Homestead Tip #2: Drying egg shells.

Maine.Homestead.Project Facebook Page

This is a really simple tip. once you have used your eggs, put the shells into a heat safe metal pan/tin

 and place them on top or to the side of your wood stove.(or in your oven on a low temp for 25 min.)

Before you know it they will be dried and ready to grind down into a usable form.


I do this daily, because we use a lot of eggs.

We feed them to our chickens and use them in the garden.

Here are a few links on the subject;

30 ways to use Egg shells!

6 Reasons to start using Egg shells in your garden!

How to Make Calcium using Egg Shells

A long winters' break and A new posting schedule!

     I have to admit I have loved my winter break from blogging, posting on Facebook and  YouTube.  It was not a planned hiatus. It just sort of happened. I am so glad it did though, because I am back and I have a plan.....

Well lets just say that I am giving myself the rest of this month and all of next month to get into this new habit and I have decided to schedule my blogging and filming days.

I have made a schedule that I think will work for me, so that I don't feel so overwhelmed and rushed.

I have also decided that for right now I will have Homestead Tip Tuesdays and Misc. Thursdays.

What's that you say?  

Well on Tuesdays I will post a Homestead tip here and on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

It will be some cool and useful, most likely frugal tip to use on your homestead.

It might be a Kitchen tip or a Gardening tip. I have an entire month of them all planned out!

Misc. Thursdays is just that. it could be an update video  or a Homestead tip, or anything else.

I will kick this off today with

  Homestead Tip # 1: Homemade suet cakes for chickens.

The video is the tutorial and the blog post has the recipe I used and a list of all the ingredients that you can use to make the treat to your own flocks liking.

I hope that this renewed interest takes hold. It is going to be fun to see if I can actually do it.

As I  said the best laid plans ....  well they can often be derailed.

I am already behind on my filming for today.....lol

Wish me luck!

Victoria

Peace.Love.Joy

Homestead Tip # 1: Homemade suet cakes for chickens!

Maine Homestead Project YouTube Link

 I love to spoil my animals. I also have this thing about feeding them the healthiest foods I can. Just like I feed myself organic, I feed them the same.

It can be expensive. Prohibitively so. I do it anyway, especially with my chickens. I do it because I am going to eat their eggs and also their flesh, and make broth from their bones. So damn straight they are going to be fed the best!

It gives me joy and peace to know that they are having the best life I can give them. A safe coop and run, supervised free range time, fresh air and sunshine, clean water and good food. My motto is " they will only have one bad day" the rest of their life will be full of love.

When it comes to treats I feed them many things. Like organic dairy, organic veggie scraps and when they can't forage, like now in the winter time, I give them whole heads of cabbage , Organic scratch and black oil sunflower seeds and meal worms.

This suet cake is made as a winter supplemental treat. I add lots of different things to it. Here is the recipe I made in the video. I also made a list of the other things you can use.

Homemade Suet Cake for Chickens

Ingredients

3 c. Beef tallow(melted)
1/2 c. Coconut oil
2 c. Organic Scratch feed
1 c. black oil sunflower seeds
1 c. Organic steel cut oats
1 c. Dried Mullberries(organic)
1 Tbsp. Organic ground turmeric
1 tsp. fresh minced garlic(organic)

Directions
Mix all ingredients well. It should be well coated and pourable, but not too wet.
Pour your desired amount into a greased tin/s and cool completely. To store I wraped mine in plastic wrap and put them in a container that I store in the coop. It is cold out there so I know it isn't going to melt and it is vermin proof.



Ideas for other healthy additions are:

Dried herbs and spices like:

• mint
• oregano
• basil
• thyme
• rosemary
• garlic(fresh or dried)
• parsley
• turmeric(fresh or dried)
• ginger(fresh or dried)

Dried fruits:

• apples
• cranberries(unsweetened)
• apricots
• prunes
• peaches
• blueberries
• cherries
• berries

Nuts and seeds ( Unsalted! ):

• peanuts
• sunflower seeds(black oil)
• almonds
• roasted cashews
• hazelnuts
• pecans
• pumpkin seeds
• flax seeds
• hemp seeds

Grains

• rye
• oats
• buckwheat
• wheat

Last but not least.......Mealworms!

This site is full of great info on treats for chickens and I refer to it often. Please visit it for a full list of healthy treats for your girls.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

I hope you make this fun treat for your girls and boys. I know they will love it!

It is an easy treat to make them and with fresh organic and dried organic ingredients you can't go wrong!

Go make a batch today!

Victoria

Peace.Love.Joy