Heres a little something for my cousin Heidi Goat button should keep him entertained for hours.
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Our first goose egg
March 20, 2009 – 9:59 am
Woot, Rosie our goose has just laid her first egg (finally) and now theres a squabble going on about what we should do with it.
Thats just over a month after the date our resident expert said that she would start laying, the date that is apparently inscribed in stone and is never wrong, Valentines Day.
Well I think that myth has been blown out of the water, our expert had no comment to make when I teased him about geese beginning to lay each year on Valentines Day, funny that!
Battery hens get woolly jumpers
March 18, 2009 – 4:11 pm
From the BBC website…
A woman from Oxfordshire has started knitting sweaters for rescued battery hens that have lost their feathers.
Jane Blaine, of Eynsham, said when a friend first asked her to knit jumpers for chickens she thought it was a joke.
Ms Blaine, who has previously made coats for dogs, said: “When I saw these poor battery hens without any feathers, I thought I’d give it a try.”
The jumpers are made from eyelash wool and were specially designed after the chickens’ measurements were taken.
Ms Blaine said measuring the chickens was problematic.
“Obviously they have quite small necks and big bodies,” she said.
“And I had to make room for the wings. It was a bit like knitting a funnel.”
Wonder If she`s considered doing some cardigans or tank tops as well, would hate to think the birds dont have a choice!
We will not be buying a mincer
March 12, 2009 – 5:46 pm
For a long time now wifey has been on about getting a mincer with a sausage stuffing attachment so she can “save” money and make her own sausages and mince her own meat. I have kindly but firmly rebuffed all her attempts at buying one with every reason (excuse) I could think of and thought I had succeeded as I had heard nothing from her for nearly a month when she had the cheek to throw a strop and stamp her feet…. little did I know she was working in silence behind my back!
We had to visit the “mother in law” to deliver some of our eggs to her and whilst there wifey just happened to mention that she wanted to get a mincer so she could make some sausages, at the start I thought nothing of this as her mum is like Hyacinth Bucket and thought she was bound to take my side as making sausages was surely beneath “her” daughter… and she was was (phew) so I sat there with a smile on my face as the dragon (sorry MiL) told her daughter she shouldnt really spend money on a mincer and have to handle the meat and casings as its something only butchers should do and not her daughter..
My smile was a grin actually, I was winning my fight against a mincer right up until the point her step dad heard what was being discussed and had to open his bloody mouth… “I havent had a decent sausage for years, they dont make em like they used to you know, all that preservative crap in them nowadays” he started out by saying, continuing with “why, when I was a lad if you cut into a sausage it would cut in two, not like nowadays when it either explodes or you have to saw your way through it”.
Oh joy here he goes stepping up onto his soapbox I thought, so before he could get too far down memory lane I used my best (only) reason for not getting a mincer… the cost!
When I said how much they were I saw him take a small intake of breath and thought yes I`ve won that one too and he never said another word on the subject.
We said our goodbyes and went home, later that night wifey gets a phone call and I hear lots of “are you sure”, “yes I can do that for you`s” and plenty of “thankyou`s” and when she finally got off the phone she said “what is the real reason you wont buy me a mincer” to which I replied “if we could afford the money to spare then I wuld buy one but things are too tight at the mo”
At that exact moment I saw the light glint off her teeth as a huge smile of triumph spread across her face and an “aha” came from deep within, “well we can afford it now, my step dad wants to buy it for me on the condition we make him a couple of sausages each week”.
Well with no reason that I could now think of to stop her buying one we, sorry “she” is the proud owner of a mincer with sausage attachment and I am in the corner licking my wounds!
Finally Ebay sourced eggs are hatching
March 5, 2009 – 10:51 am
21 days ago we bought another lot of eggs off of Ebay for incubation, the previous couple attempts with Ebay sourced eggs failed making us think we were doing wrong however we hatched a neighbours eggs with no problem.
Well early this morning I checked the humidity was ok and could have sworn I heard chirping but didnt want to say anything in case it was my medication affecting my hearing. Just checked again and there is a chick completey out of his shell, looking like a drowned rat but very happy with himself/herself.
There are signs that at least 4 more are breaking through and the others you can hear chirping (got wifey to check), so finally some Ebay sourced eggs are hatching.
It makes me wonder just how much money is being made selling eggs for incubation via Ebay and what the actual success rate is, I`m betting its a lot lower than buyers are suggesting.
Total of nine hatched, one died shortly after hatching but the others are all doing fine
Technorati Tags: eggs, Ebay, incubation, Ebay sourced eggs, actual success rate
Eggy bread
February 16, 2009 – 9:02 am
One of my favourite recipes has to be eggy bread, simple to make (ideal for students) and tastes great. I first saw this recipe on a kids show many moons ago when I was a young un and I still love it now. Hey its another two eggs used from our egg mountain.
Eggy bread
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 eggs
(vegetable, olive, whatever you like but not engine) oil
2 slices of bread
pepper
sauce of some description (optional)
Pinch of Salt
Method
Firstly crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them
Slice the bread into halves
Heat up a pan with some oil on a medium heat
Dip the bread into the egg, you need to get your hands dirty and make sure it is totally covered
Place the bread into the frying pan and turn over until both sides are golden brown
Take out and apply pepper to taste
Add ketchup or brown sauce or barbeque sauce if so inclined
Technorati Tags: eggy bread
Picnic Tortilla
February 11, 2009 – 2:12 pm
Ok I`ve created a new category for recipes using eggs, over the past couple of weeks our egg production has gone through the roof and we`ve been seriously overstocked with eggs.
We have been hunting high and low for recipes that use eggs to try and clear our backlog of eggs and below is the first one I thought I would share with you, picnic tortilla.
Picnic Tortilla Serves 6
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion , thinly sliced
350g new potatoes , sliced
4 rashers rindless smoked back bacon , chopped
6 large eggs
85g mature cheddar , grated
Method
1.Heat the olive oil in a small non-stick frying pan, add the onion and potatoes and fry for 8 minutes, turning the veg frequently until tender but not browned. Add the bacon and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a large bowl with plenty of salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese.
2.Remove the potato mixture with a slotted spoon and stir into the eggs. Reserve most of the excess oil, leaving a little in the pan. Pour in the egg mixture and leave to cook undisturbed over a gentle heat for 8 minutes until firmly set underneath but not set on top.
3.Invert the tortilla on to a plate and return the pan to the heat with a bit more of the reserved oil. Slide the tortilla back into the pan, uncooked side down, and cook for 5 minutes until set all through. Pack for a picnic or serve in wedges with salad and bread for an easy supper.
Thats 6 eggs used, 294 to go (groan)
Technorati Tags: picnic tortilla, onion, potatoes, bacon, 6 large eggs, cheddar
Sexually confused
February 2, 2009 – 11:16 am
Why does everything in life seem to go against me?
A few years ago we bought a female beagle, a loving little dog, has her quirks but all the same a nice dog. We decided to buy a male beagle so they would mate and have puppies.
Male beagle was purchased and we found out that our female beagle is a lesbian! She will not entertain him one bit, he can woo her as much as he likes, she likes the attention but the moment he wants some hanky panky she growls at him and will sit in the corner of the room with her bum jammed into the corner.
Just to rub in the fact she wants none of it she will even hump our female lab, now thats just rubbing his nose in it!!
A litle while ago we got a pair of geese (Rosie & Jim) they look like a lovely couple wandering around together, any trouble and Jim will protect his little Rosie.
So you can imagine my wifes surprise when she caught Jim trying to mate with the hens, I dont know wether we have got another strange animal or Jim has just seen all the fun our two cockerels are having and has decided he wants in on the act two!
Thank god we havent bought anything bigger, cant begin to think what a pig might shag!!!
Technorati Tags: beagle, puppies, lesbian, hanky panky, geese, shag
Who says chivalry is dead
January 8, 2009 – 7:22 am
Early yesterday morning wifey had to let the chickens and geese out without me, I was led in bed with a trapped nerve in my back. She wasn`t best pleased with the task as she knew she had to carry a new bag of feed down to the feeder and try not to end up sat on her rear on the frozen ground.
So wifey turns up at the chickens compound, nice and early and our resident expert is stood there waiting (like he does), she heaves the 25kg bag of feed out of the boot, puts it on her shoulder (its a struggle as she`s a bit vertically challenged) and begins to walk towards the entrance of the compound. “Hold up I`m coming” calls our resident expert, great thinks wifey I wont have to struggle through the two gates, and tippy toe over the frozen ground carrying the feed bag. Resident expert catches her up and stands by her doing nothing, so wifey has to untie the two straps holding the first gate shut (still carrying the feed) she opens the gate and he “nips” through, gets to the next gate and he does the same again…
Now wifey doesnt mind doing stuff herself, but she was more than a little bit annoyed that she`s struggling with a 25kg sack of feed AND opening the gates and he`s just nipping through like a lady.
She was even more annoyed by the time she had struggled the 60 mtrs to the feeder, across the frozen ground, traversing the fences and water troughs to finally lift the sack from her shoulders by the feeder and our resident expert pipes up “here, let me take it from here”…. And he promptly undid the feed bag for her, and then stood back and let her struggle to empty the bag into the feeder.
I dont think he quite got the sarcasm when wifey thanked him for ALL his help as she left to come home and make me my cuppa.
Technorati Tags: chickens, geese, trapped nerve, bag of feed, frozen
Chicken rustlers update
November 4, 2008 – 12:41 pm
Three men from the same family pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods after police found them with 71 chickens in the boot of their car.
The three men all from Yeovil were ordered to do community service when they appeared before North Wiltshire magistrates in Chippenham on Tuesday.
The court heard the trio were stopped while driving a Ford Mondeo through Melksham during the early hours of May 29.
PC Mick Mansell found 71 chickens crammed into the boot of the car. The crates of chickens were traced back to a theft from Folly Farm in Lacock the same night.
Gemma White, prosecuting, said: “PC Mansell was on duty in Melksham at around 2.45am on May 29 when he saw a vehicle being driven suspiciously.
He saw that they had birds in the vehicle, and was told that they had just a couple of chickens but it became apparent that there were metal crowbars, a pick and 71 chickens in the car.
“The occupants of the car all stated that they had purchased the chickens from a traveller called Martin for £50.”
The court was told this story seemed implausible to PC Mansell because the owner of the chickens, Judith Morris, said that they were worth £1,000.
Mike Wills, defending, said: “The three men do accept that handling the chickens was wrong, and that they all want to put this behind them.
Ivor Hughes was given 80 hours community service, as he has previous convictions and Henry and Jobey Hughes were given 60 hours community service each. They must also pay fines of £60 each.
Technorati Tags: handling stolen goods, 71 chickens, boot of their car, Yeovil, community service, magistrates, Chippenham, Ford Mondeo, Melksham, crammed, crates of chickens