Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Butchering issues

I have done a headcount, and have 7 roosters. (1 Silver lace wyandotte, 1 jersey giant, 3 easter egger, 2 buff orpington) so such decisions... I decided the buffs and 1 easter were going out the door for sure, looked up how to butcher them and on a whim looked up WHEN to butcher them... and have realized I'm 10-weeks early! Gah!! I thought they were kinda "thin" when I picked them up but thought it was just because they're roosters... I guess if I let them live awhile longer, keep them penned up away from the rest of the flock and feed them meat food they will fatten up a lot more?? Perhaps this is worth considering... I don't really like how thin they are... it seems as though it isn't worth all the work... but they are fighting amongst themselves... and my hens are getting over-bred by the not-quite totally mature roos...

I really don't know what to do... do I let them keep growing, keeping them separated out from each other?  Do I butcher them now and be done with it?? *humph...* I don't know.  I think its time to ask my mother..

Rodney - Jersey Giant - probably keeping him

Rusty - EE - Keeping him or Roger, probably not both

Roger - EE - Keeping him or Rusty, not both

Lightning - Silver Lacey Wyandotte - probably keeping him

Buff orpington roo 1 of 2; not named; plan to butcher
 Then there is a non-named EE that is also planned to be butchered out

Sunday, July 20, 2014

New dog - finally have another german shepherd

On July 11 our family lost one of our long time pets, Hannah the dog.  This was also the day my sister turned 18, and the day before Melody & Steven got married.  At that time, everyone knew that it would be only a matter of time before we got a new dog.  That new dog was found and purchased on 7/17/2014 via the classified ad paper.

He is a good addition to our "ranks".   His name is Kirby, he is 9-months old, and he is of german shepherd leanings in his breeding although the previous owner wasn't 100% what exactly he has in him because of some random crap he may or may not have made up on the spot about a dog stealing ring sting and Kirby being part of it.  (( The guy was a real douche bag, so he could have very well stolen him himself to turn some coin. ))

Either way, he's better off here on our farm, seems happy with his new home, and loves to play.  Someone has worked with him to teach him commands like sit, stay, roll over, back up, lay down, fetching a ball either thrown or hit with a bat, tug of war etc.  He's a bit thin and I believe the previous owners to have been limiting his food in an effort to keep the feed bill down, combined with the overall stress of being part of a stolen dog ring sting (so the guy claimed) then getting a new owner, then another new owner... stuff like that can really put some stress on dogs ya know?

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Goings on around here lately

**  Purchase offer for bantams, husband wanting to become breeder for hire, and possible lost chicken

It looks as if one of my laying hens has either gone missing, or was attacked last night.

When I put them all away last night I did a general glancing headcount, but didn't check-list count them each and every one...  Guess perhaps I should have.  We had 5 eggs this morning just like normal, since one hen hasn't been laying.  Not sure which one it is, but I have my guesses. 

On another note, I found somewhere that I can technically purchase my husbands breeding stock, if he so chose, however he says they are charging too much.  I agree, but it is what it is.  I guess he would rather by 20 birds and spend $100 than buy 5 birds and spend $50, because then he can decide and choose which ones he likes best for his breeding stock rather than picking the cast-offs from someone else's flock.  And Amish flock to boot... which for those who are unfamiliar, Amish livestock are generally less than desirable when it concerns the english buying them.  Generally anything purchased must go through extensive TLC and isolation, above and beyond normal regiments because they've been so poorly cared for.

And on another topic still, one of our barns partially collapsed in the recent storms we've had, thankfully no one was hurt including our animals but some of dads collectors grade antiques were at risk, so in the collapsing and so forth, it's become very evident that it's time to move out some.   My father has accumulated several of these over the 2 decades that he's hauled milk, and although in some ways I suppose he feels as if he is selling off part of "himself", it is literally money sitting in the barn waiting to be made.

Mom and I know their approximate value.  The lack of rust, the stamping on the cans identifying them to their original creameries, and the dates in the stamps raises the value to $150 per can.  We're selling them for $100.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Weapon Concealment thoughts

Just jotting down a few thoughts as I look around for alternative ways to conceal carry. 

**  On a side note, I love my firearm.  I love the lines, the form, the way she handles, the way the grip fits my hand as if it were made just for me... the gushing could continue but I digress...

Can Can Concealment:  These ladies have several holsters that I would love to try out.  I love this whole concept, love the idea, the colors, the extra pockets, however both my husband & I are concerned about several points.   The safety factor of only a piece of elastic, albeit a snug piece, holding my weapon to my body whilst I care for our son is a major concern.  If it contained a way to "hold" the weapon into the pocket, such as a loop or piece of velcro, I might be less leery of the safety factor here, but... as it does not, I am being very cautious.  So keeping with the thought path of "absolute most safety possible", I am considering using a secondary form along with it, that will help to fully cover the trigger.   There are several brands of holster available that use kydex that has been formed to your specific weapon, and these are quite appealing to me, although I am not overly thrilled with the lack of a "loop" in this instance either.

Back to my original topic though, the main belly band holster I would like to try from this company is the Big Shebang. But all in all, I would also love to test out all three. (The corset, belly band & the garter).... but with prices starting at $69 on up from there... this is just something that will need to wait for a later time!  They are truly works of art though.

Foxx Holsters:  Again there are several holsters I would like to try from this company, but the main two are "In the waistband hybrid" (two clip) & "In the waistband little foxx hybrid" (one clip).  This company offers lots of different colors for the kydex portion and THAT part will be a really difficult decision.  However I can deal with the price of these a lot better than some of the others I've found. :-)