DianeS - Listeria spreading, culling the rabbits

[Gypsi]

Well, the Dallas Craigslist had no food, but free firewood in 3 different places. A friend of mine has oak - I'm going to see how much she has first - they have fallen trees every year but no fireplace.

So, I am thinking it is not possible to eat for free off Dallas Craigslist in winter anyhow. Lots of firewood, furniture, old fence material and baby stuff though. And a few puppies.

Hey - you got me to look!

 

[DianeS]

This is turning into "my blog of things I get from Craigslist". I think I'll retitle the thread to that.

I recently sold my last four chickens, for $40. That was the last of the 20+ free chickens I got in the fall, and the only ones that were decently behaved egg layers. So they were worth more as money than as food. I didn't run the complete numbers on the chickens, but it was definately worth it to turn into a chicken flipper for the season. (Some people are house flippers. I'm a chicken flipper. )

I also got two free rabbit cages from a Craigslist poster. He had them listed as scrap metal! It pays to read ALL the listings.

Today's cheap deal was supposedly four rabbit cages with stacker for $40. When I got there, it became three rabbit cages with baby saver wire, a HUGE grow-out cage with top and side doors, corner stackers, six litter pans, two J feeders, two water bottles, and a metal nestbox. AND the guy helped me load them! I'm sure I looked funny driving down the interstate with a rabbit cage tied to the roof of my car. But what a load for just $40!

So as soon as I can carve out some time, I'll hang these new cages and move the rabbits into them. With the chickens gone I'm reusing the chicken coop as a rabbit warren, and hanging the cages along the walls. It should save a lot of space, and be easier to roof over.

DianeS - still living the good life (and wet life) in Oregon!

 

[Denim Deb]

Maybe you should have chicken flipper as your member title.

 

[hqueen13]

 

[pinkfox]

nice find on the rabbit cages, there SO expensive even used sometimes that my plan is also to try and snatch up any well priced cages, even if i dont use them there perfect for isolation, transport ect...

 

[DianeS]

Today's title is "My blog of things I'm *NOT* getting from Craigslist - or anywhere else for that matter" Grrrrrrr

My source of all thigns free and cheap seems to have dried up. I haven't gotten anything I have asked for since my last post Jan 18th. My emails are getting through, a few nice folks have said "sorry, it's already gone" so that's good I guess.

I have failed to get:
three chickens
two rabbits
a box of food (lots of grains)
a few lamps at different times
another rabbit
seeds
a sheepskin
a few boxes of free stuff
and probably some more things I can't remember.

And of course, I have also *NOT* gotten a job. I even applied for a chicken-sitter gig and didn't get it!

Must not be my day, my week, my month...

And then my Californian doe ups and dies today. *Sigh* How can I have meat rabbits if I can't get the darn things to breed? Or stay alive for that matter, since Mona died today. Looks like some gastric problem. She was fine yesterday, tonight she was dead with a very squishy abdomen. Hopefully not contagious.

Sorry folks, it's just being a rough couple days here. No job. No gig. Nothing to resale. No rabbit litters. And now no doe. Bleh.

 

[Denim Deb]

Sounds like you're having a rough go. I can give you a hug.

 

[elijahboy]

look at life like mountains

in order to get up the next mountain you have to come down from the mountain your on..


life is ups and downs


your freebies will come again and you will be on top of the next mountain

 

[DianeS]

What a long, strange week it's been! But I'm still plugging along. The more self-suffiency, the better!

Bought a small mortar and pestle from Goodwill. I've ground various seeds for inclusion in bread dough, and mixed my own garlic-pepper butter in it. Yum! (And no electricity usage, and no huge plastic food processor thing in the dishwasher.)

Had two rabbit does die. One Californian unexpectedly of a gastric-something, and the other an Angora that I put down after diagnosing her with a bowel obstruction. (I was right.) The one that died of the bowel obstruction I processed and is now in the refrigerator.

But then I had an unexpected rabbit litter. Only one is living, but it's the proving litter for both the doe and the buck - the buck actually can breed! Woo-hoo! I wasn't sure he was "finishing", and this litter was a surprise because of that. I had to rescesutate the kit, but so far so good!

And I was intending to order meat chickens from Welp, but stopped to check at a local feed store to see if they had any, and they did - at 24 cents per chick cheaper than Welp. So I walked out with 25 meaties and 4 Rhode Island Reds for later egg-laying. Had to finish up the brooder super-quick, because I wasn't expecting to have chicks for another week at least! I couldn't check the extension cord because of the pouring rain, but I can check it tomorrow and move them to the outside brooder then. Hubby gave me special dispensation to have the chicks indoors for one night.

I'm so excited! Visions of roasted chicken is dancing in my head.

 

[DianeS]

Forgot to mention, I was given some heavy whipping cream yesterday, so today I'm making butter! Just shaking it in a jar, we'll see (or taste) how that works soon!

And in my spare moments tonight, I'm trying to bottle feed the rabbit kit. Mom wants nothing to do with it. I have another doe that might be due tonight or tomorrow, maybe she'll do better and take this one too. Time will tell!