Illinois...

Poof Poof is having a really bad hair day!
:lau :lau :lau :lau :lau


spitz molt1.jpg



I think she could Trick or Treat as a Gambel Quail.
 
Sunday to Monday we got our first frost. Monday to Tuesday, a second frost in progress.
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This is the first of the season for me. I am kind of close to that POND called Michigan. My DD who live somewhat 40 miles away from lake, has already gotten frost a while ago. Lite, but still frost.
I drained my outdoor garden pipes. Don't need any freeze cracked surprises in the coming spring.
 
Good morning everyone!

I know I don't keep up here... but I'd like to ask 2 questions.... if that's alright.

I am looking at turkeys. Seasonal, I don't wanna keep them year round. I wanna raise 4-6 ( leaning more towards the 4) one for Thanksgiving, and the others will be harvested and ground into ground turkey for the freezer.

I don't want to build a permanent build for this...just something I can put up at the beginning of spring and take down once I harvest. Do any of you have suggestions that'll do well in our climate. I do believe all birds will be harvested by the end of November. I am obviously looking at BB turkeys for this endeavor.

Second....
Bare with me...and try to see the opportunity I see. Does anyone have a cold room, root cellar of sorts??

I live in a double wide...its long...I have no idea how long bc it was my husband's prior to marriage....but literally NO INDOOR STORAGE!!!

But it has an insulated crawl space underneath of it. We are considering turning this into a food storage cold room. Has anyone tried this?? Does anyone do it? What are your thoughts for our climate?? Any suggestions?? Is this a stupid idea??

We are working with what we have... we don't have a ton of property but we are secluded and love it here. We don't wanna dig a root cellar if not necessary. We also don't want to bury old fridges or trash cans in the ground around the property..as both options take up valuable space.

Help a girl out.
I am trying my hardest to make what we now have work for us.
 
Good morning everyone!

I know I don't keep up here... but I'd like to ask 2 questions.... if that's alright.

I am looking at turkeys. Seasonal, I don't wanna keep them year round. I wanna raise 4-6 ( leaning more towards the 4) one for Thanksgiving, and the others will be harvested and ground into ground turkey for the freezer.

I don't want to build a permanent build for this...just something I can put up at the beginning of spring and take down once I harvest. Do any of you have suggestions that'll do well in our climate. I do believe all birds will be harvested by the end of November. I am obviously looking at BB turkeys for this endeavor.

Second....
Bare with me...and try to see the opportunity I see. Does anyone have a cold room, root cellar of sorts??

I live in a double wide...its long...I have no idea how long bc it was my husband's prior to marriage....but literally NO INDOOR STORAGE!!!

But it has an insulated crawl space underneath of it. We are considering turning this into a food storage cold room. Has anyone tried this?? Does anyone do it? What are your thoughts for our climate?? Any suggestions?? Is this a stupid idea??

We are working with what we have... we don't have a ton of property but we are secluded and love it here. We don't wanna dig a root cellar if not necessary. We also don't want to bury old fridges or trash cans in the ground around the property..as both options take up valuable space.

Help a girl out.
I am trying my hardest to make what we now have work for us.
BB don't roost after a couple months so the height is for your benefit and bedding. Usually harvested 16 to 20 weeks, unless you have a big oven. They need more room than chickens. Usually in coop 10 sqft
I have hoop coops with tarps and kept a BB hen for 18 months before she got too big for her legs. Gets to 20 below up here and she was fine. The heat bothers them a lot. A large feed pan with a couple inches of water if a couple months old so they don't drown


ETA I put potatoes in Styrofoam coolers in unheated garage
 
But it has an insulated crawl space underneath of it. We are considering turning this into a food storage cold room.
You are in southern Illinois,, so it does not get mighty cold, compared to were I'm at. It may work, during winter, You don't want your food to freeze,, like potatoes, and other root veggies. If you will keep meat,, I do think that needs to freeze though.
The other main thing of concern,,, is rodents getting to your food before you do. You can get rodent proof containers, but that is also a challenge, since common metal cans are somewhat high, and do not provide good ventilation when closed.
If you get your container issues solved,, then you need to monitor the temperature inside that crawl space for at least a season before actual use. Get one of those indoor outdoor clock/thermometers. Locate the outdoor sensor in the crawl space. This way you can monitor the temperature there from the comfort of your home. Then make the decision when to start storage ,, and when to terminate storage.
In summer, your crawl space will be quite warm.:idunno
 
BB don't roost after a couple months so the height is for your benefit and bedding. Usually harvested 16 to 20 weeks, unless you have a big oven. They need more room than chickens. Usually in coop 10 sqft
I have hoop coops with tarps and kept a BB hen for 18 months before she got too big for her legs. Gets to 20 below up here and she was fine. The heat bothers them a lot. A large feed pan with a couple inches of water if a couple months old so they don't drown


ETA I put potatoes in Styrofoam coolers in unheated garage

Thank you for the information on turkeys.

Unfortunately we have no buildings on site...which is a huge hinderance. Husband had a barn but tore it down long before I met him.... when his house burnt down.

Trying to come up with some kinda solution 🤔🤷‍♀️🤔
 
You are in southern Illinois,, so it does not get mighty cold, compared to were I'm at. It may work, during winter, You don't want your food to freeze,, like potatoes, and other root veggies. If you will keep meat,, I do think that needs to freeze though.
The other main thing of concern,,, is rodents getting to your food before you do. You can get rodent proof containers, but that is also a challenge, since common metal cans are somewhat high, and do not provide good ventilation when closed.
If you get your container issues solved,, then you need to monitor the temperature inside that crawl space for at least a season before actual use. Get one of those indoor outdoor clock/thermometers. Locate the outdoor sensor in the crawl space. This way you can monitor the temperature there from the comfort of your home. Then make the decision when to start storage ,, and when to terminate storage.
In summer, your crawl space will be quite warm.:idunno
Yes, I plan to monitor temps throughout winter and summer and decide next fall what to do.

Rodents are an absolute concern and I am researching and trying to think of ways to avoid that problem.

Also, the food rotation problem, and the "shopping" problem as that could get old fast....


Lots to consider and think abt still...


We still get pretty cold down here...
But I don't know the coldest we've been...
 

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