The Old Folks Home

[Arielle]

Oops, sorry! This wasn't that type of flea market -- no birds or animals of any kind.

Some flea markets do have animals and birds. THe othery type are fun too!

We specialize in never paying full price. DH and I try to out do each other with the least paid for groceries,etc, all without coupons usually. Good foods, like meats, vegies and fruits, don't have coupons. So coupons are limited to the few paper goods and soaps and the like.

WE even try to use cloth, like a white face cloth, for napkins. Have you seen how many napkins a kid can use?? If 2 will work, be sure to grab 10!! LOL

When we get a mass amount of a food, like perishable mushrooms, I saute them all and freeze in batches separated by wax paper in a reused yogurt container.

Chickens are great for cleaning out the refrig and leftovers from the kids. How many kids can finish the huge sandwhich they made. I don't get upset over it,"Just throw it to the dogs or chickens if you don't finish it, ANd please, next time, make a smaller sandwhich; you can always make a second one. " I love having rotties and chickens--between the two, NO left overs.

 

[Stumpy]

I try to be frugal in a lot of ways, too. When a towel gets worn, I cut it into squares, serge around them, and use them for dishwashing rags.

This summer I have done almost nothing but work on my chicken run, so I haven't done the usual jelly-making, etc. I really want to do more dehydrating. After I saw a great buy on onions in bulk, I dehydrated about 45 pounds of onions. It is really handy to have them on hand, but what a job! I do the same with mushrooms when they are on sale. A lot of what I used to put in the compost now goes directly to the chickens.

 

[Arielle]

So many easy ways to save. Great way to make good wash rags! I love onions!!

Even my kids have gotten used to eating whatever I buy on sale. ANd I try to teach them to eat what is in season as it is cheaper. Save the oranges for winter eating. And eat the watermelon in the summer. I showed them eating zucchini can be like cukes if dipped in their favorite ranch dressing.

 

[GardenerGal]

I am loving these ideas for saving $$. BYC is a multi-purpose website!

How about foraging for wild foods? In the spring, dandelion greens, tender young Japanese knotweed shoots, garlic mustard, etc. is all over the place here. Instead of fighting it, we eat it. Raw in salads or steamed and tossed with garlic, olive oil and chopped bacon, dandeIions and other wild greens are delicious and nutritious. But you have to pick it young before it gets bitter and tough.
The young shoots of cattails are edible, too. You peel away the outer fibrous layers, and the tender heart is like cucumber. Cattail tubers can be steamed and eaten like a potato. I have a stand of bamboo, and every spring for a couple of months the new shoots come up by the hundreds. There's more than we can eat. I am going to sautee and freeze them next time (thanks to the idea with the mushrooms, Arielle).

I have cloth napkins - they are what people used before paper companies saw they could make a fortune by selling disposable paper ones. If you use inexpensive white cotton or cotton-linen blend dinner napkins, you can wash them with a little bleach to get the stains out and keep them sanitary.

BTW, bleach is a cheap, all-purpose sanitizer for everything. Diluted it can even be an antiseptic in an emergency. And instead of paying too much for Drano or other drain de-clogger, just use bleach for simple clogs of soap, grease and hair. The active ingredient in most drain de-cloggers, is BLEACH but a small bottle of de-clogger costs more than a big jug of bleach. Same for those mildew-killer sprays for the shower. Bleach again!

 

[Wisher1000]

I missed one of my favorite hens Wednesday evening. She was a blue and red EE named Scarlet. I grieved for her as I thought she was taken by whatever it is that has been running off with my birds for the past few weeks. Today, I had to work and when I got home, DH said he found one of my chickens. She was found dead in our storage building. It is right by the coop and she undoubtedly wandered in, unnoticed, behind someone and was accidentally locked in. It has been unbearably hot outside and an oven in the shed. I am so sad, she was a friendly, inquisitive bird who laid a nice sea foam green egg. She had recently started flying up to my arm to get the first of the cracked corn as I was scooping it from the bag. I, and her sister, Bonnie, will miss her. I would have preferred a predator had taken her.....

 

[Stumpy]

 

[yinepu]

I see you lurking there!

Okay, lets start a discussion. I have 45 or so chickens and three guineas. I want everything else I see, goats, geese, llamas, donkeys. I am conflicted between my love of my animals and the concessions my family has to make for me to have them. There is the time I must devote to them, the money I spend that could be put elsewhere and the emotional attachment I develope. Is there anyone else who worries that they are not being fair to the rest of the clan?

Hi Wisher and everyone else... yeah.. I finally logged on and got my invite!

My kids think I'm replacing them with chickens and goats and such. Maybe I am, OH well. I come into the house when they are around.

I have 30 chickens and only use around 100 pounds of food a month! What kind of food are you using? Better food lasts longer because they eat less.

I wish I could feed so little every month! It takes me a full 2 hours every morning just to feed and water the birds and rabbits... equines, dogs and inside critters aren't included in that 2 hours.

Have your kids moved out? If so, why shouldn't you replace the companionship and feelings of being needed with something you enjoy!? I have one grown daughter and she doesn't "get" the chickens but that doesn't bother me at all. I have three at home and its the time and money away from them that I sometimes wonder about. I think it is healthy to explore your own interests and having a hobby is healthy. I just may be over-doing it a bit too soon! It's not a big deal to my family. I just wonder....... I can't wait to change and get out to the coop in the afternoon after work. I would MUCH rather be there with the birds than inside listening to kids quarrel, my husband fuss at them, and the tv blare. I NEED that time to relax, wind down after work, and relieve stress. I know that I have a thousand things that need to be done and I sometimes feel guilty that I don't make them a priority, but you know, the chickens and one dance class a week are the only things I do for myself. There are TONS of things I do for everyone else around here!

I use about 50# layer pellets a week in the winter and 50# a month in the summer. That amount grows in the fall and falls off in the spring. I also use starter occasionally and cracked corn for treats. My birds free range all day and are locked in safe at night.

Pretty much coming here and logging on is what I do for myself right now.. really got to get back into my art and guitar playing.

x2.

and thanks, Wisher. I've had a busy summer of conferences and travels, and now I'm in the process of applying to go back to school. So, this year will be madness: I'll be studying, taking tests, and going to interviews; DH will be buying a property in a state 16 hours away (which he is in route to right now to check out properties), fixing up our house, building us a new house, and moving our stuff. Then I'll quit my job of 10+ years, sell (

) my house, and try to move my chickens....

It's probably best if I don't think about it all at once like that...

I'm 30 with no kids. Instead, I have a dog, 2 cats, an aquarium of fish, and um.... 32 chickens, but many of those are chicks growing out. I've been tempted by ducks, goats, and emus, but I've been able to resist temptation knowing that we'd be moving eventually. Because of the chicks' different ages, I've got 4 groups right now, so my chicken chores have quadrupled and are taking much more time than I would like. Still, I'm a teacher on summer vacation, so it's enjoyable for right now. I'll have to find a way to streamline my chores before I go back to work in a couple of weeks.

I've never been west to the land of no humidity. It's so humid in my hollow (which is full of fog every morning) that I have to clean mold off the interior walls of my porch every summer. It's humid... I wonder what a "dry heat" feels like.

No kids here either... the critters are my "kids".. lol.. even the ones that go to "freezer camp"!

EMUS!!!!! we have a bunch.. i must admit they are my favorites of all the birds..

My intention was only to start a conversation among friends, old and new, (or old and young, if you prefer,) that doesn't revolve around a word game or role play and where, hopefully, there will be enough activity that if an interested party can't keep up on another thread, they can pop in here and find some comradery and company for a few minutes.

If you want to come here and relax and enjoy the company, regardless of your age, you are welcome. I have met so many warm and interesting people on BYC that I thought it would be fun to have a casual conversation thread to bring them together. I hope that others will be interested in the same thing and will invite the people THEY have met and enjoyed, here, as well.

And if you really want to talk about your gall bladder surgery, we could do that.......

lets see.. gall bladder surgery.. been there done that got a nasty long scar as a memento.. i did rip out the entire toe nail on my big toe just over a week ago.. (moving cages outside).. does that count?

I somehow managed to come across as some old fuddy duddy, I guess. I know those of you that "know" me from other threads know better, right? I just found that all of my favorite threads, and favorite people that were there, quit being active and I missed them!

I have nothing against children, I have a few of my own and they come in handy sometimes....... I think everyone should own at least one.......

Oh heck NO!.. I'm allergic to children!

Sorry for the delay in answering -I missed this post.

I have little , well actually, NO knowledge about peafowl . Yinepu is a hatching guru, if she is still on BYC, try her.

No the 3 toms, are not individually named. THey are together always, where one goes the others go. I'm not naming them, just in case they are sold, or become dinner. And they act exactly alike, not easy to distinquish between each individual.

I'm still here... just been busy lately working on a new floor for the kitchen plus trying to get a ton of stuff done before my husband gets deployed again this fall...

for peafowl.. i incubate the same way as I do turkeys. they take around 28 to 30 days (give or take a few).. so I candle at 10 days.. temps run the same as for turkeys (99.5 forced air with a drop to 98.5 at "lockdown" when I bump up the humidity).. humidity during incubation depends on the changes in the size of the air cell .. if it gets too big too fast. l increase humidity.. if the air cells aren't shrinking fast enough I decrease the humidity
so pretty much.. if you can hatch out turkeys.. you can hatch out peafowl

I am also having a predator problem. I am losing birds every few days. It could be a hawk, I have seen a large one around lately, but it didn't seem interested in the chickens any of the times I saw it. It may be a fox or coyote. Whatever it is, it takes the chickens during the day, large birds and small. Sometimes two in one day. I have lost six birds in the last three weeks and only found one patch of feathers. Otherwise, they are just gone when it is time to come into the coop at dark. I work full time and can't sit outside all day watching. I really don't want to keep them up, I would rather eliminate the problem. I can't shoot what I can't locate or see, any suggestions?

it's "let's drop off our unwanted starving dog in the country" season here.. lost two cayuga ducks to a stray blue heeler the other day (neighbors saw him running down the dirt road with a duck in his mouth)
the cayugas were some of the "non-cooped" birds.. they go into the protected area at night out of habit... and i can't really blame the dog (he was starving).. but I would love to get a hold of his previous owners... for just 5 minutes in a dark alley.............

gotta go wander off again.. I'll check back in a few days (hopefully tomorrow.. but can't promise anything)

Have fun y'all!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I missed one of my favorite hens Wednesday evening. She was a blue and red EE named Scarlet. I grieved for her as I thought she was taken by whatever it is that has been running off with my birds for the past few weeks. Today, I had to work and when I got home, DH said he found one of my chickens. She was found dead in our storage building. It is right by the coop and she undoubtedly wandered in, unnoticed, behind someone and was accidentally locked in. It has been unbearably hot outside and an oven in the shed. I am so sad, she was a friendly, inquisitive bird who laid a nice sea foam green egg. She had recently started flying up to my arm to get the first of the cracked corn as I was scooping it from the bag. I, and her sister, Bonnie, will miss her. I would have preferred a predator had taken her.....

I'm so sorry

Welcome yinepu... feel free to post some emu pictures for us!

 

[Wisher1000]

Morning Bunnylady!

Yes, by all means, post pics of emu! and peacocks (or hens)! I love to see pics of other peoples farms or coops. I like the mag layouts (did you catch the latest Southern Living?!) with the beautiful little cottage coops, but I would rather see the good old, down home, thoroughly - immersed - in - chicken - math coops of real bird hobbyists. Have y'all noticed how when pics are posted in a thread, there are always comments on what is in the background of the pic? It makes me laugh thinking of all the people sitting there at the monitor, leaning in to focus on the framed photo on the bookshelf in the background of the picture of the injured hen in the infirmary box on the dining room table. Or taking mental inventory of all the items in the garage around a brooder full of new chicks. I think it speaks to the reason forums are so popular. We are all fascinated by glimpses into the lives of people we have never met. We love to compare our own day to day existence with the day to day existence of people in very different circumstances, environments, and locations.

 

[ChestnutRidge]

I missed one of my favorite hens Wednesday evening. She was a blue and red EE named Scarlet.

I'm so sorry.

it's "let's drop off our unwanted starving dog in the country" season here.. lost two cayuga ducks to a stray blue heeler the other day (neighbors saw him running down the dirt road with a duck in his mouth)

Those poor pups. People treat animals like a disposable accessory. They should stick to fake pets on Facebook.

Of course, I love heelers, but they have too much energy for most owners. They are dogs that need a job or they will develop neurotic, maladaptive ways of releasing their energy.

It's also awful to put the dogs in a position where they become a threat to people and their animals. Around here, people think it's fine to let their dogs run loose to sow their wild oats. Then they start running in small packs, usually pairs. When strays have been seen in the yard, I have to look around carefully before taking the dog out, can't allow free ranging, and pretty much worry about the chickens in their pens for days...

It's a lovely day here. I'll be going back to work soon after the summer break, so I'm soaking up these last few days the best I can.