Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Terri O]

Good afternoon! I just got home from work a bit ago and am finishing the last cup in the pot. Work was OK, my man was very co-operative for a nice change! SO now I need to go outside and let everybody out that didnt get out this morning! Since it's pretty nice I might do some moving of birds too. I am finding that the quail are a PITA outside...if I move them into the barn they will start to lay again and perhaps I can get some eggs set.
H&R...I need to come over with my incubator parts and your DH and you have to help me make a new bator! (PLEASE?) Your HM one seems to do well for you and I want to recreate one out of the wafers and wires from my two hovabators if possible.

Jim--doesnt everyone just write what they are thinking at the moment? I sure do. I LOVE seeing your projects and pics too...I just wish you were closer so you could come and tinker HERE!

About your kitchen Judge!!!! How fun! I will agree with BL4 though that it is a PAIN to do! We did ours twenty years ago and I was doing daycare here in the house. We had a good contractor that cleaned up every day and one of the kids' Moms let me move the daycare to her place for a week. That was a life saver! There was SO MUCH drywall dust etc...we gutted ours and put flooring in the kitchen, dining area and family room all at once. All of our stuff moved to the back room while it was being done. Good thing we didnt have so many animals inside at that time! Only 2 dogs and 3 cats! WOW, my life was much easier then....even with 7 little ones all day!!!
OK--off to do chores before I start reminiscing too much! TerriOoutintothesnow

 

[Hens and Roos]

Good afternoon! I just got home from work a bit ago and am finishing the last cup in the pot. Work was OK, my man was very co-operative for a nice change! SO now I need to go outside and let everybody out that didnt get out this morning! Since it's pretty nice I might do some moving of birds too. I am finding that the quail are a PITA outside...if I move them into the barn they will start to lay again and perhaps I can get some eggs set.
H&R...I need to come over with my incubator parts and your DH and you have to help me make a new bator! (PLEASE?) Your HM one seems to do well for you and I want to recreate one out of the wafers and wires from my two hovabators if possible.

Jim--doesnt everyone just write what they are thinking at the moment? I sure do. I LOVE seeing your projects and pics too...I just wish you were closer so you could come and tinker HERE!

About your kitchen Judge!!!! How fun! I will agree with BL4 though that it is a PAIN to do! We did ours twenty years ago and I was doing daycare here in the house. We had a good contractor that cleaned up every day and one of the kids' Moms let me move the daycare to her place for a week. That was a life saver! There was SO MUCH drywall dust etc...we gutted ours and put flooring in the kitchen, dining area and family room all at once. All of our stuff moved to the back room while it was being done. Good thing we didnt have so many animals inside at that time! Only 2 dogs and 3 cats! WOW, my life was much easier then....even with 7 little ones all day!!!
OK--off to do chores before I start reminiscing too much! TerriOoutintothesnow

I'm sure we can give you a hand with the incubator- DH is the one who is good at this type of stuff! Just put the automatic egg turners in the bator and it is now warming up-- will see what temp it is holding at in a few hours. Each turner will hold 41 eggs-might just have enough to fill both trays

Snow doesn't seem to be doing much right now- if it keeps melting off the sidewalks and pavement DH might have an easy job later tonight.

 

[WIChookchick]

Ok...how much water do chickens, goats, horses, etc.... need in a day? We don't have electricity out there so of course the water has been freezing. I just refill it every morning and they drink it until it freezes and then they have to wait until the morning. Is that ok? They are laying ok (I am getting more eggs now that they don't wander out into the snow) and they seem healthy. Do they eat snow?
Anyway- all seems well with all the animals except that I am sure they are bored. I thought about buying them some sort of food block and I saw a recipe for making my own. Thought that may help with the boredom as long as the goats and pony don't eat it first!

Hope you all had a great Christmas. My DH gave me a bigger kitchen for Christmas. I had been complaining for the last year that it was too small for our growing family, so Christmas Eve he gave me an envelope with the letters BIGGER KITCHEN cut up into a puzzle. I was so surprised, now I need to find a contractor that can help with designing something that fits with our old farmhouse. Anyone know of someone in the Appleton, Green Bay or Manitowoc area that they can recommend?
Hope you all have a great night

Judge,

You need to give the horses water 2x a day and the other livestock too, you could end up with more serious problems.

Limitations on water intake depress animal performance quicker and more drastically than any other nutrient deficiency. Domesticated animals can live about sixty days without food but only seven days without water. Hearing and sight are impaired without water. Humans have reported the incidence of headaches due to the lack of water.
Signs Of Dehydration: Signs of dehydration or lack of water are tightening of the skin, loss of weight and drying of mucous membranes and eyes. One way to check for dehydration in the horse is by skin folds. Pull the skin and hold a moment. Release and count the seconds till the fold disappears. On a dehydrated horse, the skin will stand for several seconds. Out-breaks of urinary-calculi or water belly can be associated with weather conditions. Cold weather may reduce water intake. This reduces water flow through the bladder and kidneys. This reduced water flow allows kidney stones to precipitate. When desirable weather returns, water intake increases and urinary calculi problems are seen because the stones have become too big to pass through the male's urethra. Any factor that reduces water intake can be a contributing factor to urinary calculi. Hard water does not cause urinary calculi problems. It may be a factor if the hardness affects water palatability.

Temperature:Water should not be hot nor in the form of ice. Drinkable water is usually between 40 and 65 degrees F. Steers that have access to cool drinking water will gain .3 to .4 lbs. more per day than those drinking warm water. Therefore occasionally check waterers with heaters so as to detect a "runaway". Dip a thermometer into the water. Do not allow the thermometer to rest on the bottom. Touching the heated bottom of the pan can result in higher temperatures than actual water temperature. Check the temperature over several cold days. Water temperatures of at least 40 degree F should minimize mechanical problems and maintain animal performance
Adequate insulation can reduce problems with water freezing and reduce electric costs in cold winters. Make sure the insulation inside the waterer is still in good condition. Conserve heat by caulking the base of the automatic waterer and seal the access door with weather proof tape. Reducing the wind on the waterer by a windbreak can also reduce electric costs.
Extra external insulation may be added to some automatic waterers. Surround the external surface with 2 inches or more of styrofoam. Place 1/2 inch plywood over styrofoam. Put galvanized steel on the top part of the styrofoam-plywood pieces and angle iron on the vertical edges

***This also applies to goats, sheep and other livestock***
Joan who is 79 this year showed me a clever trick when the waterers froze over in the coops, she would take a big pitcher of hot tap water and poured it around the inside lip/edge and it melted the ice, and then was able to set that down and pour in a bit into the waterer. She did this twice a day for the chickens and the geese.

 

[jvls1942]

I am taking a break.. my apprentice baker (DD#1) is on her own for now.. she has been down here twice for advice.. we have 105 rolls done.. and if I must say so myself, they are deeeelicious..

I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it simpler to remember and measure..

I used grape seed oil for the first time in this recipe.. it worked great, in the recipe and for oiling the pans..

I don't think I will be moving the dog house any more today.. I feel more like a "root beer" break is near...

It is a scientific fact that hot water will freeze quicker than cold water..

.......jimthinkingheshouldtakeapictureoftherolls.........

 

[chikenscratch]

Checking in as we drive North from Tennessee. How is the weather?

 

[CasieD]

I think we need a picture of those rolls too Jim!! Maybe a copy of that secret recipe too!

I've never made rolls before but would sure like to try sometime.

I use grape seed oil quit often, either that or coconut oil.

Still waiting on a reply from my pet chicken on those eggs.

My parents just left. We finished up the last of our Christmas get togethers today. Baked up a ham from the pig a friend raised for us. Turned out delicious! Made some gravy and cheesy potatoes too, along with a bunch of other munchies. Forgot to pull out a bag of our frozen corn so we just skipped that.

Getting a nice light snow fall here.

Had friends from North Carolina over last night. They are our middle child's god parents. Enjoyed a few old fashions myself too!

 

[CasieD]

Checking in as we drive North from Tennessee. How is the weather?

Couple of inches of snow in the central area, not sure south of there.

 

[jvls1942]

ask and ye shall receive,,

in 1/2 cup of warm water, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast..

there are still 3 more batches in the oven, but this should give you an idea of what we were up to today..

in 1/2 cup of warm water, add 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon yeast.. set aside until it foams up nicely.. prolly will take about 15 minutes..

mix together 1 egg, 1/3 cup oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup sugar and just slightly less than one cup of milk.... beat it until the egg is well mixed with all the ingredients.. (then come back) and add exactly 2 cups of flour.. mix until everything is well mixed, then add the yeast mixture.. now add slightly less than 2 cups of flour.. mix until you have a ball of dough that is sticky to the touch, but does not stick to you..

put the dough onto a floured board and knead it until it feels like a baby's bottom..

put into a greased bowl and let it rise until about double in bulk.. (about 45 minutes)

divide the dough into (I made 15) pieces... roll each piece into a ball and place into a greased 9 x 11 cake pan..

I used grape seed oil,, you can use whatever oil you prefer...

I also use a kitchen aid mixer with a bread hook...

bake at 375 for about 20 minutes,, ovens differ, so yours might take longer,, or less time..

........jimsayingnowgodoit........

 

[CasieD]

Thanks Jim!!

Those look really good! Hope you had lots of butter in the house! I've got a kitchenaid mixer as well, how long do you knead it with the KA?

 

[delisha]

Checking in as we drive North from Tennessee. How is the weather?

Light snow..