Double yolk eggs
We have been getting some wonderful large eggs from our ducks. Several are double yolked. Not only do they taste good they are great in making cakes, etc. If these eggs were fertile would they hatch into twins? I have asked several people and no one has an answer? What are your thoughts on this?
John
Locust Grove, Georgia
No, double yolked eggs do not hatch babies. As the chicks/ducklings grow in the egg, they interfere with each other’s growth and usually both die before hatching. — Jackie
Canning water
This may sound a little crazy, but I saw in a catalog, canned water. Is it possible or safe to home can water for long term storage? Would the glass jars provide a breeding ground for algae or would the air tight seal prevent that? I just wondered as a 24 oz. can sells for $4.50…ouch! Of course, this is the least cost effective way to buy water for storage, but it did make me wonder if home canning it is a possibility.
Jo Riddle
Vienna, West Virginia
Yes, you can home can water. Certainly. A boiling water bath for 20 minutes will be all that is needed. But it really isn’t necessary to go to all that work. Water stays perfectly fine for up to a year, just in a good, sterile, food grade, airtight container. From time to time, just dump out your “old” water, wash and sterilize the container, and refill it. No need to can. If you do half of your water twice a year, you’ll always have plenty of fresh water on hand for emergencies. — Jackie
Away at milking time
I notice from your writing that you have several dairy goats along with your beautiful wedding cow. My question is, are you able to go away overnight with all your milkers at home?
My wife and I have had dairy goats in the past and would love to have a milk cow. But it seems to be so hard to find people to milk if you need to be gone overnight. We are not really travel people, but things do come up now and again.
How do you and your husband handle this? I would love to find a solution. I would really like to have a nice cow like your Lace!
Ralph Armstrong
Marana, Arizona
That is a problem. We have friends who will milk Lace when we get our barn set up and have a Surge milker in place. Not many people want to hand milk anything! Like you, we sometimes must be away at milking time. Our answer to this one is to keep the babies unweaned and nearby to “do the milking” when we can’t. Right now, Lace’s calf, Mac, is five months old, and lives in a pen next to Lace. From time to time, I let him do the milking for me. He likes that and so do we. I do this with kid goats, too. It isn’t the best solution, but it does work for us. — Jackie
In regards to canning water, occassionally I’ll have an empty spot in my canner. Only six quarts of beans rather than the full seven. I’ll slip in a jar of water to make a full canner load. I don’t like hearing the jars rattle together. I use the reusable lids, so I’m not out anything, and if I need the jar later, I can dump the water and reuse the lid and the jar. But in the meantime, it’s holding a quart of water if I need it. Granted, it’s not a lot, but it’s amazing how many quarts I ended up with by the end of summer, just filling in that last spot in the canner.
Thanks Jackie and Nancy.
That’s good, simple and do-able advice. Now, why didn’t I think of that!
in lehmans there was a story about a woman who bought a new calf every year when her cow freshened. She milked in the morning and let the calves out with mama all day and put them away at night.when the calves were three or four months old she sold mama’s baby and got two more babies and did the same thing.when they were 2 or 3 months old she sold them and got just one When mama dried up she sold last calf. She always kept 1st calf bought to breed mama the next year and then sold or butchered him. she had no problems with keeping up with the milking. I think I will do the same thing.
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