Backyard Poultry - Easy Backyard Chicken Coops

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed my first article which introduced you to the benefits of raising your own backyard chickens! Do you have those chickens ordered yet? Actually, before you get those bantams or Rhode Island Reds ordered, you will need to be prepared! Don't wait until the birds have arrived to figure out where you are going to put them. It's a lot of needless stress on you and the birds! Preparation in this area will most definitely contribute to a successful poultry operation.

Click for Easy To Follow Chicken Coop Plans

To begin, you will need to provide adequate housing for the chickens. You will need to determine approximately how many chickens you will need to meet your family's demand for eggs. On average, a healthy, well-fed hen will produce 1 egg per day. There will be factors that may alter this, such as weather, light, feed, etc. However, once you determine the number of chickens you will need, plan your housing based on the fact that an averag e sized chicken requires approximately 1.5-2 square feet inside the coop, and approximately 8 square feet outside in order to get adequate exercise. You will also need to provide 1 nesting box per 4 laying hens. This should give you a rough estimate as to how big your coop will need to be. In addition to building or buying a shelter, you will need to make sure that this shelter provides adequate ventilation, is "predator" proof, and is well lit. If you want eggs, you will need good lighting! Your "outside" yard will not only need to be built in such a way as to keep the chickens in, but to keep the predators out! This includes predators that fly, and those that burrow. It is suggested that when you build your fence, that you bury the wire at least 6-12 inches deep, and toe the bottom of the wire out so that if "something" does dig, it will hit wire first. Also, don't forget to provide a place for the birds to "roost" inside the coop for their evening snooze.

Of course you will need to have feeders and waterers for your chickens. It is best to have the type of feeders which can be hung from the ceiling. These feeders prevent the birds from contaminating the feed. Chickens require quite a bit of water, so it is important to have waterers inside and out of the coop. Older chickens can drink out of open pails or containers, but it is nice to also have a waterer from a feed store, as they are also designed to keep chicken poop out and clean water in...sorry, that's just a reality! Both feeders and waterers can be homemade and made cheaply. We have feeders made out of coffee cans, and waterers made with canning jars. Your chicken operation does not have to cost you a claw and a beak!

Click for Easy To Follow Chicken Coop Plans

Now, the moment of truth! What type of chickens should you purchase? Really, it will depend on your expectations and needs. Some chickens are dual-purpose. In other words, they are good layers and are more bulky i n size, so that when their best laying years are over (about 3 laying seasons), they can be butchered for meat. Some examples of this type of chicken is a Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Golden or Black Sex-Link, etc. Some chickens are better layers and do not get as big. One example of this is the bantam. These are small chickens that lay small eggs, but they are wonderful birds and good "brooders". A brooding chicken is one that will lay eggs, and then sit on them, and hatch out her chicks. This is good if you want to have your own hatchery! I also recommend the Buff Orpington chicken for these purposes too. Many chickens today DO NOT sit on their eggs...it's been bred out of them! By the way, you DO NOT need a rooster in order for your chickens to lay eggs...you just won't really need the "broody" type birds in this case, as your eggs will not be fertile. There are many "exotic" type birds on the market as well. One that is very popular is the Araucana. These birds are m ost noted for laying the pink or light green/blue eggs. We had a couple of Araucana, and the novelty was fun. However, I am more interested in lots of eggs, and these ladies had a tendency to stash their eggs so I could'nt find them! At any rate, there are many breeds, colors and arrays of chickens. Get yourself a catalog and read up for yourself on the many types of chickens. You'll be amazed, and you will be able to choose the type of bird that suits your needs the best.

Click for Easy To Follow Chicken Coop Plans

Homemade Canning - Best Kinds of Soup for Home Canning

Canned soup is delicious and easy for lunches, dinners, and even snacks. Store-bought soup often contains large amounts of sodium and even hidden ingredients such as monosodium glutamate, yeast, and unknown spices and added artificial flavorings.

Soup done by homemade canning is not only healthier, it is less expensive than the store-bought versions and you can control what goes into it. Which soups are best for canning at home?

Canned Cream Soup

Tomato, mushroom, celery, pumpkin, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables and blends make delicious creamed soup. Creamed foods are often cooked vegetables run through a blender and then made into a delicious and creamy soup with fresh milk or cream and a variety of spices. These may take a few extra steps to prepare, but are well worth the effort.

To make them a condensed soup, simply leave off the addition of cream and extra water in the recipe you follow and note on the label how much to add for that particular recipe. When opening a jar of creamed soup, simply add the amount of milk or water just like the condensed soup you would purchase at the store, but at a fraction of the cost.

Canned Vegetable Soup

Depending on the recipe, you may or may not need to precook the vegetables. One delicious method of making homemade canned vegetable soup is to save the vegetable refuse from processing other vegetables in a bin in the freezer. These can range from clean potato skin and apple skins and cores to onion peels and lettuce cores. When you have enough to boil for stock, boil them up until soft and then cool the stock. Blend them in a blender and run through a food sieve or mesh strainer to remove the larger particles.

Things to Do With Tomatoes

The English word tomato comes from the Spanish tomatl, first appearing in print in 1595. A member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes were erroneously thought to be poisonous (although the leaves are poisonous) by Europeans who were suspicious of their bright, shiny fruit. Native versions were small, like cherry tomatoes, and most likely yellow rather than red.

The tomato is native to western South America and Central America. In 1519, Cortez discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens and brought seeds back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities, but not eaten

Start with great tomatoes and the right cut. You'll get the best results if you buy ripe tomatoes at a farm stand or farmers' market or get them from your own garden. They'll be the tastiest and juiciest, since they've been picked at their ripest. How you cut the tomatoes is important, too. A half-inch dice is the perfect size, because it will give you a juicy sauce while maintaining the integrity of the tomatoes.

Add a good amount of olive oil. The oil serves a double purpose here. First, it combines with the juices drawn by the salt to make the sauce. No oil means no sauce, just tomato juice. Second, a good fruity extra-virgin olive oil will lend its rich flavor to the dish, giving it lots of body and depth.

Toss the sauce with hot pasta. This is key: The heat of just-cooked pasta helps release the flavors in the tomatoes and creates a better integrated dish than if you mixed the sauce with cold pasta. Please send your review to Indo Munch

The high acidic content of the tomato makes it a prime candidate for canning, which is one of the main reasons the tomato was canned more than any other fruit or vegetable by the end of the nineteenth century. For more information http://www.indomunch.com

Ways to Use Up Those Garden Tomatoes: Tomato Bouillon, Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, & Green Tomato Relish

Now that the gardens and farmer's markets have an abundance of tomatoes, it is time to take advantage of this wonderful vegetable. Here are three recipes you might want to try. Tomato Bouillon, Baked Stuffed Tomatoes, and Green Tomato Relish are three very different ways to use tomatoes. The bouillon recipe uses tomato juice. You can easily make your own juice by putting ripe tomatoes in a heavy pot on the stove over low heat and cooking them down. Add a small amount of water if necessary. Strain the juice to remove seeds and peels.

TOMATO BOUILLON

1 3/4 cups water

1 1/2 cups tomato juice

2 tsp beef-flavored bouillon granules

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan, stirring until bouillon granules are dissolved. Cover saucepan and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Old Fashion Relish Recipes: Hot Relish and Carrot & Sweet Onion Relish

Add a little touch of something extra to your meals with homemade relishes. There is something very satisfying in putting a dish of relish on your table that you made yourself. Relishes are also perfect in gift baskets, as hostess gifts, etc. These old fashion recipes for Hot Relish and Carrot & Sweet Onion Relish are easy to make and offer two very different options.


HOT RELISH
Another old Southern Indiana recipe.

12 hot peppers
12 green tomatoes
12 cups red and/or green bell peppers
12 onions
3 cups sugar
3 tsp salt
2 cups cider vinegar

Grind vegetables. (In today's modern kitchen this can be done with a food processor.) Place in a large colander and run water over the mixture for 5 minutes.

Bring the sugar, vinegar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Place the vegetable mixture in a large saucepan or a stockpot. Pour the boiling sugar mixture over the vegetable mixture. Cook over med ium heat until very hot but not to a hard boil, stirring occasionally. Place in pint jars, attach canning lids and seals tightly. Be sure jars seal (they should make a popping sounds and/or the center of the lid will indent slightly.)

Makes 6 pints.


CARROT AND SWEET ONION RELISH

2 sweet onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup water

In a medium-size bowl with a lid, combine all the ingredients and stir well. Place cover on the bowl. Refrigerate the relish at least overnight. Before serving, remove the bay leaf and drain the liquid.

This is a good relish to serve with poultry, fish, and pork.

Enjoy!