15 Helpful Tips for Hatching Eggs Successfully Getting ready to hatch baby poultry? Check out this list of 15 tips for hatching eggs successfully in an incubator! For complete instructions, see How to Hatch Chicken Eggs in an Incubator. You may also be interested in reading How to Care for…
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Butterscotch Sticky Buns
Butterscotch Sticky Buns Recipe I picked a cold and blustery day to create this new recipe. My son requested butterscotch bread…which begged for a sweet roll type of concoction. So here is my brand spanking new recipe for Butterscotch Sticky Buns. They won’t last long on our counter! You might be…
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Keeping A Mixed Flock: Can You Keep Chickens & Turkeys Together?
Can You Keep A Mixed Flock With Chickens & Turkeys? When I first started keeping chickens I knew I eventually wanted to raise heritage turkeys and ducks too (and maybe some Guinea fowl…and geese). Keeping breeding stock of heritage turkeys was high on my to-do list because buying poults…
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How to Make Duck & Chicken Sausage Patties
Homemade Duck & Chicken Sausage The easiest way to make your own duck and chicken sausage would be to start with ground meat and just add seasonings. However, if you’re anything like me, you’ll do it the hard way and start by raising your own birds. I had some older…
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DIY Incubator Upgrade with the Incukit Mini
Installing The Incukit Mini for Desktop Incubators This post shares the step-by-step process I used to convert a still-air desktop incubator with a wafer thermostat to a forced-air incubator with an automatic digital thermostat. The kit I used, the Incukit Mini, can also be used to turn a styrofoam cooler…
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How to Tell If a Hen Is Laying Eggs
Are My Hens Laying Eggs? One of the most common questions from chicken newbies is ‘How can I tell if my hens are laying eggs?’ You might have noticed that there are fewer eggs in the nest boxes and, naturally, you’d like to know who is slacking off! Before you…
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Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls
Cranberry Orange Sweet Roll Recipe These sweet rolls are so good, especially on Christmas morning! But you can enjoy them any time you want some gooey goodness. I used my bread maker to mix up the dough while I was busy with other things, then I rolled the dough out,…
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Italian Chocolate Christmas Cookies
These rich, chocolately treats are a delicious Christmas cookie that you'll enjoy at any time of year! Tender, buttery chocolate cookies!
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How to Feed Your Hens for Best Egg Production
How to Feed Your Laying Hens for Best Egg Production Your backyard hens need the proper nutrition to fuel egg production! I’ve experimented with different feeding regimens and supplements. In the process, I’ve learned a lot about feeding my flock to get the most eggs. Back in Great Grandma’s day,…
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Dressing a Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving
Raising Heritage Turkeys for Thanksgiving There’s something special about gathering with friends and family for a traditional Thanksgiving feast, complete with roast turkey and all of the trimmings. I think that our society has, perhaps, lost a little bit of the spirit of Thanksgiving. With prosperity and an abundance of…
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Spicy Fermented Carrot-Kraut Recipe
Fermented Spicy Carrot-Kraut I love sauerkraut…plop it on a hot dog, cook it with roast pork, or toss it in a grilled Rueben sandwich…yum! My hubby and son? Not so much. If I made a big batch of sauerkraut, I would be the only one eating it. So I thought…
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Fermentools Starter Kit Review
Disclaimer: I received a starter kit to review from Fermentools and they sponsored a giveaway of this product. However, all opinions are my own. Fermentools Starter Kit Makes Fermenting Easy I recently tried out the Fermentools Starter Kit created by Matt Gross, founder of Fermentools. I made one quart of…
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How to Ferment Food in Small Batches
Fermenting food in small batches allows you to preserve your harvest, increase nutritional content, and try delicious recipes!
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Butchering a Cornish Rock Hen
Butchering a Cornish Cross Hen I wouldn’t normally recommend keeping a Cornish X meat bird past the normal butcher age of 6 to 8 weeks. If you can believe it, the hen on the left was a runt and wasn’t large enough to butcher at that age. I kept her…
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Are Chickens Vegetarians?
Are Chickens Vegetarians? By nature, chickens are omnivores. This means they will consume vegetable matter, insects, and animal flesh. With all of the different chicken feeds made with vegetarian formulas and the labels on chicken at the store listing ‘fed a vegetarian diet,’ you might begin to think that chickens…
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Harvesting and Using Horseradish
Homemade Horseradish Sauce Having your own horseradish plants is a great way to save a little money and spice up your meals. Homemade horseradish is much stronger than storebought, so a little will go a long way. I like having extras in the freezer to thaw and use in the…