***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Sagetown]

Welcome! We have longhorns too...somehow they go along with the chickens!

Thanks for the Welcome bardies: Longhorns, most expensive meat on the market lately.
Pasture fed, no drugs, they provide more and better nutrients than you can get out of a bottle. The lean meat is just what the Doctor ordered.
This is ole boy is somewhere around 18 years old. His half brother is over 20. They are very gentle as long as you don't get 'em cornered, and pressure them in a catch pen. They jump like a deer. Just took a 600 pound yearling off to the slaughter house the other day.

 

[muesky]

Ugh, hate those nights. And it doesn't help to TRY to go to sleep, so you just lay there, wide awake, or get up and putter around. I wish I could be one of those insomniacs who gets a million things done when I can't sleep, but I'm not. I'm more the type that lays there for hours thinking about how cold my toes are, but I won't get up and get another blanket because the rest of me is warm and it's cold outside the covers.

Oh, but I always end up faling back to sleep.... five minutes before the alarm goes off.

On sleep. Did you know that sleeping through the night is a recent phenomena? In the middle ages they had First Sleep and Second Sleep. Go to bed with the dying light for First Sleep. Wake up naturally in the night, engage in quiet activities like sewing or reading by low lights, or have sex. Go back to bed for a few hours and rise refreshed. I am not making this up. i promise! I have a painfully trivial mind.

I have never been a good sleeper and can count on less then two hands the number of nights I have slept more then 7 hours straight and that was only when it is medically induced and often time that does not work.. The problem is once I am awake I can't go back to sleep and the longer I go without sleep the less I sleep.. It is a vicious pattern...

My MIL is a member of a food coop in OKC. Local farmers are able to sell their products to the coop and members go to the distribution center to pick up their weekly or monthly order. MIL goes weekly. She gets meat, eggs, vegetables, and fruit. Prices are a little higher than wally world, but she doesn't have to stand in line, and the products are farm fresh. She leaves a basket and picks up the basket she left the week before. It works really well.

Were you thinking people would bring what they have to one central location for distribution? I would love to participate. Since I'm not going to be able to walk the Camino this summer, I am planning my garden and hope to have lots of "extra" for swapping.

My layer flock will consist of Ameraucanas, Sex links, NN, and Marans. Do consider the NN. They are hardy and their eggs are usually large.

That is an idea about the food coop.. As for swapping I am all for this but honestly had not thought about the logistics all the way through.. My goal is the work towards becoming more self-sufficient, at least food wise.. We have been talking about getting a cow (my preference being a Guernsey) but my concern is having too much milk because they produce 3-6 gallons of milk a day.. My DD is on board with butter and cheese making but neither of us are prepared to handle that much production.. So I will need to be finding ways of rehoming the extra.. If you know what I mean??

Rebecca,
I have some tobacco seed, fed in moderation the nicotine is a great parasite treatment. You can have some of the seed if you want it. I also have several large bags of garden seed, almost two pounds of cantelope, turnip, about 1/2 lb of assorted tomatoes, peas, beans, corn, squash, and many others. Let me know what you would like I probably have it along with some Yukon gold and sweet pot.

Oh yes!! I have some of these but probably not nearly enough for the garden and once I get the greenhouse going, I want to ramp up production to prepare for winter.. My sweet daughter gave me a book on canning for my birthday last year.. I have a canning pot but not a pressure cooker yet..

I would get some too - some have black necks.
What about RIR? This past Summer Jack's were "throwing eggs at him".

Yes I can handle the black skinned NN.. As for RIR they are just too plain of a chicken for me... I know I am being prejudices but like really pretty chickens and no offense RIR do not do it for me.. We have one that was given to me and her name is "Ugly Girl" because compared to the rest of my flock she is .... Just saying!!! On a side note my male peacock thinks she is hot and follows her around most times..

A food swap sounds like a fabulous idea. To take this a step farther... there are a number of us who live to can. I make some pretty darned good jams and jellies (ask Dusti!), and a marinara that would curl your toes. The secret to good pickles, however, has thus far eluded me.

I'd be happy to turn somebody's extra produce into spreadable breakfast love. And if you're not interested in an immediate return... I've really been wanting to try my hand at homemade wine, but my fruit trees aren't producing enough right now. I'm hoping this will be a good year for the pear tree, and the peach tree put out a lot last year but the wasps did too, so I picked up mosquito netting. The apple, nectarine and plum trees are still new, though.

Here's a related question regarding wild blackberries. I remember picking them as a kid and coming home with buckets and buckets. Now I'm pretty sure I need a honeybee nucleus planted in my back acreage, because I so rarely see bees and the blackberries grow so sparsely. Are any of you having this problem? I'm planning on getting a nuc, just haven't gotten around to it yet. If you guys have this problem, do you have any harvesting strategies to maximize yield?

That is a great idea.. I am going to get the plants and grow blackberrys, etc. but that will take a while.. Need to plant some more food trees since most of mine have not done well in the drought.. I do have two mulberry trees and was considering what to do with those if they produce this year..

We are on 12 acres here, there is at least two of that nearly covered in blackberries, we can still pick them by the gallon buckets nearly daily when they are in season. We do have a few wild hives in hollow trees on the property and adjoining, the bees have been here since I was a child although I have heard that many are loosing theirs in the area. In the event we quit seeing them, I would put some out myself.

So let me know when I need to bring a bucket... hehehe!

Let me know on the research on what you find out. I would like to do it naturally but I also want to know 1. its not going to hurt them and 2. its effective.

That is actually very interesting. Maybe if that is what they find they did during those days then possibly we are still suppose to have a sleep pattern like that. And if we are then maybe that is why we have sleep disorders today. I can see how you would feel refreshed instead of sleep a continual 8 hours. I think they found that if you sleep less you live longer... or its healthier... don't quote me on it but still interesting. I love facts about the things way were and what people did in the past. Thank you for sharing!!!


Now that I have 3 incubators going I have lost sleep trying to get all 3 temps regulated. I think I finally got to bed around 2.

I have two thermometers. One is a smaller meat thermometer and I think it is more accurate than the thermometer that is more for the house. When I put the meat therm. in the bator it will read at 99 while the house one will read 97. The cheap therm. on the incubator (that is mounted in the Styrofoam and I don't use because I don't trust it either way) it will read 97 as well. I have tried to calebrate (or just check to see accuracy) with ice water and the meat therm. reads 32... the other I can't put in water and wont read correctly when in a baggie (I tried). So should I go ahead and trust the meat thermometer? I would think it was more accurate since it has to be created to read meat temps which I would think is pretty critical. Is there another method to check them?

I have read that you can not OD chickens on garlic, you can dogs and garlic is supposedly toxic to cats but I have cats who love garlic..

Walmart sells digital thermometers/hydrometer for $7 and they seem to be very accurate.. It is funny because people on ebay sell them for like $20 and people flock to buy them...

So just curious does anyone have a extra brooder for sale who is going to the Blanchard auction tonight I have tons of chicks hatching and a full brooder lol

It case of emergency (like getting to many chicks hatching at the same time) clear plastic tubs with lids do great.. If I can find my old pictures of the brooders I build I will try to post them.. but really if you don't have time to go all high tech, just get one of those lamps that clip on, put a chick feeder and waterer in there and cover the top with chicken wire.. It works great in a pinch.

 

[Cjarvis]

Rebecca, they have miniature cows, Guernsey, jersey and a few others, think of them as Bantam cows. Stephanie had talked about getting into them a few years ago, I told her we would have re-name the place Bantam Acres.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Rebecca, they have miniature cows, Guernsey, jersey and a few others, think of them as Bantam cows. Stephanie had talked about getting into them a few years ago, I told her we would have re-name the place Bantam Acres.

Living in Cow-country, how have I never heard of mini-cows??? I did a search and they are AWESOME. One rancher has them under 36 inches! I think I need one now!

 

[NanaKat]

Rebecca, I have a great recipe for yogurt made with milk. You can drain the whey from it and make cheese spread. And some fail proof pickle recipes. You can make soap with milk too. Sounds like you need to start a cottage industry....

Had a nice visit today by a young couple from LittleRock interested in Columbian Wyandotte. Mentioned to them about our OKIE get togethers. He is a new BYC member too.

We are going to have a heat wave of 64 on Saturday...May have to find my bathing suit. Lol
I'm getting anxious to start some garden seedlings...but I need to finish up the taxes first.

 

[mjgigax]

Rebecca, I know what you mean about RIRs being ugly but what about the dark, "heritage" ones. I love their deep red color. It can shine with that green beetle sheen like black birds can. I don't really know if they are a true heritage line or if that label is just to make them seem special but I love their color and the ones I have felt with are friendly and curious. You know how i love friendly birds.

 

[jcatblum]

Thursday as we were bringing some packages in the day had a BCM run inside. Pushed her back out, she managed to get back in the next time the door opened. Pushed her back out with my foot again. Then she came in a third time!! Taron took her wrapped her in a towel, warmed her legs, got all the snow off her, fed her some treats. She was a happy chicken then!

Is there going to be a 2014 poops???? Our calendar is filling up fast & need to make sure I leave that weeekend open of possible.

 

[muesky]

Rebecca, they have miniature cows, Guernsey, jersey and a few others, think of them as Bantam cows. Stephanie had talked about getting into them a few years ago, I told her we would have re-name the place Bantam Acres.

Hummmm mini cows...

Might have to check out that possibility.. For our needs that maybe a better option.

Rebecca, I know what you mean about RIRs being ugly but what about the dark, "heritage" ones. I love their deep red color. It can shine with that green beetle sheen like black birds can. I don't really know if they are a true heritage line or if that label is just to make them seem special but I love their color and the ones I have felt with are friendly and curious. You know how i love friendly birds.

I don't know... We have been talking about orpingtons, spitzhabans, something along those lines. So many chickens, so many possibilities... hehehe!

 

[Ksane]

We had a 4.4 earthquake right by our house last night. Me and Channing and the Chihuahua were up in the loft bedroom and the whole room was shaking. It said the epi center (however it's spelled) was right where we are.
On our way to pick up the 2 Oreo boys from Kass. It's cold and cloudy and rainy out.

 

[NanaKat]

Rebecca, check out Buckeyes. They are also a Heritage breed and are mahogany red.

Kane, hope you had no structural damage! The quakes last year and the aftershocks pulled the sheet rock cracks in the walls and ceilings open and loosened nails. Also had damage to the chimneys...actually turned them causing cracks.