Dedra

It is sad today to say that I have lost one of my chickens. Dedra is an Araucana...also known as an "Easter Egg" chicken because she layed beautiful green eggs. I noticed last week that she wasn't acting "right". Her feathers were dirty and messed up. I watched her for a couple of days and then Brennan noticed a really bad spot on her back. It was swollen and hot, red and angry looking. No outward infection. We put her in the dog crate and watched her a day or so. She seemed to be doing better...eating and drinking. We put her back in with the other hens to see how she would do....they of course pecked her into a corner. I put her back in the house and waited. We got her feeling better again and re-introduced her in the coop. They left her alone...but she seperated herself from everyone. I went out Christmas Eve to find her unable to get up. I wrapped her in an old shirt and put her in a nest box. She stopped eating and drinking and today we put her out of her misery. She was comatose and not really responding...wouldn't even open her eyes. It was so sad.

I went out and cleaned and disinfected the nest box and anything else she came into contact with!

Hopefully...that is the last time we have to do anything like this!

Flaker Mill

This week I ordered a flaker mill attachment for my Bosch mixer. It gives me the ability to flake any kind of grain or seed fresh...instead of storing rolled oats. I can now buy the whole oat groats and flake..or roll...them myself. I tried it today! It was cool!!! It worked perfectly and very quickly. I flaked about 4 cups of oats in about 3 minutes. They taste yummy and are a little thicker than a store-bought rolled oat. They are also absolutely fresh! Which means more nutrition for your family! Yay!

Chickens and Freezing Weather!

Wow! It is really cold today. It was 9 degrees as I drove to Seminary this morning. I came home and checked on my chickens and found frozen waterers, but happy chickens. I made some oatmeal with cornmeal mixed in and gave them some hot mash. They love it! I think it is so funny that they will roost outside with the cold underneath them. BRRRR! Got 2 eggs so far this morning. I have been getting 2-3 a day....down from 5-7 a day at the beginning of November. I have decided to keep the light on during the night to see if it will boost the egg production. It will keep them warm as well.

Under Pressure !!!

The pressure cooker and I have never been friends. I was raised by a Mom that was afraid that the pressure cooker would blow us all up if we used it! Now, back in the old days of pressure cooking that was a true worry! I remember my Mom using her pressure canner one time! She canned green beans back in 1977 or 1978! We lived in Weston, Oregon and I was in high school. She had a really nice, new Presto Harvest Gold pressure canner. It worked great! She put it in the box and we moved to Juneau, Alaska, Vancouver, Washington...I got married...the pressure canner continued to move to Montana, Utah, Northern Washington, Olympia, Washington and finally back to Vancouver. When my parents decided to move to Idaho.....I was gifted the Presto Harvest Gold pressure canner. It sat in the box until my friend, Diana Wooldridge taught me how to can grape juice. She cans all the time and is NOT afraid. She is fearless! I am jealous. I did some green beans last summer in the Presto. What a LOT of work....for a few bottles of beans!

My Mother-in-law, Colleen, showed me the wonders of pressure cooking on the stove. She makes roasts, chicken and other good stuff. It is such a timesaver! So....I decided it was time for me to be brave and try! I got a Presto pressure cooker....an older one...and started to use it! I learned to like the swish-swish of the regulator. I could do stew meat in a flash. Chicken, rice, potatoes for mashed in minutes! Awesome!

I graduated to a Kuhn-Rikon pressure cooker and left behind the swish! I lost the the regulator...but gained a modern, safe pressure cooker! I still had to monitor it on the stove, but it worked great!

Until....I met....the Cuisinart ELECTRIC countertop Pressure cooker! TaDa! Can I have a little Heavenly choir music! I LOVE IT! I can set it and walk away! I can cook beans right out of the #10 can without soaking them! (Because, let's face it...who remembers to soak the beans until it's too late) I can do stew meat, chicken, pork taco meat, rice, potatoes! It has a timer, shuts itself off, and keeps the food warm! Could there be a more perfect convenience? I bought it at Costco for $69.99! It saves up to 70% in time and because you cook the food so quickly, you keep the nutrition. And you save energy! What more could you ask for?

Eggstra ! Eggstra! Read all about it!

Finally...more than 2 eggs a day! On Saturday, my friend Melanie went to check on eggs. When I asked her if there were eggs..she said "Just one" and then she took her other hand from behind her back and had 3 more eggs. So we had 5 eggs on Saturday. Yay!

The green egg is from the Easter Egger chicken...i have 3 of them...the hens! The light tan egg is from Martha, the Buff Orpington. Still trying to figure who else is laying! Hate to stalk the coop...but it is so fun! Like a treasure hunt everyday.

The coop needs to be cleaned out. We had torrential downpours this weekend and the mud and water are in the coop as well as in the run. Yuck! The EE chicken layed her egg on the floor Sunday. It was muddy and gross. We ate it first!

EGGS!!!

Brennan went out this afternoon to water the chickens and....found an egg! WooHoo! I thought he was joking and put an egg from the fridge in the boxes. Monte went out to check the boxes and found another one! I am so excited! It's like a treasure hunt! They are small...but perfect! Great for a first effort! Now..I just have to figure out WHO layed them...2 different colors...so 2 girls are laying!

Canning

Summer Canning is here! I have started to can up a storm. The WSU Extension Office has a class call "Stocking the Pantry". It is a food preserving class covering Drying/Freezing, Jams and Jellies, Canning Fruit and Pie Fillings, Pickling Food, Tomatoes and Salsa and finally, Pressure Canning Meats and Low-acid foods. I missed the first 2 classes but I have learned SOOO much in the classes I attended. Mainly.....I need to be much safer in the way I process our food! I learned that head space is important, as is how much you crank the ring. I have been turning them WAY too TIGHT! I always wondered why I had juice sputtering out of my jars! RING TOO TIGHT!! I have now been following the guidelines given and have been very successful with my "problems"!

I do have one thing to say! Follow a CURRENT-TESTED-RECIPE! Use the Ball Canning book or go to an Extension office and get the most up-to-date information regarding safety in food preserving! Don't use Grandma's pickle recipe or just turn the jam jar upside down to seal! (I am totally guilty of that one---been doing it forever!) It's just not safe anymore~you must water-bath process Jam and jellies....pretty much everything...including pickled foods! (I just water-bathed the first pickles in my life!)

Botulism is odorless, colorless and tasteless! Use approved canning methods ALWAYS and you can rest easy about serving your home-canned foods!

OK....here is my RANT! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT HOME-CAN BUTTER!!!!

There is a frightening "RECIPE" flying around the internet and LDS Churches everywhere that it is SAFE? to can butter! Don' t be an idiot! IT IS NOT ONLY UNSAFE...IT COULD KILL YOUR FAMILY!! There is no "canning" done....you are just heating the butter and doing the old upside down seal trick! It is NOT safely processed!

If you have done this....throw out the jar, lid and contents! Once it is contaminated with botulism...it is considered hazardous waste! NO KIDDING!

I actually was gonna try this before I took the canning classes! So glad I didn't do it! Not even worth the risk!

You can buy commercially canned butter by Red Feather!

The photo shows apricot nectar, cherry pie filling and 6 pints of dill pickles waiting for the canner!

Be safe and have fun canning for your family!