Milk Kefir Troubles

Over the past months I hadn't made milk kefir.  I simply left my grains in the fridge and changed the milk every once in a while in hopes the grains would survive until life settled down and I had time to make it daily.  When left in the fridge the kefir grains go into a type of hibernation.  If left in the cold too long they will lose this ability to culture properly and will eventually die.  I finally got around to wanting to make my milk kefir on a regular basis but my grains didn't seem to want to come back to life.  I had taken them in and out of the fridge a few too many times and so my milk kept spoiling.  Rather than the sweet smell of kefir it would smell like horrid sour milk.  It wouldn't thicken properly and simply separated rather than becoming thickened first.  It also would have a yellowish colour on the top.  I pitched my grains and got some more that I had given my Mom.  SHe had also left hers in the fridge but had never taken them in and out as I had.  At first the grains didn't want to culture properly.  I decided it might help them activate if I added some existing healthy kefir.  So I purchased some from the local store, which is what I had been doing while they sat in the fridge all those months (what a waste of money).  I added my grains to the store bought kefir and also added milk.  My measurements were approx 2tsp grains (3 average size grains) to 1/3c store bought kefir and 1/3c organic milk.  Within a few batches it smelled beautiful!!  It was thickening nicely and tasted as it should.  I am now getting about 2c of milk kefir every 24hrs.  I do believe that the store bough kefir helped the grains get back to their regular culture.  They are growing rapidly and I am back into full swing!

Harvest of 2013

Throughout the summer of 2013 the new garden provided much nourishment for me and the kids.  From beets to zucchinis, we grew quite an array of produce and the gardens did quite well for our first year here.

Mustard Greens, spinach and musclun mix and baby chard.

                 Spaghetti squash

                                                                                                             fresh basil

Brandywine tomato

              This is a golden midget melon!

Well into the fall I was still able to harvest some lovely goodies!
FYI: Green tomatoes when picked will continue to ripen when left out on a window sill in warm temperatures.
NEVER throw away your unripened tomatoes!!!!

The beginning of a new Era

I purchased my home which is on a small lot but with a decent about of gardening space.  I moved in at the beginning of march 2013 and was able to get my gardens growing in spite of how crazy things were in my life.  Gardening brings me peace of mind and I find it very cathartic.  Here are just a few pics of my gardens from last year.  I won't go into much detail about things because it was last year and I am currently in full swing with my seedlings and planting for this year!  

Cukes, Zucchini, tomatoes, mint

lettuce on the rise.

 Strawberries (which over winter were destroyed by the dog.  :(

 Pease and Beans

2 varieties of spinach

Neglected Blog

My oh my has so much changed.  The last year has been a bit of a whirl wind.  A lot of family changes and yet another move… thats right, another move.  The BTC Acre was such a wonderful idea yet the dream has taken a bit of a detour.  Aaron and I separated and sold our perfect home and moved into separate homes in the city.  *GASP*  The chickens and ducks were sold and we have moved on.  My dream of a homestead is simply put on hold for the time being.  I needed to be in the city where I have a good support system of friends and family.  I moved in March of last year (2013) and still managed to have a decent garden at my new home.  It wasn't BTC acre but it was a nice start for my new home in the city.  I have become a member of the Chicken Co-op yet again and still get out to visit with our original 4 Barred Rock hens as well as the rest of the big flock that is out there now.  My goals in life are still the same, there has just been a few detours along my path.

I have a file on my computer with many pictures and post ideas that I just never got around to writing and so I will be back dating many posts so that it all makes sense and in chronological order.  So from August 2012 I hopefully will be filling in the blanks over the next few weeks.

 

Winter with Birds

The winter with the birds seemed to fly by.  The daily was going through some major changes and plans to sell the birds had already been put into place.  Regardless of this, I loved these birds throughout the winter.  There were no major issues throughout the cold months.  It was a mild winter for my area but we still had a few cold spells and some major dumps as far as snow fall goes.  The main issue in the cold months was of course water.  I managed to bring the large waterer with warm water every morning and afternoon and the birds would empty it before it froze each time… thanks to the ducks.  When building the coop we were sure to not have any low drafts and made the roosts flat so the birds would could keep their entire feet under their bodies rather than having to wrap their feet around a circular type roost.

If you have ever seen ducks or chickens in the cold you have seen how they will keep one foot tucked under their body for warmth while perched on one leg and then they switch.  During sleep it is difficult for the birds to do this so it is important to have a flat surface for them to roost.  

As for laying, the birds didn't slow down too much over the winter months.  They had been well into their fertile months and only slowed down moderately.  I usually got just under a dozen a day.  We also had a bird who laid double yolks on a regular basis.  The eggs were far larger than the rest, more like a duck egg, and the yolks were usually a fair size… poor girl.  

It was late in february that the birds were sold.  The chickens went to a local farmer who wanted to add to his flock and saw our for sale sign.  He stopped in one day and offered to take (for a price) the birds if we needed to rehome them.  The ducks also went to a different local farmer who added to their existing flock.  If only I were able to have some birds in the city… I would most certainly have 4-6 birds in my side yard… on day I'll be back on a property where I can have a flock, but until then its back to the Coop Co-Op.  

 

Foamy Pekin Duck Eye

One of my Pekin ducks got an infection in his eye.  This is a very common ailment with ducks in colder months because of the lack of water to bathe properly.  Typically, it is easy to manage with some TLC.  We purchased some saline solution and I would go outside 3x a day and squirt it in his eyes.  I would never rub them or touch them, you wouldn't want to irritate it further.  Foamy eyes can often be signs of a upper respiratory infection if accompanied by any combination of sneezing, wheezing, runny nose, diarrhea or lethargy.  If any of these symptoms are present further treatment and a vet visit may be necessary.  This guy didn't have any other symptoms aside from the foamy eye and it was within a day or two that I could see significant improvement in his eye after the saline treatment.

Once this infection occurred I would often (once a week or so) bring out warm buckets of water for the ducks to simply dunk their heads in and give themselves a quick rinse.   

Here are 2 links with some of the common duck ailments/issues:

http://www.callducks.net/ducksail.htm

http://www.duckhealth.com/duckhlth.html

A New Family Member

A close friend of mine decided to find a new home for her dwarf Norwegian Rabbit.  I of course jumped at the opportunity to take her!  I am very allergic to rabbits, but this would not stop me… after all I am allergic to birds as well.  As long as I remember to wash my hands after handling, I am typically fine with all animals.  So here is Ruby!

The kids are huge fans of Max and Ruby so of course our white bunny needed to be named Ruby.    

Even Winston was a fan of our new bunny!

Ruby would remain part of the inside family and was never outside with the birds.  Meat rabbits is something I would consider in future… but not Ruby and certainly not her breed.