Surviving Minnesota!

[MNChickMom]

4H is by far on of the best investments of time and resources. Benton County has a large 4H presence and it gives the kids pride in their hard work. At least mine were happy with the premium checks, however tiny they were. But as Mom of Twins+3 said FAIR Week = Chaos!

Funny StoryTime: So my 12 year old daughter attends a private school that specializes in dyslexia...they are doing their annual Saints in Service project. Each family is asked to volunteer 2 hours of time either with the work-a-thon or privately. If you choose the private work, you must get a letter from the recipient verifying the time. Well as fate would have it my brother in law was injured in a harvest accident, and my sister is 5 months pregnant with 2nd child. So we spent the weekend dehorning, casterating, vaccinating and pregnancy checking their herd of dairy animals and a few black angries ...I mean black angus. We also did some building modifications like install automatic calf feeder to make things easier on my sister. So daughter turned in the letter and within an hour I received an email from principal. "You seriously did all this....yup....when family is involved you do anything." So now daughter gets to appear on a get motivated video.....I will need to make sure daughter understands to make this a G rated video. If everyone would take the time to instill the values of work together and volunteering to help each other out...imagine we could make AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

I think the Presidential debates are getting to me.

 

[Momof3plustwins]

4H is by far on of the best investments of time and resources. Benton County has a large 4H presence and it gives the kids pride in their hard work. At least mine were happy with the premium checks, however tiny they were. But as Mom of Twins+3 said FAIR Week = Chaos!

Funny StoryTime: So my 12 year old daughter attends a private school that specializes in dyslexia...they are doing their annual Saints in Service project. Each family is asked to volunteer 2 hours of time either with the work-a-thon or privately. If you choose the private work, you must get a letter from the recipient verifying the time. Well as fate would have it my brother in law was injured in a harvest accident, and my sister is 5 months pregnant with 2nd child. So we spent the weekend dehorning, casterating, vaccinating and pregnancy checking their herd of dairy animals and a few black angries ...I mean black angus. We also did some building modifications like install automatic calf feeder to make things easier on my sister. So daughter turned in the letter and within an hour I received an email from principal. "You seriously did all this....yup....when family is involved you do anything." So now daughter gets to appear on a get motivated video.....I will need to make sure daughter understands to make this a G rated video. If everyone would take the time to instill the values of work together and volunteering to help each other out...imagine we could make AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.



I think the Presidential debates are getting to me.

I don't listen to them any more but it won't take one of them to make AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. It really will take all of us doing these things with our children and showing them what it means to be a responsible citizen and how to help take care of those around us. Government handouts aren't the way. Helping and showing genuine interest in those around us is what will change things. I agree with you!

 

[Minniechickmama]

I meant more on toughness/tenderness. At what point do they get more tough? Under a year table birds and over a year stew birds?

Up to about 5-6 months, but you need to factor in how much running around they do. After 6 months, I would suggest slow cooking or pressure cooking them to get them good and tender. I have mentioned before, if I butcher extra roosters here, they go into canning jars with makes them just fall apart and you never get better chicken taste than canning with bones in.

I butchered some roosters this year....Hatch date April 7th Cooking date was September 20th and they were tough. (I think it may have been because they were Barred Rock and Buff Orpington....the buffs were regular pains.)

Did you wait 3 or 4 days after butcher or freeze them before eating? If they aren't allowed to rest so the muscle relaxed, it can still come out stringy. The older they are and the more they get out and run around, the more firm the meat becomes. Usually after 6 months, they are getting chewy. I like to freeze mine and thaw them again before cooking them. I wouldn't leave a bird in the fridge for more than 2 days before cooking, even homegrown ones.

I think BYC is having email issues with my account. I got another slew of midnight email notifications of posts and ovations and stuff for things that happens during the day yesterday. It confused me when k wake up from a dead sleep to an erratically buzzing phone

I stopped all notifications. I just check what is up when I can. Same for Facebook, I get none of that sent to my phone or my e-mail.

In regards to 4H I loved my time in the club as a youth and I would say that it taught me many life skills. I hope kids are still interested in that.

I hope some day to get involved again and be able to 'lease" animals to kids to show who can't raise their own. I haven't yet because I no longer have any contacts in the local extension office. Some day though...

I had a great experience also and got my kids into it. They have either left for other things or outgrown their time in 4-H, but I still help out some and do lease animals/birds to kids who need some. You should call the county office and get your name out when you have something you want to share with youth that you have available for lease.

Oh I plan on letting them join again in a few years. I just needed a break and something had to give.

We give them a lot of hands on life skills at home too. We run a family construction company and the kids work with their dad on and off all summer long. Plus all the animal chores. There is a lot of learning in their daily lives.

Our eldest daughter has friends who don't like us raising chickens and don't think our eggs are better than store eggs and so on. I told her it is fine that her friends believe what they want but they should watch Food, Inc. on Netflix. They are a bit on animal rights side but I don't think as 13 year olds they realize that our chickens are raised much more humanly than anything bought in the store. They will grow up one day.

My BFF is a vegan because she is in protest of how animals are raised for slaughter. She says she would eat my eggs because she knows where they come from, but she not longer eats eggs, butter, maybe even cheese. She knows better than to say much to me about HER choices. I do give her the courtesy of not informing her of when I am processing the meat rabbits. The rest of it is just the fact of life for most people. If they don't like the lifestyle I live, then they don't have to live it. I can't stand those people who try telling me how to live my life though.

4H is by far on of the best investments of time and resources. Benton County has a large 4H presence and it gives the kids pride in their hard work. At least mine were happy with the premium checks, however tiny they were. But as Mom of Twins+3 said FAIR Week = Chaos!

Funny StoryTime: So my 12 year old daughter attends a private school that specializes in dyslexia...they are doing their annual Saints in Service project. Each family is asked to volunteer 2 hours of time either with the work-a-thon or privately. If you choose the private work, you must get a letter from the recipient verifying the time. Well as fate would have it my brother in law was injured in a harvest accident, and my sister is 5 months pregnant with 2nd child. So we spent the weekend dehorning, casterating, vaccinating and pregnancy checking their herd of dairy animals and a few black angries ...I mean black angus. We also did some building modifications like install automatic calf feeder to make things easier on my sister. So daughter turned in the letter and within an hour I received an email from principal. "You seriously did all this....yup....when family is involved you do anything." So now daughter gets to appear on a get motivated video.....I will need to make sure daughter understands to make this a G rated video. If everyone would take the time to instill the values of work together and volunteering to help each other out...imagine we could make AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

I think the Presidential debates are getting to me.

What an experience! It sounds like you got her on the right track with standing up and helping others and with being there for family all in one shot.
I laugh at your Black Angries. I never found them to be too angry, the Shorthorns though, yowser!!!

 

[Minniechickmama]

I took half of my meatballs (CRX) in to process today. I got the lady running Denison Meat Locker to let me split between this week and next. Mine have not grown for beans this year! I am so disgusted. She said a lot of people have been saying the same thing, and so did my neighbor who grew some out this Spring. I took 18 and will take the other 18 next week. I took the smaller ones this week and will have more like Cornish Game hens, well, a little bigger than that, but not the broilers we are used to here. I am sure that will work well for our son in Rochester who has been helping us out all summer and I told him I would give him some chicken from this year's crop. Now to teach him to cook

. I thought I had taught him enough basics here before he moved out, but apparently not. We will likely be cooking up two at a time this year when we do them here though. I hope the others going in will get at least a 4# carcass on some of them, though, I am not that hopeful at this point. I will be back to Summer chickens for the freezer from now on.

Off to clean the freezer. I have half a pig waiting for me to pick it up in West Concord too.

You all enjoy the sunshine today and warmer temps.

 

[Violetsfeathers]

Today I came home and my partridge Cochin bantam hen was just sitting in a corner a little fluffed up and closing her eyes. I think she is sick, she breathes hard when I pick her up but not with her mouth open.
I don't know what is wrong with her what should I do?

 

[KlopKlop]

I took  half of my meatballs (CRX) in to process today.  I got the lady running Denison Meat Locker to let me split between this week and next.  Mine have not grown for beans this year!  I am so disgusted.  She said a lot of people have been saying the same thing, and so did my neighbor who grew some out this Spring.  I took 18 and will take the other 18 next week.  I took the smaller ones this week and will have more like Cornish Game hens, well, a little bigger than that, but not the broilers we are used to here.  I am sure that will work well for our son in Rochester who has been helping us out all summer and I told him I would give him some chicken from this year's crop.  Now to teach him to cook  .  I thought I had taught him enough basics here before he moved out, but apparently not.  We will likely be cooking up two at a time this year when we do them here though.  I hope the others going in will get at least a 4# carcass on some of them, though, I am not that hopeful at this point.  I will be back to Summer chickens for the freezer from now on.

Off to clean the freezer.  I have half a pig waiting for me to pick it up in West Concord too.  


You all enjoy the sunshine today and warmer temps.  

Maybe it was the wet weather? I agree mine took extra long to get decent sized too. Nothing close to what I had last year.

There seems to have been less bugs this year in terms of everything besides misquitos. Maybe that has something to do with it

 

[ejb3810]

Layers, nice photo of your team.

Ralphie, whatever works for you on the PC. I do not need him til spring, so I am very flexible on his arrival time.

I picked my final picking of the raspberry season on Saturday. Enough to make two large pies. One for me and my son, and one for my FIL. They were of course constructed by my wife.
For a late season variety you can't beat Polana. It is very productive with large sweet berries.

 

[lvie]

Quote:
ah - that explains. Man that 's' when the phone wakes a person up.

 

[lvie]

Well, I lost the RIR and am in mourning. She was doing fine and I took her outside, set her on the patio while I went to prepare her a separate place in the coop. I came back and she is gone. That was this morning. I looked forever this morning. no sign of her. And then I watched, walking the river bank off and on all day. She took a drink from the waterer when I put her down so I know she was doing okay. I am so sad!

Other than that I worked outside all day. Finished enclosing the big coop and transferred three older girls to the smaller coop. They are pecking alot at the younger girls. Enough of that. Especially when there is another coop available.

Sad day for me.

 

[KlopKlop]

Garlic is in! man o man i forgot how much work it is to break down that much garlic in one sitting! haha i probably planted twice what i did last year and im still thinking maybe i should go put a little more in