Fom Hatch to Harvest

Pipping

We did it. After several years of raising chickens for eggs, then adding meat birds to the mix, we finally accomplished a self-sufficiency goal: hatching our own chicken eggs, raising them to adulthood, filling the freezer, and replenishing the laying stock. (Previously our meat birds and new layers were bought as day old chicks from a hatchery.)

It was a sometimes disappointing, but overall exciting process. And I feel so satisfied opening the freezer to see 14 lovely birds, knowing what they were fed, where they lived, and how they were handled.

What a blessing to have the confidence to serve safe, healthy chicken throughout the winter. No recalls. No added yuck. Just pastured, organically fed chicken. Woo hoo!

So, to recapture the process, let me begin at the beginning. Which in our case started with the chicken, not the egg.

We are raising several breeds, trying to find the right mixture of egg layer/meat bird to food conversion ratio. (The most meat and eggs for the least amount of grain food.) Leghorns are fantastic egg layers. But as meat birds they just aren't worth the trouble, averaging out at about 2.5 lbs at 20 weeks. On the other hand, Cornish x Rocks make lots of meat in just a few short weeks, but trying to get them to propagate their own species is a no go...they need to be artificially inseminated. Plus they are just plain gross frankenbirds. (In my opinion.)

For the past two years we have worked with New Hampshire Reds, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Ameracaunas. So that is what we hatched. (I tried some Leghorn eggs, too, but only had one hatch and grow to adulthood....an Ameracauna Leghorn mixed rooster.)

I'll not go into too much detail about incubation — there's lots of info on the web about incubating eggs. But here are some of the highlights:

I collected the eggs over 8 days, placing them in cartons then putting the cartons in a cooler in my basement. One end of the cooler was propped up on a brick. Two or three times a day I switched the position of the cooler, simulating the rotating that a mama hen would do. Simultaneously, I started up the incubator to get it warmed up and at a consistent temperature.

Emerging

Let me just say that my incubator sucks. It is one of those square styrofoam jobs, about 15 years old. A friend gave it to me, for which I am grateful, but it still sucks. It is hard to regulate the temperature, and there is no humidity gauge. So, I went to my local hardware store and bought a thermometer/humidistat, in addition to using the included mercury-style thermometer.  After a few days the temperature finally hit 99.5 steadily. Time to add the eggs.

The eggs were situated in the egg turner, which is in the incubator. I really didn't want to have to hand turn the eggs several times a day. Mostly because that means opening the incubator, and mine is so hard to regulate. One thing I learned — put the incubator in a place that has a constant temperature. In February my house warms nicely during the day, but gets pretty cold at night, since we use a woodstove. My basement proved to have the steadiest, albeit coolest, temperature.

On day 10 I candled the eggs. (Yes, I had to open the incubator!) I made a homemade candler with a toilet paper tube and a bright Christmas tree bulb. As I candled I marked my observation in a notebook. Any egg I thought was not developing received a penciled "x" across its shell. Everything you read tells you that unfertilized eggs could potentially explode in the incubator, but since I am new at this, I put everything back whether I thought it was growing an embryo or not. (My percentage of "guesses" was about 80% correct...determined at hatch.)

And then I left them alone for 11 more days, just checking to make sure the temp and humidity were ok.

And finally...they hatched. And I left them alone for a day, although I spent many hours just watching.

After removing the chicks to a brooder, I completed the very unpleasant task of opening any unhatched eggs (After leaving them go for another 2 days, just in case.) It was gross work, but I wanted to see 1) how correct I was at candling and 2) what stage the chicks stopped developing so I could adjust whatever was needed.

Cute and Fuzzy

I found that I did a decent job of candling, erring on the side of thinking there was something growing when there was not, rather than thinking it was a dead egg when it was live. I now know that in the future I can remove any eggs that I define as "nothing is growing" without too much fear of throwing out a live egg.

I also learned that the embryos stopped developing at various stages. It seemed that the majority died either right before hatch or in late development but not feathered yet. My research has led me to lots of possible conclusions, but nothing definitive.

After two weeks, the chicks were moved out to the brooder in our garage, where they had much more room to grow. And eventually, as the weather warmed, they were moved to an outdoor coop to fatten up on grass and bugs and yummy (to them) tidbits. At that time, I did a basic evaluation, noting which birds I might want to keep and which would go.

Barred Rocks

I evaluated again at 16 weeks, whittling down the keeper list. It was at this time that I realized the Barred Plymouth Rocks were putting on size faster than the other breeds. After much discussion we decided to get rid of all the New Hampshire Reds. We were starting to have difficulty with the rooster attacking us and his hens. And their laying:food ratio was not as good as the Rocks. I wanted to keep the Leghorns, because they are the best layers; and the Ameracaunas for their lovely blue-green eggs; and the Barred Rocks as they proved the best meat birds of my flock. The Reds could go. (Please note: the particular strains of Rocks and Reds that I have may be different than those of someone else, so their results may be different.)

At 20 weeks we separated out the keepers (5 hens and one rooster) and the remainder were packed up for a road trip to the butcher.

Average weight after dressing was 3.5 pounds, with one 2.5 pounder at the low end and a 7.5 pounder at the high end.

Joad Longshanks, the Ameracauna/Leghorn mix and his Leghorn harem.

The Beeginning of a New Adventure: The Bees Arrived!

Our Bee T.A.R.D.I.S.

Last Wednesday found me busily preparing for some very special additions to our homestead — honey bees! I needed to make sure their new home was prepared: boxes painted and dried, frames assembled and placed in the bottom box, sugar syrup mixed and ready to go, the "bee yard" tidied up and ready. Of course I had all this done days ago, but in my excitement I had to check and recheck. (Or was that my OCD?)

Because of all the excitement (mine), the Boy and I didn't get many of our academic subjects in that day. But learning about bees counts as school, right? The day seemed to take forever. But, finally, it was time to head to bee class where the bees for the participating students, plus those of a few other folks, would arrive from Georgia. 

Here is an abbreviated photo essay of the process of emptying the packages into our hives.

Bee packages in the back of the van

Karen getting her bees from Ron, while a classmate looks on.

OH MY GOD I HAVE BEES!

Girls and Bees

 Ok, so the bees arrived...Now what? Our teacher, Jeremy, very patiently (This man has infinite patience!) demonstrated how to get them from the package box into our hives.

Spray with sugar syrup

Remove top, then can of syrup

Check for the queen...is she alive?

Yes she is!

Remove the cork on the fondant side

Place the queen cage in between two frames, with the escape hole up.

Queen cage placed!

Replace frames

Shake it, Shake it, Shake it! (Shake your groove thing...)

See them waggle! No it wasn't the refrain to "Shake Your Groove Thing"
that made them waggle. It's what they do to signal to others, "Hey Ladies! This is our home!"

Any questions?

Just the experience of watching Jeremy empty those bees into the hive was amazing! There were bees flying everywhere—bumping into faces, arms, fingers. Yet they were so gentle. Apparently this is because they don't have anything to defend yet. Once they get some brood and honey in their frames, I'm sure they'll be more defensive. None of the humans panicked and most of us observed and then worked our own packages without protective gear. A fellow beekeeper brought some home made mead to sample, so maybe that helped bolster confidence!

Some of the folks in the class were nonchalant about handling their bees. For a few, it was a major triumph to do this without panicking; these are stinging insects and to have thousands of them flying around can be quite intimidating. Karen, a few other classmates, and I laughed and joked our way through it all. It was a festive atmosphere...our bee party.

Karen opens her box

Popping the cork

 

The bees enter the T.A.R.D.I.S.

Bee on a classmate. We were all covered in sugar syrup!

(Mis) Adventures with Sourdough

Middle son and his girlfriend, Blaine, were here for a short visit this month. Blaine was carrying with her a sourdough starter acquired from her Uncle Louis...which she was willing to share. Yeah!  A new thing to try. I like a challenge, which is a good thing, because this has been just that...a real challenge!

This isn't going to be a real how-to. There are many, many, many sites on how to make, keep, and use sourdough starter. I happen to be stubborn and want to use Uncle Louis's specific directions, even though they haven't yet resulted in edible bread. I'll just chronicle my mishaps; maybe you can learn what NOT to do.

After receiving the starter, I perused the 'net looking for advice on how to feed it and keep it alive. (Sourdough starter is at its most basic, a chemical reaction between the bacteria in the flour, the air, and water...it creates it's own leavening agent. It must be "fed" periodically to keep that fermenting process going.) Uncle Louis said to keep it in the fridge, but I remember my mom keeping it on the counter. What I learned was that you can keep it in the fridge, it slows the process down, so you don't need to feed it as often.  And you can go away for a few days without hiring a sourdough sitter. Or you can keep it room temp and feed it more often. 

I opted for the fridge. When we lived in our old neighborhood Amish Friendship Bread made the rounds, which was kept on the counter and fed twice a day. I had starter in ziploc baggies everywhere....and no one would take it. It was like zucchini in August...everyone locks the doors when they see you coming with an armload.

Here're Uncle Louis' directions:

1. 1. In a large bowl mix together 3 cups flour, 2 tsp. kosher salt, 1/2 cup sourdough starter, 1 1/4 cups water
2. Mix thoroughly, cover, let sit overnight on the counter. (8-12 hrs)
3. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface, let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Stretch and fold over itself both ways twice. (kinda like a sheet) 
5. Flip it over, gluten (stretched) side facing up. Sprinkle with some four if it is shiny. 
6. Cup it in your hands (with a little flour) pushing the top upwards, then lay on floured surface and cover with a floured towel
7. Preheat oven and cast iron pot (with lid) to between 430 and 450 degrees, the bread can sit for 20-30 minutes while the oven and the pot get hot. 
8. Flip the dough, cover & bake for 30 minutes.  
9. Uncover, cook for 30 more minutes, cool on a rack.  
10. Add 1/2 cup flour to your starter and about 1/4 water, keep it on the counter overnight with the top loose, in the morning tighten the top and refrigerate it until you use it again.

Following the directions exactly, I got....a brick. Actually more like a stone. Very attractive, but my sharp bread knife didn't even dent the crust. 

Attempt number two, I made a few changes.
1. I kneaded it this time, until a finger pressed in it bounces back.
2. I didn't heat the pot when I preheated the oven.

Attempt number two also turned out like a stone. 

Attempt number three:
1. Took the starter out the night before and fed it. Left it on counter.
2. Let the dough rise for 10 hours rather than 8
3. And I did not knead it.

Attempt number three resulted in a slightly raised but very dense loaf, with a really tough crust. Also inedible. Lest you think this process has been truly wasteful, I will tell you that the bread did get eaten. All three loaves. Just not by people. (Chickens love sourdough rocks.)


By this time I was feeling quite the sourdough failure. So to cheer myself up, I made sourdough pancakes.

2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature (see below)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water

The night before using your sourdough starter, remove from refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Then feed the starter with flour and water. Let this sit at least eight (8) hours, preferably overnight. It is now ready to use in your sourdough pancakes.

Preparation:

In a large bowl add sourdough starter, sugar, egg, melted butter, and salt; mix well; set aside.

In a small bowl stir 1 teaspoon baking soda into 1 tablespoon of warm water. Important: Only add baking soda/water mixture to the pancake batter just before you are ready to cook the pancakes.

Heat your griddle and lightly grease it.

When ready to cook your sourdough pancakes, fold the baking soda/water mixture gently into the prepared pancake batter (do not beat). This will cause a gentle foaming and rising action in the batter. Let the mixture bubble and foam a minute or two before using.

For each pancake, pour approximately 1/4 cup sourdough pancake batter onto hot griddle.
When pancakes bubble, it's time to flip! Cook the pancakes 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from heat and serve.
  

Story Book Baby Shower

Husband's cousin Keith and his lovely wife Emiko are expecting their first baby. We never believed Keith would get married — having a child was unthinkable! But, love will make you do strange and sometimes wonderful things, and now a beautiful new soul will enter our world in a few short weeks.

Surprise!

To celebrate and help prepare the new mom and dad, Husband and I hosted a baby shower. Neither one of us has any experience with hosting a shower, but after 4 baby boys, we have lots of experience as guests! This being our first shower, I had to do a bit of research

I hit the 'net pretty hard (I am so loving my iPad) Martha Stewart's site was one of my first reference points, where I learned that we should have a theme.

I sat on that one for a day or two. I didn't want to do a character theme, not knowing which American characters may or may not have gone international (Emiko is Japanese). And I wanted it to be something that would benefit the baby, not just a theme for  theme's sake.

And I have a really tight budget, so home made and casual were the way to go. We tossed around a few ideas and decided on a storybook theme, asking each attendee to bring a book for baby's library. And after that, the ideas just flowed.

I made invitations based off the Pottery Barn Kids storybook invitation. The  Boy and I made paper flowers to hang from the ceiling. We also made little books to hang along a string, as a banner over the doorways. And I pored through the boxes of books in the attic to find just the right ones to place around the room as decorations. Final touch was a few vases of white and yellow flowers, wrapped in blue ribbon.

Paper accordion flowers

Book banner. Each "page" was made from the pages of a real book.

All the food was book themed:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: meatballs

Peter  Rabbit: veggies and spinach dip

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: cookies

Willy Wonka: brownies

Heidi: assorted cheeses and breads

The Hungry Caterpillar: fruit salad

Creamsicle....yum!

We had cupcakes made at Macklin's. Four dozen, 6 different flavors. I made little toppers representing some of the Boy's favorite books.

The take home favor was home made gingerbread men.

The happy parents-to-be

Kitchen Screwups: From Disaster to Delicious!

On Easter Eve (that's the Saturday before Easter) I awoke feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I really didn't want to get out of bed — I was sniffly, achy, and really sleepy. But I had to...we'd promised the Boy that we'd attend an Easter Egg Drop (Eggs dropped from a helicopter, really). It was early, cold, and windy, and I was grumpy. Not a good combination, for sure. Not even the magic of coffee was helping.

After two hours in sub-zero weather (ok, it just felt like that) we came home, I collapsed on the couch and after some loving attention from my boys, I eventually dozed off...all the while mentally tracking the numerous things I needed to get done before Easter.

Besides dyeing eggs, organizing dinner, and making other "child-related preparations," I wanted to make cupcakes for Easter dessert. I had something like this in mind:

Cute, right?

Cute, supplies on hand, easy to do. Or so one would think. (One who was thinking clearly, would think.)

I awoke from my all-day nap, groggy and congested as ever, but decided to get to work. It had to be done now or else it would never get done. 

I melted chocolate and spread it on a cookie sheet to firm. I diligently sifted dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, sugar. Then mixed the wet ingredients: butter, eggs, vanilla, milk. I found my favorite natural paper cupcake liners and used the last of them in my vintage cupcake pans. Vintage might be going too far. I've had them since we got married...25 years. Is that vintage or just old?

I carefully blended the wet and dry together,  following directions exactly. I measured out portions so each liner was 2/3 full. And gently placed them in the preheated oven, spacing them out so they would cook evenly.

Within 2 minutes I knew there was something wrong. I heard sizzles and spatters. Not supposed to happen. Opening the oven I took notice of a few overflowing cups. I know I didn't overfill them. So it wasn't a great big deal, right? Closing the door, I allowed my old friend Denial to take over. They'll finish out fine, let it go. 

Another minute or two...Uh oh, now I started smelling smoke. Smoke?! Opening the door again, I thrust an empty cookie sheet under the bottom rack to catch dripping batter. That should fix it. Denial again. Hmph.

See the smoky haze in the background? It got worse!

I meandered over to the dining room table to watch the Boy dyeing eggs. Husband was taking pictures and suddenly said, "Oh My God, look at that!" Smoke was billowing, yes billowing, from the stove. We scattered across the house throwing open doors and windows (It was 30 degrees outside by that time) and pulling down smoke alarms off the walls. I can't stand it when they blare out "Hey lady, you're burning something!" At least it sounds like that to me. 

Then I opened the oven door to this:

There are no words for this...

So denial didn't work, darn it! I pulled the whole mess out of the oven. Husband joked that I would be getting some brand new cupcake pans. But I was determined that all my effort, failure that it was, would result in something edible.

I peeled every bit of cake I could get out and off those pans and dumped it into a bowl. And stared at the mess of crumbs. Now what? Wracking my brain, I seemed to remember something about mushed up cake being used for cake balls. That's it! I'll make cake balls.

"Husband, could you run down to Rutter's and get a can of cake frosting?" "Really, you're going to buy cake frosting?"(I didn't want to waste real buttercream if this, too, was a failure) So he did run to Rutter's. And bought orange juice, too, for which I was so grateful. My, that man must love me!

While he was at Rutter's I scribbled across the recipe page in my Betty Crocker cookbook, "DO NOT USE!!!" God forbid someone else tried this horrid recipe. Don't they test these things?

I added half a can of frosting to the crumbs and stirred it in well. Then, using my hands, rolled out balls of cake/frosting mixture, plopped them on a cookie sheet and popped them in the fridge to solidify. I removed the previously melted, now firm, chocolate from the fridge, broke it up and melted it once again. Once the cake was firm, using two forks, I dipped it into the chocolate then returned the tray of balls to the fridge.

And finally, I turned my attention to cleaning up the enormous mess: crumbs and chocolate everywhere. Burnt crud on the inside of the oven, all over my pans, all over the floor. Sink filled with gross, soggy cake. Ugh. I scrubbed and swept and scrubbed some more. Then turned on the oven's self cleaning function to finish off anything left in unreachable corners. While the stove was doing it's thing, and keeping the house a toasty temperature, I read over the recipe again. It's a basic yellow cake recipe...supposed to be easy. Where did it go wrong? Oh my, it called for 3 teaspoons of baking powder, not 3 tablespoons. Mea Culpa. And a Happy Easter to All!

And they were edible, too. Disaster fixed.

Happy Easter from the Boy and his mama.

Silk Dyeing Easter Eggs

We have been saving our Leghorn chicken's white eggs for two weeks now. Our other birds lay green-blue eggs, but we wanted the white ones for Easter egg dyeing. We usually do the normal food coloring/vinegar dye bath, with periodic experimentation with a few natural dyes. We always try a few supplemental methods, like using white wax crayons to draw designs, tie dyeing, or making botanical prints. This year, we played with silk dyeing. 

Our first task was to save white eggs. I went to the store thinking to maybe buy a dozen, but they were all marked with little pink date stamps. Each egg. Weird. When did chickens start laying eggs with date stamps? But I wanted to decorate the eggs, so they won't work for me. We only have one Leghorn, so it took awhile to gather a dozen white eggs. 12 days to be exact! Fresh eggs are very hard to peel, but by collecting over two weeks the eggs should be ok to boil and peel.

Second task: gather printed silk items that we don't mind trashing. I have a few silk scarves, but didn't want to ruin them so we headed out to the Salvation Army one Wednesday (1/2 price day). We each selected our "favorite" silk ties from the plethora of choices. It's amazing to think that people really wore some of those things, and no surprise they were donated away...thank you donors! We narrowed it down to a bare handful and headed home with our purchases.

Time to gather supplies!

Raw Eggs

Silk cloth that can be cut up (Note: 100% silk only)

White fabric such as an old sheet or pillowcase

Pot of water

Vinegar

Twist Ties

Scissors

Paper or cloth towels

Tongs

Vegetable Oil (optional)

Now the fun began. Dyeing!

Uncle Fester and his tie collection.

We sorted our ties to examine their colors and patterns, discussing the merits of each and predicting the outcomes of each color.

Each tie was opened up, liner fabric and tags removed.

We cut the fabric to fit around the egg and had to decide if we wanted the twist tie to go at the top or the side. It depends on how your eggs will be displayed. In a carton, put the twist tie at the narrow end. In a bowl on their side, put the twist tie on the long side.

Wrapping the egg tightly, we twisted the tie in place.

When the dozen were all wrapped, we then wrapped each egg in a white piece of fabric and twist tied in place.

Fill a pot with water and add 1/4 c vinegar.

Add the eggs and turn the heat on. We were surprised that the eggs floated, I guess it's the air bubbles in the fabric pouches. So I placed a glass lid on top of the eggs to hold them down.

Wait for the water to boil. Boil gently for 20 minutes.

Remove from water, drain, and cool.

Unwrap and marvel at the beauty!

You can rub a bit of veg oil on each egg to make them shiny, if you want. We didn't because we will save our two favorite eggs and let the insides dry out. (We have eggs from the Boy's Kindergarten years on up.) If you rub them with oil, the moisture can't evaporate. If you wish to save eggs, don't close them up in a carton...let the moisture evaporate! You end up with an egg that rattles like a gourd.

Note: My dear friend Alice tried this method and was rather disappointed. She added more vinegar to her water and said subsequent batches resulted in brighter colors. We'll give that a try next year. Thanks Alice! 

Fifth Grade Woodwork: Carving a Spatula

Our little homeschool group has just finished a woodworking class, offered by the woodwork teacher at Susquehanna Waldorf School.

At SWS, fifth graders are introduced to woodworking through the hand rasping of a darning egg. Perfect for those socks that they will make in the fifth year! As a group, we approached our woodwork guru about teaching our children from his home studio, the Red Barn Gallery. And we opted to skip the egg for the second project he usually brings to grade 5, a spatula.

Classes began with tree identification skills and a tour of the garden. The children learned to identify wood through their senses. How does it look? What does the bark feel like? Are there "noses" on the bark, does it peel, is it scaly? Does the wood have a bumpy or smooth grain? Is it heavy or light?  How does it smell? What is the color?

This was followed by some table work, charting various types of wood by their characteristics. It was funny to see the looks of confusion on their faces when the instructor asked them to "Please put your names on your papers." Things you never think about — I rarely ask my son to put his name on his paper; I know whose work it is! I had to giggle. Anyway, they learned about the parts of the tree, from a woodworkers perspective: pith, heartwood, sapwood, and the like.

Sumac, sycamore, white pine, pin oak

And finally, at the end of that first class, Mr. Kelly showed them what they would be making and some of the tools they would be using. How exciting! Using a hatchet, he made rough blanks from dry sycamore.  Each child chose their blank and penciled their name on it. (No looks of confusion this time!)

The next class began with a quick review of tool rules, then into the shop to start gouging away. They gouged, and gouged...tap tap gouge, tap tap gouge...until their little hands were aching. 45 minutes in it became evident that it was time to give the body a rest and put the mind to work. They assembled at the tables to finish their wood identity worksheets.

Blanks and tools prepared for gouging.

Tap tap gouge....

After gouging came rasping. They used two types of rasps, a regular American style, and these beautiful Japanese rasps.

Japanese rasps

The Boy's spatula after much gouging, pre rasping.

After rasping came filing then sanding

The boys sanding...sawdust flying everywhere

And after sanding came oiling.

The Boy's is on the right, his friend's is on the left.

A very happy and accomplished class.

Due to differences in wood, each piece is unique. The 3 paler ones still needed some sanding and oiling.