Maine

[MEMama3]

Brag moment:

Cold weather is upon us and I wanted a fun project so I made a chicken egg basket.​

 

[MustardTiger]

I LOVE IT!!! so cute!

 

[anyasmifya]

Brag moment:

Cold weather is upon us and I wanted a fun project so I made a chicken egg basket.​

Oh my goodness. That is too cute! You are very talented. How long did that take you? What type of farm did you use?

I have recently started to knit socks.

 

[anyasmifya]

err, i meant yarn not farm! Sorry doing two things at once, bad idea.

 

[MEMama3]

Oh my goodness. That is too cute! You are very talented. How long did that take you? What type of farm did you use? I have recently started to knit socks.

I used worsted weight acrylic yard (double thickness). It took me a day. I am jealous you can do socks. I can knit basic stuff, but I'm not nearly as fast knitting as I am crocheting. Thanks for the many compliments. I am very happy with how it turned out.

 

[Widget]

There's a sign down the street from me offering free Muscovies. I don't know if they are all drakes or what the deal is. PM me if interested, and I'll try to find out more info.

It would have to be just before winter sets in. Now if it were the end of winter I would be interested. This time of year not so much. As it is my Silkies and bantam Cochins will be wintering over in the daylight basement. I could put them outside but I had a fox siting the other morning (2 am) and know the little guys would be way too vulnerable out in the pen right now. If not for the geese sounding the alert I might have lost a bird or two to the fox. I had arrived back home well after dark that night and forgot that I had not locked everyone back up in the pen. So at 2 am I was outside securing everyone. At least the birds ran right for their pen so I did not have to round them up. And the fox had to go elsewhere for his late night snack.

 

[lazy gardener]

I heard a ruckus this afternoon, went out to check on the girls and found a much smaller than usual egg laying on the ground. Some of my EE have gone through a partial molt, only one of them laying semi-regularly now, and it doesn't look like her egg. So, I'm guessing that one of the other girls is kicking back into gear. The small size surprised me. When they start back up after a molt, are the eggs typically smaller? I expected that they'd be bigger, if changed at all.

Gorgeous socks Anya. And I love your egg basket, MeMama! What kind of yarn did you use? That's a great idea. A knit or crochet basket would be super soft, and could just be thrown into the wash when dirty, also, when going out to do chicken chores, you could just scrunch it up and throw it into your pocket until needed. Why, I bet I could crochet a basket without even having a pattern! Add to that, a mesh bag that would be free standing to put harvest veggies in, so you could hose the dirt off them, shake them dry and bring them in already pre-rinsed! Oh spring, where for are thou????

Is it crazy for me to be looking forward to spring so I can incubate and otherwise start some chicks again. (looking forward to Doms, meaties, and toying with the idea of Wyandotte.) Poor, poor hubby is resigning himself to the inevitability of it! Went to the habitat store and the pickings were very slim today. Couldn't even find a complete door hinge, let alone a complete set, but did find bits and pieces, mis-matched that will work with some cobbling and appropriately sized nails to replace the hinge pins. They still have some very nice custom cabinet doors... If only I had a project in mind. Again, poor, poor hubby! He just got the shop cleaned up and the power tools put away so vehicles can be under cover.

 

[learycow]

I have 3 Khaki hens as well as a Golden Hybrid hen. Our Drake is a Rouen. I'm happy to hear that what we've suspected is true - they'll outlay some chickens! Why does everyone seem to like the Muscovy them?

Muscovies are known best for their meat (the males are larger than other breeds, usually around 12-15 pounds) and they are much less fatty than other breeds. Their meat can be compared to veal as it is lean and tender, and full of flavor.
And the hens make THE BEST (in my opinion, in the duck world) broody ducks. They will literally hatch you out of house and home! You can start with 2 muscovy in the spring and end the year with 60 (give or take).

They are also a very calm, friendly breed. They make excellent pets. If you train them to treats, they will follow you anywhere and stay very close to you if you are outside doing yard work.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Originally Posted by Windy Bay Farm : Hi buckabucka... Sorry to hear you lost power for so long, especially during this cold snap we've had.

I couldn't help but notice you're from Fairfield, that isn't far from Skowhegan, is it ? My wife and I travel to the beautiful state of Maine every summer and last summer we randomly happened upon Skowhegan and Fairfield... I remember eating ice cream at something called "Island Dairy Treat" or something like that , located right in Skowhegan. We're from Nova Scotia and just love camping and touring ME each summer... I'd love to have a summer home over there somewhere !


Welcome Windy Bay Farm! I can run to the Skowhegan line (although Skowhegan is rather spread out). I love to visit the Island Dairy Treat! Skowhegan is an interesting place. Just around the corner is the Pick Up Cafe (only open on Friday and Saturday nights at the moment) which has all local foods from area farms. It is housed in the old jail, which has now been converted into a gristmill. We buy local flour there.

Canada is beautiful too. I've been to Nova Scotia and PEI a long time ago. Last summer we went camping on Grand Manan and hiked some of the beautiful trails along the cliffs on the island. Very nice. We hope to go back!

Grand Manan is beautiful ! And there are lots of beautiful sights in PEI as well ! Now get over here to NS so we can show you our little part of the world

 

[buckabucka]

I would love to visit Nova Scotia again, windy bay farm.

And MEMama, your egg basket is awesome! It would take me forever to make that. I have been knitting the same sweater for 18+ years (Seriously).
It is going to be a nice sweater. It is a complicated pattern and I usually pull it out once a year around Christmastime. This just might be the year I finish! The back, front, and one and a half sleeves are done.

Any of you knitters out there know how I join the pieces all together? Do I sew it with yarn, throw it on the sewing machine, or what? I have no idea why, as an inexperienced knitter, I took on such a crazy project. I was young then, so who knows what I was thinking.