Some may remember that I was very interested, last spring, in incubating eggs and having my chicks arrive not through the mail but from our own hens. I bought an incubator (after failing to build one) and made several attempts to hatch my own. My success rate was never more than 30%. Thankfully, one of [Read the full story …]
Back in the Groove
So, its been far too long since I sat down to write. A lot has happened since last summer… Sadly, not all of it was good and 2014 was a very personally challenging year for my family, my husband, and myself. Happily, we are moving forward. While I try to get back in the habit [Read the full story …]
a Moral consideration
May was a very busy month for me and June is proving to be equally so. My garden is doing very well and keeping me plenty busy, so no complaints there. Also, the animals keep us hopping, with the pigs needing new pasture, the rabbits having babies, continuing to incubate eggs, and even our cat [Read the full story …]
Riding
The other day at a child’s birthday party a friend offered rides on his motorcycle to some of us moms. Many of us realized that it had been a long while since we had been the cute young girls that the bad boy was taking on his bike, so we were all in! A really [Read the full story …]
Spring critters
Things are greening, I’ve been planting, the windows are open, and there are more animal calls to be heard-it is definitively Spring. I could not let my one surviving chick from my first attempt at incubation grow up alone, so my youngest and I drove over to the feed store and bought 3 more Barred Rocks [Read the full story …]
Preparing for Rabbits
I am not the only one with Spring Fever. Living in a small town has some unexpected features, one of which is the importance of the 4H fair. The kids were actually released early from school recently, so everyone could attend the county fair judging the kids crafts and livestock. Of course my school age [Read the full story …]
The Joy of Bread
I love fresh-from-the-oven bread! I think my brain is hard-wired to respond to that rich yeasty smell. The problem is I have never been good at baking bread for myself or my family. Like many people I simply bought bagged bread from the grocery store, often regretting the lack of flavor and the terrible texture. [Read the full story …]
Incubation
I feel an update is necessary on this issue; my first attempt at incubation did not go well. We started the incubator with 21 eggs arbitrarily chosen (mostly by my almost 4 year old) from all of my hens. I had purchased a Styrofoam incubator from my local Tractor Supply, because the “plans” for the [Read the full story …]
Is it time to expand?
Frugal February went off without a hitch. We ate up a bunch of stored stuff, finished some projects that were in a state of near completion, and began plans to meet more of the goals on our way to sustainable homesteading. Some things were not as great. I had a massive failure of the garden [Read the full story …]
Planning for Chicks
We have 15 chickens right now in our flock. I have a variety of breeds, most bought at my local feed store. I have 2 Australorpes, a Buff Orpington, 3 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Americanas, 2 Barred Rocks, and 5 Freedom Rangers including my 2 roosters. The Rhodies, Rocks and Rangers were bought because they [Read the full story …]