone in a matter of days.
So the next oranges to show up at my place will all be turned into curd. I just don't like jam enough to bother !
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Like these ? They were babies then in january 2021.
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What is the matter with your health Alex ? You said too much, or not enough. Your chooks need you and your bad jokes to make them laugh (or not) !
*******

I finally completed writing three posts about Piou-piou's story. It was long and difficult to write so I'm not sure it's fun to read, but I'll still share in case someone who hasn't read it yet is interested.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I hope you all have a pleasant day, I'm off to bed early. We say "go to bed / get up with the hens" for early sleepers and risers !

Thank you for sharing your story of Piou Piou. It was definitely sad to read but I could feel your closeness to her. So precious.

Jam vs curd : I was given a basket of Seville oranges (I think that's what you call them ? Bitter oranges ?) and made jam on monday. Then I had a bunch left, so I made curd : two jars and a pie.

Jam made from Seville oranges is called marmalade and is a classically English thing. My mother was addicted to making marmalade - she couldn't bear to see the oranges at the market and not grab them. My Dad loved marmalade, but there is a limit to how much you can eat in a year.
I am the proud inheritor of my mother's marmalade stash. I like marmalade in moderation. I started making a chocolate marmalade cake which uses up a lot and is very delicious.
I am now into the 1995 vintage and my mother died in 1999, so only a few years left to work through!
And yes, it is perfectly good after all these years!

I love orange marmalade mixed with cream cheese, especially on a piece of date bread!

 

[SimpleJenn]

Anyone play The Sims? There's a character called "Charles the Evil Chicken" and if I end up with an Ayam Cemani roo that will be his name.

Pics from google

 

[Sylvester017]

Would bitter yuck spray work? I used Grannicks bitter apple to stop my cat from eating the houseplants. It also works on hot spots when the dog over grooms.

We used it but it didn't work so we finally tossed out our bottle. I think the chicken may actually have liked the taste cuz it didn't stop her from pecking Silkie Violet bald!

2012 ~ Violet's bald head & outer golden body feathers gone

At first we thought Violet was moulting but the Cuckoo Marans was plucking Violet bald & then started on another Silkie so we gave away the Marans to an egg farming neighbor. The Marans was always picking fights w/ our sweet Leghorn too. It was a worrisome disruption since we were new backyard chicken owners less than a year then.

The 2 Silkies getting feather-picked. Violet is supposed to be an all-golden Partridge but she was chewed down to her blue-gray underdown body!

Things like this happen when you're a new backyard flock owner & can't tell the difference of a moult from a feather-plucked bird!

 

[Ponypoor]

It happens to the best of us

Great article, thanks for sharing! CBD really works wonders in a lot of ways. Pain relief, the calming effect, it can help with digestive issues, there are some studies that point to treatment (not cure) of seizures in some cases... Most naysayers seem to be misinformed about CBD/how marijuana works in general. It's not the CBD but the (activated!) THC that causes the high by connecting to the cannabinoid receptors on the nerve cells

Tax:

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Beautiful eggs

And gorgeous chooks

 

[RoyalChick]

Marmalade tax
I can’t go out and get more pictures because it is truly nasty out there. Some mix of snow and ice coming down and I already got a boot full of slush
I do always get a kick when my ladies use their blue staircase. Something very cute about how they go up and down following each other. Calypso followed by Sylvie. Calypso has most of her feathers back now.

 

[Sylvester017]

I had a few extra $bucks to spend this month, so I hired another yard man to do some work around my place. I do love Paul to death, but I don’t want to overwork him.
That lovely soul could live on the $ tips that he receives from me.

Paul may like feeling needed + he probably enjoys the chickens too + he likes that you're his friend...

 

[Sylvester017]

Marmalade tax
I can’t go out and get more pictures because it is truly nasty out there. Some mix of snow and ice coming down and I already got a boot full of slush
I do always get a kick when my ladies use their blue staircase. Something very cute about how they go up and down following each other. Calypso followed by Sylvie. Calypso has most of her feathers back now.
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Hi Sylvie ~ something I never thought about is how an older declining-in-health hen is going to struggle going up a ladder. When our over 11-yr-old Silkie Violet had slowed down she took a long time going up the cleated ramp. We lifted it to be less steep but eventually she couldn't walk up any more so we brought her into the house to spend her last night with us. We picked her up to the table, she was always good to stay still & not flutter, gave her treats, she responded sweetly talking to us, we bedded her down in a crate & we went to bed but within an hour we heard the thrashing & death rattle ~ her wee heart finally gave up.