NoobieChickenLady's Journal - SS Score and Mah Kitteh is HOME!! Yay!
- Thread starter noobiechickenlady
- Start date
murphysranch
Super Self-Sufficient
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2009
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- 2,140
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- Southern Washington State
That picture was simply adorable! So much so, I called DH over to see it, since he won't let me get goats.
dragonlaurel
Improvising a more SS life
Wonderful pic 
2dream
Flibbertigibbet
I had to show my DH as well. He simply says. Yes they are cute, yes I know you want goats but...... NO GOATS WANDA. Oh well. I tried.
You are moving right along with your farmette.
You are moving right along with your farmette.
- Thread starter
- #335
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
Thanks for the kind comments everybody, I think they are quite cute as well 
Well, we really enjoyed the trip. We had one of those money issues where everything seems pointed to staying home (Had to put half of our trip money down for my Granny's dog at the vet) and then some money just gets "found". Little things that to me point to a creative, intelligent force with a great sense of humor (God if you will, yeah I have strange views on religion... ANYways)
When we got there, I (after living in a small town for so long) forgot to lock the car up after we got the suitcases. DH's phone, the charger & my toiletry case were stolen. I guess it looked like electronic equipment, all silvery polished with latches and stuff. Blah... I almost hope they use the 3 year old makeup and get an eye infection. Explain THAT to the doctor :/
But after that, we had a great time, we didn't get out on the boat, but we did get to ride SIL's horses. I checked over her Myotonic goats and told her to worm those babies! Their eyelids were very pale and their coats were a bit scruffy. I also offered to trim their hooves next time I come. The buck had an elf toe on one foot. Her farrier told her it would break off. I think it just grows much faster on that foot than on the others. The doe's feet looked fine. They are really pets for her summer horse camp.
MIL was finally convinced to try the quart of goat's milk I bought. She lived in Iran for a while when she was little. Well, with no refridgeration, no modern type cleanliness & the goats running as an integrated herd no wonder she thinks it would be nasty. She took a sip with a wrinkled up nose, swallowed, then took an actual drink. Wow, it tastes like milk!
Had to bite my tongue, especially after reading the above comments over the weekend. BIL's friend was over for the bbq and started talking about all the unhealthy foods the local food show was using. All kinds of saturated fats, lard, bacon grease with the greens. How very unhealthy!
I said, "Nah, those aren't unhealthy, you actually need a certain amount of animal fats to process the vitamins & minerals in your veggies, they also keep you full longer & help you lose weight. They are quite healthy, especially if they are grass fed, not so much if grained." His response "No. They. Are. Not. Healthy."
Not wanting to start WWIII at my new BIL's home on the holiday, I went for another margarita BIL cooked some awesome ribs. I think I gained about 5 pounds back. I couldn't avoid MIL's homemade biscuits for breakfast, the garlic potatoes and the absolutely FINE pasta salad with bacon & onion that came with the ribs. Not to mention the Texas pie. I will have to get the recipe so I can tinker with it. Pudding, whipped cream & a nutty crust, should be easy enough. Man was it good. I felt like poop afterwards, so when I recovered, I ate another rib
I called my subs around the times I thought they would be milking/feeding/watering and they were already done each time. How cool! Dixie did not kick at all the first or second milking for them. After that, I guess she thought she had their number and showed her rear. But even with 3 buckets lost completely & 1 about halfway, we came home to a full gallon of milk, chilled & waiting on us. *happy sigh*
All the chickens were accounted for, the goats were as healthy as we had left them and the rabbits were bouncing about. The grass got awful tall tho. Mowing, yuck. I really need some electronet fencing so I can turn them out in the front without fretting over my veggies.
Well, we really enjoyed the trip. We had one of those money issues where everything seems pointed to staying home (Had to put half of our trip money down for my Granny's dog at the vet) and then some money just gets "found". Little things that to me point to a creative, intelligent force with a great sense of humor (God if you will, yeah I have strange views on religion... ANYways)
When we got there, I (after living in a small town for so long) forgot to lock the car up after we got the suitcases. DH's phone, the charger & my toiletry case were stolen. I guess it looked like electronic equipment, all silvery polished with latches and stuff. Blah... I almost hope they use the 3 year old makeup and get an eye infection. Explain THAT to the doctor :/
But after that, we had a great time, we didn't get out on the boat, but we did get to ride SIL's horses. I checked over her Myotonic goats and told her to worm those babies! Their eyelids were very pale and their coats were a bit scruffy. I also offered to trim their hooves next time I come. The buck had an elf toe on one foot. Her farrier told her it would break off. I think it just grows much faster on that foot than on the others. The doe's feet looked fine. They are really pets for her summer horse camp.
MIL was finally convinced to try the quart of goat's milk I bought. She lived in Iran for a while when she was little. Well, with no refridgeration, no modern type cleanliness & the goats running as an integrated herd no wonder she thinks it would be nasty. She took a sip with a wrinkled up nose, swallowed, then took an actual drink. Wow, it tastes like milk!
Had to bite my tongue, especially after reading the above comments over the weekend. BIL's friend was over for the bbq and started talking about all the unhealthy foods the local food show was using. All kinds of saturated fats, lard, bacon grease with the greens. How very unhealthy!
I said, "Nah, those aren't unhealthy, you actually need a certain amount of animal fats to process the vitamins & minerals in your veggies, they also keep you full longer & help you lose weight. They are quite healthy, especially if they are grass fed, not so much if grained." His response "No. They. Are. Not. Healthy."Not wanting to start WWIII at my new BIL's home on the holiday, I went for another margarita
BIL cooked some awesome ribs. I think I gained about 5 pounds back. I couldn't avoid MIL's homemade biscuits for breakfast, the garlic potatoes and the absolutely FINE pasta salad with bacon & onion that came with the ribs. Not to mention the Texas pie. I will have to get the recipe so I can tinker with it. Pudding, whipped cream & a nutty crust, should be easy enough. Man was it good. I felt like poop afterwards, so when I recovered, I ate another rib I called my subs around the times I thought they would be milking/feeding/watering and they were already done each time. How cool! Dixie did not kick at all the first or second milking for them. After that, I guess she thought she had their number and showed her rear. But even with 3 buckets lost completely & 1 about halfway, we came home to a full gallon of milk, chilled & waiting on us. *happy sigh*
All the chickens were accounted for, the goats were as healthy as we had left them and the rabbits were bouncing about. The grass got awful tall tho. Mowing, yuck. I really need some electronet fencing so I can turn them out in the front without fretting over my veggies.
freemotion
Food Guru
I'm so glad you had a good time, in spite of the anti-fat rhetoric. Remember, most of us said the same things at one time!!! Remember when you felt like crap all the time and didn't even know it cuz you were used to it?
Stinks that your stuff was stolen. I had an expensive radio/tape player (decades ago!) that was installed in a custom-built thingy stolen from my car, parked in an open lot within view of many people and a COP DIRECTING TRAFFIC!!! The police said that the thieves are so good and quick that it looks like they are opening the door with a key. They were likely well dressed and carrying briefcases! They punched the lock in and kindly left it for me on the driver's seat so repairs didn't cost as much. Thanks, guys! Sheesh. So don't feel too bad about leaving the car unlocked. They are still guilty. Not you.
Stinks that your stuff was stolen. I had an expensive radio/tape player (decades ago!) that was installed in a custom-built thingy stolen from my car, parked in an open lot within view of many people and a COP DIRECTING TRAFFIC!!! The police said that the thieves are so good and quick that it looks like they are opening the door with a key. They were likely well dressed and carrying briefcases! They punched the lock in and kindly left it for me on the driver's seat so repairs didn't cost as much. Thanks, guys! Sheesh. So don't feel too bad about leaving the car unlocked. They are still guilty. Not you.
- Thread starter
- #337
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
A few weeks ago at a local convenience store, DH mentioned that he needed to get home to feed the chickens. The owners ears perked up and started asking if we would sell a few. Of course we are willing to sell at a decent price. Well, it turns out the owner is used to getting free range chickens from a farm outside Detroit and he missed them. Hates the grocery store chicken "Too big, no flavor and God only knows how they've lived. Give me a skinny, healthy chicken with some taste any day!" Cool! They are willing to pay $6 each for live chickens, I won't be processing any for them.
So, they've gotten to the point that they can actually buy & butcher them. I wanted to see how much they would weigh dressed (2lbs, 8.9 ounces and he was a smaller one) We had also never done the deed to a chicken before. DH caught one, took it to the front and I brought out the clean, new pruning shears
But hey, it worked! And quite well, his head got lopped off pretty quick & easy, one stroke. Then we dunked him in the scalding pot, ran cold water over him in the sink (I forgot the ice part!) and started plucking. I'm thinking I dunked him a few too many times because the skin started peeled off with the feathers and the top layer of meat was starting to cook. But no worries, we got it done and man, chickens are hard to gut. The lungs especially were difficult to get out.
Other than that, life has been same old same old, Dixie still giving about 3/4 gallon a day, although during those high summer peaks she dipped down to as low as 1/2 gallon. Bunnies are still pooping, but I realize we need 1 more cage for things to run as smoothly as I'd like. We have 9 juvenile kits and 4 breeders still.
Oh! I do have the best compost pile of my life cooking up in the back yard. It start so innocently, too. I spilled a big pile of shavings when I was taking it outside to freshen the coop. I thought, well, there's a low spot right there, so maybe it'll soak up some of the water. Then the chickens started scratching in it, then I decided to rake up all the goat & rabbit poop and voila! It's only been there about 4-5 weeks and already it looks well cooked. Every day the chickens scratch it out & every evening I rake it back up after I lock them up. I loaded up a wheelbarrow load & took it around to the front garden, the rest of it will go in the raised beds in the back. I can't wait to see how the veggies do this spring, I'll let it age until then.
From my early summer planting, the okra is producing (when I can keep the ants off), all but 3 of the tomatoes died, the chard never came up, the radishes died a slow death but the sweet potatoes look amazing! I'm planting fallish stuff now, radishes, kale, carrots and lots of other greens. I finally convinced DH that he likes collards when I hide them in the kale
Here's one of the okra blossoms. It's purty
So, they've gotten to the point that they can actually buy & butcher them. I wanted to see how much they would weigh dressed (2lbs, 8.9 ounces and he was a smaller one) We had also never done the deed to a chicken before. DH caught one, took it to the front and I brought out the clean, new pruning shears
But hey, it worked! And quite well, his head got lopped off pretty quick & easy, one stroke. Then we dunked him in the scalding pot, ran cold water over him in the sink (I forgot the ice part!) and started plucking. I'm thinking I dunked him a few too many times because the skin started peeled off with the feathers and the top layer of meat was starting to cook. But no worries, we got it done and man, chickens are hard to gut. The lungs especially were difficult to get out.
Other than that, life has been same old same old, Dixie still giving about 3/4 gallon a day, although during those high summer peaks she dipped down to as low as 1/2 gallon. Bunnies are still pooping, but I realize we need 1 more cage for things to run as smoothly as I'd like. We have 9 juvenile kits and 4 breeders still.
Oh! I do have the best compost pile of my life cooking up in the back yard. It start so innocently, too. I spilled a big pile of shavings when I was taking it outside to freshen the coop. I thought, well, there's a low spot right there, so maybe it'll soak up some of the water. Then the chickens started scratching in it, then I decided to rake up all the goat & rabbit poop and voila! It's only been there about 4-5 weeks and already it looks well cooked. Every day the chickens scratch it out & every evening I rake it back up after I lock them up. I loaded up a wheelbarrow load & took it around to the front garden, the rest of it will go in the raised beds in the back. I can't wait to see how the veggies do this spring, I'll let it age until then.
From my early summer planting, the okra is producing (when I can keep the ants off), all but 3 of the tomatoes died, the chard never came up, the radishes died a slow death but the sweet potatoes look amazing! I'm planting fallish stuff now, radishes, kale, carrots and lots of other greens. I finally convinced DH that he likes collards when I hide them in the kale
Here's one of the okra blossoms. It's purty
2dream
Flibbertigibbet
I'm surprised people have not been beating your door down for chickens and eggs with the recent egg scare.
I have never plucked a chicken. I always skin, no hot water or dunking required. But, I am thinking I may pluck the next time.
Are you leaving your chickens whole?
I love my compost pile. Like you the chickens keep it turned.
I have never plucked a chicken. I always skin, no hot water or dunking required. But, I am thinking I may pluck the next time.
Are you leaving your chickens whole?
I love my compost pile. Like you the chickens keep it turned.
- Thread starter
- #339
noobiechickenlady
Almost Self-Reliant
I parted this guy just because I had such a hard time getting the lungs out, but as I get better, I may leave them whole.
We're not getting any eggs yet!!
I think their youth along with the heat is delaying them a bit. But, the good news is its cooler now, 65 when I went outside this morning, 69 when I got to work woohoo!!
We're not getting any eggs yet!!
I think their youth along with the heat is delaying them a bit. But, the good news is its cooler now, 65 when I went outside this morning, 69 when I got to work woohoo!!
2dream
Flibbertigibbet
Any words of wisdom on scraping lungs from a whole chicken?
Not that I need to leave it whole since I can most of my chickens, which require cutting them up. But I have often wondered about that aspect of cleaning them.
Not that I need to leave it whole since I can most of my chickens, which require cutting them up. But I have often wondered about that aspect of cleaning them.
