The Old Folks Home

[microchick]

@getaclue when all is said and done it is between you and God.

I had a highschool friend who was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer when she was just 22. They told her to make her final arrangements because she wasn't going to survive it. She told them she and God had other plans and by golly, they did. She survived the cancer and lived to be in her 50s before she was diagnosed with leukemia and refused further treatment.

Miracles happen. Never underestimate the power of prayer or the determination of the human spirit.

Know we are here for you and fighting for you even as you fight. There are strength in numbers. God bless.

As for Mr. Fox, no, these were definitely chicken feathers and Guinea feathers. We have blue herons that stop at the pond to rest and fead but I've never seen anything white down there. There was one wing bone amidst the Guinea feathers so it was an old kill.

It is a brazen little killer. Our neighbors got home late one night and found two hens and a rooster roosting on the porch railing. They figured they were safe there for the night and locked the rest of the flock up and went to bed. Got up the next morning and there were chicken feathers on the porch floor but no chickens. It took all three birds in the night.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Fields, I'm now out of remission, and going through chemo again, for breast cancer. It has metastasized. As of now, I'm considered Stage IV, which is terminal.

....

 

[superchemicalgirl]

That wasn't a very clear question I asked, was it? Oh man.

No, not the skin but the large chunks of onions. That looks delicious!
I always hack my onions up...I guess diced would be the word , but half that size would be scrumptious with a roast. I have to admit I've never done stock. Basically what your saying is you cook the chicken, onions and carrots...strain it, can it and that's the stock? No one in my family has ever made stock. My mom was a mean canner...but not stock. (that I know of)

How I make stock:
Spray Pam on the bottom and sides of a roasting pan. Insert chicken/turkey/duck/etc pieces - necks, body cavities, feet (if you want, cleaned and skinned, I know where the feet have been so they're the only thing besides gross guts that I discard - I even use the heart and liver to feed back to my flock). Cut up some veggies that you have - I usually do some celery out of my garden (just rinsed, keep the green leaves), onions, garlic cloves, carrots. Salt and pepper.
Roast at 350 for about 60 to 90 minutes, until it starts to brown.
Let cool on counter until you can handle it.
Insert poultry pieces and the veggies into a slow cooker. For my 8 roos - 8 necks and 6 body cavities as well as wing tips - I needed 2 slow cookers. Add water until the chicken is covered. I add a wee bit more salt and pepper at this point.
Slow cook about 24 hours, until the meat starts to fall off the bone. I've let it slow cook on lo/keep warm for up to 48 hours. The small bones at that point become liquidized, and it's very nutritious but harder to pick out the small rib bones. Your choice. I usually go about 36.
Let it cool until you can handle it.
Get 2 bowls and a strainer over a pan that is large and can be covered and go on the stove later. Lift parts of the stock and poultry out, stick on strainer, pick through. Veggies and bones go into one bowl. Meat goes into another, liquid drains into pan.
The discard bowl goes out to the chickens, they pick through it, eat any meat I missed and will eat the soft bones if you cook for longer.
The meat parts get frozen into about half to 1 lb increments for stew meat.
The stock gets pressure canned, eventually. Can't recall the exact pressure canning settings at the moment (been a year), but I'll look it up to do tomorrow. You can also freeze it. First, however, you put the lid on it, and put it in the fridge about 12 to 24 hours. The fat will rise to the top. Skim the fat, save it for cooking if you want. The rest of it gets boiled again, then pressure canned. The cold stock is usually gelatinous due to the bones breaking down. Mine usually looks green due to the celery leaves.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about - I'm more of a visual learner. I have 2 discard bowls, here, on the left, plus the top bowl of meat that I have to measure out and freeze.

It really isn't difficult to make - roast, then stick it in a crock pot on low/keep warm until you're ready to pick it.

I used to freeze the stock but I had one mason jar explode on me once, and it takes up precious room in my freezer. I pressure can it now so it's at room temperature and doesn't take up freezer space. You can do either, but if you freeze be sure to leave enough headroom for it to expand.

I highly recommend you make stock and at least try it once. I have to say as much as I hate killing roosters, I use pretty much everything that I can, except the feet cause I just can't get over that.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Fields, I'm now out of remission, and going through chemo again, for breast cancer. It has metastasized. As of now, I'm considered Stage IV, which is terminal.

What I have to say isn't safe for this board.

Have they given you an estimate of what you can expect as far as comfort, and length?

 

[ronott1]

View attachment 1047771

Here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about - I'm more of a visual learner. I have 2 discard bowls, here, on the left, plus the top bowl of meat that I have to measure out and freeze.

It really isn't difficult to make - roast, then stick it in a crock pot on low/keep warm until you're ready to pick it.

I used to freeze the stock but I had one mason jar explode on me once, and it takes up precious room in my freezer. I pressure can it now so it's at room temperature and doesn't take up freezer space. You can do either, but if you freeze be sure to leave enough headroom for it to expand.

I highly recommend you make stock and at least try it once. I have to say as much as I hate killing roosters, I use pretty much everything that I can, except the feet cause I just can't get over that.

I freeze stock in gallon zip lock bags. They don't explode but you do have to put them into a bowl to thaw.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

How I make stock:
Spray Pam on the bottom and sides of a roasting pan. Insert chicken/turkey/duck/etc pieces - necks, body cavities, feet (if you want, cleaned and skinned, I know where the feet have been so they're the only thing besides gross guts that I discard - I even use the heart and liver to feed back to my flock). Cut up some veggies that you have - I usually do some celery out of my garden (just rinsed, keep the green leaves), onions, garlic cloves, carrots. Salt and pepper.
Roast at 350 for about 60 to 90 minutes, until it starts to brown.
Let cool on counter until you can handle it.
Insert poultry pieces and the veggies into a slow cooker. For my 8 roos - 8 necks and 6 body cavities as well as wing tips - I needed 2 slow cookers. Add water until the chicken is covered. I add a wee bit more salt and pepper at this point.
Slow cook about 24 hours, until the meat starts to fall off the bone. I've let it slow cook on lo/keep warm for up to 48 hours. The small bones at that point become liquidized, and it's very nutritious but harder to pick out the small rib bones. Your choice. I usually go about 36.
Let it cool until you can handle it.
Get 2 bowls and a strainer over a pan that is large and can be covered and go on the stove later. Lift parts of the stock and poultry out, stick on strainer, pick through. Veggies and bones go into one bowl. Meat goes into another, liquid drains into pan.
The discard bowl goes out to the chickens, they pick through it, eat any meat I missed and will eat the soft bones if you cook for longer.
The meat parts get frozen into about half to 1 lb increments for stew meat.
The stock gets pressure canned, eventually. Can't recall the exact pressure canning settings at the moment (been a year), but I'll look it up to do tomorrow. You can also freeze it. First, however, you put the lid on it, and put it in the fridge about 12 to 24 hours. The fat will rise to the top. Skim the fat, save it for cooking if you want. The rest of it gets boiled again, then pressure canned. The cold stock is usually gelatinous due to the bones breaking down. Mine usually looks green due to the celery leaves.

View attachment 1047771

Here's a picture so you can see what I'm talking about - I'm more of a visual learner. I have 2 discard bowls, here, on the left, plus the top bowl of meat that I have to measure out and freeze.

It really isn't difficult to make - roast, then stick it in a crock pot on low/keep warm until you're ready to pick it.

I used to freeze the stock but I had one mason jar explode on me once, and it takes up precious room in my freezer. I pressure can it now so it's at room temperature and doesn't take up freezer space. You can do either, but if you freeze be sure to leave enough headroom for it to expand.

I highly recommend you make stock and at least try it once. I have to say as much as I hate killing roosters, I use pretty much everything that I can, except the feet cause I just can't get over that.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! And the pic! Visual learner here too. Yep...not much for the legs or the innards. The FIL used to do up the gizzard, liver and probably heart...but the dog loves me so much more when I think of him...lol. The guys will go wild when I feed them this.

I guess I'll have to find the lid to the crock pot. How we could lose the lid is beyond me. Almost embarrassing! It's glass so I probably set it somewhere so it couldn't be broken.
My thing is baking and cooking on the stove. I suck at crock pottery. My sister rocks the crock pot. Somehow I'm deficient in that area. But I learned to BBQ. I can do this stock. I have massive left overs from the last turkey I did (the whole carcass) Can it be done with the left over cooked meat? Get practice in before fresh meat.
My cull roosters have turned out like pets...and then they one eye me.
Darn personable chickens! I used to kill chickens!

I was just going to ask if the stock could be frozen in freezer bags, and I see Ron answered that. I just bought a flat of sealers...that I use for my chick waters.

I freeze stock in gallon zip lock bags. They don't explode but you do have to put them into a bowl to thaw.

Ron, you just answered my question! Thank you. I tend to be a freezer bag person myself.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

You could slow simmer it on the stove, too, and avoid the crock pot. I like to set it and forget it, until it wakes me in the middle of the night with the smell.

I don't see why you couldn't use half-used poultry. Just try to keep the bones to use.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Quick update: I crashed pretty hard about supper yesterday. I caught a quick snooze for about an hour...lol. We got the wire on the back pen replaced. No more accidents with chickens getting through. Now I have to fill in with sand where the bottom board isn't meeting the ground and I can move these chicks/keets out.

Here's the cool part. Before the guys cleaned the coop on Saturday, I went through and gathered all the eggs from the rogue hens at about 2pm; some sneaky hens were laying eggs in the back part on the floor and all those broodies were playing musical nests...lol. Chewwbacca, extreme broody is now free to broody her keet. She was still both setting on eggs and mothering the keet...lol.

I figure there are about 10-12 dozen. Originally I had marked some of the developing eggs when there were only a few broody hens, I thought a few chicks would do them good.

The eggs sat outside in the sun and wind until I put them in the house when we went out for supper. I worked at the coop until about 2am. I came in and candled the eggs.

Well, one of the marked eggs had a wee chick that had internally pipped. He was sitting there all quiet and cold.The rest were also ready to pip. I put them in the incubator. Last night three had internally pipped. Today one wee guy has hatched...lol. He'll be an oegb or oegb cross with Flash or the old original Silver Duckwing fellow.

 

[Alaskan]

It's funny, I can remember telling my mom she was just afraid of change and it irritated me so bad. Now I completely understand....It's not really fear, more like dazed and confused.

Exactly....I keep feeling like I am in the middle of a twilight zone episode.

I'm not sure I understand the onion question... are you talking about how I don't skin them for stock? Yeah, it'll be strained and then pressure canned, not concerned.

As far as air travel goes, we are treated so poorly by TSA and the airlines, crammed in like cattle awaiting slaughter. I am uncomfortable enough in my jeans, I couldn't imagine dressing up.

Achem.... since you don't feel comfortable in your jeans....you were hoping to wear.......your birthday suit?