Colowyo - grudgingly settling in :P

[colowyo0809]

Welcome back! Good luck with the hyena surgery. The hernia too. It's a shame spell check doesn't read minds to know what we actually mean.

lol, i know how to spell hernia, even without the spell check i actually had to have the spell check correct my spelling of hyena, i had it as hyenia I just like calling them (thats right, them. I have two ) hyenas.
Thanks for the welcome!

 

[colowyo0809]

Goats are a LOT more work than the chickens. But Hubby won't let me get rid of them, even tho I do all the work and he drinks all the milk/eats all the cheese.

Nice to see you here ... saw you from time to time on BYC.

Yeah, I want a goat or two for the milk and cheese, especially since my SO loves cheese, but we aren't home enough to do the milking. I'd gladly even take wethers for the eventual meat and for the weed eating aspect, but nope.

Yeah, i remember talking to you in the Colorado thread

 

[colowyo0809]

Well, welcome back!

Too bad about no 4-legged animals- but they are a huge amount of work. The fact that we both work full weeks means we can't get anything to milk, either, as disappointing as it is. Well, that and the fact that *someone* around here can't get rid of baby animals, especially if she knows they are veal or goat meat if they are male

Glad to have you back in the fold. Good luck with the surgery!

lol, yeah, someone else has that baby animal problem too. and then they hit that awkward ugly phase and suddenly it's all, are they still here?

It does kinda suck though, cause I wouldn't mind a couple wethers or even a couple pigs. But then that leads to we aren't home to close them up at night most nights and we can't count on the in-laws to do it all the time
I still want to move to New Zealand
Thanks for the welcome!

 

[abifae]

 

[Wifezilla]

I am taking my drakes to Simla. They charge $7.50 a piece, which is kind of expensive. Especially since they only charge $3 per chicken. But plucking and cleaning a duck is harder than a chicken, and when I butchered drakes they ended up looking like I had used a weed whacker to clean them

Someone on the BYC Colorado thread listed other processors closer to Denver. You should have more options in your neck of the woods.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Hubby is taking 10-15 of our black australorps to simla on Saturday. Maybe he'll see ya there!

 

[colowyo0809]

WZ - There is a processor in Hudson that I use for our chickens (although they haven't written me back yet to let me know when the next processing date is!) but I don't think they do ducks. I may just have to learn how to process them here and just skin them instead of plucking them. we shall see

Abi -

So, I was out enlarging the duck run area yesterday, and working with the pickhoe (it's probably a pickaxe but since it has a hoe blade on one side and a pick on the other i prefer to call it a pickhoe ) and the post pounder and now I have blisters on my palms and fingers. The ones on the fingers are ok, and in fact seem to be going away, but the ones on my palms all broke while I was working and now they sting when I stretch my hands to far. Any suggestions? I can't do arnica cream because you aren't supposed to put that in open breaks. I put aloe on yesterday, but it was so slimey I couldn't do anything until it was dried (although, to be honest, I probably put too much on, I tend to with lotions and creams and such, which is why I don't like using them). I read somewhere that honey is good for burns and burn blisters, but what about if the skin is broken? And should that be the raw unprocessed honey or is the processed ok?

Also, I'm thinking I'm going to get the filet knife I got at the outdoors store really sharp and then test it on one of the chickens to see if it works for the neck and for skinning. If I do this, do I have to freeze the carcass or can I process the bird and then toss it in the oven/crock pot? does anyone know why I couldn't do this? To be honest, this might actually make things easier here. Once a week go out to the coop at night and put a bird in a small enclosure to keep it from eating during the night and the next morning, then go out in the morning, string it up, slice the artery, skin and gut it, then toss it in the crockpot all day and have chicken for dinner that evening granted, I have never actually done this, just read alot, so it's entirely possible that I am oversimplifying the process and it really won't be that simple. Thoughts?

I've decided that I am currently putting to much of my money into my 401(k) fund so I scaled back from 10% to 5%. I plan on taking that other 5% and splitting it in half and putting each half into it's own savings account. This way I can try and save for big purchases and expenditures in the future, or just have money saved if needed and needed faster than I can get it out of the 401(k). As it was I was saving over $100 each paycheck into the 401(k) so that should put at least $25 into each of the savings accounts each paycheck. And yes, I realize bringing home that extra bit means that they will tax it, but I'll still get most of it and I'll still put that much away, regardless. I need to start saving money for things like an engagement ring, wedding plans, honeymoon, new beds, fixing the vehicles, getting that stupid crown on my back tooth, having someone haul in enough straw and dirt to redo the whole freaking yard, trees, bushes, better coops, etc

I need to rent a jackhammer and buy some cattle panels so I can redo the fence that runs between us and the neighbors. Some of the smaller birds like to go through the fence to their yard and I'm afraid at some point they'll start eating her garden and then the **** will fly!

Aight, I was outside earlier and got hit with such lethargy that I came in to rest and get online for a few minutes. That turned into almost two hours, so I need to get outside and bust my ass into gear. I need to finish hardware clothing the bottom areas of the duck run so the smaller birds will stop going in there and eating their food. Stupid chickens. Oh, and I need to replace the gate. Beh.

I feel like I've been sick and am currently recouping but I only did three or fours hours of hard work before going to my job yesterday. I shouldn't feel this way.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Welcome back! Good luck with the hyena surgery. The hernia too. It's a shame spell check doesn't read minds to know what we actually mean.

lol, i know how to spell hernia, even without the spell check i actually had to have the spell check correct my spelling of hyena, i had it as hyenia I just like calling them (thats right, them. I have two ) hyenas.
Thanks for the welcome!

Welcome back and good luck with the hyena/hernia thing. The only thing worse that a matching set/pair is when they're triplets.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I read somewhere that honey is good for burns and burn blisters, but what about if the skin is broken? And should that be the raw unprocessed honey or is the processed ok?
- Honey is amazing, and is fine on broken skin. It has even been used as a surgical dressing sometimes. The enzymes in raw honey do give it an advantage, but using the other stuff is still good.
fixed typo

I feel like I've been sick and am currently recouping but I only did three or fours hours of hard work before going to my job yesterday. I shouldn't feel this way.
- Doing 3-4 hours before going to a normal job would be exhausting. Make sure you take good care of yourself.

 

[Farmfresh]

Also, I'm thinking I'm going to get the filet knife I got at the outdoors store really sharp and then test it on one of the chickens to see if it works for the neck and for skinning. If I do this, do I have to freeze the carcass or can I process the bird and then toss it in the oven/crock pot? does anyone know why I couldn't do this? To be honest, this might actually make things easier here. Once a week go out to the coop at night and put a bird in a small enclosure to keep it from eating during the night and the next morning, then go out in the morning, string it up, slice the artery, skin and gut it, then toss it in the crockpot all day and have chicken for dinner that evening granted, I have never actually done this, just read alot, so it's entirely possible that I am oversimplifying the process and it really won't be that simple. Thoughts?

Minus the crockpot, which was not invented yet cooks have been doing just that for centuries!

I used to go to my aunt's and help them process chickens. The deal was the first two (or sometimes three ) were brought immediately to the kitchen. We would continue cleaning birds and meanwhile someone (usually my aunt) would season those birds up and get them on the rotisserie grill. When the job was complete we would shower and change clothes then sit down to the rotisserie chicken, potato salad, salad, and baked beans. Usually there was even homemade cinnamon rolls and homemade ice cream.

Hmm - no wonder I always liked working for her.