Bee~ Journal of then...

[Farmfresh]

They sell bolt on stake pockets at Tractor Supply.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...10551_10001_48410_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1

They are about $9 each and they would probably mess up the truck bed where you bolted them on but they could be a possibility.

 

[lorihadams]

Well, Bee, it sounds like everything got worked out! Feels good to breathe a little easier now, huh? Sure glad you found a nice truck. We got a good deal on a durango and just to let you know, my mom worked at a dodge dealership for a long time so if you ever have any problems just let me know and I can ask her for her expertise! We also have a 2004 intrepid that we bought from her so we are a dodge family!

I'm sorry the job didn't work out but I'm glad that you were able to get the other one back! God is good....remember?

 

[Beekissed]

Yes, He is! I'm glad things are settling down also. I will definitely pick your brain on the Dodge info, Lori! My dad used to have one and he loved it, so I'm hoping this one does alright for me.


FF, thanks for the info....I don't mind ruining this truck a little! I plan to keep it and use it for work and the farm and I don't care too much about any adaptations right now. If it were new and I had to worry about reselling it one day, maybe. I plan to put a good grill guard on it and maybe more attachments for tie downs, so putting on rack holders won't be a problem for me! I didn't know they made them, so this is helpful info indeed.

Met a family at church today who raise bees, albeit a little poorly as they let 4 hives starve this winter, but they will be someone to exchange info with on bees.

I am calling about the sheep this week and planning for their arrival soon. I'm soooooo excited about it! So, the racks need to be built ASAP. I'll see if my local hardware stores have anything like this, FF.

 

[Farmfresh]

TSC items can be ordered online if you have any trouble finding them locally.

 

[Beekissed]

Tip of the Day:

I read an interesting article in one of my old Countryside mags about sprouting grains. This old feller wrote in about making his grains stretch and be of more nutritive value for his chickens. Said to place a layer of grain about 1/2-1 inch thick in a shallow pan/container and cover with dampened burlap sacks or other cloth. Keep cloth dampened and keep grains covered for 3 days. He said sprouts should be up about 1 1/2 in. by then and they sort of form a cake. Just cut it into pieces and feed the cake of sprouts. He said to not try to grow them past the 3 days, as they will mold easily and will go past their peak nutritive value.

I would assume this method would be facilitated by placing the grains in a warm area. He states that the nutritive value of the sprouts is better utilized by the birds and of greater caloric content than feeding grains alone. Makes sense to me!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Interesting, Bee! Thank you for sharing!

 

[shareneh]

Great idea BeeKissed, I'm going to have to try it.

I am so tired of winter I need another experiment to keep me going. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have a little tale to tell about sprouting. I have to purchase a lot of my groceries at a health food store due to my Celiac disorder. (It is almost impossible to find gluten free bread any where else.) Late this fall I was in one of the smaller stores near me and came across a neat new "sprouter" lid. This is basically a wide mouth jar ring made of plastic and a stainless steel screen in place of a lid. The price was right at $1.50 so I bought one.

When I got to the register the well intentioned lady behind it was SO excited about my purchase. She gave me free sprouting instruction literature, began extolling the virtues of sprouts, gave me another hand out with some recipes and even invited me to a class that she teaches in the evenings all about sprouts. I was polite and thanked her, but I just didn't have the heart to tell her that I bought the lid to sprout whole oat seeds for my spoiled chickens!

This is my method, which I MUCH prefer to sprouting in a pan. Start with a gallon size wide mouth canning jar and a lid that drains. (I used to use cheese cloth and a regular jar ring, but now of course I am fancy!) Next you need a supply of whole grain or sprouting seeds. I use whole feed oats. There is not a cheaper way to sprout! Add a couple of tablespoons of oats to your jar and fill the jar with warm water. Let this sit for about 6 hours or so. Next pour off the water and then fill and drain the jar several more times to rinse the oats well. Finally lay the jar on its side in a darkened spot. I keep my sprouting jar on the back of my kitchen counter. Since it is right there where I see it often I don't forget to rinse the sprouts. Now rinse and drain your sprouts every morning (when I fix breakfast) and every evening (when I water the dogs) with warm water. Don't shake them around much as this can break off the tiny little roots and kill the sprout, just be easy. After a few days the oats will begin to sprout forming a mat of roots and tiny leaflets. At this point I carefully slide the entire mat of seeds out of the jar into a plastic storage container during one of the rinsing sessions. I then start another batch of sprouts in the jar and set the drained seed mat in the window to green up.

After the seeds are matted together it is not nearly so hard to do the twice daily rinse when they are in a flat container and the flat container allows them to get more sun. Since I have only 4 laying hens I feed just a portion of the sprouts each day. By the time my window "box" is empty I have another sprout mat to add to it.

Feeding my hens sprouts and alfalfa during the winter keeps them extremely healthy and my eggs looking and tasting great! Sprouting oats and other grains was such an important part of poultry care in the past they even sold special sprouting boxes to the farmers. It is another old idea that really works!

 

[Beekissed]

I am definitely going to try this method with my chickens and my sheep next winter. I plan to breed the sheep in December and will flush with alfalfa hay, but would like to supplement this with mangels and some oat sprouts as well. Just a way to not be so dependent on grain feeding as a supplement. I know its still buying grains, but it won't be as much and they won't be fed as grains but as sprouts, which metabolizes in a different way by the rumen.

 

[lorihadams]

Once again, you all are a wealth of knowledge! I am learning so much from everyone. This is great!