INCUBATING w/FRIENDS! w/Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs No problem!

[Beer can]

Yes I let the Cider go to long. Bought the proper yeast and gave it the correct temperature. Done in less than a week. Year before cooler temps and different yeast so much better. Small kick and great flavor.
One brewer here in town has a porter aged in whiskey barrels. My guess he's getting it started about now. It's available at Christmas in limited supply. Smooth.

My father-in-law picks his apples out of the trees, and uses just the natural yeast that's on the apples, turns out great and around 5%.
Me, I shake the trees and pick the apples off the ground, much easier but have to lightly pasteurized cause of potential bacteria, add my own yeast anyway. I use Lavlin EC-1118 champagne yeast, add the right amount of brewers corn sugar, (ferments cleaner than regular cane sugar) using a hydrometer and online brewing calculator, it'll take it to 18%. Ferments a couple months, first with just the cider, then transfer it off the yeast sediment and add the sugar, double ferment, makes it clearer and cleaner. I make sure I don't add too much cause I like it dry and I need the yeast to still work when I prime it with more sugar and bottle it in champagne bottles. I don't prime all of it, usually have a couple gallons uncarbonated.
Stuff ROCKS! Even better aged for a couple yrs. Aged some five once, super bubbly, and poured clear, better than any champagne I've ever had.

 

[BullChick]

We will of course try it out before you get here. Wouldn't want it to be a dud.

Of course not!

 

[BullChick]

 

[Pensmaster]

 

[Pensmaster]

My father-in-law picks his apples out of the trees, and uses just the natural yeast that's on the apples, turns out great and around 5%.
Me, I shake the trees and pick the apples off the ground, much easier but have to lightly pasteurized cause of potential bacteria, add my own yeast anyway. I use Lavlin EC-1118 champagne yeast, add the right amount of brewers corn sugar, (ferments cleaner than regular cane sugar) using a hydrometer and online brewing calculator, it'll take it to 18%. Ferments a couple months, first with just the cider, then transfer it off the yeast sediment and add the sugar, double ferment, makes it clearer and cleaner. I make sure I don't add too much cause I like it dry and I need the yeast to still work when I prime it with more sugar and bottle it in champagne bottles. I don't prime all of it, usually have a couple gallons uncarbonated.
Stuff ROCKS! Even better aged for a couple yrs. Aged some five once, super bubbly, and poured clear, better than any champagne I've ever had.

So mine would almost be done for you. It's too dry and at 12% too strong as well. Not clear yet. Great flavor. Apples from my trees and Apple hill. Sounds like I'd like what your dad made. I also used the Cider yeast. One quart of honey. Cider spices. Aged since November. Not carbonated.

 

[Pensmaster]

Time too call it a day.

 

[Akrnaf2]

SHALOM KATHY!!
How are you?

Shalom Benny!! I'm doing great!! How are you?

I had 2 fertile eggs and both hatched in the group of eggs I almost forgot to lock down.

Good news I may have found a friend that can help temporarily house my chickens. I think that would be too much to ask of someone though.

Happy hatching everyone.

Recovering from the Italy vacation, 24/7 with 3 kids for 14 days need its recovery time....
Did you change the municipality attitude to pet birds called chicken?

 

[bappl]

I'm excited to say 8 of my chicks have hatched so far and I have several that have pipped. I'm so excited for this hatch! My roo is a blue copper marans and these are his first chicks! I incubated a dozen of his eggs. Four are easter egger eggs. The last eight are either barred rock or rir (again the blue copper marans is the sire). Then I am also incubating another dozen that I traded for. Twelve purebred black copper marans eggs. Of my own dozen there are seven that have hatched and several pipped. I think two of my own haven't hatched. Of the dozen that were laid on another farm, only one has hatched. They still have two more days for hatching! Two of the chicks are blue!! The rest are a mix of mostly dark grey with just a haze of brown on the fave of one and the sides of another. Of those last two, one has feathered legs and the other has clean legs. My roo is the French variety, so he has feathered legs. The other 6 chicks are still not fully dry so they're still in the incubator. I'll have to post tomorrow which of those chicks have feathered legs and which don't. I think it's so cool seeing which traits are or are not inherited. So interesting!

 

[bappl]

These are the first two that hatched. They hatched yesterday. They have an Easter Egger mother and blue copper marans father. Are they olive eggers?

 

[cabinchicky]

Morning MC! Can't sleep either? Back woke me, so fire up the coffee and heating pad and the wash. Any coon or cats in the trap? I know you don't want to shoot but a pellet gun with hollow point pellets does wonders close range. Yeah, been there done that. Not so good a choice for coon takes many shots, but it won't blow a hole in the coop either!

I read "back ache" (okay, the mention of) and was grateful that I didn't have a sore OOPS! There is goes. You jinxed me! I do have to get more wash done. I would thank you for reminding me, but I am not grateful, so there! I still like ya. Don't worry! I did not get anything.

Lol!

Morning peeps. J.D. is getting so big. Little guy will follow me all over the house.

Awwww, he thinks you are his Momma!

I pop coon all the time, with .22 longs at point blank range in the trap; haven't so much as nicked anything on the trap. Either I'm super lucky, or the bullet doesn't exit.

We use a 22 at times as well, but try not to.Hard to find ammo still.

I wanna catch a cat.

Rofl!!!

What's up with your murderous attitude towards cats?

Evil pure evil, and some places have feral cats but not in my area, but mine are still evil

I like cats better than dogs. MY cats never would dare jump on a table. They were kept in the house WHERE THEY BELONG!! If I had a lot of property, I would have a barn cat (two. They need company). Three cats is always too much.

Agreed, and I NEED a barn cat so bad!!!!!

So my husband was mowing by the cockerel cages and we had 33 mix breed cockerels in there separated by chicken wire and there are 2 separate coops. While he was going past one spooked and jumped through the wires and the he's 5 weeks the others are 4 months, so at least 1/2 the size and he doesn't know how it got through but it did and we think between the wire and the dozen young roosters jumped on him and scalped him... We had to cull him I'm really upset because we have a small homestead and it's not like we have to cull many chicks and this was so preventable... And grotesque and sad. I feel kinda sick about it, farming is hard and I hate this part of things. I haven't been on in a while because I've been so busy but I thought y'all might be able to tell me that these things do happen and that I just need to come to terms with that. Clearly I can tell myself but that doesn't really cement it. Also my young rooster had a band on (I don't band the boys cause big legs) and when we thought we should take off the bands his was cutting his leg a bit, it was a day of injury but his leg is so swollen... Feeling like a bad homsteader today... Will the swelling just go down, I've been keeping it clean and treating with non pain relief neosporine.... Oh and I left chicks in the bator for about 30 hours and one got messed with and I think it's got a cross beak, they're olive eggers and some of the shells were a little too round I think, maybe and being messed with while they were hatching plus having Easter egger genes... I've had some I assisted hatch get cross beak and I'm sad because I think it might be two of them actually... Sad what a cruddy week for homesteading/ chicken keeping

no fun I have had scalped babies no fun

I like grass.

Wrong kind

Or Acorn mash. Must say I've tasted acorns and I'd starve even with an ample supply. Guess I didn't know how to process them Might find dandelion for that salad.

depends on white kind of oak and the tannins in it

Just checked the Altsteirers chicks. Looks like 4 hens 2 roosters.

good ratio!

Does anyone know how to start a BYC poll?

Banti answered but hey u chgd your avy!

The moms are in the main coop and a new girl is in the box.

Oh geez!!

Just locked up. She was just laying very late. Gross, but... "Here, Moose! C'mere Moosey Moosey Moosey Moose!" I'm old.

few!! Lol

Quail nuggets, 13 out of 21 made it so far. Time for bed so I can be responsible and go to work. Ewwwwww!

awwww cute babies

Feral cats are evil! Not had much luck trapping them. More a SSS type thing.