Bettacreek - New home? Plus a pic of some of the ladies here

[Wannabefree]

Wow the inmates did a really good job!

Nice looking little poults too They are fun! I love my turks

Variegated hosta are soooooo prettiful! Nice freebie!

 

[Bettacreek]

Yeah, I was excited that they did so much. I of course had to do the compost alone... They were running on being late just to finish up the bush, sod and levelling that sucker out. I'm so happy though. I never figured that I'd look at dirt and think how much food, lol.

 

[Bettacreek]

Well, the BF is talking about getting rid of me... Dropping me off... In the kayak of course, lol. He wants to drop me off somewhere, then have me kayak down to meet him and the boys and continue fishing with them, since I don't get to use my kayak too much with the kids. He's also talking about getting one for himself. I'm trying to think of a way to keep the boys with us. I have the inflatable boat that I have to patch up (note to self: NEVER let little cousins use without MY supervision ever, ever again), but I don't feel safe that way... If someone took a tumble, I'd be hard pressed to get ahold of one of them, and god forbid if something went wrong with their life vest, I couldn't get out of the kayak to get into the water for them. The canoes are on sale at Dick's as well, but I'm not sure I want to spend $400 for a damn canoe.

Incubator is on lockdown with the first batch of eggs. I think I lost my bantam eggs... Everything online says 21 days for bantams and large fowl. I don't quite remember, but I have a strong feeling that I was hatching them out at 18 days. The difference in development from these eggs to the large fowl eggs only makes that feeling stronger. So, I think I've lost all of the bantam eggs. I didn't see any movement in them when I moved the other eggs, but I can't remember if they are mobile at that stage or not (seems they wouldn't move much, thanks to limited room). So, we'll see. Two more days and I'll know if something is going wrong with my incubation practices.

 

[Denim Deb]

My canoe is a solo canoe. But, when my daughter was little, I just stuck her in the front of it. It's about the same size and weight as a lot of solo kayaks, and I think it's more versatile. At one point in time, I thought about getting rid of the canoe and getting a kayak, but I can't sit in a kayak. And it's much easier for me to get in and out of. :/

 

[Bettacreek]

My kayak doesn't have enough room for one of the boys to fit into it. :/ Not to mention, I'm sure they'd hate it, with me beating them over the head with the paddle, lol. A canoe would be awesome for all of us to go, but I just think it'll be at least next year until I get one. For now, it'll have to be inflatable boating for the three of us, or kayaking for myself, lol.


An update on the "homestead"... The wind has been HELL here. The past week has been just about solid thunderstorms. We get some sun on some days, but mostly, it's just nasty weather. When it's warm enough, I let the poults out to forage. They're so freaking awesome. I LOVE my little turkey butts. I have one I'm attached to already, even letting it roam around the main living quarters some (all hardwood floors and tile in the kitchen, so not a big deal to clean up messes). I was laying on the couch earlier, eating some lunch, and put her (wishful thinking) on my lap. She crawled up, tried to eat out of my bowl, then curled up in my hair to take a nap.
Anyways, back to weather, I busted two of my tomato plants because the wind/rain just smashed into us out of nowhere. The poults were my first priority, and by the time I got them rounded up, I had two broken plants. I'm SICK of this weather. I can't even get the rototiller to get the garden anywhere else because they won't come down in the pouring down rain (not that I'd really want to till in it either, but I'm ABOUT to get the shovel out and get it done, rain or no rain.

Another fun thing... I did the naughty and peeked in on the eggs. I have a ton of little pips and a few zips. I'm LOVING this spring! These guys are a little early (due tomorrow) but I figured I might have an issue with that, because I'm set at 100 (I couldn't find a thermometer measuring anything other than full degrees that was in my budget). But, I'm not too worried about it. If I'm lucky, I'll have chicks out and ready before the auction tomorrow, and if I'm SUPER lucky, the day will be clear enough to be able to hit the auction. However, if the weather is still garbage, I'm not even going to bother taking them. One week of feed on baby chicks wouldn't be too much, and should bring in a better profit.

 

[Bettacreek]

I have a dozen chicks that were moved to the brooder this morning. The "barred ameraucana" don't look very barred... They're blue. Ah well, cute all the same, plus that will make auction a little easier (nobody wants to buy roosters, and everyone knows how to sex barred). Unfortunately, we aren't going to auction today. I figure I'll wait until next week, then all of these eggs will be hatched and I should have some from the group of 90 eggs that can go as well.

Little Hoover (the poult I like) is getting to be crazy. SHE does fine when I take them outside, but when they go in the brooder, she comes flying up to me and freaks out until I pick her up. I've watched, and she's not being picked on or anything. She loves curling up in my hair on my shoulder (I'm just waiting for her to crap in my hair :/) and when I eat when I have her, she tries to steal my food, lol.

I also saw one of the royal palm poults STRUTTING! They're less than a week old and trying to strut, lol. I was thinking that all of the RP's are males, which is actually somewhat fine by me. I'm not really liking the royal palm poults... I like my mixie and the bronze is nice, but those RP's aren't nearly as nice. I'm debating waiting a little and raising another group off just RP's, then I might be able to fall for one of them a little better, with no competition from something way sweeter, lol.

 

[Bettacreek]

So, last time I checked, there were 17 chicks, 12 pips and only one candled egg looked like it wasn't doing anything.
Got another load of compost, and one more to go, then the tiller hits the dirt.
On my way back from getting my first load of compost, I saw a turkey fryer along the road... Stopped and asked the guy if he was getting rid of it, he says "yeah, it works, I just haven't used it in two years, and since we're moving, it'd be stupid to bring it with, so have at it, I hope you enjoy it" SCORE! They're like $60, and I couldn't afford one. This thing is like brand new too, has all the paperwork and all of the accessories!

 

[Denim Deb]

I trash picked one awhile back, but hubby's never used it. He kept saying he wanted one. I don't know if this one works or not, but since it's been outside now for several months, even if it did work B4, it probably doesn't now.

 

[Bettacreek]

Should check it and see, then make him use it, lol. I didn't necessarily NEED one, I was planning on using my canner, but this is so much easier. I guess it's one of those "man things" that they have to have, yet never use it, lol. Ah well, the spoils of trash picking sure will save me a lot of hassle with plucking!
I just need a propane tank for it, but George has one that still has propane in it, so I should be all set. Finished my last load of compost. I swear, I think I burst an ovary this time! Ah well, that "busted ovary" sure will taste good when I get to harvest some delicious fresh produce!

 

[Bettacreek]

Freaking chickens are still going at it. Count right now is 27 hatched, 9 pipped/zipped and 6 with no pips. I'm going to candle them here soon to see if the non-pips have any activity in them, then let them go for the night. I have several people interested in buying them. I put them at $1.50 for the jumbo egg layers (they look to be Rhode Island's), $3 for the blue Ameraucanas, $2.50 for the other EE's and the bantam cochins are $2. I priced them right about what I'd get at the auction, in hopes of getting them out of here before the auction. Even at 27 chicks, it's getting to be quite crazy. The little chipmunk cheeks sure are cute though! And, to think... I'm going to be going through this all over again next week! Oh lordy, what was I thinking? Lol. I'm hoping that this little batch here covers the cost of the eggs from both batches, plus maybe a little extra... Then anything that hatches out next week, that money can start to go towards feed (maybe, just maybe paying for this bag AND a 100lb bag later?!) I think next time I decide to get eggs, I'll try to get enough to fill the incubator all in one batch. I need to build up a nice, safe brooder for everyone I'm keeping to go outside, and maybe I could just do a slightly larger brooder in the house for hatching/sales chicks.

Oh, AND the garden is just about ready. Poor George got stuck at work late, then had to go to the gym, THEN he comes home and has to help me get the tiller going. He ended up tilling it, because this thing is about as big as a walk-behind tiller can get, and I was going a little slow when I had to turn it at the corners, so he ended up just doing it himself, lol. I'm also liking the onion "companion" thing with the tomatoes... I think I'm going to do that so I can maximize production, and get more onions for my sauces. I wish I could do garlic, I could really just about kick myself in the arse over that. Hopefully I can find a good bit of chives around though, and I can add that. Plus the berries are starting to get little buds on them, so in another two weeks or so, I'm hoping that they'll be nice and ripe and ready for jam. As of right now, I only have one dozen pint size jars, plus whatever random ones I have around mom's house. I'll have to go look around and see where all they've stuffed them. I think a dozen plus whatever I have laying around should get me through the blackberries, but I'm trying to get a dozen or two each time I have to go to the store, so it's not as much of an expense or hassle when it comes time to start canning. Huckleberries will still be a little while before they come in, and I hope I can get a decent harvest this year, because I LOVE huckleberry jam. Also going to keep stalking the cattail. I really hope the cattails taste like broccoli like they're supposed to... I can get a decent harvest of them in the kayak, then prep and freeze them. Going to have to start watching my freezer space though, and keep on looking for a dirt cheap chest freezer. Right now, I moved my london broil and 6lbs of bacon from mom's house to here, and that just about does it for the freezer. I can can up the london broil, but I'd really rather not... It's rare to find steak that is within budget, and man do I love steak.


ETA: Did my math... With the chicks that are hatched right now, if I sell them all at the prices listed, I'll make $50.50. That covers the $26.50 for the gas and eggs (including the pekin eggs I'm keeping), plus the $16 bag of feed with $8 left over. If I get a 70% hatch rate on the eggs in the next group, I'll have 63 chicks, and if I sell at a buck a piece, that's $71, including the money leftover from the last batch, which would actually cover my turkey poults and the button quail eggs (I spent more than I probably should have on button eggs, I admit). So, then there's just the brooder lights to pay for right now... But, I'll also have to cover my building costs for the pen, plus I'd LIKE to pay for my garden starts with the chooks. So, if I hit auction next week, I'll be looking for more cheap-o eggs, and this time, hopefully enough cheap ones (under $1/doz, preferably closer to $0.25/doz) to fill up the incubator... Even if it means buying another brooder box and lamp ($15) just to do it.