Stella's Social Club
- Thread starter The Sheriff
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #3,192
I think my hatch is complete. I still have two eggs with chicks barely moving inside, but the rest are obviously gone. I will leave them all in the incubator for one more day. I am so tempted to help the two that are still alive but I know how dumb an idea that is. They are ready to hatch. There is no visible blood or fluid, just chick. But helping never goes well for me.
I am pleased with what I got considering the temperature problems I had during the freeze. I ended up with one black Isbar, but it can't keep itself off it's back. Maybe it will get stronger today. I got one splash Isbar that also wants to stay on it's back but can roll over. The black Isbar is teeny tiny. The little Icelandic pullet egg did not make it to pip. Then I got six dark egg layers out of 24 that I set. I would be disappointed if it were a normal incubation, but considering the nights at 82 degrees, I am lucky to have any!
I moved them into the Hovabator for final drying and fluffing. I will probably keep them in the basement for a few days until the weather improves and I can get the brooder house insulated or at leaf warmed up. I don't think just having the Eco-Glow is enough in this weather.
I may buy a few more of the dark egg layers and try again. I will probably keep the Isbars as well since I culled that group down to 6. There is room for two more but eight is the max in the small coops. I am keeping 7 Icelandics plus Stella so I will move my four layer girls into that coop when my dark egg layers need a coop. That coop and run are larger and can accommodate quite a few more birds than the smaller ones. I am also planning to move a couple of the cream leg bar girls with darker coloring into the layer coop as well. I ordered more cream leg bar day olds for my cream legbar program. I think it is a good plan!
Here are the new additions:
I am pleased with what I got considering the temperature problems I had during the freeze. I ended up with one black Isbar, but it can't keep itself off it's back. Maybe it will get stronger today. I got one splash Isbar that also wants to stay on it's back but can roll over. The black Isbar is teeny tiny. The little Icelandic pullet egg did not make it to pip. Then I got six dark egg layers out of 24 that I set. I would be disappointed if it were a normal incubation, but considering the nights at 82 degrees, I am lucky to have any!
I moved them into the Hovabator for final drying and fluffing. I will probably keep them in the basement for a few days until the weather improves and I can get the brooder house insulated or at leaf warmed up. I don't think just having the Eco-Glow is enough in this weather.
I may buy a few more of the dark egg layers and try again. I will probably keep the Isbars as well since I culled that group down to 6. There is room for two more but eight is the max in the small coops. I am keeping 7 Icelandics plus Stella so I will move my four layer girls into that coop when my dark egg layers need a coop. That coop and run are larger and can accommodate quite a few more birds than the smaller ones. I am also planning to move a couple of the cream leg bar girls with darker coloring into the layer coop as well. I ordered more cream leg bar day olds for my cream legbar program. I think it is a good plan!
Here are the new additions:
- Thread starter
- #3,193
I am off to the dentist! Hopefully I will be back with good news soon.
Good luck!I am off to the dentist! Hopefully I will be back with good news soon.
Who says Michael gets to pick your friends?BTW Kelly, Michael said that due to your rude comment about poor little Diana, you can no longer be my friend. It is entirely possible she suffers from a glandular problem. Like me.
From this blog....
What do ya think?
Quote:
Did you know that household bleach can interact with the ammonia created by decomposing chicken feces and result in toxic gases building up in your coop? Don't despair though, there are common natural ingredients you can use that boast every bit of the antiseptic and cleaning power of bleach - without the fumes.
Last year we found ourselves at the forefront of a movement towards using natural vinegar/citrus-based cleaners for your coop instead of bleach. In fact, my 'recipe' for Orange Peel White Vinegar Cool Cleaner is one of our most-viewed blog posts ever - and variations have appeared subsequently on other blogs and even in Backyard Poultry magazine.
Lately it seems that vodka-based cleaners are all the rage. We're a bit late to this party it seems, but I was intrigued enough to give it a try and weigh in on it.
But to back up a bit...recently we went to see the new James Bond movie.
It was excellent, but as I was watching, I found myself wishing the producers would include in one of the Bond movies a scene of Mr. Bond eating breakfast and requesting Marans eggs. In the original book series written by Ian Fleming, the Bond character would only eat eggs from French Marans chickens, believing them to be superior in quality and flavor. [Read more on Marans HERE...]
I only mention this because as Bond ordered his signature drink 'shaken not stirred' I was reminded that I really should be home working on this blog post, not lounging at the movies! (Kidding...but it sounded good, didn't it?) In reality, I lounge just as much as the next girl....but I digress.
I have been using my vinegar-based coop cleaning concoction for months now, and while I find it extremely effective, it takes awhile to 'age' and for the vinegar scent to dissipate (which it never really completely does and I find the vinegar scent, however fleeting, to be a bit off-putting.) Vodka on the other hand, widely used as a household cleaner, is odorless, nontoxic (at least in reasonable amounts!), inexpensive and extremely effective. It also can be used immediately since there is no odor to worry about.
After browsing Pinterest for inspiration, HERE, HERE and HERE, and deciding that the vodka wouldn't harm our chickens (since the vodka evaporates extremely quickly and there is no odor, that's a no-brainer, I just wouldn't allow them access while you are cleaning - which is good advice regardless of what you use to clean your coop), I decided to whip up a batch of vodka coop cleaner, incorporating the same ingredients I use in my vinegar cleaner but replacing the vinegar with vodka and switching out the orange peel for lemon peel.
The Ingredients
Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Finding a partial bottle of vanilla vodka wedged in the back of our freezer, I decided to use that. I added the peel from one lemon, one split vanilla bean and one cinnamon stick for each pint canning jar and then added enough vodka to cover.
Although ready to use right away, I opted to let the mixture sit for a few days for the ingredients to mellow a bit and a deeper aroma to develop.
I left the jars on the counter and shook them up a few times a day.
I also mixed up a batch directly in a squirt bottle to use immediately.
The Verdict:
Several months ago, white vinegar cleaners were making their rounds of the internet, now it seems vodka is the new 'IT' cleaning ingredient. I, for one, am sold on it. I am heading out to buy the cheapest bottle of vodka I can find!
This vodka-based cleaner smells so nice. Also, in addition to being odorless, vodka actually kills bugs instead of just repelling them like vinegar does. It also cleans windows, stainless steel and granite. Our kitchen is now spotless. The cleaner works on bathroom tile, counters, tubs, showers and all other hard surfaces. In fact I just used some to clean the inside of my car windows.
I keep a bottle in the coop and one on the kitchen counter, shaking each up every few days to redistribute the contents.
So from now on my coop cleaning products will be shaken - not stirred. Thank you 007 and Pinterest for the inspiration! [Cue Bond theme song and fade to black...]
What do ya think?
Quote:
My latest all natural chicken-keeping concoction borrows it's name from the James Bond franchise: Vodka - Shaken not Stirred - Natural Coop Cleaner.Did you know that household bleach can interact with the ammonia created by decomposing chicken feces and result in toxic gases building up in your coop? Don't despair though, there are common natural ingredients you can use that boast every bit of the antiseptic and cleaning power of bleach - without the fumes.
Last year we found ourselves at the forefront of a movement towards using natural vinegar/citrus-based cleaners for your coop instead of bleach. In fact, my 'recipe' for Orange Peel White Vinegar Cool Cleaner is one of our most-viewed blog posts ever - and variations have appeared subsequently on other blogs and even in Backyard Poultry magazine.
Lately it seems that vodka-based cleaners are all the rage. We're a bit late to this party it seems, but I was intrigued enough to give it a try and weigh in on it.
But to back up a bit...recently we went to see the new James Bond movie.
I only mention this because as Bond ordered his signature drink 'shaken not stirred' I was reminded that I really should be home working on this blog post, not lounging at the movies! (Kidding...but it sounded good, didn't it?) In reality, I lounge just as much as the next girl....but I digress.
I have been using my vinegar-based coop cleaning concoction for months now, and while I find it extremely effective, it takes awhile to 'age' and for the vinegar scent to dissipate (which it never really completely does and I find the vinegar scent, however fleeting, to be a bit off-putting.) Vodka on the other hand, widely used as a household cleaner, is odorless, nontoxic (at least in reasonable amounts!), inexpensive and extremely effective. It also can be used immediately since there is no odor to worry about.
After browsing Pinterest for inspiration, HERE, HERE and HERE, and deciding that the vodka wouldn't harm our chickens (since the vodka evaporates extremely quickly and there is no odor, that's a no-brainer, I just wouldn't allow them access while you are cleaning - which is good advice regardless of what you use to clean your coop), I decided to whip up a batch of vodka coop cleaner, incorporating the same ingredients I use in my vinegar cleaner but replacing the vinegar with vodka and switching out the orange peel for lemon peel.
The Ingredients
Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Although ready to use right away, I opted to let the mixture sit for a few days for the ingredients to mellow a bit and a deeper aroma to develop.
I left the jars on the counter and shook them up a few times a day.
I also mixed up a batch directly in a squirt bottle to use immediately.
The Verdict:
Several months ago, white vinegar cleaners were making their rounds of the internet, now it seems vodka is the new 'IT' cleaning ingredient. I, for one, am sold on it. I am heading out to buy the cheapest bottle of vodka I can find!
This vodka-based cleaner smells so nice. Also, in addition to being odorless, vodka actually kills bugs instead of just repelling them like vinegar does. It also cleans windows, stainless steel and granite. Our kitchen is now spotless. The cleaner works on bathroom tile, counters, tubs, showers and all other hard surfaces. In fact I just used some to clean the inside of my car windows.
I keep a bottle in the coop and one on the kitchen counter, shaking each up every few days to redistribute the contents.
So from now on my coop cleaning products will be shaken - not stirred. Thank you 007 and Pinterest for the inspiration! [Cue Bond theme song and fade to black...]
From this blog....
What do ya think?
Quote:
My latest all natural chicken-keeping concoction borrows it's name from the James Bond franchise: Vodka - Shaken not Stirred - Natural Coop Cleaner.
Did you know that household bleach can interact with the ammonia created by decomposing chicken feces and result in toxic gases building up in your coop? Don't despair though, there are common natural ingredients you can use that boast every bit of the antiseptic and cleaning power of bleach - without the fumes.
Last year we found ourselves at the forefront of a movement towards using natural vinegar/citrus-based cleaners for your coop instead of bleach. In fact, my 'recipe' for Orange Peel White Vinegar Cool Cleaner is one of our most-viewed blog posts ever - and variations have appeared subsequently on other blogs and even in Backyard Poultry magazine.
Lately it seems that vodka-based cleaners are all the rage. We're a bit late to this party it seems, but I was intrigued enough to give it a try and weigh in on it.
But to back up a bit...recently we went to see the new James Bond movie.
It was excellent, but as I was watching, I found myself wishing the producers would include in one of the Bond movies a scene of Mr. Bond eating breakfast and requesting Marans eggs. In the original book series written by Ian Fleming, the Bond character would only eat eggs from French Marans chickens, believing them to be superior in quality and flavor. [Read more on Marans HERE...]
I only mention this because as Bond ordered his signature drink 'shaken not stirred' I was reminded that I really should be home working on this blog post, not lounging at the movies! (Kidding...but it sounded good, didn't it?) In reality, I lounge just as much as the next girl....but I digress.
I have been using my vinegar-based coop cleaning concoction for months now, and while I find it extremely effective, it takes awhile to 'age' and for the vinegar scent to dissipate (which it never really completely does and I find the vinegar scent, however fleeting, to be a bit off-putting.) Vodka on the other hand, widely used as a household cleaner, is odorless, nontoxic (at least in reasonable amounts!), inexpensive and extremely effective. It also can be used immediately since there is no odor to worry about.
After browsing Pinterest for inspiration, HERE, HERE and HERE, and deciding that the vodka wouldn't harm our chickens (since the vodka evaporates extremely quickly and there is no odor, that's a no-brainer, I just wouldn't allow them access while you are cleaning - which is good advice regardless of what you use to clean your coop), I decided to whip up a batch of vodka coop cleaner, incorporating the same ingredients I use in my vinegar cleaner but replacing the vinegar with vodka and switching out the orange peel for lemon peel.
The Ingredients
Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Finding a partial bottle of vanilla vodka wedged in the back of our freezer, I decided to use that. I added the peel from one lemon, one split vanilla bean and one cinnamon stick for each pint canning jar and then added enough vodka to cover.Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Although ready to use right away, I opted to let the mixture sit for a few days for the ingredients to mellow a bit and a deeper aroma to develop.
I left the jars on the counter and shook them up a few times a day.
I also mixed up a batch directly in a squirt bottle to use immediately.
The Verdict:
Several months ago, white vinegar cleaners were making their rounds of the internet, now it seems vodka is the new 'IT' cleaning ingredient. I, for one, am sold on it. I am heading out to buy the cheapest bottle of vodka I can find!
This vodka-based cleaner smells so nice. Also, in addition to being odorless, vodka actually kills bugs instead of just repelling them like vinegar does. It also cleans windows, stainless steel and granite. Our kitchen is now spotless. The cleaner works on bathroom tile, counters, tubs, showers and all other hard surfaces. In fact I just used some to clean the inside of my car windows.
I keep a bottle in the coop and one on the kitchen counter, shaking each up every few days to redistribute the contents.
So from now on my coop cleaning products will be shaken - not stirred. Thank you 007 and Pinterest for the inspiration! [Cue Bond theme song and fade to black...]
I used vinegar to clean the walls in a bathroom this weekend, and the room still smells like a pickle....
From this blog....
What do ya think?
Quote:
My latest all natural chicken-keeping concoction borrows it's name from the James Bond franchise: Vodka - Shaken not Stirred - Natural Coop Cleaner.
Did you know that household bleach can interact with the ammonia created by decomposing chicken feces and result in toxic gases building up in your coop? Don't despair though, there are common natural ingredients you can use that boast every bit of the antiseptic and cleaning power of bleach - without the fumes.
Last year we found ourselves at the forefront of a movement towards using natural vinegar/citrus-based cleaners for your coop instead of bleach. In fact, my 'recipe' for Orange Peel White Vinegar Cool Cleaner is one of our most-viewed blog posts ever - and variations have appeared subsequently on other blogs and even in Backyard Poultry magazine.
Lately it seems that vodka-based cleaners are all the rage. We're a bit late to this party it seems, but I was intrigued enough to give it a try and weigh in on it.
But to back up a bit...recently we went to see the new James Bond movie.
It was excellent, but as I was watching, I found myself wishing the producers would include in one of the Bond movies a scene of Mr. Bond eating breakfast and requesting Marans eggs. In the original book series written by Ian Fleming, the Bond character would only eat eggs from French Marans chickens, believing them to be superior in quality and flavor. [Read more on Marans HERE...]
I only mention this because as Bond ordered his signature drink 'shaken not stirred' I was reminded that I really should be home working on this blog post, not lounging at the movies! (Kidding...but it sounded good, didn't it?) In reality, I lounge just as much as the next girl....but I digress.
I have been using my vinegar-based coop cleaning concoction for months now, and while I find it extremely effective, it takes awhile to 'age' and for the vinegar scent to dissipate (which it never really completely does and I find the vinegar scent, however fleeting, to be a bit off-putting.) Vodka on the other hand, widely used as a household cleaner, is odorless, nontoxic (at least in reasonable amounts!), inexpensive and extremely effective. It also can be used immediately since there is no odor to worry about.
After browsing Pinterest for inspiration, HERE, HERE and HERE, and deciding that the vodka wouldn't harm our chickens (since the vodka evaporates extremely quickly and there is no odor, that's a no-brainer, I just wouldn't allow them access while you are cleaning - which is good advice regardless of what you use to clean your coop), I decided to whip up a batch of vodka coop cleaner, incorporating the same ingredients I use in my vinegar cleaner but replacing the vinegar with vodka and switching out the orange peel for lemon peel.
The Ingredients
Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Finding a partial bottle of vanilla vodka wedged in the back of our freezer, I decided to use that. I added the peel from one lemon, one split vanilla bean and one cinnamon stick for each pint canning jar and then added enough vodka to cover.Vodka - insecticide, antibacterial, kills mold and mildew
Lemon Peel - solvent, insect repellent
Cinnamon stick - fragrant, kills mosquito larvae
Vanilla Bean - fragrant, insect repellent
Although ready to use right away, I opted to let the mixture sit for a few days for the ingredients to mellow a bit and a deeper aroma to develop.
I left the jars on the counter and shook them up a few times a day.
I also mixed up a batch directly in a squirt bottle to use immediately.
The Verdict:
Several months ago, white vinegar cleaners were making their rounds of the internet, now it seems vodka is the new 'IT' cleaning ingredient. I, for one, am sold on it. I am heading out to buy the cheapest bottle of vodka I can find!
This vodka-based cleaner smells so nice. Also, in addition to being odorless, vodka actually kills bugs instead of just repelling them like vinegar does. It also cleans windows, stainless steel and granite. Our kitchen is now spotless. The cleaner works on bathroom tile, counters, tubs, showers and all other hard surfaces. In fact I just used some to clean the inside of my car windows.
I keep a bottle in the coop and one on the kitchen counter, shaking each up every few days to redistribute the contents.
So from now on my coop cleaning products will be shaken - not stirred. Thank you 007 and Pinterest for the inspiration! [Cue Bond theme song and fade to black...]
Quote:
Vodka does not freeze so you could use it. Of course you might freeze.....
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