My Chicken Coop this Winter

This is my chickens coop this winter, it isn't the prettiest thing but it is super functional. The coldest that I've noticed it has been is around -8 degrees here in Brigham City this winter, but I haven't had a problem with frost bite yet.


 I have a whole bale of straw in their covered run area to keep the ground comfortable for the girls.

 On days they have to stay in there coop all day I throw a handful of oats into their run and they enjoy hunting in the straw for the oats.

 I have a total of 6 hens, they share an actual coop that we bought that was meant for only 4 hens, but that is why we added the additional covered run area so they wouldn't be so crowded.

 If we had left it as it was they would have been at each other all day because there really isn't that much space for them to all be out of the coop at once in the original coop and run. I attached a hook to the underneath of the coop to hold their hanging feeder. It gives them space to eat around it and keeps it off of the ground.

 We don't have electricity in the coop, so at least three of the girls have molted this winter and only two of the girls have layed all winter long. My two best layers are they white leghorn and my golden sex link, both are pictured (slightly) above. All of my chickens except two lay different colored eggs, I have only two of the same breed, buff orphingtons, and they have not laid all winter along with my easter egger and my black hen.

 I've put random pieces of old stumps and branches in the pen for them to perch on and also a ladder-ish piece that I screwed together with old pieces of fencing we had lying around.

 they have all been really healthy and I haven't noticed an extreme pecking order problem, they know their ranks but nobody is loosing feathers over it.

Warm chickens, super fertilizer

Its getting really cold here in Brigham City and naturally I have been concerned about how warm or cold my hens are during the day and night. I have read several helpful articles about what temperatures these birds can take and what to look out for. Above is a picture of part of their coop, because we bought six birds and miraculously none of them have died (not many predators in Brigham I guess) we added a larger additional covered run for them to spread their wings in. So the box with the window is where they sleep and nest, other than that they prefer to be out in the run or in the yard. I haven't been covering the opening to the coop strictly for ventilation, if it gets moist in the coop there is a higher chance of frostbite in their combs and wattles. This coop was meant for 4 hens but the six of them fit in really well and there is actually room for others if we needed/ wanted. I read that a 5 lb hen puts off about the equivalent of 10 watts of heat so with 6 hens were getting 60 watts of heat going on in the small space and if they were really cold I know that they would be huddled very close together to maintain more warmth.
 Today I picked up a bale of straw for the coop, it was $3 at our local country store so really not too bad. I spread most of the bale in the big open area that you don't see in the picture, and then added some to the nesting boxes. I think hay is awesome at keeping animals warm and comfortable in the winter and it is so much cheaper than getting wood shavings. What's also nice about hay is that it will keep the hens busy looking for all of the seeds that are in the bale. I initially used fallen leaves in the run and nesting boxes and they have all been torn up into nothing so they lasted maybe two months or so before needing replacement. The straw should last longer, definitely through the whole winter I imagine and then in the spring I will have amazing organic fertilizer I can till into my garden. For $3 I get a warm bedding/ chicken run material, something to keep the birds busy when snowed in, and an all natural garden fertilizer. If it isn't completely broken down in the spring I will just add it to the compost bin and let it continue to break down till it is a usable material. Its a screaming deal and its so simple!

A boring post about the fruit plants in my yard

Our four fruit trees that we planted this past fall have all survived the winter! wahoo! My princess peach tree should be blooming any day now, although it is fricken freezing in Utah again. The other three trees are either starting to get there leaves or have visible buds growing on them.

 I am waiting to see any life in the grape plants that I planted last fall, so far they all look like dead sticks in the ground. My neighbors huge grape vine looks dead still too so I'm crossing my fingers that they will all spring to life again once the weather decides to be decent for more than two days. If that is the case I will have soooo much grape juice to make in 3 years :) (seriously I planted like 40 grape starts). If they don't come back I will pick up a new vine from the local nursery next year and try again.

 My other neighbors let me dig up some of their extra raspberry canes and they are really doing well for the shoddy job I did digging them up. The canes are a thornless overbearing variety, and I am so excited about them.

My son picked out a blueberry bush the other day when we were at walmart, I've always wanted to grow one, but Utah really isn't the place to do that. So we picked up two bushes... but I've planted them both in bright yellow containers with the acidic soil that they need. I mixed half peat moss with an organic potting soil to plant them in. If I can keep them alive and happy I'll have to let you know. Since they are picky little buggers I have been collecting rainwater to water them with in the future. Lately we've had more than enough rain to keep them well fed. I also mulched them heavily with pine needles so in the summer months that will help keep the water from evaporating so fast.

My bare root strawberry plants that I picked up from walmart still look dead but I think they could be waiting for warmer weather too. So basically you can see that I am anxious for warmer weather and the possibility of my budding "Garden of Eden" I've got going on.

Lentil Flour Brownies

I had heard once that you could make brownies with lentils; if you look it up you find lots of brownie recipes made from lentils, but they want you to cook the lentils first and I just wanted to grind mine in the mill and use lentils in place of flour. In case you are wondering I just have a stock pile of lentils and I wanted to use them :). So there wasn't any recipes for milled lentil flour brownies and I tweaked a couple recipes and put one together, and they actually taste great. I was worried because the batter definitely tasted beany but the brownies taste good and normal!! I'm no expert but this I believe is completely gluten free.

 I milled the plain lentils in the kitchen mill, it made very fine dusty powder

 this is how they looked before I put them in the oven (I had just put them in the oven and hurried and took them out for a picture so they are a bit shiner than when they went in)

 they puffed up nicely in the oven

 Milled Lentil Brownies

Recipe

• 1/2 cup mostly melted butter (too lazy to melt the whole thing)
• 3 tbs Agave
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 4 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 cup Lentil flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• handful of semi sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix butter, agave and sugar, add eggs and vanilla hand blend again, add cocoa powder, lentil flour, baking soda and salt blend until smooth. pour in desired pan, I used a silicon baking pan (I'm out of cooking spray) its smaller than a 13x9 so an 8x8 pan/ pyrex would work best or they will be paper thin. Cook in oven for 25 min, cut, cool, enjoy!

There you have it, not the most unhealthy but also not the most healthy... baby steps. I adapted part of the recipe from here http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com/2012/01/almond-flour-brownies.html she used almond flour and a couple different ingredients and volumes than I did.






 why not put some ice cream and chocolate syrup on top?

 Kid tested and approved - although Makayla didn't like the addition of chocolate chips on top.. ok.

Closet Door turned Table

 Our downstairs basement has been through quite a lot since we moved in, it still has a long way to go, but its getting there. I needed a craft table for my craft space downstairs and luckily for me there were two closet doors hanging out in our basement when we moved in. I bought some large, white heavy duty L brackets from walmart to attach the closet door to the wall. I measured and cut the door to be the size I needed for the table. Then I just flipped it on its side and put the cut side against the wall and secured it to the two L brackets underneath.

I have since painted it a clean white color and it now holds my sewing machine and cricut machine full time!

Homesteading

Have you ever just wanted to leave the modern day world behind and just say to heck with you I can make it on my own! I've always had the romantic idea of living off of the land, working hard and reaping in the harvest. My attempts have not been that great, my gardening skills are seriously lacking. I can grow spinach and peas very well, but all other things need much more practice. From the post below you would know that we certainly aren't in the position to buy a prime piece of land and grow all manner of fruits, vegetables, and stock on it. We currently reside on a "large" quarter acre plot in the heart of Brigham City. Lucky for me this plot has things going for it, when we first moved in I called it my little dessert, you see we get plenty of sun in the backyard and nobody had watered the dead weeds in quite sometime. We do have 5 pine trees in our backyard (I think they are all different species to boot) that dot the perimeter, they don't offer much shade but that's okay. We left a home with 3 mature wonderful pear trees and you would think with the "fruit highway"so close by we would of found a home offering a fruit tree in Brigham, but ours was probably the only yard without a fruit tree in the whole of the city. Fruit trees to me means easy reliable food for the most part, so I planted 4 beautiful fruit trees when the weather stopped being so hot. I've got a Cameo apple, Breaburn apple, White Princess peach, and a Montmorency cherry tree. So you can see I'm well on my way to being self reliant right? I have some pretty big plans and dreams for my yard and I love seeing information on what someone would have to do to grow all of the produce necessary to feed a small family.
 This spring I'll be getting some chickens for free from my moms neighbor, he doesn't have the time or interest in them anymore, and I wont have the accommodations for them until spring. My husband who has been absolutely against the idea of chickens our whole married life has finally agreed that we could get some and so I am quiet pleased that it is all working out so smoothly.
My aunt received some grape cuttings that she propagated and gave me about 40 (I'm serious, 40) and I planted lots of them this fall. From what I read grapes usually don't start providing fruit until their 3rd year or so, and that is if they end up being strong enough to stand a Utah winter. It will be a couple years I think until I see much of any fruit come from this property but you gotta start somewhere.
We have water shares here that water our backyard two times a week. I'd like to put a garden in next to the corner of our yard where a pipe brings in a fair amount of water that doesn't make too much of a current. The neighbors said that at one point in time someone who lived here had an awesome garden in that very spot, he was Hispanic and really knew how to garden. I'm hoping I can figure it out too. I just seems smart to provide what you can for yourself and your family, then share with extended family and neighbors when you get the hang of it.
This next month I'll be starting some seeds indoors, especially since I have a kitchen with a big window that faces south and will provide the much needed light for seed starting. Tomatoes are definitely on my list for indoor starting and I may try a couple of seeds that I have left from past years indoors if they transfer well. What have you successfully started indoors? Could you make it on your own with your backyard?

Basic Pantry Food Staples

My husband was told recently that his job working at Convergys for Microsoft will be once again shipped to a new location, which may be India, Canada, or the Philippines. He right now helps people with limitations such as being blind, deaf or things of that nature program or fix computer issues they are having. This is the second time in this past year he has been told his job from Microsoft will be no longer. Because of the nature of the layoff, he could take part in the government fair trade act, that would pay for him to finish his school so he would be able to get another job. This would be fantastic but he really cannot work while doing the fair trade act, unless he is making less than he would be bringing in on unemployment (which figures to about $5.00 an hr). Since our little family cannot afford to live on $5.00 an hour, he will be transferring to a new job position within Convergys making 6 dollars less an hour than before. We've been though this type of thing almost countless times in the past 4 years, so my reaction to the news isn't the typical crying and despair it used to be. I know that there are many avenues we could go down to "make things work", but right now were going to try to keep it simple, and let Jared take the work in the different department and continue to have me home with the kids while he pursues work and school.

I don't know if any of you reading this have also been through this sort of thing in the past couple years or are experiencing it now, If you are you have my condolences its never an easy thing to figure out. Since we will be experiencing a giant pay cut, the cash that we normally use to purchase food will be slim to none, gas for his commute and our bills will more than likely suck up the whole paycheck. Because we are not extreme "fasters" and need sustenance I have yet again applied for WIC (we way more than qualify) to help bring in some basic food stuffs.

From past experiences I found that I could make a whole lot of stuff with just very basic food supplies, things to have on hand that certainly make living more comfortable include a good stock of these pantry items:

• Pasta noodles
• canned tomato sauce
• cream of chicken soup
• rice
• flour
• sugar (white and brown)
• salt
• oil
• canned chili
• oats
• spices- cinnamon, Italian seasoning, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper etc.
• chicken and beef bouillon (great for gravy, soups, to make chicken or beef stock cheap)
• Potatoes and Potato pearls
• shortening
• honey
• vinegar
• chocolate chips
• vanilla
• bread crumbs
• baking powder, baking soda
• peanut butter (my son is allergic, so right now we don't have it)
• beans
• syrup
• dried or fresh onions
• garlic

The items I like to have stocked in my fridge or freezer include

• butter
• eggs
• milk
• yeast
• soy sauce
• cheese (mozzarella and sharp is the way we go)
• bread/ tortillas (but you can make these with the items above)
• jam
• carrots
• frozen peas, corn, broccoli, spinach - other vegetables you like or your kids will eat
• fruit
• ground turkey
• frozen or fresh chicken breasts
• Parmesan cheese
• cream cheese
• sauces- BBQ, ketchup, mustard, ranch, mayo or miracle whip

Those are the items that really can make the world go round if you have a decent supply of them before you get a huge dock in pay. Of course your list may be different from mine but if your new to having to make everything you eat with little money this list really can create many meals.
If your still unsure, here is a list of what I can think of off the top of my head, that can be made :)

• waffles
• pancakes
• BBQ chicken pizza
• spaghetti
• cinnamon rolls
• Navajo tacos
• Hawaiian haystacks (you may want more toppings but you'll at least have the gravy and cheese)
• baked potatoes
• mashed potatoes
• from scratch hamburger helper type meals
• chicken and broccoli casserole
• burritos
• grilled cheese sandwiches
• quesadillas
• chicken stir fry's
• cheese pizza
• fettichini Alfredo
• biscuits and gravy
• hamburger on sliced bread (you can also make your own buns)
• meatless burger (made with beans)
• chicken and dumplings
• chicken noodle soup
• chocolate chip cookies
• sugar cookies
• oatmeal cookies
• cake
• sweet and sour chicken
• Parmesan chicken
• french toast

you kinda get the idea. Luckily there are many ways to get recipes and how to's in this day and age but I do have a favorite cookbook that I turn to when I want to do my basic recipes and that is the book below. I use its biscuits, pancakes, waffles, pie crust, cake and cookie recipes all of the time. This edition is a couple years old but there newer (and older) additions would probably still have those basic made from scratch recipes, or you can always try google or pinterest.