Sunday, December 29, 2013

The Sprouting Project, part 3/4

Sorry, I got a little behind last night. Trying to keep this project up and going. Funny, seeing the posts from others made no sense to me looking before, and when I saw this prototype design in someone else's video post, I thought it made for a good way to discover without spending too much.  So I am trying to log the things I am experiencing and learning so that others can learn, and so that I can remember.

Did I mention that I had a hard time finding seeds? Yup, I really did. I ended up with the prototype system ready and no seeds until I decided to try sprouting the sunflower seeds while I tried to get seeds from the coop. The hard thing for me with coops is how far they all are from me, and trying to order where I can pick up with little notice on some one else's time frame. But we are part of a coop for the feed we purchase, organic and soy and corn free, so my friend talked me through this other coop to get the seeds to sprout and I picked up some oils at the same time so I could work on restocking soap. We shall see how it works.

These first couple photos are from yesterday.  This one is the top right box int he stack. Yesterday would have been day three (counting the start day as day 0), and while it seemed like there was a root mat developing, the seeds were still very loose when I pouted the water in.


These are the seeds in the open colander. You might remember I did this because I soaked too many seeds for the prototype system- Oops- and refuse to waster them.  These are still growing far slower than those in the enclosed system.


This is the prototype system, There is a reservoir in the bottom box of each stack, with a hole cut int he top. The box above has drainage holes, and sits atop the ledge where the cutout is.  This continues on up, with the top one having a full lid. THey are watered three times a day, on average.  Not sure why, but the one on the top right seems to have the most developed root base, and is growing a bit faster.


This is the open colander in the sink as of tonight. Charlie asked if I was growing worms...


This is the top right box, which has a good solid root base tonight, and a fair amount of new green shoots and sprouts.


This is the top left box, seemingly developed at about the level where the top right one was as of this morning. Funny, since I set up all of them at the same time.


Well, that is about hte size of it. I am figuring I need about 6 of these per day as a feed supplement, so I have a lot to figure out, might get more boxes to start another wave tomorrow, not sure if I will have time. If you have any advice or experience to share, I welcome it! The more we learn and share, the more self-sufficient we can be!

Special Hatch DC part 1

Some friends of ours recently lost a few birds, and happened to have a pair of Dutch together, and the hen had been laying, so they thought why not send a few down to our incubator to see what would happen...

First they forgot to bring the eggs, then we missed meeting them, so yesterday a friend of theirs took on the task of letting the eggs ride along to meet up with us at church today.  Both of our kids were sick, so I hunted the sweet driver down as I was leaving today, he had them stashed in his truck for me. (I was going to change how I put that, but is seems like a good choice for him- haha- thanks much Thomas!)

This post is part of a thread of posts so our friend can track the eggs, since we don't live very near one another...

Here were the eggs int he carton when I opened them at our house this afternoon...


They were labeled on the top of the carton as to where they came from.


I put today's date on them, labeled them for what they were and where they came from, and...


If you look closely, you can see them there in the incubator, alongside some Brahma and Buckeye eggs hatching for someone else.


Now the waiting game begins! We will share more when they are candled!

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Cool Upcycled Camo Purse Project

For those of you who follow the Patriot's Dream Farm on Facebook, you heard all about the number of needles I broke along the way with this project. Funny, I hadn't broken a needle in 17 years of having the machine, then I broke four in as many months (not just this project, the chicken purse one too!)  In the case of this project, apparently the notion of all purpose needles doesn't really mean all purpose-  should have gone with the denim ones!

Anyhow, I have this thing about upcycling. Things which are perfectly useful but whose use has- for some reason- become obsolete or changed should be passed along for someone who can use them or should be modified for further use instead of lying waste in landfills or the like.

Over the last few years, the Air Force changes to new digitized camouflage BDUs. This meant that Charlie's perfectly good, in some case new and as of yet unworn uniforms were being mothballed.  The ones of appropriate size were held for the kids for hunting. Still, I figured that I would have some projects come along, and even had a few in mind. After all, the kids love camouflage, and this material was built for wear.

Then, I was trying to think of something neat for my camo wearing, soccer playing niece. I found a cute Christian t-shirt in the brand she likes, similar to one I found for my daughter. But grey, not camo.  And some other fun things. And when I wandered into one of her favorite stores that has her size of clothes, I saw lots of camouflage, as well as olive green.  Standing there, I came up with an idea...

And a project was born.

I asked Charlie to pull out a set.  It took a little, but he obliged. Then I got to cutting, chopping sewing...

This is the back side if the the finished project...
a camouflage purse!


a HUGE thank you to my Dad for the photos! I completely got sidetracked when I went to get camera batteries out, and the photos never happened before I sent the box off.


This is the front. I added the red, white and blue charms because she loves her peace signs!


For those of you who, like me, have ironed your share of these, you will recognize where the pieces came from, it is a little fun! And there are sure more pockets on the inside.


I thought that by the time I added the gussets that gave the purse depth to stand up, the the sizing would be good, but it turned out a little BIG for my petite niece, I will have to take that into account in future versions for other folks.

Will I do it again? Sure! I think my daughter my need one here soon! But each will be different- by the person I make it for. For that one, I think I could see some of the patched from her mom;s police owrk added on the pockets if she chooses, will be fun to see what she does with it. I sure hope she likes it =).

What have you done to upcycle camo and old clothes and items?

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Sprouting Project, part 2

For those of you following along with our sprouting project, these are photos of the progress as of tonight.

This first photo is of the top container in the stack of plastic containers with lids.  This is the growth as of tonight. We were out for a hike after work today, so the seeds didn't get a midday watering. They seem to be growing fairly well. I am told that sunflower seeds take longer than some of the other seeds to grow,


This bottom photo is of the seeds which are sitting in the open topped colander. They are still lagging behind those in the prototype system. Like I was mentioning yesterday, this could be because there is a difference in light where these are, or because the domes are keeping things moister or warmer.   While I don't know for sure, and these are unscientific speculations on my part, I think I should consider this if I choose to build a larger system.


I have looked at several systems on the internet lately, from those built encased in plastic to those built on large stands or smaller stands and stands made of pallet wood.  If this project seems to work, I will want to design stands around whatever containers I think will work best to grow the amount of sprouts that will properly supplement the flock nutrition.  

I will take more photos tomorrow!  And luckily, I will be here for three or four waterings!  Have you tried fodder systems to supplement your livestock feed? What were your goals in the project, and what did you learn from it?

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Sprouting Project

I have looked at many different fodder systems, trying to decide whether it would work for us, and whether it would work in terms of saving us money in feed but still maintain the nutrition, organics and corn-free, soy-free commitment. My friend posted one video where a man set up a very simple system in his kitchen using inexpensive plastic containers. I thought that made for a cost effective experiment to see how a fodder system might integrate into our system and goals here, so here we go...

I found these inexpensive containers, brought them home and poked holes in the bottom, cut more holes in the top, and stacked them on a tray in the East window of the kitchen. I had trouble finding the type of seeds I really wanted to try, and ended up finding them through a coop. They will arrive later in the month, but not quite yet, so I set it up for now with sunflower seeds.

I didn't know how many seeds to soak for the eight hours before setting the system up, so I did a feed can full. I guess I didn't realize how much they would expand while soaking.  Oops.  This is the first bit of the system I set up.


Since I hadn't taken the expansion into account, I ended up putting the rest in a colander in the sink.  Most of those white dots are hte seeds sprouting. I started them on Monday night for their soak, then on Tuesday in the containers. The containers with the lids seem to be going a little faster.  Maybe because they are warmer, maybe the dome over the top keeps the humidity more consistent, maybe the sunlight makes the difference. It will be really interesting to see which grows the best! 



The previous photos were from Wednesday, this one if Thursday (today).


I can't wait to see how long they take to be ready to feed the chickens!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas Day...

Once again, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Charlie and both children have been sick, so we ended up sticking with a quiet day at home.  I sure enjoyed being with them for the day, Charlie's only day off for Christmas.  Wyatt was the first up, and he and Shadow got us all going with their first round of fetch with her new toy.  Wyatt read through all the sections of the nativity calendar with me.


It is always fun hanging around with all the animals here. The livestock love extra attention, and Shadow loves quiet days with family. We got to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special, as well as some actual Christmas movies. Funny thing about the commercials today, there were a number of the ones where they talk about abused animals. Those commercials really upset Shadow, it seems like she knows what they are saying, and she wants reassurance and to cuddle with us. Sometimes I think she wants to bring them all home like we do.  I couldn't blame her if she did.


Old man Vegas had his fur grow in rather funny after his last grooming.  The fur over his ears is rather long, and the same on the tops of his feet, so the kids have taken to calling him elf dog. 


All in all, days like today remind me how blessed we are here.  We always have plenty, and we are a strong family that sticks together. Life does remind us that we are far from infallible, but we get back up and are so fortunate!


Over the next week, we will spend time reflecting on the year that was and setting goals for the year to come.  I am still thankful that we get to learn and grow every day.

Love to all,
me



Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Eve- And a Mouse in the Fridge!

This used to be something my sister always made... I don't know how she did the tail...
Chocolate Wafer Christmas Mouse... and there are two of them hiding in the fridge!


And after lots of other things to do, and baking and wrapping, we started some pralines.  So far, Charlie says that they are pretty good =)


This has been a year with so many ups and downs and changes, we will reflect on that in the next week. But for tonight and tomorrow, it is the time to celebrate the coming of Christmas and all that it means, carrying right on through the week to come and Epiphany!  So before we get too into celebrating here...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

from all of us here at Patriot's Dream to all of you and your families!



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Story of Another Baby

This Phoenix mama decided to be another sneaky hen... this isn't a good time of year for having little ones in the chicken pens. As happy as we always are for the blessings of new life and new friends, we were concerned. This hen, while very sweet, is also not experienced in seeing chicks all the way through to adulthood. We typically end up finding them, like Tiny, separate. But she was so devoted and determined, we tried to make it work.

Here she is in the back corner of the barn with her little one.


She was very protective, and didn't want me to see the chick, let alone touch it.


Things were going along well, until the other night, a little over a week in, when I was in the Brahma pen next door and heard a splash. I looked over to see the baby had fallen into a water play bucket for the older chickens, and ran out to the other en to help.  Bailey grabbed me a towel, and little one helped me do chores.


THe mama attacked me as I pulled the baby from the water. Then, as I had the baby in my arms and helped Wyat with some eggs the mama had been hiding with the other sneaky mama hen, the mama of this baby came back.  I got baby dry, and really didn't know what to do.


Shadow weighed in on the decision. The kids and I felt that since the mama didn't have any eggs to neglect the baby for, maybe we should try her back in there. So the baby went out, and a very relieved mama took back over.



The following morning, baby was back to antics, running in and out of every spot she could find where the other chickens had dug. She found a way at a corner in and out of the pen. Wyatt and Shadow and the geese ran off some hawks, but couldn't catch the baby again to bring her inside.

By the next morning, we couldn't find the baby. It is always hard to lose one of the flock or herd.  And such a cute little one, too. We can't second guess what we thought was the best choice, but we might make a different one next time. Have you ever had one disappear like that?  By that last picture, I think Shadow was ready to cuddle another little one like her buddy Tiny!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Saturday Coop Tour with Friends!

Let's face it, life gets the best of all of us sometimes. But a friend of mine, Kate, invited me along on a coop tour last weekend. It is one of those things that is easy to fall be the way side when the schedule is crazy, but when you are going with friends, you set aside the time.  So Kate, Charlene, and her son and I hopped in Kate's car and headed off to check out backyard coops around town. 

There were some very creative ideas, and some fun things to try...


This one was built out of an old trampoline. The trampoline mat was reattached at the top.  The chicken wire that enclosed the coop, was carried up and folded over to overlap with the edge of the trampoline mat for full enclosure.  The trampoline is partly opened up so that it is a bit larger and goes flush with the wall behind it, where wood was used to hook in the chicken wire.


They have had hawks, but only during free range time, so they make sure the chicens are always supervised during that.


They had some cute ideas for reusing materials for play areas outside of the chicken house, and roosts and play places.


This was at the botanical gardens. THey recently acquired chickens, working with all donated materials and volunteer labor for painting and putting together things. Love the Arizona flag!


This house has an alliance with a group that deals with water management. The water collection cistern is made of concrete and rebar and chicken wire, as would be done in remote place like remote villages in Africa.


This had the drain valves, and everything.


The placard posted...


This house had a wide variety of displays, including a tippy tap, which is essentially a recycled jug filled with water and a bar of soap tied to a tree for hand washing in remote areas without plumbing, or out in the fields.


Rather wild, there was a neat little metal shed built in the middle of the back yard, and outside was the tippy tap above, inside they had set up for composting using a composting toilet.


These are photos of that setup, you can click on the photos to enlarge them if you would like to read the notes they had posted.



I have to admit, I like the idea of having a box like this one, which could protect seedlings as well as baby chicks getting a little outside time  (if given some shade). 


I think it is really pretty when folks use sticks for roosting poles. I have never had much luck with finding the right sizes for doing that in our own coops, but I expect that the varying size of the stick/ branch allows for more comfort for the chickens who are growing.


This house also had an interesting system for allowing free ranging with the chickens trained to the house/ cabinet for laying.


The largest roosting area is directly over the compost pile. I know how much ours love to get into the compost when the are out on free range. This gentleman had set them up to use the poop from while they are roosting in the compost, then allow the hens to till the compost for him.  While I like the idea, we have had trouble with bugs insode bricks before, so it would take a little more engineering for our house.  Perhaps there is more to his sustem than just what I see.  Funny how thinks work out a little differently at every person's yard/ farm, isn't it?


The area from the outside. The cabinet for laying is on the left, the compost area is on the right, that is a door to it you see at the bottom right. They also had employed a large metal treadle
 feeder. He had nothing but good to say about it, 


He had lots of beds. Some of the folks had used every inch of urban backyards for sustainable living.


This is the outside of the outhouse I showed earlier.


They had used the springs from an old mattress as a bulletin board...



Home made trellis with a trough garden our front.


At another  home, garden boxes from old pallets were used to house compost and separate different gardens. The nice thing about this with the inground beds is easy covering for frost.


Hoop covers with a raised bed of bricks.


more of the same


a large commercially made cistern


Separate side by side coops for older and younger hens



This house had lots of neat stuff too!  There were two side by side coops again, one for the younger chickens. There was a door between, set just high enough the little ones could be introduce to the big chickens but easily run back to their own area if they felt threatened.


There was a gravity fed nipple water system. We had lots of talks about cleaning the systems and freeze prevention.  Also note, they were using sprouting seeds in a "salad bar" style concept. Of the two folks we saw doing this, the ones in the sun seemed to be doing the best. Interesting for Arizona, also interesting in that we had just had our first big freeze at this time.


They had hay suspended on blocks for the chickens to play with.


THe nest box design.

The hoe lon the far right allowed entry from the coop to the box. The door in the middle can be closed so that broody mama could be left alone, but could get out when they wanted by pushing the door open.



The water system.





The tree growing out of the top.


What a wonderful day! Thanks so much to Kate. I would never have made it out the door by myself, but had a great time with you all!