#i want to get a hanging suet block

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

when i say that i'm an old soul, i mean that i stand at the window with my hands folded behind my back, watching birds in the yard, then immediately go tell someone when i see a new one. i just Entirely Sincerely said "there're new birds. [bird name]. quite Striking"

[insipid-drivel]

Personality Ratings Of The Birds That Visit My Bird Feeders

I have the beginnings of a little bird/pollinator garden outside of my bedroom window. It's nothing to show off yet, but I have a pretty big variety of regulars. And, like any bartender, I've come to silently judge them all from afar. Here are my ratings of my local Seed Bastards:

Dark-Eyed Junco:

Bastard Rating: 4/10 They take no shit and don't mind continuing to eat within about 10' of me when I'm actively working outside. Mostly bogart the feeders through numbers rather than actual bastardy. They go berserk for sunflower seeds and shelled peanuts. Don't scare easy but also aren't terribly interested in getting into it with the other birds.

House Finch:

Bastard Rating: 7/10 Refuses to share feeders. Chases other birds except their wives from the feeders, and will fully "nest" on tray feeders so their fat asses block the other birds from getting any from the feeder. I vaguely suspect they're racist toward the other birds because they'll only allow other house finches to eat from the feeders they're squatting in. At the same time, I've seen males feeding other males. Possible problematic queer icons. More review needed.

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee:

Bastard Rating: 5/10 Too tiny to really pose much of a territorial issue, but kinda remind me of flying chihuahuas. They mind their own business when they can, but will not hesitate to throw hands with other birds over either the sunflower feeder or suet cake. Generally don't hold grudges and stay in their lanes, until it comes to suet cakes.

Golden-Crowned Sparrow:

Bastard Rating: 2/10 Hang out in pretty big numbers, but otherwise mind their own business and eat when the other birds aren't taking up the feeders. They prefer the ground feeders. They're generally pretty chill. Their only true crimes are their systematic massacres of my supplies of black oil sunflower seeds.

Varied Thrush:

Bastard Rating: 0/10 Competes with Spotted Towhees in terms of raw cunt-serving power, both my cat and I get all kinds of tingly when this thot shows up. Yeah, he knows you're staring. He knows how good he looks. He's the flashiest bitch on the block. Robins? Dowdy Catholic school kids. Goldfinches? All color, no drama. This magnificent slut is here to slay.

Spotted Towhee:

Bastard Rating: 4/10 The hot goth vampire kid in high school you're 99% has their own OF account. Professionally Round. Uses his phat ass to own the runway (and my feeders) next to his frumpy competition. Is secretly a complete nerd. Basically if Laszlo Cravensworth was a bird.

Pine Siskin:

Bastard Rating: 9/10 This barely-there wannabe-goldfinch would apply lube to the bottom of your heels on Drag Night. The Heelies of the bird world; never truly cool but grasping at any legitimacy he can get. Nobody appreciates plagiarism. And ugh, he couldn't even be bothered to finish blending. What a rank slag. Get off my stage and learn how to work, bitch.

Black-Capped Chickadee:

Bastard Rating: 11/10 DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THEIR ROUND CUTENESS. These little fuckers are the gangbangers of the forest. Subsist on raw suet cake and spite. They're consistently possessed with the rage of a lust-addled Klingon woman. What the fuck are you doing at their suet cake? God help you, if you're at their suet cake, they will c u t y o u.

Song Sparrow:

Bastard Rating: -1/10 Babygirl. Precious. Just wants to sit on the edge of the gutters or the top of the feeders and make it as independent folk singers. Probably resort to posting hole from time to time to make end's meet. Always eat last because it's all love, my brothers in Christ.

Anna's Hummingbird:

Bastard Rating: 9/10 While they may have cool optical illusions when it comes to their holographic feathers, they verbally abuse me every time I refill the feeder and it hurts my feelings :(

Rufous Hummingbird:

Bastard Rating: 1/10 Shy bois. They stay out of the way until they're sure I've gone back inside before they'll visit the feeders. Generally loners.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird:

Bastard Rating: 3/10 Generally the It Girls of the bird world. You know your garden is officially making it when these start showing up. They know they're the most popular but generally try to stay grounded about it. Will sometimes hang out and chat while the hummingbird feeder is being refilled. Used to scare me as a kid because my sister convinced me they'd try to stab their beaks into acne spots. While untrue, they don't have much of a sense of personal space.

Mourning Dove:

Bastard Rating: 1/10 Generally only bother the other birds because they're fat and eat in groups big enough to make it hard for the other birds to get at the seed on the ground. Sing beautifully. Makes Hatoful Boyfriend kind of make sense. Ngl kinda wanna befriend one. Confuse me a little bit whenever I see them because I live in a swamp and didn't expect to find any doves out here.

Stellar's goddamned Jay:

Bastard Rating: WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?!/FUCK I KNOW THE SUNFLOWER DISPENSER JIGGLES WHEN YOU TRY TO FLY YOUR FAT ASS INTO IT. NO, I CANNOT MAKE THE FEEDER POLE STOP WIGGLING WHEN YOU PARK YOUR WIDE LOAD ON TOP OF IT. GDI I BOUGHT PEANUTS FOR YOU. STOP IMITATING A SHRIEKING HAWK TO SCARE AWAY THE OTHER BIRDS AND LEARN TO SHARE YOU ABSOLUTE TWAT.

[t00thpasteface]

the squirrels in my yard have figured out how to get food out of all our birdfeeders and suet blocks but i'm not even mad because they're so funny to watch. they very clearly have preferences for approaching stuff and limits for how uncomfortable they're willing to be when getting food. you can totally tell if a squirrel hates doing one thing or another for the sunflower seeds or the halved peanuts. we set out just a little bowl of seeds to get the squirrels and bigger birds off the hanging feeder for a day, but then it rained, and sure enough a squirrel was reaching his entire arm into the water, VISIBLY uncomfortable and grimacing, just to fish a few peanuts out. it's the very clear thought process and choice of "i don't want to do this but i will anyway" that just seems so relatable in an otherwise ridiculous animal

[tonkionweb]

Homemade bird feeder

Homemade bird feeder how to#

Pour 2 sachets of gelatine into the boiling water and stir until all the gelatine had. We used 1 pint of water, but if you only want to make a few bird feeders use less water as we made a LOT You need roughly the same amount of water as bird seed. Building the Bird Feeder Step 1: Prepare the Base Rails and Slats Step 2: Cut the Base Ends Step 3: Assemble the Spreader Step 4: Cut the Food Bin Pieces. Pour boiling water into a bowl (adults only). Simply leave the middle of the structure open for birdseed and include openings with a perch on each side. STEP 2: Mix the gelatine and boiling water. I hope you’ll try making these with your kids, too 1.

Homemade bird feeder how to#

Lastly, if Legos are available in the house, consider building a bird feeder in any shape out of them. In this tutorial you will learn how to make a simple and easy soda bottle bird feeder for wild and pet birds at home.Best bird feederHomemade bird feederDIY. Today, I’m sharing four eco-friendly and easy bird feeders you can make with your kids: (1) bird feeder muffins, (2) pinecone bird feeders, (3) log suet bird feeder and (4) birdseed wreath feeder. There are loads of Homemade Bird Feeders Kids Can Make, that are inexpensive and simple to put together.Great for the wildlife, and great for getting the kids closer to nature. It’s also a fab craft activity to do with your children. Roll the peanut butter covered toilet paper roll in the bird seed until. Feeding garden birds is a great way to encourage them into your backyard. We love this fall-festive and natural way to feed the birds in your neighborhood. Feeders can also be made by taking one PVC pipe, cutting holes into the side, installing wooden dowels as perches, decorating as desired, screwing a threaded rod into the cap at the top of the PVC pipe, adding twine or string and hanging the feeder from a tree. Using a popsicle stick, cover the outside of the toilet paper roll with peanut butter. Kitchen Counter Chronicles used gourds to get her bird feeder started. In the garden, try drilling holes into a clay terra cotta flowerpot and filling it with bird seed. To hang this item, wrap twine around a tennis ball or block of wood, place it underneath the pan and bring the two ends of twine up through the center hole. A Bundt or angel food cake pan can also be converted into an outdoor seed container. In addition to containers, a soup ladle can also be used as a bird feeder - simply attach it to a board or sturdy backing material, fill it with birdseed and hang it on the side of a house, porch or deck. Feeding birds now also gives them the extra energy they need to survive this particularly cold winter, to migrate, and set up their spring nests 10 Homemade Birdseed Feeders.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Day 8 of Hanging Around The House

Well, it's day 8 of our self quarantine.  It's dreary and dark and starting to snow again.  Doesn't he look sad? Actually it's only day 6 for Steve. He spent last Thursday helping his dad with a particularly important situation that needed person-to-person contact. But from then on, he's been home with me and no contact anywhere else. He is working on a few projects, as well as helping with some of the things that I am doing.  He is finding a lot of little things to take care of around here. Yesterday, though, we had kind of a sluggish "lay around day" and didn't get a lot accomplished. Why???? It's because of the TV! Since we are self quarantined, we splurged and upgraded to a thing called "Spectrum Stream TV" for $24.99 a month.  We already have Spectrum Internet for $45 a month.  So this will be added to the monthly bill. We have only had broadcast antenna tv to watch since moving here with limited stations. But we do have a Smart TV so we can get online for free things to watch.  That is limited too, but we don't watch that much tv anyhow.  There is really nothing on the major prime time tv networks that interests us.  Mostly just the old shows on MeTV like Andy Griffith and Hogans Heros etc and PBS shows. We are located 40+ miles from the nearest tv towers, so our antenna isn't always the best, and goes out during rain and snow and ice. This Spectrum Stream TV app lets us watch unlocked episodes now of all the stuff on History and HGTV and about 25 other stations as well as all of our local stations. So when the broadcast TV antenna acts goofy in bad weather, we will still get all of our local stations. It doesn't have as many stations as the regular (more expensive) Spectrum cable, but it's good enough for what we only want to watch. We can watch live tv, or on demand shows too now. We sat around yesterday and watched a bunch of shows of Steve's favorite American Pickers, as well as a bunch of HGTV shows and caught up on one of our other home fixing favorites, Home Town with Ben and Erin of Laurel Mississippi. Sadly, we don't get DIY. Because then we would catch up on all of the episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis of Detroit. I love her shows the most! So that is why we didn't get a lot of other things done.... The sun was out yesterday and even though it was only about 40 degrees it was very pleasant. We spent some time sitting out on the front porch in the sunshine, just soaking in the vitamin D. We took the dogs for a walk up and down the road for about half of mile, practicing our "social distancing" by just waving at people as they drove by. We did take the dogs out in the backyard for a while too. The snow is melting and it's reduced itself to a crystal like sparkly sugar snow that kind of rustles andf tinkles out of the way when you walk on it. It's really actually pretty and sparkles in the sun. I made this slow-motion video of the dogs running around and I think it's really cool. They sure had fun, and slept well last night.  I think we wore them out. Steve helped me reconfigure the pull cord on the bird feeder. We added a pulley up on the branch and a cord with two loops on it. The one loop is for the really high position and the other loop is for when I lower it down to an adequate height to fill it. I screwed a hook into the tree to hang the loops on. Look at the big holes in the bark from the damage caused by the deer hooves... from balancing against the tree to get their heads up near the bird feeder! Now it will be too high and there's no way they can reach it. While I was filling the bird feeder, a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds were angrily chirping at me from up in the tallest pine tree. They wanted me to get out of the way so they could get back down to the seeds that they were gobbling up. We are filling all of the bird feeders everyday, and a suet block at least every other day for the woodpeckers. Spring is finally here. Felt good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Even though there's things we could be doing in the house, it's nice to do those on a day that you can't get outside.  We appreciate the sunshine, even if it is still cool. ~~~~~~~~ We did do one silly thing inside of the house which might show that we are getting kind of bored. We rearranged our bedroom!  It meant crawling under the king sized bed and hand screwing up the three center support legs.  Then we could rotate the entire bed 180 degrees without dismantling it.  Yes, the doggies thought that was fun! Since Steve has redone the electrical wiring he was able to relocate the wall switch for the ceiling light from a really inconvenient spot in the middle of a wall section, to a better place that makes more sense by the door. Now the wall switch has been moved, I decided I wanted the headboard of the bed put against that wall where the original switch had been. I have a devious plan in mind... When we get around to replacing the windows all around the house, I would like to install two NEW windows on the East wall opposite the foot of the bed. The new windows would be overlooking the beautiful backyard! We could have the sun streaming in the morning right into the bedroom. We had that in Chilton and I really enjoyed starting out the day that way. I even have this crazy fantasy about an electronically remote controlled window blind that I can just hit the button and have the blind go up to reveal the day.  This would be so nice while we have our little bit of coffee before we get up and get moving!! We already have a powered windshield shade in our motorhome and is just one of the most delightful things to press that button and open up the window to expose the day. Kind of a crazy little thrill, but hey, I think it would be kind of nice??? #SelfQuarantine #DogsSloMoVideo #SpectrumStreamTv #HangingBirdFeeder #Day8

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/day-8-of-hanging-around-the-house-1

[patsnaturenotes]

The un-autumn weather

It is November 10th a decidedly not feeling like the middle of autumn.  The night shave been down around 40F and the days reaching up in to the 60sF.  We even have a few fall wildflowers (cultivated in flower beds) blooming and I picked raspberries yesterday.

Ina nod to the season, I have begun to put out food for the birds -- sunflower seed and suet. The Steller's jays have consumed one suet block in 2 days and I am amazed at how many birds must have been hanging out in the trees base don the numbers at the feeders - chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, a ruby-crowned kinglet and at least 1 mountain chickadee.  Chipmunks are scurrying around gathering sunflower weed on the ground.

Fall chores have led me to clean-up birds nests in/on buildings. I "harvested 1 Steller's jay nest from the wood shed and the 2 nests from the Pacific slope flycatchers. It is interesting how different the 2 nests are. The one that was on the outside stereo speaker has a much more robust base and is made of more "wild material". The one from the porch beam is more petite and has a lot of human hair that we put out in the nearby apple tree just for the purpose of providing nesting material.

Our new pooch, Arlo is getting big and a little more independent. He also loves hiking, which is great.  He still is 100% puppy, too.

Lastly I want to honor my dad today. He instilled in me my love of nature and many of my observation skills.  He died 3 years ago today. I will  take a hike to the knoll behind my property. Its old growth trees will be the cathedral from where I will honor dad.

[benjamingarden]

Make Your Own Suet Cakes

Make Your Own Suet Cakes for Your Chickens

Suet cakes, Flock Blocks, or other high protein slab-like treats for your chickens (or even for the wild birds) are super easy to make and they’re good (in moderation, of course) for your flock during the long winter months. They also help break up the boredom for your girls, if they’re used to being more active in the summer when it’s nice and there are plenty of tasty things to forage for.

While you can  buy commercially made suet cakes, just like everything else pre-made on the market, you have no control over the ingredients. Fortunately, making them yourself is a quick project and you won’t need to buy any special ingredients or molds, unless you want to. You can use a wide variety of different ingredients. There’s lots of room for experimentation and ways to incorporate things from your pantry into your suet cake production.

Start with Fat

First, you’ll want a fat base (this will hold it all together). Traditionally, this is animal fat (otherwise known as suet). Suet also is known as lard (fat rendered from pigs) or tallow (fat rendered from cow). If you want to make your own lard, here’s how. You can also buy blocks of lard (typically found in the Mexican section of the grocery store) that are retangular white bricks that come in a box. You can even save the grease from when you cook bacon or hamburger, etc. and use that.

If the thought of animal fat grosses you out, you can also use coconut oil. And, thankfully, coconut oil contains some great health benefits for chickens. In fact, they get many of the same benefits from coconut oil as we do! It’s anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-fungal (ALL good things for the coop and chicken life), it supports the immune system, aids in digestion, is great for the skin and helps improve circulation. I also know some folks who swear by coconut oil as a way to boost egg production (especially in hens that have slowed their laying).

Add Ingredients

Once you pick out a fat base, here’s where your crazy inner mixologist comes in. There are so very many things you can add to your DIY suet cakes: whole grains, fruits like cranberries, apples (both dried and fresh chopped), herbs like oregano, basil ,etc. (fresh chopped and dried), chicken feed, cracked corn, mealie worms, peanuts (roughly chopped, unsalted), peanut butter (unsalted) oats, molasses, sunflower seeds (in or out of the shell), eggs (and egg shells–crumbled), flax seeds, and probably a bunch of other things I haven’t even thought of here. (If you’re worried about adding something that wouldn’t be good for your hens to eat, here’s a list of things to stay away from.)

You can also add spices. I like to add both turmeric and cayenne for their health benefits. Turmeric is good for chickens in many of the same ways people use it for their own health. It’s great for respiratory health, inflammation, and even brain and eye function (I wrote a whole post about the benefits of turmeric for your flock if you want to read more.) When I add turmeric to the suet cakes, I also like to grind a bit of cracked pepper into the mix as coconut oil, turmeric and black pepper work really well together to the benefit of chicken health.

The other spice I like to add is cayenne.  Cayenne, like coconut oil, aids in egg production. It also helps prevent certain diseases. (Don’t worry about making it to hot and spicy for your birds–they don’t have any heat receptors in their taste buds so they won’t even notice.) A bonus for adding cayenne to your suet cakes is that while birds (wild birds included) can’t taste the heat, squirrels can, so if you’re wanting to make sure the birds get the suet and not the squirrels, cayenne will do the trick.

Deciding on How Much to Make

Are wondering how this is all gonna come together? Here’s how I do it. I figure out the containers I’m going to use. There are suet molds (like these) that you can use. The nice thing about them is that they’re exactly the right size for suet holders (like this). You can also use mini cake pans with holes in the center (like this).  Their selling point, (aside from being super cute) is that you can hang them by twine. Or you can just use containers you have on hand. One of my favorites is a rectangular glass storage container I have that works really well for making enough to cut in half for two separate suet cakes. I sometimes also use a big 9×12 glass baking dish if I want to make a lot at once. If you go that big, I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to get it out if you line the pan with parchment first, before you pour your mixture in to harden.

Once I decide on the container I’m using, then I will know how much (roughly) of the ingredients I should mix up. Ideally, your suet cake should be around an inch thick. (If you have a suet holder, measure it before you decide how thick to make your cakes.)

I then look around the pantry and see what I have on hand. This time around I used old-fashioned oats, flaxseed, crunchy peanut butter, dried cranberries, turmeric, cayenne, cracked pepper, egg shells, and a bit of chicken scratch. And I used coconut oil for the fat base.

Putting it All Together

Okay, you’ve picked out some containers. You’ve scoured your pantry and chicken feed containers for ingredients. If you have a suet container, you’ve checked the size so you’ll know how thick you can make them. And now we’re ready to actually MAKE suet cakes for those chickens!

First, melt the fat you’re using. Either on the stove top or microwave. Eyeball the size of the container(s) you’re going to use and add handfuls of whatever ingredients you’d like to use, making it a variety of tastes and textures. (Don’t worry if you over-estimate, I’ll tell you how to use it below!)

Mix the fat and the other ingredients together. You’re going for a heavily saturated look and feel. The fat is what will hold it all together, so don’t scrimp. Press this mixture firmly into your pan or mold (and remember, if you’re using a bigger pan, lining it with parchment is a good idea). I usually keep mine at about an inch thick, but you can adjust the size to however you’re going to be ‘serving’ this treat.

At this point, you can bake it (some folks do) if you want. But I keep my raw. Raw ingredients just seem more healthy and fresh to me. Right now it’s cold enough I can stick the pans outside for a bit and the suet cakes will firm up fast. You can also stick them in the freezer for a bit.

If I end up with more ‘cake mix’ than I can use in the molds I have, I just wait until I pop out the hardened first round out of the pans and pat in the remaining ingredients for round two. It shouldn’t firm up much while you’re waiting for round two unless your house is cold (but if it does, simply warm it to make it easy to press into the pan/mold once they’re empty again).

Once the cakes are very firm, I run warm water on the backside of the smaller containers to help me pop out the cake. On the larger pans, I pull them out with the parchment. Then I carefully cut them into the size I want. (If they end up too crumbly, the flock will still love them, but if you’d like them firmer, add more fat.)

You’ll want to store them in a cool place. Like your refrigerator or garage or other unheated place. I put mine in a container and put them in the top of the feed barrel outside. It stays cold out there and it’s predator proof.

My girls love this stuff and I’m sure yours will too. I also feed it to the wild birds, who greatly appreciate it during the cold winter months.  From time to time, I even see Fredrick out there trying to figure out how to get some for himself.

Have fun with this project. It’s a great way to benefit your flock during the winter, boost immunity and egg production, and use up extra stuff in the pantry. Plus, the hens will love you for it.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and buy something, I will get a few cents to help me buy chicken food. But don’t worry! It doesn’t cost you anything (and in some cases might save you some money). Thanks for helping support my blog.

Make Your Own Suet Cakes was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Day 8 of Hanging Around The House

Well, it's day 8 of our self quarantine.  It's dreary and dark and starting to snow again.  Doesn't he look sad? Actually it's only day 6 for Steve. He spent last Thursday helping his dad with a particularly important situation that needed person-to-person contact. But from then on, he's been home with me and no contact anywhere else. He is working on a few projects, as well as helping with some of the things that I am doing.  He is finding a lot of little things to take care of around here. Yesterday, though, we had kind of a sluggish "lay around day" and didn't get a lot accomplished. Why???? It's because of the TV! Since we are self quarantined, we splurged and upgraded to a thing called "Spectrum Stream TV" for $24.99 a month.  We already have Spectrum Internet for $45 a month.  So this will be added to the monthly bill. We have only had broadcast antenna tv to watch since moving here with limited stations. But we do have a Smart TV so we can get online for free things to watch.  That is limited too, but we don't watch that much tv anyhow.  There is really nothing on the major prime time tv networks that interests us.  Mostly just the old shows on MeTV like Andy Griffith and Hogans Heros etc and PBS shows. We are located 40+ miles from the nearest tv towers, so our antenna isn't always the best, and goes out during rain and snow and ice. This Spectrum Stream TV app lets us watch unlocked episodes now of all the stuff on History and HGTV and about 25 other stations as well as all of our local stations. So when the broadcast TV antenna acts goofy in bad weather, we will still get all of our local stations. It doesn't have as many stations as the regular (more expensive) Spectrum cable, but it's good enough for what we only want to watch. We can watch live tv, or on demand shows too now. We sat around yesterday and watched a bunch of shows of Steve's favorite American Pickers, as well as a bunch of HGTV shows and caught up on one of our other home fixing favorites, Home Town with Ben and Erin of Laurel Mississippi. Sadly, we don't get DIY. Because then we would catch up on all of the episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis of Detroit. I love her shows the most! So that is why we didn't get a lot of other things done.... The sun was out yesterday and even though it was only about 40 degrees it was very pleasant. We spent some time sitting out on the front porch in the sunshine, just soaking in the vitamin D. We took the dogs for a walk up and down the road for about half of mile, practicing our "social distancing" by just waving at people as they drove by. We did take the dogs out in the backyard for a while too. The snow is melting and it's reduced itself to a crystal like sparkly sugar snow that kind of rustles andf tinkles out of the way when you walk on it. It's really actually pretty and sparkles in the sun. I made this slow-motion video of the dogs running around and I think it's really cool. They sure had fun, and slept well last night.  I think we wore them out. Steve helped me reconfigure the pull cord on the bird feeder. We added a pulley up on the branch and a cord with two loops on it. The one loop is for the really high position and the other loop is for when I lower it down to an adequate height to fill it. I screwed a hook into the tree to hang the loops on. Look at the big holes in the bark from the damage caused by the deer hooves... from balancing against the tree to get their heads up near the bird feeder! Now it will be too high and there's no way they can reach it. While I was filling the bird feeder, a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds were angrily chirping at me from up in the tallest pine tree. They wanted me to get out of the way so they could get back down to the seeds that they were gobbling up. We are filling all of the bird feeders everyday, and a suet block at least every other day for the woodpeckers. Spring is finally here. Felt good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Even though there's things we could be doing in the house, it's nice to do those on a day that you can't get outside.  We appreciate the sunshine, even if it is still cool. ~~~~~~~~ We did do one silly thing inside of the house which might show that we are getting kind of bored. We rearranged our bedroom!  It meant crawling under the king sized bed and hand screwing up the three center support legs.  Then we could rotate the entire bed 180 degrees without dismantling it.  Yes, the doggies thought that was fun! Since Steve has redone the electrical wiring he was able to relocate the wall switch for the ceiling light from a really inconvenient spot in the middle of a wall section, to a better place that makes more sense by the door. Now the wall switch has been moved, I decided I wanted the headboard of the bed put against that wall where the original switch had been. I have a devious plan in mind... When we get around to replacing the windows all around the house, I would like to install two NEW windows on the East wall opposite the foot of the bed. The new windows would be overlooking the beautiful backyard! We could have the sun streaming in the morning right into the bedroom. We had that in Chilton and I really enjoyed starting out the day that way. I even have this crazy fantasy about an electronically remote controlled window blind that I can just hit the button and have the blind go up to reveal the day.  This would be so nice while we have our little bit of coffee before we get up and get moving!! We already have a powered windshield shade in our motorhome and is just one of the most delightful things to press that button and open up the window to expose the day. Kind of a crazy little thrill, but hey, I think it would be kind of nice??? #SelfQuarantine #DogsSloMoVideo #SpectrumStreamTv #HangingBirdFeeder #Day8

Arplis - News source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Arplis-News/~3/OXNNc5T4PUo/day-8-of-hanging-around-the-house-1

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Day 8 of Hanging Around The House

Well, it's day 8 of our self quarantine.  It's dreary and dark and starting to snow again.  Doesn't he look sad? Actually it's only day 6 for Steve. He spent last Thursday helping his dad with a particularly important situation that needed person-to-person contact. But from then on, he's been home with me and no contact anywhere else. He is working on a few projects, as well as helping with some of the things that I am doing.  He is finding a lot of little things to take care of around here. Yesterday, though, we had kind of a sluggish "lay around day" and didn't get a lot accomplished. Why???? It's because of the TV! Since we are self quarantined, we splurged and upgraded to a thing called "Spectrum Stream TV" for $24.99 a month.  We already have Spectrum Internet for $45 a month.  So this will be added to the monthly bill. We have only had broadcast antenna tv to watch since moving here with limited stations. But we do have a Smart TV so we can get online for free things to watch.  That is limited too, but we don't watch that much tv anyhow.  There is really nothing on the major prime time tv networks that interests us.  Mostly just the old shows on MeTV like Andy Griffith and Hogans Heros etc and PBS shows. We are located 40+ miles from the nearest tv towers, so our antenna isn't always the best, and goes out during rain and snow and ice. This Spectrum Stream TV app lets us watch unlocked episodes now of all the stuff on History and HGTV and about 25 other stations as well as all of our local stations. So when the broadcast TV antenna acts goofy in bad weather, we will still get all of our local stations. It doesn't have as many stations as the regular (more expensive) Spectrum cable, but it's good enough for what we only want to watch. We can watch live tv, or on demand shows too now. We sat around yesterday and watched a bunch of shows of Steve's favorite American Pickers, as well as a bunch of HGTV shows and caught up on one of our other home fixing favorites, Home Town with Ben and Erin of Laurel Mississippi. Sadly, we don't get DIY. Because then we would catch up on all of the episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis of Detroit. I love her shows the most! So that is why we didn't get a lot of other things done.... The sun was out yesterday and even though it was only about 40 degrees it was very pleasant. We spent some time sitting out on the front porch in the sunshine, just soaking in the vitamin D. We took the dogs for a walk up and down the road for about half of mile, practicing our "social distancing" by just waving at people as they drove by. We did take the dogs out in the backyard for a while too. The snow is melting and it's reduced itself to a crystal like sparkly sugar snow that kind of rustles andf tinkles out of the way when you walk on it. It's really actually pretty and sparkles in the sun. I made this slow-motion video of the dogs running around and I think it's really cool. They sure had fun, and slept well last night.  I think we wore them out. Steve helped me reconfigure the pull cord on the bird feeder. We added a pulley up on the branch and a cord with two loops on it. The one loop is for the really high position and the other loop is for when I lower it down to an adequate height to fill it. I screwed a hook into the tree to hang the loops on. Look at the big holes in the bark from the damage caused by the deer hooves... from balancing against the tree to get their heads up near the bird feeder! Now it will be too high and there's no way they can reach it. While I was filling the bird feeder, a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds were angrily chirping at me from up in the tallest pine tree. They wanted me to get out of the way so they could get back down to the seeds that they were gobbling up. We are filling all of the bird feeders everyday, and a suet block at least every other day for the woodpeckers. Spring is finally here. Felt good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Even though there's things we could be doing in the house, it's nice to do those on a day that you can't get outside.  We appreciate the sunshine, even if it is still cool. ~~~~~~~~ We did do one silly thing inside of the house which might show that we are getting kind of bored. We rearranged our bedroom!  It meant crawling under the king sized bed and hand screwing up the three center support legs.  Then we could rotate the entire bed 180 degrees without dismantling it.  Yes, the doggies thought that was fun! Since Steve has redone the electrical wiring he was able to relocate the wall switch for the ceiling light from a really inconvenient spot in the middle of a wall section, to a better place that makes more sense by the door. Now the wall switch has been moved, I decided I wanted the headboard of the bed put against that wall where the original switch had been. I have a devious plan in mind... When we get around to replacing the windows all around the house, I would like to install two NEW windows on the East wall opposite the foot of the bed. The new windows would be overlooking the beautiful backyard! We could have the sun streaming in the morning right into the bedroom. We had that in Chilton and I really enjoyed starting out the day that way. I even have this crazy fantasy about an electronically remote controlled window blind that I can just hit the button and have the blind go up to reveal the day.  This would be so nice while we have our little bit of coffee before we get up and get moving!! We already have a powered windshield shade in our motorhome and is just one of the most delightful things to press that button and open up the window to expose the day. Kind of a crazy little thrill, but hey, I think it would be kind of nice??? #SelfQuarantine #DogsSloMoVideo #HangingBirdFeeder #Day8 #SpectrumStreamTv

Arplis - News source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Arplis-News/~3/jKjpqHaJUd4/day-8-of-hanging-around-the-house

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Day 8 of Hanging Around The House

Well, it's day 8 of our self quarantine.  It's dreary and dark and starting to snow again.  Doesn't he look sad? Actually it's only day 6 for Steve. He spent last Thursday helping his dad with a particularly important situation that needed person-to-person contact. But from then on, he's been home with me and no contact anywhere else. He is working on a few projects, as well as helping with some of the things that I am doing.  He is finding a lot of little things to take care of around here. Yesterday, though, we had kind of a sluggish "lay around day" and didn't get a lot accomplished. Why???? It's because of the TV! Since we are self quarantined, we splurged and upgraded to a thing called "Spectrum Stream TV" for $24.99 a month.  We already have Spectrum Internet for $45 a month.  So this will be added to the monthly bill. We have only had broadcast antenna tv to watch since moving here with limited stations. But we do have a Smart TV so we can get online for free things to watch.  That is limited too, but we don't watch that much tv anyhow.  There is really nothing on the major prime time tv networks that interests us.  Mostly just the old shows on MeTV like Andy Griffith and Hogans Heros etc and PBS shows. We are located 40+ miles from the nearest tv towers, so our antenna isn't always the best, and goes out during rain and snow and ice. This Spectrum Stream TV app lets us watch unlocked episodes now of all the stuff on History and HGTV and about 25 other stations as well as all of our local stations. So when the broadcast TV antenna acts goofy in bad weather, we will still get all of our local stations. It doesn't have as many stations as the regular (more expensive) Spectrum cable, but it's good enough for what we only want to watch. We can watch live tv, or on demand shows too now. We sat around yesterday and watched a bunch of shows of Steve's favorite American Pickers, as well as a bunch of HGTV shows and caught up on one of our other home fixing favorites, Home Town with Ben and Erin of Laurel Mississippi. Sadly, we don't get DIY. Because then we would catch up on all of the episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis of Detroit. I love her shows the most! So that is why we didn't get a lot of other things done.... The sun was out yesterday and even though it was only about 40 degrees it was very pleasant. We spent some time sitting out on the front porch in the sunshine, just soaking in the vitamin D. We took the dogs for a walk up and down the road for about half of mile, practicing our "social distancing" by just waving at people as they drove by. We did take the dogs out in the backyard for a while too. The snow is melting and it's reduced itself to a crystal like sparkly sugar snow that kind of rustles andf tinkles out of the way when you walk on it. It's really actually pretty and sparkles in the sun. I made this slow-motion video of the dogs running around and I think it's really cool. They sure had fun, and slept well last night.  I think we wore them out. Steve helped me reconfigure the pull cord on the bird feeder. We added a pulley up on the branch and a cord with two loops on it. The one loop is for the really high position and the other loop is for when I lower it down to an adequate height to fill it. I screwed a hook into the tree to hang the loops on. Look at the big holes in the bark from the damage caused by the deer hooves... from balancing against the tree to get their heads up near the bird feeder! Now it will be too high and there's no way they can reach it. While I was filling the bird feeder, a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds were angrily chirping at me from up in the tallest pine tree. They wanted me to get out of the way so they could get back down to the seeds that they were gobbling up. We are filling all of the bird feeders everyday, and a suet block at least every other day for the woodpeckers. Spring is finally here. Felt good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine. Even though there's things we could be doing in the house, it's nice to do those on a day that you can't get outside.  We appreciate the sunshine, even if it is still cool. ~~~~~~~~ We did do one silly thing inside of the house which might show that we are getting kind of bored. We rearranged our bedroom!  It meant crawling under the king sized bed and hand screwing up the three center support legs.  Then we could rotate the entire bed 180 degrees without dismantling it.  Yes, the doggies thought that was fun! Since Steve has redone the electrical wiring he was able to relocate the wall switch for the ceiling light from a really inconvenient spot in the middle of a wall section, to a better place that makes more sense by the door. Now the wall switch has been moved, I decided I wanted the headboard of the bed put against that wall where the original switch had been. I have a devious plan in mind... When we get around to replacing the windows all around the house, I would like to install two NEW windows on the East wall opposite the foot of the bed. The new windows would be overlooking the beautiful backyard! We could have the sun streaming in the morning right into the bedroom. We had that in Chilton and I really enjoyed starting out the day that way. I even have this crazy fantasy about an electronically remote controlled window blind that I can just hit the button and have the blind go up to reveal the day.  This would be so nice while we have our little bit of coffee before we get up and get moving!! We already have a powered windshield shade in our motorhome and is just one of the most delightful things to press that button and open up the window to expose the day. Kind of a crazy little thrill, but hey, I think it would be kind of nice??? #SelfQuarantine #DogsSloMoVideo #HangingBirdFeeder #Day8 #SpectrumStreamTv

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/day-8-of-hanging-around-the-house

[benjamingarden]

Make Your Own Suet Cakes

Make Your Own Suet Cakes for Your Chickens

Suet cakes, Flock Blocks, or other high protein slab-like treats for your chickens (or even for the wild birds) are super easy to make and they’re good (in moderation, of course) for your flock during the long winter months. They also help break up the boredom for your girls, if they’re used to being more active in the summer when it’s nice and there are plenty of tasty things to forage for.

While you can  buy commercially made suet cakes, just like everything else pre-made on the market, you have no control over the ingredients. Fortunately, making them yourself is a quick project and you won’t need to buy any special ingredients or molds, unless you want to. You can use a wide variety of different ingredients. There’s lots of room for experimentation and ways to incorporate things from your pantry into your suet cake production.

Start with Fat

First, you’ll want a fat base (this will hold it all together). Traditionally, this is animal fat (otherwise known as suet). Suet also is known as lard (fat rendered from pigs) or tallow (fat rendered from cow). If you want to make your own lard, here’s how. You can also buy blocks of lard (typically found in the Mexican section of the grocery store) that are retangular white bricks that come in a box. You can even save the grease from when you cook bacon or hamburger, etc. and use that.

If the thought of animal fat grosses you out, you can also use coconut oil. And, thankfully, coconut oil contains some great health benefits for chickens. In fact, they get many of the same benefits from coconut oil as we do! It’s anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-fungal (ALL good things for the coop and chicken life), it supports the immune system, aids in digestion, is great for the skin and helps improve circulation. I also know some folks who swear by coconut oil as a way to boost egg production (especially in hens that have slowed their laying).

Add Ingredients

Once you pick out a fat base, here’s where your crazy inner mixologist comes in. There are so very many things you can add to your DIY suet cakes: whole grains, fruits like cranberries, apples (both dried and fresh chopped), herbs like oregano, basil ,etc. (fresh chopped and dried), chicken feed, cracked corn, mealie worms, peanuts (roughly chopped, unsalted), peanut butter (unsalted) oats, molasses, sunflower seeds (in or out of the shell), eggs (and egg shells–crumbled), flax seeds, and probably a bunch of other things I haven’t even thought of here. (If you’re worried about adding something that wouldn’t be good for your hens to eat, here’s a list of things to stay away from.)

You can also add spices. I like to add both turmeric and cayenne for their health benefits. Turmeric is good for chickens in many of the same ways people use it for their own health. It’s great for respiratory health, inflammation, and even brain and eye function (I wrote a whole post about the benefits of turmeric for your flock if you want to read more.) When I add turmeric to the suet cakes, I also like to grind a bit of cracked pepper into the mix as coconut oil, turmeric and black pepper work really well together to the benefit of chicken health.

The other spice I like to add is cayenne.  Cayenne, like coconut oil, aids in egg production. It also helps prevent certain diseases. (Don’t worry about making it to hot and spicy for your birds–they don’t have any heat receptors in their taste buds so they won’t even notice.) A bonus for adding cayenne to your suet cakes is that while birds (wild birds included) can’t taste the heat, squirrels can, so if you’re wanting to make sure the birds get the suet and not the squirrels, cayenne will do the trick.

Deciding on How Much to Make

Are wondering how this is all gonna come together? Here’s how I do it. I figure out the containers I’m going to use. There are suet molds (like these) that you can use. The nice thing about them is that they’re exactly the right size for suet holders (like this). You can also use mini cake pans with holes in the center (like this).  Their selling point, (aside from being super cute) is that you can hang them by twine. Or you can just use containers you have on hand. One of my favorites is a rectangular glass storage container I have that works really well for making enough to cut in half for two separate suet cakes. I sometimes also use a big 9×12 glass baking dish if I want to make a lot at once. If you go that big, I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to get it out if you line the pan with parchment first, before you pour your mixture in to harden.

Once I decide on the container I’m using, then I will know how much (roughly) of the ingredients I should mix up. Ideally, your suet cake should be around an inch thick. (If you have a suet holder, measure it before you decide how thick to make your cakes.)

I then look around the pantry and see what I have on hand. This time around I used old-fashioned oats, flaxseed, crunchy peanut butter, dried cranberries, turmeric, cayenne, cracked pepper, egg shells, and a bit of chicken scratch. And I used coconut oil for the fat base.

Putting it All Together

Okay, you’ve picked out some containers. You’ve scoured your pantry and chicken feed containers for ingredients. If you have a suet container, you’ve checked the size so you’ll know how thick you can make them. And now we’re ready to actually MAKE suet cakes for those chickens!

First, melt the fat you’re using. Either on the stove top or microwave. Eyeball the size of the container(s) you’re going to use and add handfuls of whatever ingredients you’d like to use, making it a variety of tastes and textures. (Don’t worry if you over-estimate, I’ll tell you how to use it below!)

Mix the fat and the other ingredients together. You’re going for a heavily saturated look and feel. The fat is what will hold it all together, so don’t scrimp. Press this mixture firmly into your pan or mold (and remember, if you’re using a bigger pan, lining it with parchment is a good idea). I usually keep mine at about an inch thick, but you can adjust the size to however you’re going to be ‘serving’ this treat.

At this point, you can bake it (some folks do) if you want. But I keep my raw. Raw ingredients just seem more healthy and fresh to me. Right now it’s cold enough I can stick the pans outside for a bit and the suet cakes will firm up fast. You can also stick them in the freezer for a bit.

If I end up with more ‘cake mix’ than I can use in the molds I have, I just wait until I pop out the hardened first round out of the pans and pat in the remaining ingredients for round two. It shouldn’t firm up much while you’re waiting for round two unless your house is cold (but if it does, simply warm it to make it easy to press into the pan/mold once they’re empty again).

Once the cakes are very firm, I run warm water on the backside of the smaller containers to help me pop out the cake. On the larger pans, I pull them out with the parchment. Then I carefully cut them into the size I want. (If they end up too crumbly, the flock will still love them, but if you’d like them firmer, add more fat.)

You’ll want to store them in a cool place. Like your refrigerator or garage or other unheated place. I put mine in a container and put them in the top of the feed barrel outside. It stays cold out there and it’s predator proof.

My girls love this stuff and I’m sure yours will too. I also feed it to the wild birds, who greatly appreciate it during the cold winter months.  From time to time, I even see Fredrick out there trying to figure out how to get some for himself.

Have fun with this project. It’s a great way to benefit your flock during the winter, boost immunity and egg production, and use up extra stuff in the pantry. Plus, the hens will love you for it.

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and buy something, I will get a few cents to help me buy chicken food. But don’t worry! It doesn’t cost you anything (and in some cases might save you some money). Thanks for helping support my blog.

Make Your Own Suet Cakes was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)