The Old Folks Home

[vehve]

Well, it's a weekend of firsts. The second first timer of the weekend came through. Here we have Töyhtis ("Tufty"), right after her first delivery. She's 18 weeks and 5 days, a cross between a Araucana hen and Black Copper Marans roo.

And here are today's eggs, our first day of four! Can you guess which is hers?

She had a bit of a tough delivery though, she spent 20 minutes in the nest before coming out, and apparently plopped the egg on the frame of the pop door, breaking it a bit. There's a bit of blood on the egg too, but no wonder since it was even bigger than our 47g record egg from yesterday, 48 grams!

 

[ozexpat]

I'm sure it probably tastes good (or else who would bother) but the artificial flavors that it would take to make vegetable paste taste like ham are enough for me to avoid it.

BUT ITS CHICKEN FLAVORED VEGETARIAN HAM

 

[sourland]

BUT ITS CHICKEN FLAVORED VEGETARIAN HAM

 

[Wisher1000]

Wisher i asked dw if i could split a room in ohio... she said no

Yeah, DH made certain I knew that I had to only consider women in my search for a roommate. Spouses can be such party poopers.

 

[vehve]

Quote: Pfft, you just have to say "Honey, you don't have anything to worry about. With something as handsome/gorgeous as this at home, nothing compares.". Or then you can take the other route, I usually tell Karin that I will have trouble fighting off all the women throwing themselves at me, but I shall do my best. This is best said while only wearing the ugliest pair of underwear one possesses, after a very big meal.

 

[Wisher1000]

I don't think I would enjoy a chicken show that much (at least if the people there are as nuts as the people who raise Dachshunds).

That's our girls on the right, Vaiva and Kiusa. Note the very standard abiding ears on Vaiva. She looks like an orc from the Lord of the Rings.

That's the beauty of chicken (poultry) shows. It is not nearly as competitive and political as dog, horse, or cat shows. The animals are shown in cages, without any indicators of who owns them. I go, and I suspect others go, as well, to make contacts, socialize, and learn. I can talk chickens all day for two and a half days and no one thinks I've lost my marbles (like they do around here!)

The people are friendly and helpful (the majority are, anyway) and will be happy to take time to help a novice. I saw several of the established breeders giving good birds to junior exhibitors, and I was given a pair of grey call ducks that I was admiring just because I made a comment that my son would love to have some of those. I didn't intend to bring home ducks, but I couldn't refuse, right?

 

[vehve]

Quote: Don't look a gift horse in it's mouth

I don't need to worry about chicken shows though, in the past ten years there has been one chicken show in Finland, that gathered maybe 50-100 people. Chicken keeping has a long way to go here.

 

[Pozees]

I think a face slap is the universal language.



Here's my peach jam recipes. Ok, who's going to make this jam and send me a jar?




Sweet Cherry ‘n Peach Jam (Makes about 12 8-ounce jars)
2 Cups Chopped Pitted Sweet Cherries (We used a combination of Rainier and Bing)
6 Cups Chopped Pitted Peeled Peaches
8 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Cloves
½ Cup Amaretto Liqueur
1 package Powdered Fruit Pectin (We used a low-no sugar needed pectin)
½ Cup Pear Juice
5 Cups Granulated Sugar

Prepare canner, jars and lids.
In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine the fruit, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and amaretto. Whisk in Pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.


Peach and Cherry Jam Infused with Vanilla
14 oz / 400g peaches
7 oz / 200g cherries
14 oz / 400g sugar (my fruits were very sweet) Use up to 600g of sugar.
1-2 cups hot water
Juice of 1 lime
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and the gorgeous caviar scraped out.

1. Stone the cherries and cut into two.
2. Dunk the peaches in hot water and then cold water to remove the skin. Cut into chunks.
3. In a jar or a bowl add the fruits and sugar and toss to coat. Pour in 1 cup of hot water. Add the scraped out vanilla as well as the stick. Also squeeze out the lime juice. Let this sit overnight or until 24 hours.
4. If you like a smooth texture now is when you can use the stick blender to give you a more consistent jam. I like mine chunky so skipped this step all together.
5. The next day, transfer this to a large post and let it simmer, stirring frequently for 40-50 minutes or until the texture is a little more runny than what you’d like (because, as it cools it is going to thicken). Add up to 1 more cup of water whenever you feel that the preserve is rather chunky.
6. Once cooked, let it cool. Transfer to sterilized jars to preserve.

SPICED PEACH JAM
2 qts. crushed peeled peaches
1/2 c. water
6 c. sugar
4 tbsp. stick cinnamon
1 tbsp. whole cloves
Put spices in a cheese cloth bag. Combine peaches and water and spices. Cook gently 10 minutes. Add sugar; stir. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly until thick about 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Take out cheese cloth spice bag. Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps on jars. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: About 4 pints.

We get great peaches here. If I have time I will go get some and try at least one of these. If it comes out some will wing its way to you. Or maybe I should just ship you the peaches.

Well, it's a weekend of firsts. The second first timer of the weekend came through. Here we have Töyhtis ("Tufty"), right after her first delivery. She's 18 weeks and 5 days, a cross between a Araucana hen and Black Copper Marans roo.

Where did the crest come from?

That's the beauty of chicken (poultry) shows. It is not nearly as competitive and political as dog, horse, or cat shows. The animals are shown in cages, without any indicators of who owns them. I go, and I suspect others go, as well, to make contacts, socialize, and learn. I can talk chickens all day for two and a half days and no one thinks I've lost my marbles (like they do around here!)

The people are friendly and helpful (the majority are, anyway) and will be happy to take time to help a novice. I saw several of the established breeders giving good birds to junior exhibitors, and I was given a pair of grey call ducks that I was admiring just because I made a comment that my son would love to have some of those. I didn't intend to bring home ducks, but I couldn't refuse, right?

I showed dogs for years, and there are some fabulous people and some awful people inhabiting that world. I have only attended a couple of poultry shows, and would really like to get to a large, good one, the local shows have been somewhat disappointing in both quantity and quality of entries. I'd love to be the one splitting a room with you, Wisher, but it isn't in this year's budget. I hope you will share many wonderful pictures and experiences with us, assuming you find someone to share the room, which you probably will as it draws closer.

 

[vehve]

Quote: The mother is supposed to be a Araucana, although in the olive egger thread they were guessing it might actually be a Cream Crested Legbar. It was sold as a Araucana x BCM egg though. 'Fancy' breeds are still a pretty new thing in Finland, so it's possible the breeder has been deceived too. I posted some pics of her brothers in the OE thread.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

We get great peaches here. If I have time I will go get some and try at least one of these. If it comes out some will wing its way to you. Or maybe I should just ship you the peaches.

That's a sweet offer. My dad mailed me some last year from Virginia. Two day priority and they came looking like this:



Let me know how it turns out.