Virginia

[KDbeads]

Hmmmmm................. That might be something worth looking into there

Though maybe not at Hargraves, maybe here once we get a few days to clean this place up. Like the afternoon after a swap if it's not too hot. I can even shrink bag them for easy freezing if I can get an extra burner set up.
Stony, if you need to learn let me know and we'll set something up. Same for quail with anyone close by, I can now kill, skin and gut mine, just don't ask me to pluck the buggers. Canesisters can skin them too

Heck, if I can get out of the place I'm at work wise and get weekends off I'll hold processing classes. Same for canning. I like seeing people capable of sustaining themselves.

 

[StonyCreekCC]

I will have to take you up on that KDbeads. I currently don't have any chickens to butcher at the moment though.

It is super hot here in Virginia. What is everyone doing to keep animals cool?

My dogs are all inside. The chickens have fresh, cool water and shade and the bunnies have fresh, cool water, shade, and a frozen water bottle.

 

[Tiller]

I put a box fan in one of the coop windows to help encourage some cool air moving through, not much a breeze in this dead heat. Been making sure they have plenty of clean water to drink too.

 

[ki4got]

I will have to take you up on that KDbeads. I currently don't have any chickens to butcher at the moment though.

It is super hot here in Virginia. What is everyone doing to keep animals cool?

My dogs are all inside. The chickens have fresh, cool water and shade and the bunnies have fresh, cool water, shade, and a frozen water bottle.

free range. they find their own cool sandy spots up under the trees in the woods and around the yard (under the boat, the horse trailer, etc)
and plenty of fresh water for those that need it.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'm in King George County. We've been letting them find their own cool spots and keeping the water filled. They hangout in the shade under the peach tree and by the coop in the dirt.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'd love to have someone near me to help and teach me how to butcher properly. I skinned my last set of roosters but I know I missed lots of meat.

 

[KDbeads]

Well I thought I was close enough to you to figure out something but I read King William instead of King George County....

That'd be a bit of a drive.

 

[lori stetson]

Watermelon! Birds love it and I just have to make sure the geese cant take everyone elses.

 

[canesisters]

This year I planted my first garden. It's doing great!!! But I made the HUGE mistake (actually a series of them) of not caging/trellising my tomatoes... and planting them too close.... and planting the cucumbers next to them...

So now I have this huge jungle that I have to crawl and climb through to look for cukes and maters.

With the rain, and the HEAT I just hadn't felt up to the gymnastics of it for the past couple of days. Last night I got in there and FILLED a 5gal bucket... which wasn't really all that hard since several of the cucumbers were a foot long or more! I put those in the fridge and will give them to the chickens as a cool treat this afternoon.

By the way - does anyone have any good recipes for patty pan squash? They're about to run me out of the kitchen! I've stuffed them, fried them, crock-potted them down to a sauce over porkchops, cubed them with blackeye peas & spinach.....

 

[canesisters]

I'd love to have someone near me to help and teach me how to butcher properly. I skinned my last set of roosters but I know I missed lots of meat.

I'm just curious - how did you skin them?? The skin should just peal off, leaving all of the meat.