February on the homestead

[LeatherneckPA]

Superbowl Sunday was refreshingly warm here. Got up to 45ºF here. It was actually colder on my back porch (concrete slab floor) than it was outside.

Catalpa, I had a little difficulty with the hens. For some reason they spent most of January laying only 2 or 3 eggs per day between the 12 of them. So I wasn't in any hurry to advertise eggs that I didn't have to sell. But just this last week they have returned to form, averaging 7-8 eggs per day. I have painted the sign twice so far. Each time I have painted it over because sometimes I am an anal-retentive perfectionist who needs to realize it's just a "for sale" sign, not a Monet.

[walls0stone]

Leather, swap the layer mash for game bird.. Gives them ore of what they need this time of year.

[Suzy]

My sign says "fresh eggs from happy chickens" and that always makes folks stop and SMILE! best wishes!

[Terri]

I am watching the long-range forcast with bated breath.

I know that we will have a few more severe cold snaps, but I have decided to start my seeds this Wednesday. I will just bring any seedling in when it is supposed to be nasty out.

I have a small space heater for frosts, but, a small space heater will not handle below zero temps!

Let's see. I can start out with cabbage, brocolli, Simpson lettuce and such. THEN, I can move on to the tropicals in about a week! ;D

[Catalpa]

Suzy, I'd smile and stop for that sign, too! Leather, I'm glad your hens are laying again.

My brother replaced the belt on my Dad's snowblower; said belt happened to break while I was using the snowblower, and somehow it's my fault. Not sure how that worked out, but I get to stop during lunch today and buy a new belt and then try to install it tonight.

I've discovered the joy of sprouting; so far we've had about five cups of alfalfa and radish sprouts for our sandwiches. I'm sort of learning as I go; the sprouter did not come with decent instructions. The sunflower seeds didn't work out so well. But it's so nice to have fresh greens that didn't come from Mexico!

Forecast is for 40s and rain next weekend. Ugh. I'd rather have more snow, at least I can shovel that out of the way, and it doesn't flood the basement.

[sbemt456]

Well we are busy here if scrapin ice, shoveling snow and staying warm count. It was 65 on Sunday and we did manage to get some saplings cut in the lower part of the yard so my grapes, blueberries and strawberries will get more sunlight. Some of the little trees will be dragged up to the backyard and cut into firewood for future years.
In the wooded area where we cut trees I found bunches of big flat rocks that can be used to build more beds for stuff. ;) The old rocks were bull dozed when we put our house on this hill and they were part of my great grand fathers shop where he did blacksmith work and repairs on things for the farm. A few years ago I found the old stone grinding wheel in a pile of dirt that he used in his shop. So fun.

Tomorrow will shovel more snow and stay warm.

Have a great day!

stella

[MHinFox]

Catalpa try mung and urg bean sprouts do well and taste is great if you are liking the sprouts so far.

[Terri]

Today I DID start my seeds: they can go out to the shed with the window.

It is supposed to stay above freezing for a WEEK! But, since there is no wind, this is NOT an early spring! Just unseasonably warm weather. I planted cabages, brocolli, onions, lettuce, and some giant radishes that I have never grown before.

And, I recieved the seeds for sprouting. I MISS fresh greens! The supermarket vegetables are tasting bland! I have high hopes for the sprouts!

[sbemt456]

:-/ Same stuff as yesterday, break ice and shovel snow. But it is February and it thaws a little every day. Snow melted some today with exception of the back deck which gets little sun in winter. So it is shovel and fuss.

Stay warm and have a great day!

stella

[bookwormom]

well, we got off to a good start. Power came back on the third late in the afternoon. we were going to show our daughter,who came that evening from Germany, what it was like by lighting our one and only camping light.
sick cow, very low temps for us, zero two nights ago and cold all day. You really appreciate your stove in weather like that, and the teakettle, and the compost toilet. Also our store of delectables. we have been busy as heck. working to get the main trails clear, so hubby can get in with the tractor and haul out the firewood.
I am waiting with bated breath for my seedorder. I want to try something new this year, as I want to get away from having to use power to raise my seedlings. In the old days they made a manurebed. Manure gets very warm. I have a lot of five gallon buckets collected. stomp them half full with horsemanure, fill in six inches of potting mix. put a row of buckets on a bed of manure and fill in around it with more manure. cover with plastic, put a cattle panel hoop over the whole thing and cover with more plastic. see if it works.

Mucked out the stalls yesterday, got three pickup loads of good manure. more to come. The goat manure I want to use as insulation for my seed starting buckets, goat manure gets hot.
It is nice to have daughter around, she is a good bread baker and also handles a chainsaw. I am getting terrible, folks get assessed as to the amount of labor they contribute.
what I want right now is a tub full of hot water and a reading light.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

My hens *have stopped laying. *I don't know what the problem is with them. *We are on kid-wait for some new babies. *And we have been selling some goats at auction. I also have two litters of puppies that are over half sold. I have several litters of bunnies in the rabbit shed. *I will have to sort those out in a few weeks to take some to auction. Spring is a busy time for babies, except my chickens which seem to have gone sterile. I thought maybe it was because the guineas were living with them? Hopefully this warmer weather will cause them to lay again. I sold the guineas in hopes that the chickens would lay again.

I tried to vine sweet potatoes to take slips later, but they just molded. *I don't know what went wrong. *I have some other seeds started in the windows, but my chihuahuas keep knocking them down. I don't know how those will turn out. *I may need to buy plants later.

We cleaned out the hen house on a warm day, and put the droppings into the compost pile. *I also cleaned out the barn, and put the old straw into compost. *I still need to clean out the pygmy's pen.

[Terri]

HE-HE-HE-HE-HE!!!!!!!!!

The potting shed is now insulated, not QUITE done but insulated.

It was cold last night so I set up the space heater to protect the seedlings: I GOT 30 DEGREES of protection!

It will be 17 degrees tomorrow night, add 30 degrees and you get 47 degrees, AND I DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ANY SEEDLINGS INSIDE!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D

During the NEXT warm up, I think I can start the tomatos, cukes and peppers!

[bear-in-wv]

my hens had the same throuble with not laying for awhile, but its just normal as they seem to molt this time of year.

so far its been really cold the first bit of the month, but these past few days have been so wonderful and warm, and it felt so good to get out of the house and work outside abit doing abit of spring cleaning.

already planning this years garden. ordered alot of seeds from heirloomseeds.com and am waiting for them to be delivered, as well as about 12-15 grape vines to add to my vinyard. so when those are planted i should be upto about 50 vines :)

ill have a few trees to replace in the orchard as the chickens took at toll on some of my cherry trees and peeled the bark off :/


other than that just looking about and daydreaming about the coming year.

bear

[bookwormom]

this month is going by too fast. still too many winter projects and spring beckoning around the corner. I situated two big mortar tubs in a manure pile to hopefully keep the bottom warm and planted onions in one and lettuce in the other as soon as this sign passes. Yesterday was a great day for planting onions and I rushed out before leaving on a trip to get them in the ground.

[LeatherneckPA]

Hey, jen, how's the cabin coming? *Any recent pics? *Last I remember you were trying to figure out the ridgepole for the roof. *Made any progress since then?

Took a day off yesterday and traveled down to Gettysburg with my wife and my best friend. *while we were there I met a gentleman whose personna was General Robert E. Lee. *I must admit, he did bear more than a passing resemblance to the General.

I'm supposed to do a presentation for one of the 9th grade English teachers on the Civil war. *Her original idea was to bring in a "living historian" and have him do a talk about Civil War life. *Unfortunately for her, I participate in French and Indian war re-enactments, not Civil War. *And I was unable to arrange for a Civil War speaker. *But I told her that I would cover the class for her, one way or another.

Since it's an American Lit class I have decided that I am going to focus on the differences in written communication between then and now. *Specifically, how colorful, emotional, and evocative the writing of the times was versus how flat and uninteresting most writing is today. I mean, really, how much emotion is truly conveyed by LOL? Kids today are losing the ability to effectively convey their thoughts and emotions. 'Tis a sad decline.

[rideaway]

We are bringing home the baby pigs today, so spent yesterday piggie proofing the fence. We then went and ordered a solar panel and will put up a hotwire as they get bigger.

Other than that not much going one. Feeling somewhat down in the dumps lately so I need to get busy and put my feelings about my family to good use and get something done!

[michiganmom]

Today it was very nasty here, we got hit again with snow and the kids had no school. I worked on my quilt, did some house cleaning and made two banana cream pies. I went out and checked for eggs but their were not any and the little rooster pecked me on the head as i walked past his perch. I guess i will be more carefull when bending over to get eggs now that he is getting frisky LOL.
michiganmom

[bookwormom]

I am afraid it will be clean up time around here for quite a while. I just sat down to rest a spell, drink a cup of teaand then think about making a little door in the fence so the chickens can go down to the pasture and have fun with the cow piles.
I have a years supply of firewood stacked and that is not even a dent yet in what is lying around.
due to my dad's generosity I now am the happy owner of a six pound Stihl chainsaw. (My mom always says, you have to give when your hands are still warm) . boy is that a gerat tool. those who know me know that I like to say, proper tools are half the work.This thing is 75% of it. We made a big dent in one corner of the upper pasture that has a few big trees and is on the edge of the woods and was a terrible mess, mostly thick branches that the trees could not hold anymore. as thick as a man's arm.
the weather is whacko, spring and winter are playing tug of war, you can not count on anything and might as well do what can be done.
Cleo, our youngest calf is as cute as a button and needs to learn a few things. like walking on a lead. well, my tea will get cold.

[pinetreefarm]

As I look out the window at the snow gently falling, *I am envious of all you southern gardeners. *Our seeds are ordered and we will start to heat the greenhouse in March but until then all we can do is look though the many seed catalogs and dream.

We expanded all the raised beds last fall since DH and DS #1 will be gardening together. *With what we have , it should provide food for 2 + families easily. *

Sigh, in the meantime we put puzzles together, work on geneology, read and listen to the pleasant silence.

Pine

[Deberosa]

Well, we are packing and cleaning and sorting and tossing. I got a job in SW VA so the move from the Olympic Peninsula to the East is in motion. In this environment any job is a great find but this job is a good one and in a great homesteading area.

I am working on buying a 14 acre homestead with a 100 year old home on it. Hopefully that will come through and Deberosa II can start in the spring. The land is gently sloping, mostly planted now in Christmas trees with an oak forest, stream and wild rhodedendrons at the back of the property. Farms are on all borders and there is a 24 by 24 dirt floor garage.

Keeping the vision in sight is what is getting me through these weeks as I pack and sort and give away years of accumulation of stuff and prepare to leave the homestead we have poured our hearts into these last 6 years. Sold the tractor and the pigs. The cows will be gone next weekend. Chickens are going too... My store of food is mostly gone, although I could not part with my store of grain. I plan on moving with a 28 ft tractor trailer that they park in the driveway for 3 days for us to load and then pull it to the new place and give 3 days to unload. In that trailer will go all of the feeders, waterers, equipment and tools as well as household goods. I have at least a dozen garbage cans that were used for feed and filled them all with hoses, electric cords and soaker lines! Three large rain barrels will hold all of the hand tools in them. Kurt will follow once the house in WA closes with a trailer and the gas engine equipment and large kennel for dogs and smaller one for cats. I go ahead of both of these with just my truck and canopy full of basic stuff. I start the new job March 30th.

It's a bittersweet move, but with three times the land and essentially a blank slate we get to reinvent our homestead all over again. Perhaps thinking low equipment/no till high yeild gardens or square foot raised bed gardens, food plots to bring in those many many deer and mobile animal shelters of all kinds. We'll have to learn to deal with snakes and skunks and other predators that have not affected us here. It will all need to be reinvented for the new environment. I would like to turn the tree farm into a u-pick blueberry farm once the trees get harvested. Supposedly the 7 acres of trees are leased to a local nursery through 2016 but there is no proof that they have been paying on the lease and the trees have not been harvested or trimmed so many are already too large for market as a Christmas tree. If I am wrong I have an income property and if I am right I can turn the tree farm into something more profitable all the sooner.

Driving out that gate for the last time next month is going to be very very hard...

[flatwater]

Deberosa , I was just thinking about you this afternoon , wondering if you have made the move yet. I know it's a bitter sweet time right now but think of it as the next chapter in your life and remember it's not the destination that is fun , it's the journy to the destination thats fun. You have the homesteader heart which will pull your family through just about anything. Good luck and keep in touch

[bookwormom]

I wondered what you were up to. This too shall pass and soon you will tell us how you are developing the new homestead. wishing you well on this endeavor.

[jen_in_southtexas]

Hi Deb,

What an experience this has all been for you. I am happy that you found a great job even if it is far away.

As for Deberosa I, I know it is a bittersweet move for you and I know that you will miss it terribly but you are keeping a positive attitude about it and that is what is going to make this move smoother for you. Memories are the best things you can have and you have lots of them to take with you. I have to say that Im excited for you and Kirk and I cant wait to hear of your new homesteading ventures at Deberosa II. Its almost like being a kid and opening presents at Christmas! I have to say though, Im gonna miss hearin' about Daisy and T-Bone.

Keep us posted Deb. I am excited for ya! :D

-jen

[Deberosa]

Thanks for the kind words. Friends have been helping all weekend - I am exhausted! I have the house packed and in the garage - most of the outside is sorted, I just need some finishing touches there. Most everything is sold off. Now the guys will work on tearing the barn down this week and getting it cleaned up.

[Catalpa]

Wow, that's a BIG move. Don't know if I'd be brave enough to do that. May your new homestead be a place of peace and happiness!

Had a real fun time last week; no heat or hot water. Propane tank says it's half full. But no gas inside. So I call the gas company, lady gets snotty, says it's a furnace problem. I explain the furnace has an electronic igniter, and the HWH has a pilot light. The light is out, the furnace won't start, and no gas is coming in. She reluctantly agrees to send out a truck. In the meantime, my buddy the plumber stops by, checks everything out, says it looks like the regulator is bad. So the gas guy shows up, and starts getting all nasty with me and saying I'm going to be charged a $100 'emergency fee' because I'm out of gas and they'll have to bring over a different truck. I said how am I out of gas, the tank's half full?

So he goes over and slams the lid on the tank a few times, and the guage drops to zero. Then he glares at me. So after a lot of talking, I convince them to bring out more gas (but only if I pay for it on delivery!) and not charge the extra fee.

Then of course the HWH still wouldn't light, so my plumber friend comes out to fix it and locks himself out of his truck when he is looking for a replacement thermocouple.

Sigh. You ever have one of those days?

I have heat and hot water again, but I'm seriously wondering how I'm going to get through the rest of the winter when I can't afford said heat and hot water..... :-/

[bee_pipes]

2/1
What a dandy day! The weatherman predicted a high of 61º today, but it was so nice we never bothered checking the thermometer. Sunny and clear, with just enough movement to the air to keep it pleasant. Karen and I spent the day working outside. By the end of the day we had managed to grade the floor of the rabbit shed. The slope, peculiar composition of the dirt and sunken ground prevented us from making the floor level. But we did manage to put timbers in place as a base on which the cages and hutches can stand. The work was physical, the weather pleasant, and the company excellent. While finishing up the inside of the shed we gave all the cages and hutches a once over and took the opportunity to make repairs and adjustments. Urine deflectors, plates of sheet metal that surround the bottom of the hutches, were missing or incomplete. You wouldn’t think it to look at them, but rabbits can urinate some distance from the cage. The elevation of a cage increases the range. Cages are stacked three high, with the uppermost cage posing the greatest risk to a casual passer-by. The result would be unsanitary conditions – rabbits can urinate on the surrounding ground and on occupants of adjoining cages. We remedied the situation with the exception of a single deflector on one cage. We will fabricate something from flashing.

We also checked and recorded the gender of each occupant. The net result in the hutch battery is six females and seven males. The seven youngsters in a separate cage were likewise sexed, resulting in a count of one lone male and six females. They were separated with the intention of preventing fighting – our assumption being that there was more than one buck in the cage. With the occupants sexed, we now have an idea of what we have to work with. The notes received from the rabbit lady documented past litters and the performance of does and bucks, but did little to identify them or help with descriptions and ages. This morning I had the information printed out on a spreadsheet and went about organizing things. The shed looked nice, everything straightened up and orderly. With a card table, a scale and a rudimentary plan, all breeding adults were weighed and moved where necessary to get all does and bucks grouped together. Without birth dates for the breeders, weight is the next best indicator of age. We have six does and seven bucks. Four of the bucks will be slaughtered this weekend. That will leave three older bucks – plenty for producing rabbits. Three of the does from the litter cage will be moved into the battery for breeding. The remainder of the litter (11 ½ weeks of age at this date) will be slaughtered, giving us a total of eight rabbits to be processed for the freezer. An additional 3 kits in one of the battery cages, still with mother, are due to be weaned (6 ½ weeks old at this date) and will be ready to slaughter in another week and a half.

We have two does that are supposed to be pregnant and due in another week, but I’ll be darned if I can determine which ones. They are due to receive nesting boxes on the 3rd. Without being able to determine which ones, the safest course is to put nesting boxes in with each doe for a few days and see if any of them kindle (drop a litter). I have read that putting a nest box in a cage is a good way to exercise an overweight rabbit. The box provides some entertainment for the creature and they spend much time hopping up and down, climbing inside and other activity that burns calories. There is a possibility that the breeding did not take. Readings have indicated that the actual act of breeding stimulates eggs to drop down the fallopian tubes and to insure breeding the doe should be placed back in with the buck 1-12 hours after the initial encounter. Now that we are organized, it’s time to get breeding started and produce bunnies.

We seem to have two does that have dental problems. A condition called “buck” or “wolf” teeth – buck teeth on a rabbit – go figure. The teeth continue to grow and will curve back into the rabbit’s mouth. This bears watching. The teeth can be trimmed, using the boning notch on butchering shears, but it is a delicate operation. These does will have to be culled eventually, until then we will have to monitor the condition.

I have read a number of books and articles on raising rabbits, and picked up a copy of Storey’s guide to rabbits. These are usually adequate books and contain most information needed, but this particular book has proven to be a disappointment. Simple information items, like weaning age and butchering age, were not readily found or in the index. The schedule is short and fairly simple, so consulting a number of sources I came up with this rudimentary timeline:


5-6 months - breeding age (5 months or 5 lbs - whichever comes first)

breed
0 days - put doe in with buck. After breeding, remove. Put doe back in with buck 1-12 hours later to ensure breeding.
The act of breeding causes eggs to move down folopian tube - breed second time to catch eggs in uterus.
14 days - (2 weeks) check doe for preganacy feel for babies at sides of doe's belly
28 days - (4 weeks) 28 days - give pregnant doe a nesting box - straw or pine shavings
29 days - doe may quit eating pellets - good time for greens
31 days - litter should arrive - continue feeding doe greens in addition to pellets - all she'll eat

kindle
1 day - ensure all kits are in nest box - if any are found outside, lure mother out with treat, put babies in bottom of nest box
and put vicks vaporub on mother's nose to prevent scent discrimination of babies
2 days - lure doe out with treat, count babies, remove dead babies. If more than 8 or 9 babies, consider moving to another
nursing doe. Put vaporub on doe's nose to prevent scent discrimination
3 days - check again as above
6 days - check again as above
10 days - check again as above - eyes should be open and kits active
21 days - (3 weeks) remove nesting box - later if weather is cold - place an 8x12 board on cage floor with shavings. Give
babies milk soaked bread.
28 days - (4 weeks) breed doe again
28-56 days - (4-8 weeks) wean - can leave with mother up to 12 weeks - take away largest kit first, additional kits at 1-2
day intervals
56-84 days - (8-12 weeks) slaughter

Without hard dates and ages for the bucks scheduled for slaughter, the only indicator we have to work with is weight. Slaughter weight is usually 4 lbs. Some of these bucks may be roasters. With ages on the litter cage, they will be weighed before slaughter to gain additional data and provide contrast with weight “on the hoof” to contrast with dressed weight. We still have not had enough time to accumulate experience with how long a 50 lb bag of pellets last. This will be a moving target with fluctuating populations, but it will be nice to have a rule of thumb to work with.

Once initial slaughter is completed this weekend, the breeding bucks in cages 7 & 8 will be moved into cages 10 & 12, leaving a battery open for the three does to be moved from the litter cage. Likewise, the emptied litter cage will permit weaning the kits in cage #2 – not quite overdue yet. A complement of nine does will be more than ample and should keep a steady supply of rabbits. Final tweaking will be to stagger litters so that they come at an interval convenient to process. It also provides options for over large litters. The does have eight teats, and a litter over eight can cause contention between the kits for nursing. With more than one litter being nursed at the same time it is possible to move kits to under-sized litters.

Untying a tarp to enter the shed and retying it on exit is becoming tiresome. The first order of business on the return of moderate temperatures is to complete the front wall with doors and windows. The additional light will be quite welcome, though the tarps pass adequate light during daylight hours. The convenience of entry and exit through a door will be most welcome.

2/3
Today I picked up a plastic barrel from Tony. It will be used for holding rabbit feed. The metal barrel, currently holding the rabbit feed, will be pressed into service for wood ashes – a supply of which will be needed for tanning hides in the future. I also made a run to the hardware store for a few odds and ends. We now have the materials for making snares. I picked up three 15 foot lengths of 1/8 inch wire rope (cable) and three bolts for each length. Mr. bobcat’s time is running out.

I also picked up a roll of flashing. We don’t have a lot of sheet metal working tools, but we do have a set of snips and borrowed a hand-seamer from Tony. In lieu of a brake for folding the metal, the seamer works well as a brake. I have meant to pick up one of these handy tools from a hardware store for some time, but either don’t think of it or can’t find it when the opportunity presents itself. I asked Tony about it, but he said you have to go to a specialty store – like a sheet metal warehouse. It is a professional tool and not in large demand by joe-homeowner, the market catered to by Lowes, Home Depot and smaller hardware stores.The tool, called a hand-brake by Tony, works much like a pair of pliers and does a fine job of bending metal. I was able to make two urine deflectors as an experiment and the work turned out adequate for the purpose. No doubt, with an outfitted metal shop I could turn out professional grade work, but with this rudimentary set of tools I am surprised at the quality.

One of the does, #3, is pulling fur to line a nesting box. None of the others seem to be interested. Any litters from the breeding done on 1/8 are due on 2/7. By Monday I should be able to pull any unoccupied nesting boxes. While working in the rabbit shed I took the opportunity to breed two more does - #1 and #2. They were re-bred two hours later to ensure fertilization. The first breeding had mixed results – doe #1 was bred and the buck fell off – expected results. The second breeding was less impressive. Doe #2 did not seem crazy about the attentions of the buck either time and the buck did not fall off, making me think that the act was not completed.

Regards,
Pat

[bee_pipes]

2/6
Yesterday went well. Nine deflectors were made and placed in cages. We managed to fabricate a replacement for the missing deflector in the battery cage and outfitted the two litter cages. Next will be a plastic collector under the litter cages to direct manure into a bin. I was unable to find fiberglass panels at the local hardware store, so we will go with plastic sheeting. So long as the inclines are steep enough, the sheeting should work.

Today we are slaughtering our first rabbits. I have done a little prep work this morning – sharpening knives and rounding up a large bowl for icing the carcasses. Without any real experience in processing a number of these critters, it is pretty much a mater of winging it. Should be similar to chickens, but not as messy and not requiring a scalding pot. The rabbits are stunned or killed with a club – sort of like catching baby seals. They call it stunning, but from what I have seen the rabbits are dead at that point. We have fashioned a gambrel from a piece of heavy gauge wire and will use the same area where chickens are slaughtered. We have little stock of the heavy wire – hopefully enough to make stretching forms for the hides. That too is an area I have no experience in and will be winging it. The internal organs can be fed to the dogs, after boiling to kill parasites, but we will look at that fro another day. Today’s goal is to produce good meat and get through the process with enough attention to make it efficient. We will be processing four of the rabbits today and another four tomorrow.

Later…
The slaughtering is done, the carcasses bagged and sitting in the refrigerator. The rabbits ranged in weight from 5#12 to 4#10 and the resulting carcasses ranged from 3#4 to 2#12. About a 46% reduction in weight from dressing. The first took 45 minutes and the last was more like 20. They are much easier than chickens and there is no doubt this could be gotten down to 10 minutes with practice. One factor slowing down the process is saving the skins. The fir is the very devil to get through – it obscures vision and makes it difficult to determine where the cutting is actually taking place and how deep. The hides do peel off, much like pulling off a sock. Hanging upside down from a gambrel, the chest cavity has quite a bit of empty space, making it easy to open the chest cavity. The only problem with gutting is the crotch/anus. Even that got easier with experience, though I still haven’t found a simple procedure yet. The meat looks good and the weights are impressive – a little large for fryers, but these were overdue rabbits anyway. Tomorrow’s are right at 12 weeks – one week earlier than the recommended maximum. No telling how old this morning’s were, but at 5 pounds weight – they were probably well past 13 weeks. Hide stretchers were made from heavy gauge wire. To keep the hides from sticking together while working on other rabbits, they were pulled over convenient posts. My stretchers don’t work that well, and from looking at the price of store bought stretchers, $3.00 each, we may spring for a few of them. I could see easily keeping a dozen occupied. Karen asked me what I was going to do with the hides, and I explained drying them out on stretchers. We eventually got around to her concern – “you’re not going to hang them on the porch, are you? “ They are hanging under the roof, over the firewood.

The bees are out and quite a nuisance. On nice days they are out foraging in large numbers. When Karen and I have been working in areas they are congregating, she has taken to putting on a hood to keep them out of her hair. They don’t really pose any hazard, but we have become conditioned to regard the buzzing sound of bees and other stinging insects with some apprehension. It isn’t an actual hazard, but it is unnerving having them buzzing around your head and back while working.

2/7
Four more rabbits slaughtered today. What a world of difference between the first and the eighth rabbit. The average seems to be around 20 minutes. There are a few things I am picking up too – the hide seems to be more closely attached to the underlying meat around the ankles – some care taken with the ankles makes the hide easier to pull off. There is also a trick with working around the tail. The process is much easier than dressing chickens. Dressed weights ranged from 2#2 to 2#8. These rabbits will be fryers and were all under 13 weeks of age. Removal of the last four have emptied the litter cage and gotten us to our complement of 9 does and 3 bucks. One cage has a doe and three kits, these kits are nearing 8 weeks and due to be weaned.

2/8
Karen cooked one of the roasters butchered on Friday. The meat was tasty and quite lean. We ate our fill and almost half the meat is left.

A litter was born this morning. One kit was dead and two were counted alive and healthy in the nesting box. These critters are much larger than the newborn rabbits I have seen in the wild.

One kit was removed from #2, the cage that needs to be weaned. Reading recommends removing one kit every two days to allow the doe to slowly dry up.

Today was a wonderful day so far as weather is concerned. I had intended to mill some lumber and clear up logs that have been waiting for attention. Of course, the mill refused to start. It would appear another carburetor cleaning is in order. We hauled some lumber back from the drying pile and noticed the ATV seemed to be running a little hot. Checking the oil I found that it was runny and smelled of gas. Have no idea of how that could happen. So the ATV is now on the injured bench until I can look at the engine and see what the devil is going on there.

We turned our attentions to the rabbit shed and managed to get the front windows wired and the doorway framed in. We built the door and found we did not have enough wire to complete the job. It was convenient timing – it was getting to be around dinner time and the weather is cooperating with leaving wood and materials out overnight. Tomorrow we’ll pick up the wire, finish the door and make the storm windows. That will let us dispense with the tarp on the front and permit using a door to enter and exit the shed – much more convenient. This will also permit much more light, though the green tarps do pass quite a bit of light already.

Today I took the pups for a walk in the back. They have become quite useful in locating droppings from coyote and bobcat. In a quick walk around the back with them I am able to locate heavy traffic areas and have found a number of good places for setting snares. The pups were absolutely delighted to be running loose. They hit the high grass and ran in large circles, exhausting themselves and laying the groundwork for a fine nap in the afternoon.

2/9
We finished the front of the rabbit shed today. A door and four windows are now hung and working. Because we worked with the existing structure, and I’m not much of a carpenter, there are some eccentric angles. The doorway was one inch taller on one side. The door was made square, but hung on the structure it looks cockeyed.

2/20
Quite a few days have slipped by since last adding to this email. Sold all the butchered rabbits except for one fryer and the roaster we had for dinner. Karen’s son paid us a visit earlier this week. We had him for 3 days and put him to work. The storm cellar has badly in need of a retaining wall and I was a bit ambitious about building it large to allow covering it well with dirt and using it as a root cellar. We have a pile of timbers that I had gotten from Tony over a year ago and finally put them to good use. The end result is a wall higher than the roof of the shelter to allow dirt to be piled high and insulate it as much as possible. Granted, the timbers are not as permanent as stone or masonry, bit these are 6 inch timbers and should last us. They were pinned together with half inch rebar driven into holes bored into the timbers. The end against the shelter is tied into overhead cross pieces, and I’d like to bury posts on the other end to hold the walls back from caving in. The picture below represents about two days work. In addition, a dead man buried in the hill side would do much to hold the walls back against the earth.
http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk217/patandkaren/sm_two_days_work.jpg

The rabbits are getting along. Droppings pile up faster than expected and I can’t wait for spring. This stuff is really going to goose the fruit trees this year. So far we are just spreading it in the garden, to be tilled at a later date.

Today the temperatures dropped dramatically. This morning we were greeted with 20º. The rabbit waterers were not frozen solid, so hot tap water returned them to service. The poultry and dog waterers were another matter. Speaking of dogs, we have one that has lost her appetite. We did manage to get her to eat a scrambled duck egg yesterday, the first thing since early Wednesday. This morning Karen liquefied a duck egg with cheese, rice and milk and we force fed her with a turkey baster. She is a good dog and we are mystified at the ailment. We took her to the vet Thursday and there were no answers. Looks like we either keep her alive until she fights off whatever the problem is, or we lose her. You really get attached to dogs, and this one has been a good dog.

Regards,
Pat

[firegirl969]

2/24
We added our feeder pig and a steer this month. *I got a turkey for 69 cents/lb, so I canned 6 quarts of meat and 5 quarts of broth from it. *I was also given some ground deer meat and canned 5 quarts of it. *We were able to add 2 cases of toilet paper to our stash. *We hope to add a case a month. The two does are bred, so maybe March will bring baby rabbits. DH and DS are working on me a worm bed. *A fireman in our dept gave me an old clawfoot tub to make it out of. *I would love to sell worms for extra income. *I sell a few eggs along and it helps on the food bill. *We are slopping the pig, so that is no food bill. *We feed the steer a little to get him into the paddock at night, but turn him into the pasture during the day if I am at home. *DH is worried he will get stolen as the next town from us has unemployment over 50%. *So we shut him up at night or when we are both at work. *I only work two days a week. The collards and mustard are almost ready in the garden. *We enjoyed french onion soup with our onions last week. We planted potatoes a week ago. *We are trying to grow them under pine straw. *My dad did it years ago and it worked great.
2/25
DH and I put some of the ferns into the pump house and started some seeds in the greenhouse. *We also started tobacco seeds for him. *He is excited about trying to grow his own tobacco.
2/27
Today, my dad, who is very ill, taught me the secret recipe for his BBQ sauce. I feel very priviledged, and I now know that his sauce will live on. I stopped in at Bi-Lo and was able to get two more 24-pks of Angel Soft and 12 cans of tuna. These cans were still 6 oz, and they were 3/1.00. Limit was 6 so I took 9-year-old step daughter in, gave her $2 and change, and let her buy 6 also. She felt like she was a grown-up.

[Terri]

Earlier this month I started seeds of cold loving plants in the insulated shed: they are all up and looking pretty good. Only a LITTLE leggy!

3 days ago I planted tropicals. And, last night I got absent minded and forgot the tropicals. I thought "I don't need the heater tonight, the cabbages will be FINE!". So, now I have tropicals out at 36 degrees! Sigh. I t will not kill them but it will likely STUNT them a little!

[TNDadx4]

Deberosa: Best of luck to you on your new place!

I am sure that it will be an incredible and rewarding adventure for you!

[Deberosa]

Deberosa: Best of luck to you on your new place!

I am sure that it will be an incredible and rewarding adventure for you!

Thanks for the encouragement. Through all of this I am now sick - fever and chills - going out into the 32 degree pouring rain doesn't help. Still selling chickens and helping to tear down the barn that collapsed. I hope to get some more rest tonight to kick this bug.

Not getting that place after all. They guy wants to get rich on it - bought it for 100,000 a year ago, left it vacant over the winter and now wants 122,000! I'll let him think on it for a couple of months because I don't think it will appraise for near that. So I will be camping in an apartment until Deberosa I closes then renew my search.

Talked to a co-worker on current job who livesin the area - temps are in the 60's there and he had the sliding patio door open! My bones are aching here from the damp and cold so guess I am ready for a change.

Back to packing and cleaning....

[TNDadx4]

Not getting that place after all. They guy wants to get rich on it - bought it for 100,000 a year ago, left it vacant over the winter and now wants 122,000! I'll let him think on it for a couple of months because I don't think it will appraise for near that. So I will be camping in an apartment until Deberosa I closes then renew my search.


Sorry to hear about that and that you're not feeling well. Get some rest (easier said than done when you're moving) and a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup.

That other seller sounds like a creep. There's a perfect property just waiting for you.

I pray that this all works out soon for you.

[Deberosa]

Thanks again. Things are looking up so keep those good thoughts coming.

We found another place and will make an offer tomorrow. I have to go by the realtor's pictures (my realtor and her husband went to the place today and took pictures and described it to us). It's really a good thing we waited.

This is a larger home, but still on the small side. But it's a house built in 1996! It sits on 20 acres at the end of a dead end road and is backed by national forest. Almost all 20 acres are usable - pasture dotted with trees. There is some good hardwood forest. No real neighbors, the road is gravel and most people looking at it (it's been popular as it's listed by United Country) are afraid of the 1.5 mile gravel road in the winter. Well winters in VA are not that bad and the road is hilly but not real steep and no cliffs to worry about - they took pictures along the way for us to see. AND - he has a tractor as he maintained the road so I am asking that that be included in the deal! Price is the same as the last place.

In the living room is a trophy buck head on the wall. He shot it off the back deck! Full basement with wood stove but no other outbuildings so that will be a project.

ONly 35 minute commute to work but still in the middle of nowhere - works for me! First thing I think Kurt and I ever agreed on - geeze! Oh - it does have a hog pen already so that's a good thing! No stream though but I hope to do a water catchment system since the house is on a slight hill.

I hope this one works out and Deberosa II can get started.

Debbie

[Kyhome]

Hope you get to feeling better, I am sure the move has you two run down and not getting the rest youall need. this other place sounds pretty sweet backing up to the forest looking forward to seeing the pictures and stories of the adventure. Rick