Washingtonians

[itsren]

CR.... bee question for you. A bumble bee was stumbling around on the wood I was working with - like it was blind or something. I got a closer look - it only has 1 full wing, and a teeny, teeny portion of a 2nd wing. It can't fly. I scooped it into a bug box (you know, the kind with a magnifying lid) so the kids see it and wouldn't accidentally step on it. I threw in some marigold flowers, it found them and it seemed happy. What do I feed it? If I manage to keep it alive, will it's wing grow back?

 

[Rainwolf]

Is there a process to freeze tomatoes?  I've never heard of frozen tomatoes!  Do you have to peel them or anything?  Do you have to freeze them like berries (spread out on a tray until frozen, then bagged)?

Little ones can be frozen whole.  Big ones are better blanched, peels removed and them frozen in Ziploc.  I usually try to freeze the average amount I would use.  You can also dehydrate them and throw them into winter soups.  Great way to preserve them and save space!

Jen

I can tomatoes as juice, chopped, whole, sauce and pickles....
Since they can very well I don't use my freezer space for tomatoes. I only have 31+ (stopped counting) Tomato plants this year... my garden stinks this year due to all the work removing trees etc and super late start

I'm in Sequim, the lavender capital of the country. What we don't advertise is that we are also the dandelion capital of the country. I once mistook a field of dandelions for a field of giant alliums. lol

HI! you are very lucky!
ask the nearest lavender farm for the straw! you will have the best smelling, bug free coop/nest boxes! I'd love to be able to get lavender straw.
When you see those fields of dandelions growing and starting to flower let me know please? I know of 2-3 people who would LOVE to gather all the flower heads and make wine!
The dandelion flowers/leaves also make great feed for chickens/critters and people!

As far as your lone hen.... 2 things...
are you sure it is a hen? could it be a boy? the girls will chase the boys just before they start crowing....

and every flock or social group of animals will have the leader and the bottom.... the bottom rung animal normally is the one who is always last, chased, picked on, etc....
Some flocks are nicer then others but if you are having problems.... watch for the one doing the picking, it will normally be the head or second in command. pull them out of the flock (put in a dog crate if you have one) watch again.... anyone else picking on the poor bird? if so pull them and place in crate
once you get to little or no picking and the bird "joining" the others then let them hang out for the day or 2... let the pickers be in "time out"
then introduce the least offensive picker first.... watch what happens....
the pecking order should be redistributed and more balanced....
then release the worse offender last after the rest of the flock finds a nice happy balance.
if after returning the worst the flock goes back to the bad then you need to pull the worst again and put them in solitude for at least a couple days if you can.

Some times it can be easy as 1 time out day for the worst and sometimes it can be weeks of just letting them peck it out.
as long as no one gets hurt/damaged then it will eventually balance out

 

[Chickielady]

itsren: you can still do the deed, it is just easier if feed has been with held.
Chances are at the Auction, there is not alot of food to be had anyways.
With holding feed mainly for the Cornish, the egg layer Cockerels rarely have so much feed in them as to cause any issues.
The Cornish Cross, however, would be gorged on feed.....and so it is easier & cleaner to with hold feed a while before dispatching the butter balls.

 

[Chickielady]

I have 'done' maters in the dehydrator also.
Slice them, and lay on the trays, sprinkle with S&P and shreded rosemary and sprinkle chopped basil.
Once dry (very dry) pack in air tight jars with a pouch of dessicant.
They will keep for years, and all you need is a bowl of hot water to reconstitute, and add to pasta with EVOO & Parmesana.

They are basically sun dried tomatoes.
You can also can them in EVOO if you want to.
Funny how once dehydrated & reconstituted their flavours are so intensified, and sweet !

 

[justbugged]

Quote: I believe that blue Kote is the same thing as mecuricome for the most part. Mecuricome is an old time cure all antibiotic and fungicide. It used to contain mercury in the formula, that has since been removed from the ingredients.

My dad said that it was used to treat ringworm. For the most part all I can remember it being used on was small cuts, and scrapes. The downside was that it stained everything purple. The bottles of Mecuricome were always fairly small. The lid of the bottle had a glass wand attached to it. So all you needed was to touch the wand to the wound, and that was enough.

Blue Kote reminds me of Mecuricome. It has essentially the same use. I was able to buy mecuricome from the Safeway pharmacy not that long ago. It has become very expensive, as compared to less than 20 years ago. I bought a bottle when my kids were little, and it was about 1.50 now it is nearly 17.00.

 

[justbugged]

Quote: Okay that would just about do me in.

 

[Teva]

I have no idea! I sure hope he's having fun. The camp doesn't let parents contact the kids. They've found kids will adapt better if they don't. If he's homesick, they will wait 2 days before they contact us - then we can talk to him and decide if he stays on or not. Hopefully, by 2 days in, he'll be fine.

We signed him up for a super fun (expensive - eek!) program. In the morning he either does archery, BB gun, tomohawk or sling shots. Plus, he'll make his own bow and arrow sometime during the week. In the afternoon, he will either play on a mountain waterslide, climb a climbing wall tower, shoot at targets with a paintball gun, ride in a 4x4 off-road vehicle on a scavenger hunt or go climbing with mountain boards on.

I'm hoping he'll be too tired to be homesick! That was the plan when we added the shooting and adventure program to his basic camp.

As for me... yesterday was a rough day. Today, the littlest boy has talked my ear off - so I didn't have time to get all emotional about my oldest being gone.

What a cool camp!! Where is it? Is there a website?

 

[justbugged]

I officially have 16 cut up chickens in the freezer. It took me longer than I had hoped to de-bone all the breast and tender meat. But I have got it all vacuum packed and in three different freezers. I am hoping that once it's all frozen, that I can get it all into one freezer.

I will admit that I am rather done in. But I still need to go get my nails done before they fall off again.

I am getting better at going more often, otherwise it can be rather awkward.


It makes me feel tired just thinking about the other 10 birds I still need to get done. At least I am looking forward to having a true Freezer Camp Class this year.

If anyone else is interested, just let me know before Saturday morning. You will need to PM me to get my address and phone number. I should have extra practice birds for anyone that doesn't have their own bird. Everyone attending should plan on going home with fresh chicken.

 

[Teva]

I let mine out even though DH gets grossed out some. The concrete patio washes down with the garden hose very easily, and I will wash the goo poos into the lawn. Some of the big ones I clean up with the dog poos, but then I have 6 dogs in the same yard. So sometime they do the clean up.

My problem is keeping them off of the patio furniture.

. And they like to come up the steps to the deck above the patio. If there's poo on the deck, DH won't go out the door to BBQ.

 

[Teva]

I've noticed something really weird/gross over the past few month with my Belgians. If they find some dog poo in the yard, they will eat it like it's the only edible thing they've seen for days. They are provided with food, (tasty) treats, and clean water constantly but apparently dog poo is irresistible. Is it the nutrient content? Are my Belgians just crazy?

Maybe they need more protein in their diet?