Cooter's Eye

One of my ducks had "white-eye syndrome."  Okay, that's what I call it.  It gets all foamy and swollen and horrible looking.  Everything I read says its from unclean environment, stale air, etc.  Well, my birds are free range in the garden (72x24) and even run free on the rest of the 17 acres occasionally, of course, never touching the pond...go figure.  I dump and rinse their pool at least once, if not twice, daily.  It apparently could also be from trauma. Well, the boys have been fighting, but they seem to attack the neck from what I have witnessed.  I am hoping that is the case. Otherwise, it would be some horrible bacterial infection that would take out the whole flock of four.

Poor Cooter was isolated in the small duck coop where they stayed early this past spring, and will more than likely be put up at night this winter to keep safe.  It too is super ventilated, so I don't foresee a problem with that.

I tried several different remedies for him.  I changed his water three to four times a day to make sure it stayed clean.  On day one, I bought some Vetericyn spray (although it was not the pink eye formula).  This is just a wound wash safe for eyes, ears and mouth.  (I was hoping it was something stronger at that price!) Since a week of getting it, I have used it on Cooter as well as our cat, Oreo.  I am sure it will be a good addition to the barn medicine cabinet.  It did not really seem to help other than to wash away the foam covering his eye for a short time so that I could see just how swollen and icky it really was.  The next day it was starting to foam in the other eye.
Panic ensued. 
Luckily, there was no sign of it spreading to anyone else, which made me be think this had to be an injury from fighting.
After more research and perusing the web, I added apple cider vinegar (ACV) to his water and continued to wash it.  By the next morning it seemed to have improved a bit, but was really hard to tell.
The next day, again, after more research and pure desperation so as not to either take him to the vet (not enough funds for that) or begin culling, I went the conventional route and bought some water soluble antibiotic.  I used that in his water and he seemed to improve a bit more after that. 
Oh, but he was a mess.  He was not happy being separated from his family.  Pacing, quacking.
By day four, the swelling had gone down, no more foamy production.  There was just a little bit of color change around the skin of the eye. I felt he could see out of it again.
I went ahead and let him out.  He was very happy for a while but then went back to fighting.  I guess being cooped up he had a lot of pent up energy and hormones to release. 
At least this time he won. So far, all is well.  But they still get a bit chippy.  I am going to be investing a few more females to add to the flock to hopefully help this. 

Now that their summer pool is put away so as not to freeze and crack and various buckets have been brought out, I think as a prophylactic measure and overall health benefit, I will add ACV to their buckets weekly.  I have, in the past, done this for the chickens, and will be more diligent with their water too.  This is going to be even more important as the fowl/poultry are being locked in every night. 

Always something to learn on the homestead...

Menu Monday 12-14-15

Time to get back to some normalcy around here.  The best way to get back on track is to make my menu plan.  So...

This week supper will include (starting tomorrow):
Spaghetti, broccoli, cottage cheese, salad and homemade garlic bread

Taco salad with homemade taco sauce, ranch dressing mixed with salsa, and taco seasoning that  also  needs to be made.  Also some homemade tortillas.

Chicken potpie with one of the Zaycon chicken breasts, fruit dessert of some kind (probably fruit cocktail, maybe a jello salad- how retro).

Chili soup with PB&J

Nachos, fully loaded, with salad

Pork roast with potatoes and carrots, buttermilk biscuits and, you guessed it, a salad!

BBQ pork sandwiches, Texas style potato salad, cole slaw, and Arnold Palmers

I will have to get my grocery list together later today.  I am sure I need a trip to Sam's for staples and a few dairy related items, and the rest will more than likely come from Aldi, or Ingles if we are in a pinch. 

I also have a few lunchbox items to make.  Trail mix, pb&j for the freezer, chicken salad, pimento cheese, etc.  It's raining today and probably would have been a good day for some mixing and blending and bagging, but, unfortunately, clean clothes trumped...using the dryer for fire-starting lint balls. Ha!

Until tomorrow, when maybe I can get my To-Do list back up and in working order too.  Oh, dear!

Late Fall Update

I thought this was the South; it turned cold all of a sudden.  Well, I guess it is December. 

Boy, this last month has flown by and the Holidays are here!  The hubby and kids spent Thanksgiving in the Midwest with family.  I was here for two reasons: 1)  I had to take care of the animals, and 2) I was in much need of a break that I used for prayer and fasting.  It was a wonderful time.  Growing up as an only child, alone time is very restorative, not lonely at all.  Besides, I have plenty of animals to talk to :)

We are trying to get ready for the winter.  Wood carried up from the holler.  Straw and pine shreds in the barn stalls and coops. All kinds of little maintenance projects to be done.  I tried to put "noodle" insulation with duct tape over the spigot in the goat yard.  Well, I noticed Brie had duct tape stuck to her chest and the actual Styrofoam stuff was partly scattered over the yard and partly missing.  I am sure that's healthy for them!  Guess we'll have to figure out plan B. 

Since it's been cool and rainy and dreary, I have been in the kitchen more. Makes for better meal planning, doesn't it? 

 

 

There has been some nice slow time though.  For everyone. 

 

 

As we head into the hustle and bustle of the holidays, remember to take time to enjoy the important things, you know, the things that can't be wrapped or bought on Black Friday. 

Goat Trough Turned Planter

I have it my head that I must build a goat trough.  They fight too much over the purple hanging bucket. 

In the unutilized greenhouse, I unloaded some wood that hubby got from work a while back when they tore apart a large crate.  It has been stored in there just waiting for me to get the gumption to do something with it.  Today is the day.

Let's face it, I have no carpentry skills at all!  My nails always go in crooked and I spend most of my "working" time trying to straighten the nails.  That is why I have not attempted to build anything. 
But you know what, I never will if I don't even start.  So, I did.

I carried the circular saw, the handsaw (just in case), a crappy hammer, too-big nails and a tape measure to the greenhouse.  Daughter came down to hang out with me (of course, she helped too).

We began by prying out the dozens of staples.  Really, is it necessary to have 30 staples per board?  Were they shipping elephants in the crates?  We got the staples out of the middle and one end.  The other end we just cut off to make the boards close to the same length.  I did bring a tape measure, but didn't really use it. 

I ran back into the house to get a red pencil to mark where I wanted to pre-drill for the too-big nails.  Yes, even though I didn't have what I really needed to make a goat trough good, I just wanted to get it going, taking mental notes along the way.  (I have many pages of mental notes...)

After getting all the holes pre-drilled, we began construction.  Too-big nails + too-small boards = way too small for a goat trough, not to mention that some of my handy-dandy hammering left a few nails sticking out of the back side and one on the front!  Errr! That's okay.  I know now that I need a wider board for the bottom and I need smaller nails for the sides, and I could use the "measure twice, cut once" banner above my work table.  I used the ends that I cut off for the ends of trough, and this is where a little better planning and measuring would have come in handy.   But all in all, it was okay...for a planter.  I don't believe the chickens, let alone the goats could get their big old gourds in there.  I could, however, grow some decent size carrots or beets in there, along with cool weather crops like lettuce, radishes and chard. 

 

 

 

So, I will take my goat trough planter and spruce it up a bit with some fun colors on the outside and put some veggies on the inside for now.  If it lasts through the winter, I will plant colorful flowers or something a little more fun in it.  Worse comes to worst, I could plant wheatgrass and other fodder for the goats, making it sort of a goat trough...

So back to the drawing board.  I think my second attempt will be better; goodness, I hope so!

Good-Bye Old Friend

Over the summer, my favorite pair of knit capri yoga pant cut-offs were washed and dried scores of times.   They became thin, long and full of holes.  The seams were wearing away.  I cut them off with every inch they stretched.  But alas, as with everyone's favorites T-shirts, sweats or even  underwear, the time comes when we must part ways, when nothing can be salvaged, not even for a rag, but who would dare!  Those pants were above wiping dust off the mantle! Someone needs to take the trash out now.  I can't...I just can't.

RIP gray ones...RIP

 

Two Week Menu 11/7-11/21

This is going to be a couple of those "special" weeks.  With buying the chicken in bulk, our auto insurance increases, some unexpected medical bills, some higher priced healthier groceries last payday, and the timing of bills versus payday,  this week's menu and grocery list is some slim pickin's.  Personally, I love these challenge weeks.  It forces me to be creative and resourceful, and brings that personal satisfaction that one can achieve only through surviving a hardship. (Okay, that sounds a bit exaggerated, doesn't it.)  The family curls their nose at these menus, but I seem to do the same amount of dishes, actually more, so they must partake.

Breakfast (only on the weekends): Cream of wheat x 2, oatmeal x 2 and I have a can of o.j in the freezer left that we can stretch through one weekend.  I think we still have apple cider too.

 

Lunch:  Leftover suppers, frozen PB&J sandwiches, peaches, and rice crispy candy

 

Dinner: Leftover macaroni marinara with meatballs

Eggs, sausage, homemade toast with honey

"Fried" chicken breasts (1/2 per person), mashed potatoes, corn, homemade biscuits

Vegetable soup (clean out fridge day)

Chicken, rice, mixed vegetables

Pancakes

Chicken 'n dumplings, green beans

Chili soup

Homemade beef/cheese ravioli, broccoli or leftover green beans

"Fried" pork chops, rice with gravy, mixed vegetables

Pork stir-fry with rice

Pizza

Baked oatmeal, canned peaches, sausage

Tuna noodle casserole, peas, applesauce

 



 



My To-Do list:  Make 2 batches of biscuits (freeze extra)  make bread for sandwiches, dinner bread, pizza dough (freeze extra), rice cereal candy, make milk (include remaining whole milk, evap milk), make ravioli and noodles, cook kidney beans for chili.  I have a variety of dried beans that I might go ahead and cook up to freeze or can.  (Probably freeze with the extra baking that has to be done.) Pinto, black, red, cranberry, garbanzo, navy...I think I have a hoarding problem!

 

The grocery list includes, potatoes, flour and buttermilk.  I think we can swing that.  Maybe if things go well I can find some fresh salad vegetables too.  Fingers crossed.  I tried to start some lettuce seeds last month, but they did not survive: the caveat of having one commercial-sized greenhouse too expensive to heat/cool, and one too small to remember!

 

Our weather seems to be cloudy and more rain chances this coming week, so it will be an excellent baking week less the humidity, but at least I know I won't be missing out on the sunshine and fall breezes. 

 

What's on your upcoming menu? 

Bulk Chicken Breast Order

As of yet, we are still not able to eat only our chickens. (We only had three roosters to butcher this spring and they are long gone.) I have asked Santa for a nice incubator to help us until we can get some Silkies ordered next spring.  My hens are not broody at all and I really want to be able to hatch out our chicks and ducklings.

Until we can get a routine to keep our freezer full with our own chickens, I still have to buy some.  That's where Zaycon Fresh comes in.  We had tried their lean beef a couple of months ago and it was excellent (and promised no pink slime in it).  I have heard lots of great things about their chicken too, so we purchased a box.  Yes, that equals 40-pounds of chicken breasts we brought home.

Other than the passive two and a half hours of canning time, it only took a couple of hours to get it all squared away. 

We brought home the nice box of chicken breasts that were bagged in 10-pound  bags and those four bags were double bagged in sealed blue plastic.  No worry about a mess in the car or even the box. 
The counters...a different story.

Cutting the trimmed breasts for the pint jars

Raw packed and ready for the canner

On your mark, get set, go!

 

Meanwhile, making freezer-ready

 

Plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, then...

Finally, gallon freezer bags

 

Had to put honey on my steam burn (one should
 pay attention to what they are doing)

Waiting for the "pings"

 

Ta-da!  Everything is put away nicely and ready for use.  I did keep a couple of whole breasts in the refrigerator to cook a few meals from soon.  Tonight, however, as requested from Hubby of course, is buffalo chicken and celery sticks.  I guess I had better make some homemade ranch dressing too!  (A great big thanks to Amy/Aunt Addie for the bottle of hot sauce that made it here from Indiana!)

Don't forget, if you want to give Zaycon a try, please use this link so I can get some credit on my next order.  Does that sound needy?  It should, I am.  zayconfresh.com/refer/zf471524

As a suggestion, get your orders in early.  I wanted to try their kielbasa last month (Octoberfest kielbasa and sauerkraut-Mmm) and it was sold out before I could barely think about it!