Homesteaders

[Fuzzy Moto]

I should add I just scrubbed the bathroom floor as well. Going to skip washing the dog, I don't want to reclean my floors and add another load of laundry just for towels. I feel proud enough to post pictures of my house.

I would love a reality check at my house, this is the way Hubby was raised so I think he is stuck. The kids had chores, but that lasted until Daddy said they didn't need to do them all the time.

Then I guess they will be living with you for like, forever, unless you go clean their homes when they move out. My parents both trained me to be able to care for my self in every way, that included sewing and how to use every appliance in or out the house. I do recommend it for the future of this world too. Sorry i had to join the rant.

 

[rancher hicks]

I feel productive today!! Got up to the kids eating leftover pizza(not thrilled) then took the dog for an hour walk and taught her some commands for pulling. Came home, finished a sink full of dishes, rotated 1 of 3 loads of laundry before I walked the dog. Then vacuumed my tile floors so I could hand scrub it(yes I vacuum tile). Then proceded to clean the bathroom, clipped the hedgehog nails and cleaned their cages. Scrubbed the shower and the sink(put hedgies in sink while doing cages) then emptied litterbox and swept that floor. Vacuumed the whole house again, Hubby is hauling garbage off. Now all I have to do is fold laundry, let the dog out and rotate the rabbit around the yard. Bread machine is making bread for school lunches next week for the oldest child. Figured out a way to repurpose the pvc laundry hamper for the dog to start pulling a cart, just as training shafts for her to walk in. Then it will become a larger rabbit tractor for when the rabbit is out in the yard, covered with chicken wire. It will only be in the daytime so I am not worried about raccoons trying to get her through the holes. Soon I will give the dog a bath then rescrub the tub so it is clean for the boys' bath later tonight.

Only took 1/2 a pot of coffee and alot of pent up anger to get it all done in 4 hours. My children played on their tablets and Hubby vaccumed his show car while I did ALL the of that without offering to help.

Well now what can I say?

We had a bread maker but donated it since it never got used. Took to long to make the bread.

Chickens are mine so she doesn't tend to them unless I'm away and she agrees too. She doesn't wash the eggs though.

 

[Raech]

I love my bread machine!!!! I don't let it cook the bread, I just have it on the dough setting. I like it because I can do everything else and still get the yummy bread smells. We have another in Dad's storage unit but 1 is enough for me. My house went from smelling like vinegar to smelling like sentsy to smelling like fresh baked bread. If only this mood would drop I would be thrilled with everything I got done today. Off to do yoga and try to meditate see if that helps.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

So the plan this summer is to raise 60 meat chickens, giving us 1 chicken a week. I need a chicken tractor because I am going to pasture them in our back field (DH signed off on this because it is a small field and he can still pasture his cows on it.) My baby brother came out today and we found an old broiler pen in the junk pile. It still looks solid just needs new wire. We also found some never used tin roofing, a no longer road worthy lowboy, and old fencing. That along with all the old wood in our barn I should be able to build this tractor without buying much more then new chicken wire

It will be smaller then this, but I am going to base it on this plan. Was planning on housing a mixture of birds, Cornish x, Red ranger, Jersey Giants, maybe some dark cornish. Then the plan is to hold the best females back and put them in with my layers, try to breed out next year's meat birds.
This feels very ambitious to me. But am going to give it all a shot. I would love to be 70% self sufficient in 3 years.

 

[Woodsdweller]

I feel productive today!! Got up to the kids eating leftover pizza(not thrilled) then took the dog for an hour walk and taught her some commands for pulling. Came home, finished a sink full of dishes, rotated 1 of 3 loads of laundry before I walked the dog. Then vacuumed my tile floors so I could hand scrub it(yes I vacuum tile). Then proceded to clean the bathroom, clipped the hedgehog nails and cleaned their cages. Scrubbed the shower and the sink(put hedgies in sink while doing cages) then emptied litterbox and swept that floor. Vacuumed the whole house again, Hubby is hauling garbage off. Now all I have to do is fold laundry, let the dog out and rotate the rabbit around the yard. Bread machine is making bread for school lunches next week for the oldest child. Figured out a way to repurpose the pvc laundry hamper for the dog to start pulling a cart, just as training shafts for her to walk in. Then it will become a larger rabbit tractor for when the rabbit is out in the yard, covered with chicken wire. It will only be in the daytime so I am not worried about raccoons trying to get her through the holes. Soon I will give the dog a bath then rescrub the tub so it is clean for the boys' bath later tonight.

Only took 1/2 a pot of coffee and alot of pent up anger to get it all done in 4 hours. My children played on their tablets and Hubby vaccumed his show car while I did ALL the of that without offering to help.

How annoyed do I have to make you to come clean my place?

I'll make fresh coffee.

 

[Loc20chick]

Quote:
Thats sad he told them that but don't give up yet especially with the kids its for their benefit later in life. my DH was brought up same way but after much prayers n much nudging, he has come a long way.

 

[Raech]

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

How annoyed do I have to make you to come clean my place?     

I'll make fresh coffee.

If you pay for gas I will drive out.

I can just bring the whole gang and you might just join me. Im teasing I love my family but there are times where I cant take much more. And then you happy people make me laugh and the world goes right again.

 

[Woodsdweller]

Some of us that have families have been in the same boat at one time or other. I love my kids, but there were times I didn't like them much. I am quite pleased that they now have kids of their own and are getting paid back.

 

[KlopKlop]

So the plan this summer is to raise 60 meat chickens, giving us 1 chicken a week. I need a chicken tractor because I am going to pasture them in our back field (DH signed off on this because it is a small field and he can still pasture his cows on it.) My baby brother came out today and we found an old broiler pen in the junk pile. It still looks solid just needs new wire. We also found some never used tin roofing, a no longer road worthy lowboy, and old fencing. That along with all the old wood in our barn I should be able to build this tractor without buying much more then new chicken wire

It will be smaller then this, but I am going to base it on this plan. Was planning on housing a mixture of birds, Cornish x, Red ranger, Jersey Giants, maybe some dark cornish. Then the plan is to hold the best females back and put them in with my layers, try to breed out next year's meat birds.
This feels very ambitious to me. But am going to give it all a shot. I would love to be 70% self sufficient in 3 years.

I think you will find you enjoy broilers if you do it right, I do! The plan you have sounds pretty good in terms of housing/pasturing. A few lines of advice-
1) don't take anyone's word about Cornish cross being a bad or dirty bird. If you care for it right you may find them to be one of your favorite breeds of chickens (I have a CX hen I kept from last summer and she is one of my most friendly chickens, lays well too) they free range just fine and I didn't have a single issue besides one scissor beak in my whole batch. Zero losses once they were out of the brooder.

2) depending on your time constraints consider breaking your broilers into 2 or even 3 groups. Brooding 60+ chicks at a time is tough. I struggled with smothering issues when I brooded 70 at once. Even if you separated them by 2 weeks per batch. 60 birds is also a lot to process at once

3) learn to process your own. It saves money, isn't that hard, and also plays into being self sufficient. Yes it may be hard at first but it will make you appreciate the chickens more and you can assure they were treated well right up to the end.

4) growing heritage breeds will take much longer and won't get as big. You probably know that and may not care but still...

5) look for a breed called Dixie Rainbows or similar. I have raised them and they are a great breed. They reached a great size in 14 weeks and they are supposed to breed true. I have 5 hens and a rooster I kept back and hope to breed them this year. My rooster is enormous so I'm counting on his genetics

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

I think you will find you enjoy broilers if you do it right, I do! The plan you have sounds pretty good in terms of housing/pasturing. A few lines of advice-
1) don't take anyone's word about Cornish cross being a bad or dirty bird. If you care for it right you may find them to be one of your favorite breeds of chickens (I have a CX hen I kept from last summer and she is one of my most friendly chickens, lays well too) they free range just fine and I didn't have a single issue besides one scissor beak in my whole batch. Zero losses once they were out of the brooder.

2) depending on your time constraints consider breaking your broilers into 2 or even 3 groups. Brooding 60+ chicks at a time is tough. I struggled with smothering issues when I brooded 70 at once. Even if you separated them by 2 weeks per batch. 60 birds is also a lot to process at once

3) learn to process your own. It saves money, isn't that hard, and also plays into being self sufficient. Yes it may be hard at first but it will make you appreciate the chickens more and you can assure they were treated well right up to the end.

4) growing heritage breeds will take much longer and won't get as big. You probably know that and may not care but still...

5) look for a breed called Dixie Rainbows or similar. I have raised them and they are a great breed. They reached a great size in 14 weeks and they are supposed to breed true. I have 5 hens and a rooster I kept back and hope to breed them this year. My rooster is enormous so I'm counting on his genetics

I accidentally got 4 cornish x over the winter. I was not happy with them, but in their defense it was winter and they were often confined to the barn. I was hoping to get at least one cornish x to keep, we will see.
Yes I know the heritage birds are smaller, I am looking at this as a test run to see how much smaller, and if this is something I can accept. DH wants me to go just with the cornish x but am hoping I can convince him this will work better in the long run.
I will look at the dixie rainbows, are they a white bird? I did want to limit my white birds, thinking they would fair better pastured (white shows up well in a green field)
I did plan on spreading them out, was thinking I could comfortably raise 20 at a time.

Thank you!