Okay. I've lived in the country all of my life. (Except those three years in Minneapolis, temporary insanity.) I have always had a garden, usually quite a few animals and my parents were into sustainability, when sustainability wasn't cool. In all of my years of experience (that's a lot), I've never butchered anything! I've helped, but never done it. A dear friend, who can do just about anything homestead like, came over on Friday with her two children and we proceeded to butcher our turkeys and chickens. Now this may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but it was hurdle I needed to get over if I really wanted to wisely use all of the resources God has given us. No more senior center for chickens. My son and I can now take care of this. We had fresh turkey, home grown mashed potatoes and tomatoes, and peas for dinner yesterday. The turkey was great! Now if our cow was milking, I could have claimed fresh milk for the meal.
We had a Buff hatch out 14 chicks on Friday. I told her it was a little late, but she paid me no never mind and did it anyways. We have one more hen that's not listening to reason, and should hatch hers out in a week or so.
Today-I carted up 1/2 bushel of ripe tomatoes from the basement and I think I'll do ketchup with them this time. We're out.
I find so much help on this site. I found a recipe for apple cider vinegar using just the peels and cores http://www.solarfamilyfarm.com/ I made this and it worked! I made two gallons to use as hair rinse, mostly.
Another thing I found on homestead blogger, how to make yeast , or make it last longer.
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/16 t. yeast
Put together, let set for five hours and you have enough starter to make a loaf of bread. Decrease the amount of liquid and flour in your recipe by the amount in your starter.
This saves big time on yeast.
Well, this has been a long post. Best stop now, I must be in a talkative mood.
Blessings.
3 comments:
I am gald to see that I am not the only one with hesitations about doing in the chickens. I too feel that way. When my day comes, I will return to this page for encouragement! Great website also for the apple cider vinegar. I live across the street from an apple orchard that does apple cider, so I can get all the apple peels I want.
Debbie
Congratulations on the butchering...I too, have this fear of doing this. But I will next year start my own meat chickens. I'll be working on their special co-op this winter. You must spin, as your picture on your web gives me this clue..lol. I just bought a spinning wheel, after using a drop spindle the past year. I love it... I have dairy goats and would like to find an angora goat to keep them company..if I can't find one here then I'll get bunnies. I saw that you posted on my blog, and still not sure how is the best way to reply back. As far as living here in the foothills...it's beautiful, but sure has grown since I moved here. I'm ready to move but would hate to leave the kids grandparents...so I'll keep squeezing my country lifestyle into this little corner I have.
Blessings, Cindylee
Oh yes...I'd like to add you to my friends
Hello Rhonda!
oh I giggled when I read your comment~~can you imagine going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant or to church and your husband is wearing YOUR favourite aftershave lotion~~~powersaw-sawdust~~The only aftershave for REAL men! hahahaha~~maybe we could patent it!?
Seniors home for chickens hey? Done so much chicken butchering and am good at it that I lay low when people are looking for someone to help them. Its sort of like fencing and milking just never admit you know how to do it at least never freely admit it. Glad you got into it though and will be able to do it now.
We have had cluckie hens bring off their chicks just in time for bitter cold way below zero. I think they get their internal clocks messed up ~~have also had hens that will stay cluckie forever poor silly things. Have a big day ahead delivering firewood and all that so better go Have fun with your "homesteading" stuffs
God Bless Roxanne
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