Just curious who else is living super frugal

[lazy gardener]

Thank you Dawn. I miss those moonlit showers!!!

 

[DennisK]

With retirement from a major Aerospace company in Silicon Valley, moving to a less expensive area in the Sierra Nevada's made sense. Bigger, newer home, less property tax, more acreage with a small orchard, less stress. I used to suffer heart episodes (atrial flutter) at least once a week...not any more. It's not so much how frugal you are with cash...you can't take it with you...but how you choose to spend your remaining time with those you love....hustle and bustle...or watching the deer run about the yard, enjoying the cleaner air and seeing the stars at night...even with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck...sitting out on your deck on a warm September night with your spouse and listening to the quiet...beats the big city any day. Having chickens to care for, watching them acting out, is a simple pleasure. Volunteering with the local community...that's real living. Before I retired, I bought a book called "How to Retire, Happy, Wild and Free". Nothing about compiling wealth...just how to spend the rest of your life LIVING....I have learned quite a bit about the folks posting here and their efforts to make do with what they have...congrats to all. I will take their recommendations and stories to heart and try to make our community a better place. The best thing I've learned about having chickens is that our garbage disposal unit is unemployed....the little buzzards will eat anything! Cheers to all who have experienced hardship in their lives and have persevered.

I also came from San Jose – born and raised there. I married my high school sweetheart there. I worked my whole carrier there with an large international company – retired in my 50's. I lost my wife to illness in 05. That cut retirement income in half, but I still get along well enough. We owned this property out here where I can see the stars and where I can't hear my neighbors; so this is where I now live. In 2013, I started sharing my life with Jennifer, but she died of lung cancer earlier this year. I'm now in my 70's and I'm dammed tired of saying good by – of being left behind; so I am now learning to appreciate the quiet of being on my own – the simplicity of it all.
With your new freedom and your new adventures, the greatest thing you have, is that you can still say “We”.

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Update:

If any of you remember my posts, I was experimenting with a very simple homemade incubator. It worked! I made it out of a styrofoam cooler from Dollartree, my heat lamp with a regular household bulb, and a bowl of water. The only thermometer I had on hand was my candy thermometer, so that was conscripted for use . I set 6 pullet eggs, 2 were infertile to begin with, the other 4 all hatched! Out of pullet eggs! Heres the first little guy:

So now Im a firm believer in not needing fancy equipment. At least for my purposes . Im not going to hatch hundreds at a time, just want to keep my little flock going without buying or ordering new chicks. Have a great day!

 

[pfields]

Good for you!

I wanted to build one but my husband said it wouldn't work so we bought the Hova Bator with fan and turner. We just used it for the first time. Out of 35 eggs (we have 1 rooster with 45 hens) 20 hatched, the others either weren't fertile or died before finishing development.

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Thank you! My hubby is the one got me curious. He told me that when he was in elementary school his class hatched a few eggs in an old aquarium with a lamp above it. I had looked at bators at the farm stores and knew several were made out of styrofoam, I had 3 styrofoam coolers from a camping trip so I tried! My friend took another of the coolers and 4 of my eggs home with her this weekend to try it too

 

[lazy gardener]

Congrats to both of you on your recent hatches. I made a bator 3 years ago, with lots of help from hubby. It's styrofoam with 2 x 40 W bulbs, thermostat, and computer fan. My hatches to date: 5/6 with an early quitter. 17/19 with a clear and one DIS. 19/28 with a lot DIS. 22/25 with one clear, and 1 late quitter, 1 DIS. It's very easy to make an incubator, and the cost is negligible. Most supplies you already have in your home, and the rest can be scavanged, with the only purchase being the thermostat. It's so good to be independent of the hatcheries!

 

[pfields]

Years ago, the first time I had chickens, I had a hen that was always going broody so I put eggs under her and on day 20 took them to school for a kindergarten class and the students got to see them hatch. It was so cool to watch them hold up the eggs to their ears and hear the chicks chirping inside.

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Thats so neat! My friend homeschools her daughter and thats why she wanted to try a hatch . They cant have chickens on their rental property so the chicks will come back here, but they will still be her little girls . I have a kid in every grade from 1-5, maybe I should offer eggs to their teachers lol. My kidsate their breakfast in front of the bator this morning so I know they are bragging at school today hehehe

 

[lazy gardener]

Last year, I went to a local school and did a presentation on poultry/hatching for 4 first grade classes. It was fun, and good to see the kids being so enthusiastic. I included the role that poultry plays on the small farm.

 

[donrae]

So you know using the candy thermometer means the chicks have to have candy names, right

?

Honey built me an incubator out of a vintage metal Coleman cooler, but it hasn't worked that great. I think I may have drilled too many holes for ventilation? Anyway, I also bought a little giant and turner off CL for a good price, I'm using that for my (probably) last hatch this year. The big incubator has to get put away for the winter. It's been setting on our wood box, but it's getting cold and I'm wanting a fire in the mornings!